# Side Story (7)
"..."
I fell silent under the principal's probing gaze. It was clear that whatever I said would make me look like a lunatic.
The principal spoke to me in a gentle tone in response to my silence.
"Is it difficult for you to tell me?"
"..."
Nod—
I nodded instead of speaking.
Then, the principal stepped back as if understanding.
"If you don't want to talk about it, I won't press you. But please answer just one question for me."
"A question?"
"Yes, a simple question."
The principal said with a smile. Perhaps it was her gentle personality. She didn't dig too deeply into what I'd said about being the girls' guardian.
Instead, the principal asked one simple question.
"By any chance, you're not in an inappropriate relationship with these girls, are you?"
"In-inappropriate relationship?"
Is this the power of experience?
Just how far did her imagination go?
However, finding my response amusing, the principal waved her hands and burst into laughter at my flustered face.
"Hoohoo, not that kind of relationship. I mean an illegal relationship."
"An illegal relationship?"
"Yes, to be honest, the children's appearances are outstanding enough to resemble celebrities on TV. So I briefly wondered if you were using these children for illegal purposes."
Mister.
Did she misunderstand me because of that word?
Well, it does look a bit odd to be called "mister" when we appear to be the same age.
"I understand what you were worried about. But it's nothing like that, so please don't worry."
"If you say so, then I understand."
The principal accepted it easily.
Seeing this, Luna nodded from the side.
"That's right! Mister doesn't do illegal things!"
"I don't know the laws here, but Mister isn't the kind of person who would break the law."
Saten nodded along.
The principal looked at the Hero Party and smiled warmly.
"You're good children. But next time you come to school, get permission first. I can accommodate that much for you."
Just how kind is this principal going to be?
As I wondered why she was being so accommodating to us.
The principal said something I hadn't expected.
"More importantly, Lee Jun-woo."
"Y-yes?"
"Are your parents well?"
"Yes, yes... they're doing well."
"Then please give them my regards next time you see them. I'm greatly indebted to your parents."
"Yes, yes..."
This is a bit awkward.
So the reason the teachers didn't bother me when I slept in class was because of my parents. More than that, what's the relationship between my parents and the principal?
My head was confused from obtaining this unexpected information.
Perhaps reading my feelings, the principal stood up and said:
"Well, it seems our conversation is over, so you may go."
"Thank you! Wrinkly old lady teacher!"
"Luna, that's rude."
"Eh, but it's a compliment...?!"
And so I stood up to leave the staff room. To send all these kids back home. However, the principal still had something to say and called us back.
"But, about those uniforms..."
"...Yes?"
"The uniform with the name Lee Ji-hye. It's not the pink-haired young lady's Lee Ji-hye, is it? It definitely looked like the name tag of the student who left early earlier?"
"..."
I'm sorry.
And so we returned the uniforms before we could leave the classroom.
I didn't understand why the principal didn't ask deeply about our relationship.
But when I thought about it myself, probably...
*Did she think they're foreign cousins?*
Because nothing else would explain it.
With that conclusion in mind, we left the school.
Leaving early feels strange.
I left school early today to take the Hero Party home.
When I told the principal, she said she understood and would inform my homeroom teacher.
"No matter how I think about it, I don't understand the principal's behavior... Why is she so cool about it?"
"I know, right. She must have been very curious. But she didn't ask questions and just quietly watched us. She seemed like someone with something to hide."
Saten, walking alongside me, agreed with my words. And Hare also seemed to sense something suspicious and began to chime in.
"That's right... the principal...? That old lady tried too hard to make things easy for Mister... It couldn't be that, could it...?"
Crunch— Crunch—
Hare began biting her nails as if anxious thoughts had occurred to her.
I didn't know exactly what she was imagining alone, but somehow I felt there was no need for that.
"...Hare, let's stop that thought."
"Wh-why...?"
"It's an absurd imagination. What's the age difference..."
"L-love knows no borders or age...!"
Hare really does have dangerous ideas. I told Hare "sure" half-heartedly and started walking again.
Walking down the street in a school uniform felt strange.
*I feel like a delinquent...*
While I was feeling like a delinquent alone.
Sniff sniff—
Luna became curious about the street and started sniffing the air.
"What are you doing, Luna?"
"I smell something! A delicious smell!"
"School fronts always smell delicious. It's a smell students like."
"I like this smell too! Does that make me a student?!"
"No."
"Why not?!"
"Luna, you don't learn with your head."
So you can't be called a student.
Luna, displeased with those words, stuck out her lips and walked toward the food.
"Hmph, fine! No matter what Mister says! I'm going to be a student! So!"
Luna stood in front of a snack bar with a delicious smell and shouted.
"Since I'm a student! I'm going to eat this delicious-smelling thing!"
"Sure, do whatever you want."
Let's see how you do this.
At my words, Luna's pride button seemed to be pressed as she rummaged through her pocket and pulled out a coin.
"Lady! Give me one of these red things!"
"If you mean tteokbokki, it's 1000 won per cup."
Luna thrust the coin forward more and shouted.
"Here! Quickly!"
"Are you making fun of me right now? What am I supposed to do with a toy coin—"
She's going to make the lady angry at this rate.
I quickly ran over and stood in front of Luna.
"It's not a toy, it's foreign money. She hasn't been in Korea long."
"I-is that so? But she speaks Korean well."
"I'll pay. Please pack 5000 won of tteokbokki and 5000 won of sundae."
I handed the lady 10,000 won and waited for the packaging. Luna had her lips stuck out, upset about something.
"Tch, I have money too..."
"That's money from your world."
"That makes it even better! It's money that doesn't exist in this world!"
"That's—"
That's actually a fair point?
"Luna."
"What!"
"How much money do you have? If you want, the money you have..."
I'll exchange it for Korean money when we get home.
At those words, Luna rummaged through her pockets as if she'd discovered treasure and pulled out all her coins.
"Hehe, here! Then I can buy delicious things too, right?! I'm excited!"
"...Luna, you're really simple except when fighting."
"Saten, do you want to exchange too?"
"No, I'm fine. I'll exchange mine myself later."
As expected, Saten is quick-witted.
And so I promised to exchange with Luna, then left the snack bar with tteokbokki and sundae in a black bag.
From their perspective, everything on the street seemed to spark curiosity, so our walking pace was quite slow.
"If I fought that fast thing, who would win?!"
"...That's not something made for fighting."
"But still!"
"You'd win."
"Right? Of course I'd win!"
I answered half-heartedly and moved on.
"...Mister. People keep looking at you. Sh-should I make them all unable to see you—"
"They're looking at you guys. And they're looking at me because of the uniform. Never do that."
"Y-yes..."
She answered, genuinely scared.
"This city is interesting. The roads are well laid out as if calculated from when they were built. The people all have the same feeling too. It's a very good city to govern."
"I see..."
I didn't understand but answered anyway.
And so, after walking and talking for a long time, we arrived home.
The moment I opened the door and placed the bag of food on the dining table, the door to the main room opened and Estia appeared, rubbing her eyes. She saw me and hugged me, saying:
"Good morning, Oppa..."
"It's noon, Estia."
"It's morning for me... Good morning...!"
Estia said that and rubbed her face against my clothes.
Then, smelling something good from the side, she moved her nose and sniffed.
"Smell...! Food! I'm hungry, Oppa!"
"I bought tteokbokki, so eat that."
"Okay!"
Patter—
Estia immediately sat in a dining chair and opened the black bag.
Then she picked up tteokbokki with a skewer and ate it. Seeing this, Luna was shocked and started running over.
"Estia, that's mine! I bought it to eat!"
"Where does it say that! First come, first served!"
Munch munch—
The two bickered while eating tteokbokki.
*At this rate, there won't be any food left for Hare and Saten.*
I brought plates and divided the food for the two of them. The two were so absorbed in eating the tteokbokki that suited their taste that they didn't even notice me taking the food.
*When I saw her yesterday, Estia wasn't much of an eater...*
But tteokbokki seems to suit her taste. I sat in front of them and quietly watched them eat. Luna saw me like that and picked up a piece of tteokbokki and held it toward my mouth.
"Mister, you eat too! This is really delicious!"
"No, it's okay. You guys eat."
"Why! I'm giving it to you, so eat it!"
"No, I don't like tteokbokki."
"Really? Then I'll eat it!"
Chomp—
Luna immediately brought it to her own mouth and ate the tteokbokki.
Watching people from another world enjoy eating tteokbokki made my heart feel full somehow.
*Is this national pride...*
I feel full without eating.
I don't know if it's paternal affection or national pride.
Anyway.
Watching them eat deliciously made my heart feel warm.
And at that moment.
Ding—
A text arrived, so I opened my phone to check.
A text from my mother after a long time.
—Are you doing well, son? I'm contacting you because I'm curious if something happened. Nothing's wrong, right?
Quite a long text.
This is almost the first time I've received such a long text.
I simply typed "Nothing's wrong" and sent a reply.
And I learned not long after that this text was the wrong answer.