My first experience of visiting a friend’s house was when I was in the first grade of elementary school.
It was not long after I had entered school.
At the time, Yeon Haneul quickly became friends with the girl sitting in front of her.
Fortunately, the two of them had similar personalities and interests.
―Then, do you want to come to my house later?
―Really? Is that okay?
―Of course!
And so, the conversation naturally turned toward visiting her friend’s house.
Yeon Haneul went there filled with anticipation, only to have an experience she would never forget for the rest of her life.
―Mom! I brought a friend home! This is Haneul!
―H-Hello.
―…Yes, come on in.
At that moment.
She did not miss the way her friend’s mother looked her up and down as she stood in the entryway.
Nor did she miss the fact that the woman’s gaze ultimately stopped above her head.
―You have to go to your academy later, so don’t play for too long.
―Huh? I don’t have academy today….
―They called from the academy and asked you to come. Since you’re an elementary school student now, they said you should increase the number of days you attend.
―Ugh….
―So, could you understand? Your parents wouldn’t like you coming home late either, would they?
―Yes…. I’ll only play for a little while.
Yeon Haneul, who had grown up in an orphanage from a young age, was sensitive to detecting atmospheres in which she was being rejected.
She realized that her friend’s mother was not pleased to have her there.
So she spent that day watching the woman’s mood before leaving early.
―Ma’am, I should get going now. Goodbye.
―Bye!
―Yes, be careful on your way home.
Yeon Haneul bowed deeply.
Her friend’s mother merely returned the greeting out of formality, then abruptly slammed the door shut.
Soon, Yeon Haneul could hear voices coming from beyond the door.
―Don’t associate with a child like that. You should spend time with good children. How could you possibly be friends with someone like her?
―Mom! Haneul is a good….
―Listen to your mother. I’m telling you not to play with her anymore. She’ll lower your standing. Do you think your father and I sent you to that school so you could play with someone like her?
―I’m sorry….
―There are so many well-off children, and you go and play with someone like that….
Yeon Haneul trudged home that day.
Then she told the teachers at the orphanage that she had had fun playing at her friend’s house.
―Um….
―…My mom says I’m not allowed to play with you.
―….
From the next day onward, she naturally grew distant from that friend.
‘Will it be okay?’
Because of that memory, Yeon Haneul had been quietly worried as she went to visit Do Gyeonwoo’s house.
But none of what she had feared happened, and that day she was able to spend time at his house without a care.
“I should get going now. The tteokbokki was really delicious!”
“Really? I’m glad to hear that. Next time, I’ll make something even tastier for you.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that….”
“I’m doing it because I want to.”
“…Thank you.”
Do Gyeonwoo’s mother did not look her up and down as though judging her, nor did she show any expression of contempt.
She treated Yeon Haneul with a kind smile from beginning to end.
Yeon Haneul was simply at a loss, unaccustomed to receiving such kindness.
“Oh, right. Mom, could you pack up some of that dessert we had earlier? Haneul said she wanted to take some home.”
“Oh my, really? You should have told me sooner.”
“No! You don’t have to!”
“It’s all right. You don’t need to be so polite.”
That was when Do Gyeonwoo suddenly spoke up. Yeon Haneul had been too embarrassed to ask herself whether she could take some food home, so she was startled.
She hurriedly waved her hands.
But Do Gyeonwoo’s mother paid no attention to her refusal.
“Gyeonwoo, go to the kitchen and ask them to pack some up. Not the leftovers—have them pack something fresh.”
“Yes, I will.”
“Ah… Thank you.”
Do Gyeonwoo disappeared into the house.
Yeon Haneul did not know what to do with herself.
“Haneul.”
“Oh, yes!”
Looking at her, Do Gyeonwoo’s mother spoke in a warm voice.
“Please continue being friends with Gyeonwoo from now on.”
“Pardon?”
“Gyeonwoo has hardly ever brought a friend home before. Seeing that he brought you here, I suppose he must like you quite a lot. He also seems to have become noticeably more cheerful lately.”
“…”
“That must be because of you, Haneul, right? Thank you. So I’m giving you this as a bribe to keep being friends with Gyeonwoo. Don’t feel too burdened by it.”
“…No. Gyeonwoo is the one being kind enough to be friends with me.”
“What do you mean, ‘the one being kind’? That’s not how friendship works. You become friends because you get along and your hearts fit together.”
“…”
Her eyes looked extraordinarily benevolent.
Yeon Haneul could find no other emotion in Do Gyeonwoo’s mother’s eyes.
Looking up at her, Yeon Haneul felt a strange sense of wonder.
She wanted to become a kind and gentle person like his mother.
That day, she hummed to herself as she returned to the orphanage.
“Did you have fun?”
“Yes, I had a great time! And this was given to me by my friend’s mother!”
And so, they all enjoyed a delicious roll cake together at the orphanage.
* * *
“Really!? Gyeonwoo brought a girl home?”
At the family dinner table.
His father showed great interest when he heard his mother’s story.
“He should have brought her while I was home…. I’m curious what kind of girl she is.”
“She looked like the type Gyeonwoo would like.”
“What did she look like?”
“She was a girl with pretty, sky-blue rabbit ears.”
“Rabbit ears? Was she an Ain?”
“Yes.”
“No wonder Gyeonwoo liked her.”
“Right?”
“…”
It was true that I liked rabbits, but that was not why I had become friends with Yeon Haneul.
I stared at my parents with an incredulous expression.
They seemed to interpret my expression in a different way.
“What? Are you embarrassed?”
“It’s perfectly normal to bring a friend home. Why are you acting so shy?”
I decided it was better not to say anything.
No matter what I said, my parents would only tease me.
Had I not recalled my previous life, perhaps I might have been swayed by their teasing like a child. But I was no longer someone who would be toyed with by my parents like that.
“But if she’s an Ain… Where does that child live?”
“They say she lives at a nearby orphanage.”
“Hmm, just as I thought. Treat her well. Ains are….”
“Do you really need to say something like that? In fact, that sort of consideration can be harmful between friends.”
“Still, he does have a point.”
“Don’t pay attention to what your father says.”
“Yes, I know.”
I nodded.
Even without my father’s unnecessary advice, I knew how Ains were treated by society.
That did not mean I intended to pity her.
‘I’m simply going to treat her like a friend. What else is there to it?’
I intended to treat her as an equal—as one human being like me—and be comfortable around her.
Of course, there was also a touch of ulterior motive involved, since I intended to recruit Yeon Haneul as a comrade.
That was when my younger sister joined the conversation.
“I wanted to see Rabbit Unni too…. It’s not fair. You brought her over when I wasn’t here.”
The troublemaker of our household, Do Ye-eun.
Ye-eun seemed displeased that Yeon Haneul had visited our house while she was at the swordsmanship hall.
She pouted with a sullen expression.
At the same time, there was no way we could fail to notice the little scheme she was trying to pull off.
Especially not with Mother’s sharp eyes.
“I don’t think that has anything to do with picking the carrots out of your curry.”
“…Tch.”
“You have to eat all your carrots instead of leaving them behind. Carrots are delicious. Don’t you know rabbits can’t eat them even when they want to because there aren’t any?”
“Then these carrots can go to the rabbits….”
“Hey!”
“Mom is mean.”
“Haha….”
Even today, the squabble between Mother and Ye-eun did not pass quietly.
Having lost to Mother, Ye-eun had no choice but to chew and swallow the limp carrots with a miserable expression.
Father gave a wry smile.
“Ugh, carrots are gross….”
“Healthy things don’t taste good.”
“I hate you, Mom.”
“Really? I prepared some chocolate for you to eat as a snack later, but if you don’t need it….”
“Wow! Mom, you’re the best!”
At the word chocolate, Ye-eun threw both arms into the air with an expression that said she had never said anything of the sort.
We burst out laughing at how quickly she had changed her attitude.
Soon, I called out to Father.
“Dad.”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Please take a look at my sword after dinner. Let’s spar for the first time in a while.”
“Spar? What’s gotten into you?”
I couldn’t practice basic stances every day and do nothing else.
Sometimes, I needed to cross swords directly with an opponent and determine what I was lacking.
‘And there’s something I need to ask Dad, too.’
I waited for my father’s answer.
After pondering the unexpected proposal, Father finally spoke.
“Shall we do that, then? Exercising immediately after eating might give you a stomachache, so how about we rest for a while first?”
“That sounds good. Let’s do that.”
“Let’s see how much you’ve improved.”
Father readily agreed to my proposal.
Of course, there was no way Ye-eun would quietly listen to our conversation.
“I want to spar with Dad and Oppa too!”
“You’re still too young, Ye-eun. Whenever the two of you spar, make sure to wear protective gear so no one gets hurt.”
* * *
Unable to withstand Mother’s insistence, we had to wear protective gear every time we sparred and use wooden swords instead of live blades.
“What’s gotten into you, Gyeonwoo? You’re the one asking me to spar first.”
“I wanted to see how much my skills have improved. I also wanted to show you.”
Father spoke to me in surprise as he strapped on his protective gear.
Well, it was understandable that he would think that way.
‘It was always Dad who suggested sparring, never me.’
I had been afraid of tiring Father out after he came home from working hard at the clan.
Or I worried that I might get hurt during the spar—or hurt him.
Before recalling my previous life, I had never once suggested sparring first for those reasons.
But judging by Father’s reaction, there had never been any reason for me to worry about his feelings.
“I was wondering when you’d play with me, and now that you’re in fifth grade, you’re finally willing to?”
“Is this really playing with you?”
“Of course it is. What else do I have to look forward to after working late and coming home? Spending time with your mother, playing with Ye-eun, and sparring with you like this.”
“…”
If I had known he would be this happy, I would have suggested sparring with Father more often.
“Then what is it that you’re trying to ask me?”
“How did you know I was going to ask you for something?”
“A child who has never suggested sparring suddenly doing so must have another reason.”
“…”
“What are you trying to ask me without telling your mother? Your father is on your mother’s side, so I can’t necessarily grant whatever you ask.”
“I wanted to ask you because I thought Mom would say it was dangerous….”
“What is it? Let’s hear it.”
I had originally intended to wait for the right opportunity to bring it up.
But since Father had seen through my intentions, I supposed I had to tell him now.
With the protective gear covering my head, I pointed my wooden sword at Father and spoke.
“I want to experience a real battle.”
“A real battle?”
“Yes. I want to kill a monster.”
“…”
“My other cousins have already experienced it, but I haven’t yet. And since I’m not a Hunter, I can’t just fight monsters recklessly… So I was hoping you could help me.”
“What brought this on all of a sudden? You don’t need to feel rushed just because you haven’t experienced a real battle yet.”
“Even so. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I shouldn’t go on like this. And I don’t want to be mocked as a Rabbit anymore.”
“Huh….”
“So I’m going to try to change.”
Five years.
Five years from now, I would enter Academy City and face countless crises alongside the protagonist, Gang Hanbyeol.
To prepare for that, I needed to fight monsters and gain some real combat experience.
The people around my age who had left the family had already experienced actual battles.
Compared to them, I was far behind.
‘So I have to catch up somehow.’
That was why I had asked my father.
It was something I couldn’t accomplish on my own without his help.
“Is what happened at the Swordsmanship Hall the reason you came to think that way?”
“What?”
“I heard that you fought with the children at the Swordsmanship Hall. I also heard that they were badly injured, and that they said you weren’t at fault.”
“….”
“Was that what changed your mind?”
…Had the instructor at the Swordsmanship Hall tattled on me?
Perhaps he had done so because he resented me for threatening him by invoking the family’s name.
But whatever the instructor’s intentions had been, judging by my father’s attitude, he didn’t seem to have any intention of scolding me over it.
Rather, he was asking about my true feelings.
‘Does he trust me? Does he believe I wouldn’t have done that without a reason?’
He hadn’t said it outright, but somehow, that was the feeling I got.
If that was the case, then I felt I had to answer his trust by honestly telling him how I felt.
What would be the best way to begin?
I chose my words for a moment.
“Ever since I was young, I was taught that the sword of the Shingum Do family exists to protect and save people. That I must never forget it.”
“That’s right. The reason people praise us as a great family is because we haven’t neglected that duty.”
“So I thought I had to wield my sword according to the family’s teachings. Even if others bullied me, I shouldn’t wield it simply to vent my feelings. They’re people I’m supposed to protect, too, aren’t they?”
“….”
“But then….”
If I hadn’t remembered my previous life, I probably never would have thought this way.
The life I had lived in my previous life—
And the future I was going to face—
Both had changed my way of thinking considerably.
“Before protecting other people, shouldn’t I protect myself first?”
“….”
“How can someone who can’t even protect himself protect anyone else? That thought suddenly occurred to me.”
“So that’s why you fought those children?”
“Yes, that’s why I fought them. I didn’t want to keep being bullied like a fool. I wanted to protect myself. From now on, that’s how I intend to live.”
“….”
“To do that, I have to become strong. Strong enough that others can’t look down on me anymore, strong enough to protect myself completely—and strong enough to protect others, too. That’s why I want to experience real combat.”
No matter what happened, I had to put myself first.
I had no intention of changing that thought, even if it made me seem selfish.
Having said everything I wanted to say, I fell silent.
My father was quiet for some time.
Then, a moment later, his shoulders trembled once, rising and falling.
It seemed that my father had laughed.
“Well, your thoughts aren’t wrong. And having a reason to become stronger isn’t a bad thing, either. You’ve changed a lot without me realizing it.”
“Then will you help me?”
“Of course I have to help you. I’m your father, after all. But there’s a condition.”
“What condition?”
“Prove that you’ve built up enough skill to experience actual combat. That’s why you asked to spar, isn’t it?”
“…You’re right, Dad.”
Before I knew it, my father had assumed the middle guard stance and was ready to begin the spar.
I quickly composed myself as well.
Just as my father had said, I intended to have my abilities acknowledged through this spar.
If I failed, I would simply devote myself to training again until I became stronger.
If I couldn’t earn my father’s recognition, that meant I still wasn’t at a level where I could face actual combat.
“Just one hit.”
“….”
“I won’t use mana, and I won’t move more than five steps. So come at me with everything you have.”
“You won’t use the Beast King Style, either, right?”
“…I’ll use only the basic forms.”
“Okay.”
It was a spar conducted in much the same way as usual.
But I had never once managed to land an attack on my father.
Even when an opportunity to attack him arose, I hesitated, afraid that I might accidentally hurt him.
I had been afraid. I had been scared.
How foolish of me.
“Now, then. Come on.”
In that sense, there was a hidden meaning behind the condition my father had proposed.
If I truly intended to face monsters, I couldn’t show hesitation at the thought of hurting someone with my sword.
“Hoo….”
I drew in a breath.
That might have been true before.
But now, I had no intention of hesitating.
The Hunter’s Stance.
To prove that to my father—
I charged straight at him.
Gathering my strength, I brought down my wooden sword.
As expected, my father blocked the blow and struck my wooden sword aside with sheer force.
Clack!
I didn’t resist that force.
Instead, I used it against him, taking a step back and twisting my body to the side.
Then I swung my arm in a wide arc.
The Charge Stance.
From the inside of my left shoulder outward.
A horizontal trajectory cut through the air.
Clack!
My father blocked it again.
It was well within my expectations.
I stepped forward just as I was, closing the remaining distance between us.
By then, I was ready to swing again with the arm that had been driven behind my right shoulder.
The Pivot Stance.
I put strength into my forward foot.
Then I twisted my waist to the left.
More power flowed into my swing.
From the outside of my right shoulder inward.
The sword that had been knocked away swept out in another horizontal arc, aiming for my father’s sword.
Clack!
Now.
By closing the distance, I had naturally reduced the space in which my father could swing his sword.
He needed to widen the distance.
And if so, the action my father had to take now was to step back.
I didn’t miss that moment.
“…!”
Without giving him room to swing—
The instant my father retreated, I surged forward in a single breath.
At the same time, I brought up the wooden sword I had drawn back into position with the Pivot Stance, striking upward from below.
Sword struck sword.
“Ugh!”
This time, it wasn’t my sword that was knocked aside, but my father’s.
For an instant, my father’s stance faltered.
An opening appeared on his right side.
Lion Iron Whip.
Heavy as a swinging iron club.
Fast as a cracking whip.
I infused my wooden sword with mana and slammed it into my father’s right hip.
Smack!
The spar was over.
I quickly widened the distance between us.
By the time my father, his hip having been struck hard enough to make a smacking sound, turned around, I was already gone from that spot.
“You little—if you were going to hit me, you could’ve taken it easy! Did you really have to hit me that hard?”
“I wanted to earn your recognition, Dad.”
“Well, well. You’ve grown enough to hit even your own father without hesitation now.”
My father rubbed his lower back repeatedly as if to say, Look what you’ve done, even though it probably hadn’t hurt that much through his protective gear.
I snickered at the sight.
Then I patted his back.
“So you recognize me now, right?”
“Yes, you unfilial brat.”
My father pouted.
I Became the Intermediate Boss’s Childhood Friend