Chapter 12: Change (3)
After dropping off Cheon Seo-hee, I finally headed home.
Because of the traffic, I arrived later than usual. As soon as I stepped inside, I found myself eating a meal that Na-gyeong had prepared for me.
Tonight’s dinner menu consisted of a healthy bowl of multigrain rice and seasoned seaweed sheets.
It was a flawless feast—more than I deserved, considering I had essentially abandoned my adorable daughter.
…No, but still, shouldn’t there at least be some kimchi?
“Ahem. Kimchi….”
Glancing across the table at Na-gyeong, I subtly set down my chopsticks and began to rise from my seat.
Noticing my movement, she spoke up in a quiet voice.
“Do you need kimchi?”
“Oh? Uh, yeah. Just a little….”
“I’ll get it for you.”
Without hesitation, she stood up.
“No, no! I’ll get it!”
I tried to stop her, but she was quicker. Before I could react, she had already pulled out the container from the fridge.
“Not even giving a guy some kimchi after he’s been working hard all day… That’s just cruel, don’t you think?”
She was sulking—big time.
“Come on, now… There’s no one as amazing as you, Na-gyeong.”
Quickly getting up, I approached her and spoke in my gentlest tone as she transferred the kimchi onto a plate.
Since I still had plenty of time left to spend with Cheon Seo-hee, I needed to smooth things over now, or I’d be in for trouble later.
“I didn’t mean for things to turn out like this, but before I knew it… You know?”
But this time, my usual tactics didn’t work.
“Did I say anything?”
Her eyes narrowed. Glaring at me, Na-gyeong let out a sharp, icy warning.
“Do whatever you want. Just go ahead and do as you please. At this point, why don’t you just move in with that woman?”
“Hey, what about our daughter? I can’t do that!”
“Ha. You’ve left her alone for a whole week, and now you have the audacity to call her ‘our daughter’?”
That stung—just a little.
“You know I didn’t mean it like that….”
A little bit of charm only works when the timing is right.
Like a cicada clinging to a tree, I latched onto Na-gyeong and tried my best to act cute.
“You know you’re the only one for me, right?”
Most daughters hate it when their fathers act this way as they grow older.
But my daughter? She didn’t seem to mind at all.
If anything, she was always craving affection.
“You always say that….”
With a sigh, she finished plating the kimchi and set her chopsticks down with a loud clack!.
Then, turning to face me directly, she asked in a restrained voice—
“…How long are you planning to do this?”
“Huh?”
Her piercing gaze made me flinch.
“That girl. How long are you going to keep seeing her?”
“Um… let’s see… hmm… probably… this… semester?”
“Excuse me!?”
She practically screamed.
Realizing I may have pushed my luck, I quickly waved my hands in an attempt to calm her down and rephrased my words.
“W-Well! Nothing’s set in stone, but for now, that’s the plan.”
“Wow. So you’re not even trying to hide it anymore….”
In the end, I managed to pacify Na-gyeong—but not without a price.
In exchange, I had to agree to a few conditions.
“First—stay home every weekend. No exceptions.”
“Second—no drinking. If you really want to drink, do it at home.”
“Third—for every time you break these rules, you’ll grant one of my wishes.”
Fortunately, none of them were unreasonable.
If anything, it felt like she was still trying to be considerate of my situation.
“If you break them, I’ll go full street delinquent—run away, smoke cigarettes. You get it, right?”
“…Don’t even joke about that. That seriously terrifies me.”
“Exactly. If you don’t want to see me go down that path, you’d better start behaving.”
Her threats were a little intense, but honestly?
She was still being pretty lenient.
Truly, she was the most devoted daughter in the world.
The Next Morning
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Cheon Seo-hee slowly opened her eyes to the sound of her blaring phone alarm.
Letting out a wide yawn, she stretched on top of her blanket, still half-asleep.
There was a rule that she had to do some stretching first thing in the morning.
“Ugh….”
Fully awake now, she absentmindedly scratched the bare skin beneath her slightly lifted T-shirt before heading to the bathroom.
Today, she had plans to return to the academy after a long time.
“…I’m heading out.”
Clunk. Clunk.
The subway rattled as it moved along the tracks.
Standing by the door, Cheon Seo-hee stared blankly out the window at the shimmering Han River, lost in thought.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have come out today.’
She had originally planned to stay away from the academy until her deliberation period was over.
It wasn’t like she had close friends there, nor was there anyone who would welcome her.
Forcing herself to go somewhere like that felt pointless.
Wouldn’t it be much better to stay home and focus on planning for the future?
…That’s what she had thought—until recently.
—You’re not getting your tuition refunded whether you drop out or not. You might as well go and at least get a free meal out of it.
Do-hyun had advised her to keep attending, regardless of whether she planned to drop out.
He couldn’t understand why she wouldn’t make use of the excellent facilities, especially since she had already paid.
Of course, Cheon Seo-hee hadn’t actually paid much, thanks to government support.
But after thinking about it, she realized he wasn’t entirely wrong.
Isn’t there a saying—enjoy it while you have it?
And so, for the first time in a while, she took out her academy uniform.
Purely for the free meals.
Nothing more.
“Oh. It’s Cheon Seo-hee.”
“Didn’t she drop out?”
“Is she back?”
The lowest-ranked student in the Swordsmanship Department, Class A-13.
As soon as Seo-hee stepped into the classroom, she was met with an onslaught of stares and murmurs.
She had always been used to drawing attention thanks to her striking looks since childhood…
But she was not used to such blatant malice.
“Did she get dumped by her boyfriend or something?”
“I guess she realized dropping out wasn’t a great idea after all.”
“Seriously. Just because she’s pretty, she must’ve thought life would be easy.”
The barely audible, jealousy-laced whispers buzzed around her like an irritating itch.
Unfortunately, Seo-hee had sharp hearing, which made her immediately regret her decision that morning.
‘I shouldn’t have come.’
She was, in a way, subtly ostracized by her classmates.
Or rather, it would be more accurate to say that she and her classmates had mutually distanced themselves.
When she had first entered the academy, quite a few students had approached her, trying to befriend her.
—“Hey!”
—“Want to eat lunch together today?”
But back then, Seo-hee had been at her prickliest, and she hadn’t taken their friendliness well.
—“Sorry, but could you not talk to me?”
After that, she naturally drifted further and further away from them.
And then, there was her injured left arm.
—“She’s the lowest-ranked student in our department.”
—“She acted like she was so much better than us, but look at her now. What a joke.”
Her reputation wasn’t great to begin with, and now that her grades had plummeted, she had become an easy target.
—“She sucks at swordsmanship, and her personality is trash too?”
—“How did she even get into this academy?”
—“Well, she is pretty. Maybe she got in by knowing the right people.”
Even so, Cheon Seo-hee had stubbornly continued swinging her sword.
To prove that everyone else was wrong, and that she was right.
And now…
Here she was.
Swordsmanship Training Field
“Good morning.”
““Good morning!””
“Is Class 13 all here?”
““Yes!””
Today was Han Do-hyun’s practical swordsmanship class.
As usual, Do-hyun greeted the students briefly before scanning the room instead of taking attendance.
“Hmm… Looks like everyone’s—”
That’s when he saw her.
“!”
His eyes landed on Seo-hee, sitting alone in the corner.
‘She came!’
Satisfied with her decision to attend, he quickly masked his excitement and resumed the lesson.
There was no need to make a fuss about it in front of the other students.
“Starting this week, as previously announced, we’ll be conducting 1-on-1 sparring.”
Due to the large number of students in the swordsmanship department, simulated battles against large monsters were difficult to arrange.
There wasn’t enough equipment, and the wait times were longer than the actual training.
That’s why sparring was the primary method of practice.
It was the simplest, yet fastest way to improve one’s skills…
“All practice swords will be standardized. No magic usage during sparring, and no causing injuries—intentional or otherwise.”
…And it was also known to be one of the most brutal training methods.
“Pair up. Let’s begin.”
At Do-hyun’s signal, the students immediately started moving.
“We’re partnering up, right?”
“Who else would I pair with?”
Some had already arranged their partners in advance.
“Hey, wanna spar with me today?”
“Ah, sorry. I already promised someone else….”
Others took this opportunity to find a new sparring partner.
And then…
There was Seo-hee.
As always, she waited in silence, letting everyone pair up first. She would simply train with whoever was left over.
But then—
“Seo-hee!”
A girl suddenly approached her, calling her name in a friendly tone.
“If you don’t have a partner, want to spar with me?”
The moment Seo-hee saw her face, she instinctively frowned.
Long, light brown hair, an overly made-up face—
Lee Shin-ah.
The strongest student in Class 13…
And the very person who had spread rumors about Seo-hee out of spite after being rejected as a friend.
“All my usual partners already paired up.”
With a bright smile, Shin-ah extended an offer to spar.
“You don’t mind, right?”
Seo-hee could immediately tell she was lying.
There were always plenty of students eager to partner with Shin-ah, the top fighter in the class.
And yet, she just happened to be without a partner and coincidentally came looking for Seo-hee?
It was obvious what she was up to.
She wanted to humiliate her in front of everyone.
“Fine.”
Even knowing that, Seo-hee didn’t refuse.
She’d rather lose than be seen as a coward who ran away.
“Go easy on me.”
“…….”
The two of them moved to an empty space in the training area.
Grinning, Shin-ah casually gripped her practice sword and pointed the dull tip at Seo-hee.
By chance, they were both one-handed swordsmen.
After a brief hesitation, Seo-hee picked up her sword with her left hand again.
She knew she’d lose if it came down to raw strength, but if she focused on defense, she might stand a chance.
‘Just once.’
Sparring would continue non-stop for the full two-hour lesson.
There were no winners or losers officially declared, but if someone landed a critical hit, it was generally accepted as a loss.
After all, in a real fight with real swords, a single lethal strike would mean instant death.
“I’ll go first, okay?”
Confident in her victory, Shin-ah moved lightly on her feet before charging forward.
‘Just once…!’
Gripping her sword tightly, Seo-hee focused all her attention on her opponent’s movements.
And then—
“Oh. I won.”
Moments later, Shin-ah let out a chuckle as she looked down at Seo-hee, who had landed on her backside.
It had happened in an instant.
Seo-hee had tried to counter Shin-ah’s aggressive attacks but ended up getting overpowered instead.
“Wanna go again?”
“…Yeah.”
Fuming, Seo-hee clenched her fists and repositioned herself, massaging her left arm.
‘I rushed it. This time, I need to—’
THUD!
…But the result didn’t change.
Clang, clang, clatter…
Her practice sword was knocked from her hands, tumbling across the floor.
“Lost again?”
Gritting her teeth, Seo-hee glared up at Shin-ah, who smirked down at her mockingly.
There was still an hour and a half left in class.
“Want to go again?”
And the training session was far from over.