Brother 5

It was about 5 years after her older sister had been abandoned in the slums.

“Oh, is this the Chairman’s daughter?”

“She seems to have inherited the Chairman’s exceptional beauty.”

“An S-class Awakener daughter, truly a case of like father, like daughter. Haha!”

Han Joon-hyuk introduced his daughter to the world.

His proud daughter who, like him, was an S-class Awakener.

His only daughter.

“That’s impressive. Raising a child alone isn’t an easy choice. And to think you’ve even reduced your work hours to spend more time with your child…”

A man who lost his wife at a young age.

A father who, despite being a widower, carefully raised his daughter while even cutting back on work hours.

“That’s enough. This is embarrassing to hear…”

That was the public image of the man called Han Joon-hyuk.

In some ways, it was an image even more popular than Lee Yeon’s.

If Lee Yeon was like an unapproachable superhuman, Han Joon-hyuk was the image of a father of the era who had overcome a tragic narrative to live for his daughter.

“…Fools.”

Of course, it was only.

“Pigs and dogs are truly worthless creatures. They let emotions cloud their judgment of the bigger picture. Like a pot lid, they heat up quickly and cool down just as fast, without a trace of coolness.”

Just a public image.

“Kill your emotions. If you don’t, you too will be a failure. You’ll be driven out like that incompetent one. Do you understand?”

“…Yes, Father.”

The older sister who was driven out, or might as well have been driven out by his own hands.

From a young age, what Han Suho had seen was practically nonexistent family love, and only gifted education from the man called Han Joon-hyuk.

“Stand up. Never fall. You must not kneel. That is the form of a loser.”

Even cutting back on Firefly Group’s work hours.

Han Joon-hyuk focused on gifted education.

“Don’t get even one question wrong. I’ll be watching by your side.”

It’s not to say there was physical abuse.

Han Joon-hyuk was a parent who cherished his child.

It’s just that physical abuse would have been too costly.

“Excellent. As expected of my proud daughter.”

Han Joon-hyuk often praised his child.

“At this rate of growth, someday surpassing Lee Yeon’s position might not be just a dream.”

Even comparing her to the hero.

“…Yes. Thank you, Father.”

She had lived such a life.

Always, constantly.

It must undoubtedly be a relatively happy life.

She lived without lacking anything as a child of a prestigious family.

She could receive education every day that others couldn’t.

…Wanting anything more would be a luxury.

Han Joon-hyuk always taught her so.

“Ah…”

In the midst of such repetitive days.

“Who…?”

Suddenly, she felt a gaze.

An unfamiliar, yet familiar presence.

Not Han Joon-hyuk’s.

Secretly watching her.

Somehow warm.

“─!”

“Wait!”

Someone ran.

She chased after that someone.

Desperately.

“Wait, please!”

She didn’t know why.

She just thought instinctively.

“…Please, don’t, leave me, behind!”

“…”

That she mustn’t lose them.

That she doesn’t want to lose them.

“Please…!”

Because if she lost them now, she felt she would never be able to catch them again.

“…This is troublesome.”

A familiar voice is heard.

“If my only sister makes such an expression. That’s cheating, you know.”

A gentle, gentle voice.

“Sis…ter…?”

“I was just going to secretly see how you were living and leave.”

A ray of light shone through.

“…It’s been a long time, Suho.”

“Sister!”

Even though she had once abandoned her with her own hands.

“I’m glad. You look healthy. If that bastard had tried to do anything to harm you, I was going to destroy everything, original story or not.”

Because this time, she didn’t want to lose her.

“Sister, sister! Sister…!”

“Don’t, don’t cry! I don’t know what it is, but I’m sorry! I was wrong!”

She hugged her tightly.

With all her might.

“Come on, stop crying!”

“…Okay!”

“That’s right, our Suho. A good sister who listens to her older sister so well.”

She ended up hugging her with all her might.

“Hmph.”

Like a shackle.

“To think you were still alive. And for a beggar from the slums to dare intrude into this mansion? This father doesn’t know how to handle this situation.”

Suho.

“What do you think, Suho?”

That name meaning to protect something, it really didn’t suit the incompetent younger sister after all.

“So this is where you were, Suho.”

“…Professor Lee Yong-hyun.”

“Right now, I’m not ‘Professor,’ just call me Yong-hyun.”

The blond man approached in a friendly and affectionate manner.

His gaze was the opposite.

It was directed at her chest area and the hem of her skirt.

“We’re close, aren’t we?”

“…”

It’s blatant.

But she couldn’t refuse.

Because there was Han Joon-hyuk’s order to do well in the matchmaking.

“Shall we go have a cup of tea?”

She had no right to refuse.

If she were to refuse Han Joon-hyuk’s orders, her sister would─.

“Hey.”

A husky woman’s voice rang out.

“Professor Seo Nanhwa.”

“What are you doing to my assigned student right now?”

Seo Nanhwa.

The new professor with ash-gray hair blocked Lee Yong-hyun’s way.

“Well…”

“Cut the crap and get out of the way, now.”

A voice devoid of any likability.

It even feels somewhat disgusted.

“…Don’t you think your words are a bit harsh?”

“Nope. I don’t.”

“Ah, or could it be that you’re jealous?”

Lee Yong-hyun reached out his hand.

“You have a cute side.”

As if trying to pat her head.

“Please wait a bit now. You understand, right?”

“Hey.”

Thwack.

Seo Nanhwa grabbed Lee Yong-hyun’s wrist.

“Ugh…!”

“Just get lost while I’m asking nicely.”

Firmly.

Without a shred of likability.

“Right now.”

“…I’ll just say this one thing. Violence is not right.”

It’s quite a cool retort.

Spouting incomprehensible nonsense, Lee Yong-hyun left.

“This place is a bit dirty. Shall we go somewhere else?”

“…Yes.”

Seo Nanhwa turned around casually.

Han Suho quietly followed her.

“…Well.”

In a somewhat awkward silence.

As the silence continued, Seo Nanhwa opened her mouth.

“Well, did something bad happen?”

“Does it… look that way?”

“Yep. Extremely.”

Showing emotions is not the right thing to do.

They must be hidden.

Even from her sister.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing.”

“Don’t lie.”

Seo Nanhwa declared.

“I’ve lived 10 years longer than you. My life experience is different, you see.”

“Is that so.”

Mana is a special substance.

Among its properties, there are anti-aging components.

Because of her small stature, Seo Nanhwa’s appearance might look similar to a student’s.

“Height isn’t everything in life. There are legal lolis in the world shorter than me, you know.”

“…What’s that?”

However, while their apparent age might be similar, the experience accumulated inside was completely different.

“If you have worries, tell them to an adult. Don’t suffer alone.”

“…”

Those were words different from the adults Han Suho knew.

To open up, such a thing couldn’t be possible.

“Why, is it hard to open up to a professor you’ve just met?”

“…”

It wasn’t just her.

She shouldn’t open up comfortably to anyone.

That was a vulnerability.

“Hmm. If you don’t want to talk, shall I guess?”

And that vulnerability would end up hurting not her, but her sister.

“It’s hard to make such an expression over worries about objects. Your age group is full of pubescent sensitivity, so it’s probably related to a person, not a thing.”

Seo Nanhwa smiled slyly.

“You fought, didn’t you? With someone you’re quite close to.”

“…!”

The words spoken with a sly smile hit the mark too easily.

“How…”

“I just found out now. You’re so startled because I hit the nail on the head, right?”

Such an innocent reaction.

Han Suho easily showed her vulnerability.

By trying so hard not to show vulnerability, it becomes even easier to see the gaps.

“Siblings?”

“…”

“If you don’t want to talk, just listen. Just think of it as a straight-laced professor rambling.”

Seo Nanhwa mumbled.

“I fought too, in the past. With someone close… My older sister. Yeah.”

That situation was, tragically, very similar to Han Suho’s.

“Sisters are supposed to grow up fighting, right? My sister and I fought well and made up often. Like all sisters do.”

There can’t be human relationships that are always happy.

People have different thoughts, after all.

“Looking back, we really fought over such trivial things. But, in the end, we always made up.”

Don’t they say the ground hardens after rain?

Sisters would strengthen their bond only after fighting.

“…So. Yeah, I always believed that even if I fought with my sister, we would definitely make up someday.”

However, if what falls is not rain but a flood.

“It didn’t turn out that way.”

The ground will collapse without a chance to harden.

“We had a big fight. Over differences in opinion. Enough to make your current expression.”

Gates, and monsters.

That calamity changed everything.

“After that, we were awkward for a while, and in the end, we couldn’t reconcile.”

One became the hero’s right arm.

One became the hero’s left arm.

The difference was the extent to which they were willing to use any means necessary.

Seo Nanhwa immersed herself in the world of the shadows.

“After some time passed, my sister and I managed to start talking again. But that was it. We couldn’t go back to how we were before.”

A businesslike, awkward, and stiff relationship.

“Do you want to become like that with your precious person?”

“…”

Han Suho remained silent.

She was silent, but there could be no answer other than denial.

What should she do?

What is the right thing to do?

Han Suho didn’t know.

It was in the corridor after the training period ended.

Han Suho walked inconspicuously through the bustling corridor.

“Found you!”

A voice was heard.

From behind.

Clearly.

“Han-Su-ho!”

“…”

She ignores it.

Without looking back, she continues on her way.

“Don’t ignore me!”

A hand grabs her.

Han Seoyeon grabs Han Suho’s now empty hand.

“I have something to tell you! So come with me for a moment! Rejection is not an option!”

Regardless of the gazes around them, Han Seoyeon energetically led Han Suho.

Eventually, the place they headed to was a private training ground.

“…What do you have to say that you brought me to a place like this?”

Han Suho spoke coldly.

Just like her biological father.

“I’ll be honest!”

Han Seoyeon spoke without losing her confidence.

“I don’t really know specifically why you’re avoiding me! I can’t guess!”

“…”

There was no way she could guess.

Everything was just Han Suho’s unreasonable behavior.

“But, I don’t want to be like this with you!”

She had been unreasonable.

With her unreasonable behavior, she must have hurt Han Seoyeon’s feelings.

“I want to talk with you!”

And yet.

“I’m not good at speaking coherently. So…!”

And yet.

As always, she reached out first.

“Let’s have a match with swords after a long time! Let’s talk with swords!”