239 – Nymphs and Chuseok #5
“Mr. Haildo! I’ve heard a lot about you in America! A rapid rise in ranking up to A Rank! BUT! The important thing is that this is just the start!”
Casey Wright.
S Rank, 15th place.
He was a sharpshooter known to have built a large mansion in the dense southern woods of America and to live there with a large family.
“I, Casey, have come as a representative to promote friendship between America and Korea! I’ve been studying Korean hard! Very hard!”
With the ability of “Instant Acceleration,” he could fire 12 shots from a revolver at the exact location in just one second.
It was quite surreal seeing Casey chattering away in my home.
“Is my rumor also big in America?”
“Of course! Right now, there’s a total craze for K-Squirrel in America!”
So that’s how it is.
I’m becoming famous in America.
“Hmph, you’re barely A Rank…! I’ll tell you, there’s a wall between A Rank and S Rank that you can’t surpass just by hard work. It’s literally a gateway to the dragon! Do the Americans even know what that is?”
Buzz buzz buzz-.
A large pumpkin bee kept flying around my house.
This was because Tang So-hae had come to visit.
Tang So-hae was originally an A Rank Awakened, but after gaining some sort of ‘enlightenment,’ she rapidly improved her skills up to S Rank and was now active under the name “Poison Bee – Tang So-hae.”
“Why are you here, Tang So-hae?”
“Me? Well, to celebrate the holiday and promote peace and friendship in East Asia? Of course, Tairrenol said we should gather because it’s ‘Nymph Day’ or something.”
“Muhuhuh, soon the day will come when Nymphs proudly show themselves…! This Tairrenol must participate too…! It must be a must…!”
Wow, even Tairrenol, the poisonous Nymph, has come.
The poisonous Nymph Tairrenol was like a sister to the medicinal Nymph Illinois.
I heard from the internet that recently China’s Sichuan Tangmen has teamed up with Telos Corporation to focus on developing a treatment for hair loss.
Looking around, I asked.
“Is Xiao Xiao not here?”
Since Tang So-hae came from China, I thought her cousin Xiao Xiao would also be here, but the buzzing bees were sticking to my face, blocking my sight.
They were fluffy, warm, and smelled of flowers.
“Xiao Xiao is busy, you know? S Rankers are not easily met. You may not know this yet, as you are still A Rank, Haildo!”
Tang So-hae was quite an arrogant lady. She was boasting a lot about just having climbed up from A Rank to S Rank.
But on the contrary, I feel like I would have boasted too if I were S Rank.
Honestly, how can I bear this?
Three S Rankers had already come to my house. Casey from America, Tang So-hae from China, and Tsukki from Japan.
I was quite flustered, and my family was even more so.
“What are all these foreign women doing here… But wow, everyone speaks Korean really well…? Haildo, can you explain what’s going on to mom? Okay?”
I could see my mom was confused.
Of course, if she woke up in the morning to find unexpected guests, it’s understandable to be flustered.
Soon, Tsukki, wearing a pink yukata and a cape, politely bowed her head.
“Hello, Mrs. I’m Yagami Tsukki. I may be lacking in many ways, but I hope we can get along well from now on. I think I’ll be frequently going back and forth between Japan and Korea for a while….”
“Oh, you’re Japanese. You’re tall! I thought you were a model….”
“Actually, I came today for work. I have some urgent matters to discuss with Haildo. It’s important, so I can’t share everything with all of you….”
So Tsukki came to see me for work.
I had assumed it would be something like that.
However, my mom seemed a bit disappointed.
“Really? I thought for sure you were dating a foreign girl. I used to say that I didn’t care if your girlfriend was a foreigner, just bring her home….”
“By the way, I did confess to Haildo with the intention of marriage, but I was turned down.”
“Eh?”
My mom frowned and was greatly surprised.
My father and relatives, who were hiding in the kitchen, seemed similarly shocked.
“Haildo, why did you reject her! A girl as pretty and polite as this! Although you are my son, I think it’s honestly a waste for you! Did I raise you like this?”
My mom was angry at me.
I couldn’t help but break into a cold sweat.
I wasn’t even this flustered when I was trapped on a deserted island with Seo Ye-rim.
At this moment, every story felt like it was bypassing my defense and attacking my weakest spots!
“No, there were various circumstances… When considering mutual interests and situations, it just didn’t align….”
I wanted to run away so badly at that moment.
Just yesterday, I thought the holiday was perfect, but just overnight it had turned so terrible!
At that moment.
Ari, who had been quietly listening to the conversation, spoke.
“Don’t you all know that barging in without permission and causing a ruckus makes the family uncomfortable? Let’s get outside! Don’t take away our family holiday!”
Ari was reprimanding the women who had come unannounced.
Hearing that, Tang So-hae frowned and spoke to Yu Ara.
“What qualifications do you have to say that? Haildo is someone who has a very high probability of becoming our Tang family’s son-in-law. I can be considered family potentially. Didn’t you know that?”
I wasn’t aware of that either.
Was the talk of a son-in-law smoothly proceeding without my knowledge?
Casey chimed in.
“Our grandfather participated in the Korean War! We are blood allies with Korea! We’re practically family! Therefore, Mr. Haildo’s family and our family are one!”
Tang So-hae argued back.
“Huh? What kind of nonsense is that? It’s an incomprehensible way of thinking as an Eastern person. Tsukki, you say something too. As a fellow Eastern person!”
“No, if you look closely, my argument is the same as Casey’s. Even now, the US-Japan alliance is strong. It would be good to strengthen the triangular cooperation of Korea, America, and Japan.”
With so many people, even a single comment sounded like multiple comments.
Soon, Seo Ye-rim, who had overslept, rubbed her sleepy eyes and came to the living room, shocked.
“What is all this? Why are you all here!”
What a mess.
Here, it would be right for me to sort out the situation first.
Clap clap-.
I clapped my hands to grab everyone’s attention.
“Wait a minute. For now, could those who arrived today please step outside? The space is somewhat cramped, and it might make our relatives uncomfortable.”
While my mom and dad might be a little used to this kind of thing, my aunts and uncles were regular folks.
They must be secretly shocked by all these Awakened around them.
My uncle said.
“Why? I’m having fun watching. Isn’t everyone on TV? These foreign women all speak Korean well. In the past, English was the universal language. What a time to be alive.”
“My aunt was a bit surprised too, but she thinks it’s fun.”
Our relatives all had broad minds.
Except for one person.
My Gen Z cousin, Hanara, was turning red in the face.
“Ev, everyone go out…! Chuseok is… a holiday for family only…! Everyone go out…! Go out…!!!”
Hanara seemed uncomfortable with all the people. She was acting like the overly zealous apartment council president chasing out outsiders.
Pushed along by Hanara, Tang So-hae frowned and said to Casey.
“You, yankee girl. You’re making it difficult for the family just by showing up uninvited. You’re the only one who can’t fit in this gathering of Easterners! You, hornet-like girl!”
“I’m fine! But it seems that an uninvited Chinese person has caused problems! They say it was like that during the Korean War too.”
“Huh? Are you challenging me? Just because you are S Rank 15th place doesn’t mean you can act all high and mighty. Do you want to get stung by my bees here?”
Swoosh-.
I could feel the magical energy clashing.
Are the S Rankers going to have a ranking battle here?
The S Rank tournament is the very topic that all global broadcasting companies want to cover and film.
Experiencing that firsthand would certainly be a great interest and fun for me, but… the problem is that the location was my house!
If they started fighting here, everything would fly away!
I had no choice but to push the women out into the yard.
“Ye-rim, you need to go out with me and try to calm everyone down. You’re the only one who can intervene if S Rankers fight here.”
“Huh?”
# # #
The S Rankers headed out to the yard and toward the apple orchard.
Only after they had gone quite far away could we finally let out a sigh of relief.
“Everyone is incredibly rude. How can you intrude without even contacting us and ruin the family’s holiday? You weren’t even invited! Mom, I’ll have a serious word with everyone.”
Ari seemed angry at the S Rankers who came barging in and making noise.
Her bringing a cup of lukewarm water to comfort our mother looked very daughter-like.
Actually, Ari was a guest too.
What was my biological sister Hailra doing?
“I know Casey! You were modeling for Gucci and Cartier recently, right? Huh? That’s amazing! This is my first time seeing you in real life! The Japanese and Chinese are famous women too, right? Huh? Awesome!”
Hailra seemed to be simply enjoying and having fun with the situation.
My sister Hailra was originally that sort of person, so it wasn’t too surprising.
“It’s incredibly fun and lively…! We should celebrate by dancing the Joy Nymph dance to commemorate the meeting with Tairrenol sister…!”
“What does it mean to dance…!”
“Let’s dance…!”
Doom chitch doom chitch-.
Compared to our chaotic situation, the Nymphs seemed to be enjoying Tairrenol’s visit from faraway China.
Watching the Nymphs dance in the yard calmed me down a bit.
“After Chuseok ends, let’s have the Nymphs’ Day and Day of Pride…! Truly, it’s our Nymphs’ great holiday…!”
