Sasohon had a fiancée he’d been dating since they were in the U.S. And she was someone who’d been born in the U.S. and had never once left the country.
How was she supposed to have a battle of wits with someone like that?
“This is ridiculous.”
Ureuuk.
As if responding to her words, Gureum made a strange noise. Did real puppies usually make sounds like that? Gyeong Seha tilted her head.
‘You’d have to actually raise a pet to know.’
The closest she’d ever come to a dog was when she’d petted a friend’s Pomeranian back in elementary school.
“Isn’t there a pet supply store nearby…”
It bothered her that the dog hadn’t eaten since morning. She didn’t know if it was okay to feed it human food, so she wanted to buy some dog jerky or something.
It was while Seha was searching for a pet store near the park.
Kwa-gwaaang——!
“Whoa, what was that?!”
That scared me.
Kwareureung—!
Thunder and lightning suddenly struck in the distance. When she looked up in shock, she saw dark clouds dyeing the opposite sky pitch black.
It was in the direction of where the Golden Scale building was.
“That’s a brutal-looking rainstorm.”
She should probably be thankful it wasn’t raining here. As Seha stared at the mass of storm clouds with wide eyes, the corner of her lips twisted.
“I hope those guys get struck by lightning.”
She’d avoided them because she didn’t want to cause a scene, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t angry.
If it was going to rain anyway, she hoped they’d get soaked and struck by lightning too.
Holding her little brother’s soft, paw-like foreleg, Seha muttered as if praying. Gureum’s violet eyes looked at her as if she were pathetic.
Just then, a voice that was starting to become familiar called out to her.
“Seha!”
“Huh, oppa!”
“You were here. I didn’t know and even went all the way to the other side.”
Was it her imagination? Moa’s face, walking up the hill, looked far more refreshed than usual.
Like someone who’d just cleanly resolved something that had been giving him a headache.
“Looks like your meeting ended well?”
“Meeting? Ah, yeah. It went a bit long, but it ended just like I expected.”
He really must have liked the result.
With the brightest smile she’d ever seen on him, Moa laughed. While Seha stared blankly at her big brother’s face, which looked relieved to the point of almost joyful, she heard a soft clinking sound.
“Drink this.”
“Huh? What is it? Iced chocolate?”
It was an iced chocolate filled with ice. To Seha—who’d been craving an iced caramel macchiato—it was the best gift.
“Yeah. I thought it might be hot since the sun felt strong on the way, so I bought it. Was that unnecessary?”
“No, it’s perfect. Thanks. I’ll enjoy it.”
“And Gureum, if you were going to hide in your sister’s shadow, you should’ve said so before hiding.”
“……I knew it. There’s no way he could’ve gotten into the bag in that short time. He was hiding in the shadow.”
“Gureum’s really good at hiding.”
Kwareureung!
Kwaaang—!
“Wow, that thunder’s really intense.”
“Yeah.”
With a somehow satisfied face, Moa kept looking toward the skyscrapers where lightning continued to strike.
Two hours later.
[Sudden thunder and lightning in the city! Not a natural phenomenon, but the work of an Awakened?]
[Sudden weather deterioration — five Awakened from a major guild in critical condition]
[Cloud Guild announces: ‘Analysis shows it was not a normal lightning pattern…’]
The lunch she had with her big brother was quite enjoyable. So much so that she couldn’t even remember the trash they’d met at the café just a short while ago.
“Look at this, Seha.”
“Wow…”
The course meal, enhanced with illusion magic, was beautiful enough to leave even Seha—who was used to most kinds of magic—completely mesmerized.
And above all, the steak tasted amazing!
Even if the price was vicious.
“This is the price of one meal?”
“Oh. I told them to send me the bill separately.”
Though it was an outrageously expensive restaurant, Seha didn’t scold Moa for bringing her to such a place.
That was because she knew his financial situation too well.
This was the downside of having a famous person in your family.
Title: Is it true Moa Hales has over 2 billion in net worth?
He hasn’t even properly cleared a single dungeon, so where’d he get that money?
└ Idiot, he’s S-rank lol What do you mean 2 billion? It’s probably 20 billion lolㅋㅋㅋ
└ Wait, it’s really 20 billion? Does that even make sense? I heard he was declared dead and his relatives stole all his property
└ If you know that, why don’t you know the rest? He and his dad rolled around beyond the gate for decades and sold all the mana stones as soon as they got back; he’s filthy rich
└ 20 billion? lol nope, that’s just the ‘estimated assets’ 20 billion. The only one with publicly disclosed assets is Gray Hales. The mana stone sales were under Gray Hales’ name, so nobody knows how much went to the sons
└ This is insane, is this even a country
└ We should be grateful these guys even came to our country, what is this guy even whining about lol
Every time she opened the internet, she saw her dad and brothers’ names every single day. News, communities, video platforms, SNS—everywhere!
And how could she not click?
This wasn’t her fault. Yeah, that’s right.
After finishing the amazing experience at the restaurant, on the way out, Seha gave Moa a solemn bow of thanks as he opened the car door for her.
“Thank you for the meal.”
Her overly serious face made Moa burst into laughter. The mass of dark clouds that had gathered in the distance had long since disappeared.
As he slid his second sister’s bag under the passenger seat, he asked:
“Do you want to hang out a bit more before going home? You finally got to come out after so long.”
“No, let’s just go back. Little oppa looks like he’s getting tired, too. Ah, before we go, can we stop somewhere? I heard there’s a really good tart shop nearby. Let’s get some to go.”
“Sure. Should I tell them to box up every kind?”
“Ha……”
“Seha?”
“That would be amazing.”
Was she doing some kind of late reverse bad-luck ritual today or something?
Seha, in high spirits, committed a level of luxury she’d never allow herself normally, buying five of each kind of tart.
When she got home in an excellent mood like that, a gift far more precious than anything she’d ever received was waiting for her.
“Your complexion looks good, my daughter. Kids really should play outside.”
“Mom!”
Gyeong Woonhee welcomed her with a lively face, just like in the old days.
“I’m talking about that underground lake I was just in. That wasn’t a normal lake.”
“Huh? Of course not. It’s a lake that has the power to ‘release’ things. The one in Losconna…”
“Oh? Really? Then was that water something you could just scoop up that easily? If it were, everyone would be scooping it up by the bucket and sprinkling it in their own dimensions and there’d be fake lakes everywhere.”
“……”
“Tell me the truth, Heneuwood. Before I show you mercy.”
“Y-your idea of mercy… are you talking about that sharp and ruthless mercy…?”
“Is there any other kind?”
Gyeong Woonhee had truly returned to how she used to be.
Lively, passionate, and in a state where no one could dare claim victory over her.
“What is that even about?”
“Dad’s finally getting thoroughly shaken down after all this time.”
“What do you mean by that—augh, that scared me!”
The stair landing near the small living room, a perfect place for a marital argument.
There, crouched down and straining to hear the small voices leaking through the door crack, Seha swung her elbow at an unexpected voice behind her.
“Kuuk…….”
“Gah.”
In the spot where her elbow had brushed like lightning, Seha found a beautiful face with golden eyes, tears dangling at the corners.
It was Gyeong Ido.
Her youngest brother.
