Full Moon (1)
Full Moon (1)
July 13, 2028.
-Kyaa!!
-Hey!! We promised not to use abilities!!
-Nyehehe~ If you're jealous, learn how!
Baek Ha-na, now safely eighteen, had grown up well. She'd never even gone through the rebellious phase everyone talks about.
If I had to find something to nitpick, it'd be her constant chocolate consumption, but she brushes her teeth properly and never skips a meal, so I let it slide. It seemed harmless enough.
More than anything, she was no longer the tiny child she used to be.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
I swiveled my chair toward the sound of tapping on the windowpane.
There she was: Baek Ha-na, wearing a soaked T-shirt over a black bikini, grinning at me.
The scrawny kid had filled out so impressively that she now drew envious stares from others.
I didn't want to open it, but ignoring her would only mean she'd stay there forever. I channeled a bit of mana and opened the window.
"Woo-jin~ Come play with me. Please?"
"......Professor, you come play too."
"Right. If you come, that means the Executor has to join us too."
As if one Baek Ha-na wasn't high-maintenance enough, a beige head and a pink head popped up like moles beneath the windowsill to support her.
I looked past the three girls gazing up at me with earnest eyes and focused on the figure behind them.
Claire was seated on a beach-style chair under a large parasol. Given the setting, she wasn't wearing her usual priest robe or suit, but rather a thin T-shirt over a somewhat uniquely designed swimsuit, relaxing, much like the girls hanging onto my window.
'......Tsk.'
I must have noted this before, but as Ha-na grew, Claire changed quite a bit too.
For one, she was no longer afraid of me. The sight of her lounging so nonchalantly on that chair was proof enough.
There were other changes, but they were positive, so I won't mention them. Not relevant to the situation at hand anyway.
"Hmm? Woo-jin~ Come plaaay~"
"......Haa."
A hot summer.
The Academy was in a festive mood, buzzing with the Summer Festival.
It wasn't her first one; she'd been through a few already. Assuming this year would just be another walk around the Academy with friends, Baek Ha-na had somehow gotten her hands on a portable pool and set it up on the lawn next to my study.
She'd invited her two inseparable companions, Maria and Idni, and they'd been splashing around since lunch. That was the scene before me now.
Under the weight of their three desperate gazes, I adjusted my glasses, which had slid down, and answered.
"I don't have a swimsuit."
Right then, Claire, who had been resting on the chair, sat up slightly and looked over at me.
"I purchased one for you, Professor, when I accompanied the children to the department store."
"......."
"It's one-size-fits-all, so you don't need to worry. The product automatically adjusts to fit the wearer's body perfectly."
Having said her piece, the cool-faced beauty closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.
"Professor Woo-jin's swimsuit is in my room~"
"......Baek Ha-na."
"Ah~ Hurry up!! Let's play!!"
"......."
She's such a well-behaved kid when it's just the two of us.
With nothing urgent demanding my immediate attention, I had no real excuse. I had no choice but to get up.
"Just this once."
"Yeah, yeah. Hurry up!!"
As I left the study, the conversations behind me drifted to my annoyingly sharp ears.
-Is it true the professor's body is better than the apprentice holy knights'?
-I told you. Woo-jin's body is amazing.
-Shluuurp.......
Apparently, Baek Ha-na had been filling those two girls' heads with nonsense.
I'd need to have a serious word with her about this later.
**
The lawn held the scorching heat of the sun.
A massive pool was spread out atop it. Calling it a "pool" was almost embarrassing, given its sheer size.
The water level reached just below the girls' chests, and it spanned 20 meters by 20 meters. It was a special-order item Claire had commissioned.
She enjoyed the pleasant warmth radiating from below as she watched the girls playing noisily in the pool. Her gaze lingered on Baek Ha-na, whose snow-white hair stood out among them.
Six years.
That much time had already passed since she met a man named Baek Woo-jin and began watching over a child named Baek Ha-na.
Most of it involved taking care of things for Baek Ha-na, but occasionally—very occasionally—she went out with Baek Woo-jin alone.
Visiting some auction house to purchase something, or entering an undiscovered Rift to retrieve a special item. That sort of work.
As those outings piled up and her points of contact with Baek Woo-jin increased, Claire came to realize one thing.
That the man named Baek Woo-jin was excessively indifferent to others. The only one he ever paid attention to was that single girl—or so she had believed.
[What have you been up to lately.]
[You must need your own time as well. Sorry for calling you out so often.]
[If you ever need help, let me know. I'll help you at least once.]
A few casually tossed-out words. But because she'd traveled here and there with Baek Woo-jin, Claire understood.
That the man was far more considerate of her than she had ever thought.
It must have started the moment she realized that. The moment the man she had always found so difficult to approach began to feel a bit more comfortable. And it must have been what led her to harbor a desire not just to watch him, but to grow a little closer...
Clunk—
Having been lost in thought for a moment, Claire snapped back to reality at the sound of the doorknob turning.
Baek Woo-jin, who gave off no discernible presence at all. To find him, you had to see him with your eyes or focus on the sounds he deliberately made.
The sound she'd just heard was him opening the front door.
Step- Step-
The sound of footsteps on the grass came at a steady rhythm. They grew closer, until finally, the man everyone had been waiting for emerged from the distant corner.
Black hair, unkempt as usual. The large glasses that she'd long since grown completely accustomed to. A sharp nose and lips that naturally drew the eye.
It was the same face of Baek Woo-jin she had seen for six years, a face that had never once changed. But everything below it was different.
Baek Woo-jin, who always insisted on the same attire regardless of the season. That very Baek Woo-jin was now...
"Oh my god......."
"Idni. You've got a nosebleed."
"Uh, uhhuh."
The beige-haired girl dared to invoke a deity, while the pink-haired girl pinched her nose and tilted her head back.
Normally, Claire would have scolded them immediately. Fortunately, her vision was now completely filled with Baek Woo-jin.
Sculpted lines. Broad shoulders. Deeply carved collarbones. The pronounced contours trailing down from them.
Baek Woo-jin's body was as beautiful as a sculpture painstakingly crafted by a master artisan of the century. And it was incredibly attractive. So much so that she wanted to press down on that firm-looking chest, just once.
While everyone was mesmerized by Baek Woo-jin's physique, the only one immune was Baek Ha-na. She pouted her lips and grumbled at him.
"You're gonna play with your glasses on?"
"It's fine."
"Won't they be uncomfortable?"
"That's my problem to deal with. Don't worry about—"
"Hiyah!!"
Baek Ha-na splashed a huge wave of water at him, and Baek Woo-jin took the full brunt of it.
"......Ha."
A short sigh slipped out.
He swept his wet hair back. For the first time, the hair that always hung down messily was slicked back.
"Yah...... Maria-ahng... you've got a nosebleed too-oo...."
"......."
Idni, who had been pinching her own nose, stared dumbly with her mouth agape and poked Maria in the side—Maria, who was now swallowing the blood dripping from her own nose.
While the two girls tried to stem their flowing nosebleeds, Baek Woo-jin, his hair slicked back, gripped the edge of the pool and climbed in without any preparatory motion.
Baek Ha-na giggled and kept splashing water at him. Baek Woo-jin absorbed the onslaught and walked toward her in silence. Then.
"Kyaa~!!"
"I've told you countless times, choices have consequences."
Caught by Baek Woo-jin and hoisted high into the air, Baek Ha-na flailed and exaggerated her screams.
Anyone else watching would have viewed it as affectionate lovers messing around, looking on with envy and jealousy. But unlike the giggling Baek Ha-na, Baek Woo-jin was quite serious.
And to prove it.
"Kyak?!"
Baek Ha-na's body flew through the air.
Splash—!!
She went headfirst into the pool, creating a massive pillar of water.
"Mm......."
Some of the towering splash hit her face, and only then did Claire manage to regain her senses.
Having snapped out of it, she listened to Baek Ha-na shout, 'Puhaha~!! You jerk...!! Did you really throw me?!', and watched her lunge at Baek Woo-jin again. Then she rose from her chair and slowly entered the pool.
Kersplash—!!
At almost the same moment, Baek Ha-na was once again sent flying through the air and plunged into the water.
Baek Woo-jin was completely soaked from Ha-na's rampage. He swept his drenched bangs back once more.
Claire watched him for a moment. Then—
Splish—
"......."
"......."
She splashed water at Baek Woo-jin. Hit by the unexpected spray, he turned to look at her.
"Puhaha~!! Big sis!! More!! Splash more!!"
"......Uhm."
Just as an awkward silence began to settle, a resurrected Baek Ha-na threw herself at Baek Woo-jin again, and Claire naturally joined in, slowly approaching him and splashing water. And then.
"Kyaaah~!!"
Baek Ha-na soared through the air once more.
Grip—
Claire's arm was caught by Baek Woo-jin's large hand, pulling her into his chest in a way that looked almost like an embrace. In an instant, his other hand slipped under her thighs and hoisted her up.
'Ah.......'
Skin touching skin. The sensation of his warm body heat.
Whoosh—!!
Claire's body went airborne. Unable to resist gravity, she descended.
Kersplash—!!
She landed near where Baek Ha-na had fallen. The skin that had just felt that warmth was rapidly cooled by the surrounding water.
Slowly sinking beneath the surface, Claire looked up at the sunlight refracting through the rippling water and thought to herself.
'Summer... not bad.'
**
Bzzzzzzz—
The grass insects that had been quiet all throughout the day were now settled in the bushes, each crying out in its own distinct sound.
"Woo-jin~ When does it start?"
"It'll start soon."
Baek Ha-na rested her arms on the windowsill of my study, humming a tuneless melody.
After tidying up the pool where they'd been splashing around so energetically, Claire had taken the other two children back to the temple. The temple was busy during the festival season, and the only reason those two could play during the day was because Baek Ha-na had put in a good word for them.
"Here."
"Thanks~"
I handed her a cup of coffee with melted chocolate stirred in, and she beamed, leaning against me.
Hmm- hmm hm hm~
It was as if the rebellious and mischievous act she'd put on in the pool had all been a performance. Even though she would soon be an adult, she cuddled up to me, acting spoiled and thoroughly enjoying herself.
I idly stroked her head and looked up at the night sky.
A beautiful night sky you'd never see in the modern world.
Stars twinkling against the dark curtain. And the Full Moon, the star of tonight's show.
Tonight was the night for the White Moon, a phenomenon that only came around once every twenty years.
Ever since Rifts appeared and gods descended, phenomena unexplainable by science have been occurring here from time to time. This White Moon was one such event.
As the moon rose and climbed to its zenith, the yellow moon turned pure, snow-white. The moon, once its transformation began, was said to shine with an intense light like flawless white jade when it reached its peak in the night sky.
Baek Ha-na was stubbornly staying up to watch the fireworks display that would begin right at that moment.
"It's as white as my hair. Right?"
"......Yeah."
She blinked up at the moon, which was nearly at its peak. She took a sip of her coffee, then casually shifted her position from beside me to right in front of me.
"This is better after all."
"......."
The tiny little thing had grown so much that she could now lean right back against my chest.
"Oh, I think it's starting."
I had been gazing at the top of her head for a moment, but I lifted my head to look at the sky.
A pure white jade hanging at the peak. The Full Moon, now completely dyed white, began to shine brighter.
Within seconds, the white Full Moon in the night sky was blazing with an intensity rivaling the sun's own light.
Clink—
Along with the sound of a glass falling somewhere below, Baek Ha-na's body, which had been leaning against me, crumpled to the floor.