Crack #009
[1] Crack #009 — October 3, 2036, 26:41. Lim Hana, born in Sariwon Gwangyeoksi, could truly be said to have lived a happy life. Thanks to being born into an upper-middle-class hunter family, she had never known hunger. She didn't understand what it meant to be unloved by her parents. Nor did she truly comprehend extreme fatigue or insufficient education. To her, the world was like a garden prepared for a happy life — a place where anything she wanted could be obtained, and anything she attempted could be achieved.
Of course, this world was one where monsters crawled out of Dungeon Gates and all sorts of things happened beyond the World Gates. It was dangerous, yet the heavens seemed to favor her, gifting her an interesting talent.
"Honey! Honey! Our child is using magic!"
"Ha, haha!"
Perhaps because she took after her parents, she had shown remarkable talent for magic since childhood. Mana capacity, mana efficiency, magical power, magical application — there was nothing to criticize. If she grew properly, becoming a mid-to-upper-tier hunter would be a given. That was why her parents paid even more attention to her education. From kindergarten onward, instead of relying on external means like academies or tutors, they personally taught her at her level.
"Hana, here — one ice cube, tap!"
"One ice cube, tap! Hehe!"
"Uwaaang! Why can big sister do it but I can't?"
Of course, there was also her two-year-younger sister, full of complaints and chatter. Time passed like that, one year after another.
"Oh, hello? What's your name?"
"My name? Lim Hana!"
Around the age of seven, a child moved in next door. His name was Kang Sian, the same age as her. They even attended the same kindergarten, so the two quickly became close. While Lim Hana had many people she could call friends, it was the first time she had made a truly close friend.
"Hehe! Sian, your ears are weird!"
"Hana, could you stop pulling on my ears?"
Kang Sian accepted everything about Lim Hana. Sometimes he would even tell her what the right path was. He was as good a presence as her parents, and someone she could rely on.
"I didn't expect America to raise interest rates at a time like this. This is bad."
"Interest...? Sian, is something really wrong?"
"Hana? No, it's nothing."
"???"
Still, even to young Lim Hana, Kang Sian didn't seem like a particularly happy person. Both of his hunter parents had passed away, so he was raised by his aunt. Unlike her, he possessed not a single speck of magical talent. Once, wanting to see him use magic, she tried her hardest to teach him.
"......"
"......Snowflakes?"
All that came out of his palm were a few snowflakes. It was deeply regrettable. Yet regardless of regret, time did not stop. In the blink of an eye, the two entered elementary school.
Lim Hana attended elementary school just as she had kindergarten. Or rather, she almost did.
"S-Siaaan......"
It happened just before vacation. Cheon Mari and Kang Sian had fought, and in the end, Kang Sian lost with a broken arm. That was the first time Lim Hana felt true despair. The despair of seeing her close, beloved friend reduced to such a miserable state.
"Who, who beat Sian up like this......"
"Hitting people recklessly is what villains do!"
"I'll definitely learn this much magic! I'll definitely protect Sian!"
And from that moment on, she resolved to protect Kang Sian. He was precarious and weak.
'I'll definitely get revenge for you!'
But there was one unfortunate fact. No matter how firmly she resolved, nothing changed. Even afterward, Cheon Mari and Kang Sian fought every time they met. They fought in the hallway, fought when she visited another classroom, fought on the way to school, fought during the sports day race, fought on random days, fought after going to a PC bang together. They were mortal enemies, natural adversaries. Their relationship seemed like it would only end when one of them died.
As a result, by the time school ended, the two would routinely turn into ragtag messes. In fact, fighting while already looking like ragtag messes had also become routine.
"Kyaaaaak! You dog-like bastard!"
"Kyaaaaak! You dog-like bitch!"
A battle between a prideful regressor and a transmigrator. Because they looked like that, the teachers tried many methods to separate them. The problem was that trying to separate kids who fought for no reason was a poor solution. Everything was futile, and the same pattern repeated endlessly. Eventually, they even called in both guardians and suggested transferring schools, but since both sides refused, it became the school's headache.
"Hey, do you think Mari and Sian will fight today?"
"Who knows? Hard to say."
"They probably will. I'm betting 2,000 won that they'll fight during break after 3rd period."
"3,000 won on them fighting after lunch."
"I don't think it'll be today. Maybe tomorrow. Or not."
At the same time, they became the school's celebrities. They fought so much that there wasn't a single person who didn't know about them. Some kids even whispered that they must like each other.
"Ah......"
Lim Hana sighed. To think that her friend, whom she walked to and from school with every day and played with on weekends, was being treated like this. As the calendar pages turned and her head grew hotter, her anger only increased. To end this, she — the capable one — would have to carry out the revenge herself. But she lacked confidence, and she couldn't trust her own strength. Moreover, that vicious villainess was so toxic that she didn't even have a single friend. The words "crazy witch" suited her perfectly, and Lim Hana worried that provoking her might lead to something terrible.
'Later...... I'll definitely...... get revenge......'
The vagueness turned into fear. In the end, even as her close friend stood by and watched, the fights continued.
"Guwol Hunter Academy, taught by A-rank hunter and genius mage Seo A-yeon! Elementary, middle, and high school divisions now recruiting!"
"Hunter...... academy?"
Then one day, Lim Hana encountered something that would become a turning point in her life.
"Mom! Dad! Send me here!"
A single flyer she received while walking down the street. She showed her parents the promotional material for the newly opened hunter academy.
"Hunter academy? The director is a mage?"
"Oh my, isn't that the new academy that just opened near the intersection?"
"I heard from a colleague that these kinds of academies are usually not very good......"
Her parents initially opposed it. They thought it would be fine to just continue teaching her themselves and follow the school curriculum. They'd heard hunter academies were full of violent, low-quality kids. Besides, her current friend Kang Sian seemed like a genuinely upright child. Did they really need to allow this? It was a reasonable judgment, a wise judgment. But no matter how good the judgment, they were still parents. They couldn't ignore their child's earnest request.
"I didn't expect even Teacher Hana to recommend it......"
"They said the academy will pick her up at 9. I'll adjust my schedule accordingly."
"We can reduce the money going into savings for the tuition, right?"
"Yeah. If it really doesn't work out, I'll just earn a bit more."
Thus began her time at the hunter academy. It was a continuous stream of sights she'd never seen before and new people. At first, it was unfamiliar and frightening. She didn't know what would happen there, what she would learn, or what the people learning alongside her would do. It was pervasive hostility, but also a natural instinct for a young child.
Lim Hana kept reminding herself of what she had to do and endured as best she could.
'The evil villainess...... the wicked witch...... I have to protect him.'
However, as time passed, she gradually grew accustomed to it. Conversely, she began to wonder if this was really something she needed to endure, and whether she should reaffirm her resolve. Whether it was fortunate or tragic, learning magic at the academy and getting along with people was slowly becoming fun.
"Wow! That's amazing! What's your name?"
"Hana, let's get along from now on!"
"Can you give me your phone number?"
"Yeah, yeah!"
Revenge, the future she should be looking toward, her dreams, the things that must be accomplished, the goals she must achieve — her resolve, which had been like letters written on glass, was slowly being washed away. It was selfish, but at the same time, it was a mindset and behavior befitting her age. She invested a large portion of her 24-hour day — no, now 30-hour day — into things related to the academy.
"Guys, let's go together—"
"Huh? Hana!"
Naturally, the time she spent with Kang Sian also subtly decreased. Sometimes she broke promises, and sometimes she openly showed irritation. But Kang Sian accepted everything generously.
By the time the second semester of fourth grade arrived, she saw them fighting much less often. She didn't know if it was because she had grown neglectful or because Kang Sian fought less. Even though her interest had practically decreased, in her heart he was still her "close friend," so she continued to treat him as usual. Therefore, she believed these days would continue.
"It's getting dark. Eat dinner before you go. It's not like one more person will make a difference anyway."
"Oh, really?"
But that was just her misconception. Watching Cheon Mari enter Kang Sian's house, she couldn't help but mutter to herself.
"Sian, why on earth......?"
The sight of their relationship looking so intimate was a shock in itself. She had thought coexistence with the villainess could never happen, yet it was unfolding right before her eyes. Moreover, it was Kang Sian himself who had labeled Cheon Mari as a bad person. It was something that shouldn't exist, something that must not exist. A sense of betrayal like being struck with a hammer. That evening felt unbearably long.
And the next day, Lim Hana heard a certain rumor circulating at school.
"No, get this — Kang Sian and Cheon Mari......"
"Whoa, that's insane. They won by fighting?"
"That's why even the sixth graders are so scared. They're worried those two might beat them up."
"I heard someone got hit with a broom by Cheon Mari after acting cocky toward Kang Sian."
"Who beat up whom?"
Suspicious stories mentioning both their names. Lim Hana asked questions, and was shocked once again by the story that defied common sense.