My Beloved, My Precious. (3)
My Beloved, My Precious. (3)
Makina's condition improved with each passing day.
Her body, which could barely move her head at first, was able to move her upper body the very next day, and the day after that, she was even able to move her legs.
And then, a few days later.
"...Eu-eu."
"It's okay, you can do it."
"W-What if I fall?"
Just yesterday, Makina had a history of trying to get off the bed on her own because her legs were moving, only to fall.
It wasn't even a high bed, but falling off hurt so much.
At the vivid pain she was feeling for the first time, she had cried ing-ing and cried out Dea's name.
"I'm here now. If it looks like you're going to fall, I'll catch you."
Seo tapped his chest tuk-tuk and spoke with confidence.
Seeing that, Makina took courage.
Kkolkkak—
"R-Really, you really have to catch me, okay?"
"Of course."
Just before the tips of her toes touched the floor, yesterday's pain came back to her.
Seeing Makina trembling badeul-badeul, Seo couldn't hold back his laughter.
If it were usual, Makina would have told him not to laugh, but right now, she was focusing all her mind on her legs, so she couldn't see Seo's smile.
Sseuk—
"Eut..."
"Yeah, like that. Put strength into your legs just like that and stand up."
"Y-Y-You really have to catch me, okay?!"
"Naturally."
Holding tightly onto the bed with her hands, Makina stood in a half-crouch.
She had never imagined that walking could be such a terrifying thing.
It wasn't like this in the virtual space...!
With a tearful face, Makina hesitantly began to take her hands off the bed.
First her right hand. Next her left hand.
Biteul-biteul—
"Eu, euuaaa..."
"Now, want to try walking over this way one step at a time?"
"R-Right now?"
Seo spoke toward Makina, who stood on two legs while letting out a strange shout of exertion.
Words tossed at a child who had stood up for less than three seconds.
Flustered by those words, Makina widened her eyes roundedly.
She was barely standing, so how on earth was she supposed to walk all the way over there?
'S-Still, it seems kind of close, maybe...'
It wasn't closer than expected; it was just close.
Roughly two steps by Makina's stride.
"I-It feels way too far!"
However, to Makina, it looked farther than the stars beyond the horizon.
Could she make it?
She was barely managing to balance on two legs, and he was telling her to lift one leg off the ground?
Makina swallowed hard.
"That's because Makina is scared. Here, if I stay like this, it'll be easy to catch you, right?"
Seeing the nervous Makina, Seo opened both arms wide.
When the empty space filled up with his long arms, only then did Makina feel a bit relieved.
"I-I-I-I-I'm coming...!"
"Come, Makina!"
To Makina's shout, Seo cheered along in response.
Just one step.
It was a simple step, but it would surely be recorded in history as one giant leap.
Jabak—
"I-I did it...!"
As one leg lifted off the ground, her body staggered for a moment, but somehow she managed to keep her balance.
Gaining confidence like that, when Makina stepped the raised leg farther forward than where it was originally, Seo's figure became one step closer than before.
"Yeah, just take one more step like that."
"Y-Yes! One more step—"
Jabak—
Since they were this close now, it was fine even if she fell.
Thinking that way actually made her bolder.
With movements faster than right before, Makina extended her leg and stepped straight forward.
Chak
"I-I did it!"
"Now all you have to do is get used to it, haha."
"T-Though it feels like I'll need more time to get used to it."
Was it because she thought she had reached her goal?
A mere two steps.
With that as the end, Makina's legs did not move.
No, to be precise, it would be more accurate to say she didn't want to move them.
"Still, good job. It must have been scary since it's your first time walking."
"No, it's not! I walked tons of times in the virtual space!"
At Seo's words, Makina huffed and got angry.
First time walking, indeed. She was such a master walker.
She even knew how to run, not just walk!
Tears welled up in her eyes from the injustice.
Her hands grabbing Seo's hem tightened.
"S-Sorry. Did that upset you?"
"Yes! It upset me very much! I can walk really well, you know!"
"Uh-uh, right, um... Makina, your tone gets peculiar when you're angry."
"...Be quiet!"
When Makina threw a punch, Seo reflexively moved his body.
An unconscious movement produced by human survival instinct.
...Did a boo-ung sound just echo?
Seo swallowed hard kkulckeok.
That punch was not the speed of an ordinary child.
'Well, she was a child in the underground ruins. She's definitely no ordinary child.'
At Seo looking like that, Makina pouted her lips.
He was definitely thinking of something unpleasant.
In the first place, how could a tiny punch like this hurt anyway?
Tch, clicking her tongue, Makina flopped straight down cheolpeudeok onto the floor.
"If you sit on the floor, your clothes will get dirty."
"Seo-ajeossi will wash them for me, so it's fine."
A petty spite for not taking her punch.
Although he noticed it right away, Seo didn't say anything.
Because he realized it was better to wash the clothes once rather than get hit by that punch from a moment ago.
Well, the biggest reason was that he had a means to get Makina back up.
"Then it can't be helped. Ajeossi will just have to go see him alone."
"Go see who? See what?"
"Dea."
Words tossed out casually tuk as if it were no big deal.
Hearing those words, Makina tilted her head.
Huh.
Didn't Ajeossi just say Dea?
Dea, Dea, Dea, Dea...
There's only one Dea I know.
Makina's mind went completely blank.
"R-Really?!"
"Really."
"Is it really, really true!?"
"It is really, really true."
I can see Dea?
Really?
This fast?
It felt surreal.
"Seo-ajeossi, please pinch my cheek."
"...Why your cheek all of a sudden?"
"To check whether this is a dream or not."
"Why not do it yourself..."
"Eih, stop complaining and come pinch it! Why are you sneaking backward!"
No, if I get close, she might hit me.
Since he was wearing everyday clothes, he had no particular resistance against impact.
If he got hit by a punch at the speed from earlier, a hole would be blown through his body.
Makina clenched both hands tightly and shook them up and down as if striking downward.
Seo's gaze was already directed not at Makina's face, but at her tightly clenched fists.
"I'll come if you promise not to hit me."
"I won't hit you!"
"Do you swear?"
"Do you really disbelieve me that much? Yes, I swear!"
Makina's lips stuck out a mile.
Why didn't he trust her so much?
To be honest, she felt mistreated.
She hadn't even done anything wrong to Ajeossi.
Well, but what could she do? As the good one, she had to endure.
"Hmph, I'm forgiving you because you're dealing with good old me."
"Mm-hm, thanks. Anyway, now I just have to pull it, right?"
"If you pull too hard and it hurts, I might cry."
"I'll control my strength. Still, if it hurts, tell me right away, okay?"
Because he didn't want to have to dodge that punch again.
Swallowing his unspoken thoughts, Seo carefully grabbed Makina's cheek.
The soft, squishy cheek characteristic of a child.
Thinking about pulling this made him feel needlessly guilty.
"I'm going to pull, Makina."
"Yes, please pull."
Juuuk—
Makina's cheek stretched out like a sticky rice cake.
"Does it not hurt?"
"I'sh no' hur'ing."
"What, is it a dream?"
He felt like he had pulled it to the point where it definitely should hurt.
Now Seo was at the point of being confused.
Could it be that this was actually a dream right now?
With those thoughts, he raised his other hand and pulled his own cheek jjuuk.
"...It hurts."
"N'w I u'dersta'd."
Despite her heavily slurred pronunciation, Seo immediately understood what Makina was saying.
When he let go of his hand, the stretched-out cheek snapped back to normal.
If it were a comic book, a cheerful sound effect like chyap would have echoed.
"I think it hurt just a little bit. This isn't a dream, then."
It really didn't seem that way at all.
Makina's cheek was completely fine, to the point where it was hard to believe it had been pulled until just moments ago.
Let alone marks from being pulled, her skin hadn't even turned red.
"Yeah. Shall we go meet Dea now, then?"
"Yes, I want to go!"
A shout filled with anticipation.
Seeing Makina reach both arms straight out while saying that, Seo burst out laughing pisik.
"You can walk now, Makina."
"I have used up all of today's limit. Right now, I have no strength left to walk again."
"Honestly..."
She was being brazen.
Scared of walking, she wanted to be carried by someone she had only met recently.
Of course, this wasn't the first time Seo had carried Makina.
Because he had repeatedly picked up Makina, who found the hospital room suffocating, to take walks outside the room.
"Waaah—! I got taller! Waaah—!"
"If you move around too much, it'll be tough on Ajeossi, so stay still, okay?"
"Yees! I will stay as still as possible! Mheuheu...!"
Makina settled into Seo's right arm.
As if liking her elevated field of vision, Makina was blurting out exclamations again and again.
Seeing that sight, his right arm, slightly sore from the weight, gathered all its strength.
'It's always like this.'
Seo muttered to himself.
If he were a game character, he would probably have a setting where he's weak against children's innocence.
Seeing Makina looking around with sparkling eyes, Seo gently curled up the corners of his lips.
'If only she would fix the habit of grabbing my hair when held in my arms.'
After complaining timidly in his heart, he slowly began to take steps.
Although his scalp stung from his hair being grabbed and tugged juk-juk by Makina's hands, Seo didn't mind.
Because today was the day of a touching mother-daughter reunion.
Therefore, he could laugh off this level of pain with a smile.