The Dragon and a Bit of the Past
"Oh my, our Master. Our dense Master. Our stupid Master. Our thoughtless Master."
"..."
"Did you honestly think Miss Ha-yan wouldn't remember just because she's human? Did you really believe humans can't recall anything from when they were little? And of all the things that left her with trauma, you just had to go and pick that one out!!!"
"..."
This was the perfect moment for the old saying "left without a single word to say."
Rhea had been the first to stumble onto the awkward scene between the two of us. She unloaded on me with everything short of outright curses while I stood there dazed in the spot Ha-yan had just vacated, then vanished.
"You're a total idiot, right? You make a girl that perfect mad at you? When we get back, I'm definitely telling the whole class. Look forward to the first day of school after the trip."
Even Choi Hoon, who almost always took my side, shot me a look like I was pure garbage before disappearing deep into the cave.
Left alone and utterly deflated, I could only heave a long sigh and trail after the others with lifeless steps.
After that, cave tour or park tour, none of it mattered. Ha-yan treated me like I didn't even exist, until we finally ended up face-to-face again at the restaurant for lunch.
Even then, she still wouldn't spare me a single glance.
"Your food's ready~ Enjoy~"
Clack.
"...Just eat, guys."
"Uh. Yeah. Hey, Cha Siu. Hurry up and eat."
"Thanks for the meal."
"...Ugh, seriously."
Choi Hoon and Do Ji-yeon were fully aware of the freezing air between Ha-yan and me. Both of them kept glancing at her for cues, chewing their lunch without even knowing whether it was going into their mouths or their noses.
And then, finally—
"Aaaaaaagh!!!!! I can't take this anymore!!"
It wasn't me. It wasn't Choi Hoon. It wasn't Rhea. And it definitely wasn't Ha-yan.
Do Ji-yeon slammed her chopsticks down hard in front of the full Jeju seafood grill spread and started yelling.
The one silver lining was that we'd already nearly finished the main dishes—the massive grilled hairtail and the braised hairtail—and were just sipping the sweet cinnamon punch for dessert.
Even so, thirty solid minutes of mealtime had clearly blown past the absolute limit of Do Ji-yeon's patience.
With a face that was fully pissed off, she jabbed a finger back and forth between Ha-yan and me.
"If you two fought, you should've made up already and come back!! Why do the rest of us have to suffer through this freezing atmosphere with you and go through hell like this?! Hey! Cha Siu!! You've got a mouth, so say something!! Huh? Why do we have to get swept up in Ha-yan's cold shoulder and suffer for something we didn't even do!!!!"
"I'm with you a hundred percent on that. The whole meal I couldn't tell if the food was going in my mouth or my nose."
"...Ahem."
Choi Hoon voiced his full agreement with Do Ji-yeon, and Rhea gave a pointed little cough to signal her own silent support.
"..."
"..."
But when neither Ha-yan nor I said a word—more accurately, when neither of us could say a word—Do Ji-yeon finally grabbed Choi Hoon by the scruff of the neck and started dragging him toward the exit while calling back to us.
"You two! You've got the card anyway, so it shouldn't matter. Hoon and I are going to ride with Rhea unnie, hit the souvenir shops, then head back to the hotel to rest. Whatever this is about, you better make up before you come back. If you don't, I'm seriously going to max out this corporate card on the hotel restaurant and suite upgrades and get our entire group nuked by the homeroom teacher. Got it?"
"Wait, why am I suddenly being dragged into this—"
"Choi Hoon, shut up! Just shut up and follow me!!"
"Mmff!! Cough, cough!! Hey, hey!! At least let go when you talk!!!"
"I'll be taking my leave as well, then..."
Despite Choi Hoon's flailing protests, Do Ji-yeon hauled him out by the collar and vanished like the wind. Rhea disappeared right along with them.
"..."
"..."
And just like that, Ha-yan and I were left sitting alone in the restaurant.
But we'd already finished eating and paid the bill, so there was no reason to stay any longer.
Ha-yan seemed to reach the same conclusion. Still refusing to look at me even once, she gathered her things and stood up.
"Thank you~~"
"Ah, yes. Thank you..."
I had no choice but to scramble up after her as she headed out the door.
Once outside, Ha-yan just walked straight ahead with no clear destination in mind, eyes fixed forward.
"Ha... Ha-yan. Where are you going?"
"..."
I gathered every scrap of courage I had and asked where she was headed, but she still gave me nothing.
In the end I had no choice but to trail after her like a lost puppy.
I don't know how much time passed.
We eventually left the busy stretch full of shops and entered a quiet road. Ha-yan, who had been walking along the sidewalk, suddenly changed direction and turned down a rural dirt path.
It wasn't even evening yet. The sun was shining bright under perfect weather, yet watching her head somewhere completely deserted made a faint unease stir in me. Still I followed right behind her, step after step after step.
We walked farther down that country road.
Just when I started to think Ha-yan must be getting tired, and just when I confirmed there was truly no one else around—
Ha-yan, who had been staring straight ahead the whole time, stopped dead in her tracks and turned around to face me.
Still drowning in guilt, I couldn't meet her eyes. I just stared at the ground like a scolded puppy.
Even so, I spoke to her, packing as much apology into my voice as I could.
"Sooo... I really screwed up. Honestly, it was from before we even started elementary school, so I thought there was no way you'd remember it clearly. And with my mana suddenly increasing, I got a little carried away... Everything I say is probably going to sound like an excuse, but I need you to know that I fully understand I was wrong—"
"Stop. That's enough."
"Huh?"
Because I'd been staring at the ground, I hadn't realized she'd walked right up to me.
When I carefully lifted my head, Ha-yan was standing just one step away, looking up at me with an ambiguous expression because of the physical height difference between us.
I kept my shoulders hunched and simply looked at her, and then—
"Sigh. What am I supposed to do when you make that kicked-puppy face? It just makes me think of the old days again."
"The old days?"
"You had that exact same look the first time we met. That part I remember perfectly."
Then, completely the opposite of how things usually went, Ha-yan placed her hand on top of my head and gently stroked my hair as she spoke.
"Yeah. I was mad. I was really mad at first. I thought, Siu definitely has to remember what happened back then, so why would he pull a prank like that on me? Was he trying to bring up the past and stage some kind of protest to make me try harder? That's what went through my head."
"There's no way—"
"I know there's no way. Who do you think I am? I know you better than anyone else on this planet."
"...Let's sit down and talk. Doesn't your neck hurt?"
"A little?"
Because of the height difference, I could see her arm trembling as she kept stroking my head.
I used magic to summon a long wooden bench right beside us and we sat down.
Luckily there was a big tree nearby for shade, and a cool breeze was blowing. Perfect spot.
Once we were seated I asked her again, still sounding a bit deflated.
"So... are you not mad anymore?"
"Why? Would you rather I stay mad?"
"N-no way!"
I hurriedly waved both hands in frantic denial. Ha-yan burst into a bright, sparkling laugh.
"Ehehe. Maybe I should get mad like this more often. I don't think I've ever seen you react this intensely before."
"Please just spare me that..."
"Hehe. Look at you."
"Ugh..."
With my guilt still hanging over me, I couldn't manage a single comeback.
Ha-yan stared at me steadily for a moment, then opened her mouth again.
"I know you like me, and I like you, and that what we have isn't ordinary. But... we used to have some pretty intense times between us too, right?"
"Yeah, we did. Of course, your mother sank me every single time."
"And anyway, everything got resolved before we even started elementary school with kids our own age, right?"
"That's true too."
A newly awakened young dragon. Even as a child I already knew everything there was to know about magic, I was fully aware I was a dragon, and deep in my bones I believed every other living creature was beneath me.
But all I did was know magic. I had no idea how to actually use it properly, and I knew nothing about "society." The person who soothed me, scolded me, and gently molded me into something resembling a human being was none other than Ha-yan's mother.
"Mom really was amazing. I could never do what she did."
"She was incredible. No matter how much I thrashed around, she always found a way to make me understand. Sometimes that involved physical force, too."
The relationship between dragons and humans. And me, who had to adapt and live in that society.
The person who turned a dragon into a human was her mother.
"But it wasn't just your mother. You were an enormous gift to me as well, Ha-yan."
"A gift?"
Ha-yan tilted her head with a question mark floating over her, then laid her head down on my thigh.
On one hand I felt pure relief that her anger had completely melted away. On the other hand I thought she was just too cute. I said:
"The only living being who ever made me think it was okay to like someone, okay to pair up and live with someone. That was you, Ha-yan."
"Hehe. Same here!!"
With that, Ha-yan planted a quick peck on my completely unguarded cheek, and the two of us managed to return to the hotel in one piece... where Do Ji-yeon was waiting.