Who is Kaede Hoshimiya?
A future S-Class player. The best archer in Korea. The future representative of foreigners in the world of players. Known as {Palace} for her ability.
Depending on the timeline, she could become On Taeyang's fifth wife or an administrator of the Pandora Clan. However, no matter which version of the future she was in, one thing was certain: her talent would be recognized.
Whether that recognition came with happiness… well, that was another matter.
The reason I didn't recognize her immediately—though, now that I think about it, she does resemble her future self quite a bit—is her personality. The adult Kaede Hoshimiya was completely different from the shy girl standing in front of me.
In the novel, Kaede was known for her sharp and distrustful nature. She grew up in Itaewon, surrounded by foreigners, and experienced discrimination firsthand. After her grandfather's death, she tried to make a name for herself as a player, only to realize that the world of players was nothing more than a place where people like her were used by the powerful.
In the first timeline, she was drawn in by On Taeyang's moralistic rhetoric and ended up becoming his fifth wife. But over time, she realized the truth: Taeyang was not the hero he claimed to be, nor was he someone fighting against injustice. In the end, he was just a man enjoying the privileges he had earned, indifferent to everyone else.
In the second timeline, Kaede joined the Pandora Clan but was relegated to the role of a supporting character. Her past was never explored in detail, so there was little information about her.
No wonder I didn't associate her immediately with the sharp-tongued archer I knew.
"But that doesn't matter now."
I finished my thoughts and focused on the present situation.
Becoming friends with Kaede at this point shouldn't distort the future too much… and, to be honest, I was excited.
No matter how much I insisted that this was the real world, meeting characters from the novels I had read was definitely thrilling.
—"Your name is Kaede Hoshimiya?" —I asked, making sure not to sound too curious—. "How should I address you? Mom says that in Japan, it's common to use last names when meeting someone for the first time… Is it okay if I call you Hoshimiya-san?"
Kaede seemed to think for a moment before responding.
—"Um… then I'll call you Seha-san."
Seha smiled at her response and continued naturally:
—"So, Hoshimiya-san, why were you watching me?"
Kaede hesitated a little but then spoke with excitement.
—"I've never seen anyone play with sand like that before… How do you do it?"
In her enthusiasm, she didn't even realize she had stepped out of her hiding spot and was now standing very close to Seha.
—"Oh, well… I was using my mana to try and shape the sand" —he explained without going into too much detail.
—"Wow! It looked really pretty. Can you teach me?"
—"You want me to teach you? Sure, why not?"
And so, the two children started talking while Seha explained the basics of mana control to Kaede.
Their conversation continued until a voice called out from the distance:
—"Seha, we're going home!"
It was his mother.
Seha turned to Kaede with a slight smile.
—"Hoshimiya-san, my mom is calling me. I have to go."
—"Do you really have to leave already…?" —Kaede murmured with a hint of sadness.
Then, realizing how close they were, she quickly stood up and ran to hide behind the slide again.
Seha felt a strong urge to laugh but held back so as not to make her uncomfortable. Instead, he asked her a question.
—"Hoshimiya-san, would you like to be my friend?"
Kaede looked at him in surprise.
—"Friends…? But if you hang out with me, the other kids won't want to be near you either…"
—"I don't care" —Seha responded casually—. "Besides, if we're friends, that means we'll at least play together once a week. Does that sound good?"
Kaede lowered her gaze, deep in thought.
—"Yes… let's be friends."
For some reason, hearing those words made Seha feel a strange happiness.
—"Alright then, Hoshimiya-san. See you next week. Goodbye!"
Before Kaede could even reply, Seha ran off toward his mother.
Because no matter how many memories from his past life he had, an angry mother was always terrifying.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kaede had always been a cheerful child.
Protected by her grandfather, her parents, and the residents of Itaewon, she had never felt the weight of discrimination against foreigners. Her life was full of laughter, games, and mischief. Sometimes, she would even steal her grandfather's bow to try using it, only to be caught and scolded by her parents later. But her grandfather always comforted her, so her spirits never wavered.
That was, in essence, the bright and happy life of Kaede Hoshimiya.
Until this year came… and everything changed.
The first bad news arrived at the beginning of the year: the death of her parents.
Both were players. Her father, raised from a young age by her grandfather to become one, sometimes wondered if that was truly his fate.
—"Dad, why do I have to be a player?" —he once asked.
His father looked at him with tired eyes and replied:
—"To break this cycle of hatred. We fight so that Koreans will need us. I fought in my time, and now you must fight, so that maybe, just maybe, the next generation can live in a world without hatred."
It was then that Kaede's father understood why his own father had always been so strict with his training. He didn't want him to feel oppressed.
And so, he accepted his fate as a player. He met his wife, married her, and together they had Kaede.
They died in a sixth-grade mana phenomenon.
The news devastated little Kaede, but at least she still had her grandfather to comfort her.
The second bad news arrived a few months later.
A gang tried to take over Itaewon, causing disturbances. Her grandfather, along with other residents, fought to drive them out. However, in the process, he overstrained his mana circuit. Although he could still live a normal life, his life expectancy was drastically reduced.
He estimated that he could live until Kaede entered the player academy.
But when he realized that his beloved granddaughter would be left alone in this dangerous world, he made a decision.
She needed to learn the truth.
The world was cruel to foreigners. Outside their home country, in a world as devastated as this, distrust and competition were everything. People didn't want outsiders taking their opportunities. They could accept losing to a fellow countryman, but never to a foreigner.
Kaede had to learn this as soon as possible.
The next day, at lunchtime, her grandfather spoke to her.
—"Kaede."
—"Yes, Grandpa?"
—"Let's go to the park outside Itaewon, dear."
—"Really? Yay! I'll get ready!"
Kaede ran off excitedly.
For her, it was her first time leaving Itaewon. She didn't know any children her age. The kids in the neighborhood were either older or too young to play with her.
Her grandfather sighed as he watched her leave.
"Kaede… I hope I'm doing the right thing. I'm sorry for making you grow up so soon… but you need to learn how this world works. After all, I don't have much time left."
When they arrived at the park, her grandfather turned to her.
—"Kaede, go play on the slides. I'll wait for you here."
—"Okay, Grandpa!"
The little girl ran excitedly toward the playground.
There were many children playing. She approached them with a big smile and greeted them.
—"Hi!"
—"Hi!"
—"Can I play with you?"
—"Sure, we're playing hide-and-seek."
With that simple conversation, they started playing.
Kaede laughed, ran, and hid with them, enjoying herself like never before.
Until the children's mothers arrived to pick them up.
One of them frowned when she saw Kaede.
—"Cheonseo, who is she?" —she asked her son, wanting to confirm her suspicions.
—"Mom, her name is Kaede. She's our new friend."
The woman smiled stiffly.
—"That's fine, sweetheart. Let's go home. Say goodbye to your friends."
One by one, all the mothers took their children away.
But Kaede didn't notice anything strange.
She ran back to her grandfather, excited.
—"Grandpa, Grandpa! I made friends today! We played hide-and-seek and on the slide. It was so much fun!"
Her grandfather smiled softly.
—"That's great. So, do you want to come back tomorrow?"
—"Yes! My new friends said they'd come tomorrow too."
—"Alright. Then we'll come back tomorrow."
That night, Kaede slept happily, dreaming of the next day.
The next day…
They arrived at the park.
Kaede ran excitedly toward the playground, eager to play with her new friends again.
But what greeted her wasn't the warm welcome from yesterday.
Instead, she found the children looking at her cautiously.
Kaede didn't understand what was happening.
Even so, she approached them with the same bright smile as always.
—"What are we playing today?"
An awkward silence followed.
Finally, one of the children spoke.
—"We're not playing with you."
Kaede blinked, confused.
—"What?"
—"We're not playing with you. My mom says you're one of the bad guys."
—"The bad guys?" —Kaede asked in confusion.
—"Yeah, those evil invaders who only came to steal. My mom told me not to hang out with foreigners," —one of the boys answered with disdain.
Another child quickly joined in:
—"Yeah! Just a bunch of thieves!"
—"I heard they killed people the other day…"
—"Aren't they the ones who eat children?"
The insults kept coming, one after another.
Kaede was in shock. Her mind went blank.
No one had ever spoken to her that way before. Her parents had scolded her at times, yes, but she had never felt the malice she was feeling now.
Children are sensitive to emotions, and Kaede could clearly feel the rejection in their eyes.
Before she could respond, one of them stepped forward and coldly said:
—"We don't want to play with you, so leave. Go play alone and leave us alone."
The words felt like a dagger to her heart.
Kaede ran away.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.
In the end, she was just a child, and having her first friends treat her like that… it hurt.
When it was time to go home, her grandfather asked how her day had been.
—"It was good, Grandpa. I played with my friends again today. But… next time, can we come a little later? Please?"
She tried to sound natural, to hide her sadness.
She didn't want to disappoint him. She thought her grandfather was happy that she had friends.
What she didn't know was that her grandfather already knew the truth.
No matter how much he trusted her, he always watched over her with his player senses. He had heard every word, felt every emotion.
Even so, he decided not to confront her.
—"Alright, we'll come later," —he answered gently.
And so, for three weeks, Kaede went to the park alone, pretending in front of her grandfather that everything was fine.
Until that day came.
{Kaede's POV}
After saying goodbye to my grandfather, I headed toward the playground.
"I hope no one is there…"
I never understood why they hated me.
I hadn't done anything bad to them.
The other day, I asked Grandpa what a "foreigner" was.
He looked at me with sadness and explained that they were people who came from other countries.
When I asked if that was something bad, he just sighed and said:
"You'll understand when you're older."
When I arrived at the park, I was surprised to see a boy there.
"Why is someone here? There's usually no one at this time…"
I took a closer look at him.
He was a cute boy, with blue hair and matching blue eyes.
But what caught my attention the most was what he was doing.
The sand was floating around him, shaping itself in the air.
I slowly approached.
He seemed too focused to notice me, so I just stood beside him… watching.
Thirty minutes passed.
Suddenly, he spoke:
—"Hello?"
I jumped in surprise.
Without thinking, I ran and hid behind the slide, peeking out to look at him.
He seemed to find my reaction amusing.
"Hmph, rude!" —I thought, puffing out my cheeks.
After a moment, he spoke again.
—"Hi, how are you?"
I looked at him with a bit of fear.
The other kids were like him… Would he be the same?
I asked a question to make sure.
—"Do you hate me because I'm a foreigner? Do you want me to leave?"
He looked surprised.
—"Why would I hate you? Why would I want you to leave?"
I hesitated before answering.
—"The first time I came… the other kids told me I was an ugly foreigner… and that I should go back to my country and never come back. So now I only come when no one is around."
Remembering that moment still hurt.
But instead of leaving or yelling at me, the boy replied in a softer voice.
—"Why should I hate you just because you're a foreigner? Besides, you shouldn't listen to those idiots who said you were ugly. You're a very pretty girl. You should have more confidence."
My eyes widened.
"B-b-beautiful! How shameless!"
But deep down, his words made me happy.
He just continued speaking naturally.
—"Why don't we introduce ourselves? My name is Yoo Seha. What's yours?"
I hesitated a little but finally answered.
—"My name is Kaede… Kaede Hoshimiya."
Seha smiled.
—"Kaede Hoshimiya? How should I call you? My mom says Japanese people use their last names when they first meet someone. Is it okay if I call you Hoshimiya-san?"
—"Umm… then I'll call you Seha-san."
—"Perfect!" —he said cheerfully—. "So, Hoshimiya-san, why were you watching me?"
I decided to be honest.
—"I've never seen anyone play with sand like that before… How do you do it?"
Seha smiled proudly.
—"Oh! Well, I'm manipulating mana to try and shape the sand."
—"Mana manipulation?"
It sounded familiar. I think Grandpa had mentioned it before… but I didn't remember well.
—"Wow! It looked really cool. Can you teach me?"
I wanted to learn… Maybe Grandpa would like to see it.
—"You want me to teach you? Sure! Why not?"
And so, we started playing with the sand together.
Seha was really good at explaining things.
His voice was calming.
For the first time in weeks, I felt happy.
Until a voice interrupted us.
—"Seha, it's time to go home!" —a woman called out.
It was his mother.
Seha sighed.
—"Hoshimiya-san, my mom is calling me. I have to go now."
My mood dropped a little.
—"Do you really have to go already?"
Without realizing it, we had gotten really close.
I quickly hid behind the slide.
But what he said next… took me by surprise.
—"Hoshimiya-san, would you like to be my friend?"
—"F-friends?"
I fell silent.
—"But… if you do that, the other kids won't want to be around you either."
I didn't want him to be left alone like me.
But he just smiled casually.
—"I don't care. Besides, if we're friends, that means we'll play together at least once a week. Is that okay with you?"
Seha… really didn't care about what others thought.
—"Yes… let's be friends."
For the first time, I said it with joy.
—"Then it's decided! Hoshimiya-san, see you next week. Bye!"
—"G-goodbye…"
I watched him leave.
"I should head back to Grandpa too."
I ran toward him, smiling.
—"Grandpa!"
—"Kaede, how was your day?"
—"Grandpa, I made a friend!"
His expression softened.
—"A new friend… That's good. What's his name?"
—"He said his name is Yoo Seha! And Grandpa, he was shaping the sand with mana!"
The old man smiled.
—"Oh… how interesting. I hope I can meet him soon."
And without knowing it, Kaede had just met one of the people who would change her life forever.