Vien (3)
Vien (3)
The director said I could leave right away, but that didn't mean I actually left immediately.
After washing the kids and tucking them into bed, I spun tales for them about the fun adventures we'd had up until now.
Stories of fighting skeleton knights, seeing a flying dragon, and so on.
The kids' eyes twinkled brightly.
"... And so... right after beating that monster, it was right behind it."
The sound of swallowing saliva could be heard.
From the sight of the children quietly listening without a word, you could tell just how focused they were.
"Gold and silver treasures."
"Really? Was it a real treasure?"
"Whoa... Was it an expensive treasure? I'm so jealous."
"Dummy, of course it was, since he beat that monster!"
Of course, my story was mixed with some exaggeration.
It wasn't even a monster; it was just an ogre.
And all I got for beating it was a small antique.
Still, if it brings joy to the kids, I figured a little exaggeration was fine.
"Of course. It was a super expensive treasure. But then a huge bird appeared out of nowhere, snatched it all up, and ran away. What a real shame."
"So suddenly? Aw, what a pity."
Sighs burst forth among the kids. This was a lie, too.
In reality, Vien picked up that antique, dropped it, and smashed it.
Vien seemed to remember it, too. She was standing right next to me, blushing shyly.
"Now then. That's it for today's story. It's almost time for bed."
"Hyung! Tell us a little more!"
"Yeah! Just a little bit more, okay? Please."
"No way. You guys need to sleep now."
There were already a few kids dozing off.
And children need to sleep early.
"Oh, then! Since you've known Vien noona for a long time, tell us what Vien noona was like back in the day!"
"That's right...! Just tell us that. Please? Please?"
Suddenly, the sparks flew toward Vien. Vien jolted in surprise and said to me,
"Hey! Don't you dare say it. You guys go to sleep already!"
Vien was visibly flustered.
Probably because she remembered the days when she had just gotten to know me, back when she acted all demure and modest like the other saintesses?
"Vien was... extremely nice."
She told me not to, but thinking back to those days made those words slip out naturally as a mutter.
Vien glared at me.
Snapping back to my senses, I pretended not to notice her gaze and scolded the kids for no reason.
"Now...! You guys need to sleep. End of story. If you go to sleep now, I'll tell you more tomorrow. Stay up late and there's no story."
Complaints and groans erupted from here and there.
I ignored them all and tucked all the children into their beds.
Stars were blooming like flowers.
I was sitting in front of the orphanage's main gate, waiting for Vien.
She told me to wait here a bit while she finished her night prayers.
As I kept feeling every time I came here, it was a beautiful place.
A cool night breeze blew by. If only I could catch some sleep right here.
I closed my eyes. I knew I shouldn't fall asleep.
If I fell asleep here, Vien would flip out, complaining that I couldn't even wait that long and fell asleep.
However, my eyelids, which I'd been holding up all day long, were ridiculously heavy.
I just tried to take a short rest while feeling this pleasant breeze and listening to the sound of grass insects.
How long had I been like that?
Snap. I opened my eyes.
My heart pounded painfully loud in shock, but I acted naturally.
"Vien, you're here?"
I put strength into my voice, pretending I wasn't dozing off.
Hiding my thumping heart, I turned back to look at her.
Silver hair and silver eyes.
A petite build.
And her clothes had changed.
She had changed into an outfit with exposed arms, and held a small basket in one hand.
She was also wearing a huge hat. I couldn't understand why she wore a hat like that at night.
I was a bit surprised because she had prepared much more earnestly than I expected.
Well, I suppose so. She had even used a Wish Ticket to make this happen.
Was she doing something she'd always wanted to do someday?
Like a romance fantasy.
... Though I have no idea why she's doing it with me, of all people.
She stared at me without an answer. I stood up, but she still didn't say anything.
"...?"
She looked like she wanted something.
Hmm, let's see...
"Vien, you changed your clothes? It suits you well."
"...I'm not happy about it..."
At a single compliment, she parted her lips, having been stiff until just now.
Then she started walking out of the orphanage.
I grabbed the basket she was holding.
"Give it here. I'll carry it."
"N-N-No way. I'm going to carry this myself."
She was completely different from her usual self, who would hand over all her luggage to me.
Perhaps she thought carrying even the basket with her own hands completed the romance fantasy.
I let go of my hand without a complaint.
"Alright. Let's go for now. You know the way, right?"
Vien nodded.
Trusting her, I started walking too.
Seuk.
A sensation was felt on my arm.
Vien, who had crept closer at some point, had linked arms with me.
Our bare skin touched. It was much warmer than I expected.
"...Vien?"
"It's cold. And dark."
Pulling her large hat down firmly, she replied.
I was about to say, Why didn't you just wear something a bit longer?, but
I refrained from doing so, remembering how shy she'd been earlier at a single compliment about it looking good on her.
Besides. Linking arms wasn't even the first time.
So I just let it slide.
We walked in silence.
A stream sparkling in the moonlight.
An endlessly sprawling meadow.
Just as the orphanage came into view as a mere dot, I broke the silence.
"Vien, this counts as using a Wish Ticket, right?"
I tried using our earlier argument as joke material.
Eliciting a soft p-p laugh from her, she nodded.
"By the way, have you ever stayed up all night playing?"
"No. This is my first time."
Really...?
A glimmer of hope showed. If staying up all night playing was her first time, maybe Vien would get tired and head back a bit early?
After all, it would feel different from night watches, which Vien did frequently.
"Then why did you want to do something like this?"
"Because living in the church means your sleeping hours are always fixed."
"Aha."
It must have been a rebellion she'd wanted to try from her perspective.
"So that's why you wanted to do it? It's not really that big a deal, you know."
"That's easy for you to say since you've done it before."
Fair point.
"That is true."
Vien stealthily lifted her head to look at me.
Since her hat was huge, even the slightest movement of her head was glaringly obvious.
"Th-Then... who did you stay up all night with before...?"
I felt pressure on my arm. She was holding on a bit tighter.
"With hyung a couple of times."
"Ah... is that so?"
Then her grip loosened again.
"Like I said, there really isn't much to it. It's not something you should do often. Playing during the day is better."
"I like it right now, though."
Well, that's probably because we're just starting out. She still has stamina left and is looking forward to it.
However, once drowsiness rolls in, everything becomes boring and you talk less.
Even though you decided to stay up all night playing, phrases like "Wanna go to sleep?" slip out automatically.
Still, though...
Right now, it's definitely not bad.
Because all the scenery visible to the eyes is pretty.
The weather is cooperating, too. Not a single cloud in sight, with the moon and stars hanging in the sky.
"It is pretty, though."
"Wh-Wh-What??!"
Suddenly, Vien jolted in extreme surprise.
Yet she still didn't let go of the linked arms.
What the heck, why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
I looked around, wondering if something happened nearby.
"What's wrong with you? I said the scenery is pretty."
"...Ah."
Vien hung her head down low.
And suddenly, a sharp pain was felt on my arm.
"Ow! What the heck."
Vien had pinched me.
"Vien, why ar—"
I tried to ask Why are you doing this?, but stopped myself.
Fearing she might reply with, You don't even know why?! Humph!
That would only make things harder.
It seemed best to just let it slide naturally.
"Why.... what's that over there?"
I shifted the focus to the basket she was holding.
It was a slightly unnatural flow, but it couldn't be helped.
Besides, I'd been curious since earlier.
Judging by the context, it was probably snacks.
... But Vien can't cook.
Even with an empty stomach from missing dinner, she's so bad at cooking that I hope whatever's inside isn't her cooking.
Surely not. The orphanage didn't even have enough food to feed the kids until they were full, so where would food come from?
"Ah, this..? It's snacks."
I squeezed my eyes shut. Another hard task had been added to the upcoming itinerary.
"Where'd you get it from...? The food at the orphanage didn't look like it was enough."
Vien stopped dead in her tracks and glared at me.
"Hey. You! Now that I think about it, I heard you didn't eat dinner today! I heard all about it!"
"Ah... how did she find out?"
"There was a kid who saw you giving up your food. He told me. When I told the director, she told me to pack some snacks."
Hmm... I feel sorry for causing a nuisance for no reason.
Did my actions end up reducing the orphanage's food even more?
"You...! And you gave your food to that boy! The kid who keeps claiming you're his!"
Vien brought up the topic of that cute kid.
"Ah. Hahaha. That's right, I did. Isn't that kid cute?"
"Do you want to treat him well? Even though he keeps saying I'm his!"
"I wanted to treat him well. What's with you getting upset over kids' joking?"
I have no idea why she's about to get upset again.
Just how am I supposed to talk to Vien without ticking her off?
It feels like she gets angry at the drop of a hat no matter what I do.
"...... Aren't you upset even if your things get taken away?"
What is she talking about? My things? Ah, she means the bread.
"Vien, I can afford to give up some bread, why are you like this? What's going to happen if I don't eat for a single day?"
"Dang it... Forget it. There's no getting through to you."
Sulking, she grabbed my arm again and dragged me along as she walked.
I completely agree with the part about not being able to communicate.
To the point where I wonder how on earth we've managed to stay close friends until now.
The cool breeze blows again.
Wherever I looked, I could see quite far into the distance.
The two of us were walking through a breathtaking, heart-opening space.
And yet, with not a single person around, the situation strangely felt intimate and personal.
A feeling that no matter what we did, nobody would know.
It was a unique feeling.
"Hmm... Is this the charm of the night?"
I muttered to myself. It was a feeling I hadn't experienced when pulling all-nighters with hyung.
I, too, was receiving a fresh sensation through this experience.
And then it grew quiet for a moment.
Vien and I focused on the sounds of nature, feeling a slight sense of liberation.
Then.
Vien slowly, very slowly lowered the hand on the side where her arm was linked.
She tried to hold my hand.
"Huh, what."
Startled, I lifted my hand and pulled it away.
There was a strong perception that this sort of thing is only done between lovers.
Holding hands with Vien, who wasn't even my lover yet, felt awkward.
"W-What."
Vien pulled her hand back.
"I just lowered it because it was hard to keep my arm up, you know?"
Is that so? In fact, her hand hadn't even touched mine.
I was just startled, guessing she was going to grab my hand.
I felt needlessly embarrassed.
"Could you stop jumping to conclusions? Every time you react like this, I get so embarrassed, you know?"
"S-Sorry."
"Do you think I, like, want things to work out between you and me? I told you I'm going to meet a guy way cooler than you!"
Hmm. She did say that.
Sigh. This is all hyung's fault.
Ever since hyung asked if these girls liked me, I seemed to have started taking everything overly seriously.
In fact, isn't that why I ended up hearing those words from Lily noona, too?
There are plenty of men in the world cooler than me.
Just take my hyung for example.
To Vien's eyes, I must not be enough. That makes sense.
"That's right, you did say that, huh?"
"Th-That's right."
"By the way, what's your ideal type? I don't think I've ever really asked you."
Vien suddenly stared at me with a pak!
"Why are you curious about that?"
I was taken aback by her more intense reaction than expected.
"Uh... just. Suddenly got curious..."
She went Hmph, and then kept glancing sideways at me.
"W-Well... someone who is, um, more handsome than you! Uh... kinder...! And... cooler...? Um..."
She showed a very agonized expression.
She groaned and fussed (kkeung-kkeung).
Then she suddenly lifted her head high.
"Ah! And I like someone whose women problems are way less complicated than yours."
"... Someone whose women problems aren't as complicated as mine...? There are tons of people like that. I don't have women problems. I've never even dated anyone up to this age."
"Why are you talking back when I'm talking about my ideal type!"
Well. That's true.
"Well, that's true."
I thought our conversation with Vien would end like that, but it didn't.
"...What about you?"
"Me...?"
Vien asked.
I hadn't really thought about it.
I didn't have a set ideal type.
Just someone who feels comfortable when we meet,
Looks beautiful in my eyes,
Understands my heart,
And considers my feelings, wouldn't that be nice?
Since I've never met someone like that, I don't know yet.
If someone like that appeared, I'm confident I could truly cherish and love them.
"I don't know. Shouldn't I meet someone first to find out?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Since nothing is set, it's way too difficult."
"I'll meet someone somehow, I guess."
"Why don't you lower your standards a bit."
As if she hadn't just told me not to talk back about her ideal type.
Still, once again, I didn't voice this thought either.
"Stachys. I think we've arrived."