Chapter 54
Uh…. So…. You're Seolhwa?
After some time had passed since Hyeonwoo started taking hits.
Once I woke up and came to my senses, I realized things were a total mess, so I hurriedly stopped Hyeonjin noona and explained everything.
Only after about two hours of desperate persuasion did Hyeonjin noona finally seem to accept that I was Seolhwa.
"I thought my little brother had become an irredeemable pedophile…. Ahaha."
Hyeonjin noona said she'd thought Hyeonwoo had laid hands on me because I looked young, so she'd thrown a punch meant to rehabilitate him.
"If there's one more misunderstanding, someone's going to die…."
Hyeonwoo glared at his sister while using ice I'd made to ice the spots where she'd hit him.
"Sorry, sorry, but it was such an easy situation to misunderstand that my hand moved before I knew it…."
Hyeonjin noona looked sheepish as she admitted that her hand had moved before she could think.
Was acting before thinking a hereditary trait in this family?
"...Huh? Why are you looking at me like that?"
When I thought that and stared fixedly at the habitual offender Hyeonwoo, he asked me, slightly flustered.
"No…. I was just wondering if maybe you're the good one."
"Huh…? What are you talking about all of a sudden?"
"You don't hit me even when you absentmindedly touch me."
The air froze instantly when I said that.
...Huh? I hadn't even used my cold powers.
"Hyeonwoo? What have you done to your friend?"
"No, it's just…."
After hearing me, Hyeonjin noona once again looked at Hyeonwoo with dead eyes and began grilling him.
Hyeonwoo hurriedly tried to make excuses to his sister, who was about to go berserk, but-
Since he really had touched my cheeks and messed with my hair without permission, he couldn't come up with a proper excuse.
"You look like you need a private talk. Come with me!"
"W-wait…. Mmph…."
In the end, unable to offer a proper explanation, Hyeonwoo was grabbed by the scruff of the neck and dragged into the room by his sister.
"Oh my…."
I stared blankly at Hyeonwoo as he disappeared into the room.
Praying fervently that Hyeonwoo would survive, I secretly slipped away to my studio apartment.
========
Several days passed after that incident.
After returning to my studio apartment, I was rolling around under the breeze from the new air conditioner.
"As expected, new is best…. The output is on another level…."
The old air conditioner had been wheezing as it worked, probably from working too hard lately, but this one was running strong and smooth.
Machines really are best when they're new….
...It had put a sizable dent in my wallet, but I decided not to worry about that part.
“Then, shall I see what's going on in the world….“
I rolled across the floor toward the smartphone that had been tossed nearby and picked it up.
“Let's see if there's any news about new games…. Huh?"
Just as I was about to look for anything interesting, I noticed a chat notification had come in.
“Could it be Hyeonwoo…? Nope."
I thought Hyeonwoo, who hadn't contacted me much after being beaten by his sister, had finally messaged me, but the sender was someone completely different.
[Pink Kitty]:Unnie, unnie! How have you been lately?
It was a message from someone saved under the nickname Pink Kitty.
It was Yeri, the older of the two cat mutants I'd met at the mutant gathering.
For reference, I'd saved her younger sibling as Blue Kitty.
[Seolhwa]:Just meeting friends, playing games, and stuff. That's how I've been. A lot has happened, but that's the gist.
There have been quite a few incidents lately, but if I told you about all of them…
[Pink Kitty]:Ugh…. I'm jealous! I've been tired from studying every day lately….
[Seolhwa]:The CSAT is coming up soon. You've got to hang in there.
[Pink Kitty]:Nooo! I want to laze around at home every day like you, unnie! I'm jealous of college students….
Yeri seemed envious of me, a college student on leave because I'd grown tired of studying.
Ah, so this is what taking a leave of absence is.
A privilege of college students that high schoolers can't enjoy.
[Pink Kitty]:Ugh…. Fine! No more talking about studying!
She must really hate studying, since she was the one who had brought it up and was now suggesting they stop talking about it.
[Pink Kitty]:Unnie, are you free around the time finals end?
[Seolhwa]:I'm on leave, so I have lots of free time. Why?
[Pink Kitty]:Then why don't we all go to the beach sometime? Hyeonwoo oppa can come too!
The beach?
[Pink Kitty]:There's a place my family owns, so there won't be anyone else around and it'll be super pleasant! And we're going to have a really, really huge fireworks show!
Yeri kept trying to entice me into going to the beach with them, saying it would be incredibly fun.
Hmm…. I do like the beach, though….
[Seolhwa]:Sorry…. I think it'll be too hot around then for me to handle.
By the time finals were over, it would be midsummer, and as a Snow Woman, I was sure I wouldn't be able to stand it.
So even if I wanted to go, I wouldn't be able to….
And wearing a swimsuit outside would be a little….
Even though I now wore dolphin shorts at home, a swimsuit was a completely different matter.
Absolutely impossible…. Even if no one else were there, it would be too difficult.
[Pink Kitty]:Really? Still, let me know if you feel up to it later!
[Seolhwa]:Okay, okay.
That vague, noncommittal promise brought my chat with Yeri to an end.
“Speaking of which, fireworks….“
Putting the beach aside, the fireworks sounded quite interesting.
My family didn't travel much, perhaps because my brother and father were such homebodies.
Even when I traveled with friends, I had been a minor, so we'd always returned before nightfall….
So I'd never really seen a proper fireworks show.
A few streaks of fireworks spreading across that dark night sky.
Sitting on a sandy beach with the sound of waves softly in the background, watching a spectacular fireworks show with my friends….
Just imagining it sounded like so much fun.
“It'd be nice if I could go….“
Ding-
“Huh?"
While I was thinking that, another chat message suddenly came in.
The message I saw, thinking it might be Hyeonwoo this time, said-
[Dangerous Person]:Hey, you alive?
A person saved as Dangerous Person had sent me a message.
This must be Senior Narae.
[Seolhwa]:Yes, I'm alive and well.
[Dangerous Person]:Good. Then come to the lab.
“Eek…."
My senior had summoned me to the university lab out of nowhere.
It was so hot today that I didn't want to go….
[Seolhwa]:Uh…. I have an important mission to save the world starting right now….
[Dangerous Person]:Get your butt over here before I make it impossible for you to play games.
“Urk…."
The plausible excuse I'd come up with and sent didn't work on my senior, as expected.
Sigh…. I guess I'll shower and go….
======
"You're finally here. You sure took your time."
"Long time no see! Seolhwa."
After battling through the sweltering heat and barely making it to the university, I found Ms. Chaeyeon and Senior Narae waiting there.
“Don't call me slow…. I thought I was going to die from the heat….“
I guess summer really is summer.
In spring, I could make it to the university even if it was a little hot, but now the heat had nearly made me pass out.
I guess all the heat-acclimation training I did over the spring wasn't enough after all….
“Anyway…. I didn't know Ms. Chaeyeon would be here too."
“I'm just here to hang out. I'm on leave too, so I don't really have anything else to do."
"...I'd love to kick you out, but you're a sponsor, so I can't. Sigh…."
“Oh, come on, come on. You secretly like having me around too, Narae, so stop pretending!"
“So annoying…."
Senior made it clear that she found Ms. Chaeyeon annoying, but Ms. Chaeyeon called her a tsundere, hugged her, and seemed delighted.
Apparently Senior Narae looked cute to Ms. Chaeyeon too….
“Anyway…. The reason I called you here is…."
Senior pushed the clinging Ms. Chaeyeon away with one hand, then picked up one of the nearby pills and held it out for me to see.
“I finally finished this medicine."
“Ooh...! ...But what kind of medicine is that?"
It seemed like some powerful medicine, but I didn't know what it was, so I asked again. Senior looked at me as if I were ridiculous and replied.
“Medicine that helps you withstand the heat. I told you before."
“Oh…."
I awkwardly looked away, and Senior Narae sighed before continuing.
“To be precise, it slightly alleviates your cold constitution…. But you wouldn't understand if I explained it to you. Just take this."
That was the single pill Senior had given me.
It was tiny, but according to what Senior had said, could taking this pill really let me defy the sun….?
“For the record, it only eases your condition; it won't make you immune, so don't get any weird ideas."
“Huh…."
She somehow knew what I'd only imagined and immediately put a stop to my delusion.
This senior really was scary….
“That pill is a prototype we made by exchanging data with researchers who study snowman mutants, so I don't know whether it'll work on you either…."
Ms. Chaeyeon, who was standing beside us, said they didn't know whether the pill would work and told me not to be too disappointed even if it didn't.
“Well, even no effect is important data."
Senior then looked straight at me and said that every effect produced by taking this pill would be useful data.
“So all you have to do is take it and tell me if you experience any side effects. Got it, guinea p…. Seolhwa."
“Did you just call me a guinea pig?"
“I didn't."