“Oh my, did you guys just come back from being stranded in the Amazon for a week?”
“Ha ha…”
Professor Cheon shot us a bewildered glance.
“Hurry up and wash up.”
“Yes, sir.”
As I took off my white socks, tiny grains of sand fell off with a thud thud.
Sitting side by side with Saetbyeol in front of the entrance door, we shook off the sand stuck to our feet.
“My extremely precious unni, do you want to come in with me? Kihihik.”
“Go away.”
“Gasp! Father! Na-me just said something bad! Please scold her firmly!”
I grabbed my underwear to change in my room and dashed off to the widest bathroom at full speed.
Whoosh…
Standing under the hot water, I closed my eyes.
It’s one of the few times during the day when my brain can take a break.
About five minutes later, I squeezed a bunch of shampoo and distributed it evenly through my hair, then fell back into meditation.
I wobbled side to side like a penguin, gently shaking my head.
As much as I wanted to stay in this state, I had to finish more quickly since we had a dining out appointment.
I cranked up the water pressure to wash off the foam.
Using a yellow duck-head shower ball, I scrubbed every corner of my body.
I felt a slight pain in my ankle and checked it to find a tiny bruise the size of a finger.
It seemed like the mark left when Saetbyeol had grabbed my ankle tightly.
Contemplating whether to wrap my aura around the bruise to erase it, I decided to leave it as a badge of honor.
When I came out of the bathroom, Saetbyeol was already done washing up and was drying her hair with a hairdryer.
“Did you wash up already?”
“Huh? I can’t hear you!”
“No, I said no.”
Feeling a brief surge of suspicion, I stuck my nose near the top of Saetbyeol’s head and sniffed.
A pleasant floral scent wafted through the air.
How did she wash up so fast?
Shaking my head in confusion, I entered my room and changed into my going-out clothes.
“Unni, let me dry your hair… Wait, when did you dry it all?”
“Using magic. It’s just too annoying.”
“Tsk, there’s no romance in that. If you’re all done, hurry and cast a hair-dyeing spell on me.”
“Can’t you still do it by yourself?”
“When I do, I keep missing a few strands. It looks like gray hair, and everyone at school keeps plucking them out! Huh, my precious scalp.”
“Maybe it’s because you cast the spell too early without infusing enough mana. Try giving yourself a longer interval next time.”
“Wow, thanks! Now let’s go-go-go!”
Both of us matched in black tees and jeans.
I put a beige hat on Saetbyeol’s head.
“Still, we need to be cautious.”
“How do I look? Pretty?”
“Hmm…”
As I scanned up and down Chu Saetbyeol, I suddenly thought, “Will she date in the future?”
Unlike me, who felt an instinctive aversion to love, Saetbyeol seemed very interested in dating shows.
The source? Netflix.
The peculiar thing was that she got absorbed whether the roles were male or female.
With looks like Saetbyeol’s, both boys and even girls would fall for her, yet it was hard to imagine her actually dating.
It felt a bit like looking at a daughter or younger sister.
As she pressed me for an answer, I gave a brief evaluation.
“You look like a little thief.”
“You know how to read faces. Ugh, I’m hungry. I need to ask Father to order sweet and sour pork too.”
The night air in September was sweltering.
Even the smallest walking effort felt like it could make beads of sweat appear, but we had the transportation of a car.
As usual, I sat in the passenger seat, while Saetbyeol poked my cheeks from the back seat playfully.
“Hey, guys, do you want to get off first and order? I don’t think I can find a parking spot and will have to keep circling.”
“Yes! I’ll safely escort Na-me to the restaurant!”
“It’s right in front of us.”
Once people know your face, you tend to only go to familiar restaurants.
As we entered a lamb skewer restaurant with a private room, we were greeted by busy serving staff with warm voices.
“Welcome! Oh, it’s been a while!”
“We have a reservation for three.”
“Yes, this way please. You can go into Room 2.”
Suddenly, Saetbyeol rummaged through her bag and took out a camera to film me.
“I feel like this is the perfect vlogging moment. You look so cute and fluffy!”
“Even after what you experienced today… Ugh, never mind.”
“What’s wrong with that? I didn’t commit a mortal sin! We even sparred, so there’s no more need to poke fun at it.”
“Fine. Should we order half original and half aged?”
“Sweet and sour pork too.”
By the time food arrived, Professor Cheon arrived at the restaurant right on time.
Saetbyeol tilted the camera 90 degrees and started filming him this time.
“Hmm?”
“Father, have you ever thought of appearing on V-tube?”
“What’s a V-tube? Who’d watch that by choice?”
“Family content is a huge hit… I mean, if you filmed with Na-me, you’d definitely hit a million views.”
“Just film more of Na-me. My grad students keep pestering me to film videos with their aegyo all the time.”
“Kya hahahaha Na-me unni doing aegyo! I’d rather the earth end!”
“Who says that? Hee-jin unni? Hyun-woo oppa?”
I took turns naming the grad students under Professor Cheon.
“Ha ha, they all say something like that.”
I puffed my cheeks with annoyance and placed the lamb skewers on the grill.
While Saetbyeol was being sneaky with the filming, I snatched the camera from her.
“Don’t fool around while we’re eating here. Let’s cook the meat.”
“Ugh…”
Every time oil dripped from the lamb skewers onto the charcoal, flames leaped up dramatically.
In the meantime, I shared the events of the day with Professor Cheon in great detail.
I was extremely lucky that the blackmailing culprit turned out to be a friend of a friend, avoiding a massive disaster.
I figured I’d need to prepare an appropriate disclaimer in case Saetbyeol’s face became public.
“So you two went to have a duel, huh? Our Na-me… Cough, it’s not going to be easy.”
“What was that brief silence just now?”
“Ha ha, good call on the sweet and sour pork, Saetbyeol. It pairs perfectly with the lamb skewers.”
When I shot Professor Cheon a glare, he averted his gaze, pretending to be innocent.
“Huh, Father, I almost died today. This violent place, and you want me to face more? If Na-me participated in the National Exchange Tournament, she’d win for sure. Nobody could beat her.”
“Didn’t Na-me take charge of the Raon Clan’s training this time? Did she do well?”
“Yes, yes. They thought I was just a kid, but it turns out it doesn’t matter how young you are.”
“Being a nephew, they probably treated you cutely.”
“Honestly, that was the vibe, yes. Speaking of which, about the National Exchange Tournament coming up, can I participate next year too?”
Chiiik—
Another drop of oil from the lamb skewers ignited, creating an intense flame.
Professor Cheon’s expression hardened.
“Ow…”
Saetbyeol stole a sideways glance and started nibbling on almonds with her chopsticks.
“Na-me, I didn’t say I’d object to you entering the interschool competition.”
“Yes, you did, and I’m always thankful for that.”
“You must have thought seriously to bring this up, so let’s be serious too. The Academy Competition and the National Exchange Tournament are very different.”
Professor Cheon’s lecture went on for ten whole minutes.
In the exchange tournament, they use a thin mana barrier, wand-sparring is dangerous, and what would he do if it puts a strain on the Aura Heart, and so on.
I nodded along and listened to every word.
“I’ll allow it when you enter middle school. You can wait that long, right?”
Four more years of waiting?
Professor Cheon seemed to be considering the timeline based on Cecilia.
I crossed my arms and shook my head.
“I want to go next year right away. Honestly, I can defeat everyone.”
“What does Saetbyeol think? About Na-me entering the exchange?”
“Me? Uh… I mean, Na-me has great combat vision, she’s smart, her magic is top-tier, and she uses her aura well too. Isn’t that good enough?”
“Seriously?”
“I’m not picking sides, but honestly, Na-me unni is amazing. She can triple cast, and if she can manage external manifestations, the age difference doesn’t matter much. She’s young and looks delicate, but that can also make the opponent let their guard down.”
Right on, good job, Chu Saetbyeol.
I cheered her on heartily, giving her mental high-fives.
While Professor Cheon pondered, Saetbyeol sent me a sign with her eyes.
She blinked desperately, but this one was really hard to interpret.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
‘Be cute! Be cute!’
‘Me?’
‘Yes, you!’
What if I do it and it backfires?
I picked a well-cooked piece of lamb from the skewer with my chopsticks.
Phew, right. The important thing is feelings over logic.
Human beings are said to be inherently irrational beings anyway.
I took the meat and walked halfway around the table, extending my chopsticks towards Professor Cheon.
“Eat this.”
Meanwhile, Saetbyeol shook her head, saying that’s not how it’s done.
I felt unfair; this was my best effort.
Professor Cheon leaned back slightly, looking puzzled.
Ideally, sunk costs shouldn’t be considered, but I was making the same common human error.
“Dad, aahhh.”
Pfft!
Professor Cheon, desperately trying not to laugh, sprayed water everywhere.
Knock knock—
At that moment, the room door opened, and a waiter appeared with dessert ice cream, making eye contact.
“Oh my…!”
Ah, the timing is just perfect…
“Look at this dutiful daughter! Since you’ve handed it over like this, Father, you must eat it quickly! Once you hit puberty, you won’t want to eat at the same table together, and these little moments will just be memories later.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you, Na-me. I’ll enjoy it.”
“Yes…”
Professor Cheon quickly snatched the meat from my chopsticks, and I awkwardly returned to my seat.
“It must be blissful to have such a loving daughter. Now for dessert, we have vanilla ice cream. Enjoy your meal!”
Professor Cheon looked more shocked than when I announced I’d be participating in the National Exchange Tournament.
He cleared his throat a couple of times, then asked in a serious tone.
“When you grow up, will you still eat together?”
“Does this mean you’re allowing me to participate in the National Exchange Tournament?”
“I’ll consider it positively.”
“Then I’ll make a promise too.”
Somehow, I managed to get his permission easily.
Thinking that saying only this might lead to a major misunderstanding, I added a final note.
“And I don’t dislike eating with you, Dad. I won’t dislike it in the future either.”
