Honey Water
Honey Water
Forgetting the past is no easy task.
They say humans are creatures of oblivion, but the more intense and vivid a memory, the harder it is to erase.
I was no exception.
My memory has always been sharp, and unpleasant recollections pile up mercilessly vivid.
On nights I slept alone, my mind would even run reruns in the form of nightmares.
But now, it isn't quite so agonizing.
Because I've grown adept at burying those offensive memories deep.
And thanks to Ariel granting me the Knowledge Authority and taking her own measures, I can effortlessly shove useless memories right down into the depths.
'......'
A fragment of those memories surfaced suddenly.
Because in the information I was perceiving right now, there was a trace of commonality.
"Huh...? My junior...? What's wrooong...?"
Slurred, dragging words, a tongue loosened by drink. Senior Daera approached, swallowing a hiccup.
Beneath her crackling presence, a distinctly unpleasant undercurrent bled through.
My stomach churned. At the base of my tongue, where faint sweetness had lingered, a searing bitterness began to coil.
The taste of cigarette ash and alcohol.
My expression crumpled on its own.
The Sky Wing Feather quivered and took on the faintest drab tint.
- ...! ...? ...?
Murmuring rose from around me.
The new cadets leaving the Banquet Hall were startled at the sight of me, then startled again when Senior Daera sidled up like we were close.
"Senior Daera? You vanished the moment I asked you to wait a moment..."
Just then, Lee Ha-sol emerged from inside the Banquet Hall. She had a bottle of cold water in one hand and was glancing around.
Eventually her gaze landed on Daera, and then on me.
"Ah."
Her pale-green eyes widened. I could clearly observe bewilderment instantly spreading through them.
"Wha—, hold on...!"
Lee Ha-sol tossed the water aside and reached out. A wind rose from her fingertips and blew toward Senior Daera.
The sudden gust cut across Senior Daera's path.
- Smack
"Huh?"
The Sky Wing Feather blocked the wind. The stretched Winged Garment gently dispersed the converging breeze.
The wind, having carried no offensive intent whatsoever, scattered away without resistance.
As though she hadn't expected my reaction, Lee Ha-sol's mouth fell open.
- Thank you for your consideration. I'm all right, though.
I sent the sound transmission to Lee Ha-sol. She gave a startled flinch, blinked, then nodded with a flustered look.
I inclined my head to her in return and turned toward Senior Daera.
[Senior Daera, how did you manage to drink that much?]
"Ah, well... I mixed up the alcohol and a drinnnk... I mean, it looked like one, and it just tasted like a fizzy drink, you know...?"
[Oh dear.]
[You're bragging...]
"Ahem...! Do you dare to mock your senior app...?"
Her pronunciation and her sentence endings alike dragged out in perfect unison. I swallowed the sigh that tried to escape and stretched out the Sky Wing Feather.
The elongated Sky Wing Feather gently coiled around Senior Daera's waist and limbs.
I'd done it because her staggering was seriously unsettling. At that rate she might plant her face into the floor—and blast the floor to bits.
"Oh, this is that thing. The soft thing..."
[It's practically top-grade artifact level, to be dismissed as just 'the soft thing'...]
The Sky Wing Feather, which had excellent affinity with me, had undergone a dramatic rise in grade.
I hadn't gotten it appraised since the Twin-Headed Poison Dragon, but its grade no longer bowed to even top-grade artifacts.
So it felt rather strange to see such a precious artifact handled and dismissed as just "the soft thing."
But Senior Daera, not bothering to take any counter-argument in, promptly pulled me into a hug.
"Sniff, sniff... Ah, you smell good... Why do I smell honey on you..."
[Tickles.]
She buried her nose right in my hair and sniffed, and the flush on her face visibly eased.
With her that drunk, she didn't seem to notice the crowd buzzing around us at all.
[Senior... let's go inside first.]
Swallowing another sigh at the stares pouring in from every direction, I patted Senior Daera's back lightly.
'Mmm...'
I won't say there was no unpleasant sensation. The memories of the past were too intense for me to completely forget them.
Forgetting the past is not easy, and changing as a person is difficult.
But it's not impossible.
My experience with alcohol had been filled with nothing but bad memories. But now, don't I have a happy memory or two mixed in?
Not everyone who gets drunk turns violent.
Even when reason grew hazy, I vividly remember the warm hands and affection that held me.
'I can change, too.'
Because I have that happy memory, I won't be buried under the misfortunes of the distant past.
Thinking that, the unpleasant feeling lingering at my side seemed to thin a little.
'I mean, dealing with it during my part-time job was already its own kind of triumph.'
Granted, despite "overcoming" it, my hands and feet still trembled and my mind went blank.
The overreaction toward Master... that was because the person I saw as a guardian was drunk.
I smiled faintly and gently tugged Senior Daera's hand.
"Hmm...?"
Eyes bleary, Senior Daera blinked and lowered her head. The bridge of her nose, which had been nuzzling my hair, brushed against my neck.
"Gwoo...."
[Yes?]
When I tilted my head at her sudden behavior, moist lips met my neck.
Her lips parted slightly, and then she nibbled my neck.
"Sluuurp..."
[Whaugh-heck...!]
The softly fluttering Sky Wing Feather went ramrod straight.
* * *
The sky was growing dim. Stars were twinkling, but they weren't enough to drive away the inky darkness.
Which was only natural, given that the sun had set.
- Whooosh...!
Perhaps because the sunlight had disappeared, the wind that swirled past was chilly.
Of course, the magic branded into the clothing kept the cold aura from seeping in.
"Hoo..."
A park near the First Banquet Hall.
Lee Ha-sol, seated firmly on a bench, had been absently checking her cadet uniform when she let out a sigh.
She usually made a point of holding her sighs in, but right now her chest was so tight that the breath slipped out on its own.
Because her insides were impossibly tangled.
Up until yesterday, the plan itself had come together without major trouble.
She'd entered Siyoram, albeit about a year late.
And she'd done it by outcompeting a vast number of rivals to earn the top-seat qualification.
For the faction that had pushed her so fiercely, it was cause for wild celebration—they'd be moved to tears.
For Lee Ha-sol, too, it was welcome.
Because the more support her faction provided, the closer she could get to what she wanted.
So she'd entered Siyoram with her head held high. She would grow even stronger inside the academy.
That was the plan.
'Lee Ha-yul.'
Three syllables so similar to her own. Lee Ha-sol's expression grew several layers more complicated as she thought of him.
'It really was him... it was the real Ha-yul...'
There was a fair amount of self-reproach, too. She pressed a hand to her forehead and shook her head from side to side.
The name Lee Ha-yul was widely known to the public.
More precisely, it was the name of the Siyoram Special Admission Cadet, Lee Ha-yul. Not that there were no others with the same name.
Which was exactly why she'd never imagined he might be the Lee Ha-yul she knew.
She had an excuse.
These past few years had been overwhelmingly busy for her—so busy she hadn't been able to keep an ear on outside news.
She'd heard about the Special Admission Cadet only a few months ago.
She'd learned recently that the orphanage had suffered a fire, and that Lee Ha-yul had run away without a word.
Even then, she'd been in the Gray Zone doing volunteer work while training, so she hadn't gotten detailed information.
To begin with, the Lee Ha-yul she knew was an ordinary person who hadn't undergone awakening.
Considering that awakenings as late as Lee Ha-yul's were unheard of, her misunderstanding was...
'...It's all just excuses.'
In the end, it was nothing but an excuse.
No matter how busy or pressed she was, when she heard the name "Lee Ha-yul," she should have looked into it thoroughly.
It was entirely her own failure.
Just what in the world had happened for that Lee Ha-yul to change this much...
'Aah... If only I'd gotten in a year sooner...!'
Belated regret flooded her head.
- Ding!
Amid her agonized groaning, a cheerful alert rang out. Lee Ha-sol, who had squeezed her eyes shut, tapped the hologram that appeared in the air.
The contents of the just-arrived alert unfolded.
[▶ An elixir with the effect of 'Natural Healing Power Activation' has been posted to the auction house.]
[▶ Purchase?]
It was a report from her assistant. Following the instructions she had previously given, the assistant was confirming her wishes before finding and purchasing the desired items.
"Ah..."
Lee Ha-sol had been about to reflexively send a reply when her fingers stopped.
She recalled the Lee Ha-yul she'd met today. His right arm, now covered in clear, unblemished skin.
Her fingers, which had been twitching meaninglessly in the air, at last tapped the hologram.
[▶ Me: No.]
[▶ Me: You won't need to search for the items I asked about for a while.]
[▶ Me: Please continue looking into other elixirs.]
[▶ Understood.]
* * *
'I'm fucked.'
Sunlight streamed in through the window.
That was the very first thought that crossed Daera's mind when she opened her eyes in bed, her head clear.
Among the types who get plastered and lose their faculties, some forget what happened, and some remember everything. Supposedly.
Daera was firmly in the "remember everything" camp. Every last bit of yesterday came flooding back.
The Freshman Welcome Party, Lee Ha-yul, Lee Ha-sol, the alcohol she'd mistaken for a drink, the sparring, the mistakes made while intoxicated, the alcohol she'd mistaken for a drink...
Lee Ha-yul coming out to meet her, staggering, her eyes spinning around; clutching Lee Ha-yul to her chest, nuzzling her nose into his hair and taking in the honey scent...
And then his neck, where the honey scent was thickest...
'Hyeeeek...'
The playback, vivid as day, yanked a high-pitched shriek out of her.
What on earth had she done! Daera could not believe her own actions.
- Knock, knock.
[You're awake. May I come in?]
"Ghk."
Just then, Lee Ha-yul's voice came from behind the door, accompanied by a knock.
Not a question—a statement of certainty.
Daera's body flinched.
A moment later, as though no answer were even required, the door opened and Lee Ha-yul stepped inside. In his hands was a tray holding a teacup.
[Do you have a headache, or feel nauseous at all?]
"Uh, uh... yeah..."
[That's a relief, then.]
"Umm..."
His words carried a certain edge. Beneath the bluntness on Lee Ha-yul's face, Daera broke into a nervous sweat.
[...Sigh.]
[Even if you feel fine, have a cup anyway.]
The expression of displeasure lasted only a moment.
Soon after, as though he couldn't help it, Lee Ha-yul softened his look and offered the teacup from the tray.
Daera, gauging his mood, tilted her head.
"What's this? Tea?"
[Honey water. It's a little hot, so drink it slowly.]
"Aha..."
[It's a weekend, so you don't have any schedule—feel free to sleep more.]
Daera let out an admiring breath, her eyes misting with gratitude.
Even after all the trouble she'd caused yesterday, Lee Ha-yul had only grumbled a little and was taking care of his worthless senior disciple...
"Junior, my junior is really an angel..."
[Flabbergasted.]
[...Don't say weird things, just soothe your stomach.]
"Really, thank you, junior...!"
Pouring out continuous apologies and thanks, she lifted the teacup. The warmth spreading through her palms soothed her chilled, shivery body.
And on top of that, it looked delicious at first glance. The pale yellow honey water. The subtle, sweet scent drifting up teased her appetite.
Honey water, sweet scent... honey scent...
'......'
A thought struck her, and her movements jarred to a halt.
Daera looked down at the honey water with a peculiar expression. The warm steam wafted up and passed the tip of her nose.
She rolled her eyes for a moment, then took a tiny sip of the honey water.
...It was less sweet than that scent and that taste.