"……!"
The moment our eyes met, my heart lurched.
Those golden eyes were fixed on me and me alone.
I felt an instinctive surge of alarm and took a few stumbling steps back.
But—
*Fwsh—*
"!!!"
I blinked once, and the girl who'd been hugging Jang-mi just a moment ago was right in front of my face.
She tilted her head this way and that, a small finger propped under her chin.
"I feel like I've seen you somewhere… hmm……"
She was close enough that our noses might have touched. Just as she leaned in and started sniffing, Jang-mi stepped between us.
Jang-mi snatched me back and tucked me behind her in one smooth motion.
"Hmm…?"
"That's enough, *'S-rank Hunter Cheon Do-hwa'-nim.*"
"Wh— why are you being so stiff about it…!"
The pointed formality — full title and all — hit like a door slamming shut. Do-hwa's face crumpled instantly.
"I'm not in my twenties anymore… and please, stop making a scene in front of people."
"I just… I was so happy to see you, that's all…"
"Anyway, we'll be going. Take care of yourself. See you next time."
Do-hwa's shoulders drooped like a scolded puppy, but Jang-mi was unmoved.
She gripped my wrist firmly and walked away without looking back.
"W— wait…! Hey! Jang-mi! At least tell me who that kid is!"
The forlorn cry faded behind us as we practically fled the association building.
***
"Ugh… she's gone…"
"……"
Do-hwa watched the retreating figures and clicked her tongue with a bitter expression.
Then she furrowed her brow and sank into thought.
"But who on earth was that child… there was something unmistakably familiar about her aura."
"……"
"Da-bin… say something, would you…"
The dark-haired woman standing like her shadow adjusted her bamboo hat and spoke quietly.
"That girl just now… she was quite adorable. As much as you are, Master."
"……"
***
I watched Jang-mi hurry out and felt puzzled.
Something about her seemed off — a faint but unmistakable discomfort.
That woman had been a bit overwhelming, sure, but not enough to warrant fleeing like this.
Jang-mi got into the car without a word and headed home.
We were already on the road when she finally spoke.
"Um… Shin-a."
"Yes…?"
"That person we ran into earlier… you know."
"Yes."
"If you happen to see her again, just pretend you didn't. Don't talk to her."
"Huh…? Why…?"
"Mm… it's just a bit complicated. As much as possible… the fact that you're Shin-woo's daughter… don't ever mention that. Not to her."
"……"
Something happened.
Right up until I died, there hadn't been any real friction between Jang-mi and that woman. If anything, they'd been on friendly terms.
Something must have happened between my death and now.
But reading Jang-mi's demeanor carefully — it wasn't hatred or revulsion.
It was more like Jang-mi was the one who'd become unilaterally wary. Afraid, even.
Like someone trying to hide something.
I kept my answer short.
"Okay. I will."
***
"Alright… Shin-a, it's all dry. Shall we go to sleep now?"
The hair dryer fell silent. She ran her fingers gently through my hair one last time and looked down at me.
Time for bed.
As her hand moved toward the light switch, I quickly reached out and grabbed the hem of her thin shirt.
"Hm…? Shin-a, what's wrong…?"
She stopped, tilting her head at my sudden movement.
She looked surprised, but her eyes were still full of warmth.
"I… want something."
"Hm…? Oh, right. What does our Shin-a want? Go ahead, tell me anything."
She smiled softly and leaned down toward me, eyes bright with anticipation — as if she was ready to grant whatever I asked.
"Tomorrow… I want to spend the day alone."
The smile vanished from her face.
"What?"
"Don't you have work tomorrow?"
"Mm… so you want to stay home by yourself?"
Her voice wavered slightly.
The conversation had taken an unexpected turn, and unease began seeping into her expression.
"Yes."
The moment my answer landed, her face set into something firm.
"No."
"Why not?"
"……Is it that you don't want to go outside? Then I won't go to work tomorrow. I'll stay home with you. Let's be together, okay?"
She grabbed my hands anxiously and pressed on.
"No. You need to go to work. I just—"
"Absolutely not. Absolutely, absolutely not…!"
She shook her head compulsively and cut me off.
"……But… you said you'd give me what I wanted."
I deliberately made my expression a little sulky and looked away.
"Ah— no…! That's— that's not—"
She stumbled over her words, visibly flustered.
The conflict was plain on her face — caught between her promise and her need to keep me close.
I didn't let the moment pass. I looked up at her with the most pitiful eyes I could manage and pressed my case.
"I'll be good. Please. Okay…?"
"Ugh……"
My pleading gaze began to crack her resolve.
She let out a pained groan, brow furrowed, and something unnameable flickered across her face.
"Ah… okay. But you have to stay home and be good, understand? We call each other every hour, okay? Promise me?"
She finally surrendered, head drooping.
"Yes!"
I answered with a bright smile. She stared at me with a complicated expression, clearly still reluctant, then let out a long sigh.
"Haah……"
***
"Shin-a… you'll definitely call, right? When I call, you pick up right away, okay?"
At the front door, shoes already on, she couldn't bring herself to leave. She held my hands tight and made me promise over and over.
Her eyes were swirling with anxiety and restlessness.
"Yes, don't worry."
"Ugh… okay, I'm going. If anything happens, contact me right away!"
She waved and stepped out the door.
*Click—*
The sound of the door lock engaging echoed through the quiet hallway.
"……"
Silence.
I took a deep breath.
A tingling rush of freedom welled up from somewhere deep in my chest.
Finally.
Finally, I had time to myself…!
I slowly looked around the wide, empty apartment.
"Hmm……"
Without wasting another second, I headed to the bathroom.
***
"Phew……"
I stepped out from under the warm stream of water and shook the dampness from my hair.
The girl in the mirror still looked like a stranger.
I straightened my clothes and stood in the middle of the living room.
"Alright… ready."
This wasn't about lounging around.
I steadied my breathing and murmured quietly.
"Status Window."
A translucent blue panel shimmered into the air.
User: Kim Shin-a (Kim Shin-woo) | Age: 11
Class: Mage | Level: 1
[ STATS ]
HP: 5 (F) MP: 11 (E)
STR: 3 (F) INT: 3 (F)
DEX: 4 (F) LUK: 3 (F)
Available Points: 0
[ UNIQUE TRAIT ]
Lightning Magic (Lv.1)
"Ugh……"
Seeing my stats laid out in numbers made me sigh without thinking.
Pathetic, as expected.
Even accounting for being in an eleven-year-old's body, these numbers were embarrassingly low.
But even if I never went back to being a hunter…
Getting stronger couldn't hurt, right?
*Click—*
I let the corner of my mouth curl up and stepped lightly out the front door.
Outside, brilliant sunlight poured down.
On a normal day, I'd have been heading to work right about now.
My chest swelled.
I pulled out my phone and opened the complex map.
"Hmm…… let's see……"
I scrolled through it with my finger, and near the back of the complex, connected to a forest path, I spotted a wide-open clearing.
"That looks… perfect."
***
I arrived at the quiet clearing, well off the beaten path.
The playground I'd passed on the way was deserted.
Everyone would be at school by now.
School, huh.
I won't have to go, right?
Probably…?
I stood in the center of the clearing and loosened up my body.
"Ugh… hah…!"
After a quick stretch, I clenched my fist with grim resolve.
"Alright… let's do this."
I launched into a full sprint, aiming straight ahead for some serious physical training.
The satisfying rush of wind against my face lasted all of about—
"Hah… hah… ugh?!"
Maybe thirty seconds.
My lungs felt like they were on fire, and my legs gave out beneath me.
I collapsed ungracefully onto the grass.
My heart hammered like it might burst, and my vision spun.
"Ugh… heh…"
Why is this… so hard?
I'd expected it, but not this bad.
I'd only been running at a pace slightly faster than a grown man's brisk walk, and my body was screaming.
My grand plan to raise my stats through training had hit a wall before it even started.
The most efficient method would be running dungeons and leveling up, honestly…
The thought crossed my mind and I laughed despite myself.
A dungeon? Why would I go in there.
And there's no way there'd be a gate in this apartment complex anyway—
*Shwooooom—!*
"……?"
I sat up from the ground on reflex.
An unidentifiable vibration hummed through the air, and then a swirling vortex of blue light tore open a massive hole in the space before me.
"……"
Oh wow, a gate.
***
I approached the gate carefully.
I stretched out a small finger and poked at its surface.
A tingling pulse of mana traveled up through my fingertip.
"Wow…"
A quiet sound of wonder escaped my lips.
It's a real gate.
The rank… somewhere between D and C, maybe?
I drew on old experience to roughly gauge the gate's size and the density of the mana.
Not immediately lethal, but well beyond what a civilian could handle.
I circled the gate, studying it from different angles, chin in hand.
"Hmm……"
After a moment's thought, I shook my head.
Nope. Not going in. Too scary.
I turned without hesitation and started walking back toward home.
But then, at that exact moment—
"Watch out……!"
"……?"
A sudden shout, and a strong force slammed into my shoulder from the side.
I lost my balance and went face-first into the ground.
"???"
I looked up in a daze, and what I saw was absurd.
Whether from the recoil of pushing me, or from having sprinted over too fast, the person couldn't recover their footing — they stumbled, flailed, and got sucked straight into the gate.
"Huh……?"
The clearing was quiet again. Just me, alone.
The soft rustle of grass in the wind was the only sound filling the silence.
"……"
Was that person an Awakened?
No — their movements were too… sloppy for an Awakened.
And that hadn't been a deliberate entry. They'd clearly fallen in by accident, trying to save me.
"……"
What awaited that person inside was obvious.
"Haah……"
I stood up and brushed the dirt off my pants.
Even if they'd misread the situation, I understood why they'd pushed me. My current appearance was that of a small girl. A small girl standing in front of a gate — I'd have come running too.
And they'd ended up like that trying to save me, so…
I should go get them, shouldn't I?
The promise to stay quietly at home was already broken anyway.
I stepped forward into the rippling blue vortex.