58. Ban Ha-na's Outing
58. Ban Ha-na's Outing
58. Ban Ha-na's Outing
They say kids grow up before you know it.
I felt like I was starting to understand why that saying existed.
Ban Ha-na, who could no longer look down on me.
She spoke to me with a startled expression.
"Si-jun! How are you taller than me again?!"
"Was there ever a time I was shorter than you?"
"B-but just yesterday I was taller...!"
"That was a dream, Ha-na."
As time passed, my height was returning to normal.
I had already surpassed Ban Ha-na, who had initially been taller than me.
At this rate, I'd probably be fully recovered within a week.
I judged that there wasn't much time left in Lee Seol-ha's route.
'Before that...'
I had to keep my promise to Ban Ha-na.
The promise I'd made to take her outside and show her something fun.
Keeping that was my priority.
I casually asked Ban Ha-na.
"Ha-na. Don't you want to go out?"
"...!"
Ban Ha-na reacted as if she'd been struck by lightning.
"I want to! I hate being in the room!"
Since first-year classes were suspended due to the Gate Incident,
she had been stuck inside my dorm room every day.
The only fresh air she got was what blew in through the window.
The way she instantly responded to my words showed just how stir-crazy she was.
"Then let's go. Get dressed and get ready."
"Y-you mean it, Si-jun?"
"I promised you last time. I always keep my promises."
I didn't make promises I couldn't keep in the first place.
Ban Ha-na was moved by my slightly boastful reply.
After sending me a look that felt a bit overwhelming, she snapped out of it and started getting ready to leave.
"Hehe...! I'm finally going out!"
Had I known she'd be this happy, maybe I should have taken her out more often.
But Ban Ha-na was a primary observation target, so I couldn't just take her out whenever I wanted.
Now was a special case granted to Ban Ha-na, who hadn't been able to go on the school trip.
This opportunity came about because I had asked the chairwoman before leaving her office.
'Is it possible for me to take Ban Ha-na out? If she has a guardian.'
Chairwoman Shin Hae-young had considered it for a moment, but the mention of a guardian led her to readily grant permission for Ban Ha-na to go outside.
"Clothes... wh-what should I wear...?!"
I watched Ban Ha-na, who looked like a fluff of pink cotton candy bustling with preparations, and sent a text to the guardian.
If it were her, she'd grant my request.
'They say my lifespan is short, so how could she say no...?'
The fact that I was terminally ill was a misunderstanding — though not entirely.
She thought I had little time left, so she'd readily help me.
This wasn't taking advantage of Shin Si-hwa; it was mutual aid.
—Ms. Shin. Ban Ha-na and I are planning to go out. Would it be possible for you to accompany us as a guardian...? There's not much time, so... please.
Part of my plan was also my wish to ease the mind of someone who carried guilt over Ban Ha-na, even if just a little.
I spoke to Ban Ha-na, who was preparing frantically.
"Ha-na. You only have a school uniform. What are you preparing so hard for?"
"St-still! It feels good to prepare hard when you're going out...!"
Maybe she'd watched videos of people preparing to go out; Ban Ha-na was just mimicking them.
Should I set viewing time limits on XTube?
While I was worrying about that, a text from Shin Si-hwa had arrived.
I picked up my phone and checked the message.
Once I confirmed it, I immediately called out to Ban Ha-na.
"Let's head out before it gets late. The sooner we get there, the better."
"L-let's go! Lez go...!!"
Ban Ha-na belted out a line that sounded like it came straight out of a gangster movie.
It seemed I needed to set screen time restrictions on her after all.
And so, I headed toward the parking lot where Shin Si-hwa was waiting, bringing Ban Ha-na with me as she kept chanting "Lez go!"
***
When we reached the parking lot, Shin Si-hwa greeted us warmly.
She had looked after Ban Ha-na while we were on the school trip,
so she seemed to know just how lonely Ban Ha-na had been.
We got into Shin Si-hwa's car and headed toward our destination.
Having a guardian meant we could leave the academy, so we went quite a distance.
We stopped at a rest area halfway and ate some simple snacks.
The place we arrived at after driving for a while was an amusement park located in Seoul.
I expressed thanks to Shin Si-hwa and got out of the car.
"S-Si-jun, there are too many people..."
Perhaps frightened by the massive crowd, Ban Ha-na clung to me as soon as she got out.
Seeing this, Shin Si-hwa leaned toward my ear and murmured quietly.
"Han Si-jun. Behave properly. Whether it's Yu Ha-yeon or Ban Ha-na."
"What do you mean by that...?"
"I don't know how you can have a childhood friend and still think about seducing another, but... I hope you have no regrets in your remaining life."
Shin Si-hwa had apparently been treating my childhood-friend relationship with Yu Ha-yeon like a drama to watch.
Maybe from talking with Ban Ha-na a lot while I was gone,
she seemed to have added a character named Ban Ha-na to the show.
'She doesn't know about the kiss with Ban Ha-na, right...?'
Fortunately, since I'd made Ban Ha-na keep her mouth shut about it multiple times,
judging from Shin Si-hwa's reaction, she didn't seem aware of that conversation.
Was I merely turning into a good spectacle for Shin Si-hwa?
As I was thinking that,
Ban Ha-na grabbed my hand and shouted.
"S-Si-jun. I'm curious about that one...! Let's go quickly...! I can't go alone..."
"Alright. Hold onto my hand tight. Big trouble if we get separated."
Because leaving a currently anxious Ban Ha-na to become a lost child seemed like a disaster,
I held her hand tighter than usual.
After confirming that Shin Si-hwa was following a couple steps behind us, I headed toward the entrance.
"Welcome! Welcome to the fantasy world of Hero Land!"
A woman greeted us at the entrance.
Ban Ha-na looked at her with a fascinated expression.
"Woow... Si-jun. Is this person a hero too?"
"A hero... I guess she is."
The part-timer looked flustered at Ban Ha-na's question about being a hero,
so I called her a hero.
Protecting a child's innocence was heroic too, so it wasn't a lie.
The part-timer looked at Shin Si-hwa, who had followed us, and said,
"I'll check you in as one adult and two students. Ma'am, you look so young! Have a great family time~"
"...We're not family."
It seemed the part-timer had judged us to be a family just from the similar heights and looks of Ban Ha-na and me.
Shin Si-hwa replied coldly to being called family by the part-timer.
She was twenty-nine years old and had been sensitive about marriage lately.
It was an age where the word family could hit a nerve.
After that minor incident,
once we entered Hero Land, various rides caught my eye.
Hero Land was the most famous amusement park in the world of V. AGE.
As technology advanced, rides had also evolved; they used Magic Stones to operate them.
These rides moved quite dynamically.
'Ha-na will be okay on these, right...?'
I was a bit worried, but seeing Ban Ha-na's expression as she looked at the rides,
that worry melted away like snow.
"Si-jun! That one...! I wanna ride that one...!"
"...That one, right from the start...?"
"Yeah! I wanna ride it!"
The Gyro Drop, which slowly rises to the top and then drops rapidly downward, appeared in the direction Ban Ha-na was pulling my hand.
Ban Ha-na's first choice of ride boasted quite a difficulty level.
'What was it like when Yu Ha-yeon rode that thing...?'
Back in middle school, Yu Ha-yeon had gotten on the Gyro Drop without knowing anything about it.
Yu Ha-yeon was the type who easily got motion sickness even on a bus,
and that applied to rides too.
'Kyaaahk...!! Han Si-jun, save me...!!'
Beside her, I had watched Yu Ha-yeon's terror-stricken expression in real time.
Afterwards, she'd glared at me resentfully and asked, 'Why didn't you tell me it was like this...?'
Since then, Yu Ha-yeon had spent her time only riding quiet things like the merry-go-round.
Worried a bit about Ban Ha-na, I asked one more time.
"You mean it? You're sure you can ride that?"
"Si-jun. What do you take me for! I'm Ban Ha-na!"
Right.
That's precisely the problem. Because it's Ban Ha-na.
Ban Ha-na's insistence was fierce, so I had no choice but to board the Gyro Drop.
"Alright... let's go...! Everyone...!"
Shin Si-hwa seemed even more excited.
And so, we seated ourselves on the Gyro Drop and fastened all the safety harnesses.
Shin Si-hwa and Ban Ha-na wouldn't get hurt even if they fell, but I wasn't like them.
The safety bar came down, and the ride slowly rose up into the air.
"Si-jun! I'm floating in the sky! This is a villain!"
"Ha-na. Let's maybe tone down the word 'villain'..."
If you had a foot in the hero world, maybe,
but to ordinary citizens, villains were objects of terror.
As I was telling Ban Ha-na that,
we inevitably reached the top of the Gyro Drop.
In that situation, I said to Ban Ha-na.
"Any last words?"
"Huh? What do you mean?"
Ban Ha-na had seen other people riding it, but the reality of the situation didn't seem to have sunk in yet.
Just how huge the thrill of a magic-stone-powered Gyro Drop was,
and how terrifying it was to experience firsthand.
Ban Ha-na sent a questioning pink-eyed look my way.
The moment the ride engaged to descend toward the ground,
her face instantly hardened.
"S-Si-jun...? I th-think this is wrong... L-let me off..."
Ban Ha-na, only now frightened, wore a desperate expression.
Sorry, but there was nothing I could do for her.
I could only wish her well and hold her hand.
The Gyro Drop rapidly plunged toward the ground.
"Kyaaah...! S-Si-juuun...!!"
Ban Ha-na let out a bloodcurdling scream.
Living in a high-rise, she wasn't scared of heights,
but it seemed this kind of high-speed thrill was her first experience.
"Woaaah...!!"
Beside us, Shin Si-hwa was shouting, looking like the most excited among us.
I didn't feel much of anything for this kind of thrill,
so I enjoyed this minor rush with a blank expression.
"S-Si-jun is a villain..."
And with Ban Ha-na's dying voice, our first ride in the amusement park came to an end like that.
Though it was hard, it was definitely a fun time.
Without the slightest clue that I would come to regret not feeling my phone vibrate, I simply enjoyed the moment to the fullest.