Chapter 5
Translator: True Detective
Chapter 5. Is there... Hope? (5)
It was three days after I started living at Seo Yujin's house that I heard the news that the mister had survived.
Even though I was worried about trauma, the mister was also one of the people I would be living with for now.
"Haha, look, I'm perfectly fine like this!"
"Hehe."
Seeing the mister say that while effortlessly lifting Soi with his hands when we went to visit him, it seemed he really was okay. Seeing as he was being discharged next week, a superhuman really is a superhuman.
Of course, the face of Seo Yujin standing next to him when he lifted Soi looked like she wanted to smack him on the back.
Anyway, thanks to that, there was no reason for Soi to become gloomy, and Seo Yujin also seemed a bit relieved.
It was a relief that the atmosphere in the house didn't just become dark, even though the mister hadn't returned yet.
Perhaps the reason Soi was swayed by Seo Lua in the original work was also entangled with what happened to her father.
I can't really remember the exact development of the novel, but I think I roughly get it. Because say what you will, it seems Seo Yujin truly loves the mister. If the mister had died because of Seo Lua, she probably wouldn't have been able to easily accept her as her daughter.
Though I still don't know why she stepped up to foster Seo Lua. Was it because she was the child her husband burned his life to save?
"Hello! This is Lua!"
When the two of us went to kindergarten, she held my hand tightly, abruptly went up to her friends, and introduced me like that.
Because she said that, skipping all other words right after saying "Hello?" to her friends, the friends being introduced all tilted their heads.
"My little sister!"
And seeing the kids tilting their heads, she declared that as if it were a supplementary explanation.
The kids who heard that tilted their heads in the opposite direction again, but was it because they were kids? They didn't really think too deeply about it, and soon just accepted the two of us as sisters.
Regarding the little sister controversy, I just decided to let her win.
Geez, I can't fight with a kindergartener over something like this. I'm the one freeloading for now anyway, and since my mental age is way higher, trying to win also seems a bit unsightly.
It's absolutely not because I vigorously denied it for the first week and then succumbed to Soi's crazy energy unique to young children or anything.
"Oh, pretty."
Kids are honest.
They absolutely never beat around the bush; they just say someone is pretty if they think they look pretty.
And thanks to Soi, who dragged me around and made me show my face to every kid attending the kindergarten in just one day, I became the center of attention for all the kindergarteners overnight.
Hah, geez.
This is troubling.
Of course, popularity among kindergarteners doesn't last long. Once they become elementary schoolers, they completely forget their memories of those days.
But, well, still.
Doesn't this show quite a bit of hope? It's incredibly different from the days when girls would absolutely never talk to me first if I stayed still, and even if I struck up a conversation, they would just give a response like "Ah, yes" with a truly enormously awkward expression.
If I hear that I'm pretty nine times out of ten from honest young children, isn't it a given that I'll be popular in the future too?
Actually, Seo Lua in the original work was quite a beauty. That cold-looking beautiful face played a part in her being able to sway the public opinion of the class. Didn't they say there was even a fan club made up of boys?
...No, I don't need something like that. If it were a girls' fan club, then maybe.
"My little sister is pretty, right?"
It's also somewhat funny how Soi's nose pierces the sky more and more as I receive more evaluations from the kids that I'm pretty.
Well, it's far better than her hating me for stealing affection as a kid who suddenly rolled in, so maybe I should just let it be.
And, well.
Even though acknowledging her as 'unnie' is a bit much since the age gap is way too big anyway.
Soi's presence did become quite a big help to me.
Trauma.
A person's mind is incredibly fragile, more so than you'd think, so even if it's not a war or a large-scale disaster, severe trauma can remain.
Even just getting hit once by a passerby on the street. Even just slipping on a slope. You develop trauma from that incident and end up cowering when faced with a similar situation.
Of course, Seo Yujin took care of me with utmost devotion. Taking me to the psychiatrist on scheduled dates, and even asking the housekeeper to do it on days she was busy with hero work.
But what helped more than that psychological counseling was exactly Soi's presence.
First of all, if Soi is nearby, it's chaotic.
It means she absolutely never leaves me alone in peace. Where on earth does she spring up such ideas; Soi ceaselessly created 'games'. Aside from playing with dolls, she would play pirates treating the living room sofa as an island, or gather a bunch of delivery boxes to build a base in the room.
Even if I didn't say much and just roughly tagged along, she would smile brightly and happily as if she were having a lot of fun.
Where would there be time to feel trauma next to a kid like that?
Should I say that just watching her makes me realize why raising a pet has a psychological therapy effect?
...Is that not something you should say about a person?
However, it's inevitable that I often think of Chaeyi.
It hasn't even been a month since I started living here, so constantly talking about the orphanage feels a bit inappropriate, so I'm holding it in.
I wonder if she might be feeling lonely by herself. If she might be crying because I, who always hung around with her every day, am gone.
...No, is this over-self-consciousness too? Transferring schools during childhood is something that happens often.
I've only known Chaeyi for a little over a year, so she probably won't remember me for a very long time.
I just console myself like that.
If I'm really curious, I just have to say I want to go visit after a little more time passes.
"Dad's home!"
Soi let out a cheer and dashed over to the mister as he threw the door open and came in, then jumped and clung to his leg like a monkey.
The mister effortlessly lifted Soi and hugged her, beaming.
Ah, for reference, the mister's name was 'Lim Dohyun'. However, there probably won't be any occasion for me to call him by that name directly.
How many people in the world call their dad by their name?
Right now, he isn't my dad, he's just a mister, so I decided to call him mister.
I've been calling Seo Yujin something similar too. It's a relief she doesn't feel an aversion to the word 'ma'am', but since it's a bit embarrassing to call her directly anyway, I've been waiting until she calls me first.
She seemed quite relieved seeing me running around the house playing with Soi, but still, whether she senses something from my attitude or is just worrying on her own, Seo Yujin frequently gauges my mood.
It's the same now. The relationship where the word 'Dad' is commonly used is only between the mister and Soi.
As if he knew Seo Yujin was looking at me with slightly worried eyes, the mister walked over with a grin and lifted me up effortlessly.
"Our second daughter is here too!"
Uh.
Is it official now that I'm the younger sister?
The moment I was about to hold a bit of dissatisfaction about that fact—
"Ah."
Suddenly, my heart went thump-thump, and I felt it beating violently.
It seemed my body had tensed up instead at the warm body heat I felt clinging to the mister's body.
My heart was beating violently, but for some reason, my body grew colder.
"Lua?"
Seeing me shivering, Soi's eyes widened as if she were surprised.
The mister's expression also became flustered—
When I came to my senses, I had already been carried by Seo Yujin and laid on the sofa.
Blink, blink.
I just blinked my eyes looking at the ceiling, then barely managed to sit up.
As I was tilting my head alone, Seo Yujin quickly approached the mister and whispered something. The mister nodded with a serious expression and looked at me.
A gaze completely filled with apologies.
Only then did I realize that what I felt was 'trauma'.
It's a given, if you think about it.
Because, well, I was covered in blood while in that mister's arms.
"Lua, are you okay?"
"...I'm okay."
My voice answering was cracked.
My body was still trembling slightly.
"Soi, Lua. Shall we sleep early today?"
"Huh? I want to talk with Dad some more."
"Dad came home late because of various tests too. I'm sure he's tired. So let's sleep early and soundly today, okay?"
Even though Soi was stubborn, she was fundamentally a good kid who was perceptive and listened well to her parents.
And with that perceptiveness, it seemed she noticed I was scared, even if she didn't know the reason.
Soi held my hand and said.
"Wanna go to our room?"
"...Yeah."
At that question from Soi, I nodded my head.
Seo Yujin had prepared a separate room for me, but due to Soi's strong insistence, we are sharing the same room.
We do change clothes separately though, and I am using my room for purposes like that.
When we sleep, we sleep in the same bed like this.
Though I think we'll naturally separate as we grow up.
Our sleeping posture usually starts with us lying side by side looking at the ceiling.
If I wake up in the middle of sleeping feeling a bit hot and heavy, Soi has a part of her body draped over mine.
Then I escape slightly to the side and fall back asleep.
But even subconsciously, Soi has a rather persistent side somewhere, so she relentlessly pursues me as I get gradually pushed into the corner.
Eventually, she sticks closely to my body that has nowhere left to escape, and falls into a deep sleep, snoring softly with an expression as if she were hugging a giant teddy bear.
It's a bit annoying usually.
But just for today, it was somehow a little warm.
At the very least, I didn't feel the coldness I felt earlier at all.
However, sleep wasn't coming.
...Right, gosh.
This world is that kind of world. A world where heroes exist, and where villains commit evil deeds using power similar to what those heroes use.
A world where beings fight each other and bleed using superpowers, and such things even happen at the academy.
Because for the protagonist to be active, there inevitably has to be instances of villains invading the academy.
Compared to that, my, Seo Lua's power is truly wretched, so it's actually of almost no help. The reason I was able to drop things on the protagonist's head was actually just because he was off guard; would an opponent really get hurt by the level of being hit with a brick among superhumans?
Well, still, since the protagonist is strong, it seems there's some hope.
Wouldn't the protagonist handle everything even if I don't go out of my way to act up?
It doesn't really sit well with me, though.
I closed my eyes.
Since it turned out like this, let's at least organize my thoughts before I fall asleep.
First, it would be best to recall the future developments as much as possible and write them down somewhere. Even if my power is weak, the fact that I know the future will be helpful in its own right.
...
Though the problem is I don't really remember the contents properly.
No, thinking about it like this, isn't it on the plain side except for the issue of laundering the heroines? Even if I didn't like the heroines, I don't think it was to the extent of actively leaving comments to criticize it.
What on earth didn't I like so much?
Seo Lua, Soi, Chaeyi, their illustrations were all pretty for starters, and ultimately they just faded into the background like air after entering the protagonist's harem.
That much isn't entirely unbearable, hmm.
Later on, in the side stories dealing with after the protagonist graduated, I think they probably even included an R-19 chapter for each heroine.
Especially Soi, who exuded an unexpected charm at the start of that side story, so her evaluation among readers also got a little better.
Especially in that scene, lines like, "You're the first one I've felt this good doing this with," too—
"Hiyak!?"
My mind flashed fully awake in an instant, and I ended up springing up from my spot.
Ah, right.
Yes. I finally remembered. The reason I had buried this memory.
You know, there are always authors like that.
Authors who are doing fine making reasonably pure-love routes, but inevitably add unnecessary details in weird places.
Humans who hold theories like 'There's no way a girl this popular is a virgin'. Furthermore, Seo Lua had grasped Soi's 'weakness'. The fact that Soi ended up getting into that sort of thing in the first place was also the result of Seo Lua swaying her.
That's it. The reason I eventually ended up writing a comment.
That was the reason! Because Seo Lua was a character doing trashy things that couldn't be accepted with just the word 'forgiveness'!
That's why I had forgotten it! By reading a ton of other novels so I wouldn't even care about it!
Ah, I had barely managed to forget it!
"Lua?"
"Uh, yeah?"
Because I sprang up suddenly, Soi, who had been stuck tightly to me, also woke up.
Soi is still a little kid. And a little kid who hasn't even entered elementary school at that.
Me too, and the same goes for Chaeyi.
The future where her father died has also changed, and naturally, I have no intention of swaying Soi and grasping her weakness.
So, umm.
That, is there hope? If you look at it that way, it seems like hope is... visible?
But for some reason, thinking about it makes me anxious? Even if we don't go down that path, isn't it natural for a popular kid to date and do this and that?
It's possible Soi might get a boyfriend later on, but I don't really have the right to stop that, do I?
More than that, what do I want? For Soi to not date any other men until she enters the male lead's harem?
...No, putting it like that makes me feel even worse.
A novel character is just a character. They are an existence dictated by the author, so if it's said they had no boyfriend even if they were popular, regardless of whether someone throws a fit on the side saying it's forced, they just become that kind of existence in that world. And that's why that setting felt even more unpleasant. Because they 'purposely', 'intentionally' tell you as if showing off. Even though it didn't have to be that way.
However, this world isn't the world inside a novel. Seeing how I can feel warmth like this, it's merely a world that resembles that novel...
Ah, I don't know.
I laid Soi back down, who was looking at me with wide eyes in the dark room, and I lay down too.
It's something in the distant future anyway.
"Mom."
Seo Yujin, who was helping Soi change clothes, blinked as she looked at Soi speaking to her like that with a slightly worried expression.
The only time Soi makes this kind of expression is usually when she says things like, what if Santa Claus doesn't bring a present this year.
But Christmas was far away, and above all, the seriousness of that expression seemed deeper than usual.
In other words, it was an expression Seo Yujin was seeing for the very first time.
"What's wrong, Soi? Did something happen?"
When she asked, a bit surprised,
"Yeah, the thing is, yesterday Lua..."
"Ah, yes."
Hearing Lua's name come up, she didn't know whether she should be more tense or if she could relax her mind.
If it was just a usual story coming up, she could just answer with a smile, but Lua had definitely been through something.
She felt truly grateful to that child.
Because if they had been even a little bit later going to the hospital, her husband, Dohyun, would have died.
No, being late wasn't the issue. They said it would have been very dangerous if that child hadn't blocked the wound with all her might.
How many blood bags had he received transfusions of at the hospital? Even after receiving help from those with healing abilities, he had just been diagnosed that he would have to focus on rehabilitation for half a year.
So she felt a fond affection for that child and wanted to take care of her directly no matter what.
"Last night, Lua suddenly shot up."
"...Huh?"
At those words, Yujin felt a sensation of fully snapping to her senses.
"We had been sleeping for a while, and suddenly, kyaak, like that."
"Did she wake up from her sleep?"
"Yeah. Like she had a nightmare."
"..."
Yujin's expression became a little serious.
"I see. Thank you for telling me."
"Lua is okay, right?"
"...Yeah. She'll be okay. Definitely."
She wanted to make her okay.
Because she owed her the life of the person she loved.
But the thought also crossed her mind: could she really do that?
She had felt a bit relieved seeing her live together with Soi, but she had seen the child turn pale after being held in Dohyun's arms yesterday.
Is she putting her own greed forward too much? Is she just thinking about erasing her sense of debt, and thus widening the child's wounds even more?
However, now that she had brought her here like this, there was no option to send her back.
Because that would be a much bigger wound to the child.
"...I'm all done changing clothes."
Carefully, a timid voice.
Turning her head, a child as pretty as a doll was wriggling her hands and peeking her face out from beyond the door.
"Yes. Let's go to kindergarten."
Yujin stood up, speaking in a voice as indistinguishable from her usual one as possible.
Soi also ran over like usual and tightly held Lua's hand.
Seeing a slight smile spread across Lua's face when Soi held her hand, Yujin was able to feel a very tiny bit of relief.