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 [Chapter 189]

[What Should Not Be Touched]

Father, older sister, older brother.

No Eun-ae harbored a desire to live purely as No Eun-ae without receiving their halo.

It wasn't that she was dissatisfied with her life.

She just felt regretful that as her family background became well-known, friends treated her awkwardly.

Sometimes she even felt burdened by friends who treated her too well.

'I want to go somewhere far away from home! I want to meet friends who purely like me!'

So No Eun-ae deliberately chose a middle school far away.

Her parents indulged her whim, saying it couldn't be helped.

That's how her middle school life began.

1st and 2nd year weren't bad.

Because her personality was so unique, she easily made friends with new people.

Especially since her appearance changed starting from entering middle school.

'Wow, Eun-ae! You're really pretty. I've never seen such pretty skin before. What cosmetics do you use?'

'Huh? I use Yu-jeong unn... Ah, the one that came out from Luminous Beauty recently...'

'Huh? Isn't that place really expensive? So you use things from there. No wonder...'

'Ah, I bought it by saving up my allowance!'

'Come to think of it, don't you look like someone?'

'A celebrity?'

'No, not a celebrity... What was it, there's a pretty person among players. The one who appears on TV occasionally these days...'

'Haha... Really?'

As she entered puberty, her appearance changed to remind people of No Eun-ah.

No Eun-ae, who had been called pretty or cute by people before, grew even prettier.

For students her age, appearance was no different from a weapon.

No Eun-ae became famous within the school, possessing an innate weapon.

But the higher a bird flies, the harder it falls.

One day, there was an incident where No Eun-ae's influence suddenly plummeted to the bottom.

'─Stop it. I said I don't like it. How can you bully someone who says they don't like it?'

'When did I bully her? I was just joking around because we're close... Eun-ae, you seem too sensitive?'

As it would be anywhere.

There was always someone ostracized by students in every class.

Eun-ae had seen such things many times.

Each time, what she chose was simply to be a bystander.

She didn't cross paths with them anyway, and there was no need for her to take care of those students out of some sense of justice.

But the scene that she, now a 3rd year middle school student, faced was excessive.

'Ah, how annoying. It feels like I'm the only bad person. Fine, No Eun-ae, you're so great.'

Not just quietly ostracizing.

To the point of making one frown, hitting a student, cursing, playing pranks, sometimes extorting money or treating them like a slave.

No Eun-ae couldn't endure anymore.

There was a limit to being a bystander.

So No Eun-ae confronted the male student leading the bullying in the class.

The male student had influence that even teachers couldn't handle carelessly.

The male student's father was the Clan Lord of the Sejong Clan in Gwangjin-gu.

Moreover, it's said the male student professionally learned how to handle mana from his father.

If he had entered the Player Academy, he would have likely been called a promising rookie.

In fact, the male student often boasted that he would take the High Academy entrance exam whenever he got the chance.

So students couldn't confront the male student carelessly.

They either went along with the bullying or pretended not to see it.

But No Eun-ae was different.

'─If you use mana next time, I'll tell the teacher then.'

'Fine, I'm sorry. Is that enough? You're really making a fuss over nothing...'

Whether the boy was good at using mana or not.

She had no reason to be afraid.

So that day, she confronted the male student with strength in her eyes─

'─Hey, No Eun-ae. Go buy some bread instead of her.'

As a result, she was marked by the male student.

At first it was nothing.

The male student and his gang just mocked her behind her back.

No Eun-ae ignored it.

Sometimes she protested.

Each time, they said it wasn't about her, but about another student.

Each time, No Eun-ae's face was repeatedly crushed.

Students who remained by her side at first left one by one, scared of the male student's power.

Furthermore, some female students who had been jealous of No Eun-ae also joined in leading the bullying.

Eventually─

'─Hey, don't you want to stop getting beaten by us now?'

'Uh, uhh...'

'Then I'll give you a chance. Step on her.'

''''...''''

Now no one remained around her.

Even the student in the class who was constantly bullied, whom she had once helped, turned away from her.

Rather, that student tried to bully her to put an end to the life of being victimized and join the male students' group.

That's what came back to her for not turning a blind eye and rescuing the victim.

'─From today, anyone who talks to No Eun-ae is dead to me.'

''''...''''

From that day on, Eun-ae had to become the target of bullying from students.

The bullying intensified.

All the acts she had thought went too far were poured onto her.

The school turned a blind eye to their atrocities, considering the male student's background.

No matter what she said, it was obvious the school wouldn't listen to her voice.

But─

─How can I tell mom and dad...

She didn't want to tell her parents.

Her family who loved her.

She didn't want to make them sad.

So just 1 year.

Let's endure for 1 year until graduating middle school.

No Eun-ae tried to endure like that.

But as days passed, the level of pranks kept rising.

Eventually─

"─I told you not to do it!!"

No Eun-ae finally exploded.

 ☆

For Parents' Day.

Eun-ha decided to have dinner with his family all together after a long time.

So on this day, he left work early and headed to his parents' house.

"─We're a big family now. With so many people, it might be better to eat out from now on."

What his mother said while preparing food wasn't entirely wrong.

It really was a big family.

Not only Julieta's family.

Eun-ah and Jin Parang were there too.

Moreover, Eun-ha didn't come alone but brought his wives and fiancée too.

As a result, the kitchen and living room were full.

"Mother, please give me the plates. I'll take them."

"Oh? Is that so? Then please do."

"Ah, mother. I've almost finished cooking, could you taste it and see how it is?"

"Hmm, it's good! Ha-yang, your skills are really good."

"Julieta unnie, can I use this?"

"Okay! Ah, could you watch the pot?"

Mother, Julieta, No Eun-ah, Jung Ha-yang.

In the kitchen, the four were busy preparing food.

Eun-ha and Han Seo-hyeon brought completed dishes to the table.

"Father, how is it? Do you feel refreshed?"

"Wow, it's refreshing. I never thought the day would come when my daughter-in-law would massage my shoulders."

In the living room, Lee Yu-jeong was massaging father's shoulders.

Jin Parang, sitting on the sofa, occasionally helped set the table while wagging his tail.

Bruno and Avenier were quietly sitting and keeping their places.

Although Bruno's cooking skills were good, he was too big to enter the kitchen full of people.

"Next time it's really better to eat outside. It's so chaotic..."

"Peep peep..."

Eventually, Eun-ha clicked his tongue.

But he still smiled.

Han Seo-hyeon, Jung Ha-yang, Lee Yu-jeong.

The sight of the three helping his parents work was really heartwarming.

Of course, as much as the three were doing this, he would have to give equal treatment to their families too.

"...Really, next time we should either order in or go out to eat."

When that thought occurred to him, Eun-ha couldn't just smile.

For his wives, they just had to treat his house well.

But he would have to treat his wives' families equally well.

He would have to do this 3 more times.

Just thinking about it made him shudder and tremble in fear.

"Mom! When is Eun-ae coming?"

"Eun-ae will come a little later! It will probably take some time for her to come home after class ends."

Meanwhile, Eun-ha looked for No Eun-ae who hadn't come home yet.

His younger sister who was attending a middle school deliberately far from home.

After marrying Han Seo-hyeon, Eun-ha moved out of the house, so he hadn't been able to see Eun-ae often.

Perhaps because of that, he was looking for Eun-ae, missing her.

It was then.

─Buzz buzz

Mother's smartphone vibrated.

Mother, who was directing the kitchen, quickly answered the phone.

"Yes, this is Eun-ae's mother. What's the reason for your call?"

""""...""""

At first, they thought it was just a phone call.

The family didn't pay much attention to the call mother received.

But when No Eun-ae's name came out of mother's mouth.

The family's ears perked up involuntarily.

Moreover, mother's face grew darker as the call went on.

"What? Eun-ae injured her classmates with magic? Teacher, I don't quite understand what you're saying..."

""""...""""

"Our child wouldn't do that... Our child isn't the type to send classmates to the hospital. I think there must be some misunderstanding... So where is Eun-ae now? Is she at the hospital with them?"

""""...""""

"She used magic and disappeared? But teacher, why are you telling me this only now? You should have contacted us as soon as the child went missing!"

The conversation was heard in bits and pieces.

But the family could grasp the general situation just from those pieces.

Meanwhile, mother's voice grew louder as the call went on longer.

Even for the gentle mother, the story from the school was so absurd.

Moreover, their handling of the situation was clumsy.

"─Yes, I'll ask our child once when she comes home. And please let me know the condition of the children who were injured. Our child wouldn't have attacked the kids without any reason."

Soon mother took a deep breath.

She spoke in as calm a voice as possible.

Mother hung up the phone.

"Mom, what was that call? Did something... happen to Eun-ae at school?"

No Eun-ah came out of the kitchen.

With a face full of worry, she asked on behalf of the family.

Mother shook her head as if she didn't know either.

And not long after─

"─I'm home..."

""""...""""

Eun-ae came home.

The family members who rushed to the entrance all lost their words seeing her.

"Eun-ae, you..."

Disheveled hair.

Swollen cheeks.

Reddened eyes.

Her uniform stained red in places as if she had been doused with kimchi juice.

Father couldn't finish his words after seeing Eun-ae's appearance.

The family was the same.

And No Eun-ae─

"─I, I don't want to go to school..."

""""...""""

She burst into tears again, tears she must have shed plenty on her way home.

Tears rolled down her cheeks.

And with that as a start, she cried loudly.

She poured out the whole story.

The family was shocked.

☆

From a very young age.

I could hear voices that other people couldn't hear.

'Hello? The weather is really nice today. You should go outside and bask in the sunlight too.'

Plants, animals, young children, and so on.

I could hear what they wanted to say.

They were all kind to me.

So I liked them.

I felt at ease when I was with them.

'Mi-ye! Your dad is so big!'

'I'm worried because my dad is too big. Yesterday he bumped his head on the doorframe coming out of the bathroom.'

'I see.' 'Eun-ae, you didn't understand a word I said, did you?'

'Nope!'

A mysterious ability, probably a gift.

When I was young, I could use my gift to hear the hearts of children my age.

That's how I knew Mi-ye was a good person.

1st and 2nd grade of elementary school.

The gift was effective until then.

But I could only vaguely hear or not hear at all the hearts of people much older than me.

Of course, there were exceptions.

'Oh! Baa!'

'What's wrong?' 'Leg! Le! G!'

Regardless of age.

I could hear my family's voices well.

So I could understand my family's psychological state the fastest.

Oppa was a very dark person.

He would convey warm sounds to me, but often leaked emotions tinged with gloomy energy.

Whenever that happened, I would quickly run to oppa and try hard to divert his mind elsewhere.

Sometimes I would get consumed by oppa's emotions.

Perhaps if dad, mom, and unnie's hearts weren't bright, I might have ended up resembling oppa too.

And grandmother too.

'You don't have to tell your family? That you can talk to us.'

'Yeah, I don't want to tell them.'

This ability of mine.

I didn't want to talk about it.

It was obvious it would worry my family, and above all, it was because of oppa.

'─Oppa! Riel unnie says she wants to play word chain! Let's play together!'

I'm not sure about oppa's heart.

But oppa hides many things and doesn't want to reveal them.

But if I say that I can actually see oppa's emotions.

What would oppa think?

He would be scared of me.

He would try to distance himself from me.

So I couldn't tell him.

I didn't want to hurt oppa.

Meanwhile, as I grew older, I became unable to hear the emotions of people my age.

It was especially so when I entered middle school.

I'm not sure what they're thinking...

People are kind.

All the people I've encountered were like that.

So I thought people would all be kind at the middle school where they didn't know me.

They actually were kind.

But the students I met when I became a 3rd year weren't like that.

There were bad kids too.

And when those kids made me the target of bullying─

'─What? I'm truly grateful you gave birth to me? Eun-ae, do you think your parents will be happy to see this?'

At that time, I was so scared of the fact that I couldn't see their hearts.

I don't understand why you're doing this.

I didn't do anything wrong.

Why are you doing this to me?

I'm scared, so scared.

Animals and plants are so kind to me, but people my age whose hearts I can't read are so scary.

Since I couldn't read their hearts, I couldn't understand their character.

Not knowing was fear.

Eventually─

'─Eun-ae, just say the word. We'll teach those bad guys a lesson!'

'Yeah, Eun-ae! If you keep enduring like this, things will only get worse!'

'Who dares to make our Eun-ae cry!'

I ended up manifesting my power.

The power that activated in a moment of anger injured the students in the class.

"─I don't know, mom... What did I do so wrong for them to do this!? I just, I just told them not to bully, why do I have to be treated like this!?"

"I see... Eun-ae, you really did well. You even helped a kid who was being ostracized... Mom is proud of you for that."

""""...""""

"I'm so, so scared... Because I can't hear their emotions, I'm so scared... I, I don't want to go to school..."

There was no one on my side anywhere at school.

The teachers only scolded me for injuring the students.

So I ran away from school.

Even though I knew well that I shouldn't run away like this.

If I didn't do this, I felt like something would happen to my heart.

And I ran home.

In front of my family, I cried loudly and poured out my secret.

"People are, so scary..."

""""...""""

I'm so sorry to oppa.

I tried to keep it a secret until the end.

That day, I fell asleep tightly hugged by unnie.

☆

He heard his younger sister's story.

The dinner that day wasn't pleasant.

Everyone was furious and fuming.

"─What kind of bastards are those! I'll go kill those bastards myself, leave it to me!"

Jin Parang was also intensely excited.

If Bruno hadn't stopped him, Parang would have rushed out right away.

Anyway, the meal quickly ended.

Eun-ah decided to sleep in the same room as her.

And Eun-ha left the house with his wives.

"─Sorry, let me be alone for a while."

"""..."""

Han Seo-hyeon, Jung Ha-yang, Lee Yu-jeong.

The three didn't say anything.

After taking the three home, he immediately left to meet Twenty-five.

And he collected detailed information.

The more he heard, the more outrageous it was.

"These bastards..."

What Eun-ae told her family was just a very small part.

Thinking about how much his younger sister must have endured without telling her family, his anger kept rising.

"─I was able to hack some of the messages they exchanged in their group chat. I was able to get it with the help of your friend, Yoo Do-jun."

"I see, thank you."

3rd year of middle school, 16 years old.

To Eun-ha, those bastards were no different from monsters wearing human masks.

Crunch

And when he read the messages they supposedly exchanged in the group chat that Twenty-five handed over─

「Park Seong-ho」: Hey, let's call that kid we set up at night to drink too. Tell her we won't leave her alone if she doesn't come out. (10:34 PM)

「Kim Su-hee」: Then we'll call her. Handle her gently~ (10:34 PM)

Eun-ha gritted his teeth.

Something snapped inside his heart.