CHAPTER 05
“No!”
I begged Miss Hailey.
“I can’t show you right now. I’m sorry. I promise I’ll tell you later, so please, just this once.”
I didn’t want Theo, already hurt by an adult’s words, to be hurt again.
I liked and trusted Miss Hailey, but I didn’t even want to risk it this time.
She looked at me for a long while, then gave a small nod.
“Alright. You’re not the type of child to fool around with medicine anyway. But if his injury looks serious, you must bring him to me after first aid. Understand?”
“Yes, thank you. Ah, and… um…”
I hesitated. What if my question sounded strange to her?
“What is it?”
“When you want to hide… is there a place you think of?”
“……”
Miss Hailey studied me carefully, as if trying to figure out what I meant.
“Well… behind Hailey Orphanage, there’s a forest not many people go to. When I want to be alone, I sometimes go there.”
Then she spoke honestly and gently stroked my cheek.
“Iris. I don’t know what’s going on, but calm yourself first. If that boy is hiding, wounded, and then sees you all flustered, won’t it only make him more anxious?”
“…Yes.”
I nodded. She was right—my nervousness was too obvious.
“Good. It’ll get dark soon, so come back quickly. If you’re too late, I’ll go looking myself.”
“Thank you, teacher.”
Her kindness helped me calm down.
***
After getting medicine from Miss Hailey, I headed straight for the hill behind the orphanage.
It wasn’t much of a mountain, more like a small hill, but the forest there was thick.
‘He must be so scared.’
Just picturing Theo alone in the dark made my heart ache.
I don’t know how long I wandered, but then I found a rocky cave jutting out. Tiny footprints and bloodstains led right up to it like a trail.
‘Theo…’
He had to be there. I tried to put on a smile, hiding my nerves.
My hair and clothes were covered in leaves and twigs, but I hoped Theo would overlook that.
As I walked toward the cave, the sun had already set, and the round moon was rising overhead.
“Theo.”
Just as I thought, Theo was curled up inside the small cave.
At my voice, he flinched in surprise.
“I came to get you.”
At that, Theo slowly lifted his head.
His tear-streaked face shone in the moonlight.
The sight made my chest ache, but I smiled brightly and crouched in front of him, wiping away his tears.
“Remember you asked me how I could believe that standard was wrong?”
I spoke gently as I unpacked the medicine Miss Hailey gave me and began treating the wound on his forehead.
“The truth is, I didn’t believe the standard was wrong. I just believed you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
I nodded with a smile, and his eyes filled with tears.
“Devils don’t throw themselves in danger to save someone. And they don’t act all harsh but still try to protect others.”
I remembered the day he stepped in front of me, trying to shield me from the other kids’ stares.
‘He was protecting me so I wouldn’t get caught up with him.’
“But… if you stay with me, you’ll keep getting hurt.”
“Because you’re cursed?”
“That thing that fell above your head too…”
It was nonsense. That assumption only worked if Theo being a devil’s child was true in the first place.
“Theo, do you think you’re a devil yourself?”
He couldn’t answer right away. Instead, clear tears rolled down his cheeks.
“Are you really a devil?”
When I asked again, Theo shook his head and whispered in a choked voice,
“No… no…”
His tiny voice grew louder, until finally he shouted, like crying out to the world,
“I’m not a devil!”
I smiled at him and pulled him into my arms, patting his shoulder.
“Yeah. I believe you. I’ll believe your words.”
Even if the whole world called him a devil, I wanted to be the one who believed in him.
***
“All done.”
After clumsily treating his wound, I stepped back. Then I remembered something.
“Oh, right! One more thing.”
I stopped Theo’s hand from touching his forehead, held it still, and blew softly on the wound.
“What was that?”
“What do you mean? That was a ‘hoo.’”
At my answer, Theo’s face twisted strangely.
“What? Why that face?”
Hey! That was the best service I could give! What an ungrateful brat.
Theo tilted his head.
“It’s just… suddenly it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“That’s the magic of the ‘hoo.’ Pretty good, huh?”
“Mm.”
He rubbed his forehead shyly.
I held out my hand to him.
“Come on, let’s head back before it gets too late. You still need Miss Hailey to check your wound.”
“Didn’t you already treat it?”
“Yeah, but it still needs a proper check. What I did was just first aid.”
“…Alright.”
We walked through the forest, hand in hand.
After a while, Theo quietly said,
“Thanks.”
I stopped dead in my tracks and turned to look at him. His face immediately flushed with embarrassment.
“W-why are you looking at me like that?”
“Because I’m happy.”
I grinned. His whole face turned red like a summer cherry tomato.
“Wh-what…”
“You just thanked me! That means we’re really friends now, right?”
“…We’re not friends.”
“Eh? Then what, we’re not?”
I leaned my face close to his, demanding an answer.
After all this, how could he still say we weren’t friends?
Just how hard was it to earn the title of ‘Theo’s friend’?!
“B-back off!”
“Then give me a reason!”
“There is no reason!”
Theo stomped ahead angrily down the dark path. His steps were so heavy it made the ground feel like it was shaking.
“Wait for me! We have to go together!”
Still… something had changed.
Even as he stomped off, Theo slowed his pace, just enough to let me catch up.
***
“…Strange.”
Miss Hailey examined Theo’s wound for a long time and murmured.
“Is something wrong?”
I leaned in, nervous.
If something was wrong, I’d never forgive William.
But Miss Hailey shook her head with a faint smile.
“No. Actually, it’s good. It looked like a deep cut, but in such a short time, it’s already started to heal.”
“Healed?”
She nodded. But seeing things get tense, she quickly smiled again.
“Looks like Theo has great recovery ability. So there’s nothing to worry about.”
“…”
But Theo’s face grew dark.
‘He hates being different, even a little.’
I quickly stepped in between them with a bright voice.
“That’s all thanks to my ‘hoo!’ Come on, say thank you to me!”
Theo crossed his arms and gave me a tired look.
…Was he seriously doubting me?
“Anyway, it’s a relief. It won’t even leave much of a scar.”
“That’s great!”
Theo reluctantly nodded.
***
“What the—why is Iris hanging out with that kid?”
“Isn’t he the one they say has devil’s blood?”
“Ugh, he looks gross in person.”
The next morning, the cafeteria was noisy.
All because Theo and I showed up side by side—our opposite colors making us stand out even more.
“Eat well!”
“Do we really have to eat at the busiest time?”
Theo muttered unhappily.
But I smiled and nodded firmly.
“Why shouldn’t we? We didn’t do anything wrong. We have the right to eat on time like everyone else.”
I thumped my chest proudly, and Theo gave me a strange look.
“What?”
“You don’t have to do this.”
“Huh?”
“The whole ‘we’ thing.”
Theo looked away.
“If I’m not here, you could eat at the busiest time and nobody would care.”
“….”
His words pierced me. For a kid, he could be way too grown-up sometimes.
And when he spoke like that, his words were so sharp, I never knew how to answer.
“But we’re friends.”
“…”
“Friends share everything. The bad and the good. So your pain is my pain too.”
“…I told you, we’re not friends.”
