The fall of Hana was as terrifying as Lucifer himself!
Haru went to wake Hana up again today. Even though it was a weekend with no school, waking up early was still important. Hana sometimes slept in, but most of the time, she was already awake when Haru entered the room.
So, the task at hand was more like a simple ritual—a morning greeting to Hana. But today, something felt off.
Hana was curled up in her blanket like a caterpillar. Haru couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. Hana looked so cute all wrapped up like that.
“Hana, time to wake up.”
Haru climbed onto the bed and spoke, but there was no response. Normally, Hana would kick off the blanket and hug her, but not today.
“Hana…?”
Haru sensed something was wrong. No response from Hana? That was unusual. Worried that something might be wrong, Haru took a closer look at Hana’s face.
Hana’s face had transformed into that of a grumpy old man. Her cheeks were puffed up, and her eyebrows were slanted like an angry person’s. It was as if she was screaming, “I’m really mad!”
Seeing this, Haru realized something was seriously wrong.
—
When Hana declared a strike, the department in charge of her at the Starlight Research Institute went into chaos. The people who usually managed Hana gathered together. Though, to be honest, there weren’t many who directly handled her.
Except for Bora and Haru, most only supported Hana indirectly, not directly interacting with her. After all, taking care of a child was something women were better at, right? And Hana wasn’t particularly shy, but she definitely preferred sisters over uncles.
By the way, there were no men at the research institute who could win Hana’s heart. They were all just worn-out, middle-aged uncles. If Hana knew, she’d probably freak out—she wasn’t really into men anyway.
So, early in the morning, Haru, Bora, and their manager, Kim Jaeman, gathered in the meeting room.
Manager Kim Jaeman spoke first.
“Does anyone know why Hana’s acting like this? Did someone do something wrong?”
Kim Jaeman was a fan of reality shows featuring kids. Maybe because he had raised his own children, he watched them with great interest. But he never expected something like this to happen to him. His kids were already past their teenage years, so he hadn’t dealt with anything like this in a while.
It had been so long since he raised young children that he couldn’t even remember how he did it.
“I don’t think we did anything wrong…”
“Maybe she’s upset about going to school? From Hana’s perspective, it’s a sudden change in environment.”
“But… she didn’t seem to dislike going to school?”
In Korea, where compulsory education is mandatory, there was no way for Hana to avoid school.
The only way to keep her from going was to lock her in the basement and only bring her out for sunlight occasionally. Of course, they wouldn’t do something so inhumane, so Hana had to go to school.
Even genius kids went to school. There was no better place to develop social skills. Sure, there were ways to skip it, like taking exams, but experiencing school life wasn’t a bad thing. When else would Hana get to interact with kids her age?
Having lived outside the Gate in a primitive environment, adapting to modern society was even more essential. Bora and Haru teaching her verbally had its limits.
“First, we need to figure out why Hana’s angry.”
“What’s Hana doing now?”
“She’s watching TV.”
“Really…?”
Since it was the weekend, they decided to take their time figuring out why Hana was upset. For Bora and Haru, who usually played with Hana, this sudden change was hard to adjust to.
“Could it be that Hana’s hitting puberty?”
Kim Jaeman, having raised kids, knew that Hana was too young for puberty. At her age, his own kids would cling to his legs when he came home from work.
He missed those days… Wiping away a tear, Kim Jaeman said, “She’s too young for that, isn’t she?”
“But kids these days mature so fast.”
“Puberty hits in middle school.”
“Elementary school kids might go through that, but that’s more like 5th or 6th graders. Hana is only in 3rd grade now.”
“Hiiing…”
From the perspective of Bora and Haru, who have never raised a child, seeing Hana act like this gave them a headache. Maybe because they haven’t raised kids, they felt lacking in handling young children.
Come to think of it, Hana seemed angry, but was she really that mad? Hana was still in her room, wrapped in a blanket, watching cartoons.
In the past, they would have disciplined with “love spankings,” but now it’s a modern society. Violence couldn’t be justified. Most of the time, when kids act out, it’s the parents’ fault. Sure, there are rare cases where the parents are fine and the kid is the problem, but usually, it’s the parents.
They say kids are a mirror of their parents. Old sayings aren’t wrong for no reason. The fact that Hana turned out like this meant there was a problem with them, the ones acting as her parents.
“First, let’s not do things Hana dislikes and wait calmly.”
“I’ll cheer her up by doing things she likes.”
Haru thought about preparing some delicious snacks Hana would enjoy. When you’re in a bad mood, tasty things always hit the spot.
“Don’t push things Hana dislikes too hard. She’s still a little kid. Don’t give her too much attention to the point it’s overwhelming. Raising kids is super hard, but it’s not impossible.”
Kim Jaeman shared his experience raising kids. He was the only married one here, after all.
Then he added, “Make sure to read the book I gave you today. You guys are researchers, but to Hana, you’re like moms too. So Bora and Haru, you’re very important to our institute.”
“Yes!”
[The Easiest Parenting Method in the World]
[My Kid is Angry. What Should I Do?]
[How to Handle My Precious Only Child?]
Bora and Haru were holding best-selling parenting books. If you lack practical experience, learn the theory. Just like studying in school, parenting also requires some studying, right? That was their thought.
———————————————-
Blackened Hana was boycotting most daily activities except watching cartoons.
Because of this, Haru and Bora had no choice but to do all the work.
“Boooom~ The airplane is coming in~ Open your mouth~”
Haru picked up some vegetables with chopsticks and brought them to Hana’s mouth. But Hana’s mouth stayed shut, like a fortress.
“Ugh!”
Hana shook her head side to side, firmly refusing. Haru put the chopsticks back on the tray.
Still, three meals a day are necessary. Even if sunlight can fill you up to some extent, for Hana, who’s in her growth period, eating properly is important.
From Haru’s perspective, who didn’t know Hana was secretly snacking, Hana had been starving all day, which was concerning. Kids, if you don’t feed them properly, they’ll collapse from hunger.
By middle school, they’d figure out how to cook ramen or something to solve their hunger, but Hana, still in 3rd grade, skipping meals wasn’t a good thing.
Today, since Hana didn’t go to the cafeteria, Haru brought a tray of side dishes Hana would like straight to her room. Hana was sitting on the bed, just watching cartoons.
“Hana’s favorite stir-fried pork!”
Haru used her ultimate move. Hana’s pupils shook rapidly. Seeing this, Haru smiled triumphantly. Hana was still young, after all!
Hana glanced at Haru, then opened her tiny mouth and ate the stir-fried pork.
It was a strike, but a微妙 (subtle) one.
