One Sweet Holiday (7)

The sausage flies and Myu's head would turn after getting hit.

If she got double nosebleeds, it would be even better.

But, how do you punch someone again? There was a time when she almost got hit by Yeorum in the past. If she were to copy what she had done…

No. Instead of punching for the first time, how about swinging a fork? Because a knife would have a different nuance.

Fork – not bad. A fork is something that can be swung in a fit.

So,

Like this—-

…That was when something flew up from her fork and touched her on her cheek. It was a small piece of tomato.

"What are you doing."

"…Sorry?"

"What are you doing with that blank look on your face."

"…Practising how to swing a fork."

"And what do you mean by that."

"…What do you mean? Because a fork is at least better than a fist…"

Her vacant senses finally returned to reality as Bom stared at the napkin in Yu Jitae's hand. Her body froze and the trembling around her eyes stopped.

"Bom. Are you feeling okay?"

"Yes?"

"You've been doing nothing for a while now. Wake up."

Yu Jitae used a napkin to wipe the piece of tomato from her cheek. The soft texture of cotton touching her face brought her mind back to reality.

– What about you unni? How do you not become nervous?

Some time in the past.

Kaeul had asked Bom such a question with the group presentation ahead of her, and Bom's reply was this.

– You simply have to mentally prepare yourself.

A mental preparation.

That was the reason why dragons of the green race were able to stay calm in the face of every situation, as well as why they could deal with more stress than others; the reason why Bom was possibly able to tease Yu Jitae and was also why a green dragon had become the Lord over all the dragons.

Back then, Kaeul had curiously asked.

– How do you mentally prepare yourself?

– You imagine beforehand a possible awkward situation.

– For example?

"My Nemesis?"

Myu raised a red lobster from the table.

"How are you supposed to eat this? I have no clue."

Like a fox, she amiably smiled and asked him. It wasn't strange because Myu had a lot of things that she was unfamiliar with.

Her smiling face was quite pretty because she was still a dragon, but both her eyes and lips appeared absurdly debaucherous as if she couldn't wait to devour males.

In response, Yu Jitae raised the lobster despite the frown on his face. He did not need a hammer. After he easily breaks the outer shell with his thick fingers, it would reveal the wet inside of the lobster.

"Hoh. And do I put that into my mouth?"

"Yes."

"Give it to me. Ahhng…"

Myu naturally opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out, intentionally for Bom to see. The dense Yu Jitae would push the meat forward while Myu would slowly wait for the lobster to reach inside her mouth before slowly biting down. Her breath would touch Yu Jitae's fingers while her eyes would glance at her.

Then, what should I do?

1. It would feel great to stab her tongue with a fork before she could eat it, but it would cause harm to Yu Jitae.

2. Snatching the lobster and explaining how to eat a lobster instead of Yu Jitae, wasn't something she was that willing to do either.

3. So before Myu could become interested in the lobster—

"Yu Bom."

Once again, her mind returned to reality.

"…Yes?"

"Get up. It's time to go."

"…What about the lobster?"

"We finished it a while ago. You seriously have to wake up."

Yu Jitae's hand touched Bom on her cheek as he gave her a pinch.

"Ah."

She immediately came to herself. It felt as if her face had been driven into cold water.

Bom was back to reality and could feel the warmth in his hand.

"Let's go now," he said while getting up and Bom quietly stood up from her seat to follow him from behind.

Myu did not shout at him to chase Bom away, nor had she lustfully asked for the lobster. All she did was hum while cutting the meat and throwing them into her own mouth and in fact, the three of them almost did not share any conversations during the meal.

So everything that had happened just then was all a part of Bom's imagination. It initially stemmed from a 'If this happens, let's do this' mindset but she was so nervous that she constantly came up with too many scenarios.

Back when Kaeul was preparing for the group presentation, she asked another question after hearing how Bom's method to deal with nervousness was a 'mental preparation'.

– How many situations do you have to roughly think of?!

Around 200 to 500, was her reply.

On the way out of the restaurant, Bom went through all the 'predictions' she had thought of. How many situations had she predicted during the meal?

Labelling each situation one by one, she soon realised that there were more numbers than usual – a lot more than she had expected.

No wonder her head felt like it would crack open.

"…"

1,271.

This number was enough to overload even an adult dragon's brain.

Her mind was dizzy.

Her fingers quivered.

The 'mental preparation' she had always been doing as a habit was no longer her tool. Like a snuff film, it constantly harassed her mind regardless of the time.

It was common to see a fair amount of cruel and repulsive situations through Providence. Even though she was somewhat used to seeing things that she didn't want to see, the image of him sticking close to the black-hair was one she could never get used to, no matter how many times she saw it.

Walking down the alleyway, Bom looked down at her hand. There was a circular rune drawn on her palm.

[Memorise (S)]

A self-defence combat spell which she had made just in case was saved on her palm. It was the 'spell that could even kill a black dragon' that she had talked about with Yeorum.

It was a dangerous spell – perhaps the most dangerous out of every spell she had made in her life. She couldn't guess what was going through her head when she did this. By the time she came to herself, she had already made this spell and had already saved it into her body.

Even though she should probably get rid of it, she constantly hesitated before making the decision because 'that' was in front of her eyes. The black-hair that had only been breathing inside her head was now right next to her.

The weapon was a ballista. It had a [Magic Arrow] which Bom had crafted by exquisitely intertwining all the magic equations she could use, and a [Dock] which could make the arrow fly faster than a dragon breath.

The principle was simple – she simply had to pull the trigger at the opponent. The spell that was the same as a compressed breath would fly through the heart as an arrow and destroy it. There were no safety devices but there was no way she would use it by accident. Using it would definitely be by her own will. Now that it was weakened was the best time to kill it without fail, because an adult dragon after regaining its power wouldn't die in one hit.

But that was why she had made 3 arrows with 1 spare. Of course, using all those spells at once would be a burden to her heart but it was okay. What could possibly be the problem as long as she could change the destined future? If the black-hair was to be embraced by Yu Jitae in front of her eyes, Bom would shoot the three arrows to kill the black-hair and shoot the spare at her own head. The reason why she would kill herself is because Yu Jitae was not at fault. Being discarded would be because of her own mistakes. However, out of her wish for him to remember her for as long as possible, she would shoot it at her head rather than the heart—-

"Bom."

It was then.

Bom, who had been walking with her face staring at the ground, raised her head to stare at Yu Jitae.

"…Yes?"

Huh? She soon looked around with trembling eyes. They were in Paris just a while ago, but wasn't this the Association?

"Good work."

Yu Jitae's words finally brought her back to reality. It was so dumbfounding that she instead smiled.

"...Yes."

The vacation was already over.

***

After four days of vacation, Yu Jitae isolated Myu once again in the basement.

There was nothing incredible he had done but it was nonetheless an exceptionally tiring period of four days.

Only after confirming Myu's mental state and her health did he finally leave the Association. Regardless of the things that had happened, Myu still seemed satisfied.

It was in fact Bom whom he had been the most worried about. Ever since the second night, Bom started acting strange and was like a stringless puppet all the way till the end of the vacation.

She would say something strange whenever he talked to her and also stayed up all night.

Fortunately, the vacation was now over and Bom could now be separated from Myu.

She had been thinking about something when they were on the way to Myu's isolation chamber with a sober mind, which he could tell due to the life in her eyes. But whatever that was, everything was now over and it was time to go back.

"Good work. Should we go back now?"

However,

Bom did not move her feet. Looking slightly exhausted, she gazed up at him. She looked into his eyes for a few seconds before suddenly talking about something strange.

"Right now, the other kids will think they are with oppa right."

"What?"

"Because there is your substitute."

"…Everything would be the same apart from the fact that you aren't there."

"Nn. I actually told them I would go out somewhere to play under your permission before leaving home."

"I thought you just came out, but well done."

"Yes. I told them I'd be away for a month but none of them will find that strange. You know. I used to travel all around by myself."

"Why did you tell them you'd be away for a whole month?"

"…"

Her silence added some context to the simple conversation.

This was what Bom was basically trying to say.

1. The kids won't have a clue even if Yu Jitae did not return.

2. The kids won't find it strange even if Bom did not return for a month.

So…

"How about we, go somewhere for just one month?"

She said with a gloomy look on her face. Was this what she was thinking about after coming back to herself?

"To where."

"Anywhere. Somewhere that's quiet with not many people."

"To do what."

"I don't know. Should we have some food together? Swim if there is water nearby and go out on a walk if there's a mountain. We can look at stars at night and talk before going to sleep…"

"Sounds good. But aren't those things doable even if we don't leave?"

"That's true."

He threw the fundamental question.

"Then, why?"

Hesitation loomed around her lips.

Was she uneasy about what happened with Myu? Was that why she was trying to make time for just the two of them?

What she said in response was slightly different from what he was expecting.

"You've been having a hard time for the past four years and a half after meeting us so…" She slowly opened her mouth.

Having a hard time for the past four years and a half?

"Where did this suddenly come from."

"You know, it just suddenly popped up in my head. You do everything for us everyday by sacrificing your life. The kids and I all know it."

"Don't worry about it. It's not a sacrifice."

"Of course it is. They say raising one kid is hard enough already… and yet you're taking care of four. How can there be such an unprofitable task."

"What are you talking about. You don't even know what I'm doing."

He said in a half-joking tone while tapping her forehead with his middle finger. Bom tightly closed her eyes and waited until he pulled his fingers back before carefully opening them again.

"I do know… and I always feel sorry."

"'Sorry'?"

"Because. It would be great if we could give something back but oppa, you're such an incredible person that there is nothing we can give you. I feel like I'm in debt."

"Like I said, don't worry about it."

"It's the same even when you do occasionally leave home. Some days you have to fight demons and these past few days, you had to deal with some strange ill-tempered old lady. I thought about it, but I think it must be tough for you. We learned at Lair that becoming a superhuman doesn't harden your mentality or anything…"

"That is indeed true."

"Yes. And that's why oppa, you're also a normal person."

A normal person.

It felt like an extremely off word.

"What is a normal person."

"Someone that wants to take a rest when tired."

He thought for a bit, before replying with a dry voice.

"You're right then. I guess I am."

Bom walked towards him, into a suggestive proximity and opening her arms wide, she wrapped them around his ribs. Even though she was tightly wrapping those feeble arms around his body, those arms that looked as if they would break from an accidental grip did not pressure him in the slightest.

However, he was still troubled by this distance. It had been a while since he was this close to her.

"That's why, we should go on a vacation with just the two of us. Nnhn?"

He returned a nod. Bom indeed needed some time to stabilise her mind again.

"But a month is too long. Four days was already long and that's why I put a substitute in my stead."

"Then what about three days?"

"Three days should be fine."

Bom raised her hands and rested them around Yu Jitae's collarbone. Slowly she began undoing his tie.

"But, no acting like a guardian during the vacation."

"Alright."

He thought to himself. There must be another reason why Bom, who had been anxious about Myu's incident, would suddenly say such a thing.

In the end, it would be just the two of them.

What was this child trying to do?

*

[2430. It's time…]

[What should I do…]

[If the diary ends here, Yu Bom would have long become fish food at the bottom of the Pacific so please do not look for me. Think of the observation diary as a hobby of someone with a strange personality – don't bother reading it and just burn it please.]

[Yes…]

[…T.T]

[Ahjussi Observation Diary ???]