episode_0003

“4th grade class 2… .”

As I wandered around the classy interior for an elementary school, I found the class I needed to enter on the second floor.

“Hey, would you like a taste of Blaze?”

“Yeah, no. Justice is stronger.”

“No, no. Blaze is much stronger. Justice becomes chicken in 1 second if hit by a pillar of fire.”

“No, no. If Justice hits Blaze with a smash, Blaze’s head will snap in half.”

The bell rang, signaling the end of first period, and the voices of children erupted from the classroom. I peeked in and saw some boys bickering while holding round pieces of paper.

It’s a somewhat affectionate sight. When I was in elementary school, I used to carry around a pencil case full of maple story cards.

“Haruya!”

“Yes, yes!”

My back straightened for no reason at the sound of a voice calling me.

A woman with short hair and glasses who looks good on me with tearful eyes from the front door of the classroom. I think she is my homeroom teacher.

“Are you okay? Let’s go to the teachers’ office first.”

The teacher ran to me and brushed away my messy hair. Come to think of it, I hadn’t even washed my hair.

I started to feel annoyed when I started to pay attention, so I followed the teacher and ran my fingers through my bangs.

“Come in. Want some candy?”

As soon as the teacher sat down, he rummaged through the candy basket next to the computer.

“No, it’s okay.”

“Oh, oh? I see… .”

What good did I do to get candy? I swallowed a bitter smile and politely declined, and a gloomy expression fell on the teacher’s face. He looked flustered and easy to understand.

“Oh, no! Please… .”

“Yeah, yeah! There’s a lot, so eat as much as you want.”

Only then did the teacher smile brightly and hand me the entire basket of candies. I grabbed the basket without thinking and picked up three of them, putting them in my pocket.

Strawberry, grape, and lemon flavors. I’ll eat one and give the rest to the lady and the man.

“Anyway, elementary school students are already late. What on earth are their parents doing, tsk tsk.”

As I was putting the candy basket back on the desk, I heard a tongue-clicking sound behind me. I turned my head and saw a man in tracksuit with his head half-bald.

Knock, knock.

He was striking his own palm with a short wooden club, and it looked quite oppressive, so I found myself feeling intimidated.

Should I put the candy back?

“Teacher Bong!”

As I was rummaging through my pockets with that thought in mind, the teacher suddenly shouted at me.

“What did I say wrong… .”

Thump. The sound of the palms slapping each other suddenly stopped. Then, the balding old man’s gaze turned to me, and a dull cough flew in.

“Ahem, don’t be late next time.”

“I’m sorry… .”

The teachers probably know about the family situation. In fact, the blatant change in attitude might be felt as sympathy, but since it wasn’t really a problem for me, I just nodded.

“You really just overslept?”

“Yes, I won’t be late next time.”

“Thank goodness. The teacher thought something had happened to Haru… .”

But my homeroom teacher was truly worried about me, so I also faced her seriously and expressed my gratitude.

“Thank you for your concern.”

“Okay, let’s go in. From now on, if you think you’re going to be late, you should call me? If you have any difficulties, definitely tell me!”

“Yes… .”

That way, the goodwill from precious people will be conveyed to Iharu as well.

* * *

“What should I do? Blaze caught five million demons.”

“Yeah, what can I do? Bespoke strong wind air conditioner. Justice catches all the villains.”

“Yeah, what the hell is El Jet Electronics Dios Object Collection Knock Out Refrigerator. Villains run away as soon as they see Blaze.”

The boys who were fighting earlier were still bickering. More importantly, you guys live in a nice house.

“Hoo… .”

I took a deep breath in front of the door. How should I deal with elementary school students? It was no different from my first day of school, so I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

The basis of social life is first impressions.

If you greet someone with a smile, half of the reward is gone. Let’s greet them as brightly and cheerfully as possible.

“Ha, hello?”

“Yeah, what should I do? Andromeda Beverage Research Institute Ultra Wi-Fi Cleansing Carbonated Milk. Blaze runs away and pees when he sees Justice.”

“Yeah, there’s no such thing. You’re the one who did it.”

“Yeah, I have. I saw it at my grandmother’s house.”

“Yeah, she’s not at your grandmother’s house. I’ll go check right now.”

I guess my greeting was too quiet. I was so nervous that my voice didn’t relax. Okay, let’s stop trying to show off and go with the basics.

“Oh, hello!”

The voice came out quite loudly. It even got higher and higher with a squeak at the end. But I guess it couldn’t have been unheard.

“Eww! It’s a ghost!!”

I was once again amazed at the clear sound of her voice despite the squeak, when suddenly the boys started screaming and running away.

He looked quite happy as he ran between the desks, laughing out loud.

“Hey, you idiots, who’s the ghost!”

After all, the best way to become close with kids is to play with them. I followed the boys and slowly blended in as a member of Class 2, Grade 4.

“But why is Lee Haru suddenly acting friendly?”

I definitely thought so.

“You were the one who teased me by calling me a ghost first.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t kidding.”

“Yeah, I was kidding.”

“Yeah, I’m not kidding. Iharu just suddenly came running.”

“Yeah, Iharu your girlfriend. Dating your ghost.”

“You crazy bastard! You’re a pervert!”

I don’t think that was said with malicious intent.

That’s why I felt even more upset.

Elementary school students these days are no joke.

* * *

To conclude, I wasn’t able to become close with the kids in my class.

To begin with, the girls weren’t interested in me, and I didn’t really know how to treat elementary school girls.

So I approached the boys, but even the boys didn’t pay attention to me after recess.

Indifference is more frightening than hate.

It wasn’t even intentional, it’s just Iharu’s normal daily routine.

The gloomy elementary school student who never opened his mouth even once had a hard time becoming close to his friends, no matter how much he tried to talk to them.

I gave up early on before I was perceived as a weirdo.

Of course, forcing them to accept my sudden change would only be confusing for them.

In the end, I had no choice but to comply.

November 30th.

There isn’t much time left this year. Next year is my 5th year, which means I only have 2 years left until graduation.

When you change schools, you’ll meet new people, and as you do, the changes in Iharu will naturally seep into you.

“I’m back.”

With that thought in mind, I returned home with the help of Mr. GOGLE. Of course, not to my house, but to the house next door where my future lies.

“Was it hard? Look at your red nose.”

“Muung… .”

The lady welcomed me by covering my nose with her palm. But my eyes were first looking towards the future.

“Come on. Should I have picked you up?”

No. The baby in the man’s arms was not the future.

“Hey, hey… .”

Her lips did not part easily. Her eyes rolled back, and even the face of the very kind old lady looked distorted.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong? Do you want to lie down for a bit?”

“Ah… !”

As I went in a little further, I could see inside the room, and finally I could find Mirae sleeping soundly in her crib.

And only then did I begin to see my surroundings.

A man and a woman looked at me with faces full of worry. The ground I had walked on was dirty with dirt marks.

“Oh, sorry, sorry. I’ll clean it up!”

I took off my shoes in a hurry and ran to the front door. I had to wipe the dirt off quickly before it got stuck to the floor. But my legs gave out and I ended up collapsing in the front door.

“It’s okay. I wonder if the lady ate the future?”

Even when going to school, the lady was very perceptive.

“No… . Thank you for taking care of me.”

I felt a prickle for a moment, but soon I smiled weakly and shook my head. I didn’t want anyone to be caught having doubted me, even for a moment.

No, it was clear that I had already been caught. But I didn’t want to admit it with my own mouth.

Even if it is narrow-minded to even think like this, there is nothing we can do about it. No one wants to be hated by someone.

“Ouch, oww!”

As I was getting up with the help of my mother-in-law, I heard a murmur from inside. I instinctively ran over and faced the future.

Mirae, smiling brightly and wriggling her tiny hands.

The moment I saw that future, everything that happened today disappeared from my mind.

“I’m back… . You didn’t cry? Don’t make things hard for the lady.”

“Aww, ahhhh… .”

Since I couldn’t touch it without washing my hands, I just stuck my face in. Then my hair fell down my chubby arms, and Mirae twisted her body as if she was ticklish.

“Uh-huh… Okay?”

I blushed at the sight of her cute face from the future, shook my head, and tickled her with my hair.

While I was playing with the future like that, a gentle voice was heard from the living room.

“Haruya, are you going to eat dinner before you go? Do you have a favorite food?”

“Seo-hoo Mom, should we just order today? How about pizza? Do you like pizza even once?”

“Ah, that’s it, I’ll… go back and eat… .”

I owe you so much for the future, but you can’t shamelessly rely on me.

“Um, what should I do? One pizza is too much for two people. If I freeze it, I forget to eat it and I always throw it away… .”

“I want to eat pizza! I want to eat pizza!”

“Aww!”

The man started to wiggle around on the sofa like a baby, and the baby burst out laughing, thinking he was playing.

“Phew… .”

And I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Ahahaha! Pizza, pizza, I really like pizza, ahh, pizza, ahahaha!”

The laughter that was unfamiliar to my ears poured out incessantly, and the situation was so funny that I laughed so hard that my stomach hurt.

“Haruya, please help me. Let me eat some pizza, mister!”

“… Yes. Then I will eat it gratefully.”

After barely stopping laughing and answering, the old man suddenly jumped up from the sofa and shouted.

“Okay. Let’s have two rounds!”

“Honey! You couldn’t even finish it.”

The woman glared at him with disgust. But the man paid no attention and spun around, picking up the baby.

“Does our Seo-hu like pizza too? When you grow up, let’s eat a lot of pizza with daddy?”

“Ouch!”

“Ha, hahaha… ?”

I feel like I’m missing something important.

Seohu, Seohu… .

I quickly checked the frame hanging on the sofa. The wedding photo of a handsome man and woman holding hands was so beautiful that my mouth dropped open. Below it was a luxurious gold lettering.

─Min Geon-woo♥Yoon Seul-ah.

The aunt’s name is Min Geon-woo, and the uncle’s name is Yoon Seul-ah. The possibility that the son, following the parents, also has the same name is also very slim.

So, you’re saying that the baby’s name is Minseohu, and that you’ve also seen the parents’ names?

There was only one place I would have seen their names.

“Ugh… .”

I guess I was a neighbor of the main character’s family.