The pressure Eunbada usually felt from her parents regarding her grades was beyond imagination.
Their family had produced doctors for generations; her parents were doctors, and naturally, Eunbada was expected to become one too.
To make matters worse, her brother had never once failed to rank first in school, both in their district and nationwide, throughout his academic years, eventually becoming a doctor.
Because of that, the bar her parents set for Eunbada was raised even higher.
It seemed that the weight of those expectations was why she had been studying so relentlessly all this time.
“But to think her brother was number one nationwide—that guy’s not even human, is he?”
In an ordinary household, achieving first place nationwide even once would be a huge deal, prompting parents to throw a party and brag about it to the entire neighborhood.
But he maintained that top spot throughout his entire school life, then got into the country’s best university, and now he was a doctor…
‘That’s not a normal family.’
I couldn’t even imagine how tough that environment must have been.
Just thinking about it made me feel suffocated.
‘If I were Eunbada, I would’ve run away a long time ago.’
Eunbada silently pushed herself to improve her grades, but honestly, if it were me, I think I would’ve given up everything and run far away from my parents.
Even with decent grades, she was always compared to her brother and never once praised.
“Still, Bada is third in school. It’s just that the kids above her are incredibly strong.”
Yeon Hayun, who never missed being first in school, and Ban Eunhyeol, who held the rank just below him—because of those two main characters, no matter how hard Eunbada studied, she never got to be first or second.
So just maintaining third place was a remarkable feat.
Of course, their parents probably didn’t even know about this fact.
Discussing this over notes was too deep, and Eunbada’s subtle reactions made Yeon Hayun and me grab Han Jibin after school, bombarding her with questions.
Thanks to Yeon Hayun giving her a ride, we could talk comfortably in the car.
Before we knew it, we had already arrived home, and it was time to part ways.
“Anyway, Bada must be having a hard time lately, so let’s take good care of her, alright?”
“Yeah. I’m heading out first!”
Answering Han Jibin’s call to look after Eunbada well, she got out of the car.
“I’m home.”
When I got home, the house was noisy, as if guests had come over.
It seemed my mom had invited some friends.
I greeted my mom and her friends, who were chatting around the kitchen table, and was about to head to my room.
“Oh my, Dana looks so fragile, but she actually kills monstrous creatures? Your daughter is amazing!”
“Since she’s an Awakened, thanks to the sudden Gate incident, we don’t have to worry about her dying.”
“She’s part of the Blood Fragrance and directly under the guild leader, right? If she’s hanging out with Yeon Hayun, there’s nothing to fear, kid. No need to worry.”
It looked like I wasn’t getting out of here that easily.
Their fascinated and heavy gazes pierced my face because I was an Awakened.
I stood awkwardly smiling when suddenly my mom snapped.
“Nothing to fear? Did you forget the S-rank Gate last time? Do you understand how nervous I am, not knowing when my daughter might die?”
The atmosphere instantly turned cold.
“Even if your friends are S-rank, what good is that? If they just vanish, no one will be able to protect her! I wish she could just live an ordinary life as a non-Awakened.”
Ignoring the tense mood, my mom poured out everything she had to say.
She seemed to have suffered so much emotionally that tears started mixing into her voice as she yelled.
“Alright, alright. We shouldn’t have said that. I guess it’s natural to be worried if your daughter is involved in such dangerous places.”
“Exactly. I didn’t think about it because my kid isn’t Awakened. Sorry.”
My mom’s friends sympathized and apologized, which eased the mood somewhat.
“Um… I’m going to my room now.”
I needed to get away from here quickly.
Just as I turned my back and headed for my room, my mom’s voice stopped me.
“Are you going to study?”
“Oh, yes!”
“Good. You’re a senior now. You should start studying hard. Their kids are all top of their class. You should focus on studying and stop worrying so much about the Gates.”
“Yes, yes.”
I almost ended up listening to stories about those perfect kids.
Why were all of them so good at studying, making me feel constantly compared?
Was there no one among my mom’s friends’ kids who lived with just average grades?
“Not my place to worry about others.”
Pushed into a chair, I opened my workbook.
***
Eunbada had a nosebleed again.
This time, everyone wasn’t worried because she was studying hard, but because they wondered if she had sustained internal injuries during the recent S-rank Gate incident.
“I’m fine. Internal injuries? I’ve had all the tests.”
Eunbada kept saying she was fine as she casually stuffed tissues into her nose.
Seeing that, several girls nearby immediately collapsed in worry.
Since she was often injured in recent S-rank Gates, now with nosebleeds too, their concern had grown quite serious.
“There might be something the tests missed. Let’s go to our hospital.”
“I’m really okay.”
No matter how much she insisted, those watching were still worried.
If the S-rank Gate incident hadn’t happened, we might have just shrugged and thought, ‘She’s studying hard.’ But since Eunbada was seriously hurt back then, it was impossible not to worry.
Eventually, after holding out for a while, Ban Eunhyeol and Ji Kanghan each grabbed one of her arms and dragged her to the hospital.
“So this is your hospital…”
I had come several times before because of Haerameum, Kang Yedam, and Yeon Hyungkwang, but I never thought it would be Eunbada’s hospital.
It was massive.
‘As expected from an Inso protagonist.’
Though Eunbada was more of a supporting character among the Four Heavenly Kings, as a significant supporting role, her family was extraordinary.
Honestly, frequent nosebleeds didn’t warrant coming to such a large hospital, but since everyone had sustained serious injuries in the last S-rank Gate, and internal damage could still be possible, we confidently stepped inside.
Maybe because she was the hospital director’s daughter.
Upon arrival, Eunbada immediately started tests and got the results quickly.
The speed was astonishing.
“No special internal injuries. Looks like the nosebleeds are just from fatigue due to studying too hard.”
“See?”
Eunbada grinned, as if to say she had told us so, and left the examination room.
Since we were here, she decided to visit the rooms of Haerameum, Kang Yedam, and Yeon Hyungkwang, who were hospitalized.
As we walked down the hall, a doctor who looked shockingly similar to Eunbada was coming from the opposite direction. Even without Eunbada’s explanation, I could tell.
‘That must be Eunbada’s brother!’
Sure enough, when the doctor saw Eunbada, he approached us.
“What’s going on here?”
The gentle attitude one would expect from an older brother toward his younger sibling was nowhere to be found.
His tone and expression were so indifferent, it was as if he were speaking to a stranger—or even more detached than that.
The atmosphere was completely different from Eunbada’s.
Always smiling, Eunbada’s face couldn’t have been more different from her brother’s cold, unsmiling one. What kind of odd contrast was this?
“Just came for some tests.”
“What kind of tests?”
“Nosebleeds that keep happening.”
The two exchanged curt words.
“Nosebleeds? Must be studying pretty hard.”
“Just a bit.”
The atmosphere was awkward enough to make anyone uncomfortable.
We quietly listened to their conversation from the side.
All of it.
“I have to visit some friends in the hospital. I’m going.”
Eunbada ended the conversation first.
We went to the hospital room and spent a little time with the kids who now seemed almost fine.
Suddenly, a vibrating sound came from Eunbada’s bag.
“Looks like you got a call.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Eunbada, who had been a little distracted earlier, pulled out her phone from her bag.
When she checked the screen, the smile she had been wearing since entering the hospital disappeared.
“What’s wrong? Who is it?”
“…Dad.”
Eunbada, aware of us, stepped outside the room to take the call.
“I guess your dad heard you came for tests. Looks like you’re being summoned.”
“Being summoned probably isn’t a good thing…”
Judging by Han Jibin’s worried expression, being called by her father was definitely not good news.
Sure enough, Eunbada returned with a grim face, grabbed her bag, and said,
“I’ll go first. Dad’s calling.”
As she was about to leave, we hurriedly followed.
“We’re coming with you.”
“To say hello as well!”
If her friends were there, she’d probably hold back her words a bit more.
Since it didn’t seem like a good reason for the summons, we wanted to be there so she wouldn’t have to hear too much bad news alone.
But our wish was in vain.
“Wait here.”
Eunbada’s father didn’t even give us a chance to say hello.
We waited anxiously outside the hospital director’s office.
Especially Yeon Hayun and I, having never seen Eunbada being called by her father, could not even guess what was happening inside.
Then, from behind the hospital director’s office door, a terrifying scolding echoed out.
“Just because you have a little nosebleed, you bring a whole bunch of friends to the hospital? Instead of wasting time like that, why don’t you spend a bit more time studying! You’re out of your mind. Tsk.”
“A little nosebleed?”
Her son had been seriously injured in an S-rank Gate only a week ago.
Yet there was no sign of concern for her son’s well-being; instead, the harsh reprimand towards Eunbada continued mercilessly.