TRPM 240

chapter 240

Sophia’s acquaintance, a part-time worker, finished their light conversation and then returned to their original task.

In other words… face painting.

“(All done, Sophia.)”
“(Thanks.)”

The part-timer drew a character from an old American cartoon on Sophia’s cheek. Sophia said it was a character she used to watch before being captured and trained as an assassin by a criminal organization.

‘… I have no idea who that character is.’

Well, Sophia had been captured by that organization roughly twenty years ago, by estimation. Since I don’t know her exact age, it could have been even longer ago. And before that… well, it’s natural I wouldn’t know a cartoon character popular in another country long before I was born.

Oh, by the way, Mirai and I had different characters from the same cartoon painted on our cheeks. We don’t particularly like cartoons, so we left the character selection entirely to Sophia.

“Hmmm…”

Mirai and I checked the drawings in a mirror placed at one side of the booth.

Hmm. Still, I don’t recognize the character. Knowing who it is probably wouldn’t change anything anyway.

“(Well, have fun and see you next time.)”
“(Yeah. I’ll contact you next time.)”

While thinking that, Sophia bid farewell to the part-timer. She couldn’t stay there and interfere with their work.

‘… I think this is the first time I’ve seen Sophia smile.’

Meeting someone you know must feel really good. I thought that to myself while checking the pamphlet.

‘The booths ready now were the Cube Puzzle booth and the Mask-Making booth, right? Ah, it might have taken a bit of time for face painting, so maybe other booths have opened too.’

As I thought about which booth to visit next…

“Ah, Gunwoo!”

A very familiar voice called out. Hearing it, we all turned toward the direction of the voice and saw Lee Ha-eun wearing a crude mask.

“Oh, you’re here?”
“Hello, Ha-eun.”
“Hi, unnis!”

Ha-eun greeted us cheerfully. And beside her…

“……”

… was Ha-eun’s father. However, with dark circles under his eyes and his gaze seemingly fixed on empty space rather than us…

‘Looks like he’s sleepy.’

It was probably a holiday, but he had to come here with Ha-eun and her mother. Drowsy driving could be dangerous… I thought to myself and said:

“Sir, if you’re tired, why don’t you rest in the lounge on the first floor or in your car? We’ll take care of Ha-eun.”

“…Ah… really? Thank you…”

Half out of it from drowsiness, he welcomed my suggestion and began to stagger down the stairs.

‘… Good thing I’m an Awakened one.’

If I weren’t an Awakened, I would probably be leading a tiring working life like him. Not that all Awakened people don’t get tired, of course. Anyway, I turned my attention back to Ha-eun, who was showing off her mask.

“Unnis, let’s go make masks too. There’s a mask-making booth over there.”

I looked at the mask Ha-eun was holding. As I said before, it was a crude mask.

‘… Ha-eun’s athletic skills aren’t great, but hand dexterity should be a different matter.’

I had seen her draw magical circles before, so I knew she had pretty good dexterity. Of course, drawing and mask-making are entirely different skills. Could it be that the mask-making booth was short on materials? If so, it would make sense why she made a crude mask.

“This… I didn’t make it.”

Almost as if reading my thoughts, Ha-eun shook her head.

“Did I say that out loud?”
“No? But I thought you might be thinking that.”

… Well, it’s not surprising that Ha-eun can guess my thoughts, considering how long we’ve grown up together.

No, it’s not just that.

‘Ha-eun likes me, that’s why.’

Though, that affection is one-sided. Feeling a little guilty, I decided to change the topic.

“Then who made the mask?”
“Who else? The kids who really look up to me.”

Ha-eun said proudly, puffing out her chest. … “Kids who look up to you?”

“You, Gunwoo, are always stuck in dungeons or training, so you’ve never done volunteer work at kindergartens or orphanages, right? I have. The kids I met back then are here today.”

“……”

To clarify, it’s not that I never volunteered. But I mostly helped with recovery work in areas affected by dungeons or criminals, and patrolled the local area. Activities that only an Awakened could do. So I never volunteered at orphanages.

“Why aren’t you wearing a mask you made yourself?”
“Would you throw away something these little kids made with their tiny hands just for me?”

… I suppose that’s fair. For Ha-eun, wearing that mask was the best choice.

“And I can’t be the only one benefiting.”
“… Huh?”
“The kids are still making more masks at that booth. I can’t use them all by myself, so you and the unnis have to wear them too. No objections, right?”

Well then. So, Mirai, Sophia, and I went to the mask-making booth and ended up wearing a bunch of masks made by children.

With as many masks as possible strapped to our bodies, we left the mask-making booth and headed to the first floor.

“Mom.”
“Ah, Gunwoo. Having fun… those masks, what are they?”

We had strapped as many masks as possible to our bodies. … Around ten per person. I guess the kids didn’t expect that many.

“That’s how it turned out.”
“Hmm… I see…”

My mother didn’t interrupt my brief explanation. She probably assumed she didn’t need to know all the details.

While thinking that, some ladies helping my mother nearby greeted us.

“Oh my, Gunwoo. It’s been a while!”
“Ha-eun has grown so much, hasn’t she?”
“It feels like just yesterday you were starting elementary school.”

… They are friends of my mother. Though, wait, didn’t we see these ladies last week too? And didn’t they say almost the same things then?

While I was thinking that…

“Hmm? Where have I seen this foreign lady before…?”
“That’s right! Last time, Jae-hee didn’t know Chinese, so when we contacted her, she came.”
“Me? Really?”

Suddenly, the focus of the conversation shifted to Sophia. Sophia looked flustered but tried to respond politely to the ladies.

‘Oh, that did happen last time.’

Some Chinese people appeared suddenly at Shinsegyo, and my mother called Sophia. Since my mother’s friends were also there, it wasn’t surprising they saw her. The ladies were probably grateful to Sophia for helping them back then and spoke kindly, asking if life in a foreign country was difficult.

Well…

“Ah… that’s… yes…”

Sophia, the one receiving the comments, looked uncomfortable and nervous. She couldn’t say she was under my protection in Korea, as that was confidential. She could lie, but lying could backfire if the topic shifted, so she avoided it. Seeing her unsure, I decided to help her.

“Sophia, is there any booth you’d like to try? Something you couldn’t experience in the U.S.?”
“Ah, well…”

Sophia excused herself to the ladies and looked at the pamphlet I was holding. She pointed to one word and said:

“Temple stay… that’s a Buddhist thing, right? There are Buddhists in the U.S., but I’ve never experienced a temple stay.”
“Uh… yes, but…?”

I looked at my mother, wondering what this booth was about.

“It’s not a full temple stay, just a light experience booth. Some monks from a nearby temple are running it. They brought a temple model and Buddha statue as souvenirs.”
“… Mom, wasn’t this a new religious group? A Christian one?”

Also, didn’t we say only Shinsegyo followers would come here since it’s a bit remote?

“Well, whatever. There’s plenty of space, so they said we could use it if we want.”

Ah, yes… I had a lot to say, but Shinsegyo itself is more of a social group than a religious movement… With that thought, we decided to check out the temple stay booth.

The event was held in a Shinsegyo building. Among the many booths, several were not really suitable for Children’s Day. University counseling booths, booths from small businesses promoting their products… Surprisingly, even those booths drew crowds. Parents of middle and high school students sought university counseling, and the products, while from small businesses, seemed decent, attracting attention.

“More Shinsegyo members than I expected.”
“… They’ve held events before, but this is the first large-scale one. Seems like most members came.”

More people showed up than for some local government Children’s Day events. … I didn’t expect so many Shinsegyo members either.

“Still, glad everyone seems satisfied.”

Since almost the entire building was open, they could accommodate the crowd. I pulled apart some cotton candy.

“… Do you really have to pull it like that?”

Ha-eun squinted at me. … I know why she’s glaring. I’m pulling the cotton candy apart in midair rather than with my hands or mouth.

“I don’t want sticky hands or face from cotton candy.”
“Me neither…”

I popped the cotton candy into my mouth without touching it with hands or lips.

“Want me to do it for you too?”
“… You will?”

Her attitude changed at my casual offer. Oh… I didn’t expect her to be so pleased. Not wanting to disappoint those hopeful eyes, I pulled some cotton candy in midair and fed it to Ha-eun.

“Mm~.”

Ha-eun, taking the cotton candy without touching it, let out a happy sound and looked at Mirai.

… Huh?

“….”

Mirai’s expression barely changed, but I could tell she was feeling jealous.

‘This is….’

“Ahaha…”

I sighed inwardly. Sophia, having roughly understood the situation, gave an awkward laugh.