Chapter 6. Let's go home. (4)
When I opened my eyes, I was in a hospital.
I didn't even need to look around; the first thing I saw was a clear IV drip, so I knew immediately.
I slowly followed the line with my eyes, and halfway down, I saw that something other than the IV fluid was also going in. I don't know anything about medicine, so I had no idea what kind of drug it was.
My body felt a bit numb. Even when I wiggled my fingers inside the blanket, I couldn't really feel anything.
Rather than pain, I felt cold.
Even though I was under the covers and the weather lately wasn't particularly cold.
"Are you awake?"
"H-heck."
I was startled by the sudden voice from beside me.
Clink. The hanging IV bottle swayed. My already cold body shivered a little more for no reason...
But the owner of the voice wasn't someone I needed to be afraid of.
Yujin-ajumma, looking quite exhausted, was sitting next to the bed.
"S-Soi, how is she?"
That was the first thing that popped out as soon as I opened my mouth.
I regretted it as soon as I said it. Yujin-ajumma must have had an incredibly difficult day, too. She probably saw a much more horrific scene than I did. Of course, Seo Arin wasn't in her right mind, but the people who planned to cause something like a terrorist attack in such a simultaneous way couldn't have had normal thought processes either.
"Soi is safe. She's actually less injured than Lua."
"......."
I didn't think I could call that a relief.
She's still young, yet she's already faced a Villain. And she did it right after awakening her Superpower, without any time to get used to it, just rushing in headlong.
I saw her getting hurt here and there with my own eyes. To save me, she took all sorts of objects crashing into her body, stalling for time against Seo Arin.
What if she gets scars? What if the wounds caused by me remain forever, unable to be erased?
"......I...... I'm sorry......."
"......."
As I mumbled while clutching the blanket, Yujin-ajumma's expression stiffened.
Yujin-ajumma didn't say anything for a moment, just staring at me quietly.
"......This isn't something for Lua to be sorry about."
"But......."
"Lua didn't try to hurt anyone, did you?"
Yujin-ajumma's words were firm.
Even though her own daughter was hurt. Even though she probably wanted to be by Soi's side right now.
"If anyone is at fault, it's that person, not Lua, who just happened to be there."
"......."
Is that really true?
Maybe at first.
When I didn't know anything, I might have been able to make excuses that I didn't know people would get hurt because I was there.
But what about now, after knowing?
If that woman is chasing me and thinking about taking me away no matter what it takes, is it really okay for me to be mixed in with normal kids from now on?
Just by me being there, other kids could be in danger—
"Ah."
And belatedly, something occurred to me.
"T-that, that, that person, what, what happened to her?"
I had lost consciousness after Yujin-ajumma arrived, so I couldn't confirm what happened after that.
For me, wasn't that the most important thing? If that woman was caught, I could at least be safe wherever I was.
Actually, I wasn't sure.
The reason she wanted to take me was just because I was her daughter. I was old enough now not to cry when kept by her side, and she could probably make me obey quietly through various 'disciplines'.
So, it literally meant it was something she did 'because the opportunity arose'. In other words, wouldn't she not bother if there was no opportunity? If she wasn't taking me because she loved me or had a specific use for me, but just because she thought I was originally hers.
"......I arrested her, so it's fine."
I let out a small breath at that answer.
If that's the case, that's a relief.
"......."
A very brief silence.
I was lost in thought, and Yujin-ajumma was watching me quietly.
She looked like she was waiting to answer if I asked something.
In case I was anxious.
I chewed on my lower lip, swallowed dryly, and opened my mouth again.
"......U-um, by the way......."
"Yes. If there's something you want to ask, go ahead."
"Ah, yes, um. That."
I rolled my eyes around, then finally managed to get the words out.
"Is there...... any possibility that that person and I are really mother and daughter?"
"......."
Yujin-ajumma closed her eyes for a moment.
And reached out to hold my hand.
"If you want to know, I can find out."
That's true. Since she was arrested, there would be DNA tests and such. There would be a way to confirm for sure whether I was her daughter or not.
"I......."
I parted my lips, but eventually shook my head.
"I see. Okay."
Yujin-ajumma smiled lightly and nodded.
"No matter what anyone says, Lua is our family's child, so don't worry. If anyone asks, just say that. Soi said it too, didn't she? 'Lua-eonni'."
After saying that, Yujin-ajumma made a face like something was strange, like she had forgotten something.
Well, of course.
It's just because Soi goes around declaring me her eonni so confidently; people who know us both naturally know our birthdays.
Even though I was born in January of the same year, Soi acts like my eonni, so everyone often forgets, then remembers again and makes a weird face.
"Well, you know, it's like that."
Yujin-ajumma glossed over it and reached out her hand toward my head—
"H-heck!?"
As soon as her hand touched my hair, I was so startled that I jumped up, almost sitting up completely.
Clatter, the IV stand shook, enough that Yujin-ajumma had to quickly grab it.
"Oh, oh......?"
Even though I freaked out when someone bigger than me hugged me, I hadn't reacted much to having my head patted before.
"Ah......."
Yujin-ajumma withdrew her hand, which had awkwardly stopped in mid-air.
"Hmm......."
Yujin-ajumma thought for a moment, then soon smiled at me again.
"For now, let's get some good sleep. It's dinner time now. Or, would you like to eat? They said you probably wouldn't be hungry yet because of the IV nutrients."
"Ah, yes, I-I don't think I need to eat separately......."
When I answered, Yujin-ajumma nodded.
"Then, I'll stay here until Lua falls asleep."
"Yes, yes....... Thank you."
I said that and carefully lay back down on the bed.
And squeezed my eyes shut.
A little belatedly, I felt sorrowful.
I'm already a half-person, aren't I? I can't even properly share a light hug with the adults I live with, and I've never called them Mom or Dad. I just cause them trouble for no reason.
And now, even having a hand touch my head.
Did I...... did I really do something wrong? Did I make a huge mistake that caused things to get so twisted?
I don't know the reason at all.
Since long ago, I just thought that since I was born this way, maybe I could live this life a little happily.
It took quite a long time to fall asleep.
It might have been because I had been unconscious until a little while ago, and also because my head was just filled with too many thoughts.
Yujin-ajumma waited until I was truly fast asleep.
In the end, I couldn't properly see Soi that day.
*
The next day.
Since I had many injuries, I ended up staying in the hospital a bit longer.
Among those with Superpowers, there are some who can heal wounds, but their abilities are almost always used to treat people with serious illnesses like terminal cancer patients or those with critical injuries who wouldn't be surprised to die at any moment, so they say it can't be used on just anyone.
But even without such abilities, fortunately, it seems Soi won't have any scars on her body.
It's not quite super-regeneration, but they say the fact that her wounds heal quickly and cleanly is also a power inherited from Yujin-ajumma.
"Did you miss me, eonni?"
Unlike me, Soi, who wasn't even on an IV drip, just walked in as naturally as if she were coming to play in my room.
I only realized it after waking up again, but my room was a private room. The bed also seemed slightly larger than a standard hospital bed.
Perhaps because of that, Soi climbed onto my bed confidently and said.
"Move over a little bit. I'm going to lie down too."
"H-huh?"
Just like usual, as if what happened at school never happened.
Although the clothes she was wearing were hospital pajamas.
And Soi, lying side-by-side with me, reached out and held my hand tightly.
"Hmm, as expected, I sleep well only when the bed feels full like this."
"Did you...... not sleep well?"
"Yeah. It's much harder than the bed I usually sleep in."
Soi turned to look at me and grinned.
"So I'm going to take a nap before I go, okay?"
Since coming to the hospital yesterday, I had been with Soi's mom until morning.
Yet, without any sign of resentment.
"......Yeah."
I agonized over how to answer Soi, but in the end, I decided to just answer like that.
Somehow, it felt like the current Soi wanted that.
Soi's hand, holding mine tightly, seemed like she really wanted to confirm that I was here.
"Let's get better quickly and go home."
"Yeah."
"Mom said she'd buy a cake."
At those words, I couldn't help but smile a little.
Home.
The home to return to.
......It's okay to call it home, right?
At least for now.
*
*
*
Click-clack.
The man walked, undoing the top button of his shirt, which had been washed cleanly but was wrinkled all over because he hadn't bothered to iron it.
The sound of his shoe heels echoed through the hallway. There were no windows anywhere in the hallway.
No, there were things similar to windows, but they were all just attached to the doors lining both sides of the hallway.
To be precise, they weren't 'windows', but 'iron bars' would be the correct term.
"Stupid bitch, she always has to act so high and mighty like that."
The man who had been walking like that stopped in front of the door at the deepest part of the hallway and peered inside the iron bars.
"Oh my, Oppa, you're here?"
The woman inside waved her hand. She was a woman with long black hair.
"What 'Oppa'."
"Why, we were 'that kind of relationship' before, weren't we?"
"......."
The man's brow furrowed.
"So, when are you going to get me out?"
"......It's going to take a while. And it's not like I'm the one who's going to get you out."
The man said with a deep sigh.
"You really are Oppa, after all."
"I told you, who's your Oppa?"
"Any man older than me who I'm close with is an Oppa, what's the big deal?"
"......."
"Well, whether I listen or not, you're trying to get me out because you need me, right?"
"......Wait. I only came to say this. Don't pretend to know me outside. And inside, too."
"Hey, do you think I don't know that?"
"If you had known that, you wouldn't have walked into that place on your own feet."
"No, I really didn't know! I heard there was a daughter of Yuseong, but I didn't know she would awaken like that all of a sudden."
"If you're making a plan, shouldn't you calculate all those things in?"
"Hey, if we did it like that, we couldn't do this job, could we? Everyone is a potential Superpower user anyway, right? Isn't it weird to insist on dividing people into classes or not? Don't you think so?"
There's no reasoning with her.
The man shook his head and turned around.
"Anyway, stay quiet while you're inside. I said I'd get you out. Don't ruin things by being impatient for no reason."
The woman just shrugged her shoulders.
Click-clack. The sound of the man's shoe heels faded away again.
"Hmm~"
The woman, Seo Arin, lay back down on the hard bed and looked up at the ceiling.
"So, that's how it is?"
A child who didn't even know who her mother was until now has suddenly become Yuseong's daughter? And that biological daughter is even trying to protect her with her life.
Hmm. Should I give up?
I don't want to die, no matter what. Yuseong wouldn't kill me on the spot, but, hmm.
I wonder about that daughter?
"Eh, what can I do? It's not like I'm going out to find her right now."
Seo Arin muttered that, then started humming while tapping her toes again.
I wonder if I'll get out before or after the trial.
I'd prefer before the trial, if possible. I don't want to become an ex-convict.