If You're Going to Act Tough, See It Through to the End!
In our Miso Orphanage, the adult women who visit generally fall into one of three categories.
First, there are the prospective mothers who come looking for a child to adopt, fitting the nature of an orphanage.
Second, there are the believers who come every weekend for prayer or worship, given that our orphanage also serves as a church.
And finally, the third group consists of graduates who grew up here, returning as adults to reunite with the nuns or the director after a long time.
However, the woman in the suit who had visited this time didn't seem to fit into any of those categories.
She had red eyes, which was quite rare for an Asian person.
I knew it from the moment I first saw her.
This person... she’s different.
"Noona... do you know who that person is?"
"Well... I have no idea. But the other sisters said she’s a guest of the director."
"The director...?"
The director of our Miso Orphanage.
Whether it was a developmental issue or just her natural constitution, even at over seventy years old, she remained small and cute in appearance.
Perhaps because of that doll-like look, she found it hard to fit in with other grandmothers her age, and as a result, she had almost no friends.
That was an open secret among the children at our orphanage.
Of course, that was just my own speculation.
But in reality, the only people close to the director were those of us who grew up in the orphanage, like me or Hayeon Noona, and the nuns who worked with her.
And yet, a guest had come to visit such an 'outsider director'?
"This is... the first time, right?"
"Yeah... I never expected a guest to visit the director either."
Honestly, it didn't make sense for someone to have absolutely no friends. Even so, the woman in the suit I’d encountered earlier looked to be, at most, in her late twenties. Even being generous, she didn't look a day over her early thirties.
What on earth could their relationship be?
Our orphanage was a state-certified facility, rare in this gender-reversed world, that could even accommodate male orphans. We received some of the best environment and support in Seoul, so there were plenty of visitors.
There had been quite a few women who tried to adopt me, but they all failed due to a lack of qualifications.
Perhaps because of that, having stayed here until I became an adult, visitors weren't really a big deal. I usually just brushed it off as nothing special.
But.
That one sentence wouldn't leave my head.
That voice lingering in my ears.
Like a lifeline, it was the first time in this gender-reversed world—where men are treated as precious objects and kept from doing anything—that someone looked at me as a being with potential.
I didn't want to let it go.
Step, step.
"I'm so curious I can't stand it... I have to eavesdrop on the conversation in the director's office."
"W-wait?! No, Hyunwoo! That's... that's too rude!"
"What does it matter? Is there even such a thing as a 'well-mannered man' in this world anyway?"
"?! Well, I suppose that's true, but..."
Usually, I resented the world for letting men get away with everything just because they were men, but right now, I felt fortunate for it.
I carefully headed toward the director's office, and Hayeon Noona, unable to watch, reluctantly followed behind me.
Reaching the front of the office, I opened the door a crack and peered inside.
There, sitting across from each other at a table like they were in an adoption consultation, were two people.
One was our director.
And the other was the red-eyed woman in the suit, sitting with her legs crossed while drinking coffee.
"...! She's there."
She was currently chatting with a smile on her face in front of the petite director.
"Geez... isn't it a bit much to give me that look after I, your precious student, finally come to visit after all this time?"
"Ha! I fed you, clothed you, and even gave you the money to go to the land of opportunity, America. You come back after decades and complain about the cheap coffee—do you think I'd be happy to see you, you brat?"
Swish, swish!
Oh, there it is.
The director's signature cane-swinging when she's annoyed.
There was no physical impact, but the delivery of her emotions was unmistakable.
Instead of short arms, that cane felt like a tool that laid bare all her feelings.
And the red-eyed woman was dodging it with ease while tilting her coffee cup.
"Hey, don't be like that~. Instead, I'm giving this orphanage money every month as a token of my gratitude—enough that you couldn't spend it all in a lifetime~."
"Hmph! Our orphanage runs just fine without that, you brat."
"Hey~ you say that, but... haven't you been living quite comfortably because of it?"
"I knew you'd say that, so I donated all the money you gave me to charity organizations."
"W-what?! If you add up all the money I've given you so far, it would be at least 10 billion won!!"
The moment my jaw dropped upon hearing about the 10 billion won I hadn't known about.
Taking advantage of that opening, a cane strike to the crown of her head.
Bonk!
"Ouch, ouch, ouch..."
"Anyway, why did you suddenly come to Korea when you were working as a hero in America? I don't think your personality is the type to miss your hometown."
"Ah~ that's nothing special, it's just that the American Hero Association headquarters keeps pestering me to raise a sidekick~."
"A sidekick? You mean an assistant?"
"Yes! Damn it... they say 'sidekick,' but in reality, they're telling me to raise a disciple. But not a single one of them can keep up with my speed. Every time that happens, the Association nags me, telling me to lower my standards or whatever~."
Saying that, the red-eyed woman shuddered exaggeratedly, as if she were fed up.
"So I used going to my hometown as an excuse to run away for a bit~."
"Hmm... a hero affiliated with America, for such a trivial reason? Besides, can a big shot like you get away that easily?"
"Of course~. Even if they wanted to stop me, there's no one who can, right?"
"I suppose..."
Hearing that, the director let out a deep sigh.
"Fine, then rest well and please, just don't cause any trouble before you go back."
Having finished speaking, the director hopped off the sofa and began walking toward the door.
"?! The director is coming this way...?"
"You're right. Let's run away quickly."
Just as I was about to rush away to avoid being caught.
"Ah, come to think of it, Master. Were you raising another disciple besides me?"
"...What?"
The director's footsteps stopped.
In front of her, as she looked back, the red-eyed woman grinned, placed her empty coffee cup on her head, and said with a sly look.
"On my way in here... I saw something very interesting."
"Interesting...? ...You, by any chance, are you talking about Hyunwoo?"
"Aha, so that kid's name is Hyunwoo? It's a strong name, I like it. I quite liked that kid."
She mentioned me suddenly and laughed.
As that smile deepened, a chilling aura permeated the room.
"He... he was quite useful, wasn't he?"
"That is none of your concern."
"Eh? Why? You don't have to be so stiff. I just talked to him a little, and he seemed surprisingly interested in the hero profession? His eyes were just right—he's one of us."
"Even so, that kid is off-limits!"
The director, who had been shorter than me since I was in elementary school, now stood firmly, spreading her short arms wide as if protecting a grandchild.
Her face was filled with a mix of worry and affection.
I didn't know whether to be grateful or embarrassed... a mix of emotions swirled within me.
"No, why is someone who came to Korea because she didn't want to make a sidekick suddenly eyeing our kid?"
"Hmm~ let's see~. How should I put it... I just got a feeling? You know how it is in martial arts novels, right? True masters can just look into someone's eyes and get a sense that 'this one has potential'! I have that kind of intuition, you know~?"
"Even so, Hyunwoo is the exception."
"Geez! He looks like a full-grown adult... why don't you let me take him on for a job experience? If you keep protecting him like that, how is the kid supposed to learn about the world?"
At those words, the director's gaze wavered slightly.
A short breath escaped her. The red-eyed woman didn't miss that opening.
"Master, you used to say that too. 'A bird in a cage does not know the sky outside the cage.'"
"That was..."
"That's what you told me before I went to America. So now, I'm returning those words to you."
The director's eyebrows twitched for a moment.
She couldn't continue her sentence, her lips just trembling.
"Back then, I thought I had wings on my back when I heard those words. I was terrified, but I felt like I could fly. So I flew... and that's how I got here."
She set the coffee cup down on the table.
A small, clinking sound. That resonance lingered in the room.
"But Master, aren't you becoming the very thing you hated so much—that 'old person stuck in a corner ignoring the young ones'?"
"......"
"I'm sorry. Was that a bit harsh? But I'm serious."
The red-eyed woman met her eyes.
There was no more playfulness or slyness. Those eyes were the eyes of a warrior filled with conviction.
A burning belief, an unyielding gaze.
She took a breath and added one more thing.
"Just let me take that kid on, just once. If I feel like it's not a good fit, I'll have him come right back. But just saying 'no' like you are now... Master, that's not like you anymore."
The room fell silent for a moment.
In that silence, the director slowly closed her eyes.
And soon, she let out a very small sigh.
It was the sound of an old stubbornness breaking.
However.
"I'll try getting along with him like an older sister and younger brother~. If it doesn't work out, we'll just part ways then."
"...Older sister and younger brother?"
The director, who had been listening carefully, tilted her head.
"'Baek Seungha,' what are you suddenly talking about? Older sister and younger brother. It would be 'older sister and younger brother' (Noona-Dongsaeng)."
"...Eh?"
"Huh?"
"...Uh?"
What is this conversation?
It sounds as if she had been mistaking me for a 'girl' this whole time.
"Haha, Master~ what are you talking about? Older sister and younger brother. Anyone would think that muscular kid was actually a man~."
"He is a man."
"...Yes?"
"Hyunwoo, he is a man."
"......?!?!?!?!?!"
In that instant. The expression of the confident red-eyed woman froze for the first time.
And soon...
"......Retract that last statement. I'll just take my vacation and go back."
"W-wait a second!!"
To think that someone who was delivering such great lines just a moment ago would suddenly try to back out!
To reconnect the lifeline that was about to snap, I opened the door to the director's office and burst right in.