The Day Everything Changed
Yoo Eun-chae had been a happy child. Or more precisely, she had been happy until she turned twelve. Though her family wasn't as renowned as the Seo clan, it had been a respectable martial household. Her father, Yoo Jeong-hyeok, and her mother, Han Yu-ah, were loving parents who cherished her deeply. She had believed that peace would last forever—that the happiness she shared with her parents would continue unchanged.
Whoosh! "Aaaah!"
But nine years ago, during the villain terrorist attack in Songpa District on February 18th, she lost both her parents. Even though they were mana awakeners, the villains' cruelty—using their powers not against monsters or dungeons, but to harm fellow humans—had caused immense suffering. The heroes had suppressed most of the villains, but some had escaped.
"Aaaah! Honey!" Han Yu-ah screamed as if her heart were being torn apart, calling out to her husband, Yoo Jeong-hyeok. He lay collapsed with deep wounds on both arms and legs, unable to respond to her cries.
"Heh heh. Rest easy, brother. Sister-in-law—no, Han Yu-ah is mine now." To the twelve-year-old Yoo Eun-chae, the scene was utterly horrifying. The man who had gravely injured her father and was now trying to kidnap her restrained mother was none other than her uncle, Yoo Jeong-seok. He was Yoo Jeong-hyeok's younger brother by one year, and he held Han Yu-ah in his arms with a lecherous grin.
"Ah… Dad…" Though she was a mana awakener, young Yoo Eun-chae could do nothing. Her futile resistance was easily suppressed by the villains under Yoo Jeong-seok's command, and she too was fitted with a restraint device that sealed her mana.
"Ah, right. Hyun-ah, you were here too." Yoo Jeong-seok turned toward her with a twisted smile. "You've grown up to look just like your mother—quite the beauty. No, if you keep growing, you'll probably surpass her. Heh heh. I'll take you with me and teach you the joys of womanhood nice and early."
"N-no! Please, don't!"
Yoo Jeong-seok had already set his sights on Yoo Eun-chae, whose beauty showed remarkable potential even at such a young age. The fact that she was his niece and still a child meant nothing to a man who had already chosen the path of a villain to kill his brother and steal his sister-in-law. Han Yu-ah screamed and begged in formal speech.
"No way~ I can't leave behind such a raw gem. Heh heh~ Hyun-ah, this uncle will let you discover a woman's pleasure nice and early."
Yoo Eun-chae could only tremble in terror. "Ah… Dad. Mom… hic!"
Just as the situation reached its most desperate point, heroes who had been subduing the villains launched a long-range attack on Yoo Jeong-seok, protecting her and preventing her kidnapping. However, they failed to capture Yoo Jeong-seok, who escaped with Han Yu-ah.
"Dad! Dad!" By the time the heroes arrived, Yoo Jeong-hyeok had already stopped breathing before he could receive emergency treatment. The cause of death was excessive blood loss. That day, Yoo Eun-chae lost both her parents.
Yoo Eun-chae. A heroine with a tragic past—her father killed and her mother kidnapped by her uncle. She carried the goal of one day rescuing her mother from the villainous uncle. But a shy, pure, and fragile girl like her could never easily bear such a heavy burden. That was why she had a unique setting.
Whenever she sees a villain, she becomes extremely enraged and transforms into a cold, calculating persona. It wasn't exactly a split personality, but something very close to it. Because of this past, she was the only heroine among them who personally hated villains for deeply personal reasons.
And despite being so shy, she was oddly proactive when it came to showing affection—though she still acted embarrassed while doing so. Now that she had approached me right after meeting, her reason for wanting help made perfect sense.
She wants to find her mother who was kidnapped by her uncle. Since the uncle's goal was to make Han Yu-ah his woman rather than kill her, I believed she was still alive. And avenging her father by killing her uncle, Yoo Jeong-seok, was the next most important thing to her after finding her mother.
"Do you have something you want to say?" Though I had read her mind, the fact that I could do so was a secret I would never tell anyone. So I asked the girl who was looking at me with a complicated expression if she had something to say, while preparing to head outside with Seo Moon-min-hye.
"Ah, s-sorry. I just… wanted to say hello."
Yoo Eun-chae had hoped that someone with my power—as the heir of the Yucheon Group—might be able to locate her kidnapped mother. And in truth, I could. But I wasn't going to.
It's still too early for her to know her mother's current condition and location. Though Han Yu-ah was alive, she wasn't in a state that could be called "living." Her chastity hadn't been violated by someone like the villain Yoo Jeong-seok thanks to an absurd stroke of luck, but right now she was far more dangerous than any villain. In the original story, if the final boss of the world was Terenity, then the final boss of Yoo Eun-chae's route was Han Yu-ah. If Yoo Eun-chae saw her mother in her current state, her mind wouldn't be able to endure it. At least not until she could rely on me deeply.
And I should let her take her own revenge. In the original story, Yoo Eun-chae had failed because she couldn't exact revenge with her own strength. But I intended to help her do it herself. Just not today.
"My name is Yoo Eun-chae." With a shy, embarrassed face, she introduced herself. There was something about her that stirred protective instincts in anyone who saw her. Even while feeling shy, she had mustered considerable courage to greet me. Approaching the heir of the world's largest corporation just to ask for help would make most ordinary people nervous. And on top of that, she probably felt guilty about approaching someone for the first time with a request.
"Yeah, I'm Seo Moon-jin. I'm twenty-two, but… let's not worry about age between fellow academy students. Nice to meet you."
"Okay, nice to meet you too."
"Sorry, but I'm busy right now. Let's talk tomorrow."
"Ah…" Yoo Eun-chae let out a disappointed sound but didn't try to stop me. She knew there would be another chance tomorrow, and that forcing the issue now would only lead to rejection. As someone asking for a favor, she was overly conscious of my reactions.
"Oppa, that girl looked like she wanted to ask you for something."
Once we left the auditorium and stepped outside the academy, Seo Moon-min-hye spoke up. She had also sensed that Yoo Eun-chae had approached me with a request in mind.
"Probably. That's why she came over and started talking while glancing at me nervously."
Though Yoo Eun-chae seemed to feel guilty, given her circumstances, it would have been stranger if she hadn't asked for help. If she had been certain I would accept, she would have asked immediately. Instead, she would change her approach. She'll try to get close to me naturally at the academy. And while interacting with more people at the academy, she would work to expand her network. Even with her introverted personality, she wouldn't give up—not when it was for saving her mother and avenging her father.
"Oppa, aren't there a lot of people like that at the academy?"
To Seo Moon-min-hye, who didn't know Yoo Eun-chae's story, approaching someone on the first meeting just to ask for a favor seemed distasteful. She saw it as someone coming after me solely because of my status as the Yucheon Group heir.
"Probably. But don't think badly of everyone who asks me for help. We need to make distinctions."
"Distinctions?"
"Yeah. Some people might have desperate circumstances that force them to ask."
Especially Yoo Eun-chae—if I were in her position, I would have done the same.
"Okay, I understand. I won't judge too quickly."
"Haha, good. You're so sweet, our Min-hye~"
"Ah, oppa~ You're messing up my hair! Stop it."
When I patted her head, Seo Moon-min-hye protested playfully, and I smiled. She smiled back mischievously, and before we knew it, we had arrived at the house I had bought for her.
Yoo Eun-chae watched Seo Moon-jin's retreating figure as he walked away with the blue-haired girl. How had she looked to him? Approaching someone I'd just met and introducing myself… he probably thought it was weird. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had done something wrong. She hadn't approached him purely to become friends—she had come because she wanted something. It could be seen as trying to use him. No, that was exactly what it was.
Mom…
But even with the guilt weighing on her, Yoo Eun-chae couldn't give up. Ever since that day nine years ago, she had been striving to grow stronger with the single-minded determination to avenge her father and save her mother. Fortunately, she had talent, and because the Yoo family's martial arts had been preserved in books rather than lost, she had been able to enter the National Hero Academy with scores that impressed the examiners.
I will definitely save Mom. Mom, please wait for me.
This vow wasn't just for her mother, Han Yu-ah—it was a vow she was making to herself. As she continued watching Seo Moon-jin's back, Yoo Eun-chae wondered how she should approach him starting from tomorrow's classes to become closer to him.
Waaah! And at that moment, cheers erupted from behind her.