Don't Bully Daddy!
Don't Bully Daddy!
After wrapping things up and returning to Siyoram.
The Siyoram Gate Terminal was packed with people.
"Look at this crowd. If the building were any smaller, we couldn't have even gotten in."
On the way out after finishing the return procedures, Hong Yeon-hwa glanced back at the bustling interior with an exasperated look.
"It's not just us. Everyone's coming back around now, that's all."
Beside her, Baek A-rin walked along and shrugged, saying it was nothing unusual.
"Once the semester starts, it's hard to spend much time outside, right? Plenty of students probably took the chance to stay out as long as they could."
Some cadets stayed at Siyoram during the break, but since it's difficult to leave campus for extended time during the semester, a fair number had gone off-island.
Hong Yeon-hwa finished the procedures and stepped out of the teeming building.
Only then did the blue sky open up, dotted with fluffy white clouds drifting like cotton balls.
"Phew..."
She drew a deep breath, filling her lungs with crisp, invigorating air.
Though this spot wasn't even on the island's outskirts, a hint of salty sea breeze occasionally brushed the tip of her nose.
It wasn't a fragrance she particularly liked, but right now even that felt surprisingly welcome.
The land of China.
Not a demon realm, but no longer normal territory either.
Dungeons had rampaged to the point of breaking through the barrier walls, and many zones had assimilated with this world.
Above all, vast stretches had been saturated with the Twin-headed Poison Dragon's venom, giving off a foul stench.
Not quite unbearable, but enough to sour your mood.
So taking in this scenery and this sensation now lifted her spirits considerably.
After that brief moment to reset her mood, Hong Yeon-hwa continued on.
"Eriel, go drop off the luggage at the dormitory."
"Yes, understood."
Behind her as she strode ahead, Eriel, who had followed steadily like a shadow, inclined her head.
Eriel had accompanied them on this trip to China as well.
In hindsight, that was only natural.
Eriel was a hunter who had once held a top-grade license.
Since she also had a knack for tracking, she'd come along to help search for the missing Lee Ha-yul.
Fortunately, Lee Ha-yul had been rescued quickly and was now staying at Siyoram.
That matter remained a topic of conversation even now.
The Twin-headed Poison Dragon, which had nearly reenacted the nightmares of the past, and Lee Ha-yul, who had severed that nightmare's head before the damage could spread.
Attention and fame followed, and suspicion arose too—news that Lee Ha-yul, already caught up in the Sipnaha Incident, had been swept into yet another affair... but the Association's surgical crackdown made everyone who'd been poking their heads in pull them right back out.
"Still, it's a shame."
"What is?"
"I would have liked to see the young master's youthful appearance with my own eyes as well."
Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes twitched faintly.
"Truly astonishing news. Bodily regression. I've never heard of such a case... Could it be a branch of Total Body Transformation?"
"... Is now the only chance? You can see him later."
"I see. A splendid answer indeed."
Eriel brought her hands together with an expressionless face.
"My own desire is at a level I can sufficiently endure. I shall suppress this desire and eagerly await the next opportunity, so please, young miss—go resolve your desire with haste."
"Hey, that phrasing is weird."
"Ah. My apologies."
Eriel retorted in that peculiar tone, then smoothly gathered the luggage and split off.
Truly a brazen display.
Hong Yeon-hwa shook her head as if dumbfounded but said nothing further.
When Lee Ha-yul had gone missing, Hong Yeon-hwa had been beside herself. She hadn't been able to see her surroundings.
She'd snapped and snarled at those around her in every way imaginable, and the one who'd taken the brunt of it was none other than Eriel.
If you thought about it, it was Hong Yeon-hwa's own karmic debt.
.
.
.
After picking up her pace, she had nearly reached her destination.
Her destination was Lee Ha-yul's dormitory.
- Is it true it applies even outside the blessing? The growth numbers are ambiguous, so I'm confused.
- If even with the blessing the results are ambiguous, then that's surprising in its own way...
- You son of a bitch.
It had been the same outside, and the dormitory too was full of people—or more precisely, cadets who had returned to Siyoram.
The lobby was packed and the way was crowded, but the moment Hong Yeon-hwa stepped through the entrance, the path cleared on its own.
Lately, thanks to the softer, less guarded side she often showed around Lee Ha-yul, things had settled a bit, but the violent rumors surrounding Hong Yeon-hwa still lingered.
She took the elevator and pressed the floor number.
The doors soon closed, and a floating sensation followed.
Hong Yeon-hwa glared at the numbers displayed above the door panel.
2, 3, 4...
The speed was awfully slow. Was something wrong with the elevator?
"Hmm-hmm-hmm..."
As she stood with her arms crossed, tapping her fingers impatiently, a peculiar sound drifted into Hong Yeon-hwa's ears.
Hong Yeon-hwa's brow twitched.
The peculiar sound. It wasn't new. She'd been hearing it for a while.
"... What's that about?"
"Hm? What is?"
Hong Yeon-hwa turned her head and looked at Baek A-rin.
Still with her hands clasped behind her back, Baek A-rin had been humming. Now she tilted her head and asked back, feigning innocence.
Baek A-rin had also been invited by Lee Ha-yul. From the look of things, he intended to tell her about matters like Lee Seo-yul's existence and his other secrets.
It made sense. Secrets like Lee Seo-yul's existence couldn't be kept hidden forever, so he meant to let those close to him know.
But the point of dissatisfaction was... that she'd be learning that secret around the same time as Hong Yeon-hwa herself.
"You seem to be in a good mood. Did something nice happen?"
"Umm... not really? I'm just feeling great today~"
'Not really' my ass. Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes narrowed.
Baek A-rin usually put on a cheerful front, but now something was different.
Based on the intuition the two had built up over their time together, Baek A-rin wasn't faking it right now—she genuinely looked happy, an exceptionally rare occurrence.
While Hong Yeon-hwa was feeling puzzled, the doors opened.
Suppressing the burning impatience inside, she crossed the long corridor.
At last she reached the door.
The nameplate bore the three syllables of Lee Ha-yul's name.
'Sssp...'
Hong Yeon-hwa closed her eyes briefly and took a deep breath.
She'd mentally prepared herself, but once she actually went in, she couldn't be sure how she would act.
She was angry. He'd wandered off outside on his own, and nearly gone and died on his own. Rage flared like fire. She might end up scooping him into her arms on the spot and giving him a thorough scolding.
Anticipation? The fact that he had gotten younger: she'd heard the news but hadn't seen it with her own eyes. Ellia had asked if she should send a picture, but wanting to see it firsthand, she'd refused.
Right now, beyond this door, Lee Ha-yul was there.
- Gulp
After swallowing once, Hong Yeon-hwa opened the door.
The entrance came into view.
Several pairs of shoes were neatly arranged on the shoe rack.
The corners of Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes lifted slightly.
There were many women's shoes, not Lee Ha-yul's. She'd heard about it beforehand, but it still soured her mood a bit.
That mood slowly subsided, overtaken by the drifting fragrance.
A familiar scent... a sweet, honey-like fragrance characteristic of Lee Ha-yul.
Maybe because this was where he stayed, that fragrance was especially... overwhelmingly strong.
The corners of Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes settled back down.
"What are you doing?"
At Baek A-rin's prodding from behind, she took off her shoes and stepped into the living room.
There were quite a few people in the living room.
Ellia Srade, Liana Bellus, Atra Clyde...
And then...
She saw Lee Ha-yul sitting on the living room floor, and Hong Yeon-hwa's breath caught in her throat.
Her trembling eyes swept over Lee Ha-yul.
Hair so pure white it made you want to dye it in your own colors right then and there.
A presence that exuded a mysterious and dreamlike atmosphere.
And on top of that, skin several times fairer and more luminous than before...
'Oh.'
In that instant, Hong Yeon-hwa's thoughts stopped.
Fair and luminous... his right arm, where the scars had vanished.
Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes flew wide open.
"Yeon-hwa?"
A question came from behind. Reactions reached her from ahead. The prosthetic that had selfishly accompanied him in return—her left arm.
She paid it no mind now. Every bit of Hong Yeon-hwa's attention was focused entirely on Lee Ha-yul, on that right arm.
Calamity Flame scars are difficult to erase. Because of this, they are even called marks of passage, or brands.
Yet Lee Ha-yul's right arm, once densely engraved with the brands of Calamity Flame, now bore smooth, pure white skin.
She'd tried to erase the scars, but it hadn't worked.
She'd even secretly fed him regenerative medicine, but the scars had shown no improvement.
She'd put Lee Ha-yul to sleep and applied scar-removal ointment herself, but there was no effect.
After visiting the Calamity Flame Family, she'd openly applied medicine with her own hands, but there'd been no noticeable effect—and that had weighed on her heart.
Now those scars had cleanly disappeared.
A ripple spread through Hong Yeon-hwa's heart.
As she drew closer, the younger Lee Ha-yul's smaller frame became tangible.
Very small... and petite. A build that would be easy to carry around in her arms.
An impulse surged.
Her urge to scold him was burning fiercely, but she decided to set it aside for now.
Hong Yeon-hwa reached out her hand in a daze.
- Smack!
"Huh?"
A tiny fist flew in from the side and smacked her hand away.
Hong Yeon-hwa blinked.
Her mind, hazy as if fogged over, snapped back.
Her narrowed vision expanded back to normal.
Only then did the young girl pressed right up against Lee Ha-yul's side, directing open wariness at her, enter her sight.
A child with features similar to Lee Ha-yul.
Her hair was similarly white, and her build was just a tiny bit larger than Lee Ha-yul's.
The differences were that her hair didn't gleam a pure white but shimmered faintly in five colors.
Also, unlike the gentle, meek Lee Ha-yul, her gaze was quite sharp.
She had the look of someone with a fiery personality.
More than anything, the beautiful five-colored wings on her back.
'Ah.'
Lee Seo-yul.
The fairy said to have been born from the egg obtained in the Tower of Growth, the child who followed Lee Ha-yul like a parent.
The child Lee Ha-yul had confessed he was raising, all while constantly gauging everyone's reactions with extreme caution.
"Don't pick on Daddy!"
- Chirp chirp!
A clear note rang out, like a musical instrument being struck.
Yelling sharply, Lee Seo-yul glared and wrapped Lee Ha-yul beside her in a tight embrace.
She went so far as to spread her wings wide, enclosing him without a gap.
It was as if she were protecting Lee Ha-yul from danger.
The problem was that the danger she perceived seemed to be Hong Yeon-hwa.
Hong Yeon-hwa's mind went blank.
[S-Seo-yul.]
[You can't do that...]
[I'm sorry.]
[Seo-yul must have been mistaken.]
[I'm truly sorry...]
Lee Ha-yul, who had been frozen stiff for some reason, flinched in surprise, then began checking Hong Yeon-hwa's reaction while trying to dissuade Lee Seo-yul.
Even while rigid and thoroughly cowed, acting to shield his daughter was quite a touching scene.
"No, I... I didn't do anything, though...?"
But Hong Yeon-hwa was only dumbfounded.
She had simply reached out her hand to scoop him up into a hug, and now she'd abruptly been framed as some piece of trash who threatened a family.
"Ooh, trash."
"......"
The teasing from Baek A-rin behind her sank deep into her chest.
Hong Yeon-hwa's eyes trembled faintly.