“Can we get Duck Bingsu too?”
“Nyeeeh.”
Guru gulped down her saliva, steadying her fluttery chest.
As she shouted “Be ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) yummyyy!” and crafted the little snow ducks, Mun Ira clapped her hands and smiled with her eyes.
Meanwhile, Seon Woo-gyeong mumbled under her breath, looking mildly startled. “An Awakened?”
It wasn’t unheard of for kids to Awaken these days, but one this young? That was rare.
“Pwease enjoy youw food!”
Guru crafted a snow duck for both Mun Ira and Seon Woo-gyeong, gave a polite bow, and waddled off to the next table.
Lifting her spoon, Seon Woo-gyeong glanced curiously at Mun Ira. “What’s wrong? Do you see something?”
Mun Ira was inspecting the snow duck with a strangely serious face.
Without taking her eyes off it, she spoke cheerfully.
“Unmeasurable...?”
The lens she wore over her eyes was failing to scan the snow duck, flashing an [Unmeasurable Item] status.
And yet, this was the same snow duck that the little girl had conjured right before them using a toy.
What... is this child?
All Ira knew about Guru was that the girl had seen through her skill— and that she was the one Zhenya treasured and had been desperately searching for.
A child like this... yeah, it makes sense to be worried.
She was curious about the girl.
A tingling sensation swept through her as curiosity and fascination bloomed.
The child was the unknown, alive and breathing.
What else can she do? How far will she grow?
The unknown, in motion.
The child Zhenya searched for so obsessively.
Just like that fleeting moment when Ira had loved Zhenya, complicated emotions and affection welled up without warning.
For Ira, there was simply no way not to love the child.
Her eyes sparkled as she watched the girl toddle away.
“That child... Guru...”
“Professor?”
Seon Woo-gyeong stared at Mun Ira, wide-eyed. She had never seen the woman show this kind of expression.
What exactly did she see in the kid?
It’s just making a snow duck, what’s the big deal?
Even an F-Rank could do something like that easily.
Thinking it was overblown, Seon Woo-gyeong scooped a large spoonful of bingsu into her mouth— then froze mid-bite as she spotted something across the room.
Ham Honggi?
What the hell was he doing here? He wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near this place.
Her appetite gone, Seon Woo-gyeong set down her spoon.
Things had been strange lately.
Rumors said there were problems at his house... maybe it had finally made him snap.
“I’m done with all that.”
At first, she hadn’t believed Honggi’s declaration.
But he’d stuck to it with surprising consistency, like it wasn’t some fleeting whim.
He’d stopped obsessively hunting for drugs, and beyond that, started acting like some model student.
Model student?
Ham Honggi? The idea made Seon Woo-gyeong snort.
“Professor, do you believe people can change?”
“Hm?”
“I don’t.”
She never took her eyes off Honggi.
People never change.
Mun Ira followed her gaze, smiling faintly.
Ham Honggi— her first experimental subject, her source of jealousy.
Ira had easily slipped into Seon Woo-gyeong’s raw, vulnerable heart and planted a seed.
A seed that rooted deep, bloomed fast, and shaped the target to Ira’s will.
She observed Woo-gyeong quietly.
Before meeting Guru, Woo-gyeong had been her precious seed.
A young, talented Awakened.
She wasn’t afraid to dirty her hands, which only made the seed grow faster.
Ira even liked how Woo-gyeong subtly thought of them as the same kind.
Woo-gyeong could’ve made a fine ‘master.’
But—
I’m bored now.
Ira sucked on a spoonful of bingsu
To her, eating snow was almost laughable. In Kirrus, snow was just emergency food for the starving masses.
But it’s tasty.
She licked the spoon clean.
The chilly, sweet-sour flavor was novel. The fresh stimulus sent dopamine buzzing through her veins.
Born naturally numb to emotion, Ira always chased new thrills, tossing aside anything dull.
Just like boring, gray Kirrus.
Pressing her lower lip with her index finger, she muttered,
“...Shame. The results were just about to come in.”
“Sorry?”
Seon Woo-gyeong blinked at her, stunned.
“I wanted to see how Honggi would turn out. You would’ve liked it, too.”
Ira’s voice seemed to buzz inside her head.
“I used to think people couldn’t change, either. But look at him— totally transformed overnight. Amazing, right?”
Her voice was soft, yet it stabbed like a blade.
What’s so amazing? Woo-gyeong thought bitterly. The guy probably just chickened out of using for a bit. He’d go back to being the same old delinquent in no time.
“......”
As if Ira’s words flipped a switch, Seon Woo-gyeong rose to her feet like she was hypnotized.
She’d prove it.
That bastard hasn’t changed one fucking bit.
“-Shame. The results were just about to come in.”
Iromi, passing by table ten, instinctively turned her head.
That voice...
She definitely recognized it.
Iromi was especially sensitive to voices because of her old trainee days. And a voice that pretty? Impossible to forget.
There was no way she was mistaken.
Smiling for fans as they snapped photos, Iromi racked her brain.
A blank space in her memory.
A familiar voice.
From deep inside her mind, Nayeon’s voice surfaced.
“Romii, you seriously don’t remember anything?”
Iromi grabbed Nayeon’s wrist as she passed by.
“Jjang Nayeon... over there... I’m not sure, but... It feels like this is what you were asking about before.”
“Huh? What?”
Iromi leaned in and whispered.
Nayeon’s gaze shifted toward where Iromi pointed.
A blonde woman, sitting alone at a table, smiled faintly as she watched Guru. Her pale finger pressed lightly against her lower lip.
...!
That familiar gesture made Nayeon clamp her lips shut.
Her hair stood on end.
There was no doubt.
That woman— she was the one who used to control Iromi.
And now, her eyes were fixed squarely on Guru.
[Title Effect ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ activated.]
[When overwhelming desire from the caster is detected, resist all damage significantly and boost all stat effects by 30%.]
A rush of lightness filled her body.
In an instant, energy surged through her, tingling to her fingertips.
Nayeon pushed through the crowd, making her way toward the table— just as the blonde woman stood and walked toward Guru.
Her heart raced.
The woman’s hand reached for Guru.
Nayeon scowled and lunged to grab her wrist.
“Gotcha!”
“Ahko!”
But before Nayeon could intervene, Guru wobbled from magic exhaustion after making so many snow ducks— and the woman caught her neatly in her arms.
“Pretty little one, aren’t you overdoing it?”
Mun Ira turned, still holding Guru. Nayeon’s hand clamped around her wrist.
Ira glanced between the hand restraining her and Nayeon’s face, her voice calm.
“Oh, sorry. The kid looked like she was about to faint, so I reacted instinctively.”
Nayeon quickly let go of her.
“No, no, it’s my fault. I should’ve been paying attention.”
“Mm, should I take her to the nurse’s office? Ah, I’m Mun Ira— I teach English in the high school department.”
“Oh... you’re a teacher?”
“Doesn’t seem like it, right?”
Mun Ira smiled sweetly.
“Guru, wanna rest in the nurse’s office?”
Guru shook her head furiously. She was only wobbly from burning so much magic. A little syrup and some rest, and she’d be fine.
Most importantly, she didn’t want to be away from her Oppaws and unnies.
“Let’s go rest in the break room then.”
Guru nodded, clinging tight to Nayeon.
“I’ll be going, then.”
Mun Ira gave Nayeon a polite smile and waved to Guru.
Nayeon guided Guru behind the divider, eyes lingering on Ira’s retreating back.
Guru blinked up at Nayeon, confused— when suddenly, a system window popped up before her.
Ding!
[Updating... 50%]
Update?
The numbers climbed rapidly.
[Updating... 97%]
[Update complete.]
[A new quest has appeared.]

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