S-Rank is My Side Character - Chapter 68

“…Anyway, that’s why I now have one mom and just two dads.”

“*Gasp*! Ugh, ack, cough…”

“Hey, what’s wrong?! Water? Do you want water?!”

Kang Ihyeon, who had been eating rice soup, choked on Binnari’s words and coughed for a while.

Binnari brought water and after drinking it a few times, Ihyeon finally calmed down and waved his hand.

“Binnari-ssi… I’m just really out of it right now, you know?”

“Ah, is that so?”

Binnari, who had explained the whole story after entering the rice soup restaurant, rubbed the back of her neck.

Ihyeon coughed a few more times and then smiled with a calmer expression.

“No, well. That’s… Your mother is amazing… If I may say so. How did she… Jeong Suho-ssi is also an S-rank, right? And making the Mago Guild Master her godfather… It’s like… She’s really good at finding talent…”

“Is that so? I don’t know. First of all, the fact that my dad ended up like that…”

Binnari made a gloomy expression again and fiddled with the end of her spoon. Thinking about it again, it was terrible.

“I don’t know how to solve it, and I can’t really trust it, and also.”

Unconsciously, suspicion rose up in Binnari again, and she irritably tapped the table with her finger.

Even if she decided to try to trust, it was impossible to change her personality cleanly overnight.

Didn’t Nahan also say that her personality was the survival skill that had kept Binnari alive until now?

“Binnari-ssi. You’re going too deep.”

Ihyeon reached out and lightly covered the back of Binnari’s hand. Binnari, who had returned from a deep emotion, sighed.

“Yeah, for now, let’s just not think about it. Since we gave a 24-hour respite.”

“Right. Let’s eat for now.”

Anyway, the two who were exhausted today diligently moved their spoons. The hot meat broth warmed their stomachs and they felt much more alert.

After that, they filled their stomachs combatively without saying a word.

Since both Ihyeon and Binnari hadn’t eaten properly today, they emptied their bowls in an instant.

Binnari, who emptied her bowl to the last drop with a clank, pulled out a tissue and meticulously wiped her mouth.

Ihyeon also seemed to have regained some strength and was just drinking water.

After paying and going outside, they looked at the already dark surroundings.

Early December. The cold was getting severe. White breaths rose up in puffs.

Only then did Ihyeon’s attire catch her eye. A dress shirt with a tie, dress pants, and dress shoes.

Since she had dragged him out thoughtlessly while he was inside, it was a natural result.

Although those clothes suited him well, it would be cold in this winter. And it wasn’t a suitable outfit for hanging out.

“Aren’t you cold? Wanna go buy some clothes?”

“Shall we? Then after buying clothes, can we go to the night market here? I wanted to check it out.”

“Yeah, there are a lot of interesting things there. And I want to visit Chinatown here too.”

“Then let’s go there tomorrow!”

Binnari nodded.

The two, who somehow ended up following a proper date course, slowly moved their steps toward a suitable clothing store.

Around them, families were returning home harmoniously. Ordinary people spent days like this with their families rather than friends.

But what can you do, Ihyeon and Binnari were a little out of that ‘ordinary’ family.

But that didn’t mean they couldn’t spend today happily.

[This is the timeline separator]

“Hey, buy this too, and this.”

“Binnari-ssi… Can you really eat all that? You’ll get a stomachache! I feel like my stomach is about to burst too.”

Binnari, holding tang hulu in one hand and several odeng skewers in the other, blinked her eyes and looked at the pancake.

Ihyeon looked at Binnari with concern, holding his wallet.

Of course, he was also holding a fish cake and skewers in his other hand.

“Are you saying you’re giving up on the meat pancake then? I think it’ll be delicious though?”

“Boss! Please give me 5,000 won worth of this.”

Intoxicated by the flashing neon signs and food smells, even though there was no alcohol, they walked through the night market with their hands full of food.

“Binnari-ssi, you should have bought cat clothes too.”

“Are you crazy? That’s exploitative.”

“But you made me wear it!”

At some point, Ihyeon, wearing a yellow hoodie with dog ears on the hat, jeans, and a headband that shone in rainbow colors like an alien’s horn, mumbled.

He was even wearing a pink crossbody bag.

“It’s fine for you. When a handsome kid wears cute stuff, it’s not exploitative.”

“No, come on, it’s really okay for you too?!”

“Are you using banmal (casual speech) with me? Don’t forget that I’m your elder. I’ve eaten 2,000 more meals than you.”

Ihyeon closed his mouth and glanced to the side, mumbling.

Binnari, who strongly felt that although he always seemed more mature than her, he was definitely young in this aspect, giggled.

“Ah, but still, can’t you wear it for me?! Please? I’ll buy it for you~ I’ll buy it!! It’s unfair that only I have to wear it!!”

“Hey! Who would like it if I walked around wearing something like that?!”

“I would like it, me!!”

“…Really?”

Binnari slightly raised her head at Ihyeon’s urgent words and examined his expression.

‘It wouldn’t suit me… But since you say you like it, should I try wearing it once?’

Then, confirming that Ihyeon was grinning with a suspicious expression, Binnari turned her head again with a hmph and walked a few steps forward.

“Ah, forget it!! Is that how someone who likes it smiles? You’re totally going to make fun of me! You!!”

“Ah. Ah! No, really!!”

“Don’t follow me.”

Ihyeon lightly ran to catch up with Binnari by her side.

Surrounded by joyful emotions for a while, Binnari, who was walking lightly ahead to avoid Ihyeon, bumped into someone who was running urgently.

“Ah!!”

Binnari, who plopped down on the spot, looked at the person she had collided with.

A haggard-looking woman just bowed her head and ran away from the spot. Binnari blinked her eyes and made a strange expression.

“Binnari-ssi?! Are you okay?!”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Ah, what a waste, really. It was delicious.”

“I’ll share mine with you!”

Ihyeon, who quickly followed behind, helped Binnari up.

Binnari, who lamented the food that had fallen all around her, looked to where the woman had run away.

Ihyeon spoke with a puzzled expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s like I know that person… Gasp.”

Binnari’s expression hardened in an instant. She tightly grasped the sleeve of Ihyeon’s hoodie.

When Ihyeon looked at her with a worried expression, Binnari spoke in a doubtful voice.

“…She seems like one of those cult members. The feeling I got this afternoon.”

“What? But they said they would take care of it for 24 hours.”

Binnari’s face stiffened. Ihyeon looked down at Binnari and took a short breath.

The peace and stability that had finally found Binnari-ssi’s heart were about to be shattered.

It was clear that telling Binnari-ssi to forget everything here and continue having a good time with him was meaningless.

Ihyeon held Binnari’s hand again and said,

“If you’re anxious, would it be okay to just go and take a look without doing anything?”

“Just go and look…?”

“Yes. Binnari-ssi can secretly go and see. Right?”

“…Right.”

“We’ll go and not do anything. We’ll just take a quick look. I’ll trust Binnari-ssi for 24 hours. Okay?”

“Yeah, right.”

Binnari, who had barely regained a little stability, gently held Ihyeon’s hand and headed to a place where no one was around.

As Binnari immediately opened a dimensional crack in a dark alley, Ihyeon took off his headband and wrapped the food in wrapping paper and put it into his inventory.

After taking a step and feeling the unfamiliar sensation unique to dimensional movement, he blinked his eyes at the wall that immediately came into view.

[The basic skill exclusive to Tricksters :: ‘Perception Disruption’ is being activated!]

He suddenly felt something cold touch his back, so he looked behind him.

It seemed like the two of them were hiding behind a large golden Buddha statue.

Seeing Binnari-ssi’s black shinryeok attached, it looked like she was using perception disruption.

When Ihyeon looked to the side, Binnari, who was used to dimensional movement, was already looking at the situation from behind the statue.

The moment Ihyeon also tried to stick his head out to assess the situation, there was a loud bang!

Trembling for a moment, he followed Binnari and glanced around the room. And his mouth fell open.

The room was a mess. The walls were cracked, and there were marks on the floor as if they had been hit several times with something heavy.

Binnari blinked at the completely different appearance of the room from what she had seen in the afternoon.

“Guild Master, we’ve captured everyone.”

“Good. Take that woman to the police. Protect the rest. I’ll take care of this man. You can go now.”

“…”

“I won’t kill him. We’ll just have a little talk. I’ll take this man to Mago.”

“Yes, then… Really don’t kill him!”

People poured out, and the only ones left in the middle of the room were a man in a black suit with his hair slicked back and a haggard man leaning against the wall.

Ihyeon quickly realized that the man wearing horn-rimmed glasses and a black suit was the Mago Guild Master.

As he stretched his head out to figure out the identity of the remaining person, Binnari tightly grasped Ihyeon’s arm and whispered.

“…That’s my dad.”

Strength entered the grasped arm. The two looked at the two men with bated breath. Binnari’s father, who was leaning against the wall, spoke.

“Why are you interfering? My wife will come back to life soon.”

“Kang Hana-ssi is dead. You know that, right?”

“No!”

Binnari’s father shouted. Unable to bear the grief of losing his wife, he covered his two faces and shook his head.

“No. My wife won’t die that easily. She told me at the end. ‘I’ll save the world and come back.’ My wife is a person who keeps her promises.”

“While you cling to that promise, which was nothing more than a formality, it seems Binnari’s insides were rotting away.”

“It’ll be okay once Mom comes back. It’ll be okay once my wife comes back. Our family can’t be complete without my wife. We can’t be missing even one person!”

“Sigh…”

Nan sighed and took off his horn-rimmed glasses. His black pupils immediately transformed into jade.

Seeing those eyes, Binnari’s father’s eyes widened.

Regardless of that gaze, Nan frowned and spoke.

“…I see why Hana-ssi entrusted Binnari to me.”

Binnari’s father was gentle and kind but weak.

His wife, who was an Awakener and the strongest in Korea, and his daughter, who had also Awakened. Jeong Suho, who became an S-rank.

Nan sighed loudly and continued.

“I heard Binnari is also an Awakener. I understand your sense of alienation as the only non-Awakener among your Awakener wife, Hana-ssi, and even Suho. You must have felt like you couldn’t do anything. Yes, I understand, but…”

He clenched his fist and crouched down towards Binnari’s father. Spiritual power began to seep out of Nan.

“I don’t think that’s what Kang Hana-ssi meant.”

[The Hwasin-exclusive trait :: ‘A Buddhist who has memorized all teachings’ is activated!] [Using the authority of the Constellation, the First Disciple of Many Gates.]

“Thus have I heard.”

As Nan recited the four characters, his spiritual power gradually took on a jade color.

Ihyeon knew whose color it was. The Jade Taoist. Kang Hana.

Binnari’s father’s eyes widened, and Binnari also tightened her grip on Ihyeon’s arm.

Then, Kang Hana’s voice was heard from above.

[Honey. I’m going to save the Earth and come back. Okay?]

“Honey…? Honey, honey it’s me! I’m here, huh? When are you coming back? Binnari and I are waiting for you right now, so when on earth…!”

Binnari’s father’s eyes popped open and he looked around above.

[So until then, please take good care of our Binnari and Suho. It’s a promise!!]