Chapter 77: Your Family, Still Awkward. (END)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 77: Your Family, Still Awkward. (END)
Ugh, my eyes. It’s too bright.
The hall was so radiant that I couldn’t help but scowl.
And why are they here? I thought we were supposed to be having a family dinner.
As I looked around the room with a slight frown, I noticed the air was thick with tension. Everyone seemed incredibly nervous.
What’s going on? Did Father give them a hard time?
Oh, is this one of those things where a father calls his son’s academy friends over just to lecture them under the guise of “well-wishes”…?
That’s seriously the worst.
“What is this? What’s going on?”
I spoke up, intending to let the trembling kids off the hook because I felt a bit sorry for them, but for some reason, they started shaking even harder.
Kim Ga-eul and Kang Ha-ni were practically turning blue, and even Cheon Yu-hak was walking on eggshells, which was unlike him.
How should I put this?
Looking at their reactions, it didn’t seem like they were afraid of Father. It felt like they were terrified of me.
“S-So-hyun… are you really mad?”
“No? I’m not mad.”
First of all, I need to understand the situation before I can decide whether to be angry or not. How can I be mad when I have no idea what’s happening?
I answered nonchalantly, but Kim Ga-eul’s face crumpled into a sob as she quickly scurried behind Lee Yu-na.
They’ve been in the same club lately; I guess they’ve gotten close.
No, more importantly, I’m just speaking normally. Why is everyone overreacting like this…?
Is my expression really that bad right now?
“So-hyun. Just… calm down for a second. I’m sorry for coming here without asking for your opinion. There’s no excuse for it, but you seem way too worked up right now.”
A flustered Lilac stepped forward, but I didn’t know how to respond.
Hey, you bastard, why are you being so serious? I told you, I’m not mad!
Wait, am I? Am I actually angry right now? Maybe I’m so furious that I’m in a state of shock and can’t even perceive it myself.
With everyone acting so terrified, I’m starting to have all sorts of weird thoughts.
“Indeed. I might know the circumstances, so I can’t be helped, but the others don’t. Please, just calm down. I apologize for not stopping this, even though I knew you might find it unpleasant.”
Following Lilac, even Cheon Yu-hak stood in my way as if shielding the others.
“…I told you, I’m not mad.”
“Right, we get it, so just calm down a little.”
No, goddammit, I’m not mad.
Actually, having to repeat the same thing over and over is starting to make me a little ticked off.
I shifted my gaze and saw Noona standing behind me. She clearly hadn’t grasped the situation yet and was glaring at Father.
It seemed this hadn’t been coordinated with her, either.
…This is a pain.
A wave of sheer exhaustion suddenly washed over me.
I mean, really. This isn’t even my fault, so why do I feel like I have to make excuses?
“Sigh.”
I only let out a sigh, but everyone’s shoulders flinched.
Dammit, guys, why are you reacting so sensitively to every little thing I do?
Actually, now that I think about it…
Taking a moment to look at the situation objectively, I could see how this might look unpleasant.
I’m not the type to blabber about my family affairs when talking to the kids at the Academy.
My family history did spread a bit when Noona joined as an inspector, but the point is, I never went around talking about it myself.
It’s obvious Father called them here, but these people who call themselves my friends just hopped right over because they were invited by my father, without even asking for my permission?
And given the circumstances, they probably spent the time I wasn’t here chatting about all sorts of things regarding me.
I personally didn’t care, but depending on the person, this was definitely something that could be taken as an insult.
…Should I just act like I’m offended?
Yeah, that might actually be more natural.
I didn’t really want to come here anyway, so this felt like a good excuse.
“Noona.”
“Y-Yes, So-hyun?”
“I came because I was told we were having a family talk, but it seems I got the date wrong.”
“No! I didn’t know about this either! Really! So-hyun!”
“Right, I’m sure you didn’t. Ah, I’m really not that upset. It’s just, you know? I’d prepared myself mentally for this, so it’s a bit… disappointing.”
“Ah, uh…”
To be honest, I wasn’t quite mentally prepared to have a heart-to-heart with my family yet.
Should I use this as an excuse to make a run for it? If I leave now, I don’t think they can catch me.
“So-hyun.”
“Yes, Father.”
“I am sorry. This is all my fault, so do not take it out on the others. And Na-hyun truly didn’t know.”
“Hmm, and?”
“I just… I just wanted to know how you were doing lately. No, I won’t make excuses. I simply didn’t have the courage to ask you directly. So please, just calm down a little.”
Uh, this is bad. Now it feels like I’m the one being the jerk.
Dammit.
* * *
Kim Ga-eul was panicking.
Because he was always the type to let things slide as if he had no choice, she hadn’t expected him to get this angry. She truly never imagined he would look at them with such cold eyes.
But there was something else that flustered her even more.
— No? I’m not mad.
The extremely indifferent emotion conveyed through those cold eyes.
Those eyes, which made it seem as if someone like her couldn’t even make him angry—as if he truly wasn’t enraged—hit her with a sense of despair no less than what she had felt from Yu-hak that day.
Thump.
And for some reason, that indifferent expression, that face that looked even more handsome than usual because he had dressed up, and those red eyes that shone like jewels…
Because it felt like he was seeing right through her, her heart raced strangely.
‘Uh…? What’s wrong with me?’
As she slowly realized that a peculiar sensation was tickling her from beyond the guilt, fear, and anxiety, her face began to flush a deep red.
Fortunately, thanks to Lilac and Cheon Yu-hak blocking her view, it didn’t seem like she would be caught, but she couldn’t understand why she was feeling this way in a situation like this.
‘Oh no, I… I must be a total crazy bitch…!’
* * *
It went without saying that no matter how much I said I was fine, the atmosphere didn’t brighten up easily.
Dammit, if it was going to be like this, why couldn’t they have just let it go when I said I wasn’t mad?
I drank the beverage prepared on the table, and only then did I feel a bit of the tension in my chest loosen.
The sound of me sipping the drink echoed awkwardly through the silent hall.
Oh, this is good.
It’s sweet but has a bit of a kick… wait, this isn’t a soft drink, it’s alcohol.
Judging by the fact that everyone else was holding similar glasses, it seemed I wasn’t the only one drinking it.
In fact, everyone had been drinking a ton because they’d been feeling awkward for a while now.
“Uwaaaaah…!”
Ah, shit.
I should have noticed a little sooner.
No, I should have just stayed oblivious and gotten drunk myself.
When I looked around properly, I realized that except for Cheon Yu-hak, who had likely known it was alcohol from the start and used mana to flush out the intoxication, most of them were swaying.
“Ah, come to think of it, if they’ve never had a drink before, they wouldn’t have known it was alcohol.”
I really didn’t like the way he sat there sipping his drink with that calm, handsome face.
“Uwaaan… So-hyun-ah, I’m sorry…!”
Kim Ga-eul—no, Kim the Drunkard—approached me, her pronunciation completely slurred as she wobbled toward me.
“Hey, I said I’m not mad, so get off me…! You’ve got a runny nose!”
“So-hyun. I’m really sorry. I should have stopped them. No. Actually, I think I was just curious because you don’t usually talk about yourself. I’m no different from the others…”
“Yeah, Lilac, I get it. I get it, so stop being so serious and take this girl away—”
“So-hyun. I’m really sorry. I should have stopped them. No. Actually, I think I was just curious because you don’t usually talk about yourself. I’m no different from the others… But I think I was happy to hear your stories.”
“…Huh? Hey, you just said the exact same thing.”
“So-hyun. I’m really sorry. I should have stopped them. No. Actually, I think I was just curious because you don’t usually talk about yourself. I’m no different from the others… Why don’t you try talking to your father? He seemed genuinely worried about you.”
Holy shit.
The words were slightly different, but it seemed Lilac’s drunken habit was repeating the same thing over and over again.
“Just get lost, you too.”
In a way, this guy was even more annoying than Ga-eul, who was struggling to cling to me.
“Phew…”
I turned my head at the sound of a hot breath and saw Ha-ni.
Ha-ni, who was staring this way with a dazed expression, muttered in a very low, quiet voice.
“It’s hot.”
As she said that, Ha-ni reached for the buttons of her top.
Oh, this is a total disaster.
You really can’t do that, okay?
“Ha-ni! You need to calm down! No, wake up! You absolutely cannot do that!”
Dammit, just five minutes ago, I was worried because the atmosphere was the exact opposite kind of disaster. What kind of forced plot development is this?
One is crying, one is repeating himself, and one is trying to strip.
I looked around for anyone else who could help, but Cheon Yu-hak wasn’t even drunk and was just watching with a grin as if he found this entertaining. As for Lee Yu-na and Ju Ri-ra…
“…That’s the problem with Lilac, you know? He’s handsome and talented, but he’s so indecisive~”
“You’re so stuuupid~ That’s Lilac’s charm, okay? What about Cheon Yu-hak? He’s a narcissist…!”
“Could you please use the word ‘noble’ instead of narcissist~?”
Fine, you guys just stay like that forever!
Surprisingly, in the sense that they weren’t causing extreme harm to their surroundings, those two had relatively normal drunken habits.
At least compared to the others here.
“Perhaps people like them were what you needed more than someone like me.”
Suddenly, Cheon Yu-hak started spouting nonsense.
What, are you drunk too, you bastard?
“Don’t look at me like that. If it were the ‘you’ from not too long ago, you wouldn’t have cared whether the others were drunk or rolling on the floor.”
I don’t know, man. Just how bad was the personality of the original Kang So-hyun?
“Maybe I was too afraid.”
“Is the great Cheon Yu-hak actually capable of being afraid?”
“Of course. Especially when it comes to human relationships; that’s something I’m always careful about.”
Haha, bullshit. If you were the type to care about relationships, Ga-eul would still be following you around.
“It’s fine to keep talking like this, but why don’t you talk to your father today instead of me? He seems just as shocked as I am.”
“…Tsk.”
“Haha, I must be drunk too. I’ve said too much. I’m sure you’ll handle it well on your own.”
I turned my head and saw a man who looked even more shocked than when we’d met for meat last time. He was pouring his drink onto his clothes instead of into his mouth.
With black hair and red eyes that were identical to Kang So-hyun’s, now that he was neatly groomed, other parts of him looked similar as well.
To be honest, I still don’t know what happened in the past, so I don’t know what to say.
Should I just say I’m doing well?
“I was surprised.”
“…Pardon?”
“I was surprised to see you doing so well. Honestly, I thought I’d ruined everything today. I was afraid I’d burdened you again when you were finally making progress, all because I was impatient.”
Actually, I didn’t really think that.
I was genuinely fine; it was the other kids who made a scene.
Honestly, it could be seen as unpleasant, but it’s natural for a father to be curious about how his estranged son is doing and whether he’s making the wrong kind of friends, right?
It was a bit annoying that he did this without a word, but he’s a character who’s bad at communication to begin with.
Since he’s trying his best in his own way, there were bound to be things he didn’t consider.
“Well, I told you, I’m not even that mad.”
“Is… that so.”
Ah, dammit. Even when I try to make an effort, he reacts like this, so I don’t know what to do.
“…Noona, don’t just watch from over there. Come here. You said you wanted to talk to me.”
“Oh, right. Yes.”
Seriously.
I really need to find out what happened and fix the relationship with these people.
Why is there so much to do?
* * *
It was stifling.
Cathy.
She was currently finishing up some overtime work at the Academy.
Since the exams had just ended, she had to grade papers, and she also had to handle the work she’d been pushing back little by little while following So-hyun around.
“Sigh.”
According to the text she’d received from Na-hyun, Father had invited So-hyun’s friends today as well. She’d declined because she thought it was a family gathering, but if she’d known it would be like this, she should have postponed the grading by a day.
“…What was I thinking?”
It was a ridiculous thought.
No matter how much she’d lost her self-control lately, there were lines that shouldn’t be crossed.
She couldn’t just chase after a cadet while neglecting her own duties.
She had a proud personality that would never succumb to desire, so she could easily endure this level of impulse.
“It is a shame, though.”
However, it was also true that she felt a great deal of regret.
“…He’d probably hate it if I showed up later claiming it was a home visit, right?”
Honestly, thinking back, following him on the trip this time might have been crossing the line a bit.
Even though So-hyun had said later:
— No? I was saved because you came, Professor.
— If it weren’t for you, Professor Cathy, there might have been casualties in the dungeon.
— Hehe, Noona, you’re the best.
Even though he’d said that, she felt she needed to exercise some restraint.
“…Wait, was that last part just my imagination?”
She tried to recall, but perhaps because she’d been working for several days straight, her brain wasn’t functioning properly.
“Phew, well, I’m almost done.”
Should she call So-hyun after work and ask if he had fun with his friends?
Na-hyun had mentioned the atmosphere was grim for a moment; maybe she really should have gone along to mediate.
“Ah, finished.”
Finally, the grading hell that had been tormenting her was over.
It seemed other professors sometimes made their teaching assistants do it, but since she didn’t have an assistant to begin with, she had to handle it herself.
“Hmm…?”
Her head had been feeling strangely foggy for a while now, and it didn’t seem like it was just fatigue.
She should have been heading home after leaving the Academy, but for some reason, she felt like stopping somewhere else for a moment.
“Uh…”
The place she found herself in with a dazed mind was a familiar park.
Ah.
And there stood a boy with a very familiar face.
That shouldn’t be possible.
No matter how many times she looked, there stood a boy who looked exactly like her younger brother—so much so that she would have believed it if someone told her her brother had returned.