Nam Woojin's hair was not only white, but his eyes were also a striking white. He greeted Sayoung with a nod and then turned his attention to Euijae, his grandmother, and Haeun standing behind them. His pale eyes, behind silver-rimmed glasses, scanned the three of them as if observing, and then he bowed slightly in greeting.

“Nice to meet you. Are you Choi Pilsoon, the patient here for a consultation, and Cha Euijae, the guardian?”

“Oh, yes. That’s right.”

Euijae bowed his waist politely in response. He was a bit nervous since he felt somewhat closer to Sayoung, but he was relieved to find that Nam Woojin seemed to be a sensible person. After straightening up, the old man checked his wristwatch.

“Then... shall we proceed with the consultation? Time is precious, after all. I’ll guide you to the examination room.”

“Can Haeun come along?”

“Yes, that’s fine.”

Despite Euijae’s concern, the person in question, Haeun, appeared completely uninterested in the adults’ conversation.

Haeun was busy looking around, turning her little head in every direction. This was her first time seeing a library with so many books, and it seemed to dazzle her. Even Euijae was somewhat surprised by the scenery of this place.

She was distracted by the hurried figure of a librarian pushing a book cart, rushing somewhere.

‘It looks like she wants to ride that….’

Euijae was contemplating which direction to grab her from if she suddenly bolted toward the book cart when his eyes met Nam Woojin's. Nam Woojin smiled faintly.

“Haeun… I think you might prefer exploring the library over coming to the examination room, don’t you?”

“…I guess so.”

“Well then, Haeun, you can take a little more time to explore our library while we take the patient and guardian into the examination room. Our guild member will assist the patient.”

“Oh, I’m fine, really….”

The elderly lady waved her hand lightly, but Nam Woojin responded skillfully yet firmly.

“You can walk just fine, but it’s a bit of a distance to the examination room. I think it would be better for your legs if you received some assistance. So….”

Was his experience from working in a general hospital with elderly patients showing? While Euijae admired Nam Woojin inwardly, the healer smiled briefly and turned to lead the way. A librarian wearing a yellow armband carefully supported the elderly lady.

Euijae’s gaze landed on Sayoung, who was standing a little further back.

“What about you, Sayoung?”

“There’s no need for me to tag along, right?”

“That’s true….”

Before following the elderly lady down the corridor, Euijae momentarily glanced at Haeun, whose eyes were sparkling with excitement. She looked ready to dart between the bookshelves any moment.

Euijae grabbed Sayoung's arm and moved a bit closer.

“Hey, Sayoung.”

“…….”

The gas mask turned to look at Euijae. There was something subtly peculiar in the lingering gaze, but Euijae brushed it off and leaned closer to Sayoung's ear, whispering quietly.

“Could you keep an eye on Haeun for me?”

“…….”

The violet eyes behind the gas mask glimmered with a look of disbelief for a moment.

“Are you really asking me to be your babysitter?”

“No, I don’t want to ask you this either, but look at her right now.”

Euijae pointed at Haeun, whose interests were shifting in real time. For twenty seconds, her head moved restlessly from the bookshelf to the librarian, to the book cart, to the librarian again, and then to the books, never settling on one spot. If she had been engrossed in a fun book, he might have felt a bit more at ease, but there were far more interesting things around than books here. Euijae muttered.

“I think she might get lost while we’re at the examination.”

“…….”

“Just stay close to her so she doesn’t wander off. That’s all I’m asking.”

“…….”

Sayoung looked down at Euijae without saying anything. Euijae didn’t shy away from meeting the gaze behind the gas mask. After a moment, Sayoung nodded very slightly, and Euijae beamed, giving her back a light pat.

“Thanks. I’ll be back soon!”

With that, he dashed off.

‘…Does getting patted on the back always hurt this much?’

It was a strangely sharp pain that he hadn’t felt in a long time. Sayoung rubbed her back absently before slowly following after Haeun, who had disappeared between the bookshelves.

Haeun was crouched down in front of the bottom shelf, pulling out a thick hardcover book that was about the size of her forearm. Sayoung checked the title of the book.

“T-0783 Physical Experiment Report”

It definitely didn’t seem like something appropriate for a nine-year-old to read. How did she even pick that book? Maybe it was because she was Cha Euijae's niece, but she was unusual too. Sayoung quickly approached and spoke up.

“Hey there.”

“…….”

There was no response. Her ears should be fine. Sayoung frowned slightly and changed her approach.

“…Park Haeun?”

“Why?”

Finally, Haeun looked up at Sayoung with her round eyes. Ah, so she must not have liked being called a kid. The way she completely ignored it by not responding at all was telling. Sayoung pointed at the hardcover book in Haeun’s hands.

“I don’t think your uncle would like you reading that.”

“What’s it about?”

“It’s something your uncle would dislike.”

It seemed that the child in front of her didn’t want to be treated like a little kid. So, rather than saying it was something a child shouldn’t read, Sayoung rephrased it to something that would upset her uncle. Usually, when told not to do something, children would want to do it even more.

A look of contemplation crossed Haeun’s round face. Sayoung waved at a passing librarian.

“Over there.”

“Yes? Ah, Guild Leader Lee Sayoung. How can I assist you?”

“Is there a book suitable for this child?”

When Sayoung pointed to the much smaller girl, the librarian kindly directed her.

“Oh, there’s a section for picture books for children over there. There are also educational comic books.”

Sayoung had visited this library several times, but she had never known there was a section for picture books and educational comics. All the books in this library must be ones Nam Woojin had read. Today, she felt grateful for his thirst for knowledge.

Looking down at Haeun’s round head, she said, “From what I see, I think your uncle would prefer you read educational comics.”

“Hmm….”

“That book probably doesn’t have any pictures.”

“…….”

There might be dissection images of something that was either a human or a monster, but Sayoung held back the rest of her thought. After pondering, Haeun made a sound of agreement and finally returned the hardcover book to its place. Then she mumbled with a frown.

“Where’s the educational comic section?”

Good. Sayoung smiled slightly, satisfied, and followed the librarian. The area they arrived at was a section for children’s books with colorful books on relatively low shelves. The floor was covered in soft, plush mats, and large stuffed animals were scattered about.

‘It should be fine to leave her here.’

Haeun began to rummage through the books with sparkling eyes, as if she hadn’t been sulking just moments ago. After asking the librarian to bring her a chair, Sayoung sat down next to the bookshelf where she could keep an eye on the children’s section, folding her arms and closing her eyes.

Just as she thought it might finally be quiet since everyone was absorbed in their books, a familiar little presence crawled toward her. It was Park Haeun. Sayoung opened her eyes slightly to look down at her.

“…….”

“Um, excuse me.”

Haeun’s innocent eyes sparkled just like they did when she first saw the library. When their gazes met, Sayoung felt an inexplicable sense of foreboding.

Haeun spread her five fingers wide and then drew a peace sign over them with her other hand. It was the gesture Sayoung had done in a public service announcement.

“Is that you from the TV?”

“…….”

“Can you do it just once?”

Haeun’s eyes sparkled insistently. If she did it once, surely the novelty would wear off and Haeun would go back to her books. It wasn’t particularly difficult…. Though she wasn’t keen on it, she didn’t want to drag it out either, so Sayoung made the same hand gesture as in the public service announcement.

However, Park Haeun was as adamant as a meticulous ceramic artist.

“That’s not it!”

Her clear, round eyes, staring unblinkingly, looked as if they were captivated by something. Sayoung waved her hand dismissively.

“I already did it. Go read your book.”

“Ahhh, just one more. Okay?”

Sayoung let out a short sigh. Then she performed the gesture from the public service announcement again, hoping this time to catch the girl’s interest. But, contrary to her expectations, Haeun shouted firmly.

“Again!”

“Go read your book.”

“Just once more.”

‘You just need to keep an eye on her so she doesn’t get lost, damn it….’

At that moment, Sayoung missed Cha Euijae more than ever.