I Will Treasure It (4)
I Will Treasure It (4)
......Click.
Coming out of the bathroom, Lee Na-young swallowed dryly and slowly walked toward her bed.
Peewoo, peewoo.
A small, adorable sound came from the open-mouthed bag on the bed.
But every time she heard that tiny sound, Lee Na-young's stomach twisted and ached. Where on earth had that little one come from, and where had the ingredients she was supposed to use today gone?
"F-first, the medicine...."
If this kept up, she felt as though she would spend the whole day running in and out of the bathroom without getting anything done, so Lee Na-young carefully propped the bag upright and slipped her hand inside.
-Pii~
"Uuugh."
Cute. The way the little thing worked her mouth and wriggled in her sleep was unbearably cute. But her stomach hurt.
As the cramps began tugging at her belly, Lee Na-young quickly pulled out the glass bottle holding her medicine and backed away. Then she opened the stopper, tipped one small pill into her mouth, and swallowed it down.
"W-water."
Because of the budget, no ingredients that would affect the flavor had been added, so it was unbearably bitter and astringent. On top of that, she'd swallowed in such a rush that it felt as if the pill were stuck halfway down her throat, making her frantic.
Crack.
She opened the bottle of water she'd taken from the refrigerator a little earlier and drank slowly so she would not upset her stomach. One sip, two sips, three.
"Haa...."
Though not much time had passed since the pill went down with the water, the ache in her stomach quickly settled. In exchange for giving up on taste, the medicine worked quickly and lasted a very long time.
Only after her racing heart returned to a normal range did Lee Na-young approach the bed where the bag lay again.
-Peewong... piiii....
A tiny child with fresh light-green hair, as though a midsummer forest had been moved there intact. On her back was a pair of transparent wings, barely visible unless one looked closely.
"Where did you come from?"
There was a window in the dorm room, but Lee Na-young had no memory of opening it even once while Baek Ha-na was out. The weather was still chilly, and she hadn't felt any need to air out the room.
Besides, her only outings had been lunch and dinner. Four times total, including the weekend. And even then, she had been fully alert.
"...Did the Sweetroot transform?"
If a child this size had entered her room, there was no way she would not have noticed. On top of that, the place she had found her was not some hidden corner, but inside the pouch where she kept the ingredients she was supposed to use.
Alchemy was undoubtedly a discipline closer to science, but in a world with rifts, monsters, Awakened, and even gods—where there were more things science could not explain than things it could—it would not be strange no matter what transformed into what.
"Mmn... first, let's get her out."
Where the small, adorable child in front of her had come from was important, but what mattered more was getting the Sweetroot she needed for the practice scheduled a few dozen minutes later.
Fortunately, there should be spares in her personal locker in the Alchemy Department's main building, so she could use those. For now, she would take the little one out and pack her bag.
Sliiide.
Carefully, very carefully, she took the pouch out and set it on the bed.
After checking once more on the tiny child, who kept making cute chick-like sounds without waking, Lee Na-young closed the open bag and packed her things.
'Maybe I should open the window... just a little.'
Lee Na-young agonized over it for a long while, but in the end she decided not to open the window. The weather was still chilly, and there was a chance conversation might be possible. Besides, if the little one wanted to go outside, it would not be too late to open the door then.
'I should ask Ha-na too, just in case.'
Lee Na-young quietly took a photo of the Fairy with her smartphone and attached it to an email to Baek Ha-na.
[ Me : (Photo) Ha-na. Do you know anything about this child? If you know her, don't worry too much. She's on my bed. ]
"She'll reply before lunch, right...?"
She should be in Practical Combat Arts class right now.
Lee Na-young tucked the smartphone into her clothes and quietly left the dorm.
**
"Yes. Good work, everyone. Starting from the front row, please bring up the samples for submission. Ah, and don't forget to attach your name tags."
Following the professor's instructions, Lee Na-young attached a name tag to the Self-Recovery Enhancement Potion she had made and went forward.
"Student Lee Na-young. Confirmed."
"Y-yes."
After returning to her seat, Lee Na-young carefully packed the remaining potions into her bag.
She had managed to retrieve spare Sweetroot from her locker and arrive at the lecture hall without being late, and she had succeeded in producing a satisfactory result.
Instead, during the afternoon class's practice using original recipes, she would no longer be able to perfect the flavor.
'What a waste....'
Because her wallet was so poor, chances to indulge in flavor rarely came around. She had been planning to use this opportunity to add flavor to the dozen or so sedatives she had left, but unfortunately, it seemed she would have to use them as-is and endure the bitterness.
"Yes. I've confirmed submissions from everyone."
The professor clapped twice, drawing the students' attention.
"You should have five spares left, yes? Now distribute those to Enhancement-type students and receive evaluations by next week. The evaluation forms have been uploaded to the resource room, so print and use them. And I say this just in case, but don't forget you submitted samples, and don't use personal connections to inflate the reviews."
After saying everything he had to say, the professor collected the submitted samples and left the practice room.
Once the professor was gone, the students began packing up and leaving one by one. Lee Na-young waited until all her classmates had left, then exited the practice room last.
'Ah, the email.'
She stopped in a corner of the hallway and took out her smartphone. Then she tapped the mail icon displayed at the top.
[ Ha-na : Uwah, sorry!! I think she followed me... Did she cause any trouble? ]
[ Ha-na : Class is over! I'm heading straight to the dorm, and you're coming too, right, Na-young? I'll grab something simple to eat!! ]
'So they do know each other.'
Lee Na-young tucked away her smartphone and let out a small sigh. It was not a sigh with any deeper meaning, just one filled with relief.
The fact that a reliable friend named Baek Ha-na was waiting at the dorm—and more than anything, that she would not have to stop by the crowded cafeteria—put Lee Na-young in a better mood.
With her smartphone tucked away, Lee Na-young walked toward the dormitory with steps that felt much lighter.
-It's only the third week and assignments are already piling up.
-Then you should've signed up for more practice-focused lectures if you hate it that much.
-Sure. Next weekend's field practice.
Normally, even if it took longer, she would have searched for an empty path and gone around. But with Baek Ha-na waiting, she crossed the central street crowded with students from her year.
Making sure not to bump into anyone, she looked straight ahead instead of down at the ground and reached the dorm room.
Baek Ha-na's shoes were in the entryway.
Lee Na-young quickly took off her shoes and went inside. She immediately spotted Baek Ha-na sitting at the table.
-Pyaoong.
Along with the small, adorable child who had been sleeping peacefully inside the pouch.
"Welcome back."
"Huh? Ah, mm."
Baek Ha-na continued speaking as she peeled a piece of chocolate.
"I didn't know what she liked, so I bought a bunch of things and put them in the fridge."
"Ah, okay. Thanks."
Lee Na-young sat down across from Baek Ha-na and could not take her eyes off the tiny being nibbling on chocolate with her little mouth. She had been cute while asleep, but now, with both cheeks puffed out, she was cute beyond words.
After barely making it to the fridge, Lee Na-young chose a salmon salad from the refrigerator and sat down at the table.
-Pii?
"Uh...."
Had the sound of the chair scraping bothered her?
The small, adorable being who had been nibbling on chocolate looked this way, and her eyes went wide.
-Pii!!
Then her tiny body flinched, and she hid in her friend's hand.
"If you're going to hide, you should let go of the chocolate first."
Still clutching a piece of chocolate about the size of her own body, the tiny being hiding in Baek Ha-na's hand slowly poked her head out and began looking this way.
"S-sorry. I'll eat in the bathroom...."
"Why would you eat in the bathroom?"
"Uh... r-right...."
Lee Na-young gave an awkward smile at Baek Ha-na's puzzled question.
Baek Ha-na blinked at her friend's reaction for a moment, then used her hand like a wall while gently stroking the Fairy's head as the little one peeked out to observe her friend.
"Don't mind her and eat. I have to go out in a bit, and I'll take her back on the way."
"O-okay...."
Under that indescribable gaze, Lee Na-young began picking at her salad. When she had eaten about half of it, the Fairy came back out of hiding and resumed nibbling at her chocolate.
"Um, Ha-na."
"Mm?"
Baek Ha-na, who had been unwrapping the last piece of chocolate, lifted her head.
Lee Na-young took out one of the potions she had made during the practice from her bag.
"This is a Self-Recovery Enhancement Potion. If you don't mind, could you give it a review?"
"Self-recovery?"
"Yeah. There might be individual differences, but if you get a cut or something, it'll heal without a scar within a minute on its own."
"Really?"
Lee Na-young handed the potion over to Baek Ha-na, who had extended her hand, and added an explanation.
"It draws a lot of energy to do that, though, so a light test is more than enough."
"Will do. But, could I get another one?"
"Sure. As long as you write up the review, it's fine. Are you going to give it to Seo-hee?"
"No. There's this person who keeps sparring with me in Practical Combat Arts. I wanted to give it to her."
"...Her?"
"I'll definitely get the review back to you."
"Uh, yeah. Thanks."
Something felt odd to Lee Na-young, but because it was Baek Ha-na, she didn't press further and handed over one more potion.
"Looks like it'd taste like grape."
"There's no grape in it, but it does taste like grape."
"Really?"
"Yep. It probably smells like it too. Open it up and take a whiff."
Pop.
Baek Ha-na immediately uncorked it, and a sweet, fully ripened grape scent wafted up.
-Peep?
Just then, the Fairy, who had been holding the last piece of chocolate, lifted her head. Her tiny nose twitched.
-Peep!!
With shimmering wings, she darted over and grabbed the potion bottle. Baek Ha-na firmly closed the cap.
"No."
-Peep!!
"No means no."
-Pii, peep?!
Baek Ha-na carefully caught the Fairy in her hands and placed her on the table. The Fairy slumped onto the surface and stared up at Baek Ha-na with a deeply shocked expression.
"E-Even if you look at me like that, it's still a no...."
-Peep, peep.
"Ugh...."
When the Fairy's innocent eyes began to well up with tears, Baek Ha-na made a pained sound and glanced furtively at Lee Na-young.
"Na-young...."
"Hold on."
Lee Na-young took out a smaller bottle of potion from her bag.
It was the portion she had set aside for flavoring an original recipe she planned to work on that afternoon.
Pop.
-Peep?
The moment Lee Na-young uncorked the potion, the Fairy turned her head.
"Should I pour it into a cup for you?"
"She'll drink it just fine as it is."
"R-Really?"
Lee Na-young carefully extended the bottle toward the Fairy, who was staring intently at her—specifically at the potion in her hand.
-Piaa!!
"Whoa."
The Fairy suddenly flew up and latched her mouth onto the bottle's opening. Startled, Lee Na-young slowly tilted the bottle.
With her tiny mouth, the Fairy caught every drop as it came down at a manageable pace, not spilling a single one.
-Peep, peep.
After she had emptied the bottle, the Fairy let out a cute little burp and licked her lips. Then she stared intently at Lee Na-young as she put the empty bottle back into her bag.
Flash—!!
"Wh-What?"
Lee Na-young flinched as the surroundings suddenly brightened. But she soon figured out the source of the light and looked at the tiny creature with curiosity-filled eyes.
The light that had lit up the area gradually shrank, until it became a small sphere that settled into the Fairy's hands. The Fairy stood up and held it out to Lee Na-young.
-Piaa!
"Uh... Y-You're giving this to me...?"
Lee Na-young looked up in confusion, and Baek Ha-na spoke.
"It's a gift. She wants to be friends."
"F-Friends?"
Baek Ha-na nodded and added,
"It's the most precious thing she can give. I don't know exactly what it is, either... but I heard that if you eat it, it can speed up your growth."
-Peep.
The Fairy's expression grew slightly downcast.
"Hurry and take it."
"Uh, r-right."
Lee Na-young reached out and grasped the small sphere.
-Peep!!
The Fairy beamed and handed it over.
Lee Na-young looked back and forth between the sphere in her hand and the delighted Fairy, then asked Baek Ha-na again.
"So... um, I just have to eat it?"
"You can eat it, or you can just keep it. How you use it is up to you, Na-young."
Baek Ha-na stood up from her seat, and the Fairy, who had been smiling brightly, lifted off with her wings.
"Huh?"
The Fairy passed by Baek Ha-na and approached the window between the two beds. She tapped it with her tiny hands.
-Piaa. Peep.
"...You're going alone?"
Baek Ha-na frowned and walked over to the window.
Tap tap.
-Peep.
"It's fine if I take you, you know."
But knowing the Fairy wouldn't understand, Baek Ha-na hesitated for a moment, then opened the window a crack.
-Peep~!
Without looking back, the Fairy slipped through the gap and flew outside. Watching her go, Baek Ha-na scratched her cheek and closed the window.
"She isn't sulking, is she...?"
Muttering quietly, Baek Ha-na returned to the table, placed the potions she had received from Lee Na-young on the bed, and headed for the door.
"I'll drink the potion tomorrow."
"Uh, okay."
"See you at dinner."
Baek Ha-na left the room with a soft click.
Now alone, Lee Na-young examined the shining sphere in her hand from various angles before carefully putting it into her mouth.
She had considered using it as a potion ingredient, but she had no idea what effect it would have, and it didn't seem like the kind of thing she could just acquire whenever she wanted. So she chose to consume it herself.
Gulp.
The sphere slid down her throat the instant it touched her tongue.
Before it even fully passed her throat, it melted away and vanished.
"......Huh?"
A sound escaped Lee Na-young's lips before she knew it.
Her body, which had felt as heavy as a lump of lead, and her foggy, sluggish mind suddenly cleared completely, as if it had all been a lie. Her body felt incredibly light. With no warning whatsoever.
"......."
Lee Na-young blinked blankly, then got up and headed to the bathroom. She checked the mirror.
Her own face, which had looked sickly with deep dark circles. But the reflection wasn't her. It was the face of someone else entirely.
Her eyes were clearer and her skin had a healthy sheen.
On top of that, she felt a strong sense of having become more mature overall.
"...A transformation."
For a long while, Lee Na-young couldn't tear her eyes away from the mirror.
**
"Hmm."
In Baek Woo-jin's study, Claire had taken the seat Baek Woo-jin usually occupied and was reading a cooking recipe on her smartwatch.
Normally, this would be the time for looking after the Fairy, but since the Fairy she was supposed to watch was away, she had nothing to do.
She had no reason to follow after Baek Woo-jin, who had gone to meet the Finance Department head, so she directed her attention toward acquiring the cooking knowledge she lacked rather than wasting time.
Tap tap.
"......?"
Claire, who had been reading the recipe, turned her head toward the sound behind her.
Tap tap.
Tap.
The Fairy, who had left the house, was now pressed against the window, tapping the glass with her tiny hands.
Claire quickly got to her feet and opened the window.
-Piaa~!
The Fairy flew in through the gap, chirped at Claire, and then immediately darted toward the bedroom. Claire closed the window and followed her.
-Peep~
The Fairy, now back in her little nest, let out a long yawn, smacked her lips a few times, and closed her eyes. Soon after, the soft peeping of a tiny chick drifted gently from the small basket.
"It seems she made a new friend."
Noticing that the Fairy's presence had grown fainter than yesterday, Claire smiled ruefully.
"Wanting her to be satisfied with me alone is probably just greed."
As the god she revered had said, the moment of parting will surely come.
A moment that comes equally to all who draw breath.
So she was told to build as many happy and joyful memories as possible.
She was told to smile when remembering those happy times, rather than grieve.
"Every moment...."
She stroked the Fairy's head a few times as the little one breathed softly in her sleep, then took out her smartphone.
-Peewong.
Claire never finished the rest of that thought.
Instead, she spent quite a long time capturing the sight of the Fairy gently nibbling at the air, saving it to her phone.