The small cottage came into view just as the last rays of sunlight kissed the treetops.
Nestled between fields of wildflowers and the edge of a small forest, it looked like something out of a fairy tale—except this fairy tale had a front porch covered in training dummies, a clothesline strung with baby clothes, and the faint scent of roasted meat drifting from the chimney.
Jae Hoon grinned the moment he saw it.
"Smells like Mom made galbi!" he shouted, sprinting ahead.
His father chuckled behind him, less winded this time, and followed at a calm pace. "Bet she made the spicy kind, too. You better drink water this time instead of crying into your rice like last week."
"I wasn't crying!" Jae Hoon shouted back.
The front door creaked open before either of them reached it, and there she was.
Jae Hoon's mother stood in the doorway, her silhouette glowing in the warm light of the house behind her.
Her name was Hana, and to Jae Hoon, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Long, silky black hair framed her heart-shaped face, and her dark brown eyes sparkled with equal parts kindness and sharp wit. Her skin glowed like moonlight kissed by sunlight, and her smile had the power to stop storms—or start them, depending on her mood.
She wore a simple apron over her dress, flour dusted on her cheek, and a wooden spoon still in her hand.
"Welcome back, my warriors," she said, laughing softly as she knelt and opened her arms.
Jae Hoon launched into them.
She caught him easily, lifting him up with practiced strength. "Did your dad give you a hard time again?"
"Nope!" he said proudly. "I beat him in a race and then awakened my mana core!"
Her eyes widened, lips parting in delighted surprise. "You did? My little light, you really did it?"
He nodded furiously, hugging her tighter. She kissed his cheek and whispered, "I'm so proud of you."
Behind them, footsteps thudded on the porch. Jae Hoon's father stepped up beside them, and Hana tilted her head with a knowing smirk.
"Did you cry again when he awakened?" she asked playfully.
"Cry? Me?" he scoffed, trying to act tough—but his eyes shimmered just a little too much.
Then, as if sensing something, a tiny giggle floated through the air.
Jae Hoon turned his head toward the cradle on the porch.
Inside, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket with bunny ears, was his baby sister.
She had their father's thick lashes, their mother's rosy cheeks, and a single wisp of hair that always curled the wrong way. Her name was Ara, and though she was barely six months old, she had already mastered two things: commanding attention and giggling at the exact right moment.
"Ara!" Jae Hoon whispered, peeking over the edge of the cradle. She stared up at him with big, curious eyes—and then, as if on cue, burst into joyful giggles.
"Oh, no," his father muttered, stiffening.
Hana sighed, already walking back inside.
Jae Hoon blinked. "What's wrong?"
His father crossed his arms, eyes scanning the distant treeline like a general surveying the battlefield.
"I'm telling you now, Jae," he said in a low voice. "If any boys even look at your sister like she's cute—"
"She is cute," Jae Hoon offered.
"—I will personally launch them into orbit."
He looked so serious that Jae Hoon giggled.
"And your mother," his father continued, voice rising. "Don't even get me started. I once made a whole tavern clear out just because some guy looked at her for too long."
"Babe," came Hana's voice from the window, "he was the waiter."
"I SAW HIS EYES," he bellowed.
Jae Hoon laughed so hard he nearly fell over.
It was loud. It was chaotic. It was home.
And in that home, under a roof held up by love and protected by a man who feared nothing except losing his girls, Jae Hoon felt something even greater than the mana that now stirred inside him.
He felt safe.
He felt whole.
And somewhere in the forest beyond the light, something watched.
Waiting.Studying.The boy's awakening had not gone unnoticed.