Ah, Aah
Ah, Aah
Tick— tick—
Na Yeon-ju sat rigidly upright, swallowing at the sound of the clock's second hand, which felt unusually loud today.
"You can sit comfortably, you know."
"Ack, no, ma'am!! This is comfortable!!"
The gentle voice made Na Yeon-ju flinch, as if the moment she relaxed she might break into a silly grin. She forced even more tension into her already straight back.
'...That awful professor.'
She grumbled internally at Baek Woo-jin, who had said things implying he would stay with her, brought her here, then abandoned her all alone in front of a superior officer known as the scariest person in the entire temple.
"Hmm."
"......!!"
Na Yeon-ju's mouth dried up rapidly under the narrowing eyes of the superior officer, who seemed to be scrutinizing her.
"Did the professor perhaps give you any word beforehand?"
"Word......? I, I-I'm sorry, ma'am... what does 'word' mean...?"
When Na Yeon-ju scratched her cheek in embarrassment, Lee Ye-sol blinked once before speaking again.
"Did he say anything special to you?"
"Uh, uh, h-he told me to rest for the day... and he said he'd take care of my homework...?"
"Homework?"
As the superior officer tilted her head, Na Yeon-ju hurriedly added.
"I-I've got overdue vacation homework... he said he'd do something about it......"
"The professor said that?"
"Y-yes, ma'am. When I told him I had to go back because of my homework, that's what he said......"
"Hmm~"
No matter how you looked at her, the superior officer was a beauty who radiated benevolence. Yet Na Yeon-ju could not shake the feeling that she was being assessed by a gaze like a snake eyeing its prey.
"D-did I d-do somethin' wrong, ma'am...?"
"No. Not at all."
Lee Ye-sol covered her mouth with one hand and let out a soft laugh.
"It seems the professor has taken a liking to you."
"Taken a... likin', ma'am...?"
"Yes. I was only recently invited to the professor's residence myself. And yet he invited you, whom he met for the first time today, to a meal. It appears he thinks quite favorably of you."
"Th-that can't be......"
Na Yeon-ju's eyes widened and her lips quivered.
Lee Ye-sol watched the reaction with an amused smile before rising from her seat. The promised thirty minutes was almost up.
"I'll go pack my things for a moment, so please wait."
Various doll clothes to dress the cute Fairy in.
Lee Ye-sol climbed the stairs with a slightly excited heart.
She failed to notice Na Yeon-ju's cheeks slowly turning red.
**
The children, who had briefly stepped out, re-entered Baek Ha-na's room.
And there, they found her awake and sitting up.
"H-Ha-na......!!"
-Peep!!
Lee Na-young and Fairy, the first to dash forward, flung themselves into Baek Ha-na's arms and onto her head.
"Hey, don't cling so hard to someone who just woke up."
"Yeah. Hurry up and get off so it's my turn."
"......"
"What."
At Nam Seo-hee's utterly shameless response, Idni shot her a deeply wrinkled glare before shaking her head. She figured she might as well just accept it by this point.
"More importantly, you okay?"
Idni approached the bedside and asked.
She didn't know what kind of nightmare it had been.
But she was certain it was no pleasant experience.
That was precisely why she was all the more worried about Baek Ha-na, who had woken up last among the group.
"Sorry for worrying you......"
"Worrying, my butt."
At Baek Ha-na's somewhat tired voice, Idni snorted and scratched her cheek.
-Hot!!
Just then, Fairy, who had been clinging to the top of Baek Ha-na's head, yelled and came down.
"Now that you mention it, why is her face so red? Hey, are you really okay?"
"Huh? Uh, I-I'm fine."
Baek Ha-na, who had been vacantly stroking Lee Na-young's hair, stammered and touched her own cheek with her other hand. She laughed awkwardly, as if even she thought it was a bit too hot.
"Yah, don't just squirm alone later saying you're sick. If you're sick, say you're sick. Or else I'm calling the professor, got it?"
When Idni made a move as if she was about to turn right then and there.
Whoosh──!!
Baek Ha-na's hand, which had been stroking Lee Na-young's head, left an afterimage as it snatched Idni's wrist.
Crackle-
And a very ominous sound followed.
"Aagh?!"
"S-sorry!!"
Seeing Idni jump and collapse to the floor, Baek Ha-na yelped in surprise, too, and quickly let go.
"...What are you two doing?"
Maria let out a sigh at the impromptu comedy routine and lowered her posture slightly.
Hwaaah-
The holy power, entirely different in nature from mana, flowed out and seeped into Idni's swelling wrist.
"Sorry. Still, I said I was fine, but someone had to mess around......"
"You break people's wrists for messing around?"
"It's just a hairline fracture, don't be so dramatic."
"......I'm the victim here, why does no one take my side?"
Leaving Idni behind, clutching her healed wrist with a dumbfounded expression, Maria rose to her feet and turned back to Baek Ha-na.
'She does seem to have a slight fever.'
Baek Ha-na's skin was so pale that even the smallest change was instantly noticeable. And right now, her skin was flushed to a shade somewhere between bright pink and red.
'Oh dear, I really don't know why her intuition doesn't improve in these matters.'
Maria looked down at the crown of her best friend's head, who was plopped down beside her, and sighed internally.
A moment's thought would tell you that the cause of Baek Ha-na's reddened face wasn't an 'illness.' The fact that her friend hadn't caught on was frustrating, not just as a friend but as a fellow apprentice cleric serving the same god.
'If Ha-na were truly sick, the professor would've taken action immediately...'
Why didn't she realize something so obvious?
And that the flush on Baek Ha-na's face was also related to the professor who had left the room a moment ago.
'...I'm a bit curious, though.'
She knew it was forbidden territory, something she shouldn't know.
Which was exactly why she was even more curious.
That was simply the nature of human beings.
"Anyway, let's start getting up soon."
Maria pushed her burgeoning curiosity and wild imaginings far aside as she spoke.
"The professor said he'd personally prepare dinner. So hurry up and get changed first."
"I, I don't have much of an appetite......"
Grrrrrowll──!!
A very loud sound came from beneath the blanket Baek Ha-na was covering herself with.
-Hungwy?
Fairy, sitting atop Idni's head, blinked its cute eyes and asked.
And Baek Ha-na's face crossed a boundary, turning a perfect shade of red.
"You were saying about your appetite?"
"...Get out so I can change."
"Sure, sure. I suppose I have to grant the wishes of our Ha-na who has no appetite but a very hungry stomach."
"Urgh......"
Maria laughed softly at Baek Ha-na, who was frowning slightly in embarrassment. Then she grabbed the shoulders of the two girls who were amicably occupying Baek Ha-na's thighs, clinging to her like baby animals looking for their mother.
"Ha-na's perfectly fine, so you two get up now, too."
"I'll help......"
"Seo-hee?"
Nam Seo-hee, who had always watched Idni get smacked on the back from the sidelines, jolted upright at Maria's uncharacteristically chilling call.
"Na-young, you too."
"Y-yeah."
Lastly, Maria poked the cheeks of Idni, who was sitting there with a sulky expression, with her index finger.
"Stop sulking and let's go."
"...If you knew that, you could've comforted me a little."
"Oh my, there there, fine."
At her best friend's pout, Maria let out a soft laugh and pulled Idni's head into an embrace against her chest.
"Geez... haah, fine. Guess this is just my lot in life."
Because Fairy was sitting on her head, she couldn't even swear properly. So Idni simply vented her feelings by sighing and rose to her feet.
"Then come out once you're changed~"
Patting the grumbling Idni on the rear, Maria left the room with the other children.
Now alone again, Baek Ha-na.
"Uuuuugh......!!"
It was unclear what was so embarrassing.
Baek Ha-na flopped backward onto the bed, hugged a pillow tightly, and thrashed her legs against the mattress.
-Baek Ha-na.
"Hnnnggggh......!!"
A sweet whisper that naturally sounded in her ears the moment she let her concentration slip.
Smack-!!
She couldn't guarantee what she might do if those feelings from that moment resurfaced. So ultimately, Baek Ha-na had no choice but to slap her own cheeks, startlingly hard.
"Grrrgh!!"
Her two cheeks throbbed painfully, surpassing mere numbness.
But with the help of the pain, she just managed to calm her mind for a moment.
'What do I do?'
She was hungry.
Yet she didn't have the courage to go out and face that person.
If she saw his face now, her heart might beat so hard it would leap right out of her mouth.
"...Calm down."
Like usual.
Lately, she had tried to keep some distance to forcibly sort out her feelings, but she didn't need to do that anymore.
'No, wait. Get a hold of yourself...'
She shouldn't remain a child, clinging and acting spoiled forever.
-Ha-na, aren't you done yet?
Just then, Maria's voice came with a light knock.
Snapping back to reality at the sound of her friend's voice, Baek Ha-na hurriedly got off the bed and threw on the first clothes she could grab.
"Coming out now!!"
When Baek Ha-na opened the door and stepped out, Maria, who had been waiting beside it, blinked in surprise in her characteristically sly way.
"...You're going to eat in that?"
"Huh? Oh, I just......"
In her panic, she had just thrown on anything without thinking.
And at her friend's bewildered gaze, she checked her own appearance.
A short-sleeved t-shirt that clearly showed all the lines of her underwear, and tight dolphin shorts.
"A-ah, no, I'll go change again."
"Hoho~ It's fine. What's there to be embarrassed about."
Maria erased her surprised expression and caught Baek Ha-na's wrist, her distinctive sly smile surfacing.
"You used to walk around like that often before, so what's the big deal. I was just surprised because the size looked a little too small, that's all."
"That was back then......"
"Besides, all that's left is putting the food on plates. Are you going to stall even more?"
"...Let's go."
"There you go."
At her friend's resolve, Maria covered her mouth and let out a sly grin.
She knew it was wrong, but she desperately wanted to see what would happen next. So she had practically forced her friend into making a terrible choice.
Thus, Baek Ha-na entered the kitchen with Maria.
"Ack, h-hello, ma'am!!"
And there, she found a girl radiating a bubbly energy that was the complete opposite of Lee Na-young's.
"I'm called Na Yeon-ju! I'm nineteen years old this year!! Today, I received the honor of sharing this meal thanks to the professor's personal invitation!!"
Baek Ha-na was briefly taken aback by the girl bowing at a perfect ninety-degree angle, but she quickly regained her composure and bowed back in greeting.
"I'm Baek Ha-na. I'm one year older than you."
"I look forward to your kind guidance, Big Sis Ha-na!!"
Clatter.
A plate flew through the air between the two exchanging greetings and landed on the table.
"Don't yell inside the house."
"Ack, I-I'm sorry."
Though she flinched at the sound of his voice, Baek Ha-na's gaze was unconsciously drawn to Na Yeon-ju, who bowed her head toward that person with a strangely shy demeanor.
"Sit down already."
"Ah, uh, yeah......"
At the voice that made her heart pound on its own, Baek Ha-na came to her senses and planted herself in her seat.
"Anyone who wants more, help yourselves."
Baek Woo-jin tossed the words out indifferently and took a spoonful of stew. That was the signal for everyone gathered around the table to begin their own meals.
-Peep-peep-peep, peep-peep~
"Here, there's more right here~"
Lee Ye-sol prioritized attending to Fairy over her own meal.
"It's delicious!! I've never had stew this tasty in my whole life!!"
Na Yeon-ju's eyes sparkled as she emptied her plate in an instant, quickly scooped fresh stew into her empty bowl, and began eating all over again.
"Why is our temple only full of weirdos like Ha-na."
"You do realize you're just insulting yourself with that, right?"
Idni and Maria quietly alternated between conversation and eating as they watched their junior and younger sister, Na Yeon-ju.
And then.
"......"
"......"
Only Baek Ha-na and Claire, seated on either side of Baek Woo-jin, kept their faces buried in their plates and focused on their meal in silence.
"Thanks very much for the food!!"
"She really does eat well, jeez."
"Hey, don't call your junior 'she.'"
The two seniors were marveling at Na Yeon-ju, who had devoured several bowlfuls by herself.
Baek Woo-jin, who at some point had been sipping instant coffee, opened his mouth.
"Na Yeon-ju."
"Yessir?"
Na Yeon-ju, who had been watching Fairy lying flat on its back rubbing its swollen stomach, snapped her head up.
"I have something to say to you."
"Something to say...? Ahh......"
Na Yeon-ju's eyes grew as large as saucers.
At the same time, a reddish hue began creeping up from beneath her neck.
"Ack, uh, I, Pr-Professor!!"
Na Yeon-ju shot up, shoving her chair back.
-Has she lost it?
-Shh......
Maria clamped her hand over Idni's mouth and watched the scene with bated breath.
No, it wasn't just her. Every single person present was focused on Na Yeon-ju.
"What's this."
"I-it's, uh, ummm......"
Na Yeon-ju's gaze shot toward Claire, who was seated next to Baek Woo-jin.
"M-my......"
Na Yeon-ju squeezed her eyes shut and spoke.
"I truly appreciate it and I'm honored!! H-however, we, we've only just met today for the first time... and more than anything, I-I deeply respect Mistress Executor, so I don't think I'll be able to accept the professor's feelings!! I'm really sorry!!"
Na Yeon-ju bowed so deeply her head nearly touched the table.
"......"
"......"
A heavy silence fell over the kitchen.
The children gauged Claire's reaction, and Claire gauged Baek Woo-jin's reaction. Because of that, none of them saw it.
Baek Ha-na's blue eyes, staring at Na Yeon-ju with an icy, sunken gaze.
"Na Yeon-ju."
The sudden silence was shattered by Baek Woo-jin.
"...Yessir."
Na Yeon-ju was still bowed.
"You're the first person who has left me at a loss as to where exactly I should even begin correcting."
Clack.
Baek Woo-jin set down the teacup in his hand and continued.
"What I was going to say was a proposal for you to become my chauffeur starting next year."
"......Huh?"
A deflating sound escaped Na Yeon-ju as she lifted her head.
"I don't know what you misinterpreted, but I'll convey the detailed conditions to you at a later date."
With those final words, Baek Woo-jin stood up and left the kitchen.
And naturally, all eyes converged.
"Ack, aahk......"
The color drained from Na Yeon-ju's face.