9) Chapter 3. That's not it, actually...! (1)

I mean, honestly, it feels a bit unfair.

This whole shyness thing.

It’s not like I wanted to be timid. The circumstances just made me that way. In my previous life, sure, I had a bunch of complexes weighing me down, but in this life, I actually have a real reason.

My mental age isn’t that of a child. But the kids around me? They’re just little ones who barely graduated kindergarten. How am I supposed to naturally approach them? If anything, because they’re kids, I end up being the one who has to be careful.

They cry at the slightest thing, get angry and scream for reasons I can’t even guess, and the boys—why do they keep pulling my hair or tugging at my skirt before running away?

But what, am I supposed to hit a kid? Chase them down and make them cry? That’s… not right. Not morally, not ethically.

And on top of that, I’m a superhuman. Soi hasn’t awakened yet, so she can run around with the kids without worrying, but I’m different.

If a superhuman hurts someone with their ability, things get serious fast.

In this world, superpowers leave traces. I don’t know exactly how they detect it, but apparently the police have a whole specialized investigation team. And superpowers are treated the same as “weapons.”

Meaning, if I hit someone with my power, it’s immediately classified as aggravated assault. Even if my telekinesis is no stronger than a light slap, the moment the method is “superpower,” it becomes a special offense.

Sure, I’m still young enough to be exempt from criminal punishment. But the people responsible for me are Soi’s parents.

If I grab some kid with telekinesis because he’s running away and it turns into a problem, it becomes a huge headache.

For all those reasons combined, whenever kids bullied me, I mostly just endured it. And of course, the boys who tried to pick on me only saw me as easier prey because of that.

“Aish, really! Rua is too nice for her own good!”

And every time I was pranked and left stunned, the one who got the angriest was my self-proclaimed big sister, Soi.

“When kids mess with you, you should get mad too!”

Whenever I saw her standing with her hands on her hips, scolding me like a real older sister, I felt frustrated in my own way.

I mean, kids can be like that sometimes.

It’s not like it’s turning into an actual crime. And honestly, I understand how little boys think.

It’s that thing where they pick on the pretty girl for no reason.

If they’re being childish, should I really act childish too?

“Geez, Rua is hopeless. Without this big sister, you’d be helpless, right?”

But what could I even say to Soi when she talked like that?

Even when she complained like she was frustrated and upset, her face was glowing with pride she couldn’t hide.

Whenever she helped me, her eyes sparkled, and if I so much as said “thank you,” she’d be in a good mood for the entire day.

How could I possibly say something like “You don’t really need to do all that”?

And besides, Soi was incredibly popular.

Her parents are both famous heroes, she’s pretty, she’s kind—of course all the kids adore her.

She was especially popular with the girls.

You know the type—kind of tomboyish, and when she fights with boys, they dramatically scream “Aaaah!” and run away. But secretly, she ends up being their first crush.

And because that Soi found me cute, the girls around us treated me like some kind of adorable little creature.

But still…

“Here, Rua, say ah~”

How am I supposed to react to this?

If we were in high school—or even middle school—I could laugh it off as a fun memory.

But this is elementary school.

Everyone around me is still tiny.

Letting someone feed me feels like my dignity is crumbling.

She’s always trying to hug me, tie my hair, braid it, and since she runs around the whole school making friends, kids I’ve never even met greet me by name in the hallway.

I mean, I did want to be popular.

But this isn’t the kind of popularity I imagined.

Things just happen around me even when I do nothing, and kids I’ve never seen treat me like they already know me. I don’t even get a chance to introduce myself first.

And the way they pat me and try to hug me—it feels like they’re treating me like a pet. I get that kids have simple ways of showing affection, but I’m not actually a kid.

“Rua is too timid, that’s the problem. But don’t worry! This big sister will help you!”

“……”

Anyway.

That’s how first grade, second grade, and third grade passed.

We barely had tests, and even when we did, there weren’t any report cards sent home. But everyone around me called me a genius.

Because everything they teach in elementary school is stuff I already know.

It’s not like I was in some gifted program. It’s just the standard national curriculum—of course I’d know it. Even if I forgot something, reading the textbook jogged my memory.

But that became a problem too.

By the end of my first three years of elementary school, I was being treated like some “future prodigy.”

Both my parents are superhumans, and in the original story, Soi awakening her powers was expected. But by third grade, the only one who had awakened was me.

Yet Uncle Dohyun always mentioned how I helped him in interviews, and Auntie Yujin never denied it. They said I showed heroic qualities even as a child, and that I knew everything at school.

By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late to shake off that image.

“…Huh.”

This isn’t right.

What I wanted was a fun, light-novel-like future where I’d hang out with the heroines and be happy.

At best, I’d be a side character in a slice-of-life story full of cute girls—not the protagonist of a harem.

But now it feels like the whole world expects something from me.

Like I’ve become this quiet, timid genius who makes people want to take care of her, with a slightly fragile aura.

The most shocking part was my own heart—I actually didn’t hate it.

That’s right. I had become the kind of messed-up person who thought it was fine to rely on an elementary schooler as my big sister!

“Geez, really.”

While I was spacing out with a piece of bread in hand, Soi pressed a handkerchief to my mouth and wiped the crumbs away.

I mean, I can wipe my own mouth. I was just going to do it all at once later!

And you got crumbs on your mouth too!

Why are you making that expression—the dependable older-sister look from a high school heroine’s flashback?

“See? Big sister is the best, right? Hmm? Rua can’t live without her big sister, right?”

“……”

I wondered what I could say that wouldn’t hurt her feelings as she smiled like the happiest person in the world.

Right, yes!

She’s still in elementary school!

We’re not even halfway through! Once she becomes a middle schooler, things will change!

I decided to stop thinking and just finish my castella.

*

And then, when I became a fourth grader—

“Rua? I don’t really know anyone by that name.”

I met Chae‑yi again.

“You… don’t recognize me?”

“How am I supposed to recognize someone I don’t know?”

Her voice was cold.

The Chae‑yi I knew never spoke like that.

She used to follow me everywhere, tug on my clothes whenever she got the chance, sit glued to my side, beg me to braid her hair, and share her snacks with me.

Was she really someone who could make such a cold expression?

Kids around us murmured.

“What, you two know each other?”

“Well, it’s Rua. Her mom is Meteor and her dad is Gale. Of course hero kids would know each other.”

“But Soi doesn’t seem to know anything about it?”

Hearing Soi’s name made me realize instantly.

I quickly looked at her.

Soi was already glaring at Chae‑yi with sharp, angry eyes.

Ah. This pattern.

She laughs things off when people tease her, but when someone teases me, she appears out of nowhere and chases them off with a shout.

I grabbed her wrist immediately.

“Huh?”

“No, I—I must’ve mistaken her for someone else…”

Ah. I stuttered.

Because I rushed my words.

Kids tilted their heads.

“Didn’t you call her name earlier?”

“Did you hear it somewhere else?”

Hearing them whisper made my face burn red.

“Hmph.”

Chae‑yi snorted and turned back to rummage through her desk.

“Hey…!”

“No, Soi, let’s go.”

“But she—!”

I dragged Soi away.

I was happy to see her, and it was a bit of a shock that she didn’t recognize me.

But what can I do?

Our memories are from when we were preschoolers.

If she doesn’t remember me, that’s just how it is.

The sting in my nose was definitely just my mind being influenced by my young body.

That’s what I decided to believe.

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Pub: 05 Mar 2026 20:26 UTC

Edit: 05 Mar 2026 20:45 UTC

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