Get Out!!!!
“Excuse me~ Is this the house with the beautiful child?”
A stranger’s unfamiliar voice rang out as someone pressed our doorbell, calling for a person. A beautiful child—Seol-hee noona? Seol-hwa? Neither of them was the sort anyone would ever call plain, that much was true.
But I wasn’t so naive that I’d just confirm it for a complete stranger. I considered simply not answering at all, yet if they came back later and ran into Seol-hee noona or Seol-hwa instead, that didn’t seem ideal either.
“No, I think you’ve got the wrong place.”
“Oh my! Is that so? But your voice is so lovely—might your face be just as beautiful?”
Even after my denial the stranger’s voice didn’t go away; instead they asked whether I was beautiful too. Of course I never expected someone like that to turn around and leave just because I said no.
I thought about telling them to leave, but my instincts were screaming at me not to keep the conversation going. That voice was dangerous, they were warning me.
“You don’t have to be scared~ Could you just open the front door for a moment~? I’m looking for someone, you see~”
The one small mercy was that they didn’t seem inclined to force the door open with raw power. Whatever the reason, I was grateful for it right now.
I stayed silent, glaring at the front door, every muscle tensed. I wanted to grab something I could use as a weapon, but I couldn’t risk stepping away—there was no telling what they might do in those few seconds.
The best I could manage was pulling an umbrella from the shoe rack and gripping it like a sword.
Even though I gave no answer, the voice beyond the door kept politely, gently asking me to open up. It was so kind and warm that if it had been Seol-hee noona or Seol-hwa instead of me, they probably would have opened the door without a second thought.
For ten minutes that felt both short and endless I stood there in silence, warily listening to that endless request to open the door—
“Oh dear, I really must be going now~ Next time you simply must open the door for me, all right~?”
With those parting words the unfamiliar voice seemed to fade. I slowly approached the door, pressed my ear to it without opening it, and listened to the footsteps receding. Despite the mature voice, the footsteps sounded almost childlike.
Even after confirming that both the voice and the footsteps had gone, I stayed standing guard in front of the door for a long while. Thankfully, the next time the door opened it was Dad returning after delivering cookies to Seol-hwa.
“Hm? Harang, were you waiting for Dad? Why are you sweating so much?”
“Ah… I was just doing some exercise while I waited for you at the entrance.”
The thought of telling Dad about the stranger flickered through my mind, but an ominous feeling that speaking of it would make things irreversible made me brush it off instead.
“Dad, did you happen to see anyone suspicious on your way home?”
“Suspicious? Hmm… Well, there was a little girl I don’t think I’ve seen around the neighborhood before. She was holding a doll with really long hair—stuck in my mind. Why?”
“No reason. I just forgot to give Seol-hwa her cookies today and it felt kind of ominous. You know how some days are like that.”
Dad gave me a gentle smile and ruffled my hair. At his words that everything would be fine, I nodded quietly.
The uneasy feeling hadn’t completely vanished, but Dad’s reassurance really did make me feel a little more at ease, so I decided not to dwell on it.
Of course, the more you tell yourself not to think about something, the more it sticks in your mind—that’s just how people are. It wasn’t going to be easy.
June arrived and summer vacation began. Seol-hee noona and Seol-hwa left home to stay at Ryu-yeong’s villa for a month of joint training.
Dad fretted that it might be too much of an imposition on Ryu-yeong, but Mom had already toured the villa ahead of them, prepared the entire boarding schedule herself, and given her blessing.
So I found myself in a long-quiet house, reading the books Dad and I had brought back from the library. Gathering knowledge and information about this original world by reading no longer held much practical meaning, but when there was nothing else to do, reading had simply become habit.
Mom and Dad had left early that morning, practically buzzing with excitement for a date of their own. Because of the stranger from last month I worried a little inside, but contrary to my fears the day remained peaceful.
Beyond the big living-room window the clear light-blue sky made me think of Se-ah. Come to think of it, it had already been nearly three years since I’d last seen her.
It wasn’t that I’d forgotten her so much as that too many things had happened for me to call her to mind often; still, a small twinge of guilt stirred.
I closed the book I’d been reading, went to my room for a notebook and pen, and returned to the living room. The notebook was something I’d started writing in while the events of the other world were still vivid, just in case the memories gradually faded someday.
I flipped through it and began organizing anything that might help Se-ah. Everything from Undine onward—the various water spirits, the many water-based magics, and even the secret techniques I’d heard from certain races who were born with an affinity for water. In the other world I’d failed to recreate them with magic, but here, with Se-ah, maybe it would be possible. That thought kept my pen moving.
It felt like I’d just gained one more gift to give her when we met again.
About three weeks into Seol-hee noona and Seol-hwa’s joint training at Ryu-yeong’s mansion, Dad and I headed there loaded with snacks.
According to the schedule Mom herself had drawn up, the training would wrap up today; the remaining week was mostly free time for rest and play. So Dad and I had baked cookies, chocolates, and other sweet treats as a “you worked hard” gift.
My parents had been visiting the villa regularly to check that everything was fine and that Seol-hee noona and Seol-hwa hadn’t done anything rude, but this was my first visit since the training started—and my first time actually going inside a friend’s house. That made me a little more excited. I’d often gone as far as Se-ah’s or Ryu-yeong’s front gate, but stepping inside was a first.
I did my best to calm the flutter in my chest as I rode in Dad’s car. We arrived at the familiar front of Ryu-yeong’s place; I gathered the armfuls of snack packages and pressed the villa’s doorbell.
Dad only drove me there, dropped me off, and headed straight back home. “An adult hanging around while kids are playing is just awkward,” he’d said, but seeing that Mom hadn’t gone to work today, I figured the two of them had another date planned.
After ringing the bell I watched the massive villa doors slowly open, tension coiling in my stomach—
“““Welcome, Master Harang. We have been waiting for you.”””
The great doors swung wide to reveal more than twenty maids lined up on either side of a red carpet, all bowing to me at once.
I stood there flustered and unsure what to do until a woman in what looked like a butler’s uniform approached, smoothly took my packages, and began guiding me inside.
I was a little surprised that this original world had maids and butlers too; having so many of them greet me all at once only made the surprise bigger.
Following the butler’s lead I arrived at a certain room. At first, because of the maids and butler, I thought it might be a reception room like the ones I’d known in the other world—but the clothes scattered everywhere and the unmade bedding suggested a more private space. I was just wondering how a room could stay this messy when maids and a butler existed when—
Bang.
“No, seriously, Senior! That time I—…Huh?”
“Huh? Harang? Hi.”
“Oppa~!!!!”
Whump!!
The door flew open and Ryu-yeong, Seol-hee noona, and Seol-hwa came in. Ryu-yeong had been complaining about something to Seol-hee noona with an aggrieved look, while Seol-hwa spotted me and immediately launched herself into my arms.
When I stroked her hair I felt it was a little damp and her body still warm—she must have just finished showering.
I kept petting Seol-hwa’s head and smiled a greeting at Ryu-yeong and Seol-hee noona. This was probably Ryu-yeong’s room. Because—
“Get out!!!!”
Whoosh!!
Face flushed bright red, Ryu-yeong grabbed me by the collar—Seol-hwa still clinging to me—and hurled us straight out of the room while shouting for us to leave.
Seol-hwa, still in my arms, quickly formed a cushion of water droplets around us to brace for impact, but the maids already waiting outside the door caught us with practiced ease, so neither of us was badly hurt.
Seol-hwa, as if something had just occurred to her, scurried back into the room on quick little steps. From inside came a clattering, crashing racket of things being hastily put away.
When the door opened again, Ryu-yeong still stood there red-faced and breathing hard, Seol-hee noona wore her usual languid expression, Seol-hwa was giggling, and Ryu-yeong’s room was now perfectly tidy.
“Little dragon, don’t worry. It’s fine to live without cleaning once in a while.”
“Shut up!! Damn it!! Why did you bring him to my room!!”
I tried to tell Ryu-yeong it was okay, but she only yelled at me, kept grumbling, then grabbed my wrist and dragged me back inside.
“Bring snacks and tea! And don’t open the door without permission!!”
“Yes, young miss. Please enjoy your time with the young master.”
“It’s not like that!!! Just hurry!!!”