Chapter 25: Trampolines and Trust

I lay in the ball pit, shaking my hands up and down, making what people commonly refer to as a snow angel. The rebound slowly sank my body down into the ball pit.

This is fun…

It was cozy, almost too cozy to want to leave. The feeling of stability made me want to stay like this for a lifetime.

However, I wasn’t here to play. I had a mission to take care of the children.

“Ta-da!”

I burst out of the balls, raising my hand triumphantly as if to surprise someone.

This gesture was enough to make the kids in the ball pit laugh.

“Hehe.”

“Wah!”

The children burst into laughter, clapping their hands. Among them was the girl I had saved, Narae. She seemed to always be here during this time, so it looked like she was a regular.

So cute.

As I played with the kids, just as Jinhyang said, I felt more innocent. It wasn’t uncomfortable like it was for adults.

I used to be like this, too.

Now, I had become a grumpy adult who lost that purity.

For just one day, I wanted to be a carefree child without worries.

While I held onto that desire, Narae approached me and grabbed my hand.

“Cat unni, let’s jump on the trampoline!”

“Jumping?”

I looked where Narae was pointing.

Ah, the trampoline.

Of course, the kids would go crazy over that. Following Narae’s lead, I climbed onto the trampoline.

Bouncing—

The kids were playing on the wide trampoline.

Feeling shy to jump with them, I stood in the middle, looking around, but my vision seemed to blur a bit.

Of course, the trampoline was meant to shake, but this was a bit too much.

“Ah, ahh…”

Now that I had this body, I had become quite sensitive to dizziness. The world spun around, and I could barely stand.

I found myself lying flat on the ground.

However, what shook me was the bouncy floor.

Lying down felt like shaking hands with fate.

The trampoline’s bouncing was transmitted to me without filter.

“Ugh, I feel dizzy…”

My whole body swayed like it was being rocked by waves.

I crawled towards the exit, but the trampoline’s elasticity pushed me back again.

“St-stop it.”

Every time I crawled, I got pushed back, creating a cycle of suffering.

It felt like I had fallen into a hell of innocence, surrounded by the pure chaos of children.

“Ha, ha…”

My vision blurred, and now I couldn’t even see the exit.

As I wandered like a lost dog on the trampoline, I felt someone’s slender ankle grasped in my hand.

“Um, over there.”

“Hmm?”

Hearing the voice, I realized it was a young child.

But right now, they were the only one who could help me.

“You can’t jump.”

I grasped the child’s ankle, pleading desperately.

I truly felt like I was going to lose consciousness.

Harang had collapsed.

Upon hearing this news, Yoon Bora quickly ran toward Harang.

“So, you mean she fainted while on the trampoline?”

“Yes…”

I wondered if there were any health issues.

Yoon Bora swallowed hard, her tension palpable.

“Was there any problem?”

“Well, it seems she was really scared of the trampoline.”

“…?”

Was there a scary element to the trampoline?

Yoon Bora looked down at Harang with a confused expression.

“She begged the kids to save her. She asked them not to jump, please.”

“Hmm…”

Yoon Bora nodded, having heard the staff member’s words.

Harang is a bit timid, after all.

I never thought it would be to this extent.

This was a level of fear that surpassed Yoon Bora’s expectations.

…Is it because her body is still young?

Physically, she was indeed a child.

Harang’s body hadn’t even been formed for a month yet.

As this thought crossed Yoon Bora’s mind, her eyes sparkled.

In living beings, instincts sometimes prevail over reason.

When one is sleepy, hungry, or their life is in danger, moments come when humans cannot suppress their instincts.

Is it the body’s instinct?

If it were the body of a newborn child, it would definitely be scared of the trampoline.

While the mind might shout that there’s nothing to be afraid of, the young body would inevitably tremble in fear.

If we consider the body and mind separately…

At seven years old, Yoon Bora remembered crying out loud when she saw a puppy.

She knew it was a good dog that wouldn’t bite, but her trembling body couldn’t overcome the fear of a four-legged creature.

Oh…

The pure instincts possessed by a child’s body.

This was the reason Harang was so timid.

This definitely requires some consideration.

It must be embarrassing to have an unwanted fear.

“Ugh, ugh…”

When I opened my eyes, I found myself on a bed in the staff break room.

Why am I here?

Looking around, I saw Jinhyang sitting at the central table of the break room.

It was only a few steps away to the office.

Why was Jinhyang here?

I didn’t know the reason, but I decided to say something to Jinhyang.

“Um, over there.”

As I started to speak, Jinhyang slowly turned toward me.

Her expression seemed to say, “If you have something to say, go ahead.”

“I got two more numbers.”

One was for the teacher at the kids’ café, and the other was for Narae.

To be precise, it was Narae’s mother’s number, but it was essentially the same thing.

“…That’s good.”

Jinhyang said this and turned her gaze back to the table.

Her reaction was so lukewarm that I felt deflated.

I had doubled my contact list, yet I didn’t receive the praise I expected.

Ugh.

Disappointed, I pushed myself up from the bed.

As I got off the bed and approached Jinhyang, someone suddenly pulled my tail, forcing me to sit back down on the bed.

“What, what’s going on?”

I turned my head to look back and saw Yoon Bora holding onto my tail while asleep.

Looks like Yoon Bora was tired too.

She must have had a lot to do today.

“Ugh.”

This made it impossible for me to move.

In the end, I climbed back onto the bed and sat closely next to Yoon Bora.

If she rolled over in her sleep, I might get my tail yanked out along with my spine.

I had no choice but to stay as close as possible.

As I sat there idly, Jinhyang suddenly turned to look at me and said, “Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Lie down.”

“…..?”

Lie down?

I stared at Jinhyang, wondering if I had really heard that correctly.

“Given how scared you were, you should’ve avoided it. Why were you crying?”

“W-When did I cry?”

Now that I thought about it, I did feel like I lost consciousness from how dizzy the trampoline made me.

I absolutely hadn’t cried, though.

Was it because my ears were elevated, affecting my vestibular system…?

The vestibular system is located in a person’s ears.

With my head elevated, it was no wonder my body wasn’t accustomed to the change in balance.

“I wasn’t scared; I just felt dizzy. My stomach was churning, and my brain was shaking—”

“I get it, so just lie down.”

Jinhyang clicked her tongue and turned her head back toward the table.

Though I acknowledged her, it felt like she didn’t believe me.

“I’m serious…”

Who cries because they’re scared of a trampoline?

Feeling wronged, I stared endlessly at the back of Jinhyang’s head and then laid back on the bed.

It’s not like I’m an idiot; why would I cry on that thing?

I lifted the tablet resting on my chest.

“Hello?”

[Are you okay, unnie?]

[You suddenly cried and fainted;;]

These people were still watching the broadcast.

No wonder I felt embarrassed; I had no choice but to make an excuse.

“W-Well, my ears are above, right? My vestibular system is different from ordinary people, so I get dizzy really easily. Just a little shaking makes my vision spin.”

I was guessing, but I spoke as if it were the truth.

In a voice loud enough for Jinhyang to hear.

It was the best self-defense I could muster.

[Ah…]

[That makes sense. Our ear positions are different, after all.]

[I thought you were crying because you were scared of the trampoline]

[No matter how scared Harang is, that’s not it ]

[If you touch the ears wrong, tears come out. Must be that?]

“Y-Yeah! Who cries because they’re scared of a trampoline?”

Phew. Thank goodness.

It didn’t seem like people viewed me as a strange person.

I thought Jinhyang would understand as well, so I looked at her, but for some reason, her sharp gaze was glaring at me.

“Turn it off.”

“Y-Yes?”

Creak—

Jinhyang pushed her chair back and stood up.

Then she slowly began to approach me.

Huh?

Did I say something wrong?

I looked at her with slightly surprised eyes while lying on the bed.

“Turn off the broadcast.”

“I-I don’t want to.”

I shook my head while hugging the tablet.

For some reason, it felt like a disaster would strike if I turned off the broadcast.

“Why won’t you listen?”

Jinhyang quickened her pace toward me.

Feeling the pressure from her sudden change, I couldn’t help but shrink back.

“J-Just a second! I’ll turn it off!”

Thinking about it, Jinhyang wasn’t the type to care about people’s gazes.

It would be best to listen to her here to increase my chances of survival.

“Everyone, I’m going to turn off the broadcast now!”

[Bye~]

[Unnie, you’re mean]

Leaving behind the disappointed viewers, I tapped the tablet to end the broadcast.

It was just then that Jinhyang reached me.

“Did you turn it off?”

“Yes, yes.”

I nodded while looking up at Jinhyang from my lying position, worried about what might happen to me.

However, what Jinhyang did next was unexpected.

She just laid down beside me.

Huh?

If it had been an ordinary person, I wouldn’t have cared about that action, but with Jinhyang, it felt different.

It felt like there was a tiger lying next to me.

“Is that why you get so dizzy?”

“Yes, yes, probably…”

“Hm.”

Jinhyang reached out toward my ear.

I flinched, bracing myself for her roughness, but surprisingly, her touch was gentle.

The ferocity she had when we first met was nowhere to be found.

Have we gotten closer or something?

As I pondered this, she began to gently touch my ear.

It felt blissfully comforting.

My ears were definitely a sensitive area, so why was Jinhyang different?

Feeling something strange, I looked at her.

“Excuse me?”

“Sure, having ears like this would feel different.”

After saying that, Jinhyang withdrew her hand and stared at the ceiling, closing her eyes.

With her hands clasped over her stomach.

“Are you sleeping?”

“Be quiet; Bora is sleeping.”

“Ah, okay.”

Feeling a bit bored, I turned my head to alternate looking at them.

I looked at Yoon Bora, then Jinhyang.

After doing that a few times, I quickly grew tired of it.

…I guess I should just close my eyes too.

Though I wouldn’t fall asleep.

For now, that’s what I decided.