Late Puberty is Scary
Late puberty is scary.
I'd possessed into a novel. That phenomenon you see in nine out of ten web novels—it's a cliché I'm all too familiar with.
Any reader who's devoured their share of stories knows it inside out.
Who could blame me for throwing in a minor twist? I even quoted that meme about the frog-faced uncle before my situation hit home.
Yes. I'd possessed into a novel.
And not just any genre—it was one I'd recently dipped into. A gender-reversed world.
I'd read it with delight. Men and women had swapped roles entirely, from social status on down to physical strength and build.
Male-dominated fields? Think flight attendant, kindergarten teacher, nurse. The average male height sat at 160cm, women at 170cm.
A setting so bizarrely detached from reality! As hard to swallow as it was, the genre stayed firmly in the niche corner.
Still, it hooked me. I binged all 200 chapters and went to bed satisfied. That night felt like a triumph.
Ah, it was good. If I'd known I'd end up in that world, though, I never would've touched it.
Anyway. Suddenly thrust into this reversed world, I could hear narration in my head.
'But this is not the end!'
I didn't actually hear it. No status window popped up, no overpowered perks or anything like that.
It was just... the kind of line you'd hear on a TV drama.
Going beyond niche, the possession hit at a brain-melting twist: 25 years before the original timeline.
"Why possess me at all if this is how it's gonna be?!"
Twenty-five years before the original story. In the web novels I read, protagonists always had a reason for that setup.
But what good is lamenting now?
A little longer, and it'd be the original timeline. Meaning I'd spent 25 years in this body as an old man.
It was a hunter world. Gates appeared, monsters poured out, mana stones reshaped society.
And I was an awakener. Nothing to brag about, though. Just an F-rank hunter, no great talent or influence.
My dead wife might've been different. She was an S-rank hunter. A year after possession, we met at the academy, dated, married... had a kid, settled in nicely.
Then, when Ji-ah turned five, my S-rank wife died.
Wife. My wife died? Died. She's... dead.
Th-then... and... now? What year? What month? Day?
Now... right now... so...
"......"
Recalling the past choked me up. What time was it now? Ten in the morning. Just months ago, I'd have woken Ji-ah by now. But today was fine.
"Hoo, huu, huu..."
My vision darkened at the edges, then cleared. The breathing technique from the doctor helped me snap back fast.
"It's okay, it's okay..."
I calmed myself. Vision returned, revealing the house I'd lived in for nearly twenty years.
"I-I raised her well, right...? N-not shaming Seola..."
Seola's legacy: a standalone house in Hannam-dong. The assets that came with it let me raise Ji-ah without a worry about money.
"Time to wake her... maybe?"
A sigh slipped out unbidden. I'd escaped the panic, but another worry gnawed at me.
Not as bad as the attacks, but it lingered like a constant ache in my chest.
My daughter wouldn't listen. Puberty had been mild.
But...
Knock knock knock.
"Ji-ah...? You up?"
Knock.
No answer.
Worry bubbled up. A twenty-year-old daughter suddenly in trouble in her room? Unlikely.
Still... as a dad, she was my only family. My mind kept drifting there. Seola's final moments flashed vividly. Every time grown Ji-ah's face overlapped with hers, my heart sank.
[Don't come into my room tomorrow. Got it? You don't have to wake me in the morning either...]
[Okay...! Dad, I promise I won't bother you. Promise.]
Yesterday's memory surfaced. A conversation from twelve hours ago.
A promise with my daughter. Of course I had to keep it.
Thud thud.
"Ji-ah?"
Just in case, I knocked again. Normally, she'd be up and answering.
Promise or not... my vision narrowed. Not full panic like before.
But worry clouded judgment. It made me break that sensitive promise with my daughter.
In the end, I messed up as a dad.
Creeeak.
"Ji-ah?"
The dim room came into view. First thing that hit me: a scent pricking my nose.
...A smell, I guess. It made my body twitch involuntarily. The humid air was so thick, it almost looked smoky.
Probably Ji-ah's body scent. I shook my head lightly and headed toward the silent figure.
"Ji-ah?"
As I reached the bed mattress, a faint groan sounded.
"Ngh, ngh... ugh..."
The pained noises sped me up. I pulled back the blanket covering her head to toes, revealing my daughter.
Drenched in sweat. Pink hair down to her waist clung to her skin.
Her whole body glistened with perspiration. Even with me right there, she kept groaning.
I gently gripped her shoulder. My eyes deliberately fixed on her face. Daughter or not, facing a sweat-soaked white tee that outlined her figure perfectly was tough.
"Ji-ah? Ji-ah!"
I knew the symptoms. I'd seen it with Seola—she'd groaned for days after awakening.
Awakening Pain.
When hunters awaken, it lasts minutes to days. Constant or sporadic agony.
It was a crucial rite for hunters. Pain fuels growth, right? Ironically, longer pain meant greater talent—backed by papers and stats.
But it tested hunters too. Endure? Get massive potential. Fail? Die.
A brutally simple force of nature no one could intervene in.
Still, I moved fast. My meager F-rank mana... but I couldn't lose Ji-ah like this.
As her breaths weakened and groans faded, a purple magic circle enveloped her.
"Please, please... Ji-ah, wake up...!"
Mana drained fast. Plenty left, yet it vanished in seconds. Desperation to save her, probably. Sometimes, foolish resolve works miracles.
"Haa, haa... Ji-ah..."
"......"
Her eyes fluttered open blankly. Blue irises hazy but holding their clear shine.
That moment.
"Ugh?!"
My view flipped. I hadn't collapsed—mana was gone, but not enough for blackout.
So the culprit was obvious.
"J-Ji-ah...?"
Hot. Beyond warm—scalding skin pressed against me.
I'm 150cm. Below average. Ji-ah, inheriting my genes, still towered over 170cm.
Simply put: I was in my daughter's arms.
Breathing was hard. I knew what the soft, squishy pressure on my face was. Couldn't squirm or escape easily.
"Ngh, hngh..."
Her body squeezed tighter. Ji-ah's hands slithered like snakes. They climbed my waist, making me jolt.
My head fogged. The more I tried to break free, the more her intense body scent sapped my strength.
Absolutely not sexual. I love my daughter as a father. Family, nothing more.
But...
"Hnom."
"Hic."
Chills raced down my neck. Warm, wet sensation at my ear. Ji-ah's tongue touched it.
A-awakening pain, surely. They say pain sparks weird dreams sometimes.
So I thrashed with all I had in her embrace. Couldn't be a dad who couldn't escape his newly awakened daughter.
"Guh, J-Ji-ah..."
Please, wake from the dream, Ji-ah. I begged inwardly.
I craned my neck up with effort. The breaths and occasional licks dazed me, but I had to snap her out of it.
"Please, please..."
"......"
Our eyes met. Sandy whites shifted to blue waves. Her gaze cleared, locking on me.
Thank god. You're awake.
As I opened my mouth—
"......!"
I flew. No better word. Our tangled bodies wrenched apart.
Body airborne. Not just dropping—hurtling sideways. Flying, plain and simple.
After that? What else to say.
"Guhk, kehk...!"
"......"
Breathing hurt. Back slammed the wall? Breath caught in my throat.
Pain. Relief. I'd feared losing her. My bright-smiling girl who'd followed me since childhood. Grown strong without a mom.
She's okay. Really...
Short silence. Legs wobbled as I tried to rise. Head lifted slowly, meeting her eyes.
"J-Ji-ah...?"
"I told you not to come into my room."
Cold stare. Was it the past memories? My toddling daughter who'd waddled to me smiling... now glared with her mother's face.
"I said it over and over yesterday. Don't come in."
"Th-that's, Ji-ah..."
"You never listen? God, you're so frustrating. Ji-ah this, Ji-ah that... I'm not a kid anymore."
"What're you..."
Lee Ji-ah. Age twenty. She'd breezed through the tough teen years unscathed. Or... maybe they hadn't come at all?
I-I don't know. I'd lived for her alone...
"Leave me alone. Stop hovering."
"Ji-ah. D-Dad..."
I had to explain. The awakening pain, it had a reason. A good excuse for breaking the promise.
But.
"I really hate you."
"......"
Her resentful words—I hate you, Dad—broke me. My upright head bowed. Eyes that looked up at her drifted down to the floor.
Words no parent should hear from their child. So today, as Dad, I...
"I'm sorry..."
"......"
"Dad's sorry, Ji-ah... I messed up."
Sorry spilled from my lips. But her reply was different.
I didn't expect forgiveness.
It's okay.
Yeah, I just wanted to hear it's okay.
"Get out, Dad. No friends? Go find a job or something."
"......"
Words wouldn't come. Just one question filled my head.
"Told you to be independent from me. Dad."
"Yeah..."
I forced out an answer, clamping my mouth shut.
"Now leave."
"O-okay..."
Bang!
The door slammed like it might shatter.
Where... where did I go wrong?