At the End of the Hidden Greenery - Chapter 185
Jiwoo turned the question around.
“Hey, isn’t Callan coming along this time? Do you think you won’t be picked?”
“Hmm. That’s not it. I’m actually quite lucky.”
Callan smiled lightly.
“I’ll be waiting for you. There’s something quite satisfying about waiting for someone who’s definitely coming back.”
It was the first trip, so to speak. Considering Callan had hardly ventured outside before saving the tree in El Ragneil, it was surprising how much he had changed.
“I hope I’m the one you find stability in when you think about returning. That’s my role, isn’t it?”
As Callan kissed her cheek, Jiwoo’s face flushed.
“It’s nice to come back. It’s nice to know someone is waiting for you.”
And knowing she’d always be welcomed.
Winter had always seemed like a harsh time, a season when the land became unforgiving. So, she never thought of it as a time to be fond of, but when she could admire the beautiful scenery and spend it cozily with loved ones, it turned out to be a wonderful season.
Especially when she’s not the one shoveling the snow.
Jiwoo took off her gloves and, using her bare hands, gathered up the fresh snow to make a small snow rabbit. Once she shaped the snow and added two leaves for ears, it was done.
When Enci saw Jiwoo fiddling with the snow, he came over.
“What are you doing?”
“Making a snowman… no, a snow rabbit.”
“Hmm.”
Enci watched Jiwoo, glancing at the snow as he fiddled with it too.
In no time, two snow rabbits were made. Jiwoo placed them on either side like a couple, and as he played with the snow, Enci took her cold hands into his.
Enci’s hands were warm, much warmer than Jiwoo’s, even though they had just made the snow rabbits together.
“It feels warmer on snowy days than other times.”
“That’s because of sublimation heat…”
Whack!
Before Enci could finish explaining, a snowball hit his face.
“Oh, sorry. What were you going to say?”
The culprit, not even trying to hide the fact that he threw the snowball, was Tevon, who was shaking his hands.
“Seo Jiwoo, how about a snowball fight? We could decide who goes on the trip based on the results. I’m game.”
Jiwoo hurriedly dusted off Enci’s clothes and quickly spoke.
“No, there’s already a method decided.”
“Ah, what a shame.”
“Tevon…”
Enci didn’t get angry, but he glared at him, gathering a huge snowball with both hands. After making one twice the size of the one he’d received, he threw it at Tevon.
Whack!
However, with much poorer athleticism than Tevon, Enci ended up hitting someone else with the giant snowball.
Lanset, who had been shoveling snow, suddenly found himself struck by the snow. He glared at Enci.
“Are you challenging me, Enci?”
“No, it’s Tevon’s fault…”
Whack!
Without even listening to Enci’s excuse, Lanset threw a snowball right back at him.
What started as a small snowball fight quickly escalated into a full-on snowball battle.
Jiwoo sat by the snow rabbits and watched them.
She had to choose who would go on the next trip today.
…It could wait a little longer, right?
* * *
In the end, Tevon received a smack on the back from both Lanceil and Callan.
“Please, don’t cause any more trouble.”
“When exactly… Ugh, never mind. I shouldn’t say anything.”
“But it was fun, wasn’t it?”
Whack. Whack!
As always, it didn’t end with just one hit—Tevon received more punishment…
In the end, because of his mischief with the snow earlier that morning, Tevon had to spend the rest of the day in reflection.
As a consequence, he decided to opt out of the drawing for this trip.
“Isn’t this too much?”
“We’ve already had this conversation before, so this time, just let it go.”
The truth was, Tevon had been caught cheating too many times, so it was only right that he sat out this time.
Anyway, the drawing time arrived.
“This time, there will be no cheating. It’s truly random.”
Jiwoo created tickets with different colored markings and had all the applicants draw one. After making sure they couldn’t see what color they had drawn, she drew one more ticket herself.
“Alright, I’ve drawn. Who got the blue one?”
So, the person who drew the same color as Jiwoo would be the one to accompany her on the trip.
Everyone held up their tickets, and Jiwoo called out those who drew the blue one.
“Lanset. Arven.”
Lanset and Arven, who were always together, were both selected. They clapped their hands in joy.
“Solmih. Kaman.”
Solmih raised one eyebrow in mild surprise while crossing his arms, and Kaman winked at Jiwoo, offering a gentle smile.
“Lastly, it’s Skiass.”
Skiass was visibly startled and immediately placed the winning ticket he had drawn into his coat pocket.
“I’ll be going to the beach with these five.”
The next destination was the beach.
The companions were Lanset, Arven, Solmih, Kaman and Skiass.
* * *
After deciding on the travel companions for the next trip, the group slowly began to clean up and head back home.
Kaman suggested that Jiwoo return with him, but Jiwoo had been feeling a bit uneasy since earlier, so she declined.
She had noticed that Marron and Night were standing off to the side of the square, keeping to themselves.
Worried that they might be struggling to fit in with the group, Jiwoo walked over to them.
“Marron, Night. What are you doing over here?”
When they turned around, Jiwoo was shocked to see them.
“Are you crying? No, why, why are you crying?”
They were wiping away tears.
“Seo Jiwoo, are we not good?”
“Do you not like me?”
“Eh? No, what? Why?”
Jiwoo had thought the day was ending on a pleasant note, but something completely unexpected had happened and she was flustered.
“No, no… no, don’t cry.”
While Jiwoo fidgeted in confusion, they pretended to wipe away more tears and exchanged glances.
‘It’s great right?’
‘…Good.’
Jiwoo still hadn’t fully grasped just how cunning the children of Ellandos could be.
* * *
This is the reason Marron and Night had acted.
They had been teaching the group a new language and had been getting closer to the brothers in their group, all while observing them.
Jiwoo had also become an object of their observation.
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