One Weekend, a Peaceful Grocery Run
About a week had already passed since Mom stopped by our little apartment.
You could feel winter drawing near against your skin. The autumn leaves had all fallen, and the air was turning sharp and cold. The white puffs of breath that only showed up at night a few days ago could now be seen any time of day. Just yesterday morning I even spotted a frozen puddle for the first time in ages—though it melted the moment lunch rolled around.
“…So then—”
But even weather this cold was no real obstacle to walking around outside, so long as you bundled up warm.
Weekend. Around lunchtime, the two of us were out on our usual short grocery run, strolling through the crowded market street. Cecilia clung tightly to my hand and chattered away like a child about this and that.
“Phil and Hyerim… and this vampire kid named Pete. That’s how we made our group, right? But Phil and Pete are both so terrible at sports…”
“Haha. The PE assessment—volleyball, was it? Group work?”
“Yeah. Four to a team, just tossing the ball back and forth. But it’s hard… Even now, if ten come flying at me I can only return five properly.”
“…Sounds like you’re doing pretty well? A fifty-percent success rate?”
“Really?”
“At least from where I’m standing, that’s good. Impressive, Cecilia.”
“Hehe♪”
She beamed at my light praise and fidgeted shyly with the hand she was holding. Above her head, her silver-white cat ears flicked cheerfully.
Yes—cat ears.
Under the clear sky and bright sunlight, Cecilia was walking proudly through the busy market with both her ears and her tail completely uncovered.
“Hm? Is there something on my face?”
She asked suddenly when she noticed me watching her. I could have just let it go, but a mischievous urge won out, so I decided to tease her a little.
“…Just a tiny bit of leftover fish-cake from the snack you had a minute ago, right by your mouth?”
“Eep.”
She fell for the lie at once and started hurriedly patting around her lips. Watching her look almost serious about it, I let out a quiet snicker.
She wasn’t scared.
Even walking around with her ears and tail fully on display, there wasn’t a trace of fear on her. Her steps were steady, her voice calm. Just last week the mere weight of people’s stares had made her tremble, yet now she was a completely different person.
“Eugh, where is it…?”
…Even if the way she was groping at her mouth looked pretty ridiculous.
“Sorry. I was joking.”
“…! …Uuu…!”
A beat late, Cecilia finally realized what had happened. She thumped my arm with her small fists in a sulky protest. Feeling the mild sting, I laughed and apologized again; she huffed out a “Hmph!” and then, in the end, simply grabbed my hand tightly once more.
She really was endlessly cute.
Separately from that, quite a few eyes still turned our way, yet she showed no sign of minding.
“…You’ve changed.”
“Hm? …What is it this time?”
“No, nothing. Just talking to myself.”
Cecilia glanced up at me through narrowed eyes. I gave her a quick little stroke and kept walking.
She had changed.
Over these past few days Cecilia had changed. Less fear, more confidence… More smiles and more affection. Even cuter than before. She also seemed oddly more proactive about doing things. And she had started leaving her ears and tail completely uncovered.
Most of the shifts were so small only I would notice them—except for that last one, which stood out clearly.
Cecilia was changing too. Little by little, slowly, in a good direction.
The trigger had to be Mom’s visit last time. That single warm hug and the quiet “Please take good care of him” she had given Cecilia. Ever since then Cecilia had begun to show a steadier side, so I was sure of it.
She really was a wonderful mother.
“Mm…. Tickles.”
As we walked, Cecilia suddenly mumbled. Following her sidelong glances, I saw her hand still linked with mine, fidgeting a little. The grip must have been slightly uncomfortable. The moment I loosened my hold, she smiled happily and adjusted her fingers.
“Yeah. Perfect now♪”
“….”
Just as she said, our palms and fingers felt even closer than before. Heat rose in my face at the same time as it rose in my hand; I simply squeezed hers back without a word.
…It was a little embarrassing.
“So, Eunhyuk… where all did we need to stop again?”
“First the mill. We’re completely out of oil, so we should grab some. Then the supermarket for soy sauce and a few other things. We’ve still got the side dishes Mom sent last time, so today we only need daily necessities.”
“The supermarket… four blocks ahead? Is that right?”
“That’s right. You memorized it?”
“Of course~!”
Cecilia puffed out her chest proudly. Watching her from the side, I laughed under my breath.
“I’ve mostly learned the nearby streets. Not all of them yet, but…”
“Yeah. Still impressive. Think you’ll be ready for errands soon?”
“Ah, that’s still too much.”
“Is it? …Okay, then for now we’ll keep going together.”
“Ehehe. Yeah♪”
Cecilia laughed brightly; I smiled back at her the same way.
As we continued walking, something started to bother me, so I swept a look around the market street.
“…Hmm…”
“What’s wrong?”
“No, just… how do I put it…”
What I saw was the same market as always. Plenty of shops, even more people. In some places heated bargaining was flying back and forth; in others, customers who had only meant to browse were being drawn in by the shopkeepers’ talk until their hands drifted toward their wallets.
We had come here fairly often already because the prices were relatively cheap, but lately we had been visiting even more under the excuse of “gaze-adaptation training” for Cecilia.
Looking around, I finally put the thought that had surfaced into words.
“…The stares have lessened a little, haven’t they?”
“Ah. I felt that too.”
Cecilia nodded. When I turned to her, she went on.
“Like the interest has dropped off? Before, it was all… bubbling? Wobbling, this precarious atmosphere everywhere…”
“That’s a pretty abstract description.”
“Ugh, but that’s honestly how it felt, so I can’t help it. …Anyway, it was like that, but now it’s different. Calmer, settled? Kind of… a lot more stable than before—”
“Ah, yeah. I think I know what you mean.”
I nodded, cutting her off without meaning to. After apologizing to the puffed-cheek girl, I looked around again.
Stable, huh.
She was right.
The enormous event that had hit this country—this world—this year: the appearance of other races. Right afterward, society had been a chaotic swirl of rejection and acceptance, like paints all mixed together. Frenzied internet articles. Moving public authorities. Unstable systems. Protest rallies, then the authorities stepping in again. School enrollment. For a while, in both good ways and bad, society had been “intense” and “fervent.” You could feel the constant attention on your skin without any trouble.
Bubbling. Surprisingly, Cecilia’s description fit pretty well.
But now?
“….”
It had stabilized.
Like the mixed paints slowly separating again, the overheated social mood was leisurely returning to normal. Put simply…
“Everyone’s starting to get used to it, little by little.”
Interest in the very idea of other races was gradually, slowly peeling away. You could flip the phrasing a bit and say they were “melting in.” In other words, other races were melting into our society—not quickly, but remarkably naturally.
“Well, thinking about it, that makes sense…”
“Because when you walk around outside you actually see a lot of other kids besides me?”
“Exactly. …Look, there’s one right over there.”
Farther down the street, a large pair of wings was fluttering. A bird-kin girl, I think they were called? She was chatting about something at the dried-goods stall with a police officer who seemed to be acting as her guardian. Even from a distance you could tell she was smiling cheerfully. Scenes like that had started showing up more often lately.
“The ones who were holed up are starting to come out. Getting allowance, buying the things they want, eating the food they want.”
“School taught them how to handle money toooo.”
“Yeah. …Do you need allowance too, Cecilia?”
“I’m good~. I’d rather go shopping with you like this than get money and spend it alone.”
She smiled bashfully and pressed even closer against my arm. A faint purring sound slipped out of her as she opened her mouth again with a bright smile.
“Eunhyuk.”
“Yeah?”
“…Stay with me for a long, long time?”
Her pretty sky-blue eyes sparkled as she asked. I didn’t answer right away; instead I reached out and gently stroked her bangs.
“Hehe…♪”
“Cute. Of course.”
That was my answer. I pulled my hand back and faced forward again.
Just as we were about to start walking once more…
“Oh my, oh my…”
“Young people these days…”
“Those two have been at it since earlier…”
“…Back when I was their age, you know? I was just completely…”
Ah. Yeah.
I could feel the stares gathering. Well, of course they would if you showed affection right in the middle of a crowded street—other race or not. Come to think of it, a young man and woman simply holding hands already drew a fair amount of attention, and on top of that we were being… quite a bit more.
“…Want to run just a little, Cecilia?”
“Hm? Kya!”
Feeling the solid warmth of her hand locked firmly in mine, I broke into a run.
Today, too, was a peaceful day.