She was no different from a beast

Chapter 18

—–CROW—– 

“Yuna, are you going to see Yuri again today?”

“Yes! I’m going to play with Yuri!”

Suyeon gave her daughter, already dressed and ready to go at the crack of dawn, a complex smile.

Just last month, she’d been worried that Yuna wasn’t adjusting well to her new school in town, since she never mentioned anything about friends.

She’d even worried that their insistence on living in the countryside had led to Yuna being ostracized.

Countryside.

Unlike the city, with its towering buildings, it was peaceful, and they’d hoped their daughter would grow up surrounded by friendly, helpful neighbors.  But what if, because of their desire for this idyllic life, Yuna was lonely?

She seemed happy playing with the elderly neighbors, but adults and children are different.

She’d wondered if they were doing their daughter a disservice, depriving her of the joys of playing with children her own age.  She felt a sense of relief that her worries were unfounded.

But at the same time, she felt a pang of anxiety. What if Yuna now preferred her friends over her parents?

Just last year, Yuna used to say Mom and Dad were her favorites. Now, if Suyeon suggested staying home and playing quietly…

‘I hate you, Mom!’

If she ever heard those words… she might collapse.

The thought was unbearable.

“I’m going now! I’ll eat dinner at Yuri’s house, so don’t worry!”

“O-Okay…”

‘I wish we could at least have dinner together as a family.’

It was natural to be worried about her eight-year-old daughter coming home late.

But she couldn’t stop her.  It was a dilemma.

She stroked Yuna’s black hair as she bounced on the balls of her feet, grinning.

Yes.  She’d just have to wait and see. Yuna seemed to be doing well, not causing any trouble.

She’d heard that being overprotective wasn’t good for children.

At Yuna’s age, playing outside and being healthy was most important.

“Okay. Have fun.  Don’t come home too late, okay?”

“Okay! Don’t worry~ Heehee.”

“How can I not worry? And don’t bully Yuri.  Behave yourself at her house and listen to the adults, okay? Promise?”

“Promise~!”

They linked pinkies and shook them a few times.  Yuna opened the door and left.

Suyeon watched her go, sighing inwardly.

…Just last year, she wouldn’t have gone so far.

She’d play at the beach or in the mountains nearby and come home quickly.  She never seemed lonely.

“Should we really have another child…?”

She hadn’t realized it before, but she was a very lonely mother.

The thought of her husband being out and her daughter gone, leaving her alone at home, made her feel melancholic.

Come to think of it, Yuna wanted a sibling, didn’t she?

‘When my husband comes home, I should tell him to go without… protection, starting tonight.’

Oh, right. And she should ask him to buy a lock.

If she told her overly energetic husband about having another child… things might get a little too intense, even for her.

She should lock the doorknob and add a padlock, just in case Yuna suddenly came home.

…Her daughter was strong enough to break a doorknob.

“So, Jeongwoo! What is 5826 minus 4537 plus 5826?”

“…7115.”

“Wow.”

Crazy.  How did he improve so much in just two weeks?

I clapped for Jeongwoo, my partner and dodgeball loser, who could now do four-digit addition and subtraction mentally. He sighed in relief.

“Amazing! Jeongwoo!  I have trouble with such complicated calculations.”

“You can do it if you practice a lot, Yuri noona.”

“Really? Then can I do it too?”

“Yes.”

Hey, that sounds like you did it all on your own!

“It’s because I’m a good teacher! Just a few days ago, you were writing ‘badasugi’ instead of ‘bada ssugi’ (dictation).”

“…I-I don’t do that anymore!”

“Right. Because I’d give you a spanking if you did!”

“…”

Jeongwoo’s face flushed, remembering the humiliation of being spanked in front of Yuri after being overpowered by me.

It was infuriating.

I try to avoid showing off my strength, but Jeongwoo’s Korean skills were… astounding.

He wrote “painaepul” instead of “painaepeul” (pineapple), “gobu” instead of “gongbu” (study), and his spacing was atrocious. I was so frustrated that I pinned him down in front of Yuri, pulled down his pants, and spanked him.

Not hard enough to leave bruises, of course.

Just enough to make his butt red.

“Y-Yuna, wasn’t that a bit too much…?”

“I’ll spank you too if you get the geometry problems wrong again, so let’s work hard, okay?”

“…*Hiccup!*”

She could now distinguish triangles, squares, and pentagons, but she still got confused with shapes with more sides and angles, like decagons.  I might have to spank her someday too.

“But is it okay for us to use the Taekwondo dojang every weekend?”

The three of us were sitting in a small study room behind the main training area.  Middle and high school students were training diligently.

I wanted to join them, but Yuri asked for my help, and I couldn’t just barge in without registering.

“Yeah, the master told Jeongwoo and me in secret… he wants you to tutor the other kids too!”

“Huh? Really?”

“…Yeah, Yuri noona is right. He said you’re really good at studying and asked if you could teach the other kids.”

Oh? Now that’s interesting.

‘Wait.  Could I tutor the elementary school kids for an hour a day during the week and ask for Taekwondo lessons in return?’

I might be strong and healthy, but learning self-defense techniques and proper training is a different story.

My usual “training” consisted of light jogs with Burari, the wild boar, through the mountains and along the roads, climbing cliffs, and swimming.

I’d seen Taekwondo matches and performances on TV and YouTube, with national athletes delivering powerful kicks and impressive moves.  I was starting to get intrigued.

Ah, I can’t resist.

*Spring!*

“I want to learn Taekwondo!”

“…Huh?”

“…This is bad.”

Who cares about studying?!

The midterms are still two weeks away!

Honestly, the two of them might still seem lacking to *me*, but for a simple elementary school exam, top 10 in the school?

They’ve already reached a level where they can crush their classmates!

Yuri’s dream of being in the top 10 is practically guaranteed, and Jeongwoo has become smarter too.  Now I can do what I want!

…This is really bad.

Yuna, the monster of Class 3-1… no, Yuna is interested in Taekwondo!

If Yuna, who’s stronger and scarier than my dad, learns Taekwondo, it’ll be a disaster!

Just a spanking from her hand hurt so much that I wanted to cry, but I couldn’t in front of Yuri noona. The memory still made me shudder.

“Master! Hello~”

“Oh, Yuna! Are you done studying?”

“Yes! But… can I try learning a little bit of Taekwondo?  Just the kicks!”

The master, who adored Yuna for her politeness and tutoring, beamed at her bow and readily agreed.

No! Master! You used to say no to bringing friends or learning together… why…?

No, wait. You can’t become good at Taekwondo overnight.

Even I, after training for so long, can’t do a proper roundhouse kick, and my kicks don’t make those cool whooshing sounds like the older students.  Why am I scared of Yuna learning for just one day?

Yuna might be scary, but after studying and spending time with her and Yuri noona, I knew she wasn’t a bad person.

She’s smart, she listens to us… and I hate to admit it, but tutoring with her was actually fun.

She’s not bad at all.  She’s actually a really nice person, even if she is incredibly strong.

Whenever I saw giant monsters in Power Rangers or villains in anime, I’d think, ‘Yuna could probably just fold them in half.’

“Alright, Yuna!  Try a roundhouse kick like the older students just did!  Twist your waist and kick with the top of your foot!  Got it?”

“Yes!”

‘There’s no way she can do it after seeing it just once.’

It’s hard to keep your balance when you lift your leg.

Even I practiced kicking against the wall for over a month.

I watched Yuna, half expecting her to struggle, half expecting the monster to pull it off.

Yuna, in short shorts that revealed her white thighs and a yellow short-sleeved shirt, jumped lightly…

*Bang!!!*

For a brief moment, the red mitt the master was holding… folded in half, accompanied by a loud ripping sound.

Yuna’s body remained steady as she spun, her slender leg extending and retracting in a straight line.

Like the older students preparing for competitions, she quickly lowered her leg after the kick and resumed her stance.

“…”

“…”

Yuri, me, the older students, the master, and even the instructor were all stunned, staring at Yuna, who was still smiling calmly.

‘Ah, so this is it.’

I’d read the phrase “speechless with surprise” in my Korean textbook.

I’d wondered why you’d be speechless when surprised. Shouldn’t you scream?

But now I understood.  It was natural to be speechless when *this* surprised.

—–CROW—–