Chapter 75
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: Heard Nothing?
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But I didn't hear anything?
"Su-hyeon-nim, please wake up."
"Yeah, ack…! Huh?"
When I opened my eyes, the car's ceiling came into view amid the hazy world.
What the…?
I had no memory.
I distinctly remembered Brüel grabbing under my armpits and lifting me up…?
"A-already there?"
As I came to my senses, Brüel's voice rang out again.
"No, it's the rest area. You said we'd eat lunch here."
"Oh? Right, yeah…."
I think that was it?
Only then did the vague memory surface.
Right before starting the engine, I'd glanced at the time and casually said it.
Figured we'd be cruising down the highway around lunchtime.
"Fweeeeh!"
I stretched my limbs out straight, and Brüel wiped around my cheek with a towel.
"Sniff…."
I'd even been drooling?
Elf tech is terrifying….
Absolutely not because the child seat fit my body so well.
"How would you like to eat, Su-hyeon-nim?"
Brüel asked while straightening my bangs.
"Hmm, what about you?"
"I'm fine."
"Hmm, I don't really want to eat alone."
Brüel had to wear her helmet to go out, so that seemed impractical.
If we ate at a restaurant, I'd probably have to go by myself.
"Then how about I grab some snacks and we eat inside?"
"As you wish."
This seemed like the best option?
Waiting alone in the restaurant would be boring, and I'd feel bad for no reason.
Plus, I could try a bunch of different snacks.
"Then wait here. I'll go buy them."
"I'll keep watch nearby."
"Uh… suit yourself."
I unbuckled and sat up from the seat, feeling my toasty-warm body start to cool.
"Haa!"
The fresh air woke me up a bit.
Honestly, I didn't have much memory of highway rest areas.
Usually, childhood rest stops meant dropping by on the way to relatives' houses, right?
Or family trips.
I didn't have other relatives… Well, not entirely sure? Probably not.
No car at home anyway, and Mom couldn't travel far.
Anyway, you need a reason to go somewhere.
I did have some memories from school trips or group outings for field studies.
Speaking of school made me think of A-young, who's now a professor.
Back in first year, she was just class president.
For the record, I was vice president.
I didn't volunteer; I sat next to her when she was temporary president and got roped in. But apparently it stuck, because they forced me to run in the official election—and I won.
I avoid stuff I don't want, but once it's thrust upon me, I throw myself into it. That's my personality.
Fate sure is mysterious….
Weaving past the haphazardly parked cars, I reached the food court, where a medley of food scents tickled my nose.
"Lemme see, what should I get?"
Sniff sniff—
I followed the sweet aroma drawing me in.
Su-hyeon headed toward a sign with a corn drawing on it.
**
"You bought quite a lot."
Brüel remarked as she rustled the paper bag.
The two of us sat in the back seat with the built-in table unfolded, snacks laid out atop it.
"Too much after all…?"
Su-hyeon's hands clutched various kinds of skewers as she spoke.
"We'll just eat the leftovers at home."
"That sounds good."
Brüel took the skewers except the hot dog ones and repackaged them.
These days, they even gave boxes for skewers, which was convenient.
Su-hyeon crammed the remaining hot dog into her mouth and picked up the buttery potato wafting a fragrant aroma.
"Heard spring potatoes are delicious."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, here, try this."
"……."
Su-hyeon dipped the butter potato on a toothpick and thrust it out.
The tiny potato at the toothpick's tip and the small hand holding it.
Hard to say which was bigger.
She even leaned in to feed it, but in the end, Brüel had to lean forward.
Brüel ate the potato and covered her mouth and nose with her hand.
"…Sorry, is it hot?"
I'd thought it cooled on the way back, but it was still hot?
Just in case, I blew on the potato.
Brüel watched quietly, then closed her eyes just a bit.
Her long lashes trembled faintly.
"……I'm scared, Su-hyeon-nim."
"Huh? Of what?"
"The future when you grow up… the impact it'll have on those around you…."
"…What kinda random nonsense is that?"
Did the potato sprout or something?
I quietly set down the butter potato and decided to go for a walnut cookie instead.
"Eh."
As Brüel's car pulled up to the forest entrance, Su-hyeon let out a sound.
"They're both out!"
The car came to a careful stop, and Su-hyeon excitedly fumbled with the buckle.
The engine shut off, and she flung open the door and dashed out.
"Mom! Grandma!"
"You'll fall, you rascal."
Mom, who was squatting, scooped up the charging Su-hyeon and hoisted her high.
"New hairstyle? Got it cut?"
"Yeah. A new friend took me to a salon. Her aunt's place or something? Took me to this huge spot."
"Good for you~."
Su-hyeon, rubbing her face happily in Mom's arms, reached both hands out to Grandma standing beside her.
"Egg, still such a baby."
Grandma grumbled but stepped forward and took Su-hyeon.
"Yeah, our little pup. Been good?"
"Yesss."
Feeling the fond pats on her butt, Su-hyeon spotted Brüel lagging behind with the luggage, wiping away tears.
Anyone would think we were a long-lost family reuniting.
"It's been a while. Ok-rye-nim, Ji-hyeon-nim."
"Welcome. Tough trip?"
"Want something to drink before you go?"
"I'm fine. It hasn't been long since lunch."
Mom offered warmly, but Brüel politely declined.
She didn't want to intrude on family time, it seemed.
"Alright, then come by on the way back."
"I'll standby nearby."
"No need."
With Grandma's words, the forest rumbled.
The path where Brüel and the car had been stretched impossibly far, surrounded chaotically by countless trees.
It felt like my vision flipped, and suddenly we were at our front gate.
"Not hiding it anymore?"
"I held back before because I worried you'd weirdly misunderstand human common sense. No reason now."
Grandma said it was hard to gauge how much I'd grown, so she pondered when to reveal the truth.
She'd dropped plenty of subtle hints, but surprisingly, I hadn't picked up on any.
"You didn't notice all the pranks in the forest, so I thought your common sense was still lacking. Figured even if someone shot up into the sky right in front of you, you'd just go 'oh.'"
"Eh."
"No phone signal in the forest, but deeper in at home, phone and TV work fine—didn't that strike you as odd?"
"I figured there was an antenna or landline or something…."
"I don't know about that stuff."
"……."
This was 50-50 Grandma's fault no matter how you sliced it.
If you're gonna hint, make it obvious.
As I huffed and puffed, Mom pinched my nose and laughed.
"Grandma set it so outsiders can't get in no matter how hard they try."
"How…?"
"Hmm, messes with their sense of distance or direction? It's fine—people we know can just come in."
Like that near-teleport just now?
"Can I do it too? How much training?"
"Who knows? Probably. Your mom couldn't."
"Your mom ran off before properly building her power. The principle's not hard, so you can do everything. Once you're grown up."
"Ooh…."
My passion for growing beans, dormant for a while, surged back.
For reference, the bean sprout from the exhibit got planted in the pot where my bonsai used to be.
At the porch, Grandma deftly slipped off my shoes with one hand and set me down.
Stepping on the hard wooden floor felt refreshingly novel.
"What'd you do in Seoul?"
Mom sat on the porch, eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Just school, hanging with friends, outings. Saw some weird people…."
"What?"
Grandma's eyes sharpened at "weird people."
Oh no.
Grandma didn't know.
"Tell me."
Mom kept smiling obliviously as Grandma pressed. Su-hyeon just gauged the mood beside her.
"Um, it's in the past. Do you really need to know?"
I wasn't sure how much they knew, so it was hard to spill carelessly.
"Worried I'll chew them out?"
Su-hyeon glanced at Grandma and nodded quietly.
"They begged to serve you, I trusted and handed you over, and this is what they let happen till you met weirdos?"
"No, it wasn't specifically because of me… My friend was there too, so it was probably unavoidable."
The Pitbull Guild thing was something I started. The exhibit was a total unpredictable accident.
The stalker was probably tangled with Ga-eun, not me.
Ga-eun's more famous than a kid like me.
The reporters were the issue… but rumors vanished that day, so they must've handled it quietly.
In the end, just one real problem?
"No, it all got resolved. Nothing major happened. Thanks to Brüel, I didn't even get hurt."
"Almost got hurt? And I heard nothing?"
"Ah."
"……."
"……."
In the end, Grandma was the one who backed down.
She always talked scary, but she was the type to yield every time.
"Fine, if you won't tell, I'll just ask them myself."
"……Gran."
Oh dear. Brüel, elves—sorry.
Bending wasn't the end this time.
She'd handle the rest well, right…?
"How are Su-hyeon's friends? All nice kids, I bet?"
Mom started asking her questions, heedless of Grandma's simmering glare.
She'd run away from home out of curiosity about the human world.
Makes sense she'd be curious about my daily life.
A mom's natural to wonder about her child's—er, daughter's—human relationships, right?
But this pathetic kid didn't have much to share.
Sorry, Mom….
To avoid disappointing Mom's shining eyes, I desperately wrung out every story I could.