Chapter 69

“First time seeing pizza. It looks just like the sun!”

Yuna’s first impression of seeing pizza was that it looked exactly like the sun in the sky.

Indeed, as Yuna said, the shape and color were so similar that it could be mistaken at a glance.

I nodded in agreement, when Seorin started laughing while simultaneously ruffling both Yuna’s and my hair vigorously.

“That’s right, it does look like the sun! Oh my gosh, you kids are too cute! I seriously want to bite you, I really do!”

The moment Seorin said “bite,” Yuna stiffened in shock.

Then she squirmed and stood in front of me, taking a protective stance as if guarding me from Seorin.

“No way. Yuna and Haeuni are hungry.”

Though she seemed nonchalant, her trembling fingertips betrayed her obvious fear of the situation.

I tried to calm Yuna down, explaining Seorin was joking, but…

Yuna, determined to protect me from Seorin, kept blocking her.

“It was a joke, Yuna. Try some pizza. This is actually my favorite, and I think you’ll like it too.”

Realizing her joke had gone too far, Seorin quickly tried to make amends…

But upon seeing Yuna’s firm rejection, she realized the situation had escalated, and with a flustered expression, glanced at me for help.

As I pondered what to do…

Chae-a, who had been drooling slightly on the side, quietly stared at the pizza before turning to us with a “hehe” laugh, patiently waiting.

‘She must really want to eat it.’

Apparently, she’d been waiting for us to start, so…

I felt the urgent need to calm Yuna quickly, lifting her into my arms to reassure her…

“…”

Perhaps because my strength was too weak…

Even lifting her slightly proved difficult.

When Yuna noticed me holding her from behind, her eyes widened in slight surprise before she broke into a faint smile and began petting my head.

“Haeuni is holding me…”

She seemed to have mistaken being picked up for being hugged.

I decided against correcting her when I noticed the intense aura around her had disappeared.

Whatever the reason, the intended effect had been achieved.

Thinking everything was resolved, I was about to suggest we finally eat the pizza…

When Yuna clung to my side, suddenly full of confidence, bombarding me with various questions.

“Why do you hold sister like that? Since Yuna also likes Haeuni, you can hug me freely. Got it?”

“…”

“You’re such a good girl.”

Yuna continued petting my head with a bright smile.

Watching her actions, I hesitated momentarily before giving up and nodding several times, then calmly turned my gaze elsewhere.

*

After much ado, we finally got to eat the pizza Seorin had cut for us.

Seorin, feeling apologetic for teasing Yuna earlier, gave her an extra slice with a wink…

“…No thanks.”

But Yuna simply turned her face away, stuffing her cheeks full of pizza instead.

While I watched this scene awkwardly…

Chae-a happily offered her review of the pizza.

“It feels like a bouncy ball!”

A completely unexpected comparison made me blink in surprise.

Seeing my reaction, Chae-a explained enthusiastically.

“Look! So bouncy!”

She demonstrated by showing how the cheese stretched and wobbled.

Then she tilted her face upward and shook her head vigorously from side to side.

Watching her dog-like behavior, I chuckled…

When Seorin cut the cheese for her, saying…

“I’ll cut it for you. Let me know if it’s too long, okay?”

Chae-a nodded vigorously while making indistinct sounds.

Her squirrel pajamas made her look incredibly hamster-like, which made me giggle…

When Yuna noticed sauce on the corner of my mouth and wiped it off with a wet tissue…

“Here, you’re messy.”

When did that happen?

Considering the size of the pizza compared to my face, I probably got sauce on me trying to take a bite.

Embarrassed, I thought about it…

But Yuna, rather than being upset, started wagging her tail happily from side to side.

‘Embarrassing, but still peaceful… nice.’

Wishing this peace would continue, I smiled warmly and looked at Seorin.

* * *

An hour after eating pizza…

Many adults, including Han Arin, were walking down the hallway looking exhausted.

Seeing Han Arin made me inexplicably happy, so I quickly wagged my tail and ran to her…

“Hae-un!”

Han Arin’s delighted expression was visible.

As I smiled warmly at her…

A nearby hunter teased playfully…

“What? Is it okay for a baby to be wandering around at night like this?”

Hearing the playful voice, I looked to see…

A somewhat delinquent-looking woman holding a bag of potato chips staring intently at me.

She had some kind of tattoo-like markings, and though she looked quite intimidating…

Feeling scared, I cowered until Han Arin glared at her and sighed.

“Hae-un is scared, stop it.”

Honestly, given my appearance, I thought such teasing would roll off me without affecting me…

But unexpectedly, it left a psychological impact, and I spoke with a hurt expression to Han Arin…

“S-scared… really?”

Seeing her reaction, the fear vanished and a strange sense of familiarity arose.

For some reason, this made me want to be nice to her…

So I mustered my courage, waved at the intimidating woman, and greeted her…

“Hi there.”

The moment I greeted her, her expression visibly brightened into a warm smile.

Looking at her shark-like teeth, I marveled at their existence in real life…

When she waved back and introduced herself…

“I’m Sung Na-yeon. Like Hae-un, I have healing-type abilities.”

Hearing about healing abilities made my eyes widen.

Since healing-type abilities were extremely rare, I’d never had the chance to ask about them…

‘And I feel strangely familiar!’

It’s like meeting someone from your hometown while traveling – despite having no reason to feel familiar, I felt an unusually strong sense of connection, making me wag my tail vigorously…

Na-yeon saw this and smiled, gently squeezing my hand and said…

“What?! If you have any questions, feel free to come ask me anytime. Unlike others, I’ll tell you anything, Hae-un!”

“Thank you!”

“Yeah, sure!”

She seems like a really good person.

As I looked at Sung Na-yeon with shining eyes…

She hesitated briefly under my gaze before asking a favor…

“Um, can I ask one thing?”

Wondering what it could be, I tilted my head…

Na-yeon pointed at my tail and cleared her throat…

“Can I touch your tail once?”

At this request, I tried to look at my tail by turning around…

But since it went the opposite direction, I couldn’t see it properly.

Thinking I might see it if I turned further…

I kept spinning clockwise when suddenly…

Na-yeon collapsed on the floor, coughing.

“…?”

Confused by what happened…

Na-yeon waved dismissively saying…

“Oh, nothing.”

If that’s the case, good.

I nodded and continued my brief game of tag with my tail…

Until through some intense psychological warfare, I finally managed to catch it.

“Here you go.”

“Huh?”

Na-yeon seemed surprised that I’d actually let her touch my tail, staring at me with a shocked expression before…

Carefully reaching out to gently pet my tail.

‘It’s kind of ticklish.’

The sensation felt strange, making me blush slightly…

When Han Arin suddenly scooped me up urgently…

Pushing Na-yeon away while saying…

“Sorry, only I’m allowed to touch Hae-un’s tail.”

“…?”

Carried piggy-back style, I was confused…

Na-yeon looked at Han Arin meaningfully, smiling mischievously and replied briefly…

“I already touched it, what’re you gonna do?”

“You!”

Not quite understanding why they were fighting…

I blankly clung to Han Arin while lost in thought…

When Chae-a and Yuna, who had been looking for me, finally arrived…

“We found Haeuni!”

They must have been searching for me.

As I waved at Chae-a and Yuna who came looking for me…

Han Arin angrily told Na-yeon…

“I won’t forget this.”

“What can you do? I’ll remember this forever.”

“Then live with that memory while I touch Hae-un’s tail now.”

It seemed they’d keep fighting like this…

So I hesitantly intervened…

“Don’t fight.”

At my words, both stopped fighting as if they had planned it…

Then forced smiles while telling me…

“Fighting? Sister Hae-un, we didn’t fight. You know, fights require people of equal level.”

“Level? Hey, stop… rummaging through my pockets. There’s potato chips in mine.”

Rather than cursing in front of me, Na-yeon hastily changed the subject with an awkward laugh.

Deciding to pretend not to notice for Na-yeon’s sake…

I watched as Chae-a, hearing about food…

Brightened up immediately, pointing to her pocket and exclaiming…

“Chae-a has food in her pocket too!”

At the mention of food, all the adults’ attention turned to Chae-a.

Of course, putting food in your pocket usually results in chaos and possibly alien life forms (though maybe not) inside.

Given this fact, a nearby Spirit Master uncle paused briefly before suggesting to Han Arin…

“We should check Chae-a’s pocket.”

---