episode_0001
by AfuhfuihgsI was born and raised in a small village on the outskirts.
Our village was truly the epitome of rural life, located a few days’ drive away from the nearest city.
The air in the village was always heavy and stifling. Perhaps it was due to the walls erected to prevent the intrusion of bandits and thieves.
The village’s amenities consisted of an old movie theater and a small grocery store at best. The lone school had fewer than fifty students combined.
There was no hospital, and the villagers relied on itinerant healers for most medical needs.
Naturally, the children hoped to escape this impoverished village. On days when traveling merchants came to town, the square was always filled with such children.
The merchant who attracted the crowd spent the whole day spinning tales of heroic deeds from beyond.
Stories of three wanderers who thwarted a bandit raid in the east,
Or the tale of an old warrior who vanquished wicked demons beyond the northern barrier.
With each flourish of his storytelling, the children’s eyes sparkled even brighter. They would often break into role-playing games, dividing themselves into factions based on the stories they heard.
By the time dusk fell, the women who came to fetch their children would be persuaded to buy jewelry or personal items, which was the merchant’s main sales strategy and had never failed.
But I had no such aspirations. Strangely enough, what I desired was a life like that of the frog in the well from the fairy tales I read as a child.
At the end of the story, the frog gave up on leaving the well. While his friends mocked him for rejecting the vast world, I felt the opposite. The frog simply knew his limits and was content with himself.
To me, the well was our village. This small village was my entire world. The quality of the environment was never a consideration.
I had no idea how I came to hold such values. Perhaps I simply gave up on the unlikely fantasies and resigned myself to reality.
One thing was certain, as a child, I firmly believed that growing old in this place was my destiny.
But when I turned thirteen, in the late summer after the monsoon season, rare disruptions began to occur in the tranquil daily life of the village.
An old, vacant mansion near our house suddenly had laborers coming in from outside to start repairs.
The sounds of hammering continued into the night, and the house quickly regained its former splendor.
Naturally, people were curious about the new owner of the mansion. Some speculated that a high-ranking and noble figure might be coming to our village, judging by the stern expression of the former guard captain.
The debate about the occupant’s identity continued for several days, providing some much-needed gossip for the always bored villagers.
The curiosity was only satisfied after a few days. Early in the morning, the guard captain, now fully dressed in uniform, signaled for the village gate to be opened.
A luxurious black car entered the village road and came to a stop in front of the repaired mansion.
After a brief pause, a stern-looking woman emerged from the driver’s seat and hurried to open the back door.
And from there emerged the figure of a young girl.
***
The debates about the girl’s identity briefly stirred up the village, but soon faded away.
With the guard captain, who seemed to know something, keeping his lips sealed, there was no room for speculation.
By this point, adults gradually realized that there was nothing to gain from showing interest, so they began to keep their mouths shut.
Usually, children are indifferent to such adult matters, but this time was no different.
In the village, there was only one school, and the girl started attending school shortly after moving.
When the girl first appeared at the front door of the classroom, all the students let out a small gasp.
Jet-black hair like the night sky.
Ivory skin contrasting with it.
A small face that fits in one hand.
Large, round eyes and long, elegant eyelashes.
Lips tinted red like mountain ash berries.
And even the inexplicable shadow of sorrow and gloom that seemed to devour all that freshness.
The girl’s unique mystery and noble appearance had the power to attract people, so students, regardless of gender, gathered around her and showed interest.
However, it didn’t take long for the illusion to shatter.
The girl maintained a high-handed and arrogant attitude towards every student who approached her.
She often showered stubborn children with insulting remarks.
And sometimes, she would order the children to carry out her errands as if they were servants, so it was only natural for people to gradually distance themselves from her.
Before we knew it, no one approached the area around the back window where the girl sat in the classroom, and she would quietly sit there all day before going home.
Honestly, by this point, it was unclear why she even came to school.
Even though it had been quite some time since the girl transferred, we didn’t even know a single letter of her name.
***
“I heard it from Hajin earlier. He said he saw the head of the security guards groveling to the stern-looking maid who came out of that house.”
“Stop talking nonsense.”
“He said he bet his own mother on it. Does that make sense? That pig groveling to a maid, and not just any maid, but to that extent?”
On the way back to the residential area after school, Jin-ho’s mouth didn’t stop moving as he walked beside me. His face was full of injustice.
Jin-ho was also one of the victims of the girl’s merciless verbal abuse.
“The adults said it was true. She must be a noble from a good family. Maybe even from a very high-ranking one. She might even be a real magician. That’s why the pig groveled to her like that.”
“Stop talking nonsense. Why would a noble from such a household come to our village? Would you want to come if you were like her?”
“How would I know? But it’s certain.”
Despite Euna’s interjections, Jin-ho confidently asserted his claim.
“That’s why even the homeroom teacher can’t lay a hand on her. Think about it. Even when the students are acting up like that, it doesn’t make sense for Ju-hee to just ignore it…”
“Hey. What did you say about Ju-hee to the teacher? I’ll tell everything at school tomorrow. You can’t just casually mention someone’s name like that.”
“So what? It’s not like anyone heard it. Besides, didn’t you go crazy last time when Ju-hee confiscated your tint… Ow!!”
“Hey! I told you to forget about that!”
Euna kicked Jin-ho’s calf with a loud exclamation.
“Hey, Hyun. Why don’t you say something too?”
“What do you mean?”
After struggling for a while, Jin-ho finally recovered and tapped my shoulder.
“What else could I mean? You also heard what she said earlier.”
“Who said to engage? I just stayed away like you should have.”
“I’m curious. And no matter how annoying it is, isn’t it wrong to speak to someone like that? I didn’t do anything majorly wrong. Should I have been born noble too?”
“That’s probably because it’s you.”
Ina let out a mocking smile. Jin-ho continued his words firmly.
“If it was just the way you spoke, you wouldn’t have said anything real. You should have seen the look in her eyes. It was like she was treating me like some kind of monster.”
“Isn’t that obvious? Even I would look at you like that if you talked to me…”
“Hey, Hyuna. Not all pretty girls are nice. I’ve never seen a more arrogant girl than Ina in my life…”
“Hey! Kang Jin-ho! I’m really going to kill you!”
“Anyway, I’ve said everything! I’m leaving first! See you tomorrow!”
Ina rushed towards him as if to devour him, but Jin-ho easily dodged the attack and swiftly disappeared into the alley beyond.
Ina also fiercely chased after him and eventually disappeared, leaving me alone.
I walked down the alley, reflecting on the events since the girl transferred.
In reality, I wasn’t much different from the girl. The reason was my constitution.
Before entering school, I underwent a physical examination and was diagnosed as a complete non-responsive, meaning I couldn’t use magic at all. I remember the doctor who examined me was wide-eyed with surprise.
He said that everyone has some degree of sensitivity. Even if you lack talent, with years of effort, anyone can perform basic magic like floating a small fruit in the air.
However, a constitution like mine, completely devoid of sensitivity, was said to be so rare that it would be hard to find even one in a hundred thousand, no, a million people.
The doctor wanted to take me to the upper city for research. In return, he offered a substantial reward.
But his dream was thwarted by my mother’s vehement opposition, and he eventually left the village with a face full of regret.
Anyway, my constitution was a perfect material for the teasing of naive kids.
Kids who were not wizards like to tease me persistently. And as I ignored them, it escalated.
Eventually, someone crossed the line and said something about my parents, and I couldn’t bear it anymore, so I beat up the perpetrators thoroughly.
There was also a girl among them. Some adults complained to my mother that hitting a girl so harshly was not right.
But I refused to apologize to the end. It wouldn’t be right to hit a girl just because she’s a girl when she committed the same mistake.
Jin-ho and Ina sided with me during that process, which is why we became friends.
However, due to the fact that there were more kids involved in the harassment than I thought, I still maintained a distant relationship with other friends.
Of course, I didn’t feel any sense of camaraderie with the girl or a desire to be close to her. Who would like someone who would hurl insults at them out of the blue?
Perhaps due to those experiences, I tended to react more sensitively to verbal harassment rather than physical.
I was unpredictable in how I would react if I heard harsh words while wandering around.
Unlike other kids who tried to say something, I actually distanced myself even more.
This hasn’t changed even now.
***
“Hey, you there.”
One day, as I absentmindedly returned to school after forgetting my pencil case, I opened the classroom door and locked eyes with a girl who was alone.
The girl, upon seeing me, immediately approached as if everything was going well.
“…?”
Since she was always the first to leave early, I never expected to encounter her alone here.
Slightly taken aback by the sudden encounter, I could finally calm down a bit after hearing the girl’s unexpected request.
At the same time, I felt a strange sense of resistance building up within me.
Why was she acting so arrogantly upon seeing me?
There was nothing wrong with what Jinho said to me that day in the alley.
As I tried to gather my thoughts, the girl urged me again. Her face was full of arrogance.
“Go get me some water.”
“…What?”
It was only after hearing the girl’s random request that I could somewhat settle my mind.
And with that, a strange sense of defiance began to rise within me.
Why was she trying to boss me around just because she saw me?
“If you want water, go get it yourself. Why ask someone else? I’m going home.”
I was more focused on wanting to go home quickly than engaging in empty conversation.
But as I turned to leave after refusing, a sharp voice from behind stopped me in my tracks.
“How dare a lowly, unresponsive brat refuse someone’s command. In any case, inheriting such base blood, that’s why…”
From the girl’s mouth came a clear voice, along with unfamiliar and rough language that didn’t match at all.
As soon as I heard those words, a cold chill ran through my body.
No one who used to say such things after beating up the bullies was around anymore, but I knew that a word or two still slipped out from time to time.
Perhaps the girl had learned about my identity through those words.
But how she found out wasn’t important. What mattered now was that this rude girl had uttered the words I hated the most, and I felt a strong urge to shut her mouth.
“…What are you doing right now?”
I turned and walked towards the girl.
Sensing that something was off, the girl furrowed her eyebrows and tried to say something.
But I didn’t want to hear the resonance coming from her mouth anymore.
I raised my right hand, and before the girl could finish speaking, I exerted force on my arm and brought it down.
– Smack!
“Uh…?”
My right hand hit the girl’s left cheek. Her white skin quickly turned red. The girl could only mutter dumbly, unable to understand the situation she was in.
But my retribution was not over yet.
I raised my right hand again, this time making a fist.
And with all my strength, I aimed it straight at the girl’s stomach.
– Oof!
“Ugh…ack…ugh…”
“Don’t disrespect our mother.”
The girl, who had been full of arrogance, was now writhing in pain under my feet.
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