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“Seems like everything worked out well.”

Holding onto Dad’s hand tightly, I felt a sense of relief as I saw Yoonseo dashing towards me, her feet skipping along as she ran.

Even though I had prepared as much as I could in that short time, I still couldn’t be completely sure of our success.

There’s that saying, “Man proposes, God disposes.”

In my case, the heavens were represented by Yoonseo.

So, I thought it all hinged on how well Yoonseo could perform the role entrusted to her.

“I’m so glad, really.”

If I had to part ways with Yoonseo after Bora, that would have hurt so much.

While I was inwardly relieved witnessing Yoonseo darting toward me, her little feet moving adorably, she suddenly exclaimed, “Dogun! I…! I don’t have to move…!”

In the blink of an eye, she reached me, her face shining with joy as she tried to say something, and immediately, I waved my hand to signal her.

If her intention was to express gratitude towards me, I believed it best to avoid doing so in front of the adults who were wide awake.

Fortunately, Yoonseo wasn’t the type to miss the hint; she promptly shut her mouth as if she had never intended to speak at all.

Though she seemed a bit antsy as if she had something to say, I could only listen to what had happened yesterday once we arrived at kindergarten.

“Is that so?”

“Yeah! Because you told me to do what you said…!”

She said that the adults had assured her there was no need to move, her face radiating with a smile as she shook her head up and down energetically.

Judging by her reaction, it seemed like what happened yesterday was an incredibly magical experience from a seven-year-old’s perspective.

To be honest, it was just as fascinating to me.

I had anticipated that if things went well, they might flow in a positive direction, but I never imagined they would turn out this well.

That thought made me feel a bit anxious.

“But in exchange, they said we have to study and take tests… Huh…”

“Well…”

I had the impulse to voice that it was only natural, but I kept it to myself.

“What if it’s hard…?”

“Don’t worry. I’ll help you as much as I can.”

“Really?”

“Yep.”

No matter how much Yoonseo wanted this, a kid only seven years old shouldn’t be left unattended after I had taken the initiative to intervene in her life this way.

Once a man puts his hand in, he should see it through no matter the outcome.

Of course, my help would be limited since talent and I had never been on friendly terms, but still, they say two heads are better than one.

Thanks to that, I unwittingly started a new routine of studying heroes and their ability development process while organizing the information so Yoonseo could understand it.

Considering the circumstances, I initially kept it a secret from Mom, but to cut to the chase, there was no need for that.

As I’ve mentioned several times, in this world, heroes are objects of admiration, and it’s quite common for a seven-year-old to be infatuated with heroes and dig deep into related content.

So when Mom first caught me indulging in this, she just accepted it as part of my childhood.

Actually, it seemed like she felt a bit of warmth, thinking finally, here was a seven-year-old acting like one—maybe that’s why she started bringing home various things for me.

To be honest, I was fine with that at first.

There were limits to acquiring information via online searches.

So I eagerly received everything Mom brought home related to heroes, but gradually, things started coming my way that were a bit more serious than I expected.

They weren’t exactly classified documents, but neither were they something a regular person could easily get their hands on.

“Now, remember to put it back in Mom’s room after you’re done, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah…”

Mom casually handed them over, making me wonder what her job really was.

Thinking back to what I had picked up while casually entering her study, it was clear she was researching something, but what exactly, I had no clue.

It felt a bit too bold to just ask outright, so I decided to leave it be.

I figured she’d tell me eventually.

In any case, with my mother’s unexpected cooperation, the secret private lessons dedicated to Yoonseo continued much longer than I anticipated.

Could you believe that something that started when I was seven stretched all the way to when she graduated elementary school?

Because of that, I gathered so much knowledge I could easily ace any quiz about heroes.

Honestly, though I might struggle in the adult division, I was quite confident in the high school level.

So, while I transitioned into full-on enjoyment mode as a hero enthusiast—or rather, a hero expert—what about my old rival from kindergarten to middle school, Yoonseo?

“Mmm, perfect.”

“Tch, isn’t that obvious?”

She was still maintaining her genius title.

Though she was a tad more unbearable than in her younger days, I realized everyone goes through that “middle schooler syndrome.”

Considering how other Awakened individuals often acted like they were alone in the world, she was rather tame by comparison.

Sure, her arms crossed and legs tilted might look a bit haughty, but she was actually asking for compliments, making her cuter in a way.

“Good, good! You must have practiced hard. Our Yoonseo is awesome!”

“…Ugh! Who asked you to pet my head?!”

With a reaction as sharp as a cat hissing, Yoonseo swatted my hand away from her head.

“Uh…”

Feeling the sting from the unexpected smack, I fell silent, watching as Yoonseo flinched and bit her lip, turning her head sharply to the side.

Naturally, that made the atmosphere incredibly awkward.

The one to break that awkward silence was, surprisingly, the very person who caused it.

“Umm… Does it hurt a lot?”

Perhaps she was worried that the sound of our hands clashing was much louder than she expected.

Her voice, almost a whisper, made me chuckle inwardly.

Of course, she had to be nice deep down.

“Hey… Does it hurt a lot?”

What was I supposed to do now?

I was hit, after all, so after a brief moment of thought, I decided to keep silent again.

That led to a rather amusing sight.

What was the best way to describe it?

A drenched cat?

“Th-then why do you keep touching my head…?!”

“…”

“…Are you angry?”

Honestly, I couldn’t hold back anymore.

Wasn’t it hilarious? She was flaring up one moment, then suddenly shrink like a drenched cat, completely at a loss. How was I to remain calm in that?

So, after stifling my laughter, I finally burst out, and Yoonseo, who was eyeing me with droopy eyes, looked utterly frustrated.

“…Die.”

“Wait! Hold on! Hey! Don’t spray me! I said don’t! Stop unnecessary power displays!!”

While dodging the droplets of water the size of fists that showered down like a fierce attack, I managed to avoid getting too drenched beyond changing my damp clothes.

“Alright, I think we’ve played enough, so shall we start today’s assignment, Miss Yoonseo?”

“What are you talking about, for real?”

“Ta-da! Today’s assignment is…!”

Ignoring her protest, I took something I had specially prepared today from the fridge and placed it in front of her.

The fresh pink layers marbled with glistening white fat revealed what it was—

“…Pork belly?”

“Yep, that’s right.”

Indeed, it was pork belly.

At the same time, it was also today’s opponent (?).

“I guess it’ll taste good.”

“Of course! I just bought it today.”

Honestly, if I just made a few cuts and sprinkled some salt on it, then popped it in the air fryer, it would cook beautifully.

The key was temperature control, but if done right, it’d be wonderfully crispy on the outside while remaining juicy on the inside—a perfect barbecue.

“And then, if you dip it in ssamjang and wrap it in refreshing pickled radish… Mmm!”

Just hearing about it might’ve made Yoonseo swallow hard.

Given she had just gotten out of school, it was still a bit early for dinner, but kids at that age get hungry in no time.

“How about it? Don’t you want to try it?”

Yoonseo nodded furiously, practically begging, so I gave her one simple order.

“You’re familiar with controlling water by now, right?”

“Hmm, of course! I’ve been doing it since I was seven.”

“Then you can extract whatever’s inside, right?”

My playful grin drew an immediate frown from Yoonseo.

Of course, she would frown at the suggestion.

Controlling the moisture in the air was second nature to her now, but it’d be a different story trying to extract water from a specific object like I asked.

“Why? Does it seem tough?”

“What are you talking about? I can do that with my eyes closed!”

“Is that so? Then I can just get ready to eat, right?”

“Uh, hmm…”

I turned my back on Yoonseo, who hesitated to give me a real answer, and retrieved some dishes from the cupboard.

“Huh? Why are you pulling out three?”

“Well, why wouldn’t we need more than just one?”

“Wait, is Auntie coming home today?”

“Not sure… She did say she was planning to, but you never know; things might get delayed like last time.”

It had been like this a few times since I started middle school nearly three years ago, so I no longer thought much of it.

She was busy, what could be done?

I felt fine, but maybe it didn’t look that way to others.

“Uh… By the way, aren’t you lonely being home alone every night?”

To be honest, yeah, staying home alone all the time could be a bit lonely.

But I didn’t think I would make a child like her worry, so I responded with a chuckle.

“What’s it to you? Are you planning to move in with us?”

I just joked around, but—

“Are you crazy?!”

Her explosive reaction seemed a bit too intense.

“What’s wrong? I was joking… Why are you reacting like that?”

“…”

“Uh… What? Why the extreme reaction? What kind of imagination did you have?”

Seriously, kids nowadays—

“Sigh, you little brat.”

“…What?!”

“That’s why you’re so short for your age.”

“You’re the one…! Always watching weird stuff on the computer!”

How did she know?

“Wait… Did you snoop around my computer while I was out?”

“…”

Did she? I was just joking, but her silence seemed like the answer.

 

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