There was no answer even after I knocked, so I opened the door and stepped inside.
Mia was curled up in her blanket, sleeping like a caterpillar.
"Mia. The sun's already high. Get up."
"Mmm~. Help me up~."
I tapped the blanket a few times, and Mia stretched out just her hand from under it.
I grabbed her hand and pulled her up.
As the blanket slipped away, Mia's body was revealed, covered only by thin, white lingerie.
And then, she just clung to me.
"Give me my morning hug."
"…Fine. But then you get up."
"Hehe. Okay. I'll get up."
Mia wrapped her arms around my neck and hugged me tight.
I hugged her back just as firmly.
Mia's body was warm, and holding her always made me feel better.
But today, I didn't have time for this.
"…That's enough, right? One minute."
"Just one more minute~ ♡"
"No. You need to brush your teeth and get ready. I'll hug you more when I get back from school."
"Aww~ ♡"
I peeled Mia off me and left the room.
She acts like that with me, but she's still a responsible kid.
I'd woken her up, so she'd get up on her own when she needed to.
***
"I'm heading out."
"Be careful."
I kissed Mom's cheek at the doorway and left the house.
Today was the day I went to university.
I was about to take the elevator when the doors opened, and someone was already inside, a little girl, around four years old, and her mother.
Elevators were dangerous spaces for me.
They were cramped, which made me anxious, and if other people were inside, that anxiety only worsened.
And if those people talked to me? Even worse.
"Hey, student. Hurry up and get in."
"Ah. Yeah."
I thought about waiting for the next one, but at the mother's urging, my body moved on its own.
The doors closed, and the elevator began descending.
The little girl, holding her mother's hand, stared up at my face intently.
"Seoyoung-ah. You should say, 'Hello, oppa.'"
"Oppa. Hewwo~."
"Yeah. Hi."
I forced a smile and greeted her, hiding my unease.
My chest was tightening slowly.
"You're a college student, right? Our Seoyoung is on her way to daycare."
"Ah, yeah."
"What's the name of your daycare, Seoyoung?"
"Hanbit Daycare!"
"That's right~ Our Seoyoung knows so well~."
I knew the they were good peoples.
She was just teaching her child how to talk with people.
But even though I knew that logically, the anxiety didn't stop.
The girl and her mother kept exchanging meaningless chatter.
None of their conversation registered in my head.
I nodded along, just waiting for the elevator to stop.
Finally, it reached the underground parking lot.
"Seoyoung-ah. Say goodbye to oppa."
"Bye-bye, Oppa~."
"Good girl~ Our Seoyoung is so polite~."
I returned their smiles with a wave.
Was I even smiling properly?
Only after stepping out of the elevator could I finally breathe again.
***
School life was actually easier.
No cramped spaces, and hardly anyone talked to me.
And with how chaotic lectures were, I didn't have the luxury of thinking about anything else.
Since I wasn't the brightest, I had to work twice as hard just to keep up.
Morning lectures ended, and lunchtime arrived.
I ordered cream spaghetti at the student cafeteria.
The food came quickly, and I found an empty table to sit at.
Just as I was about to take my first bite...
A female student carrying her tray spoke to me.
"Sorry, but can I sit here?"
"Ah, yeah. Go ahead."
It was a four-person table, so sharing was natural.
I scooted my chair slightly to make space.
Then, three more girls suddenly crowded into the remaining seats.
"Thanks."
The girl next to me smiled as she spoke.
I gave a small nod before resuming my meal.
Just having strangers nearby was enough to stress me out.
An irrational paranoia crept in, like they were all staring at me.
I swallowed the uncomfortable thumping in my chest and tried to focus on eating.
If I wanted to function in society, I had to adapt.
After finishing my meal, I bought bottled water from the vending machine.
Just as I twisted the cap off and was about to take a sip, someone else spoke to me.
"Uh, excuse me…"
"…Yeah?"
I nearly choked on my water but managed to swallow before answering.
People didn't usually approach me this much at school. Today was weird.
It wasn't like they were trying to help me adjust to society.
The girl in front of me hesitated before forcing out her words.
"Um, if it's okay with you, could I maybe…?!"
But before she could finish...
A different group of girls suddenly appeared out of nowhere and physically covered her mouth.
"Ah~ Sorry about that. She's a freshman, so she doesn't know any better."
"Our apologies, our apologies. Sorry, upperclassmen."
"We'll handle this. Sorry, sorry."
The new girls bowed repeatedly at me, then at everyone around them.
The girl whose mouth had been covered was dragged away, eyes wide.
Even I couldn't help but be stunned by the bizarre scene.
…Was that, okay?
Well, since they were all girls, it must've been fine. They seemed to know each other.
…Too overwhelmed to care, I decided to just ignore it.
After that, no one else talked to me.
Thanks to that, I made it through the rest of my afternoon lectures without issue.
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