Chapter 41

“Hey, older sister.”

“Yeah, Dusik. What’s up?”

I’ve been rolling around in bed since morning.

Waking up early has already become a habit, but even when I do wake up, there’s nothing to do, so I just open my eyes and roll around in bed, watching TV day after day.

“Are you going to school?”

Even though we’re living in a hotel, Dusik still goes to school without fail.

Every morning when he leaves for school and every evening when he comes back, he always comes to greet me without fail.

This morning, Dusik came into my room, probably because he was heading to school.

“Yes…”

But something felt off, so I sat up, and Dusik seemed to be hesitating, like he had something to say to me.

“Do you have something to say?”

“Well… today… is parent-teacher conference day.”

“Ah. What time?”

“4 o’clock.”

“Alright, I’ll go.”

“Really?”

“It’s about Dusik, so of course. If I don’t go, who will?”

“That’s a relief.”

“Why were you hesitating so much? You can just say things like that without worrying.”

“It’s about college admissions…”

Oh.

I’m just a high school graduate myself, so I don’t really know.

—

Anyway, I can’t take Kabe to school with me.

So I left Kabe with Eve, saw them off to Eve’s house, and then I pulled out a suit before putting it back.

Hmm.

If I go too formal, it might be a bit much.

I pulled out the frilly skirt Dusik bought for me, but I put that back too.

No way I can wear a skirt.

In the end, I settled on jeans and a navy jacket.

It’s not just about the look, but since I’m 23 now, I need something appropriate for my age that doesn’t make me look too old.

But then I faced a problem I hadn’t thought of until now.

I don’t know how to tie my hair.

My hair isn’t short.

If I let it down, it reaches past my shoulder blades, so it’s not exactly short, but until now, I’ve just tied it up tightly, and it didn’t look weird. But today is different.

I have to visit Dusik’s school as a guardian.

If I look bad, Dusik will look bad too.

Alright, when it’s time to spend money, I’ll spend it.

—

I remember something the company accountant once told me.

If you go to a hair salon and say you’re going to your ex’s wedding, something crazy happens.

I’m already a crazy woman for actually trying it, but when I said that, what happened was beyond imagination.

“Where are you going?”

“My ex’s wedding…”

I only got that far before the hairstylist changed. The original stylist who was supposed to do my hair stepped back, and a more experienced stylist came forward, scissors in hand.

Then the original stylist went to explain to the waiting customers that it would take a while because someone was going to their ex’s wedding… Ugh, whatever.

“By the way, how did you two break up?”

“Uh, well.”

I don’t remember this line being in the script.

I hesitated for a moment, not knowing how to answer. If I say anything, it might sound weird, so should I just say we broke up amicably?

“It seems like it didn’t end well. Got it. Mr. Park, go call the makeup director.”

“Yes!”

Things kept escalating.

A little hair coloring here, some contouring there, 3D makeup that might feel a bit stuffy… Amidst all this alien language, I started regretting why I even said that.

By the time I left the salon, it was 3:10 PM, an hour and a half later.

Dusik’s school is about 40 minutes away, so time was tight, and I had no choice but to take a taxi.

—

“Thank you.”

After paying the taxi fare, I stood in front of the school gate, feeling a mix of emotions.

It’s not the school I attended, but coming back to a high school, a place that still holds some happy memories from my time in society, felt strangely refreshing.

“How can I help you?”

“I’m here for my younger sibling. There’s a parent-teacher conference today.”

The security guard with a thick accent stopped me, but I hadn’t done anything wrong, and there was no reason to hesitate.

“What grade and class?”

Ah, I don’t know that.

“Uh, his name is Kwak Dusik.”

“Ah~ that blonde girl. Go ahead. Your hair color is quite different from hers.”

“We’re not blood-related. Hahaha.”

I forced a laugh and walked through the gate, but I felt a strange chill. Like something bad was going to happen.

It’s not like something bad would happen at school.

It must just be my mood.

“Oh, you…”

“Prilly… no, Park Seona…?”

What are the odds of meeting here?

“Oh, you’re here for the conference too?”

A short-haired beauty in a light gray suit and brown horn-rimmed glasses.

But she’s the last person I want to be close to.

Prilly… no, Park Seona, the head of the Magical Girl Association’s Gwangmyeong branch.

—

“Didn’t you know?”

“Why would I know?”

When I asked why she was here, Seona cheerfully replied that she was also here for her younger sibling’s conference.

I had heard that Prabel was in the same class, but I didn’t know they were sisters.

But Dusik had told me that Prabel’s name is Seojina and Prilly is Park Seona, so why do they have different last names? I thought about it briefly but decided not to dwell on it.

Every family has its own story.

And there’s something even more interesting.

“How is it that all of you sisters are lesbians…”

“Oh my, are you discriminating against homosexuals? What kind of world do you think this is?”

“Even so, aren’t you acting too friendly with me? Neither of us has any reason to feel good about each other, right?”

At my words, Prilly smiled brightly.

“No, I heard from Eve. Kabe isn’t your real daughter, right? No wonder it felt off. My virgin radar is perfect.”

Turn off that radar!

“You might have feelings for me, but I don’t have any for you. Well, maybe I do, but it’s probably different from yours.”

“What kind of feelings?”

I shouldn’t be asking this, but it felt like she wanted me to, so I reluctantly asked.

“Admiration?”

Don’t say such weird things with that bright smile.

“Can I ask what kind of feelings you have for me?”

“What kind?”

“The kind that makes me want to curse you out, you b*tch.”

“Didn’t you already do that?”

“I want to do it more.”

This is a school.

If I could do as I please, I would have transformed and thrown a few Rocket Punches by now.

But if I cause a scene here, not only will I be embarrassed, but Dusik will be too.

That’s the last thing I want, so I’m holding it in.

“Prilly, next time we fight, I’m going to beat you until you beg for mercy, so be ready.”

“Oh my, sure. I’ll be waiting.”

Prilly and I walked up to the third floor and waited in front of the classroom labeled “2nd Grade, Class 2.”

With nothing to say, I glanced at my phone and saw posts and pictures about the Gallery Master getting a haircut.

These stalker bastards…

Not long after, the class bell rang.

Was the bell sound like this when I was in school…? I can’t remember.

“Older sister!”

It was Dusik.

Dusik ran up to me with a bright smile and hugged me tightly.

“Wow, it’s the first time I’ve seen you with makeup! It’s amazing!”

I’ve never seen Dusik this lively before.

“Older sister, let’s take a selfie!”

“Uh, sure…”

Our faces filled the small phone screen.

Even though my face is in front of Dusik’s, my face looks smaller.

“Older sister, your face is so small… Hey, smile a bit!”

Dusik poked my side, making me force a smile, but it looked awkward.

“Send me the picture later.”

“Yes, older sister!”

Dusik smiled brightly.

I didn’t expect him to be this happy.

—

“Well… Dusik seems to have trouble focusing in class.”

“Huh?”

After all the classes ended and it was time for self-study, I was in the faculty room with the teacher.

“Probably because he’s balancing his activities with the Mogmog Group, it’s hard for him to keep up with classes.”

“Is that so…”

“This is a notebook I confiscated from Dusik a few days ago. Would you like to see it?”

A notebook with a round spring. A pink background with a white teddy bear rolling around, typical for a girl. It was placed in front of me.

“I confiscated it because he was doodling during class instead of paying attention.”

“Yes, yes…”

I picked up the notebook and flipped through the pages.

With each page, my fingers started trembling.

“As you can see… Dusik, well…”

The teacher’s voice echoed as if from a distance.

My heart was pounding.

It felt like a swarm of bugs was buzzing around my ears.

With trembling hands, I closed the notebook and handed it back to the teacher.

“I understand… I’ll keep a closer eye on him.”

“And about his grades, it might be difficult for him to get into a university in Seoul.”

“Is that so?”

Grades weren’t the most important thing right now.

But since Dusik is a high school student, regardless of the notebook’s contents, I had to focus on this.

“His grades aren’t good. Especially his English scores are very low, and he’s in the lower ranks of his class… It might be best for him to find a field he’s interested in and aim for a two-year college.”

“I see.”

What should I say?

I wasn’t a great student myself, but I had grades good enough to get into college.

I didn’t go because I didn’t have the money and thought it was better to start earning sooner, but Dusik’s problem is that he’s just not good at studying.

“There’s still a year left. If he works hard, things can change. There are many ways to get into college now, so don’t worry too much.”

“Yes…”

After scaring me like that, telling me not to worry feels like a joke, teacher.

—

After the conference, I came out to find Dusik, Prabel, Seojina, Prilly, and Park Seona standing in front of the faculty room.

I was already feeling uneasy, and seeing Seona grinning at me made me even more annoyed.

“Older sister, did the conference go well?”

“Yeah, more or less.”

But I couldn’t let Dusik see that.

I forced a faint smile and casually offered my arm to Dusik.

“Hehe.”

Dusik immediately linked arms with me, as if he had been waiting for this.

Unaware of my complicated feelings, he just kept smiling, making my mind even more tangled.

“What are you all still doing here? Did you forget the way out? Should I take you?”

“Stop with the lame jokes. Let’s have some coffee since we’re here.”

My nerves were already on edge, and hearing that made me even more irritated.

“Are you trying to drug my coffee? Why would I trust you enough to drink coffee with you?”

“The younger ones are here too, you know?”

“You’re the one acting like a pot calling the kettle black. I’m not in the mood to have coffee with you, so I’m leaving. Dusik, are classes over?”

“Yes!”

“Alright, let’s go then.”

“You won’t regret it?”

“Why would I regret it? I can count the things I’ve regretted in my life on one hand, lady.”

As I turned to leave, Prilly grabbed my wrist tightly.

—

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