Soggy Ears and Lingering Distrust
As if sensing the crisis with her body tilting backward into the water, the world began to slow down. The woman charging toward me, hurling her sandwich aside. Like a transforming robot disassembling mid-air, the sandwich broke apart in the sky. A round olive revealed itself between the cabbage and tomato. What a horrific ingredient in a sandwich. Just as my brow furrowed at her bizarre taste, I realized her hand was right in front of my collar.
Ah.
Was she trying to grab me to stop me from falling in? Or just to seize my collar? The girl had apologized to me, but plenty of suspicion lingered. This woman, who seemed to be from the same guild, felt the same way. I had no idea what she thought of me now, but I wasn't about to accept help easily.
Using my heightened reflexes, I twisted my body to avoid her grasp.
Whoosh—
Her hand clutched at empty air. Realizing her failure, her eyes widened.
Wow. I dodged that insane speed.
I opened my mouth to let out an exclamation of admiration—
Splash—!
The cool surface of the pond soaked my back first, slowly spreading.
"Eup...!"
I had no intention of thrashing around just because I'd fallen in. It wasn't flowing water, and thanks to some item, it was as clean as purified water. Still, I panicked because water had gotten into my beast ears.
"Pha!"
I hurriedly pushed myself up from the pond. Fortunately, it only came up to about my waist.
"Ugh, uuu..."
My ears were full of water. The soft fur had absorbed it all, making them feel clogged and heavy like earplugs.
The woman reached out a hand, saying something, but I couldn't make it out at all. Was she telling me to grab it and climb out? What if I did and she pushed me again? Unwilling to take her hand, I gripped the well-manicured brick edge of the pond and hauled myself out. Her actions were far more likely to be ill-intentioned.
"......"
Was it because I'd ignored her? She turned only her head to look at me, still holding her hand out. Her gaze stung, but now wasn't the time to worry about her. I had no clue how to get the water out of my ears.
For a normal person's ears, jumping in place would do the trick. But how do you handle beast ears sticking up toward the sky?
I tried shaking them wildly with my hands, but no water drained out. It seemed like I needed to tilt them downward to let it flow.
"Eut... "
I squatted down, bowing my head toward the ground. Then, like massaging, I carefully rubbed my ears.
Ah. Slowly, the water drained. It looked like I'd have to stay like this for a while.
**
Jeong Yu-na, being a mage, had excellent memory and comprehension. That's why she perfectly understood what had just happened to the child.
She dodged my hand.
The terrified child had backed up into the pond. Jeong Yu-na had lunged to grab her, but the child chose the pond over help. She'd twisted her body in that split second to evade the hand. Her resolve was clear: better the pond than accepting aid.
This is how bad it is...
The child's trust in her was scraping the bottom. No, it had gotten impatient and drilled straight through the earth. Her fragile personality kept it from outright hostility, but trust was already deep in negative territory.
Of course it was. Considering everything that had happened.
Jeong Yu-na's heart ached, but she knew there was no quick fix. Rather than wallowing alone, helping the child came first.
"A-Are you okay? Want to grab my hand and come up?"
Jeong Yu-na extended her hand again. The child glanced at it, then ignored her completely, crawling out on her own using the edge right beside her.
Being ignored hit hard, but she knew it was routine for the child. She'd lived her whole life feeling this way.
"Ah..."
How could she regain trust? With no answer in sight, Jeong Yu-na froze in place as the child started shaking water from her head.
Shake shake shake— She whipped her face side to side rapidly, then used her hands to tousle her ears and hair everywhere.
"Um, ex-excuse me...!"
I could dry her instantly with my fire magic. Finishing the thought, Jeong Yu-na approached—
"Eut...!"
Startled by the sudden approach, the child squatted down in a panic, raising both hands above her head in a defensive posture. It was heartbreaking. She looked terrified no matter how you sliced it.
Jeong Yu-na found it horrific that she'd caused all this. The best thing for the child would be for her to vanish, but she couldn't just leave now.
As she stood there, rubbing the back of her hand in confusion, passersby in the park started murmuring.
"What's that about?"
"Looks like she pushed the kid in..."
"Bullshit, would Jeong Yu-na do that?"
Yeah, she would. Jeong Yu-na bit her lip hard enough to draw a drop of red blood.
I'm real trash.
She was a hideous human being. Jeong Yu-na wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Of course, she couldn't, not with the child there. Death would just be a convenient self-consolation in this moment. She had no intention of seeking comfort in front of the child. Not with her past sins.
**
Ugh.
I stayed squatting, pressing firmly on my ears for a good while. To squeeze out the water soaked into the fur. Drop by drop. Watching them plop down made me frustrated. At this rate, it'd take tens of minutes to dry fully.
What now?
Should I try a handstand? As I seriously considered it, I remembered the wolf woman who'd come looking for me. She had beast ears like mine; maybe she knew a fix.
Is she still at the tent?
I should check. I stood and ran toward the tent, still clutching the bucket of reeds.
"Ah...!"
A woman's voice called from behind, but I couldn't hear it clearly. The water in my ears was blocking everything like plugs. Well, it probably wasn't anything good anyway. I ignored her as best I could and fled to the tent.
"Gyeo... ma'am?"
Racing up to the wolf woman, she glanced around warily. Maybe because I'd run up so abruptly.
"Um, water got in my ears—how do I get it out?"
"Ah... water... yes."
Muttering something unintelligible, the wolf woman fiddled with my ears. Her touch—someone else's—made my body twitch involuntarily.
"How is it now? Better?"
"Ah... yes. I can hear your voice clearly now."
"That's a relief."
What had she done? Curious, I touched my ears—they were still soaked. But now...
"What happened to my ears?"
"I just used mana to draw out the water inside."
"Ah, mana."
Even for this? Beastkin used mana differently, it seemed. Humans wouldn't waste mana on ear water. There were differences in these little things.
Lots to learn from her.
I didn't know her motives, but she wasn't bad company. She helped me a lot in various ways. Maybe she wasn't such a bad person.
"Thank you."
As I thanked the wolf woman, Han Yeoreum stepped out from inside the tent. She scanned me up and down, her eyes widening.
"Gyeowol, why are you all wet? Like a drowned... drowned kitty?"
"I fell into that pond over there."
"Aigoo, did you trip?"
"No, someone was behind me and..."
I clamped my mouth shut mid-sentence. Saying I'd been startled by someone behind me when I turned would sound ridiculous. Better to say I'd lost my balance.
"...Someone pushed you from behind?"
"N-No! I just fell on my own."
"...Really?"
Her eyes screamed suspicion. Best to play dumb in times like this.
"Guess I grabbed too many reeds."
"Ah, yeah..."
She nodded, her gaze drifting to the pond. Frowning, she scanned around, clearly looking for someone.
"Sis is just gonna check the reeds quick. Gyeowol, dry off here, okay?"
"Yeees..."
Thud—!
She tossed a goblin magic stone into the bonfire. Using something that precious just to light a fire. Impressed, I looked back, but she'd already vanished into the distance.
She's fast.
Scratching my head, I sat by the fire. For now, I'd just dry off.