Lie (2)
Lie (2)
Early morning.
Even though I'd given them a break from training, the children were already up and bustling about far earlier than usual.
-No, I told you to hold it tight? -I did hold it tight. You're the one who twisted it. -Excuse me? -...Can we stop and just get it aligned properly?
Their voices drifted in through the slightly open window.
I turned my chair a little to look outside. In the spacious yard, the children were setting up the new pool I'd seen before.
-No, Na-young. It's fine, just sit down. -B-but...
Feeling she ought to help with something, Lee Na-young was struggling to lift one of the components when Baek Ha-na, who had been working on another task nearby, picked it up effortlessly and set Lee Na-young down in the shade.
-Here, you just sit tight with Ppiyaki. -Ppiyang!! -O-okay.
I watched Baek Ha-na as she worked to fit the special liner over the pool, which was gradually taking shape.
She chatted with the other children in her usual bright manner, carrying out her part without a single shortcoming. But contrary to outward appearances, since yesterday evening the kid hadn't smiled properly even once.
I had a pretty good idea why. No, if I didn't, I'd be unfit to be her guardian.
Baek Ha-na's feelings toward me. They were the same kind of feelings Claire had for me.
I'd dismissed it as a young child mistaking simple admiration for something else. Yet what I'd assumed would mature and sort itself out naturally with time had instead grown sharper, putting me in an increasingly difficult position.
'...A clear miscalculation.'
I should have drawn the line more firmly. If I had, I wouldn't have to watch her put on that painfully poor act now.
"Hoo."
The feelings that had lately been surging at the slightest provocation, spurred on by a desire to show a changed side of myself, instantly cooled.
Claire—I'd been prepared to keep the relationship hidden if that was what she wanted.
But rumors had already spread, and when I'd checked on Baek Ha-na through the ring before, she'd said she would fully accept Claire. So I decided not to hide it. Claire had agreed as well.
"Professor."
Claire poked her head through the gap in the window. Then she lifted the garden hose in her hand slightly.
Looking past her, I saw the pool was already fully assembled.
"Alright."
At my nod, Claire walked briskly over and aimed the hose nozzle into the pool. I manipulated my mana and turned on the bathroom faucet connected to the hose.
Splaaaash──!!
Without the hose bulging at all, the sound of cool water soon reached me from outside.
-This will be full soon. Everyone go inside and change into your swimsuits.
The moment Claire finished speaking, the children dashed across the garden and into the mansion.
Every time they ran, the hallway all the way over here trembled.
I looked at Claire's back as she stood alone under the sun, filling the pool. Then I opened the window wide.
"Claire." "......Yes?"
She'd been spacing out, and her reply came a beat late as she turned her head this way.
"If you want to invite Lee Ye-sol, you can." "Umm......."
Despite the teasing she'd endured that day, Claire even furrowed her fine brows as she mulled it over.
"In that case......."
When the pool was about half full, Claire finally spoke. At the same time, she pulled her smartphone from her pocket and tapped at the screen with her thumb.
Her flowing golden hair looked even more beautiful in the sunlight. I was taking in that sight when I sensed Baek Ha-na's presence approaching.
I shut the window, turned my chair around, and faced the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
Just yesterday morning, she would have opened the door while calling my name, no knock at all. Now, like Claire in the past, she knocked on the study door.
"Come in."
The doorknob turned, and through the slowly widening gap, Baek Ha-na poked her head in.
"...Woo-jin." "What."
She looked a little better than earlier, which eased my mind.
"Close your eyes...." "......."
I knew what she was up to, but I closed my eyes without protest.
The door opened, and I felt her step closer to me with perfect clarity.
"Y-you can open them now." "......."
Her voice trembled slightly. I opened my eyes.
Baek Ha-na, wearing a pure white bikini that matched her hair, which was as white as the first snowfall.
"How is it......?" "It suits you well." "...And?" "It's pretty." "......Really?" "Really."
She'd asked the same thing the first time she wore her school uniform. I rose from my chair and walked over to her.
"Turn around." "......Okay."
She did as I said. Then she subtly raised a hand and offered me a hair tie. I took it, gathered her long flowing hair neatly, and tied it up.
"...Thanks."
Smiling shyly, she backed away slowly, trying to hide her back from view.
"Baek Ha-na." "Yeah?"
I spoke to her as she was about to flee the study.
"Before bed... let's have a short talk." "Oh...... okay. Got it." "Good."
Not long after she left the study, the children gathered in the garden. Claire handed the hose over to Idni and came back into the mansion.
"...You must not come in."
Entering the study, Claire opened the bedroom door and turned her head to tell me that.
"I won't."
I'd already seen her swimsuit and everything else, so there was no particular reason to go in.
"......."
She fixed me with a steady glare and slowly closed the bedroom door.
**
The buzzing chirp of insects. The summer sun stinging the skin. And the cool water soothing that heated skin.
-Die!!
"Gwooffhwub?!"
The Fairy, riding in a small basket, waved a hand and sent the pool water surging straight over Idni.
Drenched in an instant, Idni flailed her hands before quickly planting them on the pool floor and pushing herself upright.
"Pwah~! Hey!! You want to die by your big sister's hand? Get over here!!"
-Ppihihi~!!
The Fairy waved a hand again, and the little basket bobbed away, evading Idni's grasp as it darted around the pool.
"Haa, so cute."
Lee Ye-sol, who'd come at Claire's request with her camera in hand, stayed half-submerged in the water and captured the Fairy without pause.
Beyond that.
"M-my legs......!!" "Seriously, Na-young, starting tomorrow you're going to have to at least walk a little."
Maria was tending to Lee Na-young, who had only splashed around briefly before cramps seized her thighs and the soles of her feet. And.
Gulp.
Nam Seo-hee, seated in a chair brought out in front of the pool, kept stealing glances at Baek Woo-jin, who was looking at his smartphone.
Baek Ha-na took in her friends and then shifted her gaze to the same place Nam Seo-hee was looking. More precisely, toward Claire, who was sitting beside Baek Woo-jin.
Claire wore a black bikini that complemented her flowing golden hair and fair skin—beautiful even to another woman's eyes.
'They suit each other well....'
She'd felt it for a long time. The two of them looked so right together. And so.......
Splash──!!
A spray of cold water struck Baek Ha-na's face—and not just her, but Nam Seo-hee beside her as well.
"What are you spacing out for?"
-Come on!!
"Yeah!! Come on!!"
Idni and the Fairy were cackling and splashing water at the two of them.
With their hair now soaking wet and looking almost like ghosts, Baek Ha-na and Nam Seo-hee fixed chilly stares on the pair.
"W-what are you gonna do, looking at us like that?! Go, Ppiyak!!"
-Ppiyang!!
The Fairy swung both arms wide, and the pool water heaved once more.
"Uh, uh, Ppiyak...?"
Idni panicked at the wave that was much bigger than she'd expected and tried to stop the Fairy. But halting the Fairy once it was thoroughly worked up was no easy task.
The growing wave surged over the edge of the pool and spread outward, toward where Baek Woo-jin and Claire were sitting.
Idni flinched and almost squeezed her eyes shut at what was about to happen. But then a thought crossed her mind.
'...The professor's wet body?'
Baek Woo-jin was wearing shorts and a white shirt. If a wave crashed over him, the shirt would naturally get soaked and cling to his body.
The moment that thought arrived, Idni's eyes flew open. But the scene she'd been hoping for did not unfold.
"Ha, haha... yeah, of course......."
Staring at the spray of water frozen exactly above Baek Woo-jin and Claire, Idni shook her head with a fed-up expression. Then her face promptly went pale.
"Uh, uhh? P-professor......?"
The halted spray in front of the two guardians had transformed into the shape of arrows and was now aimed straight at her.
Swish──!!
A sound exactly like arrows being loosed cut crisply across the garden and struck Idni and the Fairy dead-on.
"Ack!!"
-Ppyak?!
Idni and the Fairy capsized simultaneously, one into the water and the other off its basket.
"Ha, serves you right."
Nam Seo-hee glared at the back of Idni's head as she floated up like a corpse, and sneered. It was a sneer from the bottom of her heart.
Baek Ha-na swept her wet bangs upward and leaned against the edge of the pool. Then she spoke to Baek Woo-jin, who was wearing his usual large glasses instead of sunglasses.
"Woo-jin~ come in and play with us now~?" "That's right, Professor. Come play now. You too, Ms. Executor, yes?"
Maria, who was massaging Lee Na-young's legs, chimed in as well. And Lee Ye-sol, who had been photographing the unconscious Fairy, added a word of her own.
"You know, this thing's battery life is surprisingly short?" "......."
The one who reacted was Claire.
She rose quietly from Baek Woo-jin's side and approached the pool. Then she reached out with her pale arm, scooped up some water, and—
Splash-
Threw it straight into Baek Woo-jin's face.
"Wow......."
Maria gasped before she could stop herself. There was actually someone who could do that to the professor of all people. And she nodded to herself. Their relationship really had changed from before.
Baek Woo-jin used mana to flick the water off his glasses, set his smartphone down beside the chair, and stood up.
"I've told you many times—choices have consequences."
With those words, he strode over to Claire, swept her up, and hurled her mercilessly into the pool.
But Baek Ha-na and Maria didn't startle much. Every year during their water play, this was how Baek Woo-jin joined in with them.
"Hihi, take this!!"
Baek Ha-na, having recovered instantly, laughed and splashed water at Baek Woo-jin. Baek Woo-jin took every splash she threw without dodging as he walked silently into the pool, and—
"Kyaa~!!"
Baek Ha-na's body went flying through the air too.
Ker-splash──!!
A tall column of water erupted and scattered everywhere, drenching the children and soaking Baek Woo-jin, who was already in the pool.
"Oh my......."
Lee Ye-sol, who had stepped back with her camera in hand, gasped in spite of herself. The wet shirt now clinging to his body revealed the lines of Baek Woo-jin's physique in full.
Even with the shirt in the way, the contours were unmistakable. Lee Ye-sol wasn't the only one whose cheeks flushed and who swallowed dryly—Nam Seo-hee did the same.
"Pwah~!! Seo-hee!!" "Huh? Uh, o-okay."
Nam Seo-hee, who had been blankly appreciating Baek Woo-jin's body, flinched and reflexively splashed water at him.
The result.
"Eep......."
Wound up in Baek Woo-jin's arms, Nam Seo-hee hiccupped and squeezed her eyes shut like a maiden. Naturally, the price was harsh.
Ker-splash──!!
With a crisp sound, Nam Seo-hee was driven headfirst into the water and sank.
"Kyaa~!!"
Next, Baek Ha-na went airborne once more, and Maria, who had left Lee Na-young and joined in, followed right after.
"Huh? P-profess...or...?"
Lee Ye-sol, who had been quietly taking pictures, fumbled her words in alarm as she saw Baek Woo-jin approaching her.
"I-I did not splash you, sir......?" "What does that matter." "......Pardon?"
Caught off guard by his unexpected reply, Lee Ye-sol froze for a second—and in that instant Baek Woo-jin's hand closed on her.
'T-this shouldn't be happening.......'
Held in Baek Woo-jin's arms, Lee Ye-sol's cheeks tinged pink from her oddly pounding heart as she, just like the others, flew through the air and splashed down somewhere in the pool.
At some point, the women, united against the common enemy that was Baek Woo-jin, joined forces to splash water at him, each thoroughly enjoying the chaos.
But through it all, Baek Ha-na's gaze kept drifting to, and lingering on, the scars that appeared and disappeared across Baek Woo-jin's back.
**
"Thank you for your hard work."
Claire set a cup of coffee in front of me.
I took it, sipped, and leaned back in the study chair.
The water play had stretched until late afternoon.
Awakened or not, the children and the Fairy were utterly exhausted, and the moment dinner ended they'd headed to Baek Ha-na's room and promptly passed out.
"I'll take care of the cleanup, so you go on in and rest too." "...I'd like to stay by your side a little longer."
Claire perched herself carefully on the armrest of the chair.
"I don't mind, but we have a guest." "......?"
She tilted her head, and right on cue, a knock sounded. Claire, who had been sitting on the armrest, flinched and quickly straightened her posture. The fact that she hadn't extended her sensory field meant she'd grown quite comfortable in this mansion.
"Go wait in the bedroom for a moment." "......Yes."
Claire quietly entered the bedroom.
Without answering the knock, I used mana to open the door.
"Sit."
I pulled over the chair I'd set nearby and spoke toward Baek Ha-na, who was standing by the door.
"......." "Baek Ha-na."
She stood in the doorway looking at me for a long moment. Only when I called her name a second time did she come over and sit beside me.
I turned my chair to face her.
"Baek Ha-na." "Yeah."
Her eyes had been complicated just moments ago, but she answered in a bright voice and looked up at me with those blue eyes.
I held that gaze for a moment, then let out a short breath and opened my mouth.
"There's something I need to tell you—" "That you're going out with Big Sis Claire?"
I should have scolded her for cutting me off, but I couldn't.
"...Yes." "Wow~! Congratulations!!"
She grinned softly and offered her congratulations. I looked at her face and asked.
"Do you mean that." "Huh? Of course I mean it. What are you talking about...?"
She furrowed her brow and stared at me as if I'd said something strange.
"Baek Ha-na." "Yeah."
Those blue eyes, so clear and transparent. But I could see and feel it. The things dwelling inside.
Just as she accepted me as someone special, I, too, considered this child before me more special than anything else.
I read the emotion within her eyes, accepted it, and spoke.
"...If there's something you want to say, it's okay. You—you have the right." "I told you, there's nothing like that?"
She smiled gently and rose from her seat.
"Is that all you had to say?" "......Yes." "I see."
A small nod.
She looked down at me for a moment, bit her lip lightly, then smiled right away and asked.
"Can you... hold me just once?"
If that was what she wanted, she could have simply hugged me. The way she always used to.
I nodded, stood up, and pulled Baek Ha-na into my arms.
She stayed still for a long while, her face buried against my chest.
"Okay. I'm alright now."
Baek Ha-na lifted her head, smiled softly the same way as before, and stepped back from me.
"Good night~" "...Good night."
Baek Ha-na waved at me and left the study.
From that day on, Baek Ha-na never came to me seeking affection again.