episode_0012

One of the five exceptionally strong Awakeners from Korea’s first generation. Cheon Gyeongho, known by the alias Thunder God Monarch.

It has been revealed in modern times that awakening factors are heavily influenced by genetics.

Naturally, all of Cheon Gyeongho’s direct descendants became Awakeners, and most of them achieved the title of S-rank Awakener, a group that rarely numbers more than thirty in a generation.

It was only natural that as time passed, the Cheon family came to be known as a prestigious Awakener family.

Currently, the Cheon family’s prestige was even higher. This was because the current Head of Household was an exceptionally talented Awakener, not inferior even to the Thunder God Monarch himself.

One of Korea’s three Grand Archmages, Ten Thousand Thunders Cheon Sehee. She was also Cheon Soyul’s mother and the current Head of the Cheon family.

For decades after her awakening, she resolved dangers in Korea. Now, she actively dedicates herself to nurturing new generations, possessing a level of altruism that is rare even among the many Awakeners.

Her fundamentally benevolent nature, yet ruthless demeanor towards monsters, and above all, the absolute power that underpinned it all, made her one of the nation’s top Awakeners.

It was also tacitly known that she was the implicit leader among the three Grand Archmages.

“Everyone, it’s good to see your faces after such a long time. Have you all been well?”

Even she, despite her stature, was simply the mother of three children at home.

Cheon Sehee, with a bright smile, pulled back a chair and took the head seat.

Accordingly, her three children, gathered together after a long time, also took their seats. Luxurious dishes were arranged on the long table.

The general public often presumed that the atmosphere of the renowned Cheon family would be rigid and precarious, like walking on thin ice, much like a chaebol family.

“Mother, have you been well? I apologize for not visiting often during the semester.”

“Hmm, yes. Woohyuk, your old-soul-like way of speaking is still the same. From a mother’s perspective, it’s quite heartbreaking.”

Of course, that was a common misconception and misunderstanding held by those who didn’t know them well. It was, so to speak, an unconscious prejudice against a prestigious family.

Cheon Sehee responded to her eldest son Cheon Woohyuk’s formal greeting with a tired, soulless laugh, while her eldest daughter Cheon Hyeona sighed beside her.

“Seriously, even after half a year, you haven’t changed at all, Hyuk. You’re not insisting on that way of speaking with your school friends, are you?”

“…What’s wrong with my way of speaking? Isn’t it polite and good, Unnie?”

Cheon Hyeona frowned at Cheon Woohyuk’s reply. She glanced at him, but seeing the genuine incomprehension on his face, she gave up on saying anything more.

“Alright, alright. If it was going to be corrected, it would have been by now. Just do whatever you want, our Hyuk. Yeah.”

Cheon Woohyuk’s head seemed to float a question mark, as if asking ‘Why is this happening?’, while Cheon Sehee quietly chuckled at the comical exchange between her daughter and son.

Cheon Hyeona blinked and looked back at her.

“Mom?”

“No, it’s just. Your mother can’t help but laugh just by watching you two talk back and forth. It’s quite troubling.”

“…Didn’t we, like, not even have an interesting conversation?” Cheon Hyeona asked, a little abashed.

Cheon Hyeona asked, a little abashed, but Cheon Sehee simply shook her head slowly.

Her warm gaze swept over her two children, son and daughter, in turn.

“To your mother, it is an interesting conversation. You are all so busy, and I am not much different. There aren’t many days when we can gather like this. How could it not be interesting?”

“…Hmm.”

And it wasn’t that they didn’t understand her words; Cheon Hyeona and Cheon Woohyuk both nodded bitterly, as if in agreement.

The eldest daughter was occupied with guild duties, and the eldest son and youngest daughter were studying at the Academy, so the days they could gather at the main residence rarely amounted to one or two months a year.

How must Cheon Sehee feel, guarding this large mansion alone during such long periods of absence?

Of course, there were many collateral relatives, servants, and managers.

Nevertheless, it was sad that the time spent with family was so short for everyone. Cheon Hyeona and Cheon Woohyuk genuinely understood their mother’s hardship.

It was while the two children were looking at their mother with warm eyes that this happened.

“Hmm.”

Cheon Sehee’s gaze turned to the youngest member of the family for the first time. The light brown-haired girl sitting at the very end of the table, suppressing her presence.

“Soyul is very quiet today, aren’t you?”

At her words, Cheon Soyul finally looked up. She had already picked up her spoon and chopsticks while her family was exchanging pleasantries (?).

While it could be considered rude table manners depending on the situation, the three people above her didn’t care about such things.

Cheon Soyul knew this and had started eating first. Because she was hungry.

She demurely placed a piece of rolled omelet onto white rice and popped it into her small mouth.

Cheon Soyul savored the taste, chewing for a while, then perked her ears and turned her head.

Even though she had roughly nodded to answer her mother’s words… the three people’s gazes showed no sign of leaving her.

Cheon Soyul’s expression subtly crumpled. She didn’t dislike the warmth in their gazes, but for some reason, she felt like a cat diligently eating in front of its butlers.

That pleased gaze itself meant they saw her as a child, didn’t it?

Of course, receiving all the cuteness as the youngest in the family wasn’t a one-day or two-day affair…

Still, she was legally an adult now, and such treatment made her a bit uncomfortable. Cheon Soyul didn’t hide her sullen expression and glared.

“Everyone, please eat, won’t you? Was I the only one hungry? You must have traveled a long way, yet you have the energy to just stare at people… *Hmph*, really.”

She spoke briefly, then, full of displeasure, demonstrated incredibly fast chopstick work as a protest against their gazes.

“If you don’t eat, I’ll take it all.”

She began to swipe pieces of food from various spots on the table onto her own plate. And she filled her mouth. *Munch munch.*

Only after Cheon Soyul shot them a sharp glare did the three others pick up their own spoons and chopsticks.

Their expressions didn’t show much alarm.

As expected.

Cheon Hyeona smiled brightly and casually tossed out a remark.

“It’s good that Soyul still looks so full of energy.”

“…Huh?”

Cheon Soyul instinctively flashed her eyes, but Cheon Hyeona paid her no mind.

She simply picked up a well-deboned piece of meat and offered it to her sister sitting next to her.

“Here, I’ll debone it for you. You should eat fish too. You’re still growing, aren’t you?”

“…Unnie? I’m twenty years old? I’m not going to grow any taller now, am I?”

“No, but still, eat a lot.”

It was when Cheon Soyul was about to retort further to Cheon Hyeona’s somewhat forced persuasion. She smiled playfully and lowered her gaze slightly.

“Our Soyul, your body is so frail, your unnie is worried. I don’t know if you’ll ever get a boyfriend at the Academy like this.”

“…”

Veins popped on Cheon Soyul’s forehead.

“Unnie, the Academy is a sacred place of education. It is by no means a matchmaking service for the premature romances of young students…”

“Yes. Woohyuk, let’s just be quiet for a moment.”

Cheon Woohyuk, the current Student Council President of the Academy, whose right to speak was instantly revoked, frowned.

Though he stayed silent.

“So how about it! Does Soyul have any boys she’s close with at the Academy?”

Cheon Hyeona, tirelessly, sparkled her eyes next to Cheon Soyul. An older sister’s interest is bound to be her younger sister’s romantic situation.

She waited for Cheon Soyul’s answer with a subtly expectant expression.

“…Well. It’s awkward when you look at me like that? There’s no way there’s a guy like that.”

Cheon Soyul did her best to control her expression and gave a negative answer. In her own way, she was trying to prevent Lee Hyunjin’s existence from leaking out. At least to her unnie.

Cheon Woohyuk, who attended the same Academy despite being in a different year, quietly raised an eyebrow, but Cheon Hyeona didn’t notice him.

“What?! What do you mean ‘no such thing’? Academy life only happens once in your life, you should properly enjoy it! When the new semester starts, quickly pick someone and make them your lover!”

She whined as if complaining, and Cheon Soyul decided to simply ignore her completely.

It was then that Cheon Woohyuk, sitting next to her, sighed as if he couldn’t listen anymore.

“…Unnie. While I truly cannot comprehend the romantic views of today’s students, even if I concede a hundred times, I believe such an idea is very dangerous. To tell her to just pick anyone and try dating them. Is that something you should say to your younger sister?”

“What? Why! Back in my day, everyone dated this person and that person!”

Cheon Hyeona sharply raised her voice, intending to retort. She had meant it as advice, having experienced such school life herself.

However, the simultaneous crumpling of Cheon Soyul and Cheon Woohyuk’s expressions was a reaction she hadn’t anticipated.

“Unnie. You’re truly the worst.”

“Unnie, please don’t get married. I can clearly see the difficult path ahead for my future brother-in-law, so I cannot support you.”

“Noooo, why are you like this?!”

Cheon Hyeona, having received harsh words from both of her younger siblings at once, made a tearful face. Of course, her two siblings’ reactions were consistently dismissive.

Around that time, Cheon Soyul subtly turned her head and cautiously glanced at her mother, who had remained quiet all along.

Her mother was simply watching her three children’s comedic banter with a pleased expression. Of course, there was no way she wouldn’t notice Cheon Soyul’s gaze, as it was quite blatant.

“Do you have something you want to say, Soyul?”

“…Hmm.”

Cheon Soyul swallowed briefly. Something to say. Yes, there was, but trying to bring it up directly again, her mouth wouldn’t open easily.

Even more so at a dinner like this, with everyone present.

Would it be better to visit her separately after everyone had returned to their rooms? Cheon Soyul’s thoughts brewed hesitation and conflict.

“Soyul?”

It was at that moment that Cheon Sehee urged her again.

Cheon Soyul sighed inwardly.

“…Well, it’s nothing else, really. Mom.”

“Yes, speak comfortably.”

Perhaps she noticed that her youngest daughter’s tone was somehow different from usual. Cheon Sehee soothed her with a pleasantly calm voice.

She didn’t lead her on, but the gazes of the other two siblings were inevitably drawn to her.

In less than a few tens of seconds, Cheon Soyul was already blaming herself for having brought it up.

This really isn’t something to say. Just, just swallow it back down.

“About Heavenly Thunder.”

But contrary to the thoughts in her head, her mouth began to speak on its own.

The inner Cheon Soyul sighed, pressing her forehead, but she couldn’t take back what she had already said.

“Do you have something you want to ask your mother about it? If your progress has hit a plateau, tell me where you’re stuck.”

“Nooo, it’s not that serious. It’s just…”

After a brief hesitation, Cheon Soyul finally decided to continue speaking.

Well, what could possibly happen?

“It’s just, um. About our unique magic. What was the scope of its possible transmission, again?”

“…Huh?”

“I mean… For example, if I take on a disciple, or if I have children in the future…”

By that point, Cheon Sehee, as well as her two siblings sitting next to her, were staring at her with stiff expressions.

Cheon Soyul, due to unnecessary embarrassment, was wiggling her fingers and didn’t notice.

“J-just in case. Yes.”

And so, she even blurted out words that, had she simply looked up, she would surely have stopped herself from saying.

“…If I, say, get a husband…? What happens then? I was just wondering, uh.”

Only after she finished speaking did Cheon Soyul notice the strangeness. Wondering at the unusually quiet silence around her, she raised her head.

…Her family’s reactions were truly varied.

“…Soyul, it seems your mother has something important to hear.”

Cheon Sehee pressed her forehead, struggling to hide her complex emotions, and forced a smile.

“Gasp, *gasp*! Could it be that Soyul, *gasp*…!”

Cheon Hyeona screamed loudly, covering her mouth. The sparkle in her eyes seemed impossible for even her to suppress.

And finally, in Cheon Woohyuk’s case.

“Haa.”

He merely sighed, covering his eyes with his palm.

As an extra, he just mumbled one thing.

“…Lee Hyunjin…”

It was someone’s name that only he and Cheon Soyul could understand in that place.

*****

“…”

She was doomed. Cheon Soyul, who had plunged herself into her bed, only thought that.

Yes. No other words were needed. Just ‘doomed’ was enough to explain everything.

…She should have chosen the timing to speak better. At the very least, she should have been careful when her unnie was around.

She thought that if she framed it well, using excuses like a potential disciple or future children, it wouldn’t seem too strange.

It was a misconception.

She hadn’t realized it until now, but it seemed she had no talent for lying.

She thought she hadn’t said anything that could give her away. But at some point, the way her family looked at her had changed.

Her mother with worry and concern, and a slight hint of interest.

Her unnie with 100% pure interest.

Her oppa with an unidentifiable anger.

…First, Cheon Woohyuk’s reaction was the most peculiar, but it wasn’t something to worry about.

More than that, being tormented by Cheon Hyeona was a harder ordeal for Cheon Soyul.

Also, her mother’s possessive expression as she approached to have a private conversation was something Cheon Soyul had rarely seen before.

Cheon Soyul had exhausted all her energy just by shaking off all that and escaping to her safe zone, her own room.

For a while, she lay on her bed.

Just lying there. Motionless.

“…Ughhh. Uwaaah!”

And then, Cheon Soyul, who had been as still as a stone, as if ready to enter a coffin, began to writhe without warning. She was flailing.

The belated realization, the shame, the family reactions she would have to face—considering all of it, her body automatically went into a frenzy.

She hadn’t explicitly said anything, yet everyone seemed convinced that something had changed for her. Like, romance, or romance, or romance. Anyway, something romantic.

Cheon Soyul buried her face in the pillow, tightly clenching her lips. No one could see her expression, but it was filled with displeasure.

She thought. The relationship wasn’t even clearly defined in the first place.

But with such violent reactions, it was truly confusing and awkward.

She clamped her mouth shut to prevent herself from mentioning the other person’s name directly. She even felt like taping it shut.

Her family’s interest was a burden.

She also wished they would forget her slip of the tongue.

The reason was simple. She hadn’t even properly sorted out her own feelings yet.

And perhaps ‘he’ would also be reluctant to define their relationship more clearly.

Cheon Soyul mumbled, still burying her face in the pillow.

“What am I even doing. Seriously…”

…Looking back, it was just a one-night mistake between them anyway.

It was what you’d call an “accident,” so was there really a need to worry this much?

She just needed to continue living as she had been. He was her rival friend, and vice versa. A rival, a competitor. Or a bitter foe.

That’s how their relationship would continue to be.

There was no point in having such premature thoughts. Setting everything else aside, she didn’t even want to get married early.

Cheon Soyul moved her legs alternately, hitting the bed *thump thump!*, and let out a deep sigh.

“…That damn bastard, really.”

And she muttered a curse to herself.

Of course, the target was Lee Hyunjin.

If only that guy didn’t possess such strange, bizarre, and incredibly rare characteristics.

Why did he have to take her Heavenly Thunder and blow things up like this?

“He just makes me suffer.”

If she were to argue, she could simply bring up the Cheon family’s rules and tell him not to use the power he had copied from her.

Cheon Soyul, however, wasn’t even considering that ‘obvious fact,’ let alone recalling it.

What was the reason for that? Was it simply that her thoughts hadn’t reached that point? Or perhaps.

“…”

*Phew.*

Cheon Soyul forcibly cut off her thoughts and sighed.

Thinking any more about this was a headache.

She simply lay on the bed, stretched her back, then quickly rolled over to stare blankly at the room’s ceiling.

Well. Nothing special, just an ordinary ceiling.

Only, at this moment, what flickered in Cheon Soyul’s vision was a scene from a certain late night. A moment when she counted the stains on the ceiling, relying on faint illumination.

A few days ago, that dizzying scene was branded into her memory, the moment she truly became an “adult.”

The warmth she felt at the same time.

The whispers that reached her ears.

Above all, the immense pleasure she had shared with him then, which still made her lower abdomen throb with a phantom ache just by recalling it…

It just.

Yes.

It can’t be forgotten. No matter what…

“…”

Cheon Soyul’s eyes momentarily blurred, and her right hand unconsciously started to move towards the space between her twitching thighs, when suddenly—

*Buzz, buzz buzz!*

“*Eep!*”

At the sudden sound of the vibration, Cheon Soyul jolted violently, like a child caught doing something naughty.

She quickly sat up. She reached out and grabbed the vibrating smartphone.

And.

[Perpetual Runner-up]

[Accept/Decline]

“…*Eh*.”

On that glowing screen, the nickname of the classmate she had just been cursing as a bastard appeared. Along with the incoming call notification.