"I'm going back to school."
"School?"
As they ate dinner, Sae-ah told him that she was thinking about returning to school.
"Didn't the teacher say you could rest for a week?"
"I'm the student council president. It's a school with no vacations, so I can't take a break."
"There are no vacations…?"
"Uncle! Don't tell me you forgot which school I'm attending!"
"Of course I know. It's a Battle Net academy."
Battle Net academies were schools established after Battle Net arrived on Earth in 2010, and the schools received the state's full support.
The one located in Gangnam, Apgujeong, despite being quite new, was especially popular among children from rich families.
'It's said that you have a higher chance of getting a Gift if you receive an education from an Academy.'
Upon turning 18, everyone was given the right to become a player, but that wasn't the case for Gifts. Only a small percentage of the population, about 1%, received a Gift.
"Whether you receive a Gift or not determines how likely it is that you can become a Battle Net professional.
Receiving a Gift was like winning the lottery.
Basically, the government was saying your chances of winning the lottery would increase if you attended one of the Battle Net academies. It was no wonder they were so popular.
"Is there anything special about the academy's education?"
"Something special? Hmm… We have physical training and theory lessons on how to handle Magic Power."
"Hmm, is that so?"
It sounded like an education you could get anywhere. Why would attending that school raise your chances of getting a Gift?
Sae-ah smiled at JiHan's puzzled expression.
"Fufu, the lessons aren't really important… The most important thing is that we receive a blessing in the Gift Hall once a week."
"The Gift Hall?"
"Yes. It's a room filled with Gift gems. They say that your chances of obtaining a good Gift increase if you receive a blessing there, so even the students who don't attend classes diligently show up on that day."
Upon hearing that, JiHan recalled a situation from his past life that he'd buried deep within his heart.
'…'
August 8, 2020, the situation had been much more desperate back then.
Overwhelmed by the Sword King's betrayal, JiHan had fallen into alcohol and gambling.
Sae-ah, despite JiHan's pitiful state, stubbornly attended school and cooked meals for him.
- Sae-ah, I feel like eating meat today.
- Got it, Uncle. I'll buy some on the way back!
She acted happy even when JiHan complained and sat on the sofa without doing anything.
- That lady who came last time was good at cooking… Should we hire someone again?
- That's a bit… You know our current situation.
- Isn't the house too big to clean?
- It's fine. I'm cleaning the areas we use.
No matter what he said, Sae-ah cheerfully accepted his words and never frowned.
'Around this time… Sae-ah was being pointed at by the entire nation while she was taking care of her useless uncle. She was only able to endure it all because…'
She had been looking forward to her Gift.
The Gift she received on her birthday, August 22, shattered Sae-ah's hopes and made her fall into despair.
That hadn't happened yet, though, and she was volunteering to go to school despite her teacher saying she could rest so that she could receive blessings from the Gift gems as she wished for a good Gift to change her situation.
That's why she was voluntarily willing to go to school despite her teacher saying she could rest for the moment.
She had to commute by foot since she didn't have a driver, and she often had eggs thrown at her as well.
Back then, he hadn't done anything to fix the situation. He'd just watched TV while lying on the sofa.
- Sae-ah… Why don't you rest a bit more?
- I'm fine, Uncle. Don't worry…
Every time she returned from school with dirty clothes, JiHan suggested that she rest, but she still went to school.
That was Sae-ah's last hope, after all.
'I already know what will happen…'
She would get a Gift with a bad ranking.
An F-rank Gift was the worst-ranking Gift, and people often said it would be better to receive nothing at all.
Within Pandora's box had been despair disguised as hope, and Sae-ah had started falling apart from that day on.
'This time, I won't let that happen.'
JiHan looked at Sae-ah.
Her hopes regarding her Gift seemed to be the same as before, even though the situation had changed significantly, so he couldn't say, 'Your gift is going to be F-rank.'
He had to lower her hopes about her Gift before her birthday.
"So… are you going to return to school tomorrow?"
"Yes. It's Monday, after all."
"Okay. Then I'll take you to school."
"Huh…? I'm okay. Don't worry. It's not like I'm a kid."
"You know the situation."
Sae-ah scratched her cheeks. "Uncle, I know that you're busy with Battle Net, so there's no need for you to do that…"
"You saw today's game, right? A single Battle Net Game doesn't take long, so I have plenty of time to take you. Don't worry."
"But still—"
"I've already made up my mind. Let's eat." JiHan cut off Sae-ah's words of refusal and grabbed his chopsticks.
"What's up with the sudden change in attitude…?" Sae-ah grumbled at JiHan's demeanor, but she still felt thankful. A faint smile appeared on her face.
The next morning, Sae-ah woke up early at 6:00 am and rubbed her eyes as she walked toward the kitchen. What she saw there startled her.
"Huh… Uncle, what are you doing so early…?"
"You need to eat your breakfast before going to school."
"Did you always know how to cook?"
"It's just toast."
Yoon Sae-ah looked at the toast before her. It wasn't just a slice of bread with jam. Rather, it was a breakfast dish with proteins like bacon neatly placed over an egg.
"It looks delicious…!"
Smiling, Sae-ah picked up her fork. Her smile was warm, different from her usual, forced ones..
Seeing her reaction, JiHan felt regret.
'I should've done this earlier.'
He'd been too focused on Battle Net and neglected the household situation.
Managing such a huge house alone must have been hard for her, and he decided he needed to hire someone again once the mood improved.
'I'll do it until then.' JiHan made up his mind as he looked at his niece.
"Uncle, I'm a bit moved. To think you'd prepare me a meal…"
"Didn't I tell you? I'm a master of women's hearts."
"I would've been moved for a bit longer if you hadn't said that… Okay, then! Let's taste it!"
Sae-ah took a bite of the toast.
"Woah…! It's delicious."
Bacon toast was a combination that couldn't fail, but the bacon toast that JiHan had made was much tastier than normal. When Sae-ah looked at him in surprise, he shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm good at Western cuisine."
JiHan's heart had been filled with loneliness and regret when he lost his entire family and fled to America. There, he'd learned anything he could to fill that void, so he'd picked up many activities not related to Battle Net.
One of the activities he'd immersed himself in was cooking.
His cooking skills had been learned from a famous chef in New York, so they were good enough to impress even Sae-ah, who'd grown up eating expensive stuff.
"It's really delicious! Uncle, can you really cook any Western dish well?"
"Of course. Tell me what you want, and I'll prepare it for you."
"Then… I want steak for my birthday."
JiHan flinched after remembering what would happen then, but he soon smiled.
"Will a steak be enough?"
"Oh… Then…"
"I'll show you what a proper full-course meal is."
"A full-course meal? Really? Hehe. It's the day when I finally receive a Gift, so it must be celebrated. I'm looking forward to a delicious meal!"
As expected, she was still eagerly awaiting her Gift.
"Fufu… I'll surprise you," JiHan replied confidently, hiding his inner thoughts.
* * *
JiHan and Sae-ah got on the elevator.
[Underground, 7th floor. The door is closing.]
There was a parking lot exclusively for the Sword King's use on the 7th floor underground, which was full of Sae-jin's supercars.
Sae-ah gave JiHan an anxious look.
"Uncle… Do you really know how to drive? Do you have a driving license?"
"Of course I do. How lame do you think I am?"
"Hehe, there's no way I'd think that. It's just that, Uncle, you've stayed inside the house for too long, so I asked just in case."
Although Sae-ah was saying that, it seemed like she still couldn't believe it. After all, she'd never seen her uncle drive.
"We could just take the bus…"
"Have you ever taken the bus?"
"There's a first time for everything…"
"Forget about it, but don't think of asking me to keep driving for you after you graduate."
JiHan walked ahead with light steps.
One of his hobbies while in America was collecting cars, so he was a bit excited.
'Fufu… It's been a while since I've driven a supercar.'
The car keys were already in place. All he had to do was pick one he liked and start driving.
Despite his high spirits, JiHan's expression stiffened as soon as he got out of the elevator.
"Woah…"
There wasn't a single car left there.
"I saw an article that said Dad had sold the cars, but to think he'd sell every single one…"
"Sae-ah, where's the car you used to commute in? He got rid of that, too?"
"That was taken care of by the chauffeur… Now that I think about it, I got a text saying that the rental contract was terminated."
He'd even sold all of the cars before flying to Japan.
At that point, JiHan couldn't help but admire his thoroughness.
He was walking around the garage just in case when…
"Uncle! Let's just take the bus," Sae-ah said in a bright voice. "Hehe, I've always wanted to try taking the bus!"
JiHan frowned at her obvious acting. He hadn't intended to show her such a thing.
'It's my fault.'
He regretted not having checked the garage in advance.
Then, a car parked in the far corner caught JiHan's attention.
"Wait a minute. There's a car!"
"Really?"
"Yes. That's…" JiHan's eyes sank after he recognized the car from afar.
The only car left was an old, made-in-Korea compact.
'That's the car my noona used before Battle Net appeared…'
It was the car his noona and Sae-jin used when they'd been struggling to make ends meet.
He hadn't expected it to be in corner B7 among all of the supercars that had been on display.
'He didn't dare sell it.'
No, he'd probably left it because he couldn't make much money from it.
JiHan walked toward it.
"Are we taking that…?"
"I want to see if it starts."
JiHan turned the ignition with the key that had been left in the car.
Vroom-!
Surprisingly, the car started without a hitch.
Judging by how well it ran despite being such an old car, it seemed to have been maintained.
JiHan rolled down the window. "Sae-ah, let's go."
"Um… Uncle, I think we should take the bus."
"Why? Ah, this one's a bit too much, right?"
Sae-ah was going to the Battle Net academy in Apjujeong, which was where children from well-off families attended, so driving such a car would draw unwanted attention.
"I don't mind that… but I think you'll get into trouble if you take that to my school."
"Trouble? I'm fine. I was worried you might be embarrassed."
"There's no way I'd be embarrassed. That was Mom's car."
"Are you really okay?"
"Except for that, yes, I'm okay."
JiHan and Sae-ah chuckled at each other.
"Okay. Then let's go."
"Let's go."
They arrived at the Battle Net academy 20 minutes later.
"Hey! How dare you park such a crappy car here!"
"…"
Just as Sae-ah predicted, JiHan was immediately involved in trouble.