Chapter 53 – Easy to Meet, Hard to Target.

There were a lot of inconveniences to a body which became smaller overnight.

The dormitory at the Hero Academy was built for students over the age of 17, meaning they took into account the body height of the students.

“This…god damn…!”

After clearing the gate and returning to the academy, the morning at the academy dorm greeted me.

I was on my tiptoes so that I could take out the bread that I had left on the kitchen shelf.

Just why the hell did I put the bread at such a high place before?

Regret came flooding in like a tsunami.

But in the middle of my misfortune, should I say it was a relief…

Hana, who was taller than me, tiptoed and pulled the bread out from the shelf.

In her pink pajamas, she smiled as she handed me the bread.

“Now! Sijoon is too short to take out the bread, but I can! Hurry on and accept it!”

“…”

I took it from Hana without uttering a word.

She seemed very happy that I had gotten younger.

I remembered what happened last night.

When I came back to the dorm, Hana was inside my room with the lights off.

I had opened the door and entered the room, then Hana popped out.

“S-Sijoon…!”

She called my name.

She slightly hesitated, because the silhouette she saw from the door wasn’t mine.

“Sijoon… Is that you…?”

No matter how many times she looked, it was the appearance of a short man.

Perhaps uncertain, Hana was on guard.

It was humiliating, but I turned on the fluorescent light for Hana, who had waited patiently for me.

Click.

The fluorescent lights turned on and the dark room lit up quickly.

Then, what Hana saw was the appearance of a small child.

She had seen an old picture of me from Hayeon, so she could tell that the boy was me.

“S-Sijoon’s height…!”

At first, Hana was shocked.

She always had to look up at me in order to make eye contact. But in this situation, Hana was the one looking down on me.

I spoke to her in a small voice.

“I’m back.”

When I spoke to her in a voice that didn’t hit puberty yet, she stared at me then began to muffle her laughter.

“Pfft… Sijoon! Your height!”

After that, she began to choke back her laughs.

She smiled at me every time she saw me, and when we fell asleep, she hugged me like a rabbit doll.

Because the pillow was a bit damp, I could tell that Hana had been very lonely while she was waiting for me.

That happened last night, and Hana acting delusional continued into the morning.

“It can’t be helped! Sijoon, a small kid can’t be cooking! I’ll do it!”

“I mean, does it matter…”

“It does! Stay put!”

I could make toast with butter on a frying pan while on my tiptoes, but Hana asserted that since I was smaller, she would do it.

“Just wait and see.”

At that moment, it made me think I might end up with more work when I returned to normal.

But is she able to cook…?

I was suddenly worried.

In my case, my body had grown smaller, but my mind was the same. 

But no matter how Hana grew and was taller than me, her brain was also the same.

Could that Hana cook?

My answer was obviously “no”.

Feeling anxious, I watched her.

She took an egg out of the refrigerator.

It looked like she planned on making egg and toast.

“If I…do this…like this…”

Hana held an egg in her hand and struck it on the frying pan.

Crack!

Wasn’t that too strong…?

I was on my tiptoe and checked the frying pan where she struck the egg.

“Hana, get out of there right now.”

“Alright…”

Hana exited the scene, the excitement she had, gone, and her spirit crushed.

There were a bunch of eggshells mixed with the whites and yolk in the frying pan.

Was she going to give this to me?

I’d rather not eat.

Hana had the skill of an atrocious cook.

I had no choice but to make breakfast.

My toes…

Cooking on my tiptoes hurt more than I thought.

I came to realize that I had no aptitude for ballet. 

***

After finishing breakfast with Hana, I moved with haste since I didn’t know when my body would grow up again.

When Hana saw me like that, she asked me nervously, “Sijoon. Where are you going…?”

“…I’m just going somewhere for a bit.”

There was no way I could tell her that I was meeting another woman.

I wasn’t sure if Hana’s feelings for me were romantic or not, but she was dependent on me. To tell her that I was off to meet another woman was a trashy thing to do even for me.

Sorry, Hana.

As long as I didn’t get caught, our relationship would have no problems.

Hana’s anxiety wouldn’t grow even more.

It seemed like she didn’t like being by herself so she asked, “Can I come too…? I did well staying alone, didn’t I? Sijoon…”

“Sorry…wait a little bit more. I’ll be right back.”

I felt a bit guilty, so I spoke to her in an affectionate manner.

But because my voice was that of a boy’s, the delivery wasn’t that great.

“Let’s go outside together later. I’ll show you something fun.”

“Sijoon. I can trust you on that, right?”

“Did you ever see me lie? Trust me.”

There was no reason to keep Hana tucked inside the dorm so that she wouldn’t get kidnapped.

I promised her I’d go out with her next time, and was able to head outside.

“Sijoon. Forgot. You have to give me a reward.”

“Ah, right.”

Reward.

Rewarding Hana for doing good things.

It looked like she listened to Shin Sihwa well while I was away, and didn’t cause any trouble.

How should I reward her for all the good things she did?

People were bound to get sick of eating the same meal often.

Hana enjoyed receiving the same reward quite a lot though.

Sometimes, a special meal was necessary.

What could I give?

I put my hand, which had grown smaller, on my chin and started to ponder.

“Reward! Gimme a reward! Give it to me! If you don’t, I won’t be a good girl anymore!”

As I brooded longer, Hana began to fuss, demanding for a reward.

I thought about what would be good to give, but nothing really came to mind.

In this type of situation, it was best to ask the person concerned.

“Hana. Is there anything you want as a reward? Besides a kiss.”

“…Besides a kiss? Hmm…”

Hana began to wonder.

Sitting at the end of the bed, Hana rolled her head.

It looked like she did have something she wanted.

“Sijoon! I want to take a picture with small Sijoon too.”

“Picture…?”

“Mhm! Exactly like the picture that woman had!”

Was she talking about the photo that Hayeon bragged to her about?

It was a picture that had been taken when I went on a trip with her, the one of me when I was young.

Maybe she had been envious of Hayeon, she also wanted a picture and her eyes sparkled.

“I-If…I had that, I won’t be lonely when I’m alone! Since I can see Sijoon all the time!”

“…That’s not bad.”

If it could ease her anxiety, then a picture was worth it.

The problem was getting caught by Hayeon.

It’ll be fine as long as we don’t get caught…

I promised I’d be careful last time, but if I didn’t give what Hana wanted right now, I felt like my conscience would break apart. So I had no choice but to grant her request.

“You have a cell phone, right?”

“Mhm! The red-haired teacher gave it to me! I don’t know how to use it though!”

Shin Sihwa gave Hana a cell phone, but it seemed that she didn’t tell her how to use it.

Well, it should be fine if I taught her later.

I took Hana’s phone, turned on the camera app, and switched it to selfie mode.

“Sijoon! I’m on the screen!”

“Yeah, Hana. I’m only going to take one, okay?”

No more, no less, just one photo.

On the screen, there was Hana and my younger self.

I counted down so that we could get a good shot.

“I’m going to take it on three. Three, two, one…”

“Ehh!”

The same time I said one, I felt Hana’s small lips touch my cheek.

Click.

When I checked the picture, I saw Hana’s eyes were shut tight as her lips crashed onto my cheek.

Did she want a picture like this?

Hana took her phone from me and seemed satisfied with the result.

“Hehe! I have a picture, too!”

Perhaps she remembered being teased by Hayeon last time, Hana was wearing a smile as she stared at the picture.

She’s cute.

After I patted her head as she smiled like that, I put on some loose clothes and headed to the door.

“I’ll be back.”

“Okay! Hurry hack!” 

Hana waved her hand as she saw me off.

As I watched her, I pulled myself together again.

…I can do it.

Lee Seolha.

If I didn’t go for her now, it’d be difficult.

This was a golden opportunity that would never come again.

I took out my phone and checked the text that I got.

–This is Lee Seolha. There’s something I want to talk to you about. Can we meet? Come to this place…

I don’t know how she got my number, but Seolha had sent me an urgent text to meet up.

Seeing as how she was still like this towards me, it was clear that she was suffering from side effects.

Rather, it’s what I want.

Between reason and instinct.

The meeting with Seolha was a good time to take advantage of the opportunity.

I dragged my small body and hastened my steps to meet her, making my way towards my third target.