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The Demon King Jeong Ha-yul.

Using the Association’s support for poverty relief.

Also using her own personal funds for poverty relief.

Even using the Association President’s personal funds for poverty relief… though I’m not sure if that’s allowed.

They say if she glares once, money just gushes out of the Association President’s pockets.

Like, what is she, a human ATM or something?

Anyway, ever since she saved me from the shantytown last winter, she’s been doing a lot for the poor.

On the outside, she’s scary, violent, ferocious, cruel, and wicked, but deep down, she’s a warm-hearted person.

Even now, she’s not doing her job and just sticking by my side.

Watching the news about the rising crime rate among villains, she even feels guilty.

“Hero Jeong Ha-yul, can you please just go to work? Even Kang-woo and Eun-chae are here with Gyeoul.”

She’s so devoted that even the bald team leader next to her is fed up.

“No way. How can I leave a kid who’s too sick to even wash herself alone? And don’t act tough when you can’t even protect her properly.”

“…”

The Demon King genuinely thanked and apologized that day.

But it only lasted for that one day.

Now she’s holding onto the bald team leader who’s hospitalized in the same room like she’s catching a rat.

Even though the wounds on his back haven’t fully healed, he’s begging the doctors to let him go home.

And now she’s starting to bother me too.

“Gyeoul, let’s go wash up with your sister.”

“…Again?”

“What do you mean ‘again’? It’s the first time today.”

As a patient, I just want to be lazy and not wash for a couple of days.

But the Demon King can’t stand seeing me dirty.

She drags me to the shower every single day.

I’ve given up.

I’m a girl too, so what?

We can wash together, right?

Isn’t that normal?

While being forced to shower, I thought about a lot of things.

But the Demon King really is a big… no, a warm-hearted person.

After finishing the shower, we returned to the hospital room.

The sight of the Demon King drying my wet hair was like…

“Gyeoul, what are you writing now?”

“…You saw it?”

“No, I didn’t. What is it?”

“A diary. Ttukttaki told me to write one while I’m hospitalized…”

“Ttukttaki?”

“Ah… Teacher Choi Ye-na.”

Oops, I’ve been calling her Ttukttaki in my head so much that it slipped out.

“Teacher Choi Ye-na’s nickname is Ttukttaki? Cute… Back in my day, we had nicknames like AIDS, Mad Dog, Sea Urchin, and Lynx.”

“…”

A 21-year-old kid reminiscing about the good old days.

Back in my day, we couldn’t even step on the teacher’s shadow, let alone give them nicknames.

If you got caught calling them nicknames, you’d get beaten with a paddle and slapped.

Was your school even a school? You’re so spoiled.

“Why are you like this all of a sudden? Are you hurt?”

“No. Just remembering the past…”

“By the way, aren’t you going to drop the formal speech? It’s cuter and nicer that way.”

Maybe it was because of the word “past.”

Jeong Ha-yul remembered that I used to speak casually and asked.

A few days ago, I had to protect the bald team leader and calm down Jeong Ha-yul.

The excitement from the battle hadn’t worn off, so I accidentally spoke casually.

But I came to my senses as soon as we arrived at the hospital.

“Later…”

Of course, it’s nice to get closer.

But getting closer means taking on that much risk.

I just want to maintain this level of relationship.

If I get any closer to you… I might accidentally curse.

Jeong Ha-yul is only letting me get away with everything because I’m young and cute now.

Just wait until I grow up a bit.

If I accidentally curse, I might get targeted as a sparring partner.

I heard Jack the Ripper, who was defeated by the Demon King and handed over to the Association, was in a state worse than a rag.

All his bones were crushed, and he only had three teeth left in his mouth, or something like that.

‘Keeping your distance is essential for survival.’

Loyalty, loyalty, ding-dong.

I am the Demon King’s loyal servant.

We can never be close.

“Alright, do whatever makes Gyeoul comfortable.”

“But… when can I leave the hospital?”

“Hmm? Whenever the doctor in charge of Gyeoul says it’s okay?”

Hey, you brat.

Do you think I don’t know you threatened the doctor not to let me go?

That doctor definitely said I could leave just yesterday.

I wasn’t seriously injured in the first place, and thanks to Jeong-min’s medicine, my wounds healed in less than two days.

This is a crazy world.

Wounds that would normally take a week to heal were completely gone in two days.

But… it seems like I can only leave when Jeong Ha-yul wants me to, regardless of the treatment results.

I sighed and turned my head to the side…

And saw the bald team leader, who was hospitalized but still working on his laptop.

The bald team leader also took the same pills I did, provided by the Association.

That’s why, even though his back was severely torn, he can already move around.

‘But why can’t his hair grow back?’

His torn back is healing with cells growing like crazy, but…

His shiny bald head remains the same.

I’ll have to ask Hero Park Seol-hwa, the alchemist, about this later.

Our bald team leader.

He’s got to get married.

He’s almost forty…

***

Because of Jack the Ripper’s terror incident, Jo Se-hee’s kidnapping incident was swept under the rug.

Thanks to that, Cheongdam Elementary School continued its academic schedule as if nothing had happened.

Of course, Jeong Gyeoul, who was discharged safely, was also living her normal school life.

She now had a watch on her wrist that could send her location to the Association in case of emergency, and a state-of-the-art smartphone around her neck.

But other than that, everything was the same as before.

“Look at that… Gyeoul has a smartphone!”

“Wow! My mom would never buy me one!”

“The number one is really different, huh?”

“She must play a lot of games with that. So jealous…”

It’s only natural for 8-year-olds to be noisy.

“The watch on her wrist costs more than three months of my salary…”

Homeroom teacher Choi Ye-na fell into depression after that day but managed to overcome it.

Though now she seems depressed for a different reason.

Anyway…

As usual, Kang-woo was in charge of picking her up from school.

Kang-woo drove to the school, picked up Jeong Gyeoul, and brought her home.

“Gyeoul, what’s that?”

“It looks like some kind of invitation.”

After school, while helping her organize her bag, the Demon King’s family noticed the card Jeong Gyeoul pulled out.

“This is an invitation to Hayan’s birthday party in a few days.”

“A birthday party? Wow! That’s so cute!”

Eun-chae excitedly opened the card.

“…”

And then she was speechless.

“Do 8-year-olds have birthday parties at the Baekje Hotel these days?”

“…Dynasty Hall? Isn’t that where they hold weddings?”

“The Baekje Hotel is in Taebaek, and Lee Hayan is the youngest daughter of Taebaek. If I were her, I’d have it at the Baekje Hotel too.”

Eun-chae and Kang-woo were shocked, but Ha-yul was indifferent.

‘Where should we have Gyeoul’s birthday party?’

I tried to think of a place better than the Baekje Hotel in Korea.

But nothing came to mind.

‘I don’t want to have it at the same place as someone else… Should I ask to borrow Buckingham Palace?’

Jeong Ha-yul, who was thinking something that would make the British clutch their pearls, suddenly jumped up as if she remembered something.

“If it’s at the Baekje Hotel, Gyeoul has to wear a dress!”

“Right! You can’t just go to such a place dressed casually.”

“Ugh… I’d rather not go!”

So far, Gyeoul has never worn a skirt due to her stubborn refusal.

Eun-chae and Ha-yul couldn’t miss this opportunity.

“…Is Hayan going to dump you?”

“Huh? No, it’s just a birthday party. Not going once won’t be that big of a deal…”

“Hayan won’t think that way. If her best friend doesn’t come to her birthday party, she’ll definitely feel abandoned. Are you going to make your best friend cry?”

Eun-chae started pressuring Jeong Gyeoul with a serious expression.

“…Hayan? How can you be so sure?”

“On my 20th birthday, Jeong Ha-yul didn’t come. I felt like the whole world had abandoned me that day.”

“Why are you bringing that up now? We settled that a long time ago!”

“You settled it! I’m still upset!”

“You said you were over it last time!”

“That was just for a moment! I’m upset again now!”

Kang-woo shook his head and sighed, then headed to the kitchen.

“…Let’s go together, Manager.”

“Sure, Gyeoul. Want some coffee too?”

“No, soju please.”

“…Huh?”

“Just kidding. I’ll have some cold water.”

Jeong Gyeoul, sitting at the kitchen table, kept searching for something on her smartphone.

“Gyeoul, here’s your water. What are you looking for?”

“A two-piece suit for girls… I absolutely won’t wear a dress.”

“Why are you so insistent on wearing pants?”

“It’s my last remaining identity, I guess.”

“…?”

“It’s a thing.”

Kang-woo, sipping his coffee, looked at Eun-chae and Ha-yul, who were still arguing.

“…I’d rather deal with 8-year-olds. How long are they going to keep this up?”

“Until the Manager stops talking about money.”

The monster born of capitalism, Baek Kang-woo.

Even when a bullet was fired at Jeong Ha-yul’s forehead in England, Kang-woo was thinking about the penalty for a cosmetics commercial.

Jeong Gyeoul shot back.

“Can you please forget about that… It was just a joke.”

“It seemed real. You looked like you were about to flip out.”

“…”

Today was another peaceful day at the Demon King’s house.

 

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