Prologue Story

‘It’s… it’s Senior Ji-hyun.’

I swallowed nervously and tried to sneak into the hotel cautiously, carefully, and stealthily, avoiding his gaze.

However, before I even got close to the entrance, Senior Ji-hyun seemed to notice my movements and turned his head to look at me.

‘Ugh……!’

“Is that you, Eun-ha?”

Seeing his frown deepen, I let out a sigh.

Ah, I’m going to get scolded, aren’t I? Definitely scolded.

I’m in trouble…

Before I could even finish my sigh, Senior Ji-hyun approached me.

Seeing me fidget nervously, he reached out and pinched my cheek.

Ow… I had no choice but to endure the pain.

“You little rascal. Do you know what time it is? Why are you outside?”

“I… I just wanted some fresh air.”

“Are you allowed to come out late at night?”

“No… I’m not.”

“Haa…….”

With a sigh, Senior Ji-hyun released my cheek.

I rubbed my sore cheek, which likely had a red mark, and frowned in pain.

“You shouldn’t be outside this late. Got it?”

“Yes……”

I answered in a slightly subdued voice.

Seeing my reaction, Senior Ji-hyun chuckled softly.

“So, kiddo, did you get enough fresh air?”

“Yes.”

I nodded and gave a small smile.

I felt relieved, thankful that my crying wasn’t noticeable.

“Then go back inside and sleep now. Sleeping early helps you grow taller.”

“Okay~.”

I waved at him and headed into the hotel.

Senior Ji-hyun kept watching me from behind.

I hurried through the hallway and up the stairs.

Carefully, I opened the door and slipped inside.

Fortunately, both Mom and Dad were sleeping soundly.

……Phew.

It wasn’t until I was about to fall asleep that I realized I had forgotten to keep my mouth shut.

Ugh, what if Senior Ji-hyun tells Mom and Dad that I sneaked out at night?

No way, he wouldn’t be that petty…… would he?

‘I… I don’t care anymore…….’

He didn’t seem like the type to tattle, so it should be fine.

Thinking that, I closed my eyes with a lighter heart.

Luckily, my assumption wasn’t wrong.

Morning came, but neither Senior Ji-hyun nor my parents acted any differently.

Relieved, I took off the ring around my neck and placed it inside the pocket dimension in my student ID that was tucked in my luggage.

I couldn’t take such an ordinary-looking ring necklace to a place with water.

This time, we headed to the beach.

The sea was filled with rolling waves, one after another.

As I watched the crashing waves, I momentarily recalled the scenery from my dreams.

Honestly, I preferred the ocean over swimming pools.

I smiled as I gazed at the surging waves.

I slathered on sunscreen, climbed onto a tube, and enjoyed riding the waves.

Then, with goggles on, I dove under the water and admired the clean underwater scenery.

When diving deeper, I went with my older brothers.

They even rented diving gear here.

Our parents either watched us from the sand or joined us in the ocean to play in the waves.

It was incredibly fun.

We decided to conquer one section each day.

On the first day, it was the pool and the slides.

On the second day, it was the ocean.

But that didn’t mean we only stuck to one area.

While playing in the pool, we also enjoyed some fun rides in between.

On the third day… we decided to conquer the rides.

However, we excluded any train-type rides, even the ones for kids.

Because I couldn’t ride them.

I was too scared.

When Min-hee heard this, she looked disappointed and asked,

“Why can’t you ride the trains? They’re fun.”

“Do you know why I’m scared of heights? It’s because I’m afraid of falling. Trains feel the same. I hate that weird resistance.”

This time, In-ha looked puzzled and asked,

“Really?”

“Hmm… actually, I’m not sure. It’s just scary.”

“I see.”

In-ha nodded.

Looking back at Min-hee, I continued,

“Anyway, I really don’t like the feeling of resistance on trains.”

“Resistance? Like someone who works under you?”

“No, not that kind of resistance.”

“A different kind?”

“Yeah, like… how do I explain it? It feels unnatural, like there’s some weight to it?”

“Oh, I get it.”

“This… is supposed to be a conversation between kids the same age?”

On that third day, something happened.

By the third day, our parents had left us entirely in the care of our older brothers.

We pushed through the crowd, scouting out rides that seemed fun.

“Oh? Is something like that okay, even if it’s a train?”

“Yeah, that one doesn’t flip over. It’s more like a slide. I like those.”

“Is it a rapid ride? Let’s try it.”

“Yes!”

I was about to raise my voice in excitement when I suddenly realized something felt off.

Why wasn’t the usual lively voice around?

I looked around.

Huh……?

Feeling uneasy, I turned my head more.

‘Huh…? Huh?!’

When did I lose sight of her?

When was the last time I saw her?

By the time I noticed, she was already gone.

In-ha asked, puzzled,

“Eun-ha? What’s wrong?”

I stomped my foot anxiously.

“She’s gone…….”

“What?”

Panicked, I called out to Senior Ji-hyun and Chunho oppa.

“Oppa! Min-hee is missing!”

“……What?!”

Min-hee was nowhere to be seen.

Only after hearing my words did the older brothers and In-ha realize what had happened, and they, too, began to look around in shock.

I widened my eyes.

No matter how many people were around, if she was nearby, I could find her through the color of her magic.

But… she wasn’t visible.

I couldn’t see Min-hee’s magic color anywhere around here.

“Don’t tell me… she got lost?”

“Damn it, when did we lose her?”

“I… I don’t know.”

……Wait. Hold on. Calm down, me.

I clutched my forehead and paced in circles.

Even if she got separated, Min-hee isn’t stupid.

She’s actually a genius.

After wandering around so much, she’d definitely have a perfect memory of the area by now.

So the problem was ‘how to contact her and meet up without missing each other.’

Another concern was, ‘Would she be okay by herself? What if something bad happened to her?’

This place was so vast and crowded…

The more I thought about it, the more anxious I became.

“Should we go to Auntie Suna?”

“……To her?”

“Yes. We got those self-defense items from her, remember? Auntie Suna said she cast tracking magic on them, so if we ask her, we could probably find Min-hee quickly.”

“That’s right!”

Chunho oppa, who had been fidgeting anxiously, suddenly pointed at me as if he had just realized something.

Startled by his reaction, I flinched.

The previously grim expressions of In-ha and Senior Ji-hyun brightened slightly.

“……You’re smarter than us. Fine, hold hands. I’ll teleport us.”

“Yes.”

“Got it.”

I grabbed In-ha’s hand and quickly held Senior Ji-hyun’s hand with my other one.

Chunho oppa grabbed Senior Ji-hyun’s hand.

At that moment, darkness enveloped us.

When it cleared, our parents were standing in front of us.

“Huh? Back so soon? Are you already hungry?”

Startled by their puzzled reaction, we ran straight to Auntie Suna.

“Auntie Suna!”

“Kim Suna!”

“Mom!”

“What, what’s going on all of a sudden? Huh? But where’s Min-hee……?”

“Min-hee is missing. Can you track the item you gave her?”

We shouted urgently.

Hearing this, our surprised parents gasped.

“Oh my, how did this happen?!”

“It was just for a moment……”

“You should’ve been more careful! Really…… fine, give me a moment.”

Auntie Suna closed her eyes and focused.

We watched her nervously, feeling tense.

Beside me, Senior Ji-hyun’s clenched fists trembled.

I, too, clasped my hands tightly and anxiously waited for Auntie Suna to speak.

After a while, she pointed roughly in a direction.

“She’s about 100 meters away in the 2 o’clock direction. Thankfully, she didn’t go too far.”

“Thank you.”

As soon as I bowed my head, Senior Ji-hyun vanished.

All that remained was a streak of darkness, which disappeared just as quickly.

Auntie Suna looked flustered.

“Goodness…… he’s in such a rush. I understand, but it won’t be easy to find her with just direction and distance. You guys, come with me.”

“Yes, yes!”

“Han Mirae, you and Jinhwan stay here. We’ll find her and bring her back soon.”

Before Mom, Dad, or Uncle Jungmin could say anything, Auntie Suna grabbed our hands and teleported.

In an instant, we moved to another location.

Wind-like magic scattered before our eyes.

Before long, Senior Ji-hyun, who had been running blindly and searching from above, joined us.

Chunho oppa scolded Senior Ji-hyun for being too hasty.

“She’s somewhere nearby. But there are so many people…… let’s split up and search.”

“Yes!”

We divided into teams: Chunho oppa and In-ha, me and Senior Ji-hyun, and Auntie Suna alone.

Despite feeling dizzy, I scanned the area carefully, checking the colors of magic one by one.

Because of that, I was the first to find Min-hee.

Min-hee was with a strange middle-aged man.

When I absentmindedly checked the man’s magic, I was startled.

Wow…… I can’t sense the full power of those stronger than me, but I could tell he possessed enormous magic.

“Oppa, I found Min-hee!”

“What?! Where?”

“She’s over here!”

I tugged on Senior Ji-hyun’s sleeve.

He quickly spotted Min-hee and grabbed my hand, running toward her.

Just as we were about to call out to her, a sharp voice rang out.

“Hey, mister! You said you saw my brothers, didn’t you? Where exactly?”

“There, over there.”

“Where’s ‘there’?! If I keep going that way, it’s just the forest! Let go! I can find them on my own!”

“Hey, hey, listen to adults.”

“If you don’t let go, I’ll scream! Kyaa……”

Oh my god. I grimaced and covered my mouth.

I’ll never get used to this sort of thing.

Thanks to In-ha, I’ve encountered plenty of weird lolicon creeps, but this was the first time Min-hee experienced it.

The man covered Min-hee’s mouth and whispered something to her.

I couldn’t hear what he was saying, but glancing at Senior Ji-hyun trembling beside me, I could tell it wasn’t anything good.

This is bad.

But I wasn’t going to stop him…

So, I quietly let go of Senior Ji-hyun’s hand.

Senior Ji-hyun dashed forward and grabbed the man’s wrist.

“Let her go.”

“What? Who are you?”

“She’s my little sister. Take your hands off her!”

“Min-hee, come here.”

“Oppa! Eun-ha!”

Min-hee, who had been panicking, brightened upon seeing us.

The man frowned and resisted, but Senior Ji-hyun firmly held his wrist.

I quickly followed him and, taking advantage of their struggle, managed to pry the man’s hand off Min-hee’s wrist.

Seeing Min-hee’s reddened wrist, I frowned.

Taking a few steps back, I kept my eyes on the man.

I had already prepared to use magic, with my hand resting on my bracelet that doubled as an item.

If needed, I could use it to handle the situation.

As I glared at the lolicon creep with angry eyes, Min-hee spoke in a flustered tone.

“No, it’s just… I noticed you weren’t there, so I thought I was alone. Then this man said he’d take me to you guys. But we kept walking, and I couldn’t find you, so I told him I’d go on my own. But he wouldn’t let go, and I started thinking something was off. You told me to shout or say no when this happens, right? So I did, and then he said if I kept quiet, he’d show me something good. But what could he mean by ‘something good’?”

Ah, for f—…