The Twins' Secret Gift and the Pope's Surprise Performance
Scratching and scratching, the crayons glided smoothly across the paper, leaving soft pink marks.
Erina lay sprawled in the corner of the room, sketching in her sketchbook.
This hobby had consumed her for days now. It had begun when Aunt In-ha gifted her art supplies, and the fun of it had grown until she was completely lost in the activity.
But this time it wasn’t for fun.
“Good.”
Erina’s twin, lying beside her and watching, whispered softly, her hands cupped over her mouth.
“Evaila, shh.”
The warning came out louder than intended anyway.
They had to hide their drawings until the very end, and most of all they could never let Mother see.
“Got it.”
Evaila’s voice shrank to a barely audible whisper. The obedient little sister had learned well.
Erina stroked her sister’s head gently and returned her full attention to the drawing, lips pursed tight.
“……”
A quiet stillness filled the room. No one spoke, and the air felt calm and peaceful.
The sisters were used to this kind of silence. In the place they had lived before, no one ever shouted or chattered.
Exactly—only the adults except Father had been quiet. According to the knight sister they often played with, it was because they stood closest to the Goddess.
Is the Goddess really in the sky?
Erina still didn’t understand what that meant.
The Goddess was like the sun, always watching the world from the heavens. That gaze was sunlight, she had learned.
So to be closest, shouldn’t the place be where the sky touched the mountain peak?
But their old house sat on flat ground. Why? The question nagged at her, yet she couldn’t ask Mother now.
“Sister, can this make Mother feel better?”
Evaila asked with a gloomy face. It was something Erina had been worrying about for a while too.
“I don’t know.”
Mother got scary when she was angry.
She was usually kind and gentle, but sometimes she snapped like fire—mostly at Father or the sisters.
She never smiled brightly, and the scolding that came with just a few tears was so strict it sometimes appeared in nightmares.
Yet the sisters had never once hated their Mother. She never scolded without reason.
They were always the ones who did something wrong first.
That was why they felt so guilty. It hurt to know they had wounded such a kind Mother.
And a little part of them was afraid.
“What if Father hates us like he did when he was drunk and acting weird?”
“……”
Erina remembered Father drunk and throwing a tantrum, and Mother glaring at them coldly.
The memory still made her body shiver. If things went wrong, that glare might turn on them too.
“We must make Mother feel better!”
“Yeah.”
The two exchanged determined eyes for a moment, then went back to drawing. Again, no one spoke for a long stretch.
How long they stayed focused, neither knew.
“Done.”
The drawing was finally finished.
Evaila had written a few letters beside it. They had only just learned Hangul, so the letters looked slightly uneven.
The sisters checked the drawing for any missing parts, then stood up.
“Let’s go show her.”
“Sister, I’m scared.”
“It’s fine!”
Erina patted her sister’s back bravely, then headed toward the living room to show the drawing.
But then the door suddenly burst open.
“Kids.”
It was Father. He was smiling brightly for some reason.
Even normally he smiled a lot, but right now he seemed especially cheerful.
“Come here.”
Father scooped both sisters up in one swift motion.
Swoof! Without meaning to, they sniffed the air and caught a faint mana scent. It was magic.
Is he doing magic at home?
Erina, who had learned a little magic, realized quickly this wasn’t ordinary level stuff.
What exactly was he doing? If it was something that would get him in trouble again… she grew uneasy.
Seeing Father scolded was common, but it always weighed on her heart. It was painful to watch a kind Mother get angry.
“Father is weird.”
Evaila frowned and whispered. Erina nodded quietly; they were thinking the same thing.
While the sisters were worrying, Father carried them into the bedroom and slowly closed the door.
Dok! The moment the door shut completely, the room vanished.
“Huh?”
“What?”
Both girls’ eyes went wide at the same time.
How could it be? The bedroom had become the stage for the cartoon Sparkle Jewel’s performance.
“Go ahead.”
Father set them down gently. The sisters ran to the stage as if by magic.
On stage, someone stood waiting for them.
The face was hidden in shadow, but they knew who it was.
“Princess!”
A graceful, sparkling pink dress and perfectly braided hair. It was a princess. That was the only way to describe her.
“Welcome.”
A familiar voice rang out, and the shadowed face stepped forward.
She wore a microphone on her lips and smiled awkwardly. It wasn’t the cartoon heroine Ara. This person was even prettier and kinder.
“Mama!”
Erina waved and jumped up and down. Evaila timidly waved from the side too.
Mother smiled back at them.
“Be careful and hold hands with each other.”
The sisters immediately clasped their hands tight, even lifting them high so no one would see.
Mother gave a tiny nod, then opened her mouth, cheeks flushed.
“Watch carefully. I prepared this for the two of you.”
With those words, music began to play all around, and the performance started.
“Walking through a snowy field that’s gently falling…”
A calm, soothing song. They had never heard it before, yet it felt strangely comforting, thanks to the beautiful voice.
“Today again, alone, time passes so lonely…”
The singer’s face looked wistful, just like when Father had caused trouble. The sisters watched with pity as the song reached its later part.
“I won’t be cold anymore.”
The lyrics gained hope, unlike the beginning. The music brightened too.
Just as the sisters’ lips curved into smiles, the princess raised one hand.
Pink light burst from her palm, thousands of butterflies, scattered spring flowers.
At the same time, huge wings unfolded from behind her dress—glowing angel wings from before.
“No one can trap me here.”
The princess spoke calmly, then slowly rose into the sky.
Next, she flapped her great wings and flew freely across the stage, scattering pink snow.
The sisters stared without blinking, and Erina told Evaila.
“You look so pretty. Right?”
“Yeah…”
Indeed, Mother was the most beautiful person in the world.
***
The performance ended.
The moment the song finished, the stage vanished and the bedroom returned. Father had removed the illusion magic.
I dragged my heavy body to a chair and sat down. Then I calmed my ragged breathing.
…I won’t do that again twice.
It was only about four minutes long and I was already tired.
Who would have thought singing and performing would be this exhausting? Idols really worked much harder than I imagined.
On top of that, it was embarrassing. The whole time I was focused I felt fine, but afterward my face burned again.
If I had done it on broadcast, I would have suffered from it for days. It was the right decision after all to only do it in front of the girls.
Still, I was glad it ended safely.
“How was it?”
I asked cautiously. The daughters standing quietly finally rushed over.
Both had sparkling eyes.
They seemed pleased. Unlike when they were scolded in the middle of dinner, their expressions were happy. I had worried they might get depressed, but seeing them this excited made me happy too.
If the girls liked what I did, even if I felt a little ashamed, it was worth it. After all, it was prepared for them.
“Mother, here.”
Smiling faintly, Erina handed me the sketchbook she had been carrying since we entered the bedroom.
“Open it.”
“Look.”
For some reason the sisters looked stiff.
Erina’s eyes trembled, and Evaila swallowed hard. They were nervous.
What had they drawn? I opened the sketchbook with curiosity.
The very first page showed a short, chubby black dragon—Hecatrite.
“You drew it very well.”
Honestly, even better than In-ha. Erina had a real talent for art.
My daughter was amazing. I smiled contentedly and turned the pages.
Whenever she felt like it, she drew everything they saw at home—TV, sofa, cola, snack bags. Mostly still lifes.
As I watched each one carefully, I reached a recent page.
On it I saw familiar shapes.
Pink hair, white dress. The face was hard to recognize, but it was clearly me smiling brightly.
Next to the drawing, words were written.
Mommy is so pretty
The letters were slightly slanted and childlike, learned only recently.
Yet they didn’t look ugly at all. Every single letter carried care.
“……”
My eyes stung. Just like when the girls first called me “Mother.”
I immediately pulled the daughters into my arms.
“Sorry for making you angry.”
Erina and Evaila hugged me back tightly. Their warmth seeped into me, and my heart melted.
“I love you, Mommy.”
“I love you too.”
Today, I was happier than anyone else.
***
“Did you film it?”
“Here.”
Seoyun smiled triumphantly as she took the smartphone from the family and handed it to me.
I told her not to work even when resting…!
As the Pope’s manager, it was her duty to choose the best option; she had almost no personal grudge.
Just a tiny bit.