Chapter 34: Christmas

The atmosphere in the hallway where she came out to eat breakfast was a little different than usual.

It was a little lighter, and people’s faces had a subtle sense of anticipation.

When she looked around curiously, Shine also seemed to have felt a different mood than usual and made a similar expression to her.

“Hey.”

“Huh?”

“People seem to be in a good mood.”

She said, looking at the faces of the people passing by.

Amy looked around at her words.

“Really?”

As she said that, she took out her cell phone from her pocket.

The screen that was slightly visible was snowing.

“It’s almost Christmas time.”

“Christmas…”

She nodded at Amy’s words.

Christmas, when Santa comes.

She didn’t believe it before, but now she believes it.

Why?

If you ask her, it’s because Amy said there was one…

“Amy. Santa, right?”

“Of course.”

When she asked as if she wanted to confirm, Amy answered with a confident expression.

She trusts Amy.

“What exactly do you do on Christmas?”

“Um…”

Amy lowered her head to her question.

She stopped walking as if she was deep in thought.

Shine and she, who had been following her, stopped halfway, following Amy.

“Do we have to do something on Christmas?”

Shine asked her.

She hesitated for a moment at Shine’s question, holding her hand tightly.

“Usually, people do something.”

Christmas.

She tried to remember.

What was she doing on this day last year?

Since it was a holiday, she didn’t go to work.

She took a long nap at home and woke up around lunchtime.

“Is it a special day like a birthday?”

Shine still seemed to not know exactly what Christmas is.

She’s not the type to take care of children well.

Amy would be better suited to explaining the concept of Christmas to her than she would be.

“Amy…”

She grabbed Amy’s pant leg as if asking for help.

Amy’s head rose from her thoughts.

“Yeah. We have to make a tree for Christmas.”

“A tree?”

“And people who like each other get together and have a party.”

“Like a birthday?”

“Yes, like a birthday. Christmas is a special day.”

“What do you celebrate?”

“Well. I don’t know. I don’t know what it was like before, but now it seems like they set a specific date and everyone thinks of it as a special day to exchange gifts and eat delicious food.”

Shine nodded at Amy’s explanation.

She seemed to understand, so she released her hand that was holding Amy’s pants.

As they followed Amy to the restaurant, they were able to find a large tree in the center of the shelter.

“Wow…”

When she looked up at the large tree, the people who were installing the tree waved their hands.

“What is this?”

“They’re making a tree.”

The man answered her question and climbed up the ladder.

She blankly watched as the colorful decorations in the man’s hands began to hang on the tree.

Countless glitter, wires, and decorations that dazzled the eyes began to hang on the tree.

The last decoration was a large star hanging at the very top of the tree.

It was a soft, warm light.

When the tree was finished, people around her clapped their hands and rejoiced.

It really was Christmas.

Since she is not the type of person who usually cares about Christmas, she would notice that Christmas was approaching when she saw the tree on her way to and from work.

She was staring blankly at the tree.

She put her hand on her forehead as a headache slowly rose.

The memories she had just recalled began to blur.

The sound of creaking footsteps.

Carols coming from all directions.

Flashing neon signs.

Snow falling from the sky.

Cold air.

White breath.

“Jeff.”

At the end of her memory, she stopped walking home and looked up at the large tree.

“Jeff.”

Her memory became hazy.

A noise slowly creeping in, as if covered in fog.

The fragments of her memory slowly settled.

“Huh!?”

She reacted half-slowly, startled.

A giant tree.

A tree.

The remnants of the last memory she saw disappeared immediately.

She shook her head as she looked at the tree in front of her.

“Jeff, where does it hurt?”

Shine reached out her hand worriedly.

Her hand moved gently, caressing her cheek.

Her soft hands pulled her cheeks to the sides.

“Eww.”

She shook her head slightly and answered.

It doesn’t hurt.

Her pronunciation was slurred because of her open cheeks.

Shine smiled at her as she watched her.

Even though Christmas was approaching, her routine didn’t change.

It wasn’t Christmas Day yet, so it was natural.

After finishing her meal, she played with Shine and Amy.

After that, she went to Victor and received training in controlling her powers.

“Victor. Christmas is coming soon.”

“I know.”

After finishing her training, she sat down next to Victor and opened her mouth.

Victor and she had become quite close.

Shine still seemed to dislike Victor, but when she sat down close to him, Shine also sat next to Victor.

Victor didn’t pay any attention to them.

Amy, who was dozing off on the chair, got up from her seat after seeing that the training was over.

After simply stretching her body, she stood up on the ring in the center of the gym and spoke to Victor.

Her body felt incredibly light.

“Victor. Shall we have a match after a long time?”

A match?

She looked at Amy with a puzzled expression, and Amy threw the gloves that were hanging on the ring to Victor.

Victor’s answer seemed unnecessary.

Amy, who was bouncing around with an excited expression, threw a punch into the air.

“How is it?”

“I’m a patient.”

Victor answered with an annoyed expression.

However, it seemed that he was going to accept Amy’s suggestion by putting the glasses he was wearing on his face.

“You know you’re all better, right?”

Victor stood up from his seat without saying anything.

She didn’t realize it because she was always sitting, but Victor was quite tall.

When she looked up at Victor as if she was curious, Shine grabbed her arm with a disgruntled expression.

Her body tilted to the side without any resistance, and she was held in Shine’s arms.

“In one go?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s been a while since I’ve had something expensive to eat.”

“Do you think you can win?”

Victor didn’t give in to Amy’s provocation.

Victor put on his gloves and kicked the ground.

His body lightly floated up and fell onto the ring.

Amy also put on her gloves and started waiting.

“Sha… In…”

Shine was holding her body tightly, preventing her from escaping.

“Jeff.”

“Yeah…”

“That’s weird…”

Shine pressed her fingers against her cheek.

She twisted her head here and there in a ticklish feeling and was able to escape from Shine’s arms.

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

Shine made a tired expression.

She reached out and hugged her waist.

She was once again held in Shine’s arms.

Shine, who had hugged her back, rested her head on her shoulder.

“Are you tired, Shine?”

“Yeah.”

Shine quietly closed her eyes.

She moved her gaze away from Shine and towards Amy and Victor.

Victor and Amy’s duel had begun.

The sound of air cutting through the air and the loud footsteps on the ring filled the gym.

Both of them quickly avoided each other’s attacks.

As their rough movements continued, Victor was the one who was being pushed back.

Stay still.

At that moment, a small whisper came to her ear.

Victor, who had been moving quickly, suddenly stopped moving.

It was a very brief gap, but Amy didn’t miss it and swung her fist.

Amy’s blue-gloved fist hit Victor in the center of his face.

A thud echoed throughout the gym.

Victor’s body floated up and fell to the floor.

“I won?”

Victor, sprawled on the floor, muttered blankly.

“What?”

“What? Should we do it again?”

“No…”

Victor shook his head and stood up.

His red nose looked like a drunk person.

“What are you looking forward to tonight?”

Victor waved his hand feebly at Amy’s playful words.

“Guys! Victor bought me something delicious for dinner!”

Something delicious?

She looked at Victor with sparkling eyes.

Victor nodded feebly, perhaps noticing her gaze.

He rubbed his forehead as if he didn’t understand his own movements just now.

Amy came down from the ring and approached them with an excited gait.

“Shine looks tired.”

She shifted her gaze and looked at Shine, who was hanging behind her.

Shine was burying her face in her back with her eyes closed.

Amy hugged Shine, seeing her looking quite tired.

“You’re up late again.”

“Shine, you stay up late?”

“Sometimes, you stay up in the early morning instead of falling asleep.”

“What was Shine doing?”

“Well? She just sat there blankly.”

Amy, who was holding Shine, skillfully untied her gloves and threw them onto the ring.

Victor cleaned up the gloves that were lying around helplessly.

When he turned around with a dissatisfied expression, Amy stuck her tongue out with a mischievous expression.

“You seem to be getting along well.”

She said, looking at Amy and Victor.

“Getting along? Well. It’s good.”

“How long have you known each other?”

“Almost six years, I think?”

Amy waved at Victor as she spoke.

It was a sign that she was leaving the gym.

Victor waved back at them.

Amy and she left the gym and headed straight to their room.

She wanted to go to the park, but Shine was asleep, so that was hard.

It wasn’t fun to play alone, so she had to go when Shine woke up.

“Jeff.”

When she returned to her room, she was playing with a big teddy bear.

The teddy bear, named Baekshi, was her best friend when Shine didn’t play with her.

But Amy didn’t leave her alone.

She looked back with an anxious look.

Amy was sitting at the table, holding a thick workbook in her hand.

Help me, Baekshi.

She quickly moved and hid behind Baekshi.

Baekshi, wearing a large witch’s hat, confidently stepped forward in front of Amy, covering her body.

“There’s no Jeff.”

“Really? Then who are you?”

Amy’s playful voice continued.

She moved Baekshi’s head and intentionally imitated a deep voice.

“I’m Baekshi. Jeff’s friend.”

“So Baekshi? Where did Jeff go?”

“Jeff is… for a moment.”

“Wait?”

“I went outside for a bit.”

Did Amy get through?

She held her pounding heart and pushed Baekshi’s body away slightly.

The faint sound of footsteps suddenly got closer.

Baekshi, who had been covering her body tightly, was lifted into the sky by Amy’s hand.

“Ouch!”

She fell to the ground in surprise.

Amy started laughing at her.

“Jeff. How was your trip?”

“It’s time to study.”

“Yes….”