Three years since I started training with the kid.
For us, who were just 10-year-olds, three years was by no means a short time, and during that period, I put in effort after effort and finally managed to reach this point.
“Wait, Young Master Woobin?!
How could a 13-year-old have made a profit all year long in the national competition?!
How did you even do that?!”
In the realm of investment, and…
“Wait, Young Master Woobin?!
How could a 13-year-old walk on a creaky wooden floor without making a sound?!
And not a single flaw in her manners, even in front of a married woman?!”
In the realm of etiquette, and…
“Wait, Young Master Woobin?!
How could a 13-year-old solve all the problems from the academy’s 3rd-year exams and get perfect scores on practice tests?!”
In the realm of literature and education.
At just 13, I had completed the ‘Becoming the King of Household Management Curriculum,’ which was the vision of both families.
I had truly become a man who, in the history of the family, was unrivaled, the perfect candidate for a son-in-law, someone who could confidently step into the marriage market.
If I were to enter the marriage market now, women from prestigious families, all of whom were of marriageable age, would beg me to be their husband with tears in their eyes.
It felt like I was already being rewarded for all my hard work.
“Reward, my ass! I’m dying here, seriously!”
After 8 years of awakening, living on just 2 hours of sleep a day and handling this hellish schedule was incredibly tough, even with a superhuman body.
My body could endure it, but my mind was struggling.
What’s worse, 18 hours of the 22 hours I was given were forced into intensive, rote education.
No matter how much I had the body of an adult, my mind felt like it was being tortured.
“Ha, I’m back, Woobin! Let’s work hard today!”
If it hadn’t been for this little kid, I probably wouldn’t have been able to endure it.
“…I really owe my life to you.”
“Huh?!”
When I first met this kid, I thought of her as just a training partner, but now, she had become an indispensable part of my daily life.
Having a friend who understands your struggles is a great comfort in life.
This kid, who wasn’t even an extra in a game, became such an important presence in my life, even though I had long since mastered theReverse Hero’s journey .
Life really is unpredictable.
“You’re saying I owe my life to you? You can’t just say things like that, you fool!
I’m your only friend. You don’t know it, but that’s the truth.
If you keep saying reckless things like that, you’ll end up in trouble with some strange woman, you know?!”
For some reason, the little kid, blushing deeply, was passionately lecturing me.
As always, I handed her the wooden sword.
“Here, take this.”
“Woobin, you never listen to me! You should just listen to me!
Everything I say will make you stronger, you frog in a well!”
“Little kid, what are you talking about?”
“I’m not a little kid! We’re the same age!”
“Well, if I can’t beat you, then you’re a little kid.”
“Ugh…!”
As expected of a 13-year-old, the little kid shook with anger and clenched her fist tightly.
We had trained together every day for three years, but the little kid had never beaten me even once.
But that was only because I had mastered everything about the legendary Reverse Hero’s journey and knew every single technique and countermeasure, so it wasn’t that the kid was weak.
“Today will be different! I’ll win and make sure you never call me a little kid again!”
The little kid grabbed the wooden sword I handed her roughly, immediately took her stance, and glared at me with sharp eyes.
Normally, if a kid was provoked like this, they would lose control, become reckless, and leave themselves open.
But our little kid, while angry, was managing her emotions and aura perfectly.
Really, a genius is a genius.
I quietly smiled to myself, as always, and gently clenched my fists, facing the kid.
“Today, it’s 10 rounds. I look forward to it, little kid.”
“Yeah, me too! You annoying Woobin!”
Thwack—!
As soon as we finished our greetings, the little kid and I both leapt off the ground as if we’d planned it, charging toward each other.
As usual, the result of the match was my victory.
“Ughhhh…”
After 2 hours of sleep, the morning arrived.
Having lived like this for years, I should have gotten used to it by now, but I still couldn’t shake off the grogginess every morning.
However, just because I couldn’t shake off the sleepiness didn’t mean I could sleep in.
Until I escaped from this insane, crazy household, I had to maintain this routine, so I slapped my face hard with both hands.
Slap!
“Ha!”
The red handprints left on my cheeks from the hard slap made me snap awake, as if I’d been struck by lightning.
After washing my face and washing off the remaining fatigue, I didn’t feel perfectly refreshed, but at least I was fully awake.
I opened the door and stepped out.
“What boring class awaits me today…?”
As I murmured to myself like an old man while heading to the study room for my morning class, I ran into the little kid around the corner.
The little kid had been staying up late with me for our sparring sessions, so just like me, she only had 2 hours of sleep a day.
But for some reason, the little kid never seemed tired, always full of energy, and when she smiled at me, I couldn’t help but feel better too.
The room the little kid stayed in was on the other side, and I usually only saw her during meal times, if even that, but today, I met her in the morning.
It must be my lucky day.
“Hey, little kid. Did you sleep well? Good morning.”
Since I was lucky enough to run into the kid, I raised my hand to greet her and hoped to get some of her energy.
“Woobin…”
But instead of the cheerful morning greeting I was expecting, I heard the kid’s voice, filled with so much gloom, that just facing her made me feel down.
“Huh? What’s with your expression?”
The kid’s face was shadowed so heavily that it was hard to even compare it to the darkest moment when we first met.
I was shocked and approached her.
If any of the servants or married women caught me approaching the kid like this, they would yell, “How dare a man from both families approach an outsider like this?!” and I’d end up in solitary confinement for a week.
But the kid was my only friend.
If my friend had that kind of look on her face, I couldn’t just ignore it out of fear of punishment.
“Hey, what’s wrong? Is it because I won again yesterday?
Or is it because I keep calling you a little kid?
If I did something wrong, I’ll apologize and fix it, so just tell me…”
Hug!
“Ah.”
I felt a warm pressure and the faint scent of shampoo.
The kid had wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shoulder.
What’s going on here? This is so embarrassing.
I was caught off guard by the situation but quickly regained my composure. ‘Always calling me annoying, and now you’re just hugging me straight out of nowhere.
They say you see what you want to see… this annoying little kid,’ I thought, jokingly trying to pull her off.
“Uuuu… Woobin…”
The sudden wave of tears left me speechless.
It was the first time I had seen the kid cry since that day when I shared my past with her.
I was really curious about what had happened this morning for her to be in such a state, but right now, there was something more important than satisfying my curiosity.
Tap, tap.
I gently patted the kid’s back with my palm, deciding to wait until he could cry everything out.
“I don’t know what happened, but just cry as much as you want. After you’re done, we’ll talk.”
“Uuuu…!”
Perhaps my words and the patting helped, but the kid started crying freely as if she had been holding back until now.
“…Hey, should we go to my room to cry?”
It was better to avoid getting caught, regardless of the punishment.
“Uuuu… I want to go to Woobin’s room…”
Thankfully, the kid accepted my suggestion.
For three years, every time I did something or said something, the kid would scold me for being inappropriate, saying a man shouldn’t act like that, or threatening me with things like, “If you do that to another woman, you’re in big trouble!”
But now, after pulling me into my room, the kid cried for another ten minutes.
Even if I added up every “inappropriate” thing I had done or said, this hug probably counted as the most inappropriate thing today. I thought for a moment, but didn’t say it out loud.
If I pointed out how inappropriate this was to an already unstable kid, I might end up with more crying time.
“Huff! Huhu! Sob!”
“Are you feeling a bit better now? Do you think you can tell me?”
I cautiously asked the kid, who had stopped crying but still had traces of tears in her eyes.
“Uu, uu…”
My question seemed to make her sad again, and the kid’s bright blue eyes filled with tears once more.
If we let this go on too long, it wouldn’t be good for either of us.
So, I quickly tried to comfort her.
“Huff… I can… I can tell you.”
“Phew, thank goodness.”
But before I could comfort her more, the kid bravely held back the tears.
I wanted to pat her head in appreciation for her courage, but I stopped myself.
That would be an action the kid had pointed out as inappropriate several times before.
While I fought off my urge to act on that desire, the kid, after steadying her breath and calming down, dropped her shoulders and answered my question.
“Woobin, I… I have to go home tomorrow.”
“What?”
It was like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.