Killing the Possessor - Chapter 51
It’s true that many East Asians have smaller eyes compared to Westerners, but the idea that all East Asians have small eyes is just a stereotype. Coincidentally, the child who was being bullied had quite large doe-like eyes.
Even in front of such big eyes, they still mock him. At this point, should I take this kid to an ophthalmologist?
“<Are you bullying him because you’re jealous of how pretty his eyes are?>”
“<What? Who the hell are you? What does it have to do with you? Get lost!>”
The kid, irritated by my sudden interruption, scowled and shouted. The good thing, at least, was that unlike last time, I now had an adult body. I didn’t look in the mirror, but with the height difference, I likely looked imposing to him.
“<Who am I? I’m the demon who’s here to give you detention.>”
“…”
When the word ‘detention’ came up, the kid immediately shut his mouth at the mention of getting locked up in the classroom and having to study the whole time. He might still be young, getting scared of discipline.
He clearly hadn’t gotten in trouble too often, considering his attitude, but it seemed like the punishment was light here. Maybe the teachers here were a bit lenient.
Since things had come this far, there was no other choice but to scare him.
“<If you make fun of your friends’ race again…>”
I lowered my voice deliberately and got closer to him. Without hesitation, I raised my thumb and pushed his eye corner up as I whispered.
“<I’ll really make your eyes like this. Got it?>”
“…”
It was a pretty harsh threat, but someone who kept bullying his friend needed to be scared like this. Perhaps realizing the severity of my threat, tears started to stream from his eyes.
The kid, crying and running away, was stared at by the doe-eyed boy, who looked at me silently.
“What’s wrong?”
I thought maybe the boy had something he wanted to say to me, so I spoke to him. He twitched his lips and finally spoke in a small voice.
“<Th-Thank you>”
“Can’t you speak Korean?”
I said it out of tiredness since I had used English after a long time, and the boy’s face contorted slightly. Ah, wait.
“<Are you not…. Korean?>”
“<I am. I can’t speak Korean well.>”
Ah, I had forgotten. Just because someone’s Korean doesn’t mean they’re fluent in the language.
“<It’s funny, isn’t it? Getting treated like this, and I still can’t speak Korean.>”
I watched as the boy muttered bitterly. His face already showed signs of doubt and sadness.
I silently sat next to him. After a short while, I casually started a conversation as if it were just an everyday topic.
“<I read a story to the kids earlier.>”
“<A storybook?>”
“<Yes. It was about some fairies preparing for the spring festival.>”
I briefly summarized the story I read to the children at the orphanage. It was about fruit fairies preparing costumes in their respective colors for the festival.
“<But the banana fairy was really struggling with what to wear because the inside and the peel are different colors.>”
“<…I see.>”
The child’s voice sounded a bit gloomy. Perhaps it was because the term ‘banana’ is sometimes used as a derogatory term for someone who looks Asian but has fully adopted Western behaviors, customs, and mindset.
Strictly speaking, the friend in front of me didn’t fit the stereotype of being called a ‘banana’ at all. If that were the case, the chances of him being bullied for racial reasons would likely be much lower.
“<In the end, the banana fairy wears blue boots because blue is the fairy’s favorite color.>”
“<…Really?>”
I patted the child’s head and smiled.
“<What I mean is, you don’t need to worry so much about how you look. No matter your skin color, you’re still you. Don’t let anyone who makes fun of you hurt you.>”
I then looked up and noticed the girl who hadn’t left yet and was lingering around. She didn’t seem to be able to speak up, but it was clear she had something she wanted to say.
Her downcast expression seemed somewhat apologetic.
