Lie (1)
Lie (1)
Evening. All the day's activities were over.
As always, the girls gathered in Baek Ha-na's room to get ready for bed.
"Ugh, my whole body aches...."
"Pfft!"
Idni flopped onto the floor, slapping her thigh. Lee Na-young, already stretched out on the bed, let out a small laugh.
"What? Your friend is dying here and you're laughing?"
"S-sorry."
Lee Na-young quickly popped her head out to defend herself.
"It's just... that kind of talk doesn't really suit you, Idni...."
"She has a point. You look like a pure-blooded foreigner, but you talk like a native Korean."
Seated nearby, applying a nourishing cream, Maria agreed with Lee Na-young.
"Hey. That's discrimination, you know. What foreigner... I've never even been outside the country."
Idni pouted, grumbling under her breath.
Her looks certainly could have been mistaken for royalty or nobility from some foreign land, but Idni and Maria had been raised since early childhood by Lee Ye-sol and the other clergy.
"Nnngh~! Tah...."
After sulking for a moment, Idni stretched with a satisfying groan and laced her fingers behind her head.
"Still, I'm glad Ppiyaki got better."
"Yeah...."
Lee Na-young nodded quickly.
Maria, who had finished applying the cream and was tidying up, casually interjected.
"But didn't it seem like she's been strangely following the professor around?"
"Hmm? I didn't really notice."
"Seo-hee, what about you?"
"...."
No answer.
Lee Na-young turned her head to check on Nam Seo-hee, who was lying beside her.
"...Seo-hee's asleep."
"Wow, that girl is seriously something. How does she just pass out the second her head hits Ha-na's pillow?"
Idni shook her head, looking thoroughly fed up.
Maria laughed softly and asked Baek Ha-na, who was sitting at the desk writing in her diary.
"Ha-na, what did you think?"
Until the festival, the fairy had refused to separate from them. Occasionally, she'd seek out her superior during meals, but aside from that, she stuck with them constantly.
Today, after finishing training and returning to the mansion, they had hung out even more earnestly with the fairy, out of a sense of atonement for past transgressions. But the entire time they played hide-and-seek, the fairy kept wandering into the study. She didn't even bother hiding. She just sat neatly on the corner of the desk and stared fixedly at the face of whoever sat there.
"Ha-na?"
"Huh? Sorry, what did you say?"
Seated at the desk, twirling her pen, Baek Ha-na turned her head with a slightly dazed look.
Maria gave a small laugh at the sight and rose from her spot.
"Is it okay if I turn off the light?"
"Ah, yeah. That's fine."
As smoothly as if that had been her intention all along, Maria switched off the light. The soft desk lamp illuminated Ha-na.
"Huaaahm~ Hey, what are you doing? Come lie down."
"I will."
When Idni patted the spot next to her, Maria shook her head and lay down. She lifted her head just enough to glance at Baek Ha-na's back as the girl sat at the desk.
Truthfully, Maria had brought up the fairy—something she didn't even need to mention—in order to get Baek Ha-na's attention.
It had happened after training, when all the women in the mansion, including the fairy, had gone into the bathroom.
-Huh? Sister, did you get in a fight with someone?
-No.
-Then what are all those bruises on your neck and back...?
At Baek Ha-na's comment, every gaze in the room snapped to Claire.
And they all saw.
The red and purplish bruises marking territory around her milky-white skin.
-Whoa, that's real?
-That's... ahem!
At Idni's exclamation, Claire coughed lightly and spoke.
-...Something occurred outside.
-Ah-ha.
Oblivious Idni nodded as if that explained everything. Lee Na-young, just as innocent, merely blinked her clear eyes.
-It was bad enough to hurt you...?
-...Yes.
And Baek Ha-na, who was every bit as innocent as Lee Na-young in such matters, stared at Claire with an oddly suspicious look.
-Peep!
Just as the atmosphere was turning strange, the fairy, perched on Baek Ha-na's shoulder, dispelled the tension.
-Let's hurry up~ The professor is waiting.
Maria tactfully diverted everyone's attention.
After all, she understood exactly what had caused the marks on her superior's nape and back.
The only thing that nagged at her was that Nam Seo-hee, who'd stayed quiet the whole time, seemed to have figured it out too.
'Ugh... Why didn't the Executor erase those....'
Surely she must have known.
No, even if she herself didn't, that man definitely....
Fwoosh—!!
Maria's face turned crimson as she accidentally imagined something indecent. She yanked the blanket over her head.
'...Forget it. I did my best.'
Maria decided to think no more about it and closed her eyes.
But.
'...Th-the two of them are together right now, aren't they...?'
Sure, they were separated by a bedroom and a study, but the distance between them was nothing more than a single door.
'No, Maria. What kind of irreverent thoughts are you having? Ppiyaki is there too... well, she is... but still....'
Once that child fell asleep, she didn't wake up for just about anything.
That night, Maria had a restless sleep.
**
Several days had passed since Baek Woo-jin returned to the mansion.
'...Something's strange.'
Baek Ha-na finished her training, which had become quite routine by now, and sank into the bathtub. Staring up at the steam-filled bathroom ceiling, she sorted through her recent memories.
-Woo-jin~
-Ahem!
When she'd poked her head through the study door to say good morning, her sister, who had been pressed suspiciously close to him, had choked out a cough.
-G-good morning, Miss Ha-na.
-...Good morning to you too, sister.
-W-well then... I'll go prepare breakfast....
And she'd fled like someone with something to hide.
That wasn't the only incident.
More than once or twice, her sister had emerged from the study after dinner with her face bright red. Sometimes she flinched oddly and put distance between herself and him whenever he got a little too close.
Ha-na had always known her sister was somewhat wary and cautious around him, consciously or not, but the behavior these last few days had been different from before.
'Woo-jin seemed a bit different too....'
Occasionally, very occasionally, he used to smile at her. Lately, she had seen that rare smile of his several times.
-Go to bed now.
-Just a little longer~
She'd cashed in all the whining rights she'd saved up and spent time claiming his lap for the first time in a long while.
-When exactly are you planning to grow up?
-What do you mean? I'm already all grown up.
-Ha.
She had mustered some courage and puffed her chest out, but he had just smiled faintly and stroked her head affectionately.
On top of that, he now readily accepted displays of physical affection that he normally would have scolded her for and shooed her away from.
'Mmm... I mean, I do like that, but....'
Bubble-bubble-bubble—!!
Just this morning, she had sat beside him as a greeting and leaned against his arm. He had gently caressed her cheek and tidied her hair. The sensation of his touch still felt vividly present.
"Hey. Baek Ha-na!!"
"...?"
Submerged deep in the tub, Baek Ha-na turned her head.
"How long are you going to stay in there? Hurry up and get out. I'm hungry."
-Hungwy!!
Idni and the fairy on her shoulder shouted at Baek Ha-na.
"What about the others?"
"They're already outside drying their hair."
"...Already?"
"What do you mean, already?"
Idni walked over to the tub and lightly pinched Baek Ha-na's flushed cheek.
"It's already been thirty minutes? What in the world were you thinking about?"
"Thash hurths...."
"Whatever. Just get out."
Idni left the bathroom with the fairy. Alone now, Baek Ha-na rubbed her slightly stinging cheek and climbed out of the tub. As usual, Nam Seo-hee was waiting to tend to her hair. After getting dressed, she headed to the kitchen.
Clatter.
They each took their now-permanent seats at the table and picked up their spoons.
Scooping up her stew full of bacon and potatoes, Baek Ha-na stole glance after glance at the opposite side. Until the festival, Claire had always sat at the very end of the table. At some point, she'd started sitting in the same row as Baek Woo-jin.
'Just as I thought....'
Just as Baek Ha-na was trying to figure out their relationship, Idni, who had been hastily filling her stomach, cautiously spoke up.
"Um, Professor...?"
"What is it?"
Baek Woo-jin looked up from his smartphone, sipping coffee instead of stew.
Idni fidgeted shyly.
"Sooo, summer break is almost over, you know?"
Idni, who had been so stiff at the start of the break, was now addressing Baek Woo-jin just as she used to.
"So... before it ends, do you think we could go play in the water one more time...?"
"I believe I said you were free to do as you like after training."
"Oh, come on...."
As if that wasn't what she meant, Idni touched the tip of her spoon lightly to her lips.
"Play with us too, Professor. Please? You didn't play with us at all this year."
Even Maria, who normally would have smacked her, was sneaking a look for his reaction.
-Play!!
The fairy, who had been quietly nibbling on chocolate Baek Woo-jin had personally peeled for her, turned to him with sparkling eyes.
"Professorrr~"
Tap tap.
Idni, making rare use of her looks to produce a nasal whine, nudged Baek Ha-na's shin under the table. That was the signal to back her up.
After a moment's consideration, Baek Ha-na spoke.
"She's right. Let's all play. You didn't watch the fireworks with me either."
"...Ha."
The moment the word "fireworks" left her mouth, Baek Woo-jin let out a short sigh and nodded.
"Tomorrow. One day only."
Not just Idni, but Maria and even Nam Seo-hee quietly clenched their fists in a silent celebration.
"P-Professor...."
Baek Woo-jin, about to look at his phone again, turned toward Claire.
"...They say that when you rest, it's more efficient to do nothing but rest."
"...."
Baek Woo-jin stared silently at Claire's face for a moment.
"You may skip training tomorrow."
At that, even Lee Na-young, who had been staring blankly, broke into a bright smile and expressed her joy.
All except one.
"...."
Baek Ha-na alone performed her joy with calm, sunken eyes.