Chapter 145
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 145
After that maddening moment passed, Dokyun led them into a nearby restaurant and ordered two hamburgers, handing one to Eun-ji.
“Here. A spicy chicken burger, right?”
Eun-ji gave a small nod and took the hamburger.
Pouting with her lips jutted out, she looked quite upset.
“Are you sulking?”
“No.”
Yeah, right. She should at least stop pouting before saying that.
Dokyun let out a soft chuckle at the sight, then sat down across from her.
“It was probably a female monkey.”
“Huh?”
“She must have gotten jealous when she saw someone prettier than her.”
His tone was a little playful, meant to cheer her up. At his words, Eun-ji, who had been pouting the whole time, blushed faintly and whipped her head away.
“Hmph. I knew it. This is why ugly things are so…”
Why do I feel a pang of guilt at that remark? Dokyun felt an involuntary shudder run through him, then let out a hollow laugh as he watched Eun-ji, her spirits already lifted, start eating her hamburger.
Honestly, there was no other kid like her. Shaking his head at the thought, Dokyun took a bite of his own hamburger.
Where should we go next…?
The question popped into his head mid-meal. Dokyun turned on his smartphone and examined the zoo map he’d saved earlier.
The ‘Little Animal Friends’ section had ended with the monkey enclosure.
The ‘Safari’ with its predators and the ‘Tropical Grasslands’ with its large herbivores were both some distance away.
Antarctic Expedition.
That seemed like a good choice.
Having decided on their destination, Dokyun polished off the rest of his hamburger in one bite and took a sip of his cola, his eyes landing on Eun-ji.
“What.”
“Nothing, I was just looking.”
“Hmph…”
Eun-ji let out a heavy sigh. When Dokyun tilted his head in confusion, she looked at him with eyes full of pity and spoke in a consoling tone.
“Attendant. No matter how much you want to be pretty like a princess, it’s impossible for you.”
Crunch. The straw in his mouth crumpled.
“Wow… what a shame…!” Dokyun replied, forcing a smile at Eun-ji’s words, which had sent his blood pressure soaring the moment she’d recovered her mood.
“Well, don’t be too heartbroken. You have the honor of serving someone as pretty as a princess, don’t you? Not just anyone gets to do that, you know?”
“Of cou~urse! I kno~ow that all too well…!”
A flick on the forehead. God, just one flick.
As the wish filled Dokyun’s mind, Eun-ji, having finished her meal, stood up.
“Alright, we’ve eaten. Where to next?”
“The Antarctic Expedition. It says there are sea lions and penguins… oh, and polar bears, too.”
Reading the description on the screen, Dokyun briefly wondered, ‘If it’s an Antarctic expedition, why are there polar bears?’ before shaking the thought away.
It wasn't like the kids who came here would care whether polar bears lived in the Antarctic or the Arctic.
“Penguins…”
Eun-ji reacted to the word. As Dokyun watched her face grow brighter, he let out a small laugh. Eun-ji shot him a look and snorted, “Hmph,” before demanding:
“Lead the way.”
“Yes, yes.”
Seeing how excited she already was at the mere mention of penguins, Dokyun thought to himself how much she was acting like a little kid. He took her hand, and they started walking.
*
Dokyun shivered as they entered the ‘Antarctic Expedition’ building, which was filled with a distinct chill.
It was only natural for it to be cold in a place housing animals from the Antarctic, but Dokyun, having failed to prepare for it, trembled from his own oversight. He glanced at Eun-ji, who was also huddled against the cold, and took off his jacket, draping it over her shoulders.
“Here. You’ll catch a cold.”
“What about you, Attendant?”
“If I catch a cold, I’m sure Eun-ah will take care of me.”
“How irresponsible.”
This little brat…
Dokyun narrowed his eyes at her. Eun-ji just let out another “Hmph,” turned her head away, and pulled the jacket tighter around her shoulders.
“Still, I’ll praise your sense. This gets a passing grade.”
“Oh, how gracious of you.”
I wonder how long she plans to keep up this stupid scoring game. Dokyun shrugged at her compliment and walked deeper inside.
The first thing they saw were the sea lions. Eun-ji’s eyes sparkled as she watched one stretch its body out on the rocks, but when it opened its mouth in a wide yawn, she jumped in surprise and shook Dokyun’s hand.
“L-Let’s go see the next thing.”
“You scared?”
“No!”
She kicked his leg petulantly. Then, her pride seemingly wounded, she scowled and pulled him along.
The penguins were gathered in a flock in the very next enclosure.
Some were standing on the ice, while others swam through the water.
It must have been feeding time. A zookeeper inside the enclosure was tossing fish to the penguins, and they waddled about busily, snatching them up.
“They eat well.”
As Dokyun voiced his admiration, he felt the hand he was holding slip away. He turned his head toward Eun-ji.
“S-So cute…”
Her face was completely flushed as she stared at the penguins. She was clearly smitten.
Dokyun chuckled softly, then moved to her side and took her hand again.
“You like them that much?”
“They’re way cuter than you, Attendant.”
Why do you always have to drag me into it?
A surge of irritation rose in him, and Dokyun glared at Eun-ji. But she didn’t seem to notice his gaze at all, her eyes glued to the penguins.
Sigh, fine. What’s the point?
Arguing would only be a loss for him.
Sighing, Dokyun turned his gaze back to the penguins. He read the name on the sign in front of the enclosure—‘Adélie Penguin’—and looked at them again.
Adélie penguins…
He remembered reading somewhere online that they were a remarkably cruel species.
Dokyun narrowed his eyes as he watched them.
…Psychos.
The Adélie penguins he knew of were a species that would rape frozen corpses until they shattered, engage in prostitution for pebbles, and rape and abandon the chicks that were ostracized from the group.
Of course, like most things on the internet, it could have been a heavily biased exaggeration, but where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Watching them now, he couldn’t help but recall what he’d read, and their innocent-looking faces no longer seemed so guileless.
His gaze shifted to Eun-ji.
She was watching the penguins, letting out a constant stream of “Wow.” Perhaps the saying “ignorance is bliss” was meant for situations just like this.
Dokyun looked back at the penguins again.
Well… they are pretty cute, I guess.
When you thought about it, wasn't this a kind of plausibility in itself?
Dokyun let out a small laugh at the thought.
It was more than ten minutes later that Eun-ji finally tore her eyes away from the penguins.
Whatever it was about those penguins she loved so much, she had been completely mesmerized. It was only after Dokyun suggested they should see other things that she finally moved on.
They went to the next booth, and…
“More penguins.”
Emperor penguins this time, maybe. As Dokyun commented on them, Eun-ji started bouncing on her feet again, staring at them.
“So cute…!”
She was having the time of her life.
It seemed it would take a little more time for her to escape the penguins’ clutches.
*
The polar bear, which they saw only after passing all the penguin enclosures, was fast asleep.
Perhaps it was a relief that it was sleeping so peacefully. Dokyun, who had been anticipating how the easily-startled Eun-ji would react to a waking polar bear, felt the excitement drain out of him and walked past.
As they stepped out of the ‘Antarctic Expedition’ building, Dokyun felt the chilly air instantly replaced by warmth and stretched his arms wide.
The feeling of the warm sunlight soaking into his body was incredibly pleasant.
“Ughhh…”
As Dokyun stretched in the sun, Eun-ji, who was standing beside him, held out the jacket she’d been wearing.
“Well, I made good use of it.”
“Oh? What’s this? You’re actually thanking me?”
“Hmph. You think a princess is ungrateful like you?”
I don’t know, if we’re talking about being ungrateful, I think you’d take first place.
As Dokyun shot her a look of disbelief, Eun-ji narrowed her brow and spoke primly.
“What’s with that look? It’s unpleasant, so stop staring at me like that, okay? You’ll wear out the princess’s face.”
“Oh, well, excuse me for that.”
“That’s right, you should be sorry.”
Her shamelessness was boundless. As Dokyun let out a hollow laugh, Eun-ji shook her head, sighed deeply, and continued.
“Sigh, it’s a worry. If the princess wasn’t here, you wouldn’t have anyone to teach you these things.”
Thump.
Hearing her words, Dokyun froze.
A low, heavy voice escaped his throat.
“…Why do you sound like you’re about to die?”
Dokyun looked at Eun-ji, an unsettling feeling churning in his stomach.
For some reason, her words didn’t feel like a casual remark.
…It was just a feeling.
It could have been his own groundless assumption, but her strange behavior all day and her pointless scoring game suddenly came to mind, adding a different weight to her words.
She’s like…
Would it be a leap to say she sounded like someone preparing for a farewell?
As the thought darkened Dokyun’s expression, Eun-ji saw his face and scoffed with a “Hmph,” turning away from him.
“It’s just an expression. Are you stupid, Attendant? You can’t even tell the difference?”
With that, she walked a step ahead of Dokyun and let out a heavy sigh.
“Sigh, an old, sick attendant who can’t even take a hint. The princess has such bad luck with attendants, it’s so sad.”
It was the same kind of talk as always. But Dokyun, unable to respond as he usually would, forced himself to compose his expression.
“…Sorry about that.”
“Forget it. Just lead the way.”
“Right.”
Dokyun watched Eun-ji’s back as she walked away a little too quickly, then followed after her.
*
The next place they visited was a building called ‘Cool Dragon Friends,’ which housed reptiles.
Dokyun walked on, stealing glances at Eun-ji, who had put on a bright face the moment they entered the building.
She let out exclamations of wonder as she looked at the various lizards, no different from before. But because of the conversation they’d just had, Dokyun couldn’t see her in the same way.
He found himself assigning meaning to her every little action, replaying everything she had said throughout the day, trying to deduce what she was thinking… but no clear answer came to him.
Suddenly, a realization flashed through Dokyun’s mind.
Looking back, he had never once had a deep conversation with Eun-ji.
Part of it was because her behavior patterns were simple, and part of it was because her emotions were so easy to read on her face, allowing him to immediately resolve whatever she wanted.
So, rather than having deep conversations, he had been busy satisfying her desires of the moment.
An unpleasant feeling settled in his stomach. Dokyun carefully studied Eun-ji’s excited face and continued his train of thought.
He knew why Eun-ji existed. He knew what she wanted.
She was the personality of a child who wanted to be spoiled, born from the sorrow of an Eun-ah who had been left all alone in the world.
Thinking of that, and trying once again to imagine what was going on inside Eun-ji’s mind, Dokyun recalled a fact he had overlooked until now.
Eun-ji was a fragment that had broken off from Eun-ah. That meant Eun-ji held the memories that Eun-ah had split off from herself.
Most likely, the trauma Eun-ah had from that time.
He had a good idea of what it was. The incident at the amusement park. Being left alone, crying in a deserted alley.
The fear of being left alone was probably the reason Eun-ji was born.
He was certain Eun-ji knew about that memory. And not just knew about it; considering her reaction at the amusement park, she was afraid of it, too.
But the reason Dokyun had never truly felt the weight of it until now was…
…Not once.
Dokyun’s gaze swept over Eun-ji.
…Not a single time had she ever let it show.
For all her whining and demanding, Eun-ji had never once outwardly revealed the trauma she carried.
“Attendant.”
Eun-ji called to him.
Dokyun stared at her with a blank expression.
“What are you doing? Don’t you have the strength to walk anymore? Sigh, this is what you get with old geezers.”
He looked at Eun-ji, nagging him just like she always did.