As the busy vacation period was coming to an end,
I received a call from the military.
The official reason was that they wanted to have a eting with . Given that I’m ranked #1 among the Awakened and the next in line to beco the Association President, it seed like a reasonable enough excuse, but…
"General Kang, you’re calling without Winterer, too? What’s going on?"
"Seo Yujin, it’s actually about Winterer, Major."
The truth was, it had to do with our eldest daughter and wife.
My expression imdiately grew serious. I was worried—had sothing happened with her? Was she getting in trouble again?
"Yes, please, go ahead. I’ll listen."
"Well... there have been continuous complaints. Even a necromancer goes by the na 'Mai,' their original na, but why should she still be called Winterer?"
"Ah."
That wasn’t the issue after all.
My tense expression relaxed once again, and I let out a sigh.
"That old lady… Hmph. The current Association President’s work, I suppose."
"Chairwoman Seol Hayeon’s? What reason could there be?"
"She just didn’t feel like coming up with a na."
"…Is that really true?"
"Yes, it’s true. That’s how she operates."
I understood. Winterer’s three-character na was kind of pretty, after all. She was busy, probably didn’t want to deal with naming, so she just went with Winterer and filed the paperwork.
‘And it even helped our daughter.’
Back when she thought she was a villain, our daughter would always say, "I’m the strongest villain, Winterer!" and run around.
What would have happened if soone had changed her na back then? She might’ve gone into a ntal breakdown and gone wild. Back then, she was still dealing with a lot of psychological baggage.
So, naming her Winterer was a stroke of genius. It was the result of the Chairwoman’s sharp intuition.
Yeah, it was the best choice back then, but…
"Sigh…"
‘How can soone’s na be Winterer, really?’
Maybe it was ti to seriously consider changing it. That thought crossed my mind as soon as General Kang finished speaking.
Well, if she were like Haru and didn’t even know she was suffering, then maybe it wouldn’t matter. But Winterer had faced her wounds head-on and overca them. A na change wouldn’t make her flinch.
"General Kang, after hearing you, I see your point."
"What do you an?"
"A na change. I’ll seriously think about it."
"Oh! You’ve made a great decision!!"
The general’s expression brightened imdiately. Of course, now he wouldn’t have to deal with complaints anymore…
Rustle.
"Here are the nas from famous naming experts."
"…Huh? When did this happen?"
"I’ve been collecting them whenever I had the chance."
"……?"
In front of , there was an array of elegant-looking characters. It seed like they were all possible nas for our daughter.
At the sa ti, it seed like an overly generous gesture on the general’s part.
The brushstrokes on the paper scread of high quality, and I could tell these nas ca from so famous naming experts. It probably cost him a lot of money, but…
There was no way the budget would have supported sothing like this. He must have used his own personal funds.
I couldn’t understand why he would go this far.
"How… Why would you do this? Was the complaint really that bad? Did soone higher up pressure you?"
"Every ti I see Major Winterer, I keep thinking about Captain Seo."
"Ah."
I understood now. General Kang was a junior to Captain Seo and was also one of the people who had tried to expose the 'Awakened Reproduction Plan.' Naturally, he was concerned about Winterer, who was the greatest victim in that situation.
As soon as the complaints ca in, he must have decided to take action. He even went so far as to invite to his unit.
All for our daughter.
A warm smile spread across my face.
‘Really, Captain Seo, why is it that so many good people are around you?’
"Well then, let’s see."
I picked up the paper with the nas and quickly scanned through it. The elegant characters, their anings and significance. I took it all in.
After about a minute, I reached a quick conclusion.
"I don’t think I can use any of these."
"…You don’t like them? They seem like nice nas to ."
"Every single one of them has characters like Seol or Bing, trying to tie in her abilities with the na."
It was clear that these were all well-packaged nas, probably from seasoned naming experts. But, I could see right through the lazy attempt to make them sound nice while keeping Winterer’s original na.
"More importantly, our daughter won’t like a na in Chinese characters."
‘She’ll probably hate it because she can’t even understand it.’
Given her personality, she wasn’t likely to accept it, which was why I rejected it so quickly.
Perhaps it was an unexpected response, but the general furrowed his brow.
"Well, Major Winterer probably wouldn’t like a complicated na, now that you ntion it."
"Yes. She probably won’t try to morize anything with more than three strokes."
"If I had known, I would have asked for a na in pure Korean."
He then, sowhat gloomily, gathered up the papers…
"So, General Kang, what do you say we think about this together?"
"…Huh?"
"I care a lot about our daughter, and you care about Winterer, too. If we think about it together, we should co up with a good na, right?"
"…Thank you for saying that."
He was about to take the paper, but I lightly turned it over.
Instead of the densely written characters, blank white paper was revealed.
Our pens then moved toward it.
"Well then, how about Arin? Seo Arin, aning beautiful and graceful…"
"She is pretty, but isn’t it a bit ambiguous?"
"…Wife? Wait, what do you an by that?"
"I’d rather give it a deeper aning. For example, turning 'winter' around…"
"These days, Major Winterer has been complaining of back pain and has been going to the dical office often. Captain Seo, are you… treating her like your daughter?"
"Let’s take inspiration from the seasons. I think it would be better if she were not trapped in winter…"
"Seo Yujin!!!?"
It took a little longer than expected.
***
Winterer’s workday ended quite early.
It was only natural, as it wasn’t regular work but part of a training course.
"…You’re not doing your usual ‘Sumnal’ or anything, it’s really awkward."
"Did I use that kind of tone?"
"Seriously."
In front of her stood familiar faces, a whole crowd of forr villains who had once been her subordinates.
They were part of a special task force for Awakened individuals, serving as alternative duty for their past cris as villains. It was a unit that Winterer had been leading for about a week.
A slight smile spread across her face.
[As expected of Winterer! Only Winterer can turn this hellhole of a Korea into a villain’s paradise!]
[…Ah, hello, Major Winterer! Looking forward to working with you!]
‘They seed crazy back then, but they’re all actually pretty good people.’
It was a far cry from the trashy bunch of villains she had known. They listened well, didn’t cause trouble, and most importantly, didn’t sing songs about wanting to kill people every chance they got.
That was sothing she found quite nice.
For a mont, she felt genuinely thankful to her husband.
‘I should head ho soon and see Dad. Today’s my turn…’
"Alright, everyone, disperse on your own. The supplies, the squad leader will handle it and bring them over."
"…You’re not supervising us?"
"I trust you guys."
With light, lively steps, Winterer walked away.
The smiles on the faces of her forr villainous subordinates, now fellow soldiers, spread across their faces.
"Are you going to et a man~? Or, are you just going?"
"Yeah, you little brats."
"Wow, wow! Show us a picture, show us a picture!"
"…No. I’m not showing you, absolutely not."
"Why not~!? Don’t be so stingy..."
"Why not? You guys were the ones flirting with back when I was a villain."
Stop.
"…I’ve seen the video, but no way is it him?"
"No, they say they’re like a father-daughter pair. He’s always singing ‘Dad, Dad’ songs even in public."
"No way, right? Even though it's been ten years since I beca a villain, the world can’t have gone that far downhill…"
"No, but they're not even blood-related. And besides, the Major’s older than him..."
Though Winterer’s bombshell caused quite a stir,
she was already distracted and her mind was elsewhere.
She wasn’t paying attention, heading towards the barracks.
She was already getting hot with the thought of spending a passionate evening with Yujin after work…
Crackle.
[Major Winterer, report to my office imdiately.]
"I’ll be there right away."
‘Damn it… my ti off!!’
Her cheerful mood evaporated instantly at the summons from her superior.
With a frown, she turned on her heel, her steps now weighed down by the sudden call.
At first, it wasn’t a big deal, but now, having spent a bit more ti in the army,
getting called by a three-star general did stir her up a bit.
She knew that General Kang was always kind to her, but there was no getting around it.
‘Did I do sothing wrong? Did so woman say sothing about ? Am I going to be in trouble?’
"Dammit, this is such a pain…"
Her steps felt heavy as she headed toward the office.
Knock knock.
"Major Winterer. Did General Kang call for ?"
[Pfft. Our daughter’s got military discipline now~.]
"……Dad!!!?"
She heard a familiar voice from the general’s office.
Her depression lifted instantly.
Unable to hold it in, she burst through the door.
"General Kang! Why is Dad here… General Kang?"
"He left early. He wanted to talk to just the two of us."
"…Why is Dad here?"
"I ca to see my daughter~."
Yujin greeted her with a casual smile, full of mischievous charm.
"And our daughter—she introduced herself so properly. When did you grow up like this?"
"Ugh, I’ve always been…."
"Just the other day, you were being all cute asking Dad for more. Now you’re all grown up~."
"Ugh, stop!!"
Winterer’s cheeks turned red from the teasing.
It was both embarrassing and endearing that her loving dad had co all the way to her workplace.
Trying to hide her bashful feelings, she grumbled as they continued their playful back-and-forth for almost five minutes before snapping back to reality.
"…Ugh, so why did you co, Dad?"
"It’s about your na."
"My na? Why about my na?"
"Winterer is the na you had when you were a villain. I want to give you a new, beautiful na, sothing good."
That was the real reason behind his visit—Winterer’s na change.
How did she react to that?
"I don’t really care if I stay Winterer."
‘Seriously, Dad. Worrying about this unnecessary stuff…’
She was indifferent.
To her, 'Winterer' was no longer a desperate identity, just a nickna. There was no reason to get upset about a na change.
Yujin had anticipated this reaction.
"Don’t say that, okay? You and Haru are the only ones with different last nas."
"It doesn’t matter. We’re not even related by blood."
"But we’re family~. If you change your na, we’ll all be the Seos. Three of us together—a three-color honey rice cake family. Haru will be so happy."
"Hmm. Then fine, I’ll change it."
Her acceptance of the na change was no surprise.
It was completely different from when she had clung to the na 'Winterer' before.
It was clear she had grown ntally.
Yujin smiled in satisfaction.
"Great, now listen. Your new na is sothing I thought up with General Kang…"
"How much did you really think about it?"
"Just listen first."
"You're such a fool, Dad. Alright, I’ll listen."
Winterer, though secretly pleased, listened intently.
Yujin held up a piece of paper.
"Your na, Winterer, ans 'the one who calls the winter.' That fits you since you’re an ice user."
"Right. I’m an ice power user."
"Exactly. But that’s too cold for a na, don’t you think? Winter is cold and harsh."
Once a girl whose heart had frozen in hatred of the world,
a victim of terrible experints, seeking to release her anger and madness through terrorism.
She had spent long years trapped in the coldness of winter.
"So here’s what I thought: what if we ended your winter and welcod sothing better?"
"Huh? But it’s sumr now."
"I’m not talking about the weather, I’m talking about your life. You've suffered enough, haven’t you? Now, the harsh winter is over, and it’s ti for spring to co."
"Hmm, spring…"
"Yes, spring. The season when flowers bloom and the sunlight grows warm. The spring of your future, when you live happily with and Haru."
"……."
"I want you to live in spring from now on."
Yujin flipped over the paper in his hand.
Written there was the na.
The na that he and General Kang had co up with after much thought.
[……Yujin. I didn’t expect you to give her the sa na as . Heh.]
Once, it was Captain Seo who had given 'Seo Haru' to 'Experint #47.'
Now, he was giving a na to 'Experint #1.'
The feelings that had once been divergent were now reaching her.
"———Seo Saebom. What do you think?"
"Seo, Saebom…"
Winterer repeated the three syllables.
Seo Saebom. A warm na, full of her father’s feelings.
It was a na she absolutely loved.
"Sounds good. Then I’ll be Seo Saebom."
"Yes. Let’s take so ti off and go to change it, Saebom."
"Alright, Dad."
The two of them smiled at each other.
In the general’s office, as the warm evening sun poured in, they shared a tender mont.
The girl who had lived through the winter—Winterer—had beco Seo Saebom.
However, if this had been the end, it would have been a heartwarming mont.
"So, Dad? After all that emotion, shouldn’t there be a price to pay?"
"Huh? What do you an, Saebom?"
"When it’s just the two of us like this, you’re trying to flirt with , right? Seriously. The charm of Winterer, no, Seo Saebom."
"What? What are you talking about… Daughter!? Why are you undressing!?"
"Just three quick ones before you leave, okay?"
"No, not in the office… Ugh!!!?"
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