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14 years old.

After a tumultuous year for Jeong Gyeoul.

15 years old.

The year of middle school second year has arrived.

Everyone except Jeong Gyeoul, who went out for morning exercise, gathered around the dining table.

Eun-chae took advantage of Jeong Gyeoul’s outing to call a family meeting.

Eun-chae, with a more serious expression than usual, brought up the topic.

“…The theme of this meeting is how to deal with Gyeoul, who has become a second-year middle schooler.”

Seeing Eun-chae’s expression, Kang-woo, who also stiffened his expression, let out a hollow laugh.

“Can’t we just treat her the same as before? What’s the big difference between 14 and 15?”

“Oppa… It’s not that simple.”

Kang-woo didn’t seem to understand why such a meeting was necessary, but Eun-chae was serious.

“She’s already been acting like a second-year middle schooler before… Do we really need to have a meeting about it now?”

“That’s the problem. She was already at that level before, but now she’s actually a second-year middle schooler.”

Listening to this, it felt strangely convincing.

Jeong Gyeoul, who had already shown signs of middle school second year syndrome before, was now officially a second-year middle schooler.

No one could predict what would happen.

“I kind of get what you’re saying. But… will anything change just because we have a meeting? Shouldn’t we consult someone like Teacher Yuk Eun-young, who’s an expert in child psychology?”

“If she were a normal child, we would have done that… but Gyeoul is different.”

“…”

The youngest Awakened One, the youngest S-Class Hero.

Though not officially announced, Jeong Gyeoul, who held the title of the youngest Transcendent Hero, couldn’t be considered a normal, ordinary child.

Even Teacher Yuk Eun-young wouldn’t have much of a solution.

“Besides, Gyeoul is unusually mature and composed. Maybe it’s because of her past experiences… but when you’re around her, you forget how young she is.”

“That’s true. Sometimes she seems more mature than Eun-chae or Ha-yul.”

“Normally, I would deny it, but after going to the Demon Realm together, I have to admit it. Her leadership as the expedition leader was better than most adults.”

Though she sometimes acted like a child, Jeong Gyeoul was generally mature.

There were times when she seemed more mature than even the adults around her.

When talking to acquaintances who had children, some parents boasted that their child was a genius, while others said their child was more mature than their peers.

But the children in those stories were filled with the parents’ subjective interpretations, and when you actually met them, they were just ordinary kids of their age.

They would just give polite compliments like, “You’re so mature,” but in reality, there were no children mature enough to be acknowledged by adults.

If anything, Lee Ha-yoon could be considered the most mentally mature among her peers.

But even Lee Ha-yoon, compared to Jeong Gyeoul, showed the difference between an adult and a minor.

“She has a broad perspective and situational judgment that allows her to see the forest for the trees, and her heart technique is comparable to Park Seol-hwa’s… She also has boldness and composure stemming from strong self-confidence.”

To Jeong Ha-yul, Jeong Gyeoul was just a child to be protected.

But after returning from the Demon Realm, that thought had changed a lot.

“When she acts like a child, she’s more childlike than her peers, but when she’s mature, she’s incomparably more mature than her peers, making it hard to figure her out.”

It was natural to think that her childlike behavior might be an act.

Listening to Jeong Ha-yul’s story, Kang-woo raised his hand.

“Yes, Kang-woo oppa, go ahead.”

“So, do we really need to worry? She’s a child with a strong sense of self and principles. Even if she falls into middle school second year syndrome, she can get out of it whenever she wants, right?”

“…Listening to you, that makes sense.”

A person with a strong sense of self.

In other words, someone who won’t be swayed by anything.

No matter what happens, she can stand firm with her own beliefs and values.

She’s not the kind of child who would be broken by something like middle school second year syndrome.

Eun-chae nodded as she listened.

Kang-woo, who seemed to have no thoughts, was looking at Jeong Gyeoul more accurately than she was.

He even managed to convince her.

Realizing she had been overly interfering because it was her first time raising a child, Eun-chae admitted her mistake.

“I was overreacting. She’ll figure it out on her own… If middle school second year syndrome becomes a serious issue, we can have another meeting then.”

“Right, it doesn’t seem like it’ll get that serious, but family meetings are always open. It’s best to talk things out, no matter how small.”

The 48th family meeting, which seemed serious, ended quite blandly.

***

While walking, Jeong Gyeoul suddenly scratched her ear as if having a fit.

‘Why is my ear so itchy?’

She was out for a walk, unaware that a meeting about her was being held at home.

She had come out for morning training, but… she hadn’t done any proper training since returning from the Demon Realm.

Even now, she was just taking a leisurely stroll.

Lightly put, it was a case of mannerism; heavily put, it felt like burnout.

‘…Everything that happened up to 13 years old combined was less than what happened at 14.’

Incidents and accidents happen, leading to taking a break or quitting.

Then, out of boredom, she starts something, and a big incident or accident occurs.

After solving that, an even bigger incident or accident happens…

After solving that and resting to recover, an even bigger incident or accident occurs.

The scale keeps getting bigger.

The enemies keep getting stronger.

At this point, it felt like it would be quicker to go find a god and fight fate.

‘Please, just stop tormenting me…’

Thud—

Blaming a god who might not even exist, she kicked a pebble on the road.

Ting—

Bang- bang- bang- bang-

The pebble she kicked bounced off a garden fence and hit a parked foreign car.

A loud alarm started blaring.

‘Damn it.’

Hitting the car wasn’t a big problem.

She could just meet the owner and pay for the damages.

But the pebble she kicked towards the right garden bounced off the fence and flew left, hitting the foreign car.

It was an unlucky situation, as if she was carrying all the misfortune in the world.

If she fell forward, her tailbone would break.

If she fell backward, her nose would break.

“…Is this warding off bad luck, or a sign of the hardships to come?”

“It must be warding off bad luck. It’s the beginning of the year… and it’s not a big deal.”

She knew someone was approaching, but this was the city.

There was no need to be overly cautious or react excessively.

The man in a suit who approached smiled when he made eye contact with Jeong Gyeoul.

Seeing the man, who looked like a parasitic older brother, smile creepily, Jeong Gyeoul frowned.

“…Who are you?”

“I’m the car owner.”

“Ah… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. I’ll pay for the repairs…”

“It’s fine. I don’t need money from a 15-year-old kid.”

“Thank you…?”

There was no reason to insist on paying if he was letting it go.

Jeong Gyeoul, about to thank him, paused mid-sentence, sensing something was off.

“…Who are you?”

The same question as before, but her expression was different.

Jeong Gyeoul was glaring at the man with cold eyes.

It was rare for people to recognize her unless she was with Lee Ha-yoon, Park Seol-hwa, or Jeong Ha-yul.

And even rarer for someone to know her exact age.

She kicked a pebble on the road, which coincidentally bounced off a garden fence and hit a foreign car, and the owner coincidentally knew her age?

‘This isn’t a coincidence.’

The man, looking flustered, repeated what he had said earlier.

“As I said before… I’m the car owner.”

At that moment.

Jeong Gyeoul’s new form disappeared.

“…!”

A hand was aimed at the stranger’s neck.

“Who are you?”

“I-I’m the car owner…”

“Are there still remnants of the Satan Church? Or… CIA? FBI? Did you come because of Serena Olson?”

“…”

Seeing him unable to answer, as if expecting it, magic power began to gather in her hand.

“Answer wrong, and your head’s gone. Answer properly. Who are you?”

“I-I’m the car owner…”

The man insisted until the end that he was the car owner.

As she sharpened her magic power to strike his neck.

“CEO! What’s that noise from the car… Gasp!”

An employee, seeing the CEO’s neck threatened by a sharp magic power, screamed and collapsed on the spot.

Spilling the coffee he was holding was just a bonus.

“…CEO? What CEO?”

“I-I’m the CEO of a small entertainment company…”

“…”

The man called CEO took out a business card from his pocket and showed it to her.

The situation seemed to be going strangely.

Looking back and forth between the employee and the CEO, Jeong Gyeoul calmed her magic power.

“I’m sorry, I thought you were a villain targeting me…”

Jeong Gyeoul repeatedly bowed in apology.

 

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