Chapter 48 : Growth

“Hey, is that delicious?”

“Yeah.”

In the end, the chunk of whipped cream that had been stuck to my nose was taken by Bada, who then placed it on her bread and ate it happily.

A combination of red bean paste bread and whipped cream. It’s a taste I can’t quite imagine.

Still, seeing her eat it so happily makes me think it might not be as bad as I thought.

“Want to take a bite?”

“Really? Then I’m all for it.”

Bada, perhaps noticing that I had been staring at her, offered me the half-eaten red bean paste bread.

It felt like she’d been eating for a long time, but there’s still a lot left. Maybe because Bada’s mouth is small, she can’t eat much.

“Hmm…

I glance down at the cream bread still in my hand.

The cream has already been eaten, but the moist outer bread is still there.

Even though I’ve been nibbling at it for a long time, there’s still about half the bread left, just like Bada’s red bean paste bread.

Maybe I have a small mouth too. But then why do I feel like I’m not full when I eat pudding?

It’s such a mystery.

“Maru, why have you been staring at that bread so much? Oh, is it because it doesn’t have cream?”

Huh? Oh, no. I just thought it seemed like she had eaten a lot, but there’s still so much left…”

“Well, isn’t that a good thing?”

Bada suddenly tilted her head, as if wondering what I meant.

I couldn’t help but notice her tail swaying slightly. Should I grab it and rub it?

“Well… that’s true.”

Yeah!

With that, Bada turned her attention back to her hot chocolate.

Hmm… it seems that having a small body isn’t so bad since you can eat a lot of delicious food.

“Wait a minute, come to think of it, there are a lot of benefits to being small.”

Whenever I ride the subway or bus, I don’t hit my head on the handrails, and I can secretly nod off behind my tall friends at school.

Also, when the sun is hot in the summer, I can slip into the shade easily.

With a low center of gravity, I won’t fall while walking either.

When I sleep, I can lie down however I want, whether the blanket is horizontal or vertical, and I save money by using less fabric for my clothes.

Plus, having a small mouth is actually an advantage when I think about it.

I can fill up quickly with less food and take my time eating elegantly.

They say there’s less air the higher you go, so taller people will struggle for oxygen every day, and, besides, lightning only strikes tall places, so they’re more likely to get struck.

Wait, being tall only has disadvantages.

Maybe the only benefit is eating lunch quickly?

“Hehe.”

…Maru? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

Thinking like that, I feel a little sorry for Nunu, who’s tall, and the Commander.

Small people still have the possibility of getting taller, but tall people can’t shrink.

Well, except when they age, of course.

So, they can’t enjoy all these amazing benefits their whole lives.

How sad is that?

“Now that I think about it, I think it’s time for Maru to do her stretching exercise… Oh, but since you have a cold, should we skip it?”

Huh? What do you mean? I should get ready… achoo!

“You seem lively, so I guess your cold isn’t that bad. But since you’re still sick, let’s just do one set.”

“Yes!”

I nodded vigorously. I still need to do my stretching exercise.

You think it’s contradictory that I was listing disadvantages and then doing the exercise anyway?

Well, it can’t be helped.

I’ve lived so long with these tiny legs.

Even if there are only disadvantages, I still want to experience what it feels like to grow taller at least once.

“Hey, Bada, do you want to try it with me?”

“I don’t know what that is, but… if Maru is doing it, I’ll try too!”

“Good, that’s the spirit. Come here!”

“Yes!”

Bada drank the hot chocolate so quickly that her cup shriveled up, then hopped off the sofa and started bouncing around.

It seems like Bada has never done stretching exercises before… How did she get so tall without doing them? It’s a bit envious.

But since our height difference isn’t much, if she practices stretching every day, she’ll catch up with me in no time.

It’s the special stretching exercise guaranteed to make you grow taller by Nunu.

Ahem.

Since Bada’s here today, should we also follow along with a song and do some rhythmic exercises?

“Huh, there’s a song too?”

“Of course. Commander, please play it!”

“Alright!”

For some reason, the Commander, his energy high, started fiddling with his phone.

Last night, my dad… so kind and gentle…

“Commander?”

“Oh, this isn’t the right song.”

Between the deep and small valleys… clear waters…

“Wait, just a second.”

Dad! Cheer up, we…

“Commander?”

Looking impatient, Nunu came over to check the phone.

She let out a small sigh… Something seems off.

“You downloaded the wrong thing. This is the baby package. The stretching exercise package is a different one.”

“…Oh, really?”

“Yes.”

The Commander scratched his head, looking sheepish.

It seems like he bought the wrong music.

Sigh.

It’s a shame, but it looks like we’ll have to do it without the song. Everyone okay with that?”

“Yes!”

“Commander, come over here. You should join in the exercise too!”

“Uhh…”

The gloomy-looking commander uncle put his phone in his pocket and sluggishly crawled over.

Standing in the left corner was Nunu, while I, Bada, and finally the commander uncle stood in line.

We stretched our arms wide to avoid bumping into each other.

Warm-up complete!

“Alright, stretch your hands out, stretch, stretch, stretch!”

“Stretch, stretch, stretch!”

“One!”

“Bada, your movements are too stiff. Stretch smoothly like me!”

“R-Really? Stretch, stretch!”

Stretching hands. Stretching feet.

Stretching up high. Stretching side to side.

After doing stretch exercises for a while, I looked at Bada—her arms, legs, and even her tail were stretching high into the sky.

At that moment, her tail seemed to notice my gaze, and it turned to look at me… Or did it?

I can’t really tell since it doesn’t have a face.

Anyway, it nodded.

…What was that?

“Maru, straighten your back too! Commander, you should straighten your back as well!”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“One!”

“Wait a second, my back is a bit… AAHH?!”

— Crack.

“Oh my.”

Huh?

I was stretching one hand out, then the other, when suddenly, a rather chilling sound came from the commander uncle beside me.

I turned to look and saw the commander groaning in pain, flailing on the floor.

“Uh… Commander, are you okay?”

“Ugh, yeah… I’m fine. My body is just shocked because I haven’t exercised in a long time.”

“But the sound was a little too much to just be ‘shocked’… You should rest on the couch for a bit.”

“But…!”

“No buts! We were almost done anyway, so just lie down.”

In the end, even though he was groaning, the commander uncle was gently placed on the couch by Nunu.

Looking at his strangely disappointed expression, I was reminded of the past.

Every New Year’s Day or special occasion, he would work out excessively, claiming he’d build cool chocolate abs.

But in the end, he’d always end up with muscle pain…

His ambitious workouts never lasted beyond day one.

Thinking about it now, it was really a foolish thing to do.

“Huff, huff… Are we done? That was really fun!”

“Right? This is called stretch exercise, and if you do it every day, you’ll grow really tall!”

“Gasp, really?! No wonder I felt like my body was stretching! So it wasn’t just my imagination!”

Bada’s eyes sparkled as she nodded. Her tail also bounced around as if asking for attention.

Like owner, like tail. They really are alike.

— Tap, tap.

“Huh?”

Suddenly, someone tapped my head.

“Bada, what’s up?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you just poke my head?”

“…Huh? I didn’t do anything.”

That’s strange. Nunu is way over there with the commander, so she couldn’t have touched my head.

Oh, wait. Could it be…?

“Ant?”

— Tap, tap.

Just in case, I called out, and in response, a tiny tap on my head confirmed it.

I had completely forgotten about the ant on my head. It’s so small that it barely has a presence.

“…You were stretching too, huh?”

Checking through my phone camera, I saw the tiny ant wiggling its antennae, doing stretch exercises.

Then, exhausted, it flopped down on my hair and rolled around like a pillow.

Watching such a cute sight, I smiled unconsciously.

Then, the little antennae started pointing somewhere.

What now?

Tilting my head, I followed its direction…

…And on the wall, I saw some scribbled writing: “[Maru, Day 1 Height].”

Aha.

You want to measure again? Alright, let’s see how much I’ve grown.

“Maru? Where are you going all of a sudden?”

“To measure my height!”

Holding Bada’s soft hand, I walked to the wall.

I feel nervous.

What if my height actually shrank?

Of course, that’s impossible… but you never know.

Swallowing my nerves, I carefully leaned against the wall.

“B-Bada, how is it? Did I grow?”

“Hmm… Wait a second. Let me draw the line.”

Thump.

Thump, thump.

Did I grow?

I worked out so hard, so I must have!

“Yeah! You grew a little!”

“Really?!”

As soon as Bada spoke, I turned around to check.

It was a tiny difference, but there was a clear gap between the new line and the previous one.

No way.

I actually grew taller.