Chapter 19
Chapter 19
"You seem to be the guardian! Then you should have managed her properly from the start! Isn't it more your fault to leave such a young child alone here? Telling someone you've never met before to go away, to stop!"
Watching the woman point at me and scream "Baeek!", I lightly swept my bangs up with one hand.
In Korea, there was a certain rule. The loudmouth wins.
But if that's the case, I wasn't exactly soft-spoken either.
However, in these situations, my voice tends to get a bit lower.
"Yeah, let's say that was my fault. But is it okay to suddenly approach a kid happily eating pizza by herself and scare her? No, fine, I'll even concede that. But if the kid is trembling, shouldn't you just quietly back off?"
"That is..."
The woman, at a loss for words for a moment, then her face gradually turned bright red, and she suddenly screamed.
"Kyaaaaah!"
"......?"
For a moment, I wondered what was going on.
"You were the one who was wrong from the start! Why didn't you just not leave your seat? Why are you getting angry at us! So angry!"
Watching the woman raise her voice even more and scream, drawing the attention of all the store employees, I was speechless.
Really, fucking incredible.
What's funnier is that the friends next to her, instead of stopping her, were actually backing that bitch up.
"Apologize first. Don't make this bigger than it is."
"We didn't do anything right either, but neither did you. As A-young said, if you hadn't left your seat in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. Who dresses a little girl in just a t-shirt anyway?"
"Right! We were worried, so we just tried to talk to her just in case. In this day and age, there are plenty of awful people who leave kids at restaurants and run off."
My head was spinning.
They all rushed in as a group and screamed loudly. Since it wasn't just one person but several, I started to worry a little that maybe I was the one more in the wrong.
Maybe if I just bowed my head once here as they wanted, it would end peacefully. Maybe I made the problem bigger by being nosy.
But I'm the kind of person who might regret it later, but I didn't do something I'd regret right away.
"I admit that leaving my seat was wrong! But! You also scared my child, so apologize! Apologize!"
"......!"
"Apologize right now. If not, I'll grab you by the hair and force you to bow."
This is the kind of person I am.
In a way, I'm a really terrible person, a thug who can't be a role model for a child, trash... a host who works nights.
Still, I can't stand being wronged.
Moreover, I might be able to endure being wronged myself, but I couldn't just let that child be wronged or scolded for no reason.
"J-just apologize, then..."
It was only after I refused to back down and threatened them that the women cautiously watched my reaction.
Then the women who looked to the side were startled with expressions of realization. Because Miho was trembling all over, her face pale and even breaking out in cold sweat.
"How did you raise this child..."
The bitch named A-young, who had started screaming out of nowhere, tried to keep throwing a fit until the end, but one of her friends quickly covered her mouth.
If not for that, I might have thrown a punch.
"I'm sorry. We didn't know anything and just approached her because she was cute, so it seems the child got really scared. I sincerely apologize."
"......"
I quietly took a deep breath, pulled Miho toward me, and said.
"I'm sorry too. No, I'm sorry for speaking too harshly from the start. I know you didn't approach with bad intentions. But the child is like this... Hoo."
As I let out a series of sighs, Miho, held in my arms, quietly lifted her head and said something.
"S-sorry... I m-made a mistake..."
At that weak, tearful apology, my heart ached involuntarily.
The women also seemed to feel the same way, and they cautiously apologized.
"We're sorry too. It seems you were really startled by us suddenly approaching."
「Umjjil」
One of the women simply leaned in to apologize, but Miho trembled and burrowed into my arms.
"......"
The adults, including me, could only stare blankly at that sight.
This made it clear once again. To Miho, humans are objects of fear.
I should have vaguely realized it when she said she wasn't in pain and when she kept reading the mood even over small things. No, as the women said, I shouldn't have left my seat in the first place.
"I'm okay... sniff..."
Looking at Miho answering in a deflated voice, I closed my eyes slightly and said.
"Starting today, I'm quitting smoking."
"......"
"I promise. If I even put a cigarette in my mouth, then... I'll do whatever you want."
"Okay..."
I vigorously patted Miho's small head and sat her back down. As the situation somehow settled, I thought to myself.
This was something that needed to be fixed.
Whatever the case, if Miho is going to live with me until she becomes an adult, I can't be by her side 24 hours a day.
In a world swarming with humans, if Miho has a phobia of humans, she wouldn't be able to do anything.
"Those people didn't approach you with bad intentions. It's because you're so cute and pretty..."
"That's not something you know for sure..."
"......"
"...'Those humans' also approached me like that at first. And... haah, haah, muffled."
I quietly covered Miho's mouth with my hand.
"Let's stop there. It's not too late to talk about what comes next when you've recovered a bit more."
It had only been a day. I didn't intend to rip open all the wounds Miho carried so soon after meeting her.
"Okay..."
"Let's eat pizza. It's already all cold."
"We can just order another one."
"...Fine, do that."
I cut the cold pizza into bite-sized pieces for Miho and said.
"To be honest, that woman who screamed earlier was definitely a weirdo."
"Yeah, she was a total bitch."
That bitch honestly deserved to be called a bastard by Miho.
Thinking about it again gives me chills. Screaming suddenly to attract attention and shouting—that wasn't a skill she'd only done once or twice.
"Really, I thought I was quite an oddball too."
There really are all sorts of crazies in this world.
I thought I'd only see them online, but to run into a crazy like that in the morning. Let's just consider it as warding off bad luck.
Hopefully, the rest of the schedule will go peacefully.
「Ttingdong!」
"I'm sorry for causing a disturbance earlier. And may I order another pizza?"
"Ah, yes... it's okay. From what I witnessed firsthand, I could understand why the father got angry."
"Huh? Ah, abeonim?"
"Yes? No... is it not? Oh, I'm sorry if I misunderstood. I happened to overhear you saying 'my child' earlier."
"That is..."
As I was about to awkwardly brush it off out of embarrassment, Miho, with tomato sauce on her lips, shouted first.
"He did!"
"......?"
"He said I'm his child! Hyunu said that!"
At her shout, the employee nodded with a brighter smile than ever.
"Yes, he definitely said that."
"Kyaaaaaang!"
"Then, please wait a moment. Pepperoni pizza, size large, right?"
"...Yes, large."
"It'll take about 35 minutes, is that okay?"
"Yes, that's fine."
「Ssuk ssuk!」
I pulled out a couple of white tissues and wiped the tomato sauce off Miho's mouth while thinking.
My child...?
It slipped out unconsciously, but well, let's just let it slide for today. It's not such a big issue that I need to dwell on it.
Above all, it might become more natural in the future.
"Is it good?"
"Cora, refill please!"
"......"
「Ttingdong, ttingdong, ttingdong!」
Looking at Miho, who was so cheerful in front of me that her earlier appearance felt like a lie, I could only let out a helpless laugh.
"Kiya, delicious!"
"Eat a lot. I'm full now."
Having said that, I crumpled up the pack of cigarettes that still had over ten sticks left and threw it into the trash can next to the table.
It was a cigarette I had smoked every single day since my third year of middle school.
Now, let's quit.
It's not good for my health, so I should try to quit even now.
"Kyaaaaaang!"
For the sake of that child's smile.
[Muchin Pizza]
"Thank you for visiting! Please come again!"
"Bye bye!"
「Jiing!」
Seeing Miho with a lingering expression in front of the automatic door, I slightly bowed my head.
Why is it so draining to just handle a single morning?
'From now on, let's definitely eat at home or just order delivery.'
Looking back, it was true that Miho attracted people's attention in many ways.
The fact that she had blonde hair and blue eyes, rare in Korea, already captured half the attention, and her absurdly beautiful looks and skin also played a part.
'Wait, if that's the case, wouldn't her ears be the most noticeable?'
I glanced sideways and saw her long ears, which might be a characteristic unique to elves.
Why is there no reaction to that?
[I took care of that as well.]
[To the eyes of humans other than you, it will appear no different from ordinary human ears.]
Versatile, truly versatile.
"Now we need to go buy clothes, but I'm already tired. Already exhausted. Ah, I crave a cigarette..."
Honestly, if I enter a department store in this outfit, I can't help but receive uncomfortable stares from the staff.
Moreover, the section I was planning to go to was quite expensive, so I could understand if the staff were worried or if Miho's behavior caused a commotion.
Nothing I can do about it.
After all, everyone judges a first impression by appearance.
[Myeonseo Station Dotte Department Store]
"Mom, that kid is walking around in a t-shirt and slippers."
"Shh, be quiet. Don't even make eye contact."
"That guy, looks like a beggar."
...It can't be helped to hear things like that.
It's a bit irritating, but it's not like adults said it; it's just kids blurting out things without knowing anything.
I can overlook that with a generous heart.
Ah, it's not that I'm particularly generous.
"Oong, Hyunu, it looks like there's a beggar here! Miho wants to see the beggar too!"
That's you, right there.
Go ahead, look all you want.
Because you're inside the mirror.
[My precious child, these days if you're not going to dress them in luxury, at least at minimum cost!]
[These days, it's an era where you dress your child in good clothes for the parents' satisfaction, even if it's more for the parents than the child!]
Really, articles that make parents feel pressured.
I was searching to see which children's clothing brand is best, and this kind of junk article pops up as the main result.
"They say the birth rate has hit rock bottom, yet the domestic baby products market size keeps rising exponentially every year. Does that make sense?"
With a dumbfounded expression, I checked the price tag of a small kids' sweatshirt right in front of me on the second-floor children's clothing section.
[589,000 won]
"It does make sense?"
Why is a piece of clothing that looks like it could fit a doll so expensive?
Did they accidentally add an extra zero?