Chapter 514

Yoon Si Hoo’s mother, Kim Seo Hee, sat on the hotel bed, watching the news with blurry eyes.

All around the world, there were only stories about NaeMe.

The matches NaeMe participated in had become legendary, and every move she made captured the media’s attention.

Moreover, yesterday, it was reported that she had coincidentally captured a suspect on the run, and Seo Hee couldn’t help but suppress a laugh.

When did Kim Seo Hee start to dislike No Name?

If one had to pinpoint it, it probably began when the transfer student with unclear origins came and snatched Si Hoo’s first-place position.

However, No Name soared to such heights that she couldn’t even compete against Si Hoo, and she reluctantly decided to have Si Hoo skip a grade.

The intent was to establish some friendship while avoiding direct competition.

When NaeMe was being criticized by the whole nation, she took the lead in shaping public opinion in her mom café.

When she garnered support from parents across the country, she felt a rush of euphoria.

“Looking back, I was really intoxicated by a power that was nothing.”

Ding ding—

“I’m back! Mom, how are your legs?”

“Si Hoo, I brought your favorite homemade macarons. Come and have a bite.”

Si Hoo and his father had just left his mother in the room and went for a stroll along the Seine River.

He showed her his mother’s swollen legs, which were an embarrassment to admit were hurting from being kicked by a ten-year-old.

“How can I walk with my legs like this?”

“Oh dear, if Si Hoo says his mom’s legs hurt, then I should run to help.”

“Did you memorize all the runes before sleep yesterday?”

“Yes, I did. And I finished today’s homework in advance.”

“Really? Mom will check later?”

“What kind of studying can you do when you’re in Europe? Just let it be.”

“Summer break is such an important time! Do you know how hard it is to catch up if you fall behind in the academy? Especially since you’re ranked below 10th in your magical studies this finals.”

Kim Seo Hee shouted.

The father tuned it out as usual, and Si Hoo timidly climbed onto the bed.

He cast heat conduction magic on his blue bruised calf.

“Are you going to give me an ice pack? Thanks, my son, you’re such a good boy.”

“Mom, about the academy…”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve decided to stay in 5th grade again next year. I’ve talked it over with Dad.”

“What do you mean by that? Huh?”

Si Hoo clenched his teeth and mustered courage.

“I have ambitions just like you, Mom, and I want to do well. I’m not satisfied with being ranked 10th. But I’m not bad at studying, right? If I hadn’t skipped a grade, I would still be first.”

“Yoon Si Hoo, what you’re saying is that you want to lower your own standards. You are—”

“Mom, please listen to what he has to say until the end.”

For the first time, Si Hoo’s father sided with him.

Si Hoo choked back his emotions and spoke.

“Um… what’s more, it’s really hard not having friends… During the performance evaluations, the kids in class don’t let me join their group, and I do my homework all alone.”

“Is Si Hoo being ostracized? If that’s the case, you should have told me earlier! How can the academy teachers let this happen?”

“What’s going to change if I tell the teacher? Do you think the class will think of me as a friend?”

“I don’t understand. Aren’t you throwing a tantrum just because you want to go to the academy with Seoyuna? Just be honest, isn’t that right?”

“What’s wrong with that? I don’t get why you keep looking down on Yuna’s family because they’re a little poor. Do you really think I don’t notice?”

“When did I ever say that?”

“You clearly did. You said it would be hard to marry or get married into a family like that. Hmph, you were from a humble background too.”

“Yoon Si Hoo, what is this!”

Ignoring the fuming Kim Seo Hee, Yoon Si Hoo hastily packed his clothes into his suitcase.

“I’ll hang out with Maru-hyung and No-Eul-hyung until you give me permission, so don’t think about looking for me before that.”

Bang—

He slammed the door hard, making a statement of his minor rebellion.

Kim Seo Hee held her neck and shouted at her husband.

“What are you doing! Go get Si Hoo!”

“It’s okay. No-Eul has come to pick him up in the lobby. He wants to relive his honeymoon experiences after spending ten years working and raising a kid.”

“Right now, the kid just told his mom that he comes from a poor background, and you’re saying something so complacent?”

“That just means the self-made mother is impressive. Honestly, I envy it; it’s not easy to be a parent respected by their child, right? Hahaha.”

Kim Seo Hee was even more infuriated because her husband wasn’t joking but speaking 100% sincerely.

She gazed blankly at the door Si Hoo had stormed out of, lost in thought.

“Coming all the way to France for a hotel vacation. What a waste of money.”

* * *

“Ugh, I can’t breathe…”

It was hard to take a breath, and my chest felt tight.

I felt something tightly constricting my body.

If I had been kidnapped, I would know.

I struggled to lift the heaviest eyelids in the world.

Blink blink—

Two fleshy masses filled my field of vision.

I quickly turned my eyes to the side.

A soggy pillow.

It smelled a bit odd.

“Ahh!”

I shoved Saetbyeol, who was tightly hugging me like a dakimakura, with both hands.

“Ugh, what the heck!”

Crash—

Saetbyeol rolled off the bed.

She clutched her waist and got up, grimacing in pain.

“Seriously, why are you like this in the morning… Did you have a nightmare or something?”

I pulled out some tissues and wiped the wetness from my forehead and hair.

“Ugh… nasty…”

It was clearly drool.

I pointed at the tissues with my finger, conveying silent pressure.

Saetbyeol, embarrassed, wiped her mouth with her sleeve.

“Spitting a little while sleeping is fine. You’re being too much. My drool is clean!”

“When did you sneak into my bed again? I told you to sleep over there.”

“It was too noisy with your sleep talking! So, I had to do something to keep you from going on a rampage!”

“When did I…”

I glanced at the messed-up bed cover.

How did this get wedged so tightly between the mattress?

“I knew this would happen, so I filmed it all last night. If I hadn’t saved the evidence, I’d have been furious!”

The video Saetbyeol sent was shocking.

[Σ∯Σ 🜂∯%‡🜃 †ΦΨ⊛Λ ΣΦ]

“When you were mumbling in an alien language at 4 AM, I thought I was going to drop dead. I thought you were possessed by a ghost!”

But the video didn’t end there.

I felt around and found the remote control, holding it tightly.

Then I flailed the remote as if it were a sword.

[Wah! What the heck, you’re making a fuss!]

At that moment, I felt too embarrassed to lift my head.

Then, losing my grip, the remote flew through the air.

Smack—

[Ah! How did it come flying directly at me? Was that really sleep talking?]

[Ugh…]

It must have hit Saetbyeol, who was filming the video.

Now, she showed me the clear mark left on her forehead from the remote.

“Sorry. I guess I’ve been tired lately. I’ve had a lot of battles recently, so maybe that’s why. Was it really loud?”

“Well, it got quiet once I hugged you. Ugh, sister. It’s okay to act cute, but you’re 10 years old now, you should act your age, heehee.”

She jumped at the chance to tease me.

I held my throbbing head and looked at the time.

“What? It’s 1 o’clock?”

My wake-up time had crossed well past lunchtime.

I had practically slept for almost 12 hours.

I quickly turned on my phone to check if there were any messages.

First and foremost was Professor Cheon.

[Dad (3)]

Three messages? That’s a bit ambiguous.

[Dad: NaeMe, have you woken up?]

[Dad: I’m at the Korean supermarket right now, if there’s anything you want, let me know.]

[Dad: Our daughter, stay strong in your training, fighting!]

“Phew…”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

It seemed he didn’t know about what happened at the restaurant yesterday.

I heard from Si Hoo that things had gone relatively well.

Right now, they seemed to be enjoying a picnic at a park with Yuna’s family.

[Yoon Si Hoo: (Tuna Kimbap Photo.jpg)]

[Yoon Si Hoo: (Group Photo.jpg)]

[No Name: Is it good?]

[Yoon Si Hoo: It’s refreshing.]

[No Name: It’s refreshing?! It’s sweltering outside.]

They came all the way to France and are eating tuna kimbap?

Still, Yuna’s mom is quite skilled in the kitchen.

Grr—

A thunderous sound came from my stomach.

Hearing that, Saetbyeol leaned in.

“Are you hungry now?”

“Yeah, a little?”

“I bought frozen lasagna and frozen meat and potato pie from Picamart yesterday. Let’s split them in half!”

“Oh, great. I didn’t feel like going outside today anyway.”

“Heehee, spending a hotel vacation with NaeMe unnie…! This is truly precious!”

While Saetbyeol dashed to the kitchen, I opened the window connecting to the balcony wide.

I struggled to move the low round table into the middle of the sunbed.

“Ta-da! Smells amazing!”

“Hey! What’s that in your hand?”

I couldn’t hide my shock and pointed at the cylindrical object in her hand.

The shiny item that made a crisp sound when tapped with her nail…

“What else would it be? It’s canned beer! You can buy it at 16 in France!”

Sss—

The smell of alcohol tickled my nose.

“Saetbyeol, can I just smell it?”

“If you take even a sip, I’ll tell Dad!”

“Okay, okay. Huuuuuh. Haaah…”

I used my aura to amplify my dulled senses.

In 0.1 seconds, I took a bite of the potato pie with a fork, savoring it.

“Whoa…”

The heat of the food made steam rise from my mouth.

Saetbyeol laughed while chugging the beer down her throat.

“Yaaaay! This tastes great!”

A clean one-shot.

In less than a minute, her face turned bright red.

“You’re surprisingly weak with alcohol.”

“Really? It’s my first time drinking! Excluding virtual realities.”

“Starting off with day drinking is going to set a bad habit.”

Shaking her head, I enjoyed lunch with Saetbyeol.

In between, she dropped her fork, and I accidentally brought a new one but dropped it as well, but it was okay.

We had plenty of time today.

Tipsy, Saetbyeol gazed lazily at her phone.

“NaeMe unnie.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know I’m graduating from being a VTuber?”

It seemed like an offhand question.

Graduating means she would stop streaming.

“I had no idea. Have you graduated?”

“No. I’m going to soon. It’s still a secret for the viewers.”

“Why?”

I asked back with a serious expression.

Wasn’t Saetbyeol the one who loved streaming more than anyone?

“What did Yoonseul say?”

“I’ve talked it all out with Kariri. The second-generation has settled well. Ni El unnie is collaborating with a big agency these days. She’s doing so well! Even if I leave, Safari Dream will be fine.”

“Are you leaving because you want to?”

“Yeah. I’ll be a senior next year. Balancing academics and streaming is getting tough. I’m also tired of lying to the viewers.”

She lazily got up and retrieved another beer can from the fridge.

Did she drink to say this, I thought to myself.

‘So it’s the latter…’

She had opened up similar concerns to me before.

On days when she took a break, she had to come up with plausible excuses, and there were viewers who would rudely say that she wasn’t a real human.

It was a somewhat abrupt declaration, but I had a hunch it would happen someday.

“It’ll be bittersweet.”

“Right? But I also made it to the edge of a large corporation with my efforts! There will probably be many who cry when I leave.”

“Do you plan to stream again at some point?”

“Well, I’d like to if I could… but I think it’ll be difficult! Unless it’s something other than being a VTuber.”

She sighed, lying back with her intertwined fingers behind her head, looking troubled.

If she could find a suitable job, living this way wouldn’t be a problem.

But if she wanted to become famous as an entertainer, the day would come when she must reveal the truth of the past.

I poked Saetbyeol’s cheek, who was sunbathing with her eyes closed on the balcony, to wake her up.

“Saetbyeol.”

“Ahhh, that tickles.”

“Adella.”

“Hmm? What is it?”

“If you want to reveal it now, you can anytime.”

“…”

“Now you have the power to protect it.”

* * *

A few hours later, I received an urgent call from Professor Cheon.

[NaeMe! Where are you and what are you doing right now!]

There was a hint of anger in his voice.

I sat up straight in surprise and answered the call.

“I’m resting in the hotel with Saetbyeol. Is something wrong…?”

Could it be that he found out I kicked Si Hoo’s mom in the restaurant yesterday?

That would be problematic.

[NonaMe. Have you been drinking?]

What on earth was this nonsense?

“No, just Saetbyeol drank.”

[You didn’t touch it at all, right?]

“I only smelled it a little…? I seriously didn’t take a sip! This is the truth!”

Professor Cheon sent me a link to a news article.

[NonaMe, controversy over drinking during international exchange period… Korean national team “Investigating truth.”]

There was a photo of me sipping beer on the balcony.

Wow, what kind of angle is this, it really looks like I’m drinking.

My heart sank for a moment, but I soon sighed in relief.

“Phew, thank goodness. If I actually drank, I would’ve been in big trouble…”

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing, Dad.”