Respected by the Heavenly Demon

The chat exploded across my screen.

The chat was scrolling so fast I thought the window might actually burst. Everyone was stunned by Hinyong's sheer audacity. Nobody had expected her to seal the win with a kiss.

Naturally, I was stunned too. My face had gone a little red.

Good thing my clone wasn't watching…

For some reason, my clone was weirdly conservative about my love life. If she'd seen that, all hell would have broken loose.

Is she training right now?

Probably. She'd seemed to grasp something recently, and whether that was the reason or not, her martial training sessions had gotten a lot longer these days.

Either way, I'd received a reward I never saw coming. I was in a pretty good mood.

Sure, I'd lost the game. But that sudden kiss had temporarily snuffed out my competitive fire.

"I won, so you have to grant my wish, Sinhyeok!"

"Ugh… what kind of wish are we talking about?"

"Is it okay if I save it? Nothing's coming to mind yet!"

"Hmm… yeah. That's fine."

Somehow, I'd ended up handing out wish tickets to both Cheonma and Hinyong.

They won't both ask for something weird… right?

Still, both of them had common sense. I had no choice but to trust that.

Meanwhile, the viewer count had already blown past 130,000.

I moved my mouse and checked Inhwang's Twiv numbers. He was still sitting at 120,000.

Whoa. I beat him again.

When it came to popular streams, sweetness really was king. Enough to beat even the carefully prepared content Inhwang had locked in for.

Hinyong noticed too. Without thinking, she thrust her hand high into the air, clearly thrilled about beating Inhwang.

"Alright — a big thank-you to Hinyong for helping out with today's stream, and please say goodbye to the viewers!"

"That was so much fun! I think this is going to be the most memorable stream I've ever done!"

The chat felt almost emotional. That was how much fun the viewers had watching today's stream.

"Alright then — see you tomorrow. Take care!"

"I'll be streaming tomorrow too!"

And just like that, the legendary stream came to an end.

Even I had to admit it had been wildly entertaining and packed with heat. If every stream were like this, I could do it all day.

Of course, the guest would have to be at least Hinyong-tier.

This stream became a massive topic on Twgal.

First of all, it was Hinyong's first-ever collab stream with a male streamer — and she'd gone so far as to kiss him. There was no way that wouldn't blow up.

On top of that, even if it was only on Twiv, she'd beaten Inhwang. And not just any Inhwang — the version of him who'd come out swinging specifically to keep us in check. That made the whole thing even bigger news.

Posts about it flooded Twgal.

Plenty of posts dunked on Inhwang, and plenty praised me. For some reason, getting complimented as a streamer felt amazing — even better than being praised for martial arts.

I gazed at my phone with a contented smile. Nobody hated being praised.

Then Cheonma's voice came from beside me.

"You look pleased."

"Hm? Oh — yeah, I just feel weirdly good."

"Is seeing your parents that delightful?"

"Ah… y-yeah! It really is!"

We were in a taxi, speeding toward my parents' house.

"I am pleased as well."

"You are?"

"Yes."

Cheonma's face took on a distant look, as if she were remembering something from long ago.

Come to think of it, there was something I hadn't told her yet.

My clone had clearly met our parents before — but that had been ten years ago. A lot of time had passed. In that time, she'd become the Heavenly Demon. For all I knew, she might even talk down to them without a second thought.

I told her as much, and asked her to treat our parents with respect if she could.

Cheonma looked at me steadily. Then she spoke, slowly.

"That will not happen."

"No, I mean — just in case. Better safe than sorry."

Cheonma didn't treat anyone but me like a real person. That was exactly why I was worried.

Had she read that on my face? Her voice came again — this time through sound transmission.

"Special?"

"…"

Her sincerity left me speechless for a moment.

This time, I finally understood her true feelings.

I'd never known why she respected me. I'd half assumed it was because of my talent for martial arts.

But that wasn't it at all.

My clone respected me simply for existing. The realization was so startling that I stared at her with wide eyes.

Our gazes met. Her face was full of nothing but sincerity.

A warmth I couldn't name settled over my heart, and without thinking I turned my head away.

"Ahem. We're almost there. Get ready."

"Yes."

The taxi soon pulled to a stop in front of a worn-down apartment complex. Cheonma and I climbed out and stood there, looking up at the old building in silence.

Way more run-down than my place.

A small pang of guilt hit me — living in a better home than my own parents.

Maybe she sensed it. Cheonma took the lead and started walking.

"Shall we go."

"Huh? You know where it is?"

"Yes. I remember everything."

"Really?"

She did. She found my parents' unit without a single wrong turn and led me straight to the front door.

I stood there for a moment, strangely nervous. It had been a long time since I'd actually seen my family, and my heart was trembling because of it.

I was about to take a deep breath when Cheonma suddenly pressed the doorbell.

Ding-dong.

"Hey—!"

Voices answered immediately from inside.

"Is that our son?!"

"Sinhyeok!"

Both Mom and Dad. A smile rose to my face on its own.

The door swung open, and there they were.

"Our son's here?!"

"Oh my! What on earth did you bring all this for?"

I could see the wrinkles gathered at the corners of their eyes — more than before, somehow. It stung a little. I couldn't shake the feeling that those lines had come from worrying about me.

I stepped inside as if nothing were wrong.

"Ah, it's nothing much — just some hanwoo beef."

"Wow! Hanwoo!"

"You really didn't have to bring something like this…"

She said that, but a smile was already blooming at the corners of Mom's mouth. Looking at it made me feel warm all over.

Then my parents spotted Cheonma.

"Ah — so this is the Heavenly Demon…"

They didn't know she was my clone. That was a secret only I knew.

Cheonma opened her mouth — and what came out was astonishing.

"It has been a long time. Mother. Father."

"Hm? A long time? And more than that — Mother…?"

Cheonma didn't answer. She only smiled faintly.

Yeah… I should probably tell the family.

They weren't the type to go around blabbing my business, and there was no real reason to hide this.

I took off my shoes and stepped inside. Old memories stirred — I'd spent a stretch of time here living like a shut-in, so it wasn't exactly a place full of good feelings.

But not anymore. Somehow it felt nostalgic, and warm.

"Mom, Dad — there's something I need to tell you. This is Cheonma, right? She's my clone."

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"Son! Anyone can see she's a woman!"

"Well… so basically…"

I gave them the rough version — how my clone had fallen into the Murim alone, become the Heavenly Demon, and then returned.

My parents' faces went wide with shock.

"She became a woman from a martial arts side effect?"

"How hard that must have been…"

Both of them approached Cheonma slowly and patted her on the shoulder. She flinched for just a second — then did nothing at all, simply standing there in silence.

"Oh! This isn't the time for that! Let's eat first — I made so much!"

"You have no idea how much of a fuss your mother ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠made starting this morning."

"Honey!"

"Ahem."

Cheonma and I sat down at the table. There really was a huge spread — including the braised short ribs I loved. A smile came unbidden.

"But what should we call her? Calling her 'Clone' feels a little…"

"I would be grateful if you called me Sinhye."

"Sinhye? Oh my, what a pretty name."

More striking than the name was how unnaturally respectful Cheonma was being toward my parents. Maybe what she'd said in the taxi really was the truth.

Then a closed bedroom door creaked open.

And from it emerged my long-haired little sister.

"Sehui?!"

She nodded, then took a seat at the empty place.