In the rehearsal match between the aces of each division, the Elementary Division ended up with 2 wins and 3 losses, the Middle School Division with 0 wins and 3 losses, and the High School Division scored 1 win and 1 loss, resulting in a pretty dismal record.
Surprisingly, the performance of the Elementary Division was a small consolation for Sephiron Academy.
Meanwhile, Yoon Si-hoo became a big star in just one day, climbing up and down the internet articles.
“The prince of winds who conquered Sephiron; even the flapping wings of an eagle were powerless before the typhoon. Ha ha Si-hoo, they’re calling you the prince of winds!”
How do reporters come up with such cringy yet catchy titles?
The emotional state of today’s society truly baffles me.
While rolling on the wide hotel bed, I checked the news one by one.
“Ugh quit messing with me…!”
“Eh? Isn’t ‘prince’ a good thing? I’d also like people to call me ‘princess’ someday.”
Next to me, Yuna was jumping around, expressing her thoughts without any filter.
To Seo Yu-na, who has serious princess syndrome, it probably just looks like a cool nickname.
Naturally, Yoon Si-hoo didn’t even know how to respond.
“Is there any more interesting news?”
At Yuna’s question, I scrolled down to check other articles.
“Apparently, the Middle School senior who got taken away wasn’t due to food poisoning.”
Recently, one student had complained of stomach pains and was carried off in an ambulance, leading to a stream of articles criticizing Altair Academy’s meal operations.
“So then?”
“It turns out he ate 30 ice creams from a vending machine in one day.”
“Gasp 30?!”
“So, don’t you guys eat any ice cream before the competition.”
“We didn’t eat any! You always go down below to get some, Na-me.”
“… Anyway! Just be careful.”
“Yeah, I’ll be careful.”
I carelessly tossed my phone aside, stretching my arms and legs to fully enjoy the cool sensation of the bed sheets against my body.
“Hmm? Found a weakness, NoName, here I come!”
Suddenly, Seo Yu-na dove onto my body.
Lately, Yuna, who had taken up wrestling techniques, was trying to strangle me whenever she felt like it, but aside from that, my daily life was mostly peaceful.
“Aha sorry! I surrender, I surrender! I won’t fight back, I surrender kakak!”
This level of assassination attempt was adorable.
As I was giving Yuna a good guillotine choke, Si-hoo crept up beside us and asked.
“NoName, weren’t you the one with just one dad?”
“Did you just hit me with some lame retort? Do you want to die?”
Has he lost his mind just because he won one rehearsal match?
“No, I didn’t mean that…! It’s just written that way in the headline.”
“What? Let me see.”
Si-hoo politely extended his hands.
I swiftly snatched the phone to check the article.
[The father of genius girl ‘NoName’ claims, “Adoption should be invalidated.”]
*
People find catharsis in the narrative of characters overcoming unfortunate backgrounds.
There’s the story of a homeless man traversing the streets of New York and thriving on a talent show, or a boy born in a rundown village in Africa becoming an Olympic athlete.
However, when it crosses a certain threshold, it’s only natural for some to view it with disdain.
Simply put, it’s “I didn’t wish for you to be this happy.”
It was totally acceptable for Na-me to receive pity at Korea University and, when the broadcast went live, make hundreds of thousands in a day.
Even the fact that she became the largest shareholder of some unknown startup seemed praiseworthy, and no one would have had any further thoughts about it.
But when the startup suddenly announced support from Katsuhata Financial Group, along with plans for an unprecedented investment, that moment marked a turning point where she came under the radar of economic experts.
[Bio-Akashic. It’s the company making headlines due to its major shareholder’s age, right? It’s a bio venture developing revolutionary treatments for intractable diseases. Recently, this treatment has entered the final stages of Phase 1 clinical trials. Since it’s only Phase 1, it’s too early to jump to conclusions, but considering the scale of investment, it occurred to me that internally, they must be confident in success.]
[Because of the unusual scale of investment.]
[When considering the recent stagnation in Series A investment markets, this is indeed exceptional. Simple calculations suggest that investors are assessing the company’s value at a minimum of 500 billion.]
The experts cut through the fluff and straightforwardly spread the rumor that “the company’s value is 500 billion,” leading to the emergence of envious groups.
[I remember how Ham Cho-rong’s stock jumped 20% just because she briefly entered the SL Communications building. Isn’t it just gambling or futility to invest by leveraging fame?]
–Using the bathroom generated tens of billions of greed, lol
-This is why children should be banned from television until they become adults. Isn’t Bio-Akashic just another scam with frauds attached?
-For real, looking at the CEO’s background reeks of a cult.
-If they pull this off, it would indeed be legendary, lol.
[TwoWorld executive <– what’s the rumor about being NoName’s father?] -NoName and a TwoWorld executive were pictured at a cafe by paparazzi. -Oh gasp!
-So her mother just passed away; there’s never been mention of a father?
-(Attached video.gif)
└ Wow, the bowing too far is a clear sign, isn’t it? lol
└ Expected line: “I didn’t have the courage to meet you until now. Please accept me even now!”
└ Is this a drama?
-This turned out to be all rumors. That investor had nothing to do with NoName.
└ Damn, I thought so lol.
-But what happens if NoName’s biological father shows up?
└ Pocketing 500 billion, gasp!
└ That sort of thing can’t happen now that the adoption has already taken place.
Wherever money gathers, flies are bound to swarm.
Once a rumor spread that a suited man might be Na-me’s biological father, people with greed in their eyes stormed into the Altair Academy’s operations committee building.
“I am NoName’s father, No Seol-ah’s husband! My wife’s birthday is February 21, 2022! When we were kids, we dug potatoes in the mountains of Gangwon—”
“Just a moment!”
The man shouted, thumping his chest as if it were a performance he had rehearsed a million times and was now utterly bored of.
Jacqueline Carroll, who had already had it with such predictable repertoire, sleepily said.
“Excuse me, but how old are you?”
“Let’s see… I’m 45 this year…”
“So, you’re claiming there’s a 16-year age gap?”
“Isn’t that too much? Maybe 35…?”
“Could you please leave? If you cause more commotion, I will call the police.”
Jacqueline Carroll was assigned to distribute passes to parents wanting to watch the Academy Competition.
She never thought she’d have to deal with such fools, so she let out a deep sigh.
“This is the sixth time today. Must be tough, Teacher.”
A youthful voice popped out from under the desk.
Na-me was trimming the corners of her name tag with a small pair of scissors that fit perfectly in her hand.
It was to ensure that visitors wouldn’t get hurt on the sharp edges.
“Isn’t it uncomfortable squatting there?”
“No. It’s all dark and cozy. It’s better because if I stay in the room, the kids bother me too much.”
“Haha really?”
If Na-me had mentioned being bullied by her classmates at the beginning of the term, Jacqueline wouldn’t have hesitated to convene the anti-bullying committee.
Especially since she was a transfer student with a smaller build than the first graders, so getting bullied would be inevitable.
But after realizing that Na-me had physically dominated her classmates, she understood it was merely an unnecessary worry.
“Na-me.”
“Yes?”
“Could you promise me one thing?”
“What kind of promise?”
Na-me looked up from her scissors to gaze at Jacqueline Carroll.
At her age, she should be doing paper crafts rather than engaging in brawls, for sure.
“Participating in the Middle School competition is purely for experience, not to win. So if you make it to your turn, you must never overexert yourself. You understand what I’m trying to say, right?”
Jacqueline had known since long ago that Na-me had a unique fighting spirit.
Even if there was a 7-year age difference, she worried about whether Na-me would recklessly throw herself into danger.
“No matter what, it’s usually much harder to take it easy…”
“Na-me!”
“If that’s the case… okay, I’ll be careful not to hurt myself while fighting.”
“Sure. I believe in you. Our class will cheer hard for you.”
“Oh, someone else is coming. I’ll hide for a moment.”
Na-me quickly ducked her head under the desk.
While Jacqueline was guiding the visitors, Na-me quietly continued her snipping.
She didn’t make any outward signs, but she had a rough idea of why she had come here.
The eternal question for adopted children: “What do their biological parents look like?”
“Um… are you curious about your biological father, Na-me?”
Na-me hesitated to reply.
So, Jacqueline Carroll added a follow-up.
“Because I was a bit curious myself.”
“…?”
Na-me turned her head.
There was a complex mix of emotions on their faces as they looked at each other.
“Teacher was also adopted in America when she was just a baby.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“You know, the 1920s in Korea faced some economic hardships, right? So they probably abandoned me at an orphanage. But a few years ago when I came to Korea, I had a chance to meet them.”
“You met them?”
“Yeah. We just went for tea at a café, exchanged numbers, and left without any further interaction. It wasn’t anything remarkable.”
“Sounds really unremarkable.”
“The effect of the term ‘biological parents’ doesn’t matter; the time spent together is what’s truly important. They were just passing acquaintances, and nothing more.”
“In the end, they’re basically strangers.”
“Exactly. So, Na-me, be nice to your dad. You know he worries about you a lot, right?”
“Professor Chun is naturally a warm-hearted person…”
“Doubtful. He’ll treat you specially, just think about it again.”
Looking at Na-me, who was deep in thought with a furrowed brow, Jacqueline chuckled to herself. It was such an adorable sight, she couldn’t help but let out a pfft.
“Honestly, I’m not that curious about my father anymore. I’m quite old for that now.”
“Haha right, Na-me, you’re 8, so you’re all grown up now!”
“I’ll tell you a secret in return for your secret, Teacher.”
Na-me handed Jacqueline the meticulously trimmed name tags.
Jacqueline, seeing the detailed work, ruffled Na-me’s hair as a way to praise her.
“Teacher, it wasn’t really a secret. But I’m curious about what Na-me’s secret could be.”
“My secret’s nothing grand to hide from anyone. Actually, come to think of it, it’s not even my secret per se. Let me correct myself.”
Na-me was trying to sneak out from under the desk.
Jacqueline pushed her chair back to help Na-me up.
Na-me dusted off the hem of her skirt and whispered into Jacqueline’s ear.
“Our house cat weighs over 50 kg.”
