# Chapter 134
‘Anyway, you’re not supposed to be in here. Get out quickly.’
The distance between the guest house and the main house was quite far, and she wasn’t sure how the child had found her way here. Seeun pulled at the child’s clothes, trying to chase Mirae away without much thought. But the child firmly stood her ground.
‘Can’t I just look around a little? I won’t disturb anything. I’ll be quiet.’
‘There’s nothing to see here.’
Despite the light scolding, the child just shook her head.
‘I like it here. I just want to stay a little bit. Okay? Just a little…’
Somehow, the child’s pleading voice sounded pitiful. Seeun’s resolve weakened at the dejected face. A child this young wouldn’t understand anything, and the main research lab wasn’t visible from here anyway, so if she was just killing time for a moment… Seeun sighed softly and plopped down next to Mirae.
‘I’ll watch you until it’s time to go. You can stay just a little while, then we have to leave quickly.’
‘Okay!’
Mirae’s face brightened as she nodded so vigorously it looked like her neck might break.
The place where Mirae had been was a storage room cluttered with all kinds of spare parts and reports piled messily—things far too advanced for an eight-year-old to understand. Naturally, there wasn’t much she could do besides sit there blankly.
Nevertheless, Mirae blushed and kept looking around as if she’d arrived in heaven. Though she didn’t touch or disturb anything, she stared intently, as if trying to commit everything to memory. Is she interested in this kind of research? Maybe she’d get along better with Semi than me. Seeun, who was practically clueless about such things, awkwardly struck up a conversation.
‘Do you like making things?’
‘Mmm, no.’
The child’s answer was unexpected. If you’re not interested, why are you looking at everything like it’s so fascinating? Seeun looked at the child curiously, but Mirae seemed to have no intention of answering and just hummed a small tune. She looked like someone who was absolutely thrilled and excited about the situation.
There wasn’t much conversation after that. Mirae barely even talked to herself like children often do. And when Seeun said it was time to go ten minutes later, she promptly stood up and headed toward the exit.
Thanks, Secret Unnie, the child said, waving goodbye as she moved away. Seeun unconsciously waved back, then jumped in surprise at her own action and quickly hid both hands behind her back. It was just a wave, but it felt like she’d done something worse than not chasing the child away immediately.
The surprise encounter with Mirae, which she had intended to dismiss as a one-time incident, continued into the next day. Suspecting something, Seeun was checking around the corners of the research lab when she found Mirae in a different room than yesterday.
‘I told you you’re not supposed to be here.’
‘I’ll be quiet. Really just for a little while. Okay?’
‘How did you even find this place?’
‘Just, you know, while playing around…’
Staring at Mirae, who was vaguely evading the question, Seeun sighed deeply and sat down next to her. Understanding this as silent permission, Mirae’s face broke into a wide smile.
‘I get that you’re looking around, but make me one promise.’
‘What promise?’
‘Don’t tell anyone, absolutely anyone, that you came here or saw me, or anything related to this place.’
Even Heesu doesn’t know what happens in the research lab. If a young child couldn’t keep a secret and blabbed everywhere, it would be Seeun who would be in trouble.
‘If you tell anyone, I’ll never let you come here again. I’m not joking.’
When Seeun put on a scary face and threatened her, Mirae nodded as if she understood. The solemn determination on that tiny face was a bit funny, and Seeun had to hold back her laughter as she nodded back gravely.
After that, as if it was the most natural thing in the world, Mirae came down to the research lab every day and hid somewhere. Seeun’s daily routine became searching for Mirae in the afternoons as if playing hide-and-seek. Mirae was generally well-behaved and obedient, but she never once listened when told not to come here. She was truly a troublesome little kid.
As they spent more time together, Mirae seemed to become quite comfortable with Seeun. At first, she would just quietly look around various parts of the research lab, but at some point, they began to sit side by side in secluded corners, chatting softly.
‘Does Secret Unnie live with family?’
‘Yes, I do.’
‘I can’t live with mine.’
Mirae’s face as she said this looked the most depressed Seeun had ever seen it.
‘I have a mom, but they say I can’t live with her.’
‘…But you live with your uncle.’
‘Uncle is nice, but I still want to live with my mom.’
Mirae began listing all the good things about her mother. She’s tall, she earns a lot of money, she works hard… Listening carefully, it seemed that her mother was a non-superpowered person who was too busy with work to take care of her daughter, so after some conflict, the family had taken over raising her. Despite this, it was touching that she still missed her mother, so Seeun gently patted Mirae’s head.
‘Your uncle is a good person too. He really loves you.’
Sometimes when talking with Heesu, the topic of Mirae would come up. Each time, Heesu’s expression would soften. It was the face of someone who adored his little niece and didn’t know what to do with himself.
‘I know. I love Uncle too.’
The precocious little one declared proudly. When had Seeun started finding that cute? She smiled unconsciously.
‘Do you like your mom that much?’
‘Yeah. Don’t you like yours?’
‘I don’t have one, so I don’t know.’
As far back as Seeun could remember, only her father and Semi had been by her side. She had never experienced having a mother in her life.
‘You don’t have a mom?’
Mirae opened her eyes wide. That can’t be right, she tilted her head, then whispered softly as if imparting an important fact.
‘The person who gave birth to you is called your mom.’
‘I know that, silly.’
As if I wouldn’t know something like that. Suppressing a laugh, Seeun responded casually. In truth, it wasn’t particularly sad or painful for her.
‘But I only have a dad.’
‘Oh, the opposite of me.’
Mirae nodded. You don’t have a mom, and I don’t have a dad, so it would be good if the two combined. Her chattering voice contained content that was childishly pure to the point of being tactless.
‘What’s it like having a dad?’
‘Just, similar to having a mom, I guess.’
‘I see.’
Mirae seemed to accept this, blinking her large eyes. Her well-behaved attitude was so cute that Seeun tousled the child’s hair once more.
‘Do you miss your mom?’
‘Yes.’
The answer came quickly. Seeun shared an idea that suddenly occurred to her.
‘How about writing a letter?’
‘How would I send it?’
‘Ask your uncle.’
‘Uncle and Mom don’t get along well.’
Her voice immediately became dejected. Somehow feeling uneasy, Seeun floundered to console Mirae.
‘Then, something other than a letter. What about text messages?’
‘I don’t know Mom’s number. Nobody will tell me.’
‘T-Then… Oh! What about something like social media? Even if no one tells you her account, if you become famous enough, your mom will be able to find you right away.’
‘Social media?’
Mirae raised her head slightly. It’s working. Seeun explained enthusiastically.
‘Yeah. You know, where you upload photos or videos.’
‘I know what that is. You mean vlogging, right?’
‘That’s right, things like that.’
It was a spur-of-the-moment suggestion, but it turned out to be better than expected. Seeun excitedly encouraged Mirae.
‘Even if you can’t talk to your mom directly, you can let her know through videos. Like, “I’m doing well, so don’t worry.”‘
‘…Okay, I’ll try it.’
‘But you still can’t talk about me or this place, right?’
‘Right.’
Though she added this as an afterthought, since a child’s promise wasn’t at all reassuring, Seeun offered to help edit the videos on the condition that Mirae would show her all the footage. She felt a bit guilty seeing the child’s bright smile of gratitude, but she couldn’t afford to let her guard down.
The videos Mirae brought had amateur composition and narration. That was only natural for a child of just eight years. As promised, Mirae had strictly talked only about her daily routine. Watching the videos, one would think she had no knowledge of Seeun or the research lab.
‘You did a good job filming.’
‘Really?’
Feeling embarrassed for not trusting Mirae sooner, Seeun deliberately exaggerated her praise as she stitched the short videos together. The editing with a free app was her first attempt and quite clumsy, but once finished, it looked passably vlog-like.
‘What do you think?’
‘Unnie, you’re amazing. Thank you!’
After checking the final version, Mirae hugged Seeun joyfully. Since this was the first time Mirae had hugged her like this, Seeun hesitated but soon tentatively returned the embrace. The warmth in her arms felt comforting.
