As Much as One Serving of Tteokbokki
As Much as One Serving of Tteokbokki
Tok.. tok..
I tapped the table at regular intervals.
The cold air radiating from my body, as if representing my mood, grew denser with every tap on the table, making the room even chillier.
And despite the room temperature being no different from a freezer, the man sitting across from me was flustered, sweating cold sweat.
"Um...."
"Hmph...!"
"...I have nothing to say, Sia-yang. I will say it again, I am truly sorry."
"You can discuss that with my lawyer when they arrive."
"P-please, anything but that..."
"That's your problem, and do I really need to cut you any slack? I went through the trouble of defeating the terrorist who attacked the school, only to be treated like a criminal. Since when did the Hunter Association start acting so brainless?"
"That...! We were dispatched without knowing the exact situation, and anyone would have misunderstood if they saw that scene upon arrival..."
"Then you can have that conversation with my lawyer."
"Guhhh... haa."
Perhaps due to the shame of being out-argued by an 11-year-old, the man couldn't say anything and backed away.
An interrogator's job is to deal with criminals; what could he possibly do against an 11-year-old kid?
Besides, the moral high ground is entirely on my side.
What? You couldn't even prevent the terror attack at the elementary school beforehand, and then you almost attacked the elementary student who stopped the terror attack, thinking she was a criminal?
Just imagine if this hits the media.
It would be covered as a breaking news story on the 7 o'clock news that very day, and the Hunter Association's reputation wouldn't just hit rock bottom; it would drill all the way down to the Earth's inner core.
Boo~ trash.
Just then, the door opened, and a female staff member in a suit entered and said,
"Um... Han Sia-yang, your guardians have arrived."
"That's enough. You can have the rest of this conversation with my father."
"Ah, please...."
"Hmph!"
I walked out of the interrogation room through the open door and tugged on the hem of the staff member who had come to inform me of my parents' arrival.
"Now, please lead the way."
"Guh...."
The female staff member was looking back and forth between me and the interrogator, unable to do anything.
Heh, is that how you want to play it?
The more time you waste, the less likely it is that I'll say anything nice when I meet my father.
"Are you going to stop me from meeting my father now? Fine, let's see just how far I can go..."
"Right now! What are you doing, take her there immediately?!"
"Y-yes! Understood!"
The female staff member hurriedly lifted me up, held me in her arms, and ran somewhere.
I think she was wearing high heels, but there wasn't even a slight wobble.
She's quite talented.
The place we arrived at while I was in the staff member's arms wasn't the interrogation room I had been in, but a reception room that clearly looked like it had some money spent on it.
And inside, my father and mother were waiting with serious expressions, not even sitting on the sofa.
"Sia!"
Seeing me enter the room in the staff member's arms, my mother flew over and snatched me from the staff member's arms.
"Are you hurt anywhere? Are you in pain? No, I have to check for myself. Stay still!"
"M-mother. I'm really fine, so p-please stop...!"
Kyaaaa!!
I almost let out a girlish scream at my mother's devoted touch as she shoved her hands inside my clothes, feeling around everywhere to check on me.
My face was burning; it's been so long since I've felt this embarrassed.
Seriously, I had just finished acting sharp and charismatic while turning the tables on the interrogator, but my mother ruined it all.
Look over there, even the Association staff member is staring at us with a blank expression.
My mother felt around my body for a long while before finally letting me go after confirming there wasn't a single scratch.
"Phew... do you know how shocked I was when I heard that not only was your school involved in a terror attack, but you had been taken by the Association?"
"...I'm sorry. But it's not like I wanted to get involved."
"That's true, but.... Anyway, your mom, and your dad, were really worried."
My mother, seemingly calmed down at last, calmly embraced me.
M-my breath...!
Unlike my young self, my mother boasted an hourglass figure with curves in all the right places; her embrace was cozy, but I was suffocating to the point where I thought I might fall into the Eight Cold Hells if I stayed like this.
Still, since I had worried her, I endured it as much as I could before tapping her shoulder like a tap-out.
Tap.. taptap!
"Honey. Let's stop there."
"Ah! Sia. Sia? Oh my, breathe!"
"Phew! Hek... I almost died."
"Mommy is sorry?"
"It's okay...."
Hua- hua-
After catching my breath and calming my heart, which had almost gone to heaven and back, I shifted my gaze to my father, who had been standing there waiting quietly.
A muscular body that looked well over 190cm.
My mother is easily over 170cm too, but compared to my father, she just looks infinitely small.
I had aimed for 180cm while looking at that body.
With a 170cm mother and a 190cm father, isn't 180cm a reasonable average to aim for?
But my dream was shattered the moment I awakened.
Now my height will stay at 144cm forever.
Kuh...!
Thinking of my dream, shattered into pieces without a trace, anger toward the Hunter Association and the terrorists surged again.
To think they would shake up my heart, which remained calm even after killing a person.
You're amazing, Hunter Association... I will never forgive you!
I slipped out of my mother's arms and approached my father.
As you can tell just by looking at the school that the children of high-ranking people attend, my father also belonged to the high-ranking people who wouldn't lose out to anyone.
And he was a combat executive belonging to the Changgung Guild, one of the top 5 guilds in South Korea.
I trotted up to my father and tilted my head back to look up at him.
My father's face looked like the embodiment of strict, stern, and serious—to the point where I wondered how on earth he married my mother.
I unleashed my hidden special move toward my father, who looked furious even while standing still, as if something didn't please him.
"Papa~♥"
Grin-
0.1 seconds.
It was just a fleeting moment, not even enough to call it the blink of an eye, but my father's face softened, his philtrum stretched, and then returned to normal.
"Daughter."
"Papa, I almost died, and just before I died, I barely awakened my power and—zap!—defeated the villains, but then the hunters who arrived after it was all over tried to stab me with their weapons, and they forcibly dragged me here, locked me in a dark place, and while waiting for Papa and Mama, they kept asking me things and getting angry at me."
Kuh, just kill me....
Do I really have to go this far? My memories of my past life were twisting in shame, but when I think of my dream that collapsed in an instant, this much is worth the cost.
To put the final period on it, I spread my arms and hugged my father's waist, hanging onto him.
And as I turned my head slightly, I could see the face of the Association staff member turning whiter and whiter.
Hoo, the crime of crushing my dream, the crime of trying to attack me, the crime of making me, at this age (11), act cute—take your punishment.
As I stood there hugging my father, a large hand soon came up over my head and stroked my hair, which had turned white.
Stroke stroke-
"I'll handle what comes next, 'Papa' will take care of it. Go back home with Mom."
"Okay."
I glanced up at my father's face as he spoke as if to say 'leave it to me,' and his already fierce face was twisted in a way that would make a demon look tame.
Hmm, this is level 4 anger....
There was a very slight exaggeration, but I didn't lie, so it should be fine.
After silently praying for the repose of the Hunter Association, I took my mother's hand and walked out of the room.
The Association staff member tried to reach out as if to stop me from leaving since the investigation wasn't over yet, but he collapsed onto the floor like a pancake, as if crushed by something.
Too bad. That woman didn't really do anything wrong, though.
But what can you do.
She should have chosen her superiors better.
As I slipped out of the Association holding my mother's hand, a familiar driver was waiting.
"You're here, Miss."
"Hyuntae-ajusshi, you came yourself?"
"It is a matter that warrants it."
Hyuntae-ajusshi, who works as my father's secretary and attendant.
I see him from time to time, and he's a person who feels very thorough about separating public and private matters.
Usually, I meet him after work, so he feels more like an uncle than a secretary, but maybe because he's still on duty, he's giving off a strong secretary vibe, unlike usual.
"I will take you home."
I got into the vehicle and headed home in the car driven by Hyuntae-ajusshi.
I stared intently at the Hunter Association as it got further and further away until it was out of sight, and my mother tapped my shoulder and asked.
"Shall we have tteokbokki with Mom when we get home?"
"...How spicy?"
"Level 5."
"!!"
Level 5 boasts a spiciness on par with Nuclear Fire Noodles.
I never expected my mother, who usually doesn't let me eat spicy food because it's bad for my stomach, to call for Level 5.
Did I look that angry?
It's a misunderstanding that isn't really a misunderstanding, but since I get to eat spicy tteokbokki, maybe I'll forgive them a little.
"Oh my, you look happy."
"Hmph! It's not like I was ever in a bad mood?"
"Is that so? Then I guess I can confiscate the tteokbokki?"
"What? No, you can't!"
Perhaps because I became a young girl after reincarnation, tteokbokki became my favorite food, and I headed home while bickering with my mother, who was trying to take it away right in front of me.
And only after we arrived did I feel even better at the news that I didn't have to go to school tomorrow, and I entered the house with a light step.
Hmm, those terrorists.
Maybe they were good guys after all?