A Familiar Scene, But Slightly Different (4)
A Familiar Scene, But Slightly Different (4)
Shff.
Paper rustled against paper.
Na Yeon-ju and Lee Ji-eun, kneeling side by side, swallowed dryly with parched tongues each time a page of the reflection they had squeezed every possible element into was turned.
The first page eventually returned to the top of the stack.
"I believe I asked for a reflection."
The chair at the desk swiveled around, and Baek Woo-jin, who had been silent until now, opened his mouth.
"You've written me a novel instead."
At his assessment, more caustic than merely harsh, Na Yeon-ju and Lee Ji-eun's minds went blank.
They had poured as much sincerity into it as they could, but the moment they heard that evaluation, the words they had written on that paper vanished from memory.
"Both of you, get up."
"Y-yes..."
"Hic..."
Though they wanted to let their minds go blank, the voice laced with an unknowable power bored into their ears. The two of them wobbled to their feet, leaning on each other for support.
After kneeling for three hours, their legs had gone numb—as if they no longer belonged to them—only to now act up with a prickling sensation, like being struck by lightning.
"Na Yeon-ju."
"Yes..."
Having never truly been scolded before, Na Yeon-ju cowered and hung her head at the flat summons from Baek Woo-jin, whom she normally respected.
"Tell me yourself, with your own mouth, what you did wrong today."
"...Th-that is."
She no longer felt the numbness in her legs.
Na Yeon-ju clenched both hands into fists, desperately holding back the tears that suddenly threatened to burst, and stared wide-eyed.
"T-to, to Senior Ha-na... I tr-tried... to lie."
"Why?"
"I-I thought it was... a bad thing."
"If you'd come clean then, you wouldn't even be here."
"B-Black..."
Thick droplets of water fell from her bowed head to the floor, dotting it with small stains.
"Afraid of being scolded, so you made it worse. Baek Ha-na would be hurt if she knew."
"I-I'm, sorry..."
"Come closer."
"Hk...!!"
Swallowing the snot that had run down, Na Yeon-ju hesitantly stepped toward Baek Woo-jin.
Sft.
"Huh...?"
She flinched at the soft sensation that touched the corners of her eyes.
"Anyone watching would misunderstand and think I'd been screaming abuse at you."
"Ah, th-that, hhh..."
A handkerchief, gently wiping both corners of her eyes.
Thwack!
"Hk?!"
Startled by the sudden contact, Na Yeon-ju, who had been standing there dazed, instinctively pressed a hand to her forehead as a dizzying sensation shot through her skull.
"Everyone makes mistakes. So next time, don't hide it. Speak honestly."
"Y-yes..."
"Good."
A large hand lightly stroked the top of her head. Na Yeon-ju blushed, forgetting even the pain still radiating from her forehead.
"Lee Ji-eun."
"Y-yes...!!"
Just like Na Yeon-ju, Lee Ji-eun had been standing there in a daze at the completely unexpected turn of events. The sudden call of her name made her jolt and raise her voice without meaning to.
"Being clergy does not grant you immunity from everything."
"...Yes."
"This incident happened because you didn't properly acquaint yourself with the academy rules, so I'll let it end here."
"...Ah!! Th-thank you so much!!"
Lee Ji-eun, who had been hanging her head, now bowed deeply from the waist.
"You may go now."
"Ah..."
A small, regretful noise escaped Na Yeon-ju as the warmth withdrew from her head. But she quickly collected herself and stepped back.
"Th-then we'll be going now!!"
"Thank you, thank you...!!"
Somehow regaining her usual demeanor, Na Yeon-ju grabbed Lee Ji-eun's hand. Dragged along by her, Lee Ji-eun still kept thanking Baek Woo-jin like a broken doll, over and over.
After the two girls left.
Left alone, Baek Woo-jin pushed the papers on his desk aside and picked up his smartphone.
"The other guardians will handle the rest."
**
After leaving the main building, Na Yeon-ju and Lee Ji-eun made their way to the nearest bench and dropped onto it.
"Fwah~!!"
"M-my, my legs are shaking."
"Same here..."
They each patted and kneaded their thighs, resting until their pounding hearts settled.
Once they had calmed down somewhat.
"We've still got a little time... wanna go watch a movie, just the two of us?"
"...?"
For a moment, Na Yeon-ju wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. She turned to the girl beside her with doubtful eyes.
Buzz─!!
Buzz─!!
Just then, both their smartwatches lit up with a short vibration.
Their gazes naturally drifted to the devices on their wrists.
Before long, the color that had only just returned to their faces began to drain again.
"...I think I need to go back."
"M-me too..."
Na Yeon-ju and Lee Ji-eun.
Forcing their reluctant feet to move, the two of them trudged toward the Street of Light.
**
[ Temple of the Goddess of Benevolence ]
After the evening prayers.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Ji-eun. It's me, Lee Seol. Is it okay if I come in for a bit?"
-Sniffle... Yeah....
At the stuffy-nosed reply from inside, Lee Seol sighed inwardly.
"I'm coming in."
She grabbed the handle and pushed the door open. Thick darkness spilled through the cracked gap. Shaking her head, Lee Seol pushed it wide open.
"I'll turn the light on."
"...Okay."
She's no turtle.
Watching her junior, her little sister, wrapped up in her blanket, Lee Seol closed the door and pressed the light switch.
Click.
Only then could she see things properly. Lee Seol perched on the edge of the bed where Lee Ji-eun lay.
"Are you going to stay like that?"
"...."
The covers, which had puffed up large, squirmed briefly. Then Lee Ji-eun poked her head out from where she'd been hiding.
'She must have cried a lot.'
Observing her younger sister's bright red, swollen eyelids, Lee Seol reached into her wide sleeves and placed a sandwich and some sparkling water beside the bed.
She'd been out on external support and had only just returned, so she didn't know the details. She'd heard from the other children, though, that her sister had been severely scolded by the adults, made to skip dinner as penance, and hadn't taken a single step out of her room since.
"I heard you got spanked."
"...Yeah."
Squirming her way out of the covers, Lee Ji-eun reached for the sandwich Lee Seol had brought and answered in a slightly cracked voice.
"Eating while lying on your stomach will give you indigestion. Even if it hurts, sit up and eat."
"...I'll just eat like this."
"Hah."
Letting out a short sigh, Lee Seol moved closer. She slipped her arms under Lee Ji-eun's thighs and back, lifting her onto her lap.
"There. This way your bottom doesn't touch anything, right?"
"...This is embarrassing."
"Want me to put you back down?"
"...I-I didn't say I didn't like it."
Rustle, rustle.
Lee Ji-eun unwrapped the sandwich and bit into it.
Lee Seol watched for a moment as her little sister stuffed her cheeks with the sandwich like a squirrel, then carefully asked.
"Will you tell me what happened today?"
"...Well."
After a moment's hesitation, the feel of Lee Seol's hand gently patting her back coaxed Lee Ji-eun into opening up bit by bit about the afternoon's events.
"So that's what happened."
"...Yeah."
Once she knew the whole story, Lee Seol thought to herself.
'He truly is a gentle person....'
Being an adult and an academy student, ignorance of the rules could never be a valid excuse for a lighter punishment. Yet he had wrapped up the discipline with only a reflection paper and a gentle reprimand. That consideration moved Lee Seol deeply.
And.
"From now on, don't associate with the luck faction children."
"...Okay."
A burning fury rose inside her toward the servant of the God of Luck who had sweet-talked her naive little sister and pushed her down a bad path.
"...And you said her name was Yeon-ju?"
"Yeah, Yeon-ju."
The gloom on Lee Ji-eun's face brightened a little.
At that, Lee Seol smiled bitterly and said.
"Could you give me her contact info?"
"...Her contact info? Why...?"
"Why? Because of you, she suffered a misfortune she didn't have to go through today. I want to apologize on your behalf."
"Wh-why should big sis apologize... I'll do it...."
"Lee Ji-eun."
"...F-fine... I'll give it to you...."
Lee Seol got Na Yeon-ju's contact information from the shrinking Lee Ji-eun and saved it.
"From now on, whenever something happens, follow that friend Yeon-ju's advice unconditionally. Understand?"
"...."
"Answer me."
"...Yes."
Lee Seol lightly stroked Lee Ji-eun's hair as she pouted, then carefully laid her back down on the bed.
"Don't be late for morning prayers tomorrow. And don't forget to tell the High Priest and the others you're sorry once more."
"...Hmph. I'm going to sleep right now, so there's no way I'll be late."
Just when she thought her mood had improved, Lee Ji-eun turned away and pulled the covers back over herself. At this childish behavior, Lee Seol sighed inwardly.
How was it that looking after her little sister for thirty minutes felt harder than assisting with external events?
"Good night."
"...Good night."
Still, the way she poked her eyes back out to say goodbye was so endearing that Lee Seol let a small laugh slip as she left Lee Ji-eun's room.
'I don't like it....'
Lee Seol frowned, recalling an incident that had occurred around this time last year.
Then she took out her smartphone and carefully sent a message to the contact she'd just acquired.
[ Me: Hello. This is Lee Seol, an Apprentice Cleric of the Goddess of Benevolence. ]
[ Me: I'm truly sorry that our Ji-eun caused you so much trouble today. ]
[ Me: She's a thoughtless child, but she is not a bad-natured one. I'm embarrassed to ask, but please continue to look after Ji-eun in the future. ]
She had no intention of leaving it at just words.
Later, she planned to send a tangible token of gratitude through Lee Ji-eun as well.
"Is she in prayer?"
The '1' indicator wouldn't disappear. Lee Seol was about to pocket her smartphone.
[ Na Yeon-ju: (Photo) ]
'...?'
Instead of text, a single photo arrived.
In it was a girl, her eyes just as red and swollen as Lee Ji-eun's had been earlier, but undeniably cute. She was crouched beside a statue of a small child, holding both arms straight above her head as she endured punishment.
[ Na Yeon-ju: Sorry I could not protect you (；⌣̀_⌣́) ]
And a short reply that followed.
Lee Seol glanced back and forth between the photo and the message beneath it, thinking.
'...Are you sure you're the one who needs protecting?'