I Will Treasure It (2)
I Will Treasure It (2)
-Pee-aaaang~!!
-Hehe.
The study was one of the few sanctuaries in the house.
Through its window, the voices of two little troublemakers drifted in without pause.
-I can do this too.
-Peep! Pee-ii!!
'They're like wild animals.'
Baek Ha-na, changed into play clothes, was gleefully racing around the yard on all fours like a beast.
The smaller troublemaker, vulnerable to the cold, had hidden her body inside Baek Ha-na's long trailing tail with only her head poking out.
-Ahem.
Claire was in the corner, capturing it all on her smartphone.
Running around like that was definitely more productive than staying cooped up in a room.
Besides, all three of them were enjoying themselves, each satisfying her own desires.
If there was a slight problem, though—
-Peeya!!
-Like this?
'How long are they planning to keep running?'
They had gone outside just after lunch, and now, with the blue sky bleeding into dark orange twilight, they were still running without a trace of exhaustion.
I figured one of them would tire out within a couple of hours. That was a serious miscalculation.
Maybe because they were both still young, they were keeping up their initial energy and laughing and playing just as hard as when they started.
I'd left them to it without interfering, prioritizing the future over the immediate peace. Now, looking at them, tonight was bound to be twice as chaotic.
-Peeyat?!
-Huh?
The little one went flying off the tail. Baek Ha-na panicked and quickly twisted around.
But she didn't have to crush the grass and bolt after her.
-Pee-iii~?
The creature landed squarely on Claire's chest, dizzily rolling her head around.
Claire looked startled, and Baek Ha-na let out a relieved sigh as she approached them.
Baek Ha-na wagged her tail back and forth while watching the Fairy, who still hadn't recovered her senses.
The sight was so ridiculously cute that a chuckle slipped out.
'Once in a while ought to be fine.'
About twice a month.
Anything more and I didn't think my patience would hold.
I opened the window and called out to the three of them.
"Quit playing, come inside, and wash up."
**
While Baek Woo-jin prepared dinner on his end.
Splash splash.
-Pee-ah!!
A small basket filled with steaming hot water.
The Fairy soaking in it splashed water around with her tiny hands and giggled.
Baek Ha-na gazed down at the basket floating on the bathwater, a soft smile touching her lips.
"Cute...."
"Miss Ha-na was just like that when she was little."
"Ngh.... Th-that was ages ago...."
"I can't say for Miss Ha-na, but for me, it's still as vivid as if it happened yesterday."
Claire smiled gently at Baek Ha-na, who was pouting, and scooped up water in both hands to replace the amount the Fairy had splashed out, pouring it back into the basket as she went on.
"To be honest, even I was a bit flustered when you swallowed toothpaste several times."
"Aaaah!!"
-Peep?
When Baek Ha-na covered her ears and yelled, the Fairy looked up at her and tilted her head.
Claire stroked the Fairy's head with her index finger and smiled.
"When I told the professor, he ended up switching the toothpaste to peppermint flavor. You never swallowed toothpaste again after that."
"...Back then I thought it was okay to eat it because it tasted good. A-also, Maria and Idni said they tried eating toothpaste too."
"Of course. At that age, it's natural."
"Then why are you bringing it up...."
Baek Ha-na's cheeks were reddening with embarrassment as she mumbled. Claire smiled without a sound.
"I'm not scolding you. I only brought it up because I wanted to let you know that Miss Ha-na was adorable back then too."
"Ugh... you know way too much, Claire...."
"I do. I might even know things Miss Ha-na doesn't know about herself."
"What's that supposed to mean... you know stuff even I don't about my own—pffffffbt."
-Peep? Pee-woo-pffffffbt!!
When Baek Ha-na put her mouth to the water and blew bubbles, the Fairy watched and immediately copied her, cackling.
Observing the two of them, Claire recalled an old memory of Ha-na.
It wasn't long after Baek Ha-na had been rescued from the underground auction house.
She had visited the mansion early in the morning at Baek Woo-jin's summons. In the study sat Baek Woo-jin, and cradled in his arms was Baek Ha-na, fast asleep while sucking on a pink pacifier.
Baek Woo-jin always retrieved the pacifier at the right moments, so Ha-na herself still didn't know about it.
But Claire still remembered clearly how tiny and precious Baek Ha-na had looked back then.
"...Claire."
"......?"
Pulled from her memories by Baek Ha-na's call, Claire met the sulky gaze of Baek Ha-na looking up at her.
"I don't know what you were thinking about, but you were smiling in a really unsettling way."
"Ahem."
At the remark, Claire quickly firmed up the corners of her mouth and fixed her expression.
Baek Ha-na watched her do so and then asked cautiously.
"By the way, Claire."
"Ahem, yes."
"Earlier today I saw your luggage."
"...Ah, that."
At the wariness flickering in Baek Ha-na's sky-blue eyes, Claire's buoyant mood sank heavily.
"I'll be staying for a while to educate this child."
-Peep~
The Fairy, lying face-up and floating on the water, made a happy sound at Claire's gentle touch on her stomach.
"Education?"
"Yes. The same things I once taught Miss Ha-na."
"S-stop bringing up the past...."
Claire laughed quietly.
"The professor asked me to do it, so once the work is done I'll return to the temple."
"...Is that so?"
"Yes."
"Mm-hmm~"
When Claire reached out and stroked her head, Baek Ha-na meekly gave in to her touch.
She liked Claire's gentle hands almost as much as Baek Woo-jin's big, warm ones.
-Knock. Knock. Knock.
The knock carried the man's personality. Claire and Baek Ha-na turned their heads at the same time.
"The professor is calling."
"Yeah. He must be done."
-Peep~?
The two of them gathered up the thoroughly melted Fairy and left the bathroom.
They tidied up with the towels and supplies laid out in advance, looked after the still-squirming Fairy who couldn't even put her clothes on properly, and headed to the kitchen.
-Pee-ah!!
The Fairy, who had been perched on Baek Ha-na's head, spotted the chocolate set on the dining table. Her eyes sparkled and she flew straight over.
Using a method Claire had taught her, the Fairy peeled the wrapper by herself with her tiny hands.
"She picks up exactly what she needs fast."
Baek Woo-jin watched and muttered, 'Crafty little thing.'
The two pretended not to hear, took their seats, and began eating the unremarkable home-cooked meal laid out on the table.
"By the way, Miss Ha-na."
"Hmm?"
After dinner, Baek Ha-na, who had been preparing coffee for dessert, turned to look at Claire.
Claire wiped the Fairy's mouth and asked.
"Did you finish the assignment the professor gave you?"
"Ah......."
Clatter. The little spoon in Baek Ha-na's hand, which had been stirring her coffee, dropped.
"Th-the assignment...!!"
Baek Ha-na quickly set down her cup and ran off to her room.
-Peep?
The Fairy blinked in the direction Baek Ha-na had vanished.
Thud-thud-thud—!!
Heavy footfalls echoed through the quiet house.
-Woo-jin!!
Then came Baek Ha-na's voice from the direction of the study, brimming with urgency.
"Miss Ha-na is still Miss Ha-na, just as she always was...."
-Pee-aaang.
Claire smiled softly, and the Fairy fluttered her wings and settled onto Claire's shoulder.
-Ppyang.
"Yes. Let's go too."
In the past, Oberon, the King of Fairies, had been capable of human speech. Thinking that the small child perched on her shoulder might also be able to learn letters, Claire had begun teaching her last night using the textbooks Baek Ha-na had used.
-Th-that's...!!
-By all common sense, why can't you understand that the whole idea of getting my help on the assignment I gave you is fundamentally wrong?
-Isn't asking a question or two okay...?
-Quiet. The material isn't that difficult, so sit down beside me and finish writing it quietly.
Through the gap in the slightly open study door, the sounds of Baek Woo-jin and Baek Ha-na bickering leaked out.
Claire carefully opened the door and stepped inside. The Fairy on her shoulder fluttered over and landed on Baek Ha-na's head.
-Pee-ah!!
Pat pat. The Fairy tapped Baek Ha-na's head and started chattering.
Baek Ha-na, who had been about to sit next to Baek Woo-jin and do her assignment, floundered in confusion.
"Th-this one?"
Perk—!!
-Pee-ang.
When the fluffy ears sprouted, the chattering Fairy stopped talking and began climbing Baek Ha-na's ears, entertaining herself.
"Ugh, i-it's hard to concentrate like this...."
With the Fairy happily moving from ear to ear all on her own, Baek Ha-na shot a pleading look at Baek Woo-jin and Claire.
"Leave her alone and she'll get bored soon enough. Keep working on what you were doing."
"That's exactly the hard part...."
Baek Ha-na appealed to Claire for help again.
"She's a stubborn one."
"No way......."
-Pee-ang.
"Ugh...!!"
When the Fairy stuck her tiny hand into the furry inside of the ear, Baek Ha-na collapsed flat onto the desk.
The Fairy, who had been fiddling with Baek Ha-na's ears, went tumbling down onto the desk.
-Pee-ii!!
"No!!"
-Pe, peep...?!
The fallen creature tried to climb back onto Baek Ha-na's head, and Baek Ha-na blocked her with a very resolute expression.
She even retracted the ears that had sprouted.
"Claire's busy, so I'll play with you once I'm all done."
-Peep.......
"Ugh."
Baek Ha-na gave a short grunt at the sight of the Fairy flopping down in place with a shocked face, but quickly firmed up her expression and refocused on her assignment.
For Ha-na's sake, Claire moved to take the Fairy away, but Baek Woo-jin, who was sitting beside her, lightly raised a hand to stop her.
She didn't know why, but Claire quietly stepped back and watched the two of them together with Baek Woo-jin.
Scratch scratch.
Scratch scratch.
The small sound of a pen echoed through the now-quiet study.
-Peep.......
The Fairy sat in front of Baek Ha-na's assignment and gazed up at her with a glum face for a long while.
Then, after a little more time had passed.
Fwoosh—!!
The Fairy, who had been sitting still, began to glow brightly.
"Huh?"
Her concentration broken by the sudden light, Baek Ha-na blinked and stared at the Fairy shining in front of her.
Moments later, the Fairy's body returned to normal, but in her tiny hands she was now holding a sphere larger than her own face.
-Pee-ah.
The Fairy held the softly glowing sphere out to Baek Ha-na.
"You're giving it to me?"
-Pee-ang.
When Baek Ha-na took the sphere, the Fairy smiled brightly.
Baek Woo-jin, who had been watching, spoke.
"Baek Ha-na."
"Hmm?"
"That is the most precious thing that creature can give."
"......What is it?"
"You don't need to know. Just be aware that if you eat it, you can accelerate your growth in strength."
"Eat... it? Will it spoil if I don't eat it quickly or something?"
"...It isn't the kind of thing that spoils. You could keep it for hundreds of years without worrying about it degrading."
"I see. Thank you."
-Pee-ah~!
When Baek Ha-na stroked her head with an index finger, the Fairy beamed and got up, then fluttered her wings again and climbed onto Baek Ha-na's head.
It was an unmistakable signal to play more. Baek Ha-na looked troubled.
Perk.
-Pee-ang!
After a moment of deliberation, Baek Ha-na let out a short sigh and stood up.
"It's not like anything bad's gonna happen from missing one night of sleep...."
-Peep~!
Soon Baek Ha-na was laughing and trotting around the house with the Fairy.