"Is it really that cute?"

"How could it not be cute? My goodness, how is it even possible to look this... genuinely soft and squishy?"

"Oh my..."

It was 11 PM, the end of the day.

Harmony had just about wrapped up her broadcast, and Dice was finishing a tiring day, soaked in individual training and the curriculum for mentoring juniors. Meanwhile, in the master bedroom, an absolute whirlwind of chaos was happening – and naturally, the culprits were those two. There was no need to explain who they were anymore.

The conversation was a little more advanced than just a call. The drone cam projected a hologram showing the slightly distant images of Harmony and Dice, who lived several kilometers away from Eugene's house. They were lying on the bed, looking at the picture Eugene had posted earlier.

Of course, it wasn’t just one picture they were looking at; after being somewhat pressured by their enthusiasm, Eugene had sent a few more.

"Hey, Eugene, do you have a younger sibling? I’m seriously asking."

"Can I give you a serious slap for asking that?"

"Oh no, I’m seriously sorry."

Are these guys crazy?

Anyway, the photos were admittedly kind of cute. Though it felt like I was bragging about my own cuteness in the past by saying so – and realistically, there wasn’t much difference – from the standpoint of this world, the me from the past and the me now were different people.

Since the past was artificially created as proof of my existence in this world, I could freely say it was cute without any hesitation after seeing those photos.

In any case, aside from that, there were quite a few more photos that had been sent.

"Wow, the one where you’re sucking on the pacifier is just too cute..."

"Now all we can say is 'cute,' huh? Really."

"Your tail keeps growing as you get older. Amazing."

And they were right.

Around the age of two or three, my tail was still thin, barely thicker than a 100ml soda can. I’m estimating it, but it was around that size.

Of course, now it was thick enough that I couldn’t hold it with just one hand. The thickest part might even be thicker than a well-grown orange. After all, the root had to be that thick to maintain strength as it tapered toward the tip.

Anyway, there was something I had to prepare in advance.

"I just realized I’ve never heard what you did in the past, Eugene."

"Well, I just went to school. It was a prestigious high school mostly for Awakened people, you know."

"Oh, that one. I think I’ve heard of it. Wasn’t it somewhere in Seoul…?"

I could tell they were pressing for more details, but honestly, I had no idea. I only found out today that such a high school for Awakened people even existed.

Anyway, the "preparation" was basically directing the conversation with a few questions or vague answers to avoid digging too deep. I’d already told them about the photos, but I made sure to remind them not to bring it up again.

Until I knew how my past in this world had unfolded, I couldn’t casually talk about it. Otherwise, I’d end up in a tricky situation.

‘That’s also true, if I talk too much, and later someone from my past, like a middle school or high school acquaintance, recognizes me, that could get really awkward…’

I couldn’t pretend to know something I didn’t.

Of course, logically speaking, and because it was legally stipulated in this era, it was impossible to casually spread the past actions of Awakened people. That was unless it was tied to something criminal, which would change things. Either way, people from my past in this world couldn’t go around gossiping about me.

If anything, they might reveal something during a lucky fan meeting, but even then, I wouldn’t remember it.

Given that it had been 8 months – almost 9 now – since I started streaming, nothing had really come up. Maybe people didn’t care.

In short, it wasn’t something I needed to worry about.

"By the way, what were you doing in middle and high school? More training?"

"How did you know?"

"I had a feeling..."

I couldn’t help but laugh. The majority of the photos I’d found were from when I was at the gym, training with weights.

I probably started working out around that time. There were no photos of me with extra weight, so I was pretty sure.

Anyway, bringing up the workout topic worked well. A few more questions were asked about my school years, but after that, there wasn’t much else. Most of the questions were about whether I had been in the school sports club or something like that.

Awakened people could join sports clubs, but they couldn’t compete in any tournaments.

That was pretty standard.

The conversation continued, and it was cute. Harmony had posted pictures of the Pomeranian that her colleague Kim Stone was raising, and Dice showed me a picture of a Burmese cat he’d always wanted to keep.

How would I know about that?

"I think it’d be nice to have a snake as a pet, but apparently reptiles don’t bond well with their owners. Especially snakes, they say. What a shame..."

"Really? I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had a snake."

"Eugene, have you ever thought about getting a pet… oh wait, never mind, that might be difficult."

And that’s true.

If I were to get a dog, it would probably take a long time to become friends. From the animal’s perspective, it would be like being put in a room with a giant anaconda that could swallow it whole and then being told, "This is your new owner."

The same happened when we went to that animal cafe with Harmony, or to the zoo. Herbivores usually get scared of Awakened people. So, if I ever had a pet, I’d probably get a snake.

"If I were to keep a pet, I guess it’d be a snake."

"Wait, you actually thought about it?"

"Well, it’s just a hypothetical. I don’t want to get too attached to a pet."

Even though everything in my life had been tied up since coming to this world, that didn’t mean everything was finished. With the Think Tank operating, or the invitation from Icarus, there were plenty of reasons to go back and forth to the U.S.

But carrying pets around during those trips or leaving them with someone beforehand... if that were the case, I should probably avoid getting a pet. That’s what I thought.

Anyway, Dice seemed to be struggling with similar thoughts.

"I guess I’ll have to be satisfied with a reptile cafe to see a Burmese cat."

"That’s the right choice."

And that was the conclusion.

By then, it was already past midnight, and everyone was starting to prepare for bed.

The last topic of the night was the upcoming broadcast content.

"By the way, they’re going to officially release 'Mecha Eugene' in the Uncharted Zone soon. Are you going to try it? I’m planning to play it tomorrow. Do you want to join?"

"I don’t think I can tomorrow."

"Ah, do you have a schedule?"

Chuckles.

With a slight laugh, I spoke.

"I’m going out with my parents tomorrow."

That, I couldn’t pass up.

Tomorrow, I was planning to visit Yeouido for some sweet red bean jelly.

"I just wanted to go for a routine physical checkup, but because my mom and dad are coming, Icarus’ Korean branch is in chaos. Especially because Mom’s coming…"

"Of course, she’s the head of the business diagnostics team."

"The head of the business diagnostics team…?"

"She’s the head of the audit team."

"Ah."

Anyone working at a corporation would be terrified of the audit team, but anyway...

Anyway, my mom, dad, and I were now driving down the Olympic Highway, heading to Yeouido. As mentioned earlier, the purpose was for my physical checkup. Since I’m an Awakened, I needed to visit Icarus’ Korean branch annually to check for any discrepancies with the connection device.

Of course, it wasn’t strictly once a year; it could be within a four-month range. Since I was already within that range, I decided to join my parents when I heard they were visiting the Icarus office.

Still, I felt a little guilty.

"The audit team, that’s the one that catches corruption within the company, right?"

"You know well, our daughter. Yes, it’s like military police, but dealing with much more complex issues."

"Mom’s doing scary stuff..."

And that was true.

Anyway, today, for the first time in a while, I was meeting with Assistant Manager Lee Jin-cheol and Employee Han Seol-ah... That’s an old story from 8 months ago. I’m guessing their ranks haven’t changed yet. I wonder how they’ve been doing.

As I was lost in thought, the car entered Yeouido, stopping in front of a building that looked very black. The chauffeur-less vehicle dropped us off in front of the Icarus Korean branch and quickly disappeared into the underground parking.

Then…

"Welcome to the Icarus Korean branch. Shall we head to the meeting room?"

"No, we didn’t come for that today. But since the preliminary audit is in two weeks, it would be a good idea to prepare the materials we mentioned recently."

"Understood. If that’s the case, today’s visit..."

"Ah."

With a professional-sounding voice, my mom added a few more details. But her tone softened as she spoke.

"We came to watch our daughter’s physical ability test."

"…What?"

"Assistant Manager Lee Jin-cheol and Employee Han Seol-ah. It’s not an abuse of authority to watch your daughter work out, is it?"

"Ah, well, that’s…"

"Hehe, I’m just kidding. If it’s really an issue, you can wait outside."

"No, no! You can come along!"

Geez…

Anyway, there was no real reason why Mom and Dad couldn’t join me, so we ended up going back into the building. Memories from last year started coming back. The PlayStation, swimming, the strength measurements, and the movements with patches attached to my body.

What should I say... I knew that my mom and dad were feared here at Icarus, but when I met their eyes for a moment, I realized that they hadn’t changed.

They hadn’t changed at all.

No one had.

And with that, I felt reassured and ready to take the measurements.

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing.

───Creak...

"I’m starting to get scared now."

"Shouldn’t we stop this?"

"Haha, you haven’t even matched half of last year’s results. Trust your daughter."

I could hear it from behind me.

Anyway, since my parents had never seen me working out, it made sense they were surprised. But despite the embarrassment, I still wanted to show my family a cool side of me – even if it wasn’t the most impressive.

And I would make sure to show them the side of me I hadn’t shown last time.

After pushing the limits that no ordinary person could handle, I succeeded in achieving even better results than the tests from 8 months ago.

Of course…

"Who told you to push so hard? Are you okay? No injuries or anything?"

"Should we go to the hospital?"

"Oh, I’m fine. People who’ve known me for a while know I’ve been doing this."

But still worried, Mom slapped my back a few times. She hadn’t done that before, but now her hands had become even harder. I wondered why so many people around me had such strong hands.

Anyway, that wasn’t the end. There were still plenty more tests to go, and with the advanced measuring devices and test chambers, today was definitely different from the tests 8 months ago. I definitely wouldn’t need to go to the gym once I got home today.

So, after about an hour and a half, I finished the tests, which couldn’t even be described as acrobatic, and checked the time.

It was lunchtime.

Seeing me strolling around the Icarus Korean branch, Mom and Dad added a comment.

"8 months ago? Was it like this back then?"

"Yeah. It’s been about a week since I came back. It’s been that long already. The food here is great. I’m sure I’ll miss it when I go back to the U.S., so I’ll eat a lot while I can. The food I had in the U.S. was way too sweet and salty..."

"Now Jin’s the one worrying about us. You should eat a lot then."

Then, they continued.

"I’ll send you a couple of first-class tickets now and then, so come visit often."

"Can I bring my friends?"

"Of course. Let me know how many people and I’ll send them."

"Yes."

A short silence.

Of course, while frequent visits to the U.S. were important, there was something else I wanted to say.

"Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"I have a few things to finish up. After that, around September, I should have a whole month to spare."

...

It was natural to feel a bit disappointed.

If only I could have freed my parents from Icarus, but, unfortunately, the world didn’t work in a way that could just satisfy convenience.

So, the only thing I could say was that I’d visit more often.

But...

"Don’t rush it."

"...But."

"There’s no more rush now. We don’t have to worry about anything anymore."

...That was true. I didn’t need to worry anymore. I now had my family, and they wouldn’t leave me.

If we remember that after every goodbye, a reunion is waiting...

I felt my heart lighten.

"I’ll bring lots of friends, so look forward to it."

"Sounds like I’ll need to prepare a lot of food."

"Just don’t think about making it yourself. Just buy whatever the kids like. That’ll be enough."

What should I say...

If yesterday was a reunion, then today could be summarized as... a return to normalcy.

Somehow, I felt that way.

The day was beautiful.

It was a day without any worries.