Chapter 7. No, it's not that different? (1)
Yujin-ajumma, Soi, and even Dohyun-ajussi.
They treat me so well that I find it a bit strange.
Honestly speaking, I am not a child of this house.
Of course, I could argue against this point all day.
It's not like everyone in the world abuses or discriminates against adopted children. In fact, if you think about it logically, there are far more people who raise them diligently and well without feeling the need to compare them to their own biological children.
So, in truth, this kind of thinking is probably just because my own way of thinking is lacking.
Because I wouldn't have been able to do it myself.
Even if I were to marry someone, I wouldn't even be able to think about adopting a child from another family, and even if I happened to adopt one, I wouldn't have the confidence not to compare them to my own biological child.
It just means I'm not a very big-hearted person to begin with.
Being that kind of person, I only felt sorry for Soi's family, who were so devoted to me.
"......."
When I open my eyes in the morning, I'm in the same bed as Soi.
It's not like Soi's bed is extremely narrow, but it's not exactly spacious enough for the two of us to lie side-by-side either.
So, even if we start off lying side-by-side holding hands and shoulder-to-shoulder when we first lie down, by the time I wake up in the morning, our positions have changed from tossing and turning.
But even if our positions change, Soi never lets go of my hand. Does she wake up in her sleep and grab it again, or has the instinct to unconsciously search for my hand now taken root in her brain?
She's holding onto my hand tightly, as if she's terrified that I might run away somewhere.
......Could this also be trauma? A trauma where her best friend, whom she has been with since childhood, might suddenly leave her side.
The position of lying face-to-face holding hands is a rather romantic one, but.......
Isn't it also a bit embarrassing?
It's not like we're 'far apart,' even if there is more distance than just sticking right next to each other.
It's happened often enough when I wake up, but it feels like it's gotten worse over the last few days.
Well, considering what we went through.
I wiggled for a while trying to figure out how to pull my hand away, and eventually, Soi, who seemed to have been in a deep sleep, opened her eyes brightly.
"Are you awake?"
"Ye-yeah."
I was so flustered at having to answer that the same sound came out twice in a row.
It's the time to be at school, yes.
Not just time to wake up, but at this hour, we should be at school.
We were the type to wake up reasonably early even on weekends or holidays, so even if it were a day off, we should have been awake long ago.
......In the end, the school is closed.
After what happened, it's obviously impossible to go back to class the very next day.
It's not just that the school building was destroyed, but considering the state of all the kids who were there.
"......."
No, let's stop thinking about it.
If I keep thinking about it, my mood sinks down to the bottom again.
Especially, my characteristic negative way of thinking was the problem.
I thought that in this life, since I was born pretty and had pretty friends, my personality would naturally become brighter.
Has my gloomy mindset from my past life carried over here?
"Let's eat, let's eat."
Soi jumped out of bed, her hand still holding mine. Even though my mouth felt dry and fuzzy from just waking up, it seemed like food was the first thing on Soi's mind.
Well, it is an age where one gets hungry easily.
Me too.
When we stepped out of the room, what I saw was pink hair.
Hair that had grown a bit longer than when we were in elementary school, with a very nice texture, flipped once, and its owner's face turned toward us.
"Lua. Soi."
Chaeyi, who had been sitting quietly on the sofa waiting, smiled brightly and waved at us.
"Hi."
"......Hi."
Soi's eyes narrowed instantly.
This is how the two of them have been lately. Actually, I had been feeling it a bit before, but it seems like it's gotten a bit worse in the last few days.
"When did you get here?"
"Earlier this morning. Around nine?"
"Are you planning on coming to school at our house or something?"
"Well, we aren't going to school anyway. I wake up in the morning and I'm just bored, so......."
Chaeyi hesitated a bit and glanced at me.
"Lua, are you okay?"
It's like this every morning these days.
Chaeyi always asks for permission from me, not Soi.
I'm actually a bit perplexed every time I get asked that question. Because, um.......
I can't say this isn't my house, but even so...... for some reason, I get the feeling that I shouldn't say that.
"Well, if Lua is okay with it, then it must be okay. Mom and Dad gave permission, so that's why she came in."
Since I couldn't answer and was stammering, Soi accepted it cleanly.
And she pulled my wrist toward the kitchen.
Chaeyi also jumped up from her seat and came to my side to hold my hand.
As expected, I don't know why, but at some point, my right hand became Soi's territory, and my left hand became Chaeyi's. I never really agreed to it, but the two of them acted as if they had reached a tacit agreement.
Although, when preparing meals, we had no choice but to let go.
"......."
We didn't go out of our way to set up a huge spread; we just divided the roles appropriately. Chaeyi toasted bread in the toaster, and Soi fried eggs and sausages.
I, on the other hand, thought I should do something, so I took out plates and cups, but I had nothing to do.
At best, it was just pouring milk into cups.
When the preparations were done, we sat side-by-side at the table to eat.
When the meal was over, we went back to the living room sofa and sat side-by-side.
During that process, one of the things I usually heard was missing.
The sound of the TV.
Even when eating breakfast, the TV was almost always on. Usually, a news channel or something like that would be on.
We didn't use our smartphones either. My game homework has been piling up for days, but we all just charged our smartphones and didn't open them in front of anyone.
The reason was simple.
Whenever we turned on the TV or used our smartphones, I kept shrinking back.
On TV, news about that incident came out day after day. Of course, stories about terrorist incidents at the viewing or people who died elsewhere kept coming out. Because someone getting hurt or dying, especially getting hurt or dying by a villain, was a really big deal.
But just as much, the incident at the school, where it was known that no one had died, was also covered with significant weight.
No one died, but there were seriously injured people.
A teacher almost died, and if it hadn't been for two students with superpowers and Yujin-ajumma, who flew in as soon as she finished the incident, it would have truly become a massacre site.
.......No, actually, there was a more important fact than that.
Only 'one' villain went there.
And a skilled one at that, whom most heroes couldn't handle.
Children's lives are precious, but from the perspective of a terrorist, why would they bother sending someone to a school while already striking major national facilities? If they had hit the school first, I would have judged it as a distraction, but they attacked the school 'later' instead.
It was as if attacking the major facilities was the distraction, and hitting the school was the more important task.
The villain who visited there didn't even have terrorism as their goal.
It was just to take one child away.
......They are still investigating the important things, and experts say that's not it, but.
The 'witnesses who saw it from the closest distance' were mostly at the school.
The speed at which rumors spread on the internet could be said to be the fastest.
I was all over the news.
Of course, my real name didn't come out. Even my surname was changed to things like Ms. Kim, Ms. Song, etc., and even if photos appeared, only mosaic-covered group photos were shown.
But I knew that my real identity must have spread, without having to search deeply.
Yujin-ajumma told me not to watch TV.
She also told me not to use my smartphone as much as possible, and to refrain from going out of the house if possible.
There were reporters waiting, and even if they weren't reporters, people might take pictures and upload them, or eyewitness accounts might circulate on the internet.
Until the Association and the government responded definitively, I was to stay inside the house.
I could understand it too. It's not just that I'm having a hard time, but it could also cause disadvantages for Soi.
But even so, there were parts that I just couldn't let go of.
"......Is it okay if I go see the man who protected me?"
The man who collapsed on the playground covered in blood.
I didn't even know his name, and I had only seen his face from afar. But he seemed like a man with a kind impression.
"Hmm...... that is."
Yujin-ajumma also thought about it very seriously before shaking her head.
"Why don't you write a letter instead? I'll make sure it gets delivered properly. The man also thinks it would be difficult to meet in person."
Since I'm already covered in trauma, and I freak out if anyone touches my body other than holding hands.
Did she think that meeting the 'victim' of the incident would just become another trauma?
Even though I thought something felt off, I was scared that I might freak out in front of that man if I went.
In the end, I had no choice but to nod.
.......
Anyway, that's how it happened.
Soi was always stuck to me when we were inside the house. As if she were thinking about whether I might make some kind of mistake.
Chaeyi also came over every morning.
And then, she would stick right next to me for hours like this.
"......."
Even though it was the two of them who suffered damage because they were next to me in the end.
I still don't know exactly how the original Lua was ruined and twisted, or how she dragged the two of them into it and ruined them.
But at least I think I know the beginning.
Could it be that it happens in this world too? That by being close to me, they end up like in the original work?
Even while worrying about that.
In the end, thanks to their body heat, my heart calms down little by little.
I felt that was truly pathetic.
*
School was closed for almost two weeks.
I, Soi, and Chaeyi had all recovered from our injuries.
I didn't know what happened to the school kids, but—
"Hi!"
We arrived at school a little later than usual. We got used to waking up late in the morning, so we both almost were late.
And, like usual.
So, like two weeks ago, Soi greeted everyone energetically as she entered the classroom.
"Oh, hi."
"Soi, you're here."
The kids accepted the greeting with a slightly more subdued atmosphere than usual.
And, their gazes gathered on me as I followed behind Soi.
"Oh, hi."
"......."
I think I greeted them like usual.
But the answer that came back wasn't the same as usual.
They didn't openly ostracize me. The kids knew what kind of existence I was to Soi.
But none of the kids made eye contact with me.
They would glance away, or look out the window for no reason. Or they would only turn their gaze toward Soi one way or another.
Not that they didn't see me openly, but as if they happened not to see me, or happened not to hear me.
I lowered the hand I had slightly raised into the air.
My gaze also lost its direction and sank downward.
I knew it, and I thought I was somewhat prepared mentally. But it seems that wasn't the case.