Chapter 104
Flour cost two thousand five hundred won per kilogram.
A carton of eggs cost about eight thousand won.
If we had managed to get flour and eggs here today, it would have been a big help for the household.
Feeling regretful, I trudged towards the school gate when the boy from earlier called out to us from behind.
"Hey, you guys?"
"Yes...?"
"Can you give me your hand for a sec?"
Hand? Why suddenly?
Silently, I placed my hand on top of his.
"No, not like that, I have something to give you."
"Give me something?"
"Yeah. Here, take this."
The boy handed me some eggs.
He gave me eggs without asking for anything in return.
Just as I was about to decline, the boy spread his arms towards me.
"Wanna throw it at me once?"
"Excuse me...?"
"If you're going to get hit, you need to know how to throw."
He had a point.
But asking someone to throw an egg at another person?
Should I really be doing something like that?
Looking around nervously, I noticed many students watching me.
Their posture encouraged me, as if they were wishing for my success.
"Um..."
Well, what the heck.
I had already been hit plenty.
One more egg wouldn't make a difference.
"Here goes...!"
I mimicked Levinas's battle cry, in a way to alleviate my guilt.
With a light tap, I broke the egg on the man's forehead.
Slimy egg white started to drip down.
"Are you okay...?"
I immediately regretted it.
I couldn't believe I had attacked a stranger.
As I trembled and stepped back, Levinas burst out laughing.
"Hehe, you broke an egg on his head!"
"Hehe, isn't it fun?"
"Yeah!"
Levinas jumped with joy, and the students around us smiled at the scene.
"Did you enjoy that, Levinas?"
"Yeah!"
I see.
So this was supposed to be fun.
Maybe I was the only one overly concerned about the violent aspect.
"There's plenty of eggs and flour over there, so that's what we're doing. Got it?"
"Whoa! Can Levinas do it too?"
"Of course. The festival is for everyone to enjoy."
"Wow!"
Levinas ran towards the spot the boy pointed out.
It seemed wasteful that all that flour and eggs on the table were just for throwing around.
"King! We need to save the broken eggs!"
"Ah...!"
Where should I put the eggs?
I realized I had a water bottle tied to my waist.
With Levinas's and my water bottles, we could probably hold quite a few eggs.
Of course, we decided to drink all the corn water in the bottles first.
It was wasteful to just throw it on the ground.
Gulp, gulp -
Maybe because I wasn't that thirsty, I felt distressed despite only drinking half of the water in the bottle.
"Ugh..."
Corn water dribbled down my chin.
As I worried about how to finish it, I caught the eye of Saebyeok, who was watching me expressionlessly.
"Saebyeok, could you drink the rest of this?"
"My throat isn't really..."
Before Saebyeok could finish speaking, I quickly put the bottle to her lips.
The urgency was because of the eggs.
"Saebyeok only needs to drink half of it."
"Mm..."
Gulp, gulp -
Nodding, Saebyeok drank the water.
Since I was holding the bottle, she just tilted her head back to drink.
"Ugh..."
After emptying the bottle, corn water dribbled down Saebyeok's lips just like it had with me earlier.
"It's done."
Now we had an empty bottle.
I put the broken eggs, shell and all, into the bottle.
It was a wide-mouthed plastic bottle, so I just needed to put them in.
"Like this, with the leftover flour and eggs..."
"Take this!"
Before I could finish explaining, Levinas shook flour over Saebyeok's head.
Saebyeok's dark hair turned white.
"..."
Saebyeok just stood there, unfazed by Levinas's surprise attack, expressionlessly swinging her tail back and forth.
"King! Levinas did it!"
"What, what did you do...?"
"Levinas turned the Dark King into a White King!"
"Uh, okay..."
Shake, shake, shake -
Levinas kept pouring flour over Saebyeok's head.
The flour piled up on Saebyeok's head like a pyramid.
Even then, Saebyeok just stood there, expressionless.
"The older sister is playing well with the kids."
"Yeah. It's nice how she just stands there and lets the kids play around."
The students around us chuckled.
Could it be that they consider Saebyeok the most adult among us?
While Saebyeok did give off a uniquely mature vibe, I was actually the eldest here.
"Hm, hmm..."
I cleared my throat and stood in front of Saebyeok.
I slightly lifted my heels to appear taller, but surprisingly, Saebyeok was taller than me.
"I'm taller than Saebyeok."
"Uh, okay..."
What's going on?
We look alike, but why is Saebyeok taller?
A sense of disappointment made my ears and tail droop.
"I'm the taller one."
Saebyeok's tail wagged quickly from side to side.
Always expressionless and fierce, but somehow, it felt like she was boasting.
This was not my imagination.
There's nothing more embarrassing than getting your pride hurt by a child.
We just decided to play with the eggs and flour.
<+>
Yeoreum and Sophia were sitting on a park bench, having a conversation.
The main topic was about Saebyeok, who had recently arrived.
"That child must have gone through some tough times."
"Yes. I hope you'll take good care of her, Sophia."
"Well... but there's one thing that bothers me."
Sophia's tone was serious.
Given how wise Sophia was, Yeoreum couldn't help but swallow nervously.
"What is it...?"
"It's strange that a child who's been through all kinds of experiments in a lab talks only about Gyeoul."
"That's..."
It was a valid point.
One would expect Saebyeok to talk about her own suffering, but she mostly spoke about Gyeoul as if nothing else mattered.
"She said Gyeoul was a personality she created, yet insisted Gyeoul is real."
"Yes..."
"It's a contradiction. If she believed Gyeoul was real, there would be no need to reveal that she was created."
It wasn't wrong.
If the fact of being created was hidden, then Gyeoul could remain solely as real.
"Maybe it was too hard to keep it to herself, so she shared the secret?"
"It's like she's intentionally provoking guilt."
"Guilt?"
"Yes, drawing out guilt to make Gyeoul receive more love."
"Why would Saebyeok do such a thing...?"
It was hard to say, considering the child had undergone horrific experiments.
Yeoreum knew from records what kind of experiments Saebyeok had been subjected to.
Was Saebyeok, neglecting herself to help Gyeoul be more loved?
It didn't make sense to Yeoreum.
It seemed more natural to want to be loved rather than make others receive love.
"Saebyeok said she saw the world through Gyeoul's eyes, right?"
"Yes, not every day, but occasionally."
"...Then maybe she saw something. Perhaps Gyeoul, who suffered unspeakably terrible things compared to the lab's experiments."
"Really...?"
Was Gyeoul's experiences so terrible that even Saebyeok felt pity and wanted to ensure Gyeoul received even more love?
Yeoreum was speechless.
She didn't want to believe there was something even more hellish than Saebyeok's already hell-like life.
It was said that Gyeoul was made into a brave and spirited child capable of anything.
To create a child with a willpower stronger than anyone else in the world, just to survive.
A child with such strong mental fortitude came to view life so lightly.
Yeoreum clenched her fist.
"Or maybe..."
"What else is there...?"
"...No, let's drop it. It's all speculation."
Tap, tap -
Sophia tapped her cane, pondering.
She considered the possibility that Saebyeok's mention of being a created child was a lie designed to provoke guilt.
Then, where did Gyeoul, who ended up in Saebyeok's body, originally come from?
Sophia recalled something about a 'possessor' she had heard from a human teacher a hundred years ago.
It was said that the possessor and the original body's owner fought over control of the body.
The owner, who could read the possessor's past, eventually won.
'It's good our kids don't fight like that.'
Had Saebyeok read Gyeoul's past?
Was that past so horrific that even a child subjected to human experiments felt pity?
Phew -
Sophia sighed and shook her head.
She realized she was entertaining thoughts that made no sense.
'It feels like becoming an overbearing parent.'
It must all be because of her love and care for Gyeoul.
Sophia, with a slight smile, caught a familiar smell.
She turned towards the direction of the smell.
There, she found the children in a shocking state.
"Ah."
They were covered in flour, drenched in something sticky.
The gooey liquid was dripping down Gyeoul's hair to the floor.
"Oh my."
"Goodness."
Look at those silly expressions.
The kids had a blast playing.
Sophia was so shocked by their appearance that she wanted to pull her hair out.
<+>
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