Side Story 00. So That's Why Kang Se-ah Fell So Hard

"Min-hyeong!! Let's go to school!!!"

Same as always, I stood outside the house next door and called for the boy who lived there. Park Min-hyeong — my future husband, with those big adorable glasses and every little thing he did so impossibly cute — had moved in beside us seven years ago.

The moment he stepped outside, I pulled him into a fierce hug, took his hand, and set off for school. He'd been shy about it at first, but these days he hugged me right back and even reached for my hand first. Min-hyeong was absolutely going to be my husband someday.

Our cheerful walk to school, both of us grinning the whole ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠way, was also a daily campaign of swatting away the annoying pests that flocked to his cuteness. Take a look at that one — that fox of a girl sidling up with a soft little smile even though I was standing right there, plain as day.

"Huh? Min-hyeong, look over there!!"

"Hm? What is it?"

Crunch!! Crash!!!!

The instant Min-hyeong looked the other way, I used my telekinesis to crush the approaching fox's bag from a distance and hurl it into a wall. Thankfully the wall was sturdy enough ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠not to break.

I'd have preferred if something on the fox herself had broken, but no such luck. She stood there blankly, glancing around with no idea what had just happened, until her eyes met mine — and then she ran.

"Jeong-ah, what was it?"

"Sorry! I must've been seeing things, hehe."

Min-hyeong chuckled and let it go with a fond Jeong-ah's so weird sometimes. Good. That was exactly how it should be. I was never handing my husband over to anyone.

Which meant my current telekinesis was starting to feel inadequate. Driving people off didn't require clamping down on a whole stretch of space the way I just had. Keep throwing people around like that and Min-hyeong would notice eventually.

So I needed something quieter — something Min-hyeong would never catch. A thinner, denser thread of telekinesis that would simply freeze the other person in place. Like prey caught in a spider's cocoon.

It had already been half a year since I'd followed Mom on what she called a move — though it felt more like a trip to nowhere.

For the first few weeks I just sat in my room clutching the stuffed animal Harang had given me and cried my eyes out. I wanted to leave this mountain of a place Mom and Dad had dragged me to and go straight back to Harang's side.

But I didn't know the way, and kind-hearted Harang — even if he'd be happy I'd snuck out to see him behind my parents' backs — would definitely scold me for it. I could handle getting scolded by Mom and Dad. I did not want to get scolded by Harang.

"Oh my, Se-ah, you're up?"

"Mom, when are we going back?"

"You start with that question every single day… I'm sorry, honey, I don't really know either. But it shouldn't take too long…"

I didn't bother answering. Just turned my head away. It was the same line every time.

Last time, when we'd moved next door to Harang, she'd said we wouldn't be relocating for a good long while — and then we'd moved again within a year. So "shouldn't take too long" probably meant it was going to take forever.

I'd snuck Mom's phone any number of times trying to call Harang's parents, but her password changed every day, and even when I cracked it, there was no signal anywhere in this mountain backwater.

If I took her phone all the way down to the school at the foot of the mountain, she'd notice for sure, show up, and snatch it back.

So today, like every other day, I left the house and walked the mountain paths. It was the middle of a hot summer, but the thick forest canopy kept it from feeling too bad. I slowly stirred waves beneath my feet and headed down the slope.

In the big open lot at the base of the mountain, girls and boys were mixed together playing. Even during summer break, gathering up and hanging out was about all there was to do in a place this rural.

I walked over, and the kids started edging away the moment they saw me. I stomped my foot with a solid thud, and water shot out from my toes, rising into a towering wall of waves behind the ones trying to flee.

"Hey. Pick three of you to fight me. No — I'm in a bad mood today, so make it five."

There were kids older than me mixed into the lot, but that didn't matter. All of them were weaker than me. Weak, and not even cute. Even if you piled dozens of these kids together, one Harang would still be cuter and prettier than the whole bunch.

"Se-ah… it's summer break, maybe take it a little easy…"

"Sunbae, that's exactly why you're weak. Haa… I already told you, right? Beat me and I'll stop. Now hurry up and come at me."

The five girls who charged me couldn't hold against my waves. They got swept away, slammed into a dirt pile at the edge of the lot, and went down. Useless. No matter how badly I wanted to get stronger out here, this place wasn't making me stronger at all.

"Uuuuugh!!!!!!"

"My, my~ Young lady, you just thoroughly beat five of them — why do you look so upset?"

A voice I'd never heard before came from right behind me. I jumped and spun around. A grown woman with short red hair and green eyes was smiling at me.

Wary of a stranger getting close, I put some distance between us and positioned myself like I was shielding the other kids in the lot — only for the kids behind me to light up, wave, and call out greetings to her.

They swarmed over to her, smiling brightly and asking how she was. From what I overheard, she was a teacher at the school I was attending?

"Ah! You must be the new transfer student from the city~! Nice to meet you~ And you really shouldn't bully your friends like that~!!"

"…I can't help it. They're all weak, and I want to get stronger…"

Getting scolded by an adult I'd just met put me in a foul mood, but she was a teacher, and she wasn't wrong, so I just hung my head and kicked at the dirt. She gave a little hoo-hoot of a laugh and patted my head.

"Then shall Teacher be your opponent? I may not look it, but I'm quite strong~!"

"…Huh?"

She laughed that little laugh again, walked out into the lot — and the dry earth and sand suddenly began sprouting green shoots and plants.

Then she spread her arms in the center of the clearing and spun once, and a massive tree started growing up behind her.

"Alright, our new transfer student — try breaking that tree for me~! It's one of Teacher's favorite apple trees~!"

"…I've broken plenty of trees before."

Trees were literally the first thing you saw stepping out of my house. This one was just a bit bigger — nothing special. I poured my waves into it. No matter how hard a tree was, it couldn't possibly withstand the force of my—

Screeeeech!!!

"…Huh?"

The wave I'd fired made a sound like scraping across a giant slab of iron, then stopped dead and vanished. I stared in disbelief and tried again. Same result.

That little hoo-hoot of laughter from behind me made me snap. I whipped up a whirlpool under my feet and sent it roaring at the giant apple tree. My finishing move was stronger than a regular wave, but all it produced was a lot of noise — it couldn't even snap a single twig on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠that enormous tree.

"Th-that's impossible!! Teacher, that is not a tree!!"

"My, my~ Our transfer student picks on the other kids but can't even break one little tree~"

"How is that a tree!! Look at this!"

Snap!

Furious, I ran at the tree, grabbed a thin branch within reach, and gave it a light twist. It broke with a clean little snap. That… wasn't supposed to happen…

"Consider it summer homework, transfer student~! Leave a mark on that tree! Hoo-hoot~!"

Grit.

I clenched my teeth hard and glared at her. She was definitely using some kind of trick. But it was also true that I finally had a target I could throw everything at without holding back.

"…If the neighborhood floods, it's the teacher's fault."

"My, my~ The trees will be so happy to drink their fill~"

"Argh!!!"

I swear — I swear I'm going to break that tree!!!

I was lying in a room at Mom's villa after coming back from the resort. Last summer I'd just wandered the neighborhood picking fights with every girl I saw and beating them down, but this year I'd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠spent the whole time at the resort with Harang's family — playing and training together.

A single month of sparring with Seol-hee unnie and taking Harang's advice had done more for me than a whole year of brawling. And the sensation I'd felt fighting that middle-aged woman who looked nothing like her name — Cheon Sa, "Angel" — was still lingering in my hands.

I'd only been trying to figure out the traits of this thing supposedly inside me called an Imugi. But at some point it started feeling like I could see the future — sensing where an attack would come from, or where an opponent was about to dodge.

Of course, I still couldn't sync what I sensed with how my body actually moved, and the flashes themselves lasted less than a second. I glanced over the laptop screen beside me, covered in tabs of information about the Imugi.

Nowhere in any of it did it say an Imugi could predict the future. So maybe what I'd felt wasn't foresight at all… I didn't know. Thinking hard wasn't really my style.

"Maid. We're going to the training grounds tomorrow. You're a Mutation Type too, right?"

"Yes, young miss. Nothing as impressive as yours, but I do possess a wolf Mutation Type ability."

"I don't need the useless flattery. Ah, and… t-tell Mom I got back fine… Now get out! I want to be alone!!"

I shooed the fawning maid out of the room, flopped around on the bed for a bit, then looked down at the opal hanging around my neck. The laptop had pages on opals pulled up too. He probably hadn't put any particular thought into the gift, but still—

Love and happiness I wasn't so sure about — but hope, loyalty, and patience jumped out at me.

Had he meant to say he'd give me hope, so I should be loyal to him…? Or that he'd give me hope, so I should have patience?

I stared blankly at the opal glittering in all its colors. Loyalty or patience — either way, the one who'd hung hope around my neck was him. That much wasn't changing.

"Hah… so that's why Kang Se-ah fell so hard."

I rubbed at my slightly flushed ears and headed for the bathroom to take a cold shower. The necklace was expensive enough that water wouldn't hurt it, apparently, so I left it on.