Chapter 68: Party (3)

“…I’m sorry about earlier.”

It wasn’t just empty words or a reluctant apology.

Whoosh-! Her head bowed so deeply the wind whistled, her neat ponytail falling with gravity to smack-! against her forehead.

Even then, she didn’t budge until Gyeonwoo responded, showing how genuinely sorry she felt.

What was this?

Could people really change so suddenly?

Though Gyeonwoo believed everyone deserved a chance, this was her first time seeing it happen.

Most people she’d met were either purely good or purely bad.

Her surprise didn’t last long.

“Yes! Um, I’m…”

Gyeonwoo steeled herself.

“I’m Han Gyeonwoo.”

Until now, whenever she tried using the name her parents gave her, bloody faces flashed through her mind.

She’d avoided using this precious name, wondering if she even deserved to.

But when the district chief appeared and things got urgent.

Gyeonwoo remembered the voices of people calling her name desperately.

The gentle voices of Sister Han Dayeon and the Guild Master.

Thanks to them, she learned how happy it felt to have loved ones call her name.

So…

Yes… she couldn’t keep avoiding it forever.

Seeing someone younger admit their mistake and apologize helped Gyeonwoo gather her courage.

Maybe what she’d done at the cult had been wrong, so step by step.

With everyone’s help, she had to find the courage to change!

“Oh!”

My goodness! Our Gyeonwoo finally said her name herself!

Han Dayeon, who had stepped back to watch, covered her mouth in emotion.

Though Gyeonwoo’s voice trembled saying her name, that didn’t matter.

What mattered was her clear determination to move past her trauma.

The girl apologizing was caught off guard by Gyeonwoo’s seemingly determined response.

Gyeonwoo’s eyebrows drawn up, lips pressed firmly together!

Even her tightly clenched fists.

It looked more like she was preparing for a fight.

W-wasn’t I the one apologizing here?

But her confusion passed quickly.

“Um…? Oh, um… I’m Jang Nara.”

“Yes. Hehe, that’s a pretty name. Thanks for apologizing. W-want to be friends?”

“…Huh?”

What’s with her? Is she slow or something?

I said such mean things to her.

I even gossiped about her behind her back, yet she just smiles and lets it go?

Jang Nara unconsciously raised her voice.

“Hey! Don’t you have any pride?! You can’t just smile and let it go like that!”

Though she appreciated being forgiven, acting like such a pushover would only make others look down on her.

But Jang Nara’s indignant outburst accomplished nothing.

“Are you worried about me? Thank you!”

Gyeonwoo still just went “hehe.”

She smiled shyly and fidgeted with her legs.

After all, it felt nice having someone worry about her.

“You’re really stupid. What if I’m just making fun of you?”

“But you’re not though, right?”

“…Well, no.”

“You apologized so we’re done! Being friends with me and Pureumi is enough for me!”

Gyeonwoo believed in Jang Nara’s good nature, shown by admitting her mistake and apologizing.

“…Idiot.”

“Hmph! No mean words!”

“Whatever, stupid. The other kids want to apologize to you too.”

As if rewarding that trust, several children nervously approached behind Jang Nara.

Unlike the kids already riding the ice slide, these were about to enter elementary school.

“Um… we’re sorry too.”

Seeing them all blushing and unable to meet her eyes, Gyeonwoo’s eyes went wide.

“Huh? But why?”

What were these sudden apologies for?

And why were they all coming together like this?

No matter how much she thought, she couldn’t remember them doing anything wrong.

As Gyeonwoo tilted her head in confusion, Jang Nara leaned in to whisper:

“We ignored you when you were in danger.”

But to Gyeonwoo, that wasn’t such a serious mistake.

“Huh? Why? It was my fault, so of course I should handle it myself, right?”

“…And we thought it was your fault too.”

“Mm. That was my fault though.”

Gyeonwoo’s calm response while awkwardly scratching her head.

Only then did Jang Nara understand Gyeonwoo’s personality.

At first she’d thought Gyeonwoo was just a bad girl trying to flirt with boys using her looks.

Trying to get close to kids from richer families…

“It’s really okay! I should be sorry! You were all looking forward to the field trip. But I’ll show you lots of yummy things when we go to the guild today instead!”

Gyeonwoo was more innocent than she’d imagined.

Despite being close to the famous Guild Master Lee Sunghwan who appeared on TV daily and was one of the most recognizable faces in Korea.

She was big-hearted enough to forgive her and the other friends without a single harsh word.

“Yeah! So, we’re good now? You looked so cool fighting with that man!”

“C-cool?”

“You must be an Awakened like the Guild Master, right? That makes you the youngest Awakened ever! You were really cool!”

“U-uhehe. Thanks! No one’s ever said that to me before…!”

Her face even turned red at simple praise, clearly flustered.

“Haah…”

I was jealous of someone like this?

There’s no point being jealous, she’s such a kid!

“I’m fine now so hurry and try the slide! Pureumi and the Guild Master worked hard to make it.”

Finally, after the other children hesitantly left for the slide.

Jang Nara turned away from her first love standing with Guild Master Jang Jin-yu.

She couldn’t help it – she’d found someone else more interesting.

How long had Gyeonwoo and Jang Nara been staring at each other silently?

The atmosphere grew awkward like a staring contest.

“Hey, aren’t you going down?”

Finally Gyeonwoo carefully asked Jang Nara who was still standing beside her.

Jang Nara raised an eyebrow and grabbed Gyeonwoo’s thin wrist.

“Eek! W-what are you doing?!”

“Everyone else already went down, dummy! We’re the only ones left!”

“Ehhh?!”

Gyeonwoo was shocked!

How had everyone gone down already when they’d barely been talking?!

Startled, she looked around frantically.

“See? They’re gone.”

“P-Pureumi abandoned me…!”

Even Pureumi, who usually stuck to Gyeonwoo like glue, had left.

Thump!

Was I… abandoned?!

Thud.

Before Jang Nara could say anything, Gyeonwoo collapsed in place.

“H-hey!”

“I-I’m useless trash…”

“No, listen!”

At this rate she looked ready to drill through the concrete ceiling into the ground.

She seemed completely unaware of how long she’d been standing there like an idiot.

Really…

When she was quietly standing still she looked so calm and intelligent, like an elementary school senior.

How could every single action be so innocent?

If she was acting, she could be Korea’s greatest actress.

If not, maybe she was even younger than she looked.

“If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have bothered…”

Finally Jang Nara gave up trying to reason with her.

Stretchy-!

“Mmph! Wh-what are you…!”

Before Gyeonwoo could say more nonsense, Jang Nara grabbed and pulled her soft cheeks.

“Wow. They stretch better than slime.”

“Waaah! Shtop!”

My goodness.

They were even softer and stretchier than the slime she played with at home.

The addictive texture made her want to pull and squish them over and over.

“Oh right. Sorry.”

When she finally let go, Gyeonwoo whined while rubbing her bright red cheeks.

It hadn’t hurt but…

I’m the older one here!

By age, I’m practically an adult!

It’s so embarrassing being treated like this by a kindergartener!

“Ugh, v-violence is bad…!”

“This isn’t violence! And of course your sister and the others already went down! What were you spacing out thinking about?”

At least she succeeded in getting Gyeonwoo’s attention.

Jang Nara passed on what Han Dayeon had told her.

“She said they’d wait for us below, so come down when we’re done talking.”

It was a natural choice for Han Dayeon.

Though she didn’t know what had happened between Gyeonwoo and Nara, it had made Gyeonwoo determined enough to reveal her name.

If it was such an important conversation, she should give them space to talk comfortably.

She thought it might help our Gyeonwoo overcome her trauma faster!

“Oh, I see…!”

Gyeonwoo finally mumbled with a foolish smile.

“I-I knew it. I believed in sister and Pureumi!”

“Pfft! Who said anything about that?”

Jang Nara found her adorable.

“Let’s get going then.”

“Together?”

“Yeah, why? Don’t want to go with me? We’re friends now, right?”

“No, I’m happy! You’re my first friend made like this!”

“F-first?”

“I have a really close friend but… more like family? We naturally got close without ever talking about being friends.”

Naturally holding Gyeonwoo’s hand, Jang Nara approached the slide and spoke:

“…Oh yeah? I’m curious. Since we’re friends now, how about we properly introduce ourselves?”

Actually, her pride was a little – just a tiny bit – hurt.

Being told she was the first friend.

She’d just decided to take good care of this innocently stupid kid.

What? She already had a family-like friend? Then I’m not the first!

But Gyeonwoo had no way of knowing these thoughts.

“Yes! I want to hear about Nara too! I’ll introduce you to our Pureumi first, let’s go!”

Gyeonwoo launched herself down the ice slide sparkling in the sunlight, overjoyed.

Letting out an excited “Kyaah-!”

“Gyeonwoo, come here!”

“Mama!”

Toward her new family waiting below with open arms.