I Became a Childhood Friend of a Mid-Level Boss - Ch. 27

[NoctyrneSAGA]

So, from how the manhwa has characterised OG Haneul she seemed more fatalistic than anything else. But then she is sorta "broken" even here in the "fixed" timeline? Also, I'm guessing her object of focus as a yandere is Kyunwoo, right? But then did her inner-most yandere ever show itself up to this point?
Another question this raised for me, does the novel treat this part of her as something natural that she and others just need to lear to cope with, or something to be fully fixed?

It shows up a lot because she is an Ain and endures endless torment because of it. On the more lighthearted side, she will scold Kyunwoo when he looks at other girls and rabbits. When she perceives other love rivals, she actually gets violent like smashing trees with her hammer as intimidation and even warning other girls directly. That's the most she ever acts out. The other female characters quickly learn not to get too close to Kyunwoo too fast or to restrain her when they see the warning signs. Also Kyunwoo's level of bro with his bros sometimes makes her think he's gay, but they all deny it quickly. So typically it's played for comedic effect and rarely anything too serious.

But the most tragic part is that she is extremely insecure about her relationship with Kyunwoo. She knows very well that as an Ain she is liable to be discarded without warning. Oftentimes humans approach Ain under the guise of true love when it's really just temporary perverted curiosity. Part of her knows that Kyunwoo isn't like that but high society and the general public perpetuate the notion that Ain are merely pets at best and monster offspring at worst. This is an eternal source of heartbreak for her and she is always struggling with these derogatory remarks at the back of her mind, just like Kyunwoo's mother.

Her other yandere thoughts include killing everyone on the planet (much like the bad end he's trying to avoid) besides Kyunwoo so that he will be forced to only look at her or imprisoning him in a private room. She even contemplates studying necromancy so that not even death could separate them. She knows these thoughts are wrong but she can't help it. She is an Ain. She has also expressed that she does not care what other people think because the only opinion that she cares about is Kyunwoo's. And that what Kyunwoo desires is what she will desire. However, these only remain thoughts because Kyunwoo always showers her in endless affection and reassurances. He always compliments how beautiful the color of her eyes are even when she is constantly reminded that the red eyes of Ain are the same as that of monsters. And sometimes she goes to her girl friends for support as well.

Even then, these worries persist for a very long time because their relationship could not go beyond "childhood friend" because Kyunwoo is nobility and Haneul is an Ain with unknown lineage. Both of them are very aware of this and this is the biggest reason why Kyunwoo leaves the relationship ambiguous, much to Haneul's anxiety. Even a mere rumor about dating the wrong people would be enough to torpedo his social standing. But overcoming the status difference is a part of these stories so enjoy the ride.

Spoiler: Cleaned up MTL from an Ain that claimed to speaking from personal experience

“Ain has a severe lack of affection. No matter how much she was loved and raised, she will be no exception. We inevitably face discrimination because we look different from others. That’s why we’re quick to give up and become discouraged.”

The woman opened her mouth.

“Besides, the children we give birth to will not inherit their parents’ genes, ever. Do you know how sad it is to know that you can’t leave your genes or those of your partner behind in this world? The frustration of not being able to prove to your loved one that the child is yours? The guilt? What about the fear that it could provide room for anxiety that it might be someone else’s child? What about distrust of the partner? What about society's perspective? Anyone other than Ain will never understand this.”

So in short, in the OG timeline she never had anything and thus completely gave up. In this timeline, Kyunwoo is her sun (or life raft) and she is loathe to let it go.

Also regarding her fatalism, as the manhwa explained Haneul had a particularly hard life in the game and this is partially explained by her extremely low luck stat. She almost always loses in coin tosses, has never won a single prize from scratchers/lotteries, businesses that she tries to use coupons at go shut down, and when she looks at the weather report it turns out to always be wrong (Kyunwoo teasing her about the weather made her think aloud about destroying the world, much to his panic). When Kyunwoo asked her what kind of books she liked to read, she said her favorite genre was Romance Fantasy. Romance is something OG Haneul never experienced and in the game, she dies at the intersection of Romance and Fantasy streets in the Academy City. So just as the beginning of the manhwa noted that it seemed like she bore all the misfortunes of the world from birth, Kyunwoo remarked that her death truly was as if the world wanted to ridicule Haneul to the very end. Honestly it is not surprising OG Haneul decided to end the world.

Unaware of her rock bottom luck stat, current timeline Haneul wonders if she had used up her entire life's worth of luck to meet Kyunwoo.

 

[Crystalball]

One thing I can never understand in these stories is the way they try and make it seem like hot animal eared girls would be ostracized instead of highly sought after. Like, we know why the author picked a rabbit eared girl, he thinks it's hot.

 

[NoctyrneSAGA]

Thanks for the info dump. As much as I enjoy time skips, I don't like them if they leave 99% of the content out and just give us a panel or two with no context. I originally thought that panel of him holding the rabbit was some sort of metaphor. Clearly thinking too deep, lmao. Getting a chapter about his pet rabbit passing would have been good development to see. RIP

As another person commented, the details of Mongshil's passing were probably cut because of the implications on the intimate encounter it led to.

 

[RollOmega]

What the heck, poor pet bnuuy.

 

[GridLite]

Could you please elaborate? I don't quite understand what you mean with pre-uploading.

There was a notice after i clicked the chapter saying that (non-verbatim)there's a delay in uploading the chapter here to support the translator's website so i should go and read it there.

 

[GridLite]

The 3 stooges ruin a romantic moment -_-


It might just be an issue on your end.... the chapter only shows up when it's uploaded for me....

I might just be tooooo early if that's the case

 

[Joyconboyz]

Another bit is Mongshil dying. We got a panel in the manhwa but there's a big development here that was skipped over. Haneul tries to cheer Kyunwoo up by letting him touch her tail. The tail is very sensitive and important. He's very knowledgeable about rabbit biology (and just basic pet behavior) so the significance of this gesture is not lost on him. He really appreciates it and him stroking it basically becomes their first act of intimacy. I cannot believe the manhwa skipped this.

WHAT!? THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN SUCH A GOOD SCENE WTF!!!! Thanks for the info dump man at least there's actually more context to the story. Sucks that they skipped over it in the manhwa.

 

[NoctyrneSAGA]

WHAT!? THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN SUCH A GOOD SCENE WTF!!!! Thanks for the info dump man at least there's actually more context to the story. Sucks that they skipped over it in the manhwa.

My only hope is that this scene is revisited in the main story because Haneul had promised she'd let him touch it any time and he does it regularly partially to tease her with the sudden stimulation (she gets really mad when he does it in public with the final straw in a study session revoking his "any time" permit) and to satisfy the both of them (when she's feeling really down she'll ask him to stroke it). The borderline sexual nature/depiction of this first experience is probably why it was cut but they could've just made it less explicit because this becomes a common occurrence throughout and is one of the ways they express affection for each other. There's even dialogue where one of Haneul's girl friends wants to stroke her tail but she says that it's for Kyunwoo only.

Actually rereading the webnovel MTL, they were 16 when Mongsil died so now I'm even more surprised they cut it out. Certainly not a full-fledged adult but this is a very common age for young adult stories.

 

[BrunoVilla]

Great news, the main story is now beginning and the childhood friend isn't going to disappear for a bunch of chapters like before. The previous arc was the MC fixing the flaws in his Gift because if he didn't, every single subsequent battle would literally be him cowering in bushes or something.

The timeskip in this chapter and the previous chapters skipped some important stuff that I think is important to fill in.

The clan the MC is part of is technically nobility and as such highly values pedigree. This will rear its ugly head multiple times in the story, especially because Haneul is an Ain and orphan of unknown lineage. MC's mother is a commoner who was saved from a monster attack by MC's father. The two quickly fell in love but the head of the family forbid marriage. He eventually relented after MC's father begged on his hands and knees. However, MC's father is the fifth son so his already low standing in the family fell even harder because of marriage to a commoner, especially because it was against the family's policy.

MC's mother still had to try to fulfill the responsibilities like forming alliances and connections with other prominent families at gatherings but that was impossible from the start. She would be left in tears on the way home because the only thing other noble ladies were interested in was demeaning her with various derogatory remarks like "How does it feel to marry above your status?", "The only noteworthy thing about you is your face", or "You used to work as a clerk? Here I thought you were a prost- I mean a hostess!"

The humiliation did not end there. The match that reversed the fates of MC and the male cousin was in front of the whole family. After MC accidentally injured the cousin by drawing blood and was then surprise attacked, no one stopped the match. MC's mother could only watch as MC was humiliated in front of the entire family. To rub salt in the wound, she had to apologize to the cousin's mother for MC causing an injury. The result of all this was the bullying and humiliation we see prior to MC recovering his memories.

Now that MC has taken a stand, the other families have their attention on him to try and knock him back down. His comeback is interpreted as a return to the fight for succession. This is why the head of the family confronts MC's father in the previous chapter. Up to this point MC's father had been very passive in how he handled the fight for succession. He was only interested in making sure his immediate family was happy but that won't work now that MC has kicked the hornet's nest. Whether he liked it or not, to protect MC from the interference of the other families, he had to show he wasn't going to just let them have their way. MC standing up for himself and sparking that brawl convinced MC's mother to stand up for herself too. She could not tolerate her own weakness and inability to protect her son anymore. She decided to cut her hair short to show her resolve to not accept any further humiliation from the other noble ladies (in that brawl her long hair kept getting grabbed). MC's father was the last to finally resolve himself to climb higher. This is also why MC thought the letter was a duel letter. He was keenly aware that after what he showed off at the family gathering he was going to be targeted. The manhwa left that part out to make him look dense but in the novel he very clearly outlined his reasons for assuming it was a duel.

Now the next important tidbit is that since MC's father has climbed up the social hierarchy, he can exercise more power. Of course, MC requested that he and Haneul be placed in the same class for their entire time in school. This would not have been possible before and it's actually important to Haneul growing closer with Kyunwoo and more confident in herself. She doesn't realize he pulled strings to do this and totally thinks it's fate.

Another bit is Mongshil dying. We got a panel in the manhwa but there's a big development here that was skipped over. Haneul tries to cheer Kyunwoo up by letting him touch her tail. The tail is very sensitive and important. He's very knowledgeable about rabbit biology (and just basic pet behavior) so the significance of this gesture is not lost on him. He really appreciates it and him stroking it basically becomes their first act of intimacy. I cannot believe the manhwa skipped this.

Also not sure if the next chapter will include this bit so I will spoiler it. Throughout the entirety of middle school, Kyunwoo never once received a confession. This leads him to develop the impression that Do Kyunwoo has no sex appeal. Even in his own eyes, he doesn't look dependable in the slightest but that's also due to him remembering the game's characterization. This is also why he spends so much time training. It's not just to overcome the family head. He wants to build up a ton of muscle to impress girls. In addition, he wants to dye his hair blonde, get tanned, get piercings, and get tattoos because that is what he thinks the ideal male body is. Haneul shoots him down every time (and when asked why, she just turns the question around and makes Kyunwoo realize that he would also be uncomfortable if she dyed her hair blonde, got a tan, got piercings, got tattoos, and wore extremely revealing clothing). Funny enough, she also wonders why other girls don't approach him (not that she actually wants that to happen!) because she thinks he's very dashing. She will vent about this to the various girl friends she makes later on. Neither of them realize that the two of them constantly sticking together is why (and perhaps her yandere tendencies too). What a wonderful couple XD.

Also another tidbit that the manhwa should not have left out because it's a decent piece of foreshadowing is about the Magical Animal Hat. In the novel Kyunwoo asks why Haneul's elephant is so violent and Yena says that the animal's behavior reflects the creator's temperament. Haneul actively denies that she's like the elephant but Yena insists that is how the hat works. This is a big hint to her innermost personality and yandere.

ALSO ALSO Another tidbit: Haneul at this point calls Kyunwoo's parents "Father" and "Mother". They approve.

Spoiler

training to become stronger<<<<<<<training to get girls. Yep, first time a teenager is acting like a teenager in a manhwa.

 

[74HC595]

woo, school arc begins
school arcs are good

 

[Swegcat]

Great news, the main story is now beginning and the childhood friend isn't going to disappear for a bunch of chapters like before. The previous arc was the MC fixing the flaws in his Gift because if he didn't, every single subsequent battle would literally be him cowering in bushes or something.

The timeskip in this chapter and the previous chapters skipped some important stuff that I think is important to fill in.

The clan the MC is part of is technically nobility and as such highly values pedigree. This will rear its ugly head multiple times in the story, especially because Haneul is an Ain and orphan of unknown lineage. MC's mother is a commoner who was saved from a monster attack by MC's father. The two quickly fell in love but the head of the family forbid marriage. He eventually relented after MC's father begged on his hands and knees. However, MC's father is the fifth son so his already low standing in the family fell even harder because of marriage to a commoner, especially because it was against the family's policy.

MC's mother still had to try to fulfill the responsibilities like forming alliances and connections with other prominent families at gatherings but that was impossible from the start. She would be left in tears on the way home because the only thing other noble ladies were interested in was demeaning her with various derogatory remarks like "How does it feel to marry above your status?", "The only noteworthy thing about you is your face", or "You used to work as a clerk? Here I thought you were a prost- I mean a hostess!"

The humiliation did not end there. The match that reversed the fates of MC and the male cousin was in front of the whole family. After MC accidentally injured the cousin by drawing blood and was then surprise attacked, no one stopped the match. MC's mother could only watch as MC was humiliated in front of the entire family. To rub salt in the wound, she had to apologize to the cousin's mother for MC causing an injury. The result of all this was the bullying and humiliation we see prior to MC recovering his memories.

Now that MC has taken a stand, the other families have their attention on him to try and knock him back down. His comeback is interpreted as a return to the fight for succession. This is why the head of the family confronts MC's father in the previous chapter. Up to this point MC's father had been very passive in how he handled the fight for succession. He was only interested in making sure his immediate family was happy but that won't work now that MC has kicked the hornet's nest. Whether he liked it or not, to protect MC from the interference of the other families, he had to show he wasn't going to just let them have their way. MC standing up for himself and sparking that brawl convinced MC's mother to stand up for herself too. She could not tolerate her own weakness and inability to protect her son anymore. She decided to cut her hair short to show her resolve to not accept any further humiliation from the other noble ladies (in that brawl her long hair kept getting grabbed). MC's father was the last to finally resolve himself to climb higher. This is also why MC thought the letter was a duel letter. He was keenly aware that after what he showed off at the family gathering he was going to be targeted. The manhwa left that part out to make him look dense but in the novel he very clearly outlined his reasons for assuming it was a duel.

Now the next important tidbit is that since MC's father has climbed up the social hierarchy, he can exercise more power. Of course, MC requested that he and Haneul be placed in the same class for their entire time in school. This would not have been possible before and it's actually important to Haneul growing closer with Kyunwoo and more confident in herself. She doesn't realize he pulled strings to do this and totally thinks it's fate.

Another bit is Mongshil dying. We got a panel in the manhwa but there's a big development here that was skipped over. Haneul tries to cheer Kyunwoo up by letting him touch her tail. The tail is very sensitive and important. He's very knowledgeable about rabbit biology (and just basic pet behavior) so the significance of this gesture is not lost on him. He really appreciates it and him stroking it basically becomes their first act of intimacy. I cannot believe the manhwa skipped this.

Also not sure if the next chapter will include this bit so I will spoiler it. Throughout the entirety of middle school, Kyunwoo never once received a confession. This leads him to develop the impression that Do Kyunwoo has no sex appeal. Even in his own eyes, he doesn't look dependable in the slightest but that's also due to him remembering the game's characterization. This is also why he spends so much time training. It's not just to overcome the family head. He wants to build up a ton of muscle to impress girls. In addition, he wants to dye his hair blonde, get tanned, get piercings, and get tattoos because that is what he thinks the ideal male body is. Haneul shoots him down every time (and when asked why, she just turns the question around and makes Kyunwoo realize that he would also be uncomfortable if she dyed her hair blonde, got a tan, got piercings, got tattoos, and wore extremely revealing clothing). Funny enough, she also wonders why other girls don't approach him (not that she actually wants that to happen!) because she thinks he's very dashing. She will vent about this to the various girl friends she makes later on. Neither of them realize that the two of them constantly sticking together is why (and perhaps her yandere tendencies too). What a wonderful couple XD.

Also another tidbit that the manhwa should not have left out because it's a decent piece of foreshadowing is about the Magical Animal Hat. In the novel Kyunwoo asks why Haneul's elephant is so violent and Yena says that the animal's behavior reflects the creator's temperament. Haneul actively denies that she's like the elephant but Yena insists that is how the hat works. This is a big hint to her innermost personality and yandere.

ALSO ALSO Another tidbit: Haneul at this point calls Kyunwoo's parents "Father" and "Mother". They approve.

Where can I read the source material?

 

[NoctyrneSAGA]

Where can I read the source material?

Source is in Korean if that's what you mean.

There's a couple sites with MTL

Early chapters on noblemtl and later chapters on faqwiki. This chapter is approximately 36 in nobelmtl.

 

[Rafalga]

I don't expect any romance from this anytime soon. Maybe last 2 chapters or epilogue extra. He literally sees her as a plot point that needs to be salvaged with care to avoid bad end.

 

[NoctyrneSAGA]

I don't expect any romance from this anytime soon. Maybe last 2 chapters or epilogue extra. He literally sees her as a plot point that needs to be salvaged with care to avoid bad end.

I encourage you to stick it out because he doesn't just see her as a time bomb to guard anymore. Depending on how faithful the manhwa is adapting the novel, at this point he's still holding himself back because of their class differences. It certainly doesn't take the last 2 chapters for the temperature between them to rise. And in fact, even in this arc they draw the anger of jealous singles with their public affection. I could go on but then that would spoil way too much.

 

[hafizrosly]

I really didnt expect the time skip after i complained bout it last time lmao.

Great to see we are approaching main story

 

[TheResearchGuy]

the academy city sounds alot like kivotos lol

 

[Ahamilton]

Big thanks to NocturyneSAGA for the extra details. I went looking for a translation of the WN but Novelupdates didn’t list either of the sites you listed.

 

[Terrate]

His rabbit died? Bro…

 

[NoctyrneSAGA]

Big thanks to NocturyneSAGA for the extra details. I went looking for a translation of the WN but Novelupdates didn’t list either of the sites you listed.

Probably because they're MTL and not real TLs. If an actual group could pick it up that'd be great because I think the story and characters deserve it.

 

[Alcove]

Probably because they're MTL and not real TLs. If an actual group could pick it up that'd be great because I think the story and characters deserve it.

What’s the difference between TL and MTL if you don’t mind me asking? I’m newer to the manga/LN community (like four months maybe) so I’m not familiar with the term yet