That afternoon, Hyun came home before 6 PM, despite saying he might be late today.

Since he was the type to keep his word, whether good or bad, it was quite unexpected for him to come home early after saying he might be late.

Did he forget something and come back to get it?

No, it's too late for that. If he'd forgotten something, he would have returned much earlier.

Though Hyun might be straightforward, he's definitely not stupid. If he'd forgotten something, he would have come back much sooner.

So, did he really come home early?

"I thought you said you'd be late today, but you're early."

"I didn't want to leave you alone at home, so I finished what I needed to do as quickly as possible and left work early."

I blinked as I watched him loosening his tie.

I could vaguely understand what he meant without needing an explanation.

"Is it because of that Harmageddon thing?"

"Yeah, that's right."

What? Was that a serious answer?

I blinked at Hyun's casual response.

Was it actually not a big deal, something I didn't need to worry about?

Had I been worrying unnecessarily all this time?

Even though I knew it couldn't be that simple, I couldn't hide my rising hope as I asked, "Is it serious?"

"Well, it is serious... but this isn't a conversation we should have standing up. Let me change first, and then I'll explain everything slowly."

How serious could it be for Hyun to react like this?

No, considering his earlier answer, maybe it's not that serious after all...

While I was wondering which way to take it, Hyun, who was changing his clothes, looked at the clock and asked, "Have you eaten?"

"Not yet."

There wasn't any special reason; I just didn't feel like eating.

After learning about my trial next week, I couldn't get food down.

Except for the cereal I had this morning, I hadn't eaten anything all day.

The strange thing was that despite not eating anything, I wasn't hungry.

I used to eat seven meals a day, but now I'd gone half a day without food and didn't feel hungry.

It was surprising how much the mind could affect the body.

"Really? Then should we order pizza in a bit?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure..."

I nodded, and Hyun blinked.

"What's wrong? Don't feel like pizza? Want something else?"

It's not that I don't want pizza; I just don't feel like eating anything.

I was about to say that, but I didn't want to burden Hyun, who already had a lot on his mind, so I was going to shake my head.

—If something's bothering you, you should talk to me, or anyone really.

If Hyun hadn't said that this morning, I would have shaken my head.

After thinking about it a lot...

"I don't have an appetite."

I concluded it was better to be honest about these trivial thoughts.

"You don't have an appetite?"

Hyun, who had finished changing and was organizing his documents, looked at me with wide eyes, as if he'd heard something unbelievable.

I understand the surprise, but why that expression?

"Why are you so surprised? Am I not allowed to lose my appetite?"

"Someone who used to eat seven meals a day suddenly says they have no appetite—of course I'm surprised."

I couldn't argue with that.

If someone who ate that much suddenly lost their appetite and skipped meals, I'd be surprised too.

"But why no appetite? Did something happen?"

Right, I was wondering when this question would come up.

After hesitating, I let out a deep sigh.

"My trial is next week. After finding that out, my appetite just disappeared."

It was something I couldn't hide anyway, and we needed to talk about it eventually, so I was honest.

Hyun froze at my words, rummaged through his briefcase, then sighed and scratched his head.

"So you saw it. The court summons."

"...Why didn't you tell me?"

I childishly picked at his words, asking why he hadn't told me when he'd insisted I should talk to him.

Scratching his head, Hyun quietly came over and sat across from me.

"Well... this might sound like an excuse, but please don't misunderstand."

Unlike me, Hyun didn't seem to be agonizing or suffering.

He just looked like he was seriously considering how to handle this.

Realizing anew that Hyun was an adult and a Hero, I nodded.

Hyun gave a small smile and began to speak.

"I originally planned to tell you as soon as the trial date was set, but I couldn't."

"What do you mean you couldn't?"

I hope he doesn't mean that I didn't need to know, or that there was no point in me knowing.

...I hope that's not what he means.

"When I saw you at the hospital after you were caught, I just couldn't tell you. You looked like you might collapse if I added anything more."

"You think I couldn't handle it?"

"You were already overwhelmed with what was right in front of you. I couldn't add to that burden when I couldn't even lighten it."

I took a breath to argue back immediately, but had to close my mouth.

There was nothing wrong with what Hyun said.

After all, when I saw the letter with the trial date, I even said, "I wish I hadn't known."

And now I was getting defensive over a single comment, my pride slightly hurt.

*What a child I am...*

I sighed deeply, disgusted with myself.

Watching me silently, Hyun shook his head.

"Don't beat yourself up like that. You don't have to force yourself to act like an adult."

I flinched at those words and averted my eyes slightly.

"...How do you know what I was thinking?"

"Come on, I've known you for how long? It's obvious. You were thinking about all sorts of things and then asking yourself, 'Why am I like this?'"

The details were a bit different, but the overall framework was so accurate that I had nothing to say.

But I did have something to say about this:

"I wasn't trying to force myself to act like an adult."

"Trying to shoulder everything by yourself is exactly what pretending to be an adult is."

As I stood there speechless, Hyun eventually chuckled and flicked my forehead.

Thwack!

"Ugh!?"

It didn't hurt, but the stinging sensation on my forehead made me reflexively groan.

Wondering why he suddenly hit me, I blinked, and Hyun tapped his own temple with his index finger.

"Don't overthink things. It'll just give you a headache."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you don't need to make things complicated. Think simply. It doesn't matter if people call you ignorant or stupid—just do what you want."

It was certainly an appealing suggestion for someone feeling oppressed, but thanks to the thin thread of reason I was still holding onto, I was able to shake my head.

Hyun seemed surprised that I shook my head, blinking in response.

"Do whatever I want... Yeah, that would be nice."

Anyone would want to live like that.

How fun would it be if you could achieve everything you wanted, do everything you wanted?

"But that's not how it works. How would that be any different from being a Villain?"

Killing someone because you don't like them. Taking something because you want it.

If that's not being a Villain, then what is?

As I sighed with a bitter smile, a shadow approached.

I looked up to see Hyun's arm with its veins standing out, and his middle finger hooked behind his thumb, ready to be released.

Before I could react, his middle finger struck my forehead.

Thwack!

"Ah!?"

This time it wasn't just a sting...

No, without any flowery language, it simply hurt.

"You crazy bastard! You almost cracked my forehead!!"

"This is your big brother's loving touch, so just accept it gratefully without complaint."

"Loving my ass!"

I tried to kick Hyun's leg under the table, but my legs were too short to reach.

Instead, my rough leg movement made the table shake violently.

With a clatter, the table shook, and Hyun blinked before bursting into laughter.

Heat rushed to my face as I gritted my teeth.

"I'll kill you in your sleep...!"

"Ahahahaha! Huk! Keh-huk, kuk, kuhahaha!"

"Stop laughing!!"

After laughing for a while, Hyun finally stopped when I was about to get up from my chair, wiping away the tears he'd shed from laughing.

It was awkward to stay angry, so I just glared at him, and Hyun sighed deeply before speaking.

"Haah... Whew... Anyway, what I'm trying to say is don't take things to extremes—think within the bounds of common sense. Within common sense. Grandmother said it too, remember?"

"..."

At Hyun's words, I recalled what Grandmother had told us at the barbecue restaurant.

I remembered the words that had been obscured by the overwhelming reality in front of me, by what Hyun called the immediate issues.

"...Live how you want as long as you don't inconvenience others."

"Right, you remember. That's all you need. Don't overthink it. Just do what you want within the bounds of common sense. Don't worry about the consequences. That's the privilege of being a student."

"What if things get out of hand? What if they grow beyond what I can handle?"

"I told you, don't worry about the consequences. I'll take responsibility, so you don't need to worry about that."

Hyun said this with a confident smile.

Seeing that expression, I felt my vague anxiety diminish slightly.

And at the same time, I found myself thinking that the smiling Hyun looked a little cool.

*Cool?*

No, this is just admiration for a respectable adult.

Yes, this is nothing more than admiration.

That's right. That's all it is.