A Quiet Morning at the Bus Stop
The morning rush hour had already passed, so the bus stop—which should have been bustling—was surprisingly quiet.
Still, a few people were scattered about. One young man rubbed his tired eyes, while a woman stood stiffly, letting out a deep, steadying breath.
Jeong-woo gently lifted Seia, who was standing with both hands clamped tightly over her mouth, and settled her onto a bench before sitting down beside her.
Seia still hadn't removed her hands from her mouth. She glanced around at the people nearby, then cautiously spoke to Jeong-woo.
“Daddy-ya.”
“Hmm?”
“It’s really quiet here-ee.”
“Right? But it’s okay to talk normally here, so you can speak comfortably, Seia.”
“Really-ya?”
“Of course.”
At Jeong-woo’s words, Seia finally lowered her hands. Whatever had put her in such a good mood, she kept swinging her short legs that didn’t even reach the ground.
“Are you happy, Seia?”
“Yes!”
Seia answered so energetically that she surprised even herself.
The people around them turned their heads at the sound.
“D-did I get too loud…?”
It might have been the first time she’d ever received such stares.
The eyes that turned toward her were completely indifferent.
Thinking she had done something wrong, Seia clutched tightly at Jeong-woo’s sleeve and shrank into his arms.
“Hehe. No, it’s not that. They just looked over because they heard a sound. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Really-ya…?”
“Of course. Um…”
How could he convince her for sure?
After a moment of thought, Jeong-woo came up with the most reliable method.
“Excuse me… isn’t that right?”
“Y-yes?”
He would get confirmation from the very people who had given her those indifferent looks.
The woman sitting nearby seemed a little flustered by the sudden question, but she quickly understood why he was asking.
“O-of course. That’s right.”
“Did you hear that, Seia? This nice lady says so too.”
“The pretty big sister-ya?”
“Yes. That’s right. The pretty big sister right here.”
The words “pretty big sister” made her feel strangely happy.
In truth, today was a rather special day for her.
It was the day of her interview.
From last night all the way until this morning, the entire path to the interview venue had been filled with equal parts fear and anticipation.
Nothing around her had caught her eye.
The thought that her entire future could change depending on how she spent this one day made it impossible to focus on anything else.
She had put on makeup different from her usual style.
Her parents had helped her with a neat hairstyle she only attempted on rare occasions.
Other people might spend hundreds of thousands of won at a salon for a day like this, but she simply didn’t have that luxury.
Her hair, carefully arranged by her mother’s hands.
The suit she had saved up for by working part-time and pinching every penny.
Yesterday, she had spent the whole day imagining herself succeeding brilliantly after getting hired, and wondering what gift she should buy her parents with her first paycheck.
The day before that, however, her mind had been consumed with thoughts of what to do if she failed the interview, where else she could apply, and what part of her résumé might have been the problem.
Her days had been an endless cycle of those thoughts.
A loop she could never break on her own.
‘Have a good day. Just do it like you practiced. Okay?’
Those were the words her mother had said that morning as she left the house.
After a warm hug and a hearty breakfast that had filled her with strength, her heart had felt light.
But by the time she walked through the quiet streets after rush hour and arrived at the bus stop, her anxiety had grown overwhelming.
‘Yes!’
Just when all those thoughts were chasing each other in circles, she heard a child’s bright, energetic voice.
When she turned without thinking, she saw a small child shrinking back, nestled snugly in her father’s arms.
‘Excuse me… isn’t that right?’
The question that followed.
Her attention had been so captured by the child that she couldn’t even remember what the question was, but the answer had come out anyway.
That’s right.
And on top of that, “pretty big sister.”
A beautiful child had said such kind words to her.
Nothing had been able to hold her attention before, but right now, things were different.
‘How cute.’
She was adorable and pretty.
At first she had thought the child was a boy, but the person with her was apparently her father.
‘How old is she?’
She wanted to ask.
But the words wouldn’t come out.
Just looking at her like this was already lifting the heavy pressure that had been crushing her chest.
Had the child sensed the meaning behind that gaze?
The little girl who had been burrowing shyly into her father’s arms was now looking back at her.
Pure curiosity that only children could show.
And the goodwill that naturally flowed from that innocence.
A smile rose to her lips without effort.
It wasn’t a smile forced out of a sense that she should look okay for the child—it was a genuine one from the heart.
‘…Huh?’
It was strange.
Until now, no matter how hard she tried to smile, it hadn’t worked.
The awkwardly lifted corners of her mouth and her eyes that showed almost no change would have looked self-mocking to anyone watching.
‘…So this is what my smile looks like.’
Of course, once she left this place she might not be able to smile like this again, but the solution turned out to be simpler than she thought.
When she needed this smile, she would simply think of that nameless child.
Wouldn’t that let her smile the same way she was now?
The way it eased her heart was an added bonus.
So she didn’t ask the child’s name or how old she was.
She simply waved.
Wearing the most natural smile she had managed in a long time.
“Oh, Seia. The bus is here.”
So her name was Seia.
It was a name that engraved itself in her mind without any effort to remember.
Seia.
Her deep black hair and warm brown eyes were imprinted in her memory along with the name.
Completely unaware of the woman’s feelings, Jeong-woo and Seia finally stepped onto the bus.
It was Seia’s first time riding a bus.
She had seen them passing by, but this was the first time she had actually gotten on one.
“One adult and one child, please.”
“Yes. Please scan.”
The inside of the bus was quiet.
After all, how many people would be heading into the city this early on a weekday morning?
Jeong-woo naturally led Seia to the back seats—the ones where two people could sit together.
It was the spot he used to sit in often with his wife.
Back when they didn’t have a car.
Of course they still didn’t have one now, but when they were dating they had both loved these seats.
They used to playfully push each other to claim the window side first.
“Our Seia, let’s sit by the window.”
He settled Seia in the window seat, and soon the bus began to move.
The driver must have waited until she was seated.
Small acts of consideration from strangers in everyday life felt especially touching.
It was a good start to the day.
The woman who had looked uncomfortable and anxious had parted ways with them after that brief conversation, but she seemed much more at ease now.
“Whoa…”
Although Seia had ridden in cars a few times, this was her first time experiencing such a high vantage point and traveling at this moderate speed.
Jeong-woo’s house was not too far from the city.
The scenery seen from the bus window on the way into town was more fascinating to Seia than anything else.
Buildings that grew taller and taller.
Signs everywhere glowing so brightly with magic stones that they almost hurt the eyes.
Watching Seia’s eyes sparkle even more brilliantly than the signs, Jeong-woo reviewed today’s plans once again.
The first place they would head to was a cake shop.
It wasn’t Jeong-woo’s birthday yet.
It was Seia’s birthday.
And his wife’s birthday.
And also the anniversary of her passing.
October 10th.
The day that was simultaneously Seia’s birthday, his wife’s birthday, and the day she had left them.
Seia’s original due date had been a little earlier, but for some reason it kept getting delayed until it landed exactly on his wife’s birthday.
His wife, whose health had been failing, had been forced to choose between herself and Seia.
And of course, she had chosen Seia.
That had been the most resentful moment of his life.
Resentful toward his wife? No. Toward whatever god existed.
Who would demand a price for a birthday gift?
He had resented that cruel unfairness.
But the one fortunate thing was that his resentment had never extended to Seia.
She wasn’t the reason his wife had died—she was the last gift his wife had left behind. His wife’s legacy.
The most precious thing in the world that he had to protect no matter what.
How could even the sight of her small back as she gazed out the window resemble his wife so perfectly?
It made him smile, and at the same time, it made him miss her terribly.
It would have been so nice if they could have seen this together.
Every time the bus jolted over a bump, Seia’s little body would lift slightly before plopping back down.
Watching that irregular, adorable rhythm, Jeong-woo eventually turned his gaze out the window as well.
Before he knew it, they were almost at their destination.
“Seia, when we get off the bus, you have to press that button over there.”
“Daddy-ya. Daejun Transportation, shhh!”
Jeong-woo burst out laughing at her words.
“It’s okay to speak this quietly. You just can’t talk so loud that other people can hear you.”
“Aha…! But what is the button for-ya?”
“It lets the driver know we want to get off. Like, ‘We’re getting off here~’”
“Whoa. Then can Seia press it too-ya?”
“Of course. There’s one here, one there, and one up front too. The red ones are the buttons.”
Seia’s eyes, which had been fixed on the scenery outside, now locked onto the buttons.
Since no one had gotten off in the middle, she hadn’t heard the sound yet.
“So when are we getting off-ya?”
“It’s our turn right now.”
At Jeong-woo’s smiling reply, Seia smiled too.
She had thought they were planning something amazing, but it turned out to be nothing more than pressing that button.
“Alright. Want to give it a try?”
“Yes!”
Seia answered in a small but enthusiastic voice. She reached out to press the button.
“Ugh…”
Unfortunately, her arms were just a little too short.
She could have reached it if she stood up, but Seia knew better.
She wasn’t supposed to step on the seat with her shoes on.
“Daddy-ya…”
Jeong-woo watched Seia grow downcast at the realization she couldn’t reach it, then laughed again.
“Then we’ll press the button together when the bus stops. Okay?”
“…Yes!”
The father and daughter had formed an incredibly meticulous plan.
Before long, the bus stopped at a red light. The two of them, hands tightly clasped, quickly moved to the button beside the exit door.
At first Seia tried pressing it with her finger, but the button was harder to push than she expected.
“Eh?”
With a short, puzzled sound, she then pressed it firmly with her palm.
A bright beep echoed through the bus.
“Is it done-ya?”
“Yes. Now the driver will let us off at the next stop. The bus is about to move again, so hold on tight.”
“Okay!”
Right after Jeong-woo spoke, the bus began to move slowly.
Not long after, it stopped again.
With a hiss of air, the door in front of them opened.
Jeong-woo stepped off first, and Seia carefully descended the steps one by one.
They had arrived in the middle of the city.
The moment Seia’s feet touched the ground, her gaze swept around her. Her large eyes grew even wider with surprise.
“Whoa…”
Even though it was a weekday morning, the streets were packed with people.
Hunters, whom she almost never saw in her daily life, could easily be spotted here in the city.
It had been a long time since Jeong-woo had come downtown as well.
He rarely had any reason to visit, and after Seia was born, he hadn’t come even once.
“Alright, our Seia—just trust Daddy and follow along!”
“Yes! Daddy is the best!”
And so the father and daughter’s trip into the city began.
Far more noisily than expected.