Chapter 18
I looked at Baek Eun-seong, who was sending me a look of disbelief, and crossed my arms askance.
Of course, if it were the Baek Eun-seong I knew, he was the type of person who would whine about how could anyone trust and eat food made by "Seong Do-hyeon" and refuse to even take a bite.
So I could have just asked the teachers to buy food instead of groceries to avoid any unnecessary fuss, but I was worried about what those trash who took back money from Baek Ji-seong might do, and I figured if I cooked right in front of this bastard, maybe he'd trust me a little.
So here I was, struggling like hell—chopping firewood, starting a fire, and making food one by one.
"Haa..."
Right. What kind of person was "Seong Do-hyeon" anyway? There was no way that man's solidly built image would change so easily with just such soft gestures.
I tried my best to calm my boiling anger as I quietly watched Baek Eun-seong spray all sorts of antidotes one by one onto the rice balls I had made. Only after the antidotes had soaked in did he tear off a small piece from the edge and put it in his mouth, and apparently deciding it was now safe, he hand-fed the rice balls to the Baek Ha-mins.
Their cheeks stuffed with rice balls, the Baek Ha-mins munching away came running toward me with faces full of worry.
"Uncle, you know."
"What."
The real Baek Ha-min dragged my arm to sit me beside him and whispered in my ear.
"Uncle's food is way tastier."
"Can't Uncle just make it again for us?"
Obviously mine would taste better. The difference between eating freshly made, piping hot rice and eating ice-cold rice after going through all sorts of inspections would be quite significant.
Knowing this, Baek Ha-min too, when he briefly stayed at our place, would sometimes come running with a fork in hand before I even took the pan off the stove.
"Just eat it today."
"Mm..."
"Okay..."
When the Baek Ha-mins instantly drooped like wilted flowers, Baek Eun-seong looked quite shocked. He stared at the children with dazed eyes before glancing at me.
"What are you staring at."
After I went through all that trouble to help, only to be treated like someone who poisoned the food.
Just as I was roughly stripping off my vinyl gloves, practically throwing them, the Baek Ha-mins who had been watching me approached with bowls full of rice balls.
"Can we eat with you, Uncle?"
I was about to send them back, telling them to eat with their uncle, but figured the kids would get caught in the crossfire between adults, so I ended up nodding. At that, the Baek Ha-mins smiled brightly and sprouted mushrooms everywhere.
Wondering what was up with the mushrooms, the Baek Ha-mins, who had settled down using the soft mushrooms as cushions, stopped mid-bite of their rice balls and all turned to look at me at the same time.
"What?"
"...Fanny, there are no forks."
Fanny this, fanny that. I squeezed my eyes shut and gestured to the teachers on standby.
"You heard them. Go buy some."
* * *
As the day gradually darkened, the Baek Ha-mins dragged me and Baek Eun-seong into the tent. Unlike me, who chose a corner spot to avoid any chance of touching Baek Eun-seong, Baek Eun-seong planted himself right in the middle of the tent.
I watched with intense displeasure as he sat there with Baek Ha-min 1 and 2 on either side, wearing the face of a doting uncle. While the Baek Ha-mins who had been asking fanny quiz questions started nodding off,
"Uncle... you can't go..."
Even in that state, the real Baek Ha-min crawled toward me with sleep-filled eyes before flopping down. The fake Baek Ha-min also rolled over halfway to lie beside me, tightly gripping my hoodie and falling asleep.
I had planned to leave as soon as the Baek Ha-mins fell asleep, but looking at the morning glories wrapped around my ankles, I let out a sigh. How much was the monthly rent for a studio apartment, and here I was sleeping outside.
Resigned to spending the night in the tent, I skillfully laid the sleeping Baek Ha-mins down properly and spread the blanket wide.
"...Weren't you going to leave?"
"Try pulling these off then."
Baek Eun-seong looked at the morning glories wrapped around me and closed his mouth. Accepting reality, I closed my eyes and sought sleep.
So I figured I'd just sleep and wake up early to leave with the Baek Ha-mins...
But my eyes snapped open in the early dawn, and I glared at Baek Eun-seong lying far away.
'If you can't sleep, just stay awake. Why have you been tossing and turning for hours?'
At first, I thought it was just his sleeping habit and tried to ignore it, but Baek Eun-seong kept tossing this way and that, grating on my nerves. He looks like he'd sleep without breathing like a robot, and yet!
I had to go to work at the Association tomorrow, and I couldn't work in this kind of condition. I carefully peeled off the Baek Ha-mins who had latched onto me in their sleep and raised my left arm.
Chirr— I felt Baek Eun-seong sit up at the small bell sound, but only for a brief moment.
[Celestial Command]
"Seong Do..."
As soon as I shook the bracelet, Baek Eun-seong fell asleep without making a single sound, just as I expected, remaining in his lying position. Watching the Baek Ha-mins who would roll around here and there but always return to my side, I called Asil.
"Please keep watch around the perimeter."
Asil nodded at my words, thickened like a thick rope, and wrapped around the tent in a circle.
'Now I can finally get some sleep.'
...Or so I thought, but I had to snap my eyes open again almost immediately. And I turned my head to glare at the peacefully sleeping Baek Eun-seong.
Peaceful my foot. Whether uncle or nephew, their sleeping habits were exactly the same.
As I was trying to push away Baek Eun-seong, who had been rolling around the spacious tent and was now slowly creeping toward me, the fake Baek Ha-min whined in his sleep and suddenly opened his eyes wide.
"Uncle... I need the bathroom."
I looked at Baek Eun-seong, who was like a mortal enemy, and the real Baek Ha-min, who was fast asleep gripping my hoodie, completely oblivious to the world.
I took off my hoodie and tossed it into the corner of the tent, then carefully got up. If it were up to me, I would have thrown it in Baek Eun-seong's face, but with the fake Baek Ha-min watching me with bright eyes, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
After going outside like that, I grabbed Baek Ha-min who was heading in the wrong direction.
"You said you were going to the bathroom."
"Yeah..."
"The bathroom is over there."
"No, it's that way."
The fake Baek Ha-min held my hand tightly and kept heading toward the Academy gate. I could sense through the flow that some Baekwoo Guild members and Academy staff were standing guard over there. When I blocked his path and told him no, the fake Baek Ha-min suddenly pulled up his pant leg.
"It hurts here."
"I'll press it for you, so come here."
The fake Baek Ha-min, held tightly in my arms, started whining, saying he wanted to go home, asking if we couldn't go to the Baekwoo Guild together.
[Viewing Privilege Used]
[Awakener: Baek ?Ha ?min
Age: 7
Skill: Vegetation
Abnormal Status: Mirror, Mirror, Who's More Real? (S)
Duration 00:12:57...]
I alternated between looking at the status window and the small hands clinging tightly around my neck, then patted Baek Ha-min's bottom for now.
Wait, wasn't it an artifact that fulfills the user's desires? Seriously, that bastard Baek Eun-seong... He had an expression like he found the tent quite unsatisfactory, did he want to go home that badly?
I started tracking Baek Eun-seong's flow who was fast asleep, then stopped and sat the fake Baek Ha-min on a large mushroom.
"Uncle, when are we going to our house?"
"Hmm... I'm sorry, but you can't go."
"Why?"
At the expression that seemed genuinely curious, I crouched down in front of the fake Baek Ha-min and checked the remaining time once more. What would happen when the time ran out?
Common sense suggested that when the time was up, it would return to being a mirror. But what if, even after the time passed, it continued to imitate Baek Ha-min to fulfill Baek Eun-seong's desire? Then it was obvious that things would become quite a headache in the future.
Recalling what I had to do today, I pondered for a moment before placing my hand over Baek Ha-min's eyes. I felt the sensation of small eyelashes fluttering against my palm. I tried my best to ignore it and concentrated my mind.
After a moment that lasted only a few blinks, along with the sound of breaking glass, the warmth that had been touching my hand disappeared into thin air.
I caught the doll that fell from the empty air and called Asil.
"Bundle it up."
While Asil diligently tied up the bundle at my command, I quietly examined the doll. Around the neck of the palm-sized doll hung a fingernail-sized mirror.
[Would you like to view the information?]
As I nodded, a golden window floated before my eyes.
[Mirror of S (S): Deceives others with an appearance more real than the real thing, acquiring what is desired.]
"Oh."
This would definitely come in handy at some point.
I smiled thinly and placed the doll on the bundle Asil had tied. Asil, who had been examining the doll, tilted his head and looked at me.
As if asking how I broke through it, I pointed to the mirror attached to the doll.
"It's a mirror. I figured if it couldn't see anything, it wouldn't be able to copy, so I covered its eyes."
Asil nodded, secured the bundle, and disappeared.
I was about to head straight to the Association, but turned my feet back toward the tent. I don't know when he woke up since I didn't wake him, but Baek Eun-seong was sitting guard in front of the sleeping Baek Ha-min whose belly was exposed. Honestly, he probably thought he looked cool sitting like that.
He seemed to have grasped the situation to some extent after seeing the missing fake Baek Ha-min and me coming in alone. But there was no sign of him withdrawing his gaze demanding an explanation.
Ignoring that stare, I gestured to Baek Eun-seong.
"I already took care of the compensation, so don't worry about it."
"Pardon?"
"They say finders keepers. Anyway..."
I looked at Baek Ha-min, who was sleeping soundly, and Baek Eun-seong, whose hair was a mess. Looking at the scene that was somehow chaotic yet oddly peaceful made me feel uneasy. They say it's the calm before the storm, right? It felt similar to watching the quietness that passes just before something big happens in a movie.
But if I carelessly said this out loud, it felt like I would actually jinx it. I looked down at the hoodie that Baek Ha-min was using as a blanket and barely squeezed out a few words.
"...Be careful."
"Pardon?"
"I have something I promised to do right now, so I have to leave first..."
As I trailed off and pressed my forehead, Baek Eun-seong stood up with an urgent expression and grabbed me.
"What do you mean be careful? What does that mean?"
"An explanation, ha..."
I let out a sigh and looked around. The skills Seong Do-hyeon possessed relied more on the flow than visible skills like Baek Eun-seong's or Baek Ha-min's.
Thanks to that, I had become twice as sensitive as others, and occasionally I would get this chilling feeling like this. Even though most people wouldn't believe me even if I told them.
Knowing full well that Baek Eun-seong would be the same, I thought of Baek Ha-min and let it out along with a sigh.
"...I can't explain it properly. But anyway, something is definitely going to happen from now on, so be prepared."
"Understood."
At my words, Baek Eun-seong, with a stiff expression, picked up Baek Ha-min and stomped on the ground. Golems rolled out from beneath the dirt. The golems, having fed on Baek Eun-seong's mana and instantly grown in size, stood firmly behind Baek Eun-seong and Baek Ha-min.