As soon as Uncle entered the house, he placed boxes containing disposable masks, whose origins were unknown, at the entrance.
A relationship that was close to being a complete stranger, having seen each other’s faces only a few times due to work.
Nevertheless, at that moment, the presence of an adult felt extraordinarily reassuring.
“Oh, you kids have been through a lot.”
Uncle, bustling with activity as soon as he entered the house, began to find the necessary items and started taking care of us without even being asked.
Not only did he come over suddenly, but why was he also taking care of us?
That question arose, but right now, with my drowsy body urging me to close my eyes, I decided to simply comply.
“……”
Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the warmth.
The act of lifting my eyelids, which felt so distant, was the only thing that broke through the heaviness.
The soft, cool touch of a towel covering my forehead in the darkness.
Even amidst the feverish discomfort, as long as I kept my eyes closed, the medicinal haze guided me into sleep.
By the time I opened my eyes again, that heat had lessened.
Although a lingering fog remained in my head, it was better than the night before.
‘It wasn’t a dream.’
Uncle, sprawled on the floor as if to indicate that last night’s events were not just a dream.
After stepping over the stony lump of Uncle’s belly, I placed the thermometer from the shelf to my ear.
With a beep followed by a springing sound as I pressed the button, I heard the beeping machine noise.
The number 37.5 degrees appeared onscreen; fortunately, it had dropped to a mild fever.
After crossing back over Uncle’s belly, I inserted the thermometer into Shiyeon’s ear and pressed the button.
Beep, and when I checked the screen, it showed 36.8 degrees.
Looking at Shiyeon’s calm expression and steady breathing, I could tell that her condition had improved quite a bit.
Now, the focus had to be on my own body, which still had a mild fever.
With my eyes open, I heated up beef and vegetable porridge in the microwave, finishing with a lonely meal before swallowing a pill and heading upstairs to lie down.
The microwave was buzzing, and as it completed, I was met with its beeping sound.
It was the kind of noise that would wake even a normal adult from sleep…
‘He’s sleeping well.’
Even after finishing my meal and swallowing the medicine, Uncle, the civil servant, had no thoughts of waking up.
At that moment, I decided to muster my hazy thoughts and focus on my own body, before lying down on the bed upstairs.
What to do about Shiyeon’s breakfast crossed my mind momentarily.
‘There’s still some porridge left, so it should be fine….’
I entrusted the remainder to Uncle and closed my eyes again.
Having recently woken up, I probably wouldn’t fall asleep quickly, but still, at times like this when you’re sick, eating well and sleeping is the best.
Even if I couldn’t sleep, I told myself to sleep, a belief that seems to work just right when I’m unwell.
If I were to stir now that my symptoms had lessened, the mild fever could easily return to a high one.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity where someone was here taking care of us.
Still, considering he’s an adult, I thought he would at least take care of Shiyeon’s basic needs, and with that thought, I closed my eyes again.
“Mary, are you feeling very unwell?”
Hearing Shiyeon’s voice speaking right in front of the person who was asleep made my eyes flutter open slightly.
A wake-up call that disregards the one sleeping.
That immaturity was just elementary school-like enough for me not to get annoyed or lecture, so I slowly propped myself up to check my body.
Dulled senses, feeling fine.
The heat covering my body, gone.
No sore throat.
But for some reason, Uncle who had been in the house, was also gone.
Looking beyond the bed’s threshold, the living room was empty.
I was curious if Shiyeon knew anything, so I quickly asked.
“Where is Uncle who was here?”
“He said he was busy and had to head back; he told me to let you know.”
The kind of Uncle who came and went like a breeze.
Of course, he must have done what he needed to as an adult, but I couldn’t help asking Shiyeon again, just in case.
“Did you eat? Did you take your medicine?”
“I had porridge and took my medicine too.”
Shiyeon answered the questions quickly.
I changed from lying down to sitting and headed towards the stairs, while perceptive Shiyeon quickly descended the stairs from the bed.
There were traces of Uncle left around the house, as if to say he had been here.
A pile of masks wrapped in disposable plastic.
They say there’s panic buying of masks due to shortages, but I wondered where he managed to get those.
Just to confirm, I took the thermometer in my hand and measured it against my ear, and it read 36.3 degrees.
“Shiyeon, come here.”
“Okay?”
Shiyeon approached, tilting her head at my brief gesture.
Somehow, I felt like I was slightly shorter than her.
In any case, I shoved the thermometer into her ear and pressed the button to check the temperature.
With a beep, the screen showed the number 35.9.
It was a relief that neither of us had a fever.
Afterward, I opened the curtains slightly for ventilation and flung open the balcony door.
‘Should I contact the school….’
Thinking about my duties as a student, the smartphone I hadn’t brought from my bedside came to mind, so I headed upstairs to the bed, grabbed my smartphone, and sat down in the living room.
Since I hadn’t plugged it in while lying down, the battery was only at 12 percent.
Nonetheless, some unread messages popped up on the screen, and among them was a message from the school.
Finally looking at the content of the message:
[Notice for School Suspension Due to Disinfection and Infection Prevention]
In summary, the school announced that classes would be suspended for a few weeks due to a recent outbreak.
Especially regarding our school, where an infected person had roamed around without a mask.
It was stated that in order to carry out disinfection and prevent infection, no students should attend during the approximately one-week suspension.
‘What a mess.’
After reading the message sent by the school, I turned my attention to the news I hadn’t checked while lying down.
The world had entered an era of a great plague.
Normally unremarkable news about magical girls now flooded the media, but this time articles were pouring in nearly akin to panic, all related to the outbreak.
Particularly troubling were reports that tracked confirmed cases visiting clubs and various travel locations.
It seemed such sensational stories were appealing, as news outlets were pouring them out one after another.
And it was undoubtedly true that those people were a significant reason the outbreak was spreading further.
Reasonable anger was manifesting as comments, with thousands accompanying each article.
[If you’re going to die, just do it peacefully by yourself.]
[Really, why do they live like that?]
[The clean bot has detected inappropriate expressions in this comment.]
[Annoying pests.]
[Such subhuman beasts should be isolated from society.]
‘This is serious…?’
The atmosphere was far removed from just a briefly trending flu.
Having recovered, I thought it might be a good idea to get vaccinated once a vaccine became available.
That complacency suddenly hit me as a stark reminder of reality.
Is it really enough just to wear a mask?
With that question, for several days, I recalled the saying that unfortunate predictions rarely went wrong.
“Mary, when are we going back to school?”
“Right….”
By the time Shiyeon began to wonder about not going to school and asked me, the outbreak showed no signs of calming down, worsening rather than improving….
News of infections rang out from various places, mandatory mask usage in public facilities, and the placement of hand sanitizers in public transport.
While various measures were being implemented, the number of infection cases was not decreasing, but rather growing.
Moreover, as if the world had gone mad, recently there had been more issues beyond just the outbreak.
[OO Station, ‘I’ll stab everyone who passes by’ knife attack warning….]
[Stabbings occurred on the 14th at XXX Station, a wave of copycat crimes spreading.]
[A 30-something woman arrested after threatening to stab, claiming ‘it was a joke.’]
[‘I’ll cut you like sashimi’ 20-something man, arrested at home.]
A sudden spree of random stabbings began overnight.
In a situation already chaotic due to the outbreak, senseless crimes were increasing.
There were even those insane attention-seekers arrested for posting online about their “jokes.”
I found myself thinking that it would be better to deal with a monster than this total chaos.
At this point, I thought perhaps the Minister should contact the police and tell them to lend support… such self-sacrificial thoughts crossed my mind.
They’re truly working hard to deal with these crazies.
With the world spinning out of control like this, people began to shift their thoughts, treating the outbreak like it was just a common cold.
Recently, policies promoting a ‘with virus’ approach were being pushed, associating a sense of familiarity with a virus that need not exist alongside us, all given the attitude that it was bound to spread anyway.
As a result, the recent school suspension was canceled.
Along with resuming classes soon, they emphasized the importance of wearing masks and frequent use of hand sanitizers to the children.
The disposable masks that were tiring to wear felt suffocating.
Having hot breaths circulating around my eyes and mouth, being told to keep it on was torture.
‘What the hell is wrong with the world….’
It’s a world that’s becoming less and less habitable for everyone, from children to adults.
