Recompense [ Inso's Law ]

4: Manual Override

Laughing slightly, Yeomin wriggled in his grasp. "I was planning on trying a marathon, actually. Let me down already."

Paying no mind to her words, he spun her around a few more times.

"Dad..."

"Hmm?" he hummed innocently.

"How can I 'roam as I please' if I can't even touch the ground?"

"Guess you'll just have to wait then."

"Honey put her down. The spinning will make her sick."

"Damn, foiled again." Breathing slightly more laboured, he placed her back on the ground with a grin.

Placing a handful of papers in her bag, her mom walked up to the duo. The woman turned towards Yeomin with a fond smile. "Do you want to go anywhere to celebrate?"

"Sure?"

"Okay," her mom said patiently, "where?"

Yeomin hadn't thought that far ahead. "Uhhhh..."

"Do you want to go out to eat?" her mom suggested as they started walking towards the car.

"Oh!" Yeomin snapped her fingers. "Can we get hotpot?"

"Anything you want, little one."

――――――――――

'Ignore them. Ignore them. Ignore them. Ignore them.'

Yeomin really should've asked to stop by the house and change first.

Eyes bore into her from every direction. It seemed like every part of her was under scrutiny. Self-consciousness prickled at her skin. Her hair was greasy and sweaty, tied back in a short ponytail that showed too much of her ears. Her clothes were no better, nothing but an unkempt t-shirt and gym shorts. And right below her shorts, her prosthetic was on display. As much as they tried to match her skin tone, the unnatural plastic tapering into metal only beckoned attention.

'They're just curious. Ignore them,' Yeomin repeated to herself.

Under her eyelids, she could only see disdainful eyes, like her very existence was a nuisance. Everyone's attention centred on her for all the wrong reasons.

Why are you even here?

The attention unsettled her parents just as much.

"Why don't they just mind their own damn business? Nosy bastards." Yeomin had never heard her mother speak with so much vitriol before.

"Come on, let's get to a table," her dad said, looking a little nervously at the irritation on her mom's face.

Things calmed down once they sat down. As soon as they were settled, her mother's hand clamped around hers. "I'm here," it said. Yeomin squeezed it in return. Reassuring warmth, gentle smiles, and mindless conversation gradually overtook the stares. Tenseness faded into ease.

It was times like these when she felt the most grateful for her parents. They've always tried to help her. They've spent so much time, money, and effort just to make sure she was alright that she can't believe she ever took it for granted. No matter how rough everything else got, they always kept her stable. Her anchor in turbulent waters. She could be a villain in the eyes of the rest of the world, but as long as her parents were here, she'd be fine. For that, Yeomin owed them a debt she could never repay.

Laughing at her dad frantically chugging a glass of water―his spice tolerance could never compete with Yeomin and her mom's―Yeomin realised something.