I Hate Injections
Today had been shocking in all sorts of ways. The sister I'd thought was just an ordinary cop turned out to have been a famous awakener once upon a time, now retired and working in law enforcement. She said the money she'd saved back then was more than enough to support just me without any issues, which hit me like a ton of bricks.
It wasn't just talk, either—she owned this sleek, massive building in her own name. How much money did someone need to have for that? Probably not just a few hundred million won; it had to be at least tens of billions, maybe hundreds. Were hunters really like in the novels, just copying cash or something? I couldn't know for sure without asking her directly, but it was definitely beyond anything I could imagine.
To someone like me, who'd scrimped and saved because even ten thousand won felt like a fortune, this was a world away. More than anything, I'd never seen people in black suits come running the moment she called, ready to haul luggage. If she had them on standby like that, she might be richer than even the wealthiest folks I could picture. This huge building could just be the tip of the iceberg.
What was life like for the super-rich, anyway? I didn't really know, since I'd never watched dramas or movies about them. The most I'd seen was in anime, but that couldn't be real life for the elite. Even I knew those were exaggerated, common sense or not.
"Hmm..."
I sat up on the sofa and looked around. The city sprawl beyond the enormous windows was mesmerizing. I'd never looked down from a building this high before—people like ants, structures small enough to scoop up in one hand. It was wild. Ever since getting this body, everything had seemed bigger than me, but this was the first time in a year I'd felt that from up high.
"Whoa..."
Falling from here would kill you, right? With this giant sheet of glass showing the outside, it felt unnervingly precarious. Of course, it was reinforced; even if I slammed into it with all my magic, it wouldn't shatter. But no one with any sense would test that—break it, and you'd plummet to your death. Well, not me, thanks to magic. Assuming I could stay calm mid-fall and cast properly.
Whatever. She was the one who'd insisted on taking me in, even after I refused a few times. Accepting it politely seemed like the right move. No need to overthink the rich life stuff—staring out showed the Han River, and this stylish, beautiful apartment even had stairs in the living room leading to a second floor. This was my new home. No more money worries, either.
From now on, my job wasn't fretting about the future but living it up as a top 1% freeloader. I was smirking inwardly at the thought when her voice called out.
Turning around, there she was with a bright smile. "Well, shall we go?"
Huh? Go where?
. . . . .
Uh... She suddenly said we were heading out, and before I knew it, she was dragging me around everywhere, saying there were mountains of things to do. We shopped for my clothes, hit a café for dessert, took ID photos, filed some paperwork at what looked like a government office, grabbed a meal at a restaurant, and kept bouncing around like that until... somehow, I ended up sitting in a hospital chair.
Huh?
"Hospital?"
Why a hospital, of all places? And not just any—it was the one where that uncle from before, the one I'd given the recovery potion to, had pointed out his daughter about my size. Was her condition worse despite the potion, and they were hunting me down for revenge? Nah, I shook my head. No way.
We'd just pop in and out quick; no chance of running into them. That whole thing was ancient history anyway. I shot her a look like why are we here? She noticed, stared back thoughtfully for a sec, then knelt down to meet my eyes with a reassuring smile.
"Seol-i has to come here if you wanna stay with sis. Just hang tight for a bit, okay?"
Oh, that kinda thing. Fine, I could chill. Or so you'd think.
I gave her an exasperated look, but she'd already said she'd be right back and ditched me. Alone now, I got up, dusted off, and shuffled to a quiet corner chair. Even there, I felt eyes on me. Well, yeah—she'd begged me to at least ditch the hood, so my silver hair was out, but the clothes? Not exactly kid stuff.
We'd gone shopping, but I'd flat-out refused to change into them. She'd pleaded, and I'd softened a bit, but these were the first clothes I'd gotten comfy in after struggling with the awkwardness. No way was I squeezing into some flimsy, low-magic-resistance girly outfit.
She'd be back soon anyway. Nope, not cutting it. I hopped up and scooted to the chairs by the convenience store. Usually buzzing with people, but not here—probably 'cause there were barely any seats.
"Haa..."
Nothing beat an empty spot for peace.
"Whoa... You look just like a princess..."
"!"
What? I whipped around to see a girl about my age—hand clutching a drink, eyes sparkling at me. Fresh out of the store, by the look of it. Before I could bolt in panic, she charged like a predator spotting prey and plopped down next to me.
"Eep."
Kids were tough.
"Hi!"
"Huh?"
She wasn't hard to talk to, at least—not the 4D weirdos. I used to be a college guy, after all. Ignore her, and she'd leave, right? I turned away to stare the other direction—then facepalmed internally. That basically screamed I don't wanna chat.
"Gotcha!"
Predictably, she jumped up, circled around, sat on my other side, and grinned. This body must've dulled my brain. Old me wasn't this dumb.
"Hey hey! Can I touch your hair?!"
"H-Hair?"
"It looks so cool!"
Hair? I didn't wanna be touched, kid or not, and opened my mouth to refuse—but nope, she just reached right in and started fiddling. Squealing in delight the whole time, totally oblivious to my annoyance.
Hah. What did a kid know? I nodded to myself, convinced.
"Ah! No straw!"
She paused petting my hair, pulled out her banana milk, took a sip, then yelped in realization.
Straw, huh.
"Want one?"
"Huh? You have it?!"
Just grab one from the store. Or... prank time? I snickered inwardly and asked for the milk. She hesitated, scared I'd steal her precious drink, but handed it over after I promised to give it back.
My magic was quirky—like last time, I could create stuff or tweak objects. In other words, make whatever I wanted. Even though nothing pierced the cap, the milk inside defied gravity, sucking up into a straw shape and poking out the top. Transparent, sure, but a real straw—no spills.
I gathered the floating banana milk skyward, shaped it into a straw, swapped it in, and handed it back with a flourish.
"Whoa! What?!"
Straw made from the banana milk inside! I couldn't exactly shout it proudly, though.