CHAPTER 179: LEONA’S MISUNDERSTANDING [1]

Rin and Leona walked side by side, quietly weaving through the morning crowd of students on campus.

They didn’t talk. Just the sound of footsteps and casual chatter from others filled the air.

Leona kept sneaking glances at him from the corner of her eye. Her mind wasn’t on the path ahead but on what had happened the night before.

Rin had taken a call—from his sister.

At the time, she hadn’t thought much of it. But the longer she watched him talk, the more obvious it became.

The look on his face. His tone. The way he tensed at certain words.

To her, it was clear:

Rin was afraid of his older sister, Rachel Evans.

Or... at least that’s what she thought.

And after he’d fallen asleep, curiosity had gotten the better of her. She stayed up late, quietly tapping away at her phone under the covers.

She couldn’t tell Rin about it, of course. She’d basically gone snooping into his family without asking.

But what she found had surprised her.

[This year’s best rookie B-rank hero, Rachel Evans. After losing her mother before starting hero academy, she took on the role of caretaker for her younger brother and supported their father.]

[Due to stress, there were occasional fights between her and her brother.]

That part was from a year-old magazine interview. A casual remark tucked in near the end.

[My father was always a stoic man, so it wasn’t unbearable growing up, but I worry my little brother didn’t receive enough warmth.]

Leona had read those lines again and again, her fingers tightening around her phone.

So the younger brother was Rin.

Everything started to make more sense now.

If Rachel had lost their mother before enrolling, then Rin must have still been in elementary school—young, confused, and suddenly missing the presence of both parents. Their father seemed distant. Their sister, though she meant well, had chosen the life of a hero and left home.

Now that Leona thought about it, she realized she’d never seen Rin talk about his family. Not once.

She stole another glance at him as they walked.

His expression was calm. Neutral, even. But there was something in the way his gaze stayed a little lower than usual, as if he were carrying a quiet weight that never left his shoulders.

He must’ve felt lonely growing up.

That realization made her chest tighten just a little.

Leona looked forward again, biting her lip.

She couldn’t exactly tell him what she knew. It wasn’t the right time—and he’d definitely be mad if he found out she’d looked into his personal life like that.

Still, her admiration for Rachel hadn’t changed.

But now, it was mixed with something more complicated.

Understanding. And maybe... a quiet empathy for Rin.

"Rin probably doesn’t have the best childhood memories... That’s why he never talks about his past. He probably doesn’t want anyone to know."

She understood that feeling. That need to keep something private, hidden—not out of shame, but to protect yourself.

She had her own secret, too.

Of course, the nature of their secrets was different, but the weight of them? That felt similar.

If people found out Rin came from a wealthy family, raised by a single father, and had a famous sister like known as Rachel Evans—what would happen?

Some would envy him.

Some would pity him.

And the rest? They’d gossip, endlessly.

He’d be dragged into all kinds of rumors. He’d become "that kid."

And from what she’d seen—especially from the whole mess with Kiera earlier in the semester—Rin hated that kind of attention.

He didn’t like being misunderstood.

Didn’t like being at the center of drama.

So the fact that he told her, of all people, that he was Rachel Evans’s younger brother...

That had to mean something.

’He must’ve told me because he trusts me.’

It wasn’t something she took lightly.

She looked down at her hands, fingers loosely clasped over her notebook.

"What are you going to do, being so kind, Rin?" she muttered to herself with a small smile. "What if I had bad intentions?"

But even as she said it, there was no bite to her words.

Instead, there was warmth.

Affection.

It was a little silly, maybe, how proud she felt.

But he’d chosen to trust her—and that mattered more than anything else.

Her lips curved into a small smile as she thought back to that morning.

The way he ate breakfast, awkward and self-conscious, like he wasn’t used to someone taking care of him.

She wanted to see that again.

Wanted him to eat proper meals, not just convenience store junk.

She wanted him to rely on her, even just a little.

"I should cook more often," she whispered. "Make sure he starts his mornings right."

She gave a short, firm nod—like she was committing to some grand mission—and looked out the window as sunlight poured into the classroom.

Somewhere along the way, her admiration for Rachel Evans had transformed.

Now, it wasn’t just about the hero on magazine covers.

It was about the older sister of the boy sitting next to her.

And somehow, that made all the difference.

The two of them finally reached the classroom building, and the usual lively noise of students preparing for the day filled the halls.

As they climbed the stairs, Leona sneaked one more glance at Rin.

He was stretching his arms over his head, yawning slightly—clearly still not fully awake.

"...You didn’t sleep well?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Huh? Ah, yeah," Rin scratched the back of his head. "Had a weird dream. I think it was because of our late-night talk. You kept babbling about wanting to meet my sister or something."

"I wasn’t babbling," Leona muttered, her voice low. "I was being sincere..."

"Hm? What was that?"

"Nothing. Just go already, sleepyhead."

Rin gave her a suspicious look but didn’t push further.

A few minutes passed in silence as settled.

Then Leona spoke up again.

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Thanks for the reading it.