After putting Shi-u to sleep, I came out to the living room.
"You looked into it so diligently, what did they say?"
"They don't know."
"I figured."
"But we should still be careful."
"Aish, it's not like we go out much."
Recently, we've gone out a bit to take Shi-u out. Otherwise, I almost never leave the house.
"That's why I'm worried... If a big earthquake happens, these high-rise buildings are the most dangerous."
"Really? But I've never felt any tremors when I'm home."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's an expensive house, so they probably did a good job with the earthquake-resistant design."
"I guess..."
"And even if it gets dangerous, I should be able to protect at least Shi-u with my abilities."
Shi-hyun-nim looked even more worried after hearing that.
"Saying that makes me even more worried."
"So, you're going to work tomorrow, right?"
"Yeah, I'm going to check out the construction site."
Shi-hyun-nim, a Hunter, is going there?
"Why?"
"They're suspicious, so I'm going to investigate. They're speculating that there might be monsters under the ground."
"Under the ground?"
Are you saying that something moving under the ground is causing the earthquakes?
"Yeah, the possibility seems low, and I'll be back early tomorrow."
"Then buy some groceries on your way back tomorrow."
"Alright."
I'm still uneasy about taking Shi-u to places like the supermarket, so I asked him to run the errand.
*
I took care of Shi-u comfortably. I wasn't planning on going out today. I decided to do that because I felt like I would see someone I didn't want to see if I went out at that time. Instead, I decided to get some fresh air on the balcony.
But when I actually tried to go out to the balcony, the weather wasn't good. It was a bit gloomy and the wind was strong.
"The wind is cold, should I just give up today?"
I closed the balcony door and came back inside.
Shi-u was staring blankly, but he was licking his lips. That meant he was hungry or had a sucking urge.
He probably doesn't want milk. I haven't usually fed him at this time. Is he just bored? As I was thinking, Shi-u was sucking on his finger.
"Shi-u, you shouldn't suck your finger."
I found a pacifier and gave it to him instead of his finger.
Then Shi-u seemed to find stability and started playing. He watched the mobile above his head that moved and made sounds, and he moved his arms and legs incessantly.
I lowered the position of the mobile a little so that Shi-u's hand could reach it. Shi-u stretched out his arm and reached for the mobile that was getting closer, and he touched it.
When Shi-u's hand closed, the mobile made a *ttiring* sound, and Shi-u showed an extreme reaction. He made *ukya ukya* sounds and tapped the mobile with his hand, and various sounds came out.
The more sounds that came out, the more excited Shi-u became, and he kept touching the mobile. No matter how low I lowered the position, he had to stretch out his hand, so Shi-u had to keep moving.
Shi-u, who was moving diligently, started to sob, perhaps because he was tired.
"Are you tired?"
I pressed the switch on the mobile. Then the mobile automatically turned and started making a constant sound. Shi-u smiled happily when he heard the sound.
"Is it fun?"
Shi-u couldn't take his eyes off the mobile that was making sounds and moving. After a while, he seemed tired and was already asleep.
While Shi-u was sleeping, I looked for other toys.
Nothing really came to mind. I was disappointed that I couldn't put him in a baby walker yet, since more time needed to pass. It was dangerous to force him to ride a baby walker or stand because his leg strength was still weak.
When Shi-u woke up at lunchtime, I tried feeding him baby food again. This time, Shi-u did accept the rice porridge. But is it because the rice porridge has no taste? He immediately licked and spat out the rice porridge.
"Shi-u, you're supposed to eat that."
"Bubu."
Shi-u was expressing his dissatisfaction. Is it that bad?
I tried to attract Shi-u's attention by shaking a rattle and feed him the rice porridge. When there was a sound next to him, Shi-u showed interest and I gently put the spoon in his mouth while he was opening it.
When something went into his mouth, Shi-u reflexively sucked it in.
"D-did he eat it?"
Shi-u licked his tongue and spat out what was in his mouth again.
"I guess it's a failure again."
After cleaning Shi-u's mouth and bib, I just gave him milk. Shi-u sucked vigorously as if he had never refused food. They say that babies who drink breast milk can start baby food later, but I didn't expect him to not eat it like this... Shi-u was already showing signs that feeding him baby food would be difficult.
After failing to feed Shi-u baby food again today and playing with him, Shi-hyun-nim came back.
He came with several large bags in both hands, as if he had been grocery shopping.
"You're back?"
"Yeah, did you go out?"
"No, the wind was cold, so I didn't go out today."
"Good job, the wind was strong outside."
While Shi-u was playing alone, Shi-hyun-nim organized what he had bought.
"What did you buy all this for?"
The things Shi-hyun-nim bought today were mostly retort foods that could be eaten without cooking.
Did you hear something when you went out? Well, Shi-hyun-nim also took these when he went to work.
"It's convenient."
That was true. It was difficult to cook while taking care of a baby, so it was good to have something simple to eat.
When Shi-u was too fussy, there was no time to eat, so I sometimes just ate plain rice.
"By the way, what was there when you went to the construction site?"
Shi-hyun-nim looked a little serious.
"The government was determined and gathered people."
"Really?"
"Yeah, they even gathered people with target detection abilities and sensing abilities."
Wow... The fact that Shi-hyun-nim was there meant that they were even considering the possibility of a battle?
"So, what did they say?"
"They said there's something under the ground."
"Really?"
"Yeah, but the problem was that the construction company also brought in an ability user and said there was nothing there."
"...?"
I couldn't understand what he was saying.
"What does that mean?"
"The company doing the construction also brought in a target detection ability user and testified that there was nothing there."
"Then what changes?"
"It means they're saying that the ability user the government brought is lying."
Then does something change?
"Actually, I went today because there was a suspicious sign, so I was going to issue an order to stop construction, but because they responded like that, I couldn't stop the construction and just disbanded."
You were going to stop the construction today, but you couldn't?
"But is there really something under there?"
"I don't know? The ability users the government brought say there's something under there, but other than that, they can't know."
"What's there?"
"Life signs? Hostility? Something like that, they said they could feel it."
"Isn't it just a creature living underground?"
Shi-hyun-nim shrugged.
"Maybe."
It seems like Shi-hyun-nim doesn't know either.
Thanks to Shi-hyun-nim coming home early, I was able to take care of Shi-u comfortably. In the evening, the two of us tried feeding Shi-u baby food together.
"Shi-u, let's eat."
We attracted attention from both sides. Shi-hyun-nim showed Shi-u aerial acrobatics with a spoon to attract his attention. Shi-u seemed interested in Shi-hyun-nim's actions and stretched out his arm to grab the spoon.
Shi-hyun-nim didn't let him grab it, of course.
"Here, ah."
"Aaaah!"
Shi-u followed Shi-hyun-nim's actions and opened his mouth. Shi-hyun-nim put the spoon in his mouth at that timing.
Will Shi-u actually eat it?
"Just eat it like that."
Contrary to Shi-hyun-nim's expectations, Shi-u frowned and spat out the rice porridge.
"It's a failure again."
I tried to feed him the rice porridge several times, but it all failed, and Shi-u's bib was covered in the spat-out baby food. What's the problem? Consistency? The rice porridge is almost liquid...
"It's not easy."
"Maybe it was too early."
In the end, we gave up on feeding him baby food and changed Shi-u's clothes.
"Shi-u, you troublemaker."
Shi-hyun-nim gently grabbed Shi-u's cheek.
"Aish, how is Shi-u a troublemaker?"
I hit Shi-hyun-nim's shoulder. Shi-u is so well-behaved!
"I'm just saying."
At night, Shi-hyun-nim bathed Shi-u. I watched it from the side.
"He's well-behaved, though."
Shi-u likes water, so he didn't make a fuss when he was being bathed.
"It feels good to be clean, right?"
Shi-u smiled brightly as if he was in a good mood.
"So cute!"
I rubbed my cheek against Shi-u's cheek. It was so soft.
"Okay, I'll give you a massage."
I stopped playing around and massaged Shi-u's body. I gently stroked his waist, pelvis, and legs. I loosened his muscles, hoping he would grow well.
After the massage, Shi-u yawned.
"It seems like his sleep habits are well-established."
"Yeah, our Shi-u is pretty well-behaved."
Compared to the stories in the community or my nephew, he was quite well-behaved.
"Are you just going to sleep?"
"Huh?"
"Shi-u will sleep well too. Want to do it?"
I guess I shouldn't have unlocked it? Once we had a relationship, I couldn't refuse the second request. Shi-hyun-nim had a face full of anticipation.
I couldn't turn down Shi-hyun-nim, who was expecting it, so I had no choice but to accept it. Fortunately, Shi-hyun-nim adjusted it appropriately, so I was able to endure it.
*
It was a repetitive daily life without anything special, but there was no room for boredom. It was fun and happy just to see Shi-u changing day by day.
And more than ten days passed. It was a normal daily life except that the earthquakes were getting worse.
The news reported that the frequency of earthquakes had increased, and a few days ago, I felt the tremors even when I was at home. It seems that the earthquakes are getting stronger. Thanks to that, people were making a fuss.
There were political fanatics who said that the president was wrong and the sky was angry, and there were also strange groups who said that the earth was angry and trying to punish us.
The scariest thing is the construction company that is continuing the construction, saying that there is no problem even in the midst of all this.
The government tried to stop them several times, but Shi-hyun-nim grumbled that they couldn't stop the construction because there was no way to stop it, and that they were only getting a sluggish response because they had lobbied so much that they had to draw a sword from above to forcibly stop the construction.
Considering that he expressed his dissatisfaction, Shi-hyun-nim also didn't think much of it. When I asked him why, Shi-hyun-nim answered like this.
"Seoul is where most people live. There are a lot of Hunters waiting and there's also the military, so even if something happens, they'll be able to handle it quickly. Besides, it's far away from where we live, right?"
I had no choice but to nod at that answer.
Even if something happens, there will be enough time to evacuate since it's far away.
In fact, the people living around the construction site were also calm. There were some people who gave interviews on the news saying they were anxious, but other than that, they all lived normal lives.
So, I decided to think comfortably too.
Surely nothing will happen, right?