96 - The Scary Story
While Haru was sleeping, Yuna and I decided to watch Frozen 4 just the two of us.
"Is Haru gonna be okay...?" Even as the movie played, Yuna kept glancing worriedly at Haru, who had just finished her treatment, and pulled the blanket up to her neck.
"She'll be fine. She didn't take as much of the drug as I thought."
"Was Haru really taking meds to make her smarter?"
"Thinking acceleration isn't exactly a spell that boosts intelligence or study skills."
"Oh?"
Haru had the acceleration spell focused on her occipital lobe. Sure, that might have made it easier for her to grasp the structure of magic circles visually, but interpreting them was still the prefrontal cortex's domain. In the end, the overuse of her brain had led to issues with her optic nerve, culminating in total color blindness.
"But Haru's mom seemed to want her to study better."
"That's so mean. And that's why Haru's eyes got hurt..."
"Guess it wasn't that big a deal to her."
"I'm so glad my mom's a good person. But are you gonna tell Haru the truth?"
"That's what I'm worried about."
Haru was still young, after all. She had a ton of affection left for her mom, and like Yuna, she had a strong sense of pride when it came to academics. What good would it do her to learn that her mother had been pushing illegal drugs on her—and that it had ruined her eyes? I still wasn't sure.
"Why not ask Haru's big sister first?"
"She has a sister?"
"Yeah. But Haru hates talking about her."
Hmm... If Haru had been taking it for high academic performance at the academy, her sister probably had too. Getting in touch through Haru later might be a good idea.
"But don't you feel kinda proud?"
"Why?"
Yuna grinned from ear to ear.
"'Cause I'm way smarter than Haru. I aced those tests without any drugs!"
"Yeah, yeah, you're a genius."
"Aaaah, but it's true...! Say it!"
"You wanna watch the movie or not?"
"Nah, the movie sucks. I'd rather munch snacks and chat with you."
The plot actually seemed pretty interesting on paper. It followed Lesa, the daughter of Queen Elsa—who'd been trained solely in ice magic since birth—as she stumbled into fire magic. There was the protagonist's low self-esteem from failing to meet her mother's high standards, her little act of rebellion, and the reveal that her fire magic mentor was a prince from an enemy kingdom. Even a princess fan like Yuna had her tastes, I guess.
"You're not sleepy yet, right?"
"Nope! Still full of energy!"
"What am I gonna do? I'm already tired."
"Nooo...! Nami, you snuck a nap earlier. If you crash now, I'll get mad."
"Yaaawn~"
"I mean it! I'll get mad! You want me mad?"
Even if it was cast with a wand, Alchemist was still a solid 5th Circle spell. I'd have appreciated some sympathy for the massive stamina drain, but this kid was bursting with youthful vigor and had no clue about fatigue. I couldn't just tuck her in next to Haru, so with Yuna fiddling with my arms and legs, I figured it was time for a little lesson.
"How about a scary story, then?"
"S-scary story...? I can't sleep if I hear scary stuff!"
"Shh. You'll wake Haru."
"No way, I'm not listening!"
"Then I have to tell it."
I immediately scooted behind Yuna and plopped her onto my lap. Scary stories hit hardest up close like this. To keep her from bolting, I wrapped my arms around her waist and held tight.
Realizing I wasn't backing down, Yuna whispered in a tiny voice, "Make it not too scary, okay...?" She clutched the blanket like she was gonna pull it over her head.
"This actually happened to me last week. Listen close. Living in Seoul, nights can get noisy sometimes, right? A car horn woke me up. I checked the clock—exactly 4:44 a.m. I went to the kitchen for water, and there was this weird thing?"
"Why 4:44 of all times...? What was it?"
"Sneakers. The ones that should've been by the door were on the kitchen table. I thought it was odd and went to turn on the light, but suddenly someone covered my mouth from behind—like this!"
"Mmph! Mmmph!"
I mimed clamping my hand over Yuna's mouth. She flailed in surprise. So cute.
"'Eat all the food in the fridge,' this unidentified voice—ghost or burglar, who knows?—told me. I opened it up: apples, pears, and even radishes. No choice, I forced them down unpeeled. Then, as I went for the last radish, it started choking me."
"Mmmph!"
"My windpipe slowly closed; I couldn't breathe. I demanded why it was doing this. And it said, 'Radishes taste bad—don't eat it!' Then the radish got offended: 'Why won't you eat me?'"
I released her mouth. A string of drool stretched from my palm to her lips before snapping.
"Sigh. That's the end...? Nothing after?"
Shaking off the fear, Yuna tilted her head at the weird ending.
"Yup. The radish was bummed out. Scary, right?"
"......"
"It was a real scary story."
"What the heck! That wasn't scary at all!"
"Heh."
"Nami, you're weird!"
Her reaction was underwhelming—guess it flopped harder than expected.
Click—
"Eek!"
A sudden retching sound from beside us made Yuna and me nearly topple over in shock. Haru, who had been fast asleep, was now peeking at us.
"How long you been awake?"
Haru said she'd woken up right when I started the scary story.
"That was fun!"
"Fun? Haru, you lost your mind or what?"
"The radish was sad. So it was scary. Hee hee. Nami, you're a genius."
Haru giggled. Her brighter expression put me a bit at ease.
"See, Yuna? She thought it was fun."
"What am I supposed to do if a scary story isn't scary but fun?"
"But you were drooling in fear."
"N-no I wasn't!"
"Then what's this on my hand? Water?"
"Tch..."
Teasing Yuna could wait. Time to check on the newly awakened Haru.
"Colors coming back okay now?"
"Yeah. I can see that red light over there fine."
She pointed to a scene from the movie on the beam projector. Lesa had awakened and was now setting the ice ablaze. Ignoring physics like it was gas hydrate or something—claps for that superpower. Take the world's strongest spot.
"Good. You took in a lot of aura at once, so you might be tired. Go back to sleep if you want."
A diagnostic spell confirmed no further issues. Our bodies had homeostasis, always striving for optimal state. With the artificial engraving broken, Haru's would return to normal.
Haru shook her head.
"So my eyes are really fixed now?"
"Yup. They were never really broken to begin with."
"For real...? I thought I'd never see again..."
Haru kept looking around in wonder. When she asked how I'd done it, I had to stay quiet. Instead, I warned her about the drugs and turned the question back on her.
"Haru, about those meds your mom gave you. Any left?"
"No. Mom had all of them. My sister threw the rest away anyway."
"They're really bad for you, so no similar stuff, okay? Promise?"
"Yeah... But weren't they just vitamins?"
"Meds can be poison depending on who takes them. Your mom probably didn't know."
"Still... I'm just glad I could see Mom again. Thanks... And sorry for yelling earlier..."
Haru turned to Yuna with a meek voice.
"Seo Yuna."
"Yeah?"
"Your hair... Now that I can see it again, it's pretty..."
She seemed especially taken with Yuna's near-primary-color red hair, dropping the compliment out of nowhere.
"Uh, thanks..."
Yuna looked flustered, but the way she kept touching her hair suggested she wasn't hating it.
"Oh yeah, Yuna—you wanted to try playing this, right?"
Yuna hadn't called me out of the bathroom just because Haru woke up. She'd asked if she could play the Otamaton I'd mentioned before. The topic had derailed midway, but as the movie neared its end, I remembered and reminded her.
I pulled the Otamaton from the bottom desk drawer.
"Whoa! So cool and weird!"
She lunged at me, dying to touch it. I was gonna let her anyway, but now I kinda didn't want to.
"Whoa, is this an Otamaton? It went mega-viral on TikTok!"
Haru knew it too? Guess I was the only normie.
"Nami, play a song for us!"
"Hold on. Can I film this?"
Yuna whined, and Haru whipped out her phone, shoving the camera in my face. How many lenses does that thing have? One, two... five? Creepy fly eyes.
"Sure."
"TikTok upload?"
"Just don't show my face."
"Heh, got it. Ready? Three, two, one."
The piece Nami played for her friends was Paganini's Caprice No. 24. She usually favored slow-tempo classical pieces, but kids tended to love flashy, fast ones full of technique, so that's what she chose. With its rapid arpeggios jumping between low and high notes, Caprice No. 24 had plenty to thrill even non-music fans.
After Nami finished, Yuna gave it a bold try, but disappointed by the less polished sound, she gave up quickly.
Knock knock—
As the three girls' pajama party hit its stride, a knock sounded, and Professor Cheon poked his head in.
"Having fun, kids?"
"Yes!"
The two girls flanking Nami brightly replied, looking cozy as ever.
"Sorry to interrupt your fun, but the neighbors just called about the noise. It's late—mind keeping it down a bit?"
"You hear that, Yuna? Let's be quiet now."
"Huh? Why just me...? Nami, you played too!"
"When? I don't remember."
Nami played innocent despite Yuna's protests.
"For real! Nami started it!"
"I'll handle my friends and keep them quiet, Professor Cheon. Good night."
"Mmph...!"
Not content with just covering Yuna's mouth, Nami bundled her up in the blanket like a burrito. Professor Cheon smiled at the sight. Moments like this, Nami was just a regular kid.