Chae-a’s Pocket

Chae-a’s Pocket

There are three great mysteries in the association. (Or not)

The first was Seo-rin’s talent.

The second was the mystery of my tail moving on its own.

And the last, the third mystery was what exactly was inside Chae-a’s pocket.

‘Among them, I’ll now be able to solve the mystery about Chae-a’s pocket, which I’ve been most curious about.’

I thought with great anticipation, my eyes sparkling.

As I was thinking this and looking at Chae-a.

Chae-a, still smiling brightly, proudly said:

“Chae-a too!”

Chae-a is also curious about Chae-a’s pocket…!

Feeling my curiosity grow even more at those words, I stared blankly at the Spirit User Uncle.

The Spirit User Uncle nodded with a somewhat tense expression and said to us.

“Th-then shall we check?”

“Yeah!”

Chae-a looked at her pocket as if to say ‘look as much as you want’.

Han A-rin, who was standing next to her, approached Chae-a and put her hand in the pocket to take out something inside.

What popped out were countless flower petals.

Flower petals of all colors.

As I was wagging my tail, watching the corridor suddenly transform into a park-like scene, Yuna, who was next to me, whispered as if it was amazing.

“Chae-a unnie is incredible.”

I’m not sure which part she found incredible.

But I’m glad that Yuna seems to like Chae-a.

Then Han A-rin pulled something out of Chae-a’s pocket with a startled voice.

“Worm worm!”

Worm unnie, Chae-a’s friend and older sister.

The moment the worm came out, it greeted with a “worm worm” and then disappeared somewhere.

Watching this, Chae-a waved her hand and naturally said goodbye, but the people around were unable to shake off their bewilderment and talked among themselves.

“If there’s a worm, what else could be inside?”

“Could there be other living creatures in there too?”

Ha-eun and the others exchange worried looks, perhaps because Chae-a has always shown a fondness for insects.

Just as I’m thinking about whether it’ll be alright.

Han A-rin starts pulling out new items.

Bottle caps, plastic bags, broken wooden chopsticks.

Buttons, leaves, and even faded ribbons.

I expected to see something shocking mixed with all kinds of food waste.

But it was cleaner than I thought, which surprised me. Then Chae-a, who was next to me, said with a bright smile.

“The earthworm sister ate all the yummy stuff! Sorry?”

Then, after thinking for a moment, she said with sparkling eyes.

“Next time, Chae-a will find and share! Okay?”

Thinking that would be good, she giggled and then tried to walk away somewhere.

Han A-rin quickly picked up Chae-a and said to the others.

“It’s cleaner than I expected. It seems that this ‘earthworm’ isn’t an ordinary earthworm.”

Hearing this, I thought about Kkamang-i and the other insects.

I nodded, thinking that the earthworm sister was likely to be a spirit.

Someone nearby made a suggestion.

“Still, we should probably wash it at least once. What do you all think?”

“It’s not too dirty, but we should clean it anyway.”

“Oh, then let’s take this opportunity to wash Ha-eun and Chae-a’s pajamas thoroughly, and buy a pair for Yuna too, shall we?”

Everyone seemed to think that was a good idea, nodding and discussing it.

I was pondering what to do after hearing such a story when Yuna, who was next to me, spoke with a slightly brighter expression.

“Yuna wants to wear animal pajamas too.”

Judging by her expression, which was much brighter than usual, it seems she really wanted to wear animal pajamas.

As I was patting Yuna’s head and telling her it was a good idea,

Seo-rin, who was next to us, raised a question.

“Then what kind of animal pajamas should we get for Yuna?”

At those words, everyone’s expressions became serious, and they all started offering their own opinions.

“Aren’t cats cute? But speaking of cats, I’m reminded of how adorable our house cat is…”

“Cats? Foxes are better than cats. After all, Yuna is a gumiho. A fox is more fitting for a gumiho.”

“Come on, isn’t it boring to use the same animal for everyone? How about something unique like chick pajamas?”

Their expressions and tones were incredibly serious.

I’ve seen the hunters conduct strategy meetings so casually and nonchalantly,

Ending with a “Sounds good!” so many times that this scene was somewhat bewildering.

I was blinking my eyes, wondering if these were really the people I knew,

When someone brought up another suggestion.

“Dinosaur… I want dinosaur pajamas.”

At those words, everyone fell silent and then, as if rehearsed, started nodding and praising dinosaur pajamas.

“Yeah, dinosaur pajamas are the best. They’re so cute, aren’t they?”

“Come to think of it, my cousins really like dinosaurs too.”

“Dinosaur pajamas would be super cute. Yuna, you have a good eye for clothes, don’t you?”

Then, subtly mixing in compliments towards Yuna, they try to make her feel good.

I think the adults’ kindness is very mature, and I watch with sparkling eyes, thinking I should do the same.

Yuna feels good about being complimented, but she seems scared of the adults’ attention, fidgeting with her hands and smiling faintly.

“When I was in the ice. I envied the kids wearing dinosaur pajamas walking with their moms and dads.”

At the mention of ice, the expressions of the hunters around quickly harden.

The story of a child barely five years old being trapped in ice, plus envying children walking with their parents…

It wasn’t something that could be easily brushed aside, even if they tried.

So while everyone was hesitant to speak and watching each other’s reactions.

Yuna fidgeted with my hand, then showed a shy reaction as she wagged her tail and ears while speaking.

“But now I’m not envious at all.”

At these words, the hunters around relaxed their expressions and let out sighs of relief.

Saying she’s not envious anymore meant that the association was satisfactory enough to fill that void.

As everyone was nodding and relaxing their expressions, Han A-rin calmly spoke to us.

“Then shall we make sure Yuna doesn’t envy other children in the future too?”

At these words, Yuna looked a bit happy for a moment, but quickly changed her expression back and said to Han A-rin.

“Yuna is not a baby. Ha-eun is the baby.”

“Yuna is a baby, and Ha-eun is a baby too.”

“… ?”

I was clearly just sitting still, so why is my name coming up?

I raised my tail a bit indignantly, but everyone was too busy talking to notice my raised tail.

‘… I miss the viewers.’

The viewers would have noticed it right away.

I was grumbling, deciding to turn on the stream after a long time when I wake up tomorrow.

The Spirit User Uncle asks a question to those nearby.

“By the way, how long are we going to let the kids sleep in the hospital room?”

At those words, everyone flinches momentarily and looks at the Spirit User Uncle.

The Spirit User Uncle snorts at their gazes and says.

“No matter how much it’s for safety and health, it doesn’t seem right to keep them in the hospital room for too long.”

Everyone seems to agree with this and starts nodding.

Watching this, I lowered my tail with an inexplicable sense of unease and began to read the room.

‘Leaving the hospital room… does that mean we have to leave the association?’

To be honest, if I think about it, the kindness shown so far didn’t make much sense.

Providing such a nice hospital room for free, showing kindness without expecting anything in return.

So even if I were to be kicked out of the association right now, I couldn’t really say anything…

‘But Chae-a and Yuna are just kids. They shouldn’t be kicked out.’

I’m worried about Chae-a and Yuna, even if I could manage.

After pondering for a moment, thinking it might be better to move to Rare if we’re kicked out of the association, and deciding to negotiate well with others to live there.

Yuna, who was next to me, spoke to the hunters with a shocked expression.

“I… don’t want to be kicked out again. I don’t know what to do…”

It seems she understood the conversation similarly to me.

I held her hand tightly to tell her it’s okay, but.

Ha-eun couldn’t calm down, so she wrapped her tail around me and said:

“Please let Yuna live here. It’s okay to hit Yuna, but not Ha-euni. I can endure the pain well.”

Han A-rin was the first to react urgently to those words.

Han A-rin looked at Yuna with a face filled with shock and tried to ask something, but.

Realizing that Yuna was a sacrificial lamb for experiments and had been trapped in a huge block of ice.

She closed her mouth, chewed on her lips for a while, and then spoke with the most caring expression she could muster.

“Don’t worry. If Yuna wants, we’ll let her live wherever she wants for as long as she wants.”

Yuna’s expression brightened considerably at those words.

While looking at Yuna, I felt the need to clear up the misunderstanding.

Nearby hunters wore serious expressions as they talked among themselves.

“It seems they were violent towards other children, just like they were to Ha-eun.”

“No, we should have torn them apart and killed them all.”

“Mr. Jung-min, the children can hear you. Please speak a little more quietly.”

“Ah, I’m sorry.”

Hearing those voices, I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that at least we wouldn’t be kicked out for now.

‘Still, just in case.’

I steeled my resolve, thinking it would be good to place a bed and other necessities in the lair.

‘It might be okay if it were just me, but I have to take responsibility for Chae-a, Yuna, and Seo-rin too.’

I made up my mind to stay strong.

*

After a brief conversation with the hunters, we immediately returned to the hospital room.

I’m not sure if it’s because of the conversation we had earlier, but I feel guilty for staying in the hospital room even though I’m not sick, and my thoughts keep getting deeper.

‘What should I do?’

My mind becomes complicated, and I feel unnecessarily depressed.

While I’m pondering, biting the tail that comes to cuddle me as if to comfort myself.

Suddenly, a memory I had forgotten for a moment came to mind.

‘Healing ability and magic.’

If I learn these two, wouldn’t I be welcomed anywhere?

Thinking that by the time I master these two skills, everyone will treat me as a respectable adult rather than a baby.

I sent a text message to Perseus.

[ㅁ.“@@@ㅏ~~~ㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂㅂ]

“Beep.”

While I’m confused because it’s written strangely again.

Somteol, who appeared out of nowhere, grinned triumphantly and pressed the send button.