Proof (4)
While humming a cheerful little tune and organizing the notes I planned to give Jihwan, the door suddenly burst open. Someone barged in and immediately started talking at full volume.
“Hello everyone! ‘Family’ viewers!!! It’s Miju! Today… I’m going to show you around our house!!”
The high, frivolous voice belonged to Gong Miju, the twelfth sister among the forty-four siblings.
“S-Sis? What’s this all of a sudden….”
“Haeseon! Hurry up and greet the ‘Family’ viewers!!!”
She had been turning the house upside down lately, claiming she was filming a vlog. It looked like she had finally made it all the way to my room.
“Come on, quickly.”
“…Ah, hello?”
Startled by the camera shoved right in my face, I greeted her without thinking. My sister smiled in satisfaction and slung an arm around my shoulders.
“Everyone, can you see this? This friend is one of the very few pink-haired girls in our family! Aww, just look at this hair—I’m dying of jealousy!”
“…Uh, Sis, stop….”
I shrank back slightly as her hand stroked my hair with an affection so strong it seemed she might explode from how cute she found me.
“But this adorable child has apparently started seeing someone lately… Can you believe it? It feels like just yesterday she was toddling around, and now she’s in the talking stage! Your sisters never even got to attend school, but she’s already—”
“I-it’s not a talking stage…! W-we’re just friends!”
Miju smiled brightly, gave my cheek a light pinch, then burst into hearty laughter and ran off. I knew it was her own way of showing affection, but whenever she got this dramatic, it did feel a little exhausting.
“…Seriously….”
Come to think of it, today was the day Sister Yumi was returning from her overseas business trip. She had taken on a rather important deal. I hoped it had gone well. I should make something delicious for dinner to thank her for all her hard work.
Master, don’t try to swallow it whole. Show some sincerity.
If your sincerity is worse than that of the cultists, I can’t help it either.
*
Academy Central Building, top floor.
Jeon Nando’s secretary, Shin Daeyong, glanced around before knocking briskly on the chairman’s office door. Waiting anxiously for permission to enter, he flung the door open the moment he heard the command from inside.
Burst—
“What is it?”
Facing Chairman Jeon Nando, Shin Daeyong offered a small bow, cleared his throat, and stepped closer.
“…We’ve received contact from Gangwon-do.”
The instant the words “Gangwon-do” left Shin Daeyong’s mouth, Jeon Nando’s eyes flew wide open. There was only one place that would contact them from Gangwon-do—the housekeepers they had stationed at Ju Yeonhee’s home.
Jeon Nando set down the report he had been reading with a thud and glanced at his secretary.
“Did Yeonhee cause some kind of incident?”
“Ah, no… It’s that a suspicious individual came looking for her.”
“…Hmm?”
Shin Daeyong calmly relayed the report he had received. A young woman had appeared, claiming to be an acquaintance of the deceased Min Sungjae, and requested a meeting with Ju Yeonhee. During the meeting, it appeared a fight had broken out—she had smashed a window and fled.
At that…
“…What? A fight?”
“…Yes. It seems the intruder was affiliated with the Gujae Church.”
Jeon Nando jumped to his feet in alarm and hurriedly pulled out his personal phone to call Ju Yeonhee. After several rings, the call was abruptly cut off. She had hung up on purpose.
Staring at the disconnected call, Jeon Nando thought that the Gujae Church had most likely moved to abduct Ju Yeonhee. Just as he was about to call her again to confirm, his phone dinged.
“…Hm?”
It was a message from Ju Yeonhee.
Jeon Nando let out a hollow laugh.
“Heh! I called because I was worried, and she treats her own master like a fool…”
As he prepared to reply, another message arrived.
The messages were blatant threats—send Yu Jihwan’s information quickly, or she would betray him.
“Cultists…”
It seemed the Gujae Church really had tried to take the Sword Empress. If they were making moves, he could not stay idle. Jeon Nando left a reply saying he would do what he could, then took out a fresh cigar.
“…Send the first batch of materials.”
“…Understood.”
After Shin Daeyong left with the order, Jeon Nando lit his cigar and took a deep drag.
“Hoo…”
He felt sorry toward Yu Jihwan, but it was an unavoidable choice.
*
It was already Friday. I was currently sunk deep in thought.
“Jihwan, what’s wrong…?”
“…Huh? It’s nothing…. Anyway, this bread is really good.”
“R-really? I’m glad…”
Watching Gong Haeseon smile shyly only made my worries heavier.
Ever since Min Soyeon had pointed it out, I had been trying to keep my distance from Gong Haeseon. But…
“J-Jihwan, if it’s okay… could you help me with practice today? Just for today…?”
“…Eh?”
“Th-the exam is next week and I’m a little nervous…! If you watch me, I feel like I can do well…”
Those shy eyes kept glancing at me. Before I could pull away, she had already crept closer, making it impossible to push her aside.
“…All right. I’ll help.”
“…Th-thank you…”
She looked so happy just to hear I would help that she giggled with delight. A storm of emotions swept through me.
This was driving me insane….
Before, I had simply thought she was cute. But the more I accepted her gestures, the more I realized I might end up hurting her, and the weight on my heart grew heavier.
The best solution would be to draw a clear line and declare that I had no romantic feelings. But if I did that, she would feel rejected and be devastated. On the other hand, if I kept accepting her, the wound would only grow larger later.
…Wasn’t there a decent way out of this?
As a father with a daughter the same age as Gong Haeseon, the thought of my own child crying over a boy made my chest ache. She deserved to smile her entire life; I never wanted to see tears fall from those beautiful eyes.
Besides, at her age, this was practically a first love. First loves stay with you for life, good or bad. To have to shatter such a precious memory with my own hands… wasn’t that too cruel?
“…Sigh…”
The moment I unconsciously let out a heavy breath—
“…J-Jihwan. If something’s troubling you, tell me…! I may not be able to help, but I can at least worry with you…”
Gong Haeseon gently patted my shoulder in comfort.
“…Thanks.”
To think I would have to trample on the heart of such an angelic girl with my own hands.
…I had to find some kind of solution. If I truly couldn’t find one… then there would be no choice.
After steeling my resolve and finishing the school day—
“What’s wrong…?”
“…Nothing.”
When Gong Haeseon tilted her head and asked, I could only feel discouraged.
This was bad….
Before I knew it, the seat beside me had become her designated spot. It had happened so naturally that I hadn’t even noticed until now. The farther the body, the farther the heart; the closer the body, the closer the heart. At this rate, things would only get worse instead of staying the same.
But suddenly changing seats might hurt her deeply too.
While I sat there clutching my head in distress, I suddenly felt a sharp, stinging gaze.
“…”
When I glanced over, sure enough, Min Soyeon was glaring at me with her lips pressed tightly together. The sharp look in her eyes reminded me so much of Ju Yeonhee as a child that I instinctively looked away.
The painful morning classes, where I could neither advance nor retreat, finally ended.
“…J-Jihwan…. G-go easy on me…!”
“…Got it.”
Combat practice time had arrived.
Right after class began, I left Min Soyeon behind and joined Gong Haeseon. Her friends still found me burdensome and kept their distance, so naturally it ended up being just the two of us training together.
I had asked Min Soyeon if she wanted to join us, just in case, but—
“Get lost.”
I received a harsh rejection.
After several mana-stone drills and combat exercises, I realized Gong Haeseon’s fighting ability was weaker than I expected, and it took real effort to guide her.
“…S-sorry…. I’m too weak…”
“…No, it’s fine. Your mana capacity is plenty. With a little practice you’ll improve quickly.”
Her ability was spirit magic. Since it was still weak, she could only handle lower spirits, and even those weren’t combat-oriented, so it took quite a while to find a suitable method.
After devoting most of the afternoon to her, I was finally able to join Min Soyeon, who had been swinging her sword alone.
“…Soyeon, I’m here…”
“Hmph.”
She didn’t even look at me and simply snorted, leaving me awkwardly standing there.
I had boldly declared that I would take care of her first, yet I had spent most of my time at the academy focused on Gong Haeseon. There was nothing I could say in my own defense.
At that moment, emotion seemed to pour into the sword Min Soyeon swung; the sound of it slicing through the air grew audible.
Whoosh— Whoosh—
The dull, emotional sound felt less like swordsmanship and more like wild, uncontrolled swings.
Realizing my mistake, I hurriedly forced my body in front of her and blocked the blade.
Clang!
The moment condensed mana met steel, a metallic ring echoed. Even though she had clearly seen me, she had swung without the slightest hesitation.
This was driving me crazy….
“…Move.”
When she tried to swing again as if I were only an obstacle, I quickly deflected the sword and spoke.
“…S-Soyeon. Let’s study for the exam togeth—Ugh!”
Clang!
“Aren’t you moving?”
Wow, how could she resemble her mother even in this? The way she swung her sword without hesitation the moment she felt even slightly displeased made me realize once again how terrifying genetics could be.
“…Soyeon, I’m sorry for disappointing you. But I received favors I have to repay, so I can’t help it.”
It was a lame excuse, but it was the best I could manage. She narrowed her eyes and glared at me for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and lowering her sword as if she had no choice.
“…What are you going to do now? Did you see her expression? She looked like she was dying of happiness.”
“…I have a plan.”
I didn’t. I was still thinking…!
While I continued making pathetic excuses to soothe Min Soyeon’s mood—
“…Come early tomorrow morning.”
Huh? Tomorrow?
“…Tomorrow?”
She shot me a sideways glare.
“Aren’t we studying for the exam?”
Ah…. Tomorrow was the day of my “part-time job.” The day I met my wife.