Professor Cheon was so exhausted today that the moment he entered the self-driving-only street, he fell asleep at the wheel.
We had to endure Dad’s snoring on the way back to the accommodation.
“It’s 9 PM and the sun is still up.”
Yuna said, pointing at the sky as she looked outside.
“I guess even the sun doesn’t want to leave because it wants to see you longer.”
Yoon Si-hoo muttered in a tiny voice, turning his head the other way.
Even though he said it himself, his face was completely red.
I barely held back the nausea rising up and proceeded calmly with the exorcism ritual.
“Paris is at latitude 48 degrees, so the days are longer in summer.”
“Aha! But what did you say earlier, Si-hoo?”
“Ah, it’s nothing.”
It seemed that even Yuna didn’t hear that.
“Pfft, what were you thinking when you said that?”
“Why, what is it?”
“Yuna! What did Si-hoo say!”
“NoName, don’t you dare say a word!”
“Hmph, what can you do to me? Are you going to fight? Are you confident?”
“…”
Yoon Si-hoo, who was fidgeting, suddenly became obedient.
He should have done that earlier.
I whispered to Yuna, “Kyaaaa! Are you crazy? Say things like that when it’s just us two! Hehe.”
“What the… why did I even tell you?”
If I knew she was going to be this happy, I would have just kept my mouth shut.
Suddenly, Yuna lay on my lap and stretched her legs toward the window.
While doing something on social media, she giggled as if she was having the best time.
“What are you looking at?”
“I’m looking at NoName’s Instagram. Wow, this post has over 5 million likes! Si-hoo, take a look.”
She reached out her arm to show Si-hoo a social media post.
It was a photo taken at the stadium when we first faced Narita Hiroyuki.
“Our NoName-chan looks so cute in this picture!”
“No, she looks like a gorilla.”
“Huh, that’s too harsh. No matter how you look at it, she’s totally a fairy.”
“I hope you’re saying that because you know that a gorilla has a grip strength of 350 kg, Yoon Si-hoo.”
I grabbed his thigh and squeezed my fingers tightly.
“Uwaaaaah! Sorry! It hurts! It hurts!”
The boy was squirming in pain like a fish out of water.
The car shook as if it was bouncing.
“A guy shouldn’t be this weak, you know?”
“Have you ever thought that maybe you’re just too strong?”
“Nope, never.”
“It’s okay for Si-hoo to be weak. I’ll become strong like NoName and protect him.”
“Oh? Then should we test how long Yuna can withstand it?”
“Wait, hold on…! I’m a girl, so be gentle…”
“There’s no such thing in this world!”
Crash-
“Kayaaaaah!”
“What are you going to do when you meet someone like me who beats up both guys and girls? The world isn’t that easy.”
I returned the favor for all the teasing I endured that day.
“Ugh… Si-hoo, NoName’s massage is too painful…”
“Just bear with it. That’s the answer…”
Around the time we were almost back at the hotel, a call came from Saetbyeol.
At the same time, messages flooded in from Seo Maru and Seo No-eul.
“Looks like something urgent has come up?”
“Huh?”
I scrolled through the messages with a serious expression, but then my enthusiasm deflated.
“Hah, were you all in a secret relationship?”
My friends blinked in surprise.
“No? I told my mom from the day we started dating!”
Right, Yuna’s mom knew.
“I also informed my dad…”
Si-hoo suddenly cut off in the middle of his sentence.
“You didn’t tell your mom?”
“Uh…”
“Is that something she shouldn’t know?”
“She said dating was absolutely forbidden.”
“Hmmm, what do we do? Now she knows.”
[Cheon Saetbyeol: It seems Si-hoo’s mom is really angryㅠㅠ Shouldn’t we have Yuna and Si-hoo go in separately?]
[Cheon Saetbyeol: And she’s asking why Si-hoo isn’t answering her calls.]
[NoName: He’s got almost no battery left, so he turned off his phone.]
[Cheon Saetbyeol: ㄷㄷ he’s going to get it later.]
When Yoon Si-hoo checked his phone, he found he had 20 missed calls.
The boy’s face turned pale.
He looked like he was on the verge of a meltdown.
To adults, this problem seemed trivial, but…
I patted his back and tried to comfort him.
“There’s no parent who wins against their child. Just say you’re sorry for deceiving her and explain that you’ve been dating without any issues. I’m sure your mom will think it over.”
“But my mom isn’t someone easy to talk to.”
“That depends on how you handle it from now on. Just make sure to avoid situations that lead to anger. It might be a good idea to discuss why she opposes your relationship and your reasons for wanting to keep it going.”
“Right, right. We’ve only held hands once!”
His girlfriend cheered him on from the sidelines, striking a fighting pose.
“My mom will hate it even if I just hold hands. If I’m not careful, I might actually get hit with a golf club today.”
“A golf club? Seriously? Isn’t that a bit much? Even kindergarteners hold hands with their partners when they line up.”
Sounds like he was raised in a pretty strict household.
I decided to ignore Saetbyeol’s advice out of frustration.
“Let’s just all hold hands and go in together. That should be fine, right?”
That’s when a spark ignited in Si-hoo’s eyes.
“Hoooom! NoName, how many minutes until we reach the hotel?”
“Did Dad sleep well? About 2-3 minutes left? We’re almost there.”
“Oh, I’m so tired I haven’t been able to take care of things.”
“No problem! Thanks to you working hard, we had a great trip. You should go to bed early tonight.”
I started to massage Professor Cheon’s tense shoulders.
Yoon Si-hoo glanced at me with envy.
We soon arrived in front of the hotel and lined up as per our plan.
I grabbed Yuna and Si-hoo’s hands with both of mine.
This formed a sort of buffer.
Since I had a reputable image, they wouldn’t directly scold me.
Si-hoo could argue to his mom that if he was holding hands with NoName, then what’s wrong with just holding hands with his girlfriend?
“This feels like playing house! I’m the mom, Si-hoo is the dad, and NoName is the daughter.”
“Don’t say things like that in front of our parents or we’re in big trouble.”
“Hehe, sorry, I’ll be quiet.”
Professor Cheon turned the car around and went back to the accommodation first.
We got off on the 4th floor and entered the dining area.
Saetbyeol was the first to greet us at the entrance.
“What are you guys up to?”
“We’re going to go in like this.”
“Hey, that’s a huge mistake! Let’s just send Si-hoo in first. That seems better.”
“Is something gonna go wrong over this? Everyone’s overreacting.”
Upon entering the restaurant, it wasn’t hard to find a table where the atmosphere was already tense.
I forcibly dragged the hesitant Si-hoo toward that table.
“Hello.”
“Hi, NoName. Did you enjoy your trip?”
“Oh my, NoName, you must be tired! Your eyes look a bit red.”
Yuna’s mom and Si-hoo’s dad greeted us warmly.
“…”
Si-hoo’s mom remained completely silent.
She pushed her chair back, stood up, and walked over to Si-hoo.
Ugh, what a nasty vibe.
Si-hoo’s expression was frozen solid.
Normally, he can’t even spit at someone grinning, but he should at least smile a little now.
For the sake of my friend, I decided to put on a bright smile.
“What’s up, Si-hoo’s mom! It’s so nice seeing my best friends again, and I think I had a really fun day! I hope you enjoyed your day with Dad too. I heard you visited the Galeries Lafayette department store-”
Slap-!
Before I knew it, she slapped her son.
“What an ungrateful brat. Did I raise you to lie to your parents who gave birth and raised you?”
Yoon Si-hoo turned his head sharply.
A red handprint appeared on his fair skin.
“No…”
Si-hoo couldn’t utter a word and lowered his head.
He trembled in his stance without even daring to touch his swollen cheek.
“Si-hoo’s mom! Even so, you shouldn’t hit a kid!”
“This is how we discipline our family.”
She clearly drew the line, telling Yuna’s mom not to interfere.
In such a serious situation, I looked over to see what the father figure was doing…
He was just silently urging his son to apologize.
‘This is tough.’
I handed Saetbyeol over to Yuna, who was nervously shaking, and stepped forward.
“I get that you’re angry, but let’s discuss this, mom. You’re not going to ignore your child for life, right? Si-hoo lying is certainly wrong, but you need to communicate why you oppose their relationship. Only then can the parent-child bond grow stronger-”
“Why are you holding hands with NoName, Yoon Si-hoo? Let go of her and come with me. You’re going to regret this today.”
She ignored my words and focused solely on pressuring Si-hoo.
As Si-hoo tried to let go of my hand, I held it even tighter.
“Si-hoo’s hand is being held by me. I won’t let go until any misunderstanding is cleared up.”
“NoName. There’s no one here who misunderstood. Only someone who did wrong. It’s the parents’ duty to discipline their child when they mess up. What right do you have to meddle in our business? Last warning, let go of that hand.”
“As his best friend, I believe I have the right to intervene. This is my last warning to you, ma’am.”
“Ha, such meddlesome behavior. Didn’t you cause that mess at the academy last year and learn nothing?”
“That’s not true! If you’re going to regret it whether you do or don’t, it’s better to do it and then regret it. Oh wait, you’re a wizard, right?”
“Huh?”
That’s where I decided my patience would end.
The part of her fibula that was visible came into my line of sight.
I twisted my left foot to the limit and kicked her calf with my back foot.
Wham!
The calf kick shot through the air.
She didn’t even react, her body spinning a couple of times in the air.
Very fast, and while it looked incredibly weak, it was immensely painful upon impact.
“Kayaaaaah! Cough…!”
“Y-you!”
Her desperate scream followed.
If she had enough energy to shout, I might have underestimated how much I controlled myself.
Everyone in the restaurant was stunned, their expressions painted with astonishment.
“Si-hoo, I’ll be the villain.”
“Are you crazy? That’s my mom…!”
What this meant was that regardless of Si-hoo’s dating situation, now there was a much bigger problem from his parents’ perspective: me.
*
I confirmed we were standing in a blind spot and that there weren’t any cameras recording.
For now, her calves might be swollen for a while, but I left no lasting aftereffects and knew full well she wasn’t in a position to report me.
In short, this was a thoroughly calculated action without any repercussions.
“What’s the real problem here?”
“Tell the truth… Is it because of the time my mom tried to force you to transfer that she’s holding a grudge against you?”
“Dude…”
How could he pick up on that so quickly?
Si-hoo’s mom was the one leading the charge against me as the parent representative of Sephiron Academy.
I heard Principal Gu On-yu was also pretty stressed out because of her.
“I believe in returning whatever is given to me.”
Reading my eyes, Yoon Si-hoo grabbed me by the collar and shook me back and forth.
“NoNameee!”
“Ugh. Um. Um. Hmph, but I think we slid past the dating incident. In this world, a character like me exists, so someone like Yuna, who is so charming, should be the perfect daughter-in-law. Right?”
“There’s no one who just kicks a girl’s mom like that! And that’s not something to be happy about! How are you supposed to date after this?”
“Wow, with a girlfriend, you’re already thinking about dating someone else? Despite being my friend, you’re a pretty sneaky guy.”
“Huuuuuh…”
Si-hoo let out a deep sigh.
“Then why didn’t you cut me off earlier? This isn’t just talking crap; this is physically hitting someone’s parent.”
“Well…”
“Look. Deep down, you felt a bit satisfied, right? Just because someone is an adult doesn’t mean you have to listen to everything they say. Of course, it’s usually better to follow, but… at the very least, shouldn’t they be someone you can communicate with?”
“…”
“Go talk to your mom. Feel free to say whatever you want about me. Don’t keep just being wronged without standing up for yourself.”
“Do you think I can do that…?”
“Do you know? If you don’t resolve things like this, kids like you rebel harder and act out more? I’ve seen that kind of scenario more than a few times.”
“Yeah, but you’ve never seen it, so don’t act like you know everything… Well, thanks either way. No, I’m not thankful. But that kick…”
“Okay, I’m sorry. It’s all my fault. Now stop crying and let’s go. If you do ice treatment, it’ll help a bit, and I can even use some heat transfer magic on you.”
That concluded my counseling session with Si-hoo.
I joined Saetbyeol, who was trembling outside the restaurant.
“Did you wait long? Ah, I guess you can’t go into the room without me. Let’s hurry.”
“Hiiing, I was so scared…”
“There are many parents like that in this world.”
“What do you mean by that? I’m talking about my sister.”
“Oh.”
