I rolled up the top of my training suit.
I scratched my bare belly and headed out to the living room.
Yawning lazily, I peeked toward the kitchen.
Mom, who had been boiling stew, turned around and furrowed her brow sharply.
"Oh my, Tae-ho! What do you think you're doing?"
"What. Give me food. I'm hungry."
"Even if it's at home, still—a grown young lady exposing her belly and scratching it all over the place! How unseemly! Pull your clothes down right now!"
It looked like a hot ladle was about to fly at my back.
I lowered the hand that had been mindlessly scratching my belly.
I tugged down the rolled-up hem of my clothes.
Three years since that damn System awakened me and remodeled my body into a 140cm girl.
Mom now treats me as a perfect youngest daughter.
Demanding feminine manners as naturally as breathing has become routine.
Calling a thirty-two-year-old guy a "young lady."
It was absurd, but I had no energy to argue.
There's no point insisting with this body anyway—it doesn't work.
"Fine, fine. Just give me food."
I pulled out a dining chair and sat down.
My toes didn't reach the floor.
I swung my legs dangling in the air back and forth.
Mom let out a deep sigh and served me soybean paste stew and a heaping bowl of rice.
As I picked up my spoon, I asked casually.
"Ha-eun. It's the weekend, but I don't see her?"
"She went out early this morning to meet friends in Hongdae. She'll be back before dinner."
"Mm."
I answered half-heartedly.
I mixed rice into the bubbling stew.
I chewed and swallowed while picking at the side dishes.
Seeing my appetite return, today would be another peaceful day.
After finishing my meal, I crawled back into my room.
I thought about lying on the bed, but decided to play a game for the first time in a while.
I sank into my computer chair and turned on the power.
I logged into a first-person team shooter game that's been popular lately.
Matchmaking connected and the game started.
Enemy characters appeared all over the screen.
Too slow.
My physique and dynamic vision, perfectly optimized for mana by the System.
Far beyond the realm of ordinary people.
To my eyes, the enemy characters' movements looked choppy, like freeze frames.
I flicked my wrist holding the mouse lightly.
Click. Click. Click.
With cheerful mouse sounds, headshot notifications filled the screen.
The moment we met around a corner, I planted a bullet in the enemy's forehead in 0.1 seconds.
Recoil control was perfectly negated with mechanical hand movements.
"Ah, boring."
Three games in a row, I got over 50 kills alone.
Regardless of ally or enemy, the entire chat began flooding with profanity.
[Report that crazy hacker bastard]
[Using hacks so blatantly, motherless scum]
There wasn't even a hint of tension.
Massacring civilians with overwhelming physique quickly killed my interest.
I dropped the mouse and turned off the computer.
I crawled back out to the living room.
Mom was sitting on the sofa, completely absorbed in a rerun of a weekend makjang drama.
A provocative scene of a mother-in-law splashing kimchi juice on her daughter-in-law's face aired.
I quietly approached and pressed my butt right next to Mom.
"Why is that lady doing that again. Is she crazy."
"My thoughts exactly! Look at that spiteful thing. The drama's completely going off the rails."
Sitting side by side, we peeled tangerines and gleefully trashed the drama's protagonists.
We killed time meaninglessly like that.
The wall clock hands pointed to 5 PM.
My smartphone rang loudly from my training suit pocket.
Caller: Kang Ha-eun.
I had an ominous feeling, but pressed the call button anyway.
"What."
-Oppa! I'm in front of Hongdae!
Through the speaker, ear-splitting horns and loud club music blared.
-The street's a complete parking lot! Traffic's so jammed I can't move at all! Come pick me up! Please?
"Take a taxi."
-Taxis aren't available either! It's the weekend so the subway's packed to death—I'll get crushed! Please! Just fly over once!
I held the smartphone far from my ear.
I let out a deep sigh.
My head was already throbbing.
I pressed the end call button without mercy.
"Mom. I'm going to pick up Ha-eun."
Mom answered half-heartedly, her gaze fixed on the next scene of the makjang drama.
"Alright, be careful with all those people."
I didn't even need to walk to the front door.
I roughly threw open the veranda window.
I hopped up onto the windowsill.
I gathered mana in a sphere beneath my feet.
I kicked off the air hard.
My small body shot up over the city center like a cannonball.
Above Hongik University Station Exit 9.
The Friday evening streets swarmed with a horrific crowd.
Literally a sea of people.
Gradually lowering altitude, I released the mana field that had been blocking the wind.
My silver hair streaming long, I descended slowly from the air, landing very gently.
The moment my toes touched the asphalt.
"Huh? Up there!"
"Whoa, it's Hunter Kang Tae-ho!"
With someone's sharp cry, the street instantly stirred.
Like the Red Sea parting, the packed citizens stepped aside to both sides, opening a circular path.
Blind fervor upon meeting the National Savior.
Everyone stopped what they were doing and pulled out smartphones from their pockets.
Camera flashes blazed blindingly from all directions.
"Wow, amazing! Seeing the real thing is insane! So cute!"
"Hunter Tae-ho! Our Nation's Little Sister! We always support you! We love you!"
The entire street was covered with ear-splitting cheers.
My ears stung.
I gave up on managing my expression and just nodded lightly.
Tiring, but a reaction I'm used to by now since I experience it all the time.
I turned my gaze.
Far away, Kang Ha-eun was jumping up and down, waving her hands frantically.
"Oppa! Over here, here!"
With a dry expression, I strode over.
The crowd made way on their own.
Two unfamiliar girls stood on either side of Ha-eun.
Office workers in their late twenties with heavy makeup and flashy clothes.
When my gaze reached them, both gasped and covered their mouths.
They stomped their feet on the spot, not knowing what to do with their excitement.
"This is crazy, really crazy...! H-hello! Hunter Tae-ho! We're total fans!"
"We're Ha-eun's college besties! It's such an honor to meet you like this!"
Their enthusiastic greetings with sparkling eyes made my ears ring.
For my sister's sake, I answered out of courtesy.
"Yeah. Nice to meet you."
I finished the greeting briefly and glared sharply at Ha-eun again.
"Your car."
Kang Ha-eun grinned and scratched the back of her head.
"I didn't bring my car today. How could I bring a car to Hongdae. Hehe."
"......"
I furrowed my brow hard.
She said the road was jammed and she couldn't move.
She didn't even bring her car, so she'd planned from the start to call me as her personal taxi.
I was speechless at that shameless and vicious scheme.
I can't attack family with mana.
I drew up mana slightly and lifted my body into the air.
My gaze rose to the height of Ha-eun's crown.
—Thwack!
I made a fist with my right hand and gave Ha-eun's crown a solid knuckle rap.
"Ow! Oppa, are you crazy? Why'd you suddenly hit me!"
"Shut up. Hold on tight. If you fall, it's your responsibility."
I firmly grabbed the back collar and waist of Ha-eun's training suit.
Blue mana wrapped Ha-eun's body in a hemisphere shape.
A measure to protect an ordinary person from the wind pressure of high-speed flight.
While her friends looked up with blank expressions, I rose into the sky with Ha-eun dangling.
Leaving behind hundreds of cheers, I entered above the clouds.
During flight, fierce metallic wind tore at my ears.
But Ha-eun, inside the thick mana barrier, looked around the air with a peaceful face.
"What's Mom doing?"
"Watching a drama where kimchi slaps fly at home."
"Ah, what are we eating for dinner? I'm starving to death."
"Don't know. We'll eat when Dad gets home from work."
Ha-eun hummed cheerfully while floating comfortably through the air.
I could only sigh deeply at my shameless sister's attitude.
I drew up more mana and increased flight speed to the limit.
A few minutes later, I slipped into the penthouse veranda.
I set Ha-eun down on the living room floor.
I closed the window and entered the living room—a savory, oily smell vibrated through the air.
"Oh, our reliable and pretty Tae-ho's here!"
Dad, home from work, was happily unpacking a black plastic bag on the dining table.
Mom, drinking water in the kitchen, chimed in welcomingly.
"Our daughters are here? Go wash your hands in the bathroom quickly. Your dad bought old-fashioned whole fried chicken from the market."
An oil-stained brown paper bag.
Inside, two whole chickens fried crispy and golden brown showed off their glory.
My annoyed mood completely subsided and my mouth watered.
"Wow, chicken."
I immediately turned my steps toward the dining table instead of my room.
I plopped down in a chair and tore off a large drumstick with my bare hands.
The oily fried coating and tender meat filled my mouth as I chewed.
Juices dripped down my chin.
"Mm-mm. Good, good. Delicious. Dad's got good sense."
I silently demolished half a chicken in an instant.
I piled the bare bone remains high on a plate.
I pulled out tissues and roughly wiped the oil on my fingers and around my mouth.
Full belly and warm back made my body drowsy.
I slowly got up from my seat and stuck my hands in my training suit pockets.
"I'm really going to my room. Don't call me."
"Uh, Oppa. Wait, wait!"
Kang Ha-eun, who'd been tearing apart chicken breast, urgently blocked my way.
Her expression was extremely servile.
She rolled her eyes around, sneakily glancing at our parents—suspicious.
"What. What now. I'm tired."
"No, it's just... you know my bestie with long hair who was with me in Hongdae earlier."
"So what."
"She suddenly awakened late a few days ago, right? But she's freaking out about entering her first practice dungeon tomorrow..."
Ha-eun clasped her hands together and made a pitiful nasal sound.
"Couldn't Oppa look after our Seol-a just a little? Just the basics of how to draw and use mana."
I was dumbfounded.
A vicious scheme targeting the timing when I was in a good mood from eating chicken.
"What? Are you crazy? Why would I tutor a newbie scrub."
"Aah, please just once! She's my 10-year bestie! What if she dies!"
"Tell her to go to the Association or a guild. There are tons of training instructors who get paid to work, so why would I bother doing a tutorial?"
I flatly refused.
The way I handle mana is thoroughly and brutally for killing.
The fastest and most efficient method to smash beast bastards' heads.
I don't have any romantic techniques in my head to kindly teach beginners.
"Please! Oppa, you're the strongest in this region! If the strongest personally gives 1-on-1 tutoring, it'll be perfect! Right?"
Ha-eun grabbed my sleeve tightly and clung to me.
The tiresome whining began.
If I don't give in now, she's the annoying type who'll knock on my door and yell all night.
I pressed my forehead and sighed deeply enough to sink the ground.
"...Ah, fine, fine. Stop pulling. You'll stretch the collar."
I swatted Ha-eun's hand away and turned around.
As I opened the door and entered, I covered my ears against the fussy noise coming from behind.
"Yahoo! Kyaa! My Oppa's the best! I really love you!"
I slammed the door shut and locked it.
I dove onto the soft bed like I was collapsing.
I buried my face in the pillow.
Resting isn't resting.
Damn it.
When will my perfect, lazy semi-unemployed life ever become peaceful?
