A Complicated Day
'Hana… Hana has boyfriends… two of them…'
Two boyfriends on her very first day of kindergarten.
It felt like the world was crumbling around him.
Was this what it felt like to be a father, being introduced to some random kid as his daughter's boyfriend? He couldn't focus on anything else.
Clang—!!
Just like right now.
"Is something actually wrong? Why are you acting so off today?"
Ryu Se-rin lowered her sword, asking what was going on as she always did during their sparring sessions.
Probably because he wasn't putting his full effort into the spar, wasn't concentrating like usual.
"…Nothing."
"That's the fifth time you've said that. What's actually going on with you?"
As Ryu Se-rin said, this wasn't the first time she'd asked him what was wrong.
This was the fifth time. The current spar was the fifth restart.
Of course the reason the sparring kept getting interrupted was entirely his fault.
For Ryu Se-rin, sparring with him was her last remaining hope.
The only hope she had to kill Persona, the enemy who destroyed her family.
Naturally, Ryu Se-rin found this situation grating—she couldn't help it, given how precious that hope was to her.
He could ask her to just ignore it and keep going, but that wasn't going to work.
He was the one in an abnormal state. Ryu Se-rin was undeniably a Highest-rank powerhouse.
Every slight movement and flicker of emotion showed to her with perfect clarity, and it had to grate on her.
He knew that too. At first, he'd considered just telling her one thing, asking for advice instead of bottling it up alone—but he'd given up on that idea.
'Fuck, how am I supposed to say that.'
How was he supposed to tell Ryu Se-rin that his daughter had picked up two boyfriends on her first day of kindergarten and he didn't know how to deal with it?
It was unmanly, and it would make him look like he was obsessing over his daughter.
"Is something wrong? Why do you look like the world's ending?"
It wasn't just Ryu Se-rin who'd noticed his state.
After sparring with Ryu Se-rin ended, he'd gone to find Imir—and Imir had said the exact same thing.
"Just get it done and stop worrying about me."
"You crazy bastard. I don't know what's going on, but you just go die somewhere. Fuck."
Imir was handling the favor he'd asked for, waving him off with a dismissive gesture, but there was nothing he could do about it. He could tell anyone else, but Imir was the one person he absolutely couldn't tell.
He'd already done so many things to Imir over the years, and he knew Imir's personality well enough to know that if Imir found out about this, he'd make fun of him about it for the rest of his life.
What was the problem with being made fun of?
Right. Normally, ordinary teasing was something he could laugh off.
But Imir's behavior was so far from ordinary that it didn't just stray from normal—it drove normality into the ground and buried it.
He knew that all too well, because he'd been on the receiving end of it himself.
"Is someone hurting the Hero?"
Then Nabi, who now lived with Imir, had asked if someone was harming him, her face twisted like she was about to kill someone.
At least if someone was actually hurting him, he wouldn't be so bothered.
"Tch. That's not it, so shut up."
"Ah… yes… I'm sorry."
Nabi slumped and was about to back away at Cheon Seong's words, but Imir, who had been typing on his keyboard, spun his chair around, crossed his legs, and glared at Cheon Seong with irritation.
"Hey, why are you taking your anger out on her and making me feel annoyed too? What's actually going on? Just tell me. I'll fix it."
"…You, covering for someone? That's surprising."
Click!
"Fuck, you psycho. Your roommate is offering to help you and you're telling her to shut up? You'd better leave me alone. You psycho bastard."
At Cheon Seong's words, Imir's jaw clenched and he unleashed a torrent of curses at him. Not satisfied with that, he stopped working on the favor he'd been asked and stood up, kicking his legs out and shouting at Cheon Seong.
"Fuck, I'm already working myself to death for you, pushing my research aside and pulling all-nighters, and you're making it even worse! You think I'm just gonna keep taking your shit because I've been nice so far?!"
"M… Mr. Imir, I'm fine. You don't need to say such things to the Hero…"
"Nabi, you shut up too! Stop just taking all of this bastard's behavior! Show some dissatisfaction!"
Imir's voice echoed through the research lab as he continued to scold Nabi, who had tried to calm down the genuinely angry Imir.
"Haa… haa… Hey, if you're not gonna apologize to Nabi, get out of my lab. No, get out of my sight. I can tolerate all your other shitty behavior, but I can't stand this."
Pointing at the door, breathing heavily with a flushed face, Imir told Nabi he had to apologize or disappear from his sight. Cheon Seong silently looked at Nabi and bowed his head.
"I'm sorry, Nabi. I was too harsh."
"Ah… no, Hero. Please look up. I'm fine."
Nabi flustered, insisting she was okay and asking him to look up, but Cheon Seong didn't lift his head.
Because he had clearly crossed Imir's line.
Why was he making such a fuss over just a roommate?
Because what was nothing to others meant something to Imir.
Everything had different value to different people.
Something that meant nothing to one person could be more precious than their life to another—and vice versa.
This was no different.
He knew well that what others considered ordinary was precious to Imir.
Before his regression, he'd watched it from the closest possible vantage point, right beside Imir. And now, he understood just as well as Imir did how precious something ordinary could be.
And yet, knowing all that, he had trampled on Imir's treasure just because he couldn't concentrate over some kindergarten issue.
Was he overreacting?
No. There was no way.
If someone else had done to him what he'd done to Imir, he would have been so furious his eyes would go blind, and he would have killed that person in excruciating pain—and then killed their entire family too. Could anyone call that an exaggeration?
He couldn't understand why Imir was letting it go with just a bow and an apology.
If it had been him, he would have at least broken one of Imir's arms.
But at the same time, he understood.
He understood Imir's act of forgiving him.
"Tch! Be careful next time. No matter who you are, I won't tolerate it twice."
Imir clicked his tongue at the sight of Cheon Seong still stubbornly keeping his head bowed despite Nabi's repeated assurances that she was fine. He drove the point home firmly that there would be no second time, then turned his chair around and resumed working on Cheon Seong's favor.
The sound of keyboard typing echoed through the room, but Cheon Seong couldn't bring himself to lift his head for a long while.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Alright, I'll be going. I'm really sorry about today."
Cheon Seong finally left, still keeping his head bowed.
Click, clack-clack-clack, click, clack.
After Cheon Seong left, only the sound of Imir's keyboard remained in the research lab.
Clack-clack, click… clack.
"Phew… fuck, that was seriously terrifying."
"…Huh? What do you mean…"
Imir spoke first.
At Imir's words about being scared, Nabi asked what he meant, and Imir wiped the cold sweat from his forehead as he explained.
"Losing my temper at that Lee Cheon-seong bastard? Honestly, I didn't think about the consequences. If that guy had gone berserk back then, we'd both be dead."
"Ah… well, if it's the Hero, I suppose that makes sense."
It was true. If Cheon Seong had attacked them at Imir's words back then, the two of them would have been unable to resist and would have died without a fight.
They might have been able to put up a little resistance, but not even for a full minute.
What was even more shocking was that, in Imir's view, the strength Cheon Seong had shown wasn't even the end of it.
Hearing that, Nabi asked Imir a question.
"Is the Hero really that strong?"
"Yeah, he's disgustingly strong—but that's not the end, which is what makes him scary."
And Nabi could only feel awe at Imir's words.
"He's amazing… I can't tell no matter how much I look at the Hero…"
Though she appeared frail on the outside, Nabi was undeniably the only successful immortal created by VC Pharmaceuticals, a Upper-rank powerhouse whose instincts from countless experiments allowed her to sense an opponent's strength. Yet from Cheon Seong, she could feel nothing at all—strangely, completely nothing.
It was like a tank of water where black ink had fallen and mixed in.
It was strange that Imir, who was clearly weaker than her, could grasp Cheon Seong's strength better than she could. At her question, Imir thought for a moment before answering.
"…It's fine to tell you. The truth is, my eyes are a little special compared to other people's. So I can see what that guy is like pretty well."
It might not be visible to others, but in Imir's two eyes, it was shown with perfect clarity.
Cheon Seong's strength. His life.
The glittering stars visible between the murky darkness. The five lights that made those stars shine even brighter.
The pure white stars falling from the sky.
And the single strand of light that stopped those stars from falling.
It was so vivid, so detailed, as if he were seeing it right before his eyes.
To the point where it felt like a curse to Imir.
The day passed quickly, and the next morning arrived.
"…It feels wrong to go empty-handed."
Cheon Seong, who had been about to go to Imir's, remembered yesterday's events and felt uneasy about going without anything. He headed toward the first place that came to mind.
Not many things came to mind right away, so he picked the one with the highest value, gathered it, and made his way to Imir's research lab.
"You're here. The thing you asked for will take a bit longer, so sit anywhere and wait."
At Imir's words, telling him to wait while he typed, Cheon Seong set up a scattered barrel nearby, sat on top of it, and waited silently for Imir.
"Ah, the Hero is here. Please wait a moment. I'll bring you some tea."
"I don't nee—"
Thud! Clack-clack!!
"…I'll take it."
"Ah, yes! Please wait a moment."
Cheon Seong had been about to refuse the offer of tea, but at the sound of Imir typing forcefully on his keyboard—as if giving him a signal—he said he'd take it. Nabi, pleased that he hadn't refused, happily brought the tea.
"Here you go, Hero."
"I'll drink it well."
Cheon Seong took a sip of the tea Nabi handed him, which looked like black tea, and couldn't suppress his shock.
Not the good kind.
'What is this…? It looks like black tea, but it's not black tea.'
The color was red, so anyone would think it was black tea—but the taste he felt was bitter, sour, astringent, and even spicy. Every flavor was there.
It was like black tea mixed with ginger, lemon, and everything else.
He barely managed to hold back from spitting it out.
Because if he drank the tea Nabi had brought and then spat it out, Imir would say something.
"How is it, Hero? Is the tea okay?"
At Nabi's question, her eyes shining brightly as she asked if the tea was fine, he barely swallowed the tea in his mouth, forced a smile onto his face, and nodded.
"It's… fine. Thank you."
"What, you really think that's okay?"
But it wasn't Nabi who reacted to his answer—it was Imir, who had been working on the favor he'd asked for.
Imir stood up abruptly from his chair, snatched the tea from Cheon Seong, and brought it to his lips. He took a small sip, then immediately pulled away and spat the tea out of his mouth.
"Ptoo! What is this? It's the same as usual? Hey, is there something wrong with your taste buds? You really think this is okay?"
Imir forced his mouth open and inspected the inside, asking why he was acting like that when there was nothing wrong. When Cheon Seong asked if Imir had told him to drink it, Imir looked puzzled, as if he'd never said that. Cheon Seong then mentioned how Imir had typed forcefully on the keyboard earlier.
"That was just because the keyboard wasn't recognizing my keystrokes, so I hit it three times?"
But Imir hadn't been giving him a signal.
It was true that Imir hadn't stopped Nabi from pranking him, but he hadn't been signaling him not to refuse. Cheon Seong had drunk Nabi's tea without realizing that.
When he asked if the tea was always like this, Imir said it wasn't black tea or any other special tea—it was just ordinary green tea.
What had Nabi done when brewing the tea that made it red, astringent, sour, bitter, and spicy?
"Haa… Nabi, don't make anything from now on."
"Unfortunately, that's not possible."
Even when he told Nabi not to make anything, Imir stopped him, saying no.
The reason was that her skills would eventually improve, and cooking was the only hobby Nabi had lately, so it couldn't be stopped.
In the end, Cheon Seong couldn't stop Nabi from cooking. And when Imir said that if he'd accepted the tea once, he had to drink it all somehow, he erased his sense of taste and poured the tea into his mouth.
But it was as if some kind of magic had been cast on the tea—even with his taste erased, he could still feel the tea's flavor completely.
In the end, he spat out a little of the tea. And when he spat it out, he caught Imir's warning glance and barely managed to swallow it.
Watching Cheon Seong gasping for breath, Imir clutched his stomach and laughed, "Hahaha," while Nabi covered her face with her hands, not knowing what to do at the sight of Cheon Seong struggling with her tea.
Imir's laughter continued until the work was finished, and the astringent, bitter, sour, and spicy taste of the tea lingered on Cheon Seong's tongue, refusing to disappear until the favor he'd asked Imir for was complete.