Chapter 42
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 42
Chapter Title: A Wish to See Mother
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"Oh my... Are you okay, miss?"
The employee asked kindly while picking up the dropped sample.
Luna bowed her head quickly and hurried after them.
She was shocked, but she didn't run away.
After all, Luna hadn't done anything wrong.
She spotted the two again.
The teacher and the woman...
Yeah, now she could see it clearly.
Thinking back, she recognized the face.
That distinctive black-and-white hair...
She had seen it on TV before.
It was the Otherworlder who had been passed out on Elise's back.
'Ah...'
The moment she realized that, Luna's heart eased just a little.
It wasn't a date or anything.
Seeing it as an extension of the teacher's duties to help the Otherworlder adjust to society made her feel a bit better.
Yeah, this was just work.
The two of them, holding hands tightly, entered a restaurant selling pork cutlets.
She hid behind a shopping mall pillar and peeked through the window into the restaurant.
The two were sitting face-to-face.
Soon, a large plate was placed in front of them.
The teacher naturally pulled the woman's plate toward himself.
And with great care, he began cutting the pork cutlet into bite-sized pieces using a knife.
Luna bit her lip without realizing it.
The teacher speared a piece of the cut meat with a fork.
He even demonstrated patiently with hand gestures how to hold the fork, teaching her tenderly.
And right in the next moment.
The teacher brought that fork straight to the woman's mouth.
The woman accepted the food as if it were the most natural thing in the world, like a baby bird.
After swallowing, the woman slowly stuck out her red tongue and licked the sauce from her upper lip.
Then she lifted her head and looked up at the teacher.
Honestly, those blue eyes no longer held any trace of a baby bird.
They were the eyes of a predator cub accepting prey.
But unfortunately, so very unfortunately.
The teacher didn't notice that gaze.
He had his head down again, cutting the remaining pork cutlet for her.
Only Luna saw it all.
The woman pointed at the fried shrimp with her finger once more, signaling that she wanted to eat that this time.
The teacher smiled warmly, as if impressed by her initiative.
He speared the fried shrimp with the fork and brought it to her mouth again.
The woman ate it and even sucked off the last crumbs from the fork with a smack.
Beastkin ears could hear everything if they wanted to.
Luna felt her heart freezing over bit by bit.
The woman didn't stop.
She naturally took the fork from the teacher's hand.
This time, she speared a piece of pork cutlet herself.
She brought it to the teacher's mouth.
A gesture saying, eat.
The teacher seemed momentarily flustered but nodded at her actions.
He accepted the food she offered.
Luna could no longer watch the scene.
- Poof!
"Huh?"
In front of the ice cream shop right next to her, a man who had been standing there rubbed his eyes.
He was sure someone had been there.
But they vanished without a trace.
Luna... successfully escaped urgently to her rabbit burrow.
Carrying armfuls of shopping bags filled with new clothes, we left Luna Field.
The sun had already set, and the streets were bathed in orange sunset glow.
We bought clothes.
Ate delicious pork cutlets.
Even showed Seol Yu-wol the taste of worldly desserts.
"♪~ ♬~"
A small hum came from beside me.
Seol Yu-wol seemed quite satisfied with the day, unconsciously letting out little tunes.
I judged that her mind and emotional state had sufficiently stabilized.
We had been holding hands from the moment we entered the department store until now.
Maybe it's time to let go...
I tried to slip my hand out naturally.
But at that exact moment.
- Grip!
As if refusing to let go, her small hand grabbed mine again with incredible reaction speed.
I smiled bitterly to myself.
Not yet, then.
But that's fine.
Today's outing had been quite successful.
For the first time today, Seol Yu-wol chose what she wanted herself.
She picked out clothes she liked at the clothing store.
Chose the food she wanted at the restaurant.
Even made requests to me for what she wanted.
It could be seen as the process of her true 'self' being born.
Holding her hand like that, I headed back to the Association's isolation facility.
To the room where she stayed.
Seol Yu-wol's attitude was 180 degrees different from when we left.
Unlike the morning when she came out with her head down, intimidated and trembling in anxiety...
Now, she curiously looked around, trying to take in even one more new sight.
We entered Seol Yu-wol's room just like that.
I dumped the shopping bags I was carrying in both hands onto the living room table.
Pretty clothes.
Delicious snacks.
We finished organizing together.
The previously empty model home finally felt like a place where someone lived.
I smiled softly and stood up.
"That's... all for today, Yu-wol."
"Rest well, and slowly think back on everything that happened today."
I gave her a new assignment.
What she saw today, what she felt.
What mood she was in, what emotions arose.
And along with a reminder not to forget the first ongoing assignment, 'things you want to do'.
Just as I finished everything and turned to leave.
"Doctor."
A small but incredibly clear voice, unlike before.
I stopped and turned to look at her.
Seol Yu-wol was looking straight up at me.
Those blue eyes held a small but resolute determination.
Without hesitation, she continued.
"Now..."
She took a very small breath.
"I want to see my mother."
Seol Yu-wol told me she wanted to see Yi Seo-ryeong.
I looked into her eyes.
"She failed to become the perfect daughter her mother wanted. But today, she learned for the first time how to exist as 'herself'. Now, she wants to face her mother just like this."
"Finally, she seems ready to talk with her mother."
There was no lie or sense of duty in those eyes.
This decision... was the hardest and bravest one Seol Yu-wol had made of her own will.
Today's experiences.
All the processes of experiencing an unfamiliar world had become a new catalyst for Seol Yu-wol.
Choosing clothes herself in front of hundreds of outfits with her own judgment.
Even deciding for herself what food to eat.
Every single little thing.
As she wanted.
All those experiences awakened the self called Seol Yu-wol.
This was the real Seol Yu-wol, buried in the ashes.
[Suitable Response] [Satisfaction Fit: 100%]
"[As you wish.]"
[Suitable Response] [Satisfaction Fit: 100%]
"[(With a proud expression, gently stroke her head.)]"
100% and a perfect match...
This was the first time something like this happened.
But both options were worth considering.
Instead of choosing one, I decided to do both.
She needed both right now.
I approached her very slowly.
And cautiously reached out my hand.
I gently placed it on her hair.
As my touch reached her, Seol Yu-wol slowly closed her eyes.
I stroked her head very slowly, filled with pride and tenderness.
Feeling my touch.
Her tightly shut eyelids trembled faintly.
To her, I said in a low voice.
"As you wish."
Yi Seo-ryeong surely wanted that too.
- Ring ring ring...
In Luna's rabbit burrow.
Luna, huddled under the covers up to her head, reached out only her hand from under the blanket to answer the phone.
- Sis? Where are you? Lunch break's over... Something wrong?
Elise's worried voice came through the receiver.
"I... suddenly felt really sick... so I came home..."
- Gasp, really? Where does it hurt? Want me to bring some meds?
It wasn't sickness.
How to put it.
Honestly.
Even Luna found it extremely hard to define this emotion precisely.
"No... it's okay... just need some rest..."
- Got it... I'll let them know... Anything you want to eat?
Something she wanted to eat.
Something she wanted to eat...
There was.
"Pork cutlet..."
- ...Yeah, got it. I'll get the best one. Sis, don't think about anything and rest well.
Elise hung up.
Luna suddenly felt curious.
Did she really want pork cutlet?
Or...
"......"
- Thud.
Luna just set the phone down.
The sound of the phone hitting the floor echoed in the room.
Luna slowly lifted the blanket.
Under the rabbit burrow blanket.
There was a white doctor's coat huddled there.
"......"
She had impulsively brought it in.
She had lost her reason.
- Sniff...
Luna carefully smelled it...
Ah.
She's doomed.
All the laundry had been for nothing.
It had gotten even stronger than before.
But it's okay.
If you can't avoid it, enjoy it, right?
Luna decided to enjoy it.
She hugged the gown preciously.
And buried her face deep inside it.
The faint remaining scent of him mixed with her own overpowering scent, creating a strange, dizzying sense of comfort.
As if lying together in the same space as the teacher... on the same bed.
To gain peace of mind, she had no choice.
For her right now, this was the only salvation.
The best she could do.