Seeing that her mother is not doing anything to scold Michael for causing a loud ruckus, the young girl let out an annoyed snort as she quickly stood up from the long sofa and walked over towards Michael's room.
"Goodnews family! This man here is now a superhuman!"
The young girl was just about to angrily knock on the door when it abruptly opened and Michael came out announcing that with an expression that says "praise me!".
"W-what!?"
Michael's sister was so startled by the sudden scene in front of her that she couldn't help but quickly step back before she fell on her butt.
"Not even a whoa?" said Michael helplessly when he saw that his sister and mother were just staring at him wide eyed.
"I-Impossible!"
A couple of seconds later, his younger sister finally opened her mouth in shock while pointing her finger at him.
"What do you mean impossible, you lil brat?" Michael bared his teeth at her, a little angry and annoyed at the same time.
"Son! Did you really awaken? But how come you're here? Shouldn't you be in Terran?" His mother suddenly rushed towards him and grabbed both of his hands, and shot him a barrage of questions with eyes mixed with excitement and nervousness.
"Mom, chill. I don't know what happened but I just received a notification and got my status screen" Looking at his mother's expression, Michael couldn't help but feel a little guilty for using a white lie, and at the same time, he also felt warm inside as his eyes turned gentle as he knew that his parents were his biggest supporter during the time he kept praying and hoping to become a superhuman one day.
And now, his selfish wish and his family's wish has been granted.
"Wait! W-what is that c-cute thing on your shoulder!?"
Because of the sudden news and the excitement that followed through with Michael's announcement, his younger sister belatedly noticed Hao hanging on Michael's shoulder!
"Haoong!"
Hao let out a bright expression and raised one of her paws towards the mother and daughter pair.
"Ohh her, she's H-"
"Kyaa! So cute!"
Michael was about to introduce Hao to the family when his little sister suddenly stood up and grabbed Hao from his shoulder, cutting him off.
Looking at his little sister rubbing her face against Hao with a satisfied expression on her face, and Hao who seems to be liking the attention she's getting, Michael could only sigh.
Especially when his mother came over besides the two and also started playing with Hao as she was also captivated with her cuteness.
"Anyway, as I was saying before Harin cut me off. That bundle of cuteness is called Hao, my partner, sort of. Hmm...I'm not really sure" Michael said the words he wanted to say earlier before Harin cut him off.
At first, he was a little proud, but at the end of his words, he became a little confused as he realized that he doesn't even know who Hao is to him right now.
'Back at the lake, the system mentioned that I bonded with "Gaia's Child", and obviously that's Hao. So, is she my beast partner or does it mean something else?' thought Michael as he belatedly realized that he had forgotten to ask Hao about it earlier due to the excitement he felt.
Deciding to put those thoughts at the back of his mind for now, Michael asked, "Mom, is dinner ready?"
"Aigoo! Such a cutie!"
"I know right mom!? Even those popular cats and dogs like the Corgi aren't as cute as her! I wonder what kind of monster she is though"
Hao is enjoying her time being hugged and getting her head pet by Harin while at the same time, getting her chin rubbed by Michael's mom, as the mother and daughter pair just ignored the man standing at the side who's watching them with an annoyed face that says it all.
'Why do I feel like I fell out of favor?' Michael helplessly shook his head as he didn't expect that their attention would quickly turn to Hao even after he had announced to them that he had become an awakened human, which should have been something to celebrate for, and what he received in the end was a dry reception after some excitement!
In the end, he could only let out a dry chuckle and made his way over to the kitchen.
'At least dinner's ready now'
Michael smiled when he saw that tonight's dinner are his favorite, Chicken Adobo, along with Tomato and Scallion Salad.
He sat down on his seat after taking a plate and a pair of utensils. He scooped up a ladleful of rice using a wooden shamoji and onto this plate, and a little bit of that tomato mixed with scallion salad, and followed by two pieces of that chicken adobo.
If there was another person here other than them, then they would certainly feel that there was an invisible wall between the family, like they are in their own worlds and can't seem to bother what the others are doing!
Michael quickly started digging in, and halfway through his third spoon, he suddenly remembered someone that he had never seen since he came back from the lake!
"Mom! It's already late, is dad not back yet!?" From his seat, Michael turned his body around and looked at the mother and daughter pair in the living room that are still busy playing with Hao, as they hugged the furry creature in turns.
"Who's the cutest~? You are~!" Harin giggled as she rubbed Hao's belly who laid on her back.
While on the other hand, Hao let out another satisfied howl, "Haooong~!"
Watching Hao, Michael's mom couldn't help but giggle while she started taking photos of Hao with her phone like Hao is her own child, and just ignored Michael who was calling out to her.
And she even posted them all at her social media account, Facebug!
"Mom~!"
Michael once again called out to her, and this time, she finally heard him and made her realize that she still has a son waiting to eat.
"Aigoo! Sorry about that son, Hao is just too cute! I've never seen such a cutie for a long while" his mother laughed as she slowly stood up and walked over towards him.
"I know, and as you can see, I already started with dinner" said Michael helplessly as he really couldn't blame them because Hao is just too cute to ignore.
So Michael once again asked his mother, "As I was saying earlier, where's dad mom? It's already dark outside"
Michael's mom took out two plates, a bowl and two pairs of utensils and placed them on the table and said, "He went to your Uncle Joe's place to have a drink with their friends, so he won't be coming home for dinner. Harin, bring Hao with you here and have dinner!"
Harin stood up and picked up Hao from the floor with a bright expression, "Yes, coming~! Hao, let's go! Tonight's dinner is chicken! You'll like it!"
"Haoo~!"
And the family had a wonderful dinner as they chatted amongst themselves, and this time, the two women finally remembered that Michael had become a superhuman and started asking questions about what he feels or what his skill is.
Of course, Michael just told them another little white lie and didn't really go into details with his awakening and what skill he got.
In passing, he also asked his Mom and Harin if they could see his status screen. Which in the end, made him release a sigh of relief when they told him they couldn't see it.
As after all, from what he heard and learned, the status screen of other superhumans could be seen by others.
After dinner, Michael brought Hao out for a walk using an old collar and leash he found in their storage room.
They stopped beside a small stream near the paddy fields and gazed at the starry skies with Hao in his arms, and smiled meaningfully.
'From now onwards, life will be much different'