Oppa! Did You See? Did You See?
Back in Ryu-yeong's newly tidied room, I sat listening to Seol-hwa — nestled snugly in my arms — recount everything that had happened over the past three weeks.
"Seol-hee Unnie went crack!! and smashed the wooden boards ka-boom!! And I went splash! with my water droplets and sparred with Ryu-yeong Unnie and won!!"
"Hey! When did I ever lose to you? Don't you dare lie in front of Harang!"
"Kyaa~! Oppa! Ryu-yeong Unnie's mad at me~!"
Seol-hwa's explanation wasn't exactly easy to follow, but I could tell they'd all been working hard. At Ryu-yeong's outburst, Seol-hwa squealed and burrowed deeper into my arms; I patted her back with a wry smile.
Honestly, I hadn't seen it myself, but the gap in density between Ryu-yeong and Seol-hwa was nothing to shrug off. Even if Ryu-yeong had been going easy, I doubted someone with her personality would have actually lost.
"Seol-hwa, lying is still bad. Ugh— don't bite!"
"Nom nom nom! Bad Oppa who won't believe me is getting eaten up!"
The moment I refused to take her word for it, Seol-hwa sank her teeth into my forearm. It didn't hurt much, but the surprise made me flinch. Even after I told her to stop, she kept going nom nom nom against my arm — until I stuffed one of the cookies I'd brought into her mouth and finally got her to let go.
Still a little sulky, she wriggled free of my arms and plopped down beside me, making a show of how put out she was. I could only smile wryly and stroke her hair.
"Little Dragon, how was the training camp? Seol-hee Noona and Seol-hwa didn't cause too much trouble, did they?"
"No way! It was actually great. Just as fun as when we stayed at the resort before."
"That's a relief, then."
I smiled at Ryu-yeong's words and let myself relax. To be honest, neither Seol-hee Noona nor Seol-hwa exactly gave off an ordinary vibe, and I'd never once seen either of them go over to a friend's house to hang out. So yes — I'd been a little worried they might do something bothersome in someone else's home. But the sincerity in Ryu-yeong's voice was clear enough that it seemed nothing major had gone wrong.
Seol-hee Noona jabbed a finger into my side and muttered a quiet scolding about not trusting them. Since that was, frankly, true, I chose silence.
"You really… didn't trust us…?"
"Ahaha!! Harang really is honest to a fault!"
At the faintly stunned look on Seol-hee Noona's face, Ryu-yeong burst out laughing and popped one of the cookies I'd made into her mouth — then stared at me with slightly widened eyes.
When she asked if I'd made them myself, I nodded with a touch of pride. I'd only started cooking after returning to this world, but the dad who'd taught me cooking and baking was so good at it that I'd picked things up quickly.
As Ryu-yeong ate my cookies with open admiration, Seol-hee Noona and Seol-hwa both puffed out their chests, looking thoroughly proud — and I couldn't help chuckling at the sight of them.
Remembering that they'd already bathed and come out even though it was only around two in the afternoon, I asked whether training was done for the day. They told me the morning session was over, and that a light sparring match was planned for around eight that evening.
With nothing particular to do until dinner at six, Ryu-yeong offered to show me around the villa. Seol-hee Noona and Seol-hwa said they'd rest in the room, so I set off on a tour of the estate under Ryu-yeong's guidance.
She led me through one wing after another, filling me in on everything that had happened during the training camp — most of which boiled down to her and Seol-hwa bickering until Seol-hee Noona stepped in.
"Do you have any idea how much Seol-hee Sunbae and Seol-hwa tormented me? Every chance they got, they made it sound like I was the one in the wrong."
"Heh. That's because Little Dragon is just so nice. You took everything Noona and Seol-hwa threw at you, didn't you?"
"Wh— wh-wh-who are you calling nice!! Shut up, Harang!"
When I laughed softly and praised her, Ryu-yeong's face went red. She stammered, clapped a hand over my mouth — then jerked it away again in a flustered panic.
"Just follow me quietly!" she snapped, and finished showing me around the rest of the estate. Looking at the training grounds — facilities that put the Erosion Control Center's to shame — I finally understood why Ryu-yeong only came to the Center on Saturdays to spar with Seol-hee Noona.
From the basic exercise equipment to the wooden boards stacked against one wall and the assortment of training gear, this place was clearly superior to the Center's training hall. I even started to worry that Seol-hee Noona and Seol-hwa, now used to living here, might no longer be satisfied with the Center's facilities.
Beyond that, there was a massive bathhouse that could easily hold thirty people — empty for the moment — and a kitchen where more than ten maids bustled about preparing dinner. Overall, the place felt less like modern Earth and more like the noble estates I'd seen in the other world. More so than the resort before, it drove home that Ryu-yeong really did come from a chaebol family.
"What do you think, Young Master? Should you marry Lady Ryu-yeong, all of this would be yours—"
"Hey!! Where did you even come from!! Get lost!! And stop saying useless things!!!"
"Heh heh heh. I shall not give up, my lady."
The butler… seemed like a rather peculiar person, to put it mildly.
Dinner was excellent. It was so close to the royal meals I'd had in the other world that I found myself observing proper table etiquette without thinking — and managed to startle everyone in the process.
Fortunately, I was able to brush it off by saying I'd read about it in a book and had practiced out of boredom at home. Still, I could have sworn the butler's eyes shone even brighter as he looked at me.
After a thoroughly satisfying meal, we enjoyed a light tea time with the cookies and chocolate I'd brought. Then, as eight o'clock approached, I followed the others out to the sparring grounds.
There would be a match between Ryu-yeong and Seol-hee Noona as well, but the news that Seol-hwa would be sparring with the instructor made that one a little more exciting — I didn't often get to see Seol-hwa fight.
Seol-hwa's match came first. Her opponent, the instructor, was wearing the same red cap stenciled with [Instructor] and the sunglasses Ryu-yeong had once shown up in. So that was where those had come from.
"Lady Seol-hwa! Even with your beautiful Oppa watching, I will not go easy on you!"
"Yes!! Please take care of me!!"
I'd been a little worried the instructor might demand she answer only with "Yes, sir!" the way Ryu-yeong once had, but thankfully that didn't happen. The instructor did a few light stretches to loosen up, then — with a series of cracking sounds — began transforming into a bear.
I'd read in books that some Mutation Types could partially shapeshift, but seeing it in person was still a bit of a shock. The slightly grotesque form made me glance over in a hurry, worried about Seol-hwa — but she didn't seem particularly startled. She just stood tense, perched atop a water droplet she'd formed. Maybe I was the only one who found it strange.
In that taut moment, a whistle shrilled to signal the start of the match, and the bear-transformed instructor charged straight at Seol-hwa.
"GROOOAAR!!"
Letting out a roar that belonged to no human but a massive beast, the instructor barreled forward and raised a paw to smash her down —
Pop!! Whoosh!
Seol-hwa kicked off the water droplet she was riding, disrupting the instructor's approach first, then spun through the air and formed another droplet to land on.
That much was a familiar approach — drawn from the Aqua Stage movements Seol-hwa and I had worked out together.
Bubble…
But when the droplet she'd launched struck the instructor and left a puddle, and more water droplets began rising from it — that was a technique I didn't know.
Pop! Pop! Pop!!
Seol-hwa hopped from droplet to droplet in midair, never coming down, flinging more as she went. Not every droplet she hurled hit the instructor, but the puddles steadily accumulating on the floor — and the new droplets spawning from them — soon filled the sparring ground and kept climbing higher.
I still wasn't sure exactly what those droplets were for, but just the ability to stay aloft by continuously transferring between them was proof enough of how much Seol-hwa had grown.
"GROOAR!!!"
In the end, the instructor — reduced to thrashing around on the floor — could do nothing against the water steadily filling the arena. Once the droplets rose high enough to cover the instructor's nose and mouth, the transformation was released and a surrender declared.
At the instructor's concession, Seol-hwa went pop-pop-pop! and burst every accumulated droplet at once. The thick layers of water exploded outward, scattering into the air above the sparring ground — and in an instant the arena became a stage of glittering water droplets, a beautiful spectacle unfolding all around. In the middle of it, Seol-hwa struck a slightly clumsy but thoroughly adorable pose, as if taking a bow at the end of a performance.
I clapped for her. The moment the last of the droplets vanished, Seol-hwa burst through the sparring ground doors and threw herself into my arms.
Whump!
"Oppa! Did you see? Did you see? How was I? Was I pretty?"
"Yeah. You were incredibly pretty. And staying up in the air the whole time was amazing, too."
"Ehehehe!! Right? Right? I'm amazing, aren't I~!!"
Seol-hwa bounced happily in my arms while I stroked her hair, watching the two figures who were now walking silently into the sparring ground.
Ryu-yeong and Seol-hee Noona entered with expressions more serious than I'd ever seen on them — and somehow that made me tense up a little, too.
Seol-hwa, still in my arms, puffed out her cheeks in a small sulk at not having my full attention. But when I scooped her up properly and patted her, she started going ehehe again, delighted once more.
And so, in a sparring ground where not a sound could be heard except for Seol-hwa — with everyone, myself included, holding their breath —
Tweeeet~!!!
The whistle signaling the start of the match rang out.