A deafening silence pressed into Lee Jaehyun, crushing him beneath its weight. It was usually that way whenever he had to attend lunch with his father, which contributed heavily to why he was staring through the raised window of his car in a daze, longing to rush out of it and avoid the whole mess that would end up coming out of it. He had thought he had managed to escape it after getting admitted into Prestige Academy, only having no choice but to be a part of it during the holidays, but it seemed that was not the case. The call had come in early this morning, and his opinion on the matter had not been taken into consideration. When his father asked to meet, who was he to dare say otherwise.

  Jaehyun sighed and glanced at his phone. The message he had written, directed to the group chat created by Merlin for the drama to be performed during the festival, stared back at him.

  Since the group was put together hastily, their practice was scheduled to commence later in the evening, so in hindsight he had ample time to attend the lunch and make it back just in time to not miss it all completely.

  However, Jaehyun knew his father very well. He might not even be making it back to the academy today. There was a good chance of that.

  If only mother was around… Jaehyun clicked his tongue silently and sent the message; then he immediately put his phone on airplane mode, and turned it off. Consequences scared him. And he was not exactly in the right place of mind to be bearing any.

  “Is it a restaurant this time, Mr. Chon?” Jaehyun asked his driver, the silence becoming too much for him to bear.

  “No, young master,” the man replied, swerving onto a street to the left. A familiar one. “Home.”

  Jaehyun’s forehead creased.

  Lunch at home only happened when his father was, well, at home. And the man rarely was unless there was some special occasion going on. Most of the time, that involved his grandfather being present. And if there was anyone Jaehyun didn’t enjoy sitting down with more than his father, it was his grandfather. At least his father would ignore him for the most part; his grandfather, however, would set his eyes on him all through the meal. It was overwhelming.

  The ride didn’t take much longer. Perhaps that was because Jaehyun ended up dozing off just from the thought of the stress that would come from having something as simple as lunch. By the time he woke up, Mr. Chon had parked the car just before the entrance to the white house looking down upon him.

  Jaehyun sighed and came down from the car. At once, his mood brightened.

  “Oppa!!” a silvery voice cut through the silence in the compound, and following it was a little girl rushing down the outdoor stairs, the length of her white gown making her a lot slower than she would have liked.

  “Harin?” Jaehyun said with a smile, dropping to one knee and opening his arms as she rushed into him. “What are you doing here? Ouch. Why did you do that?”

  Harin pouted, her fingers still pressing together upon Jaehyun’s cheek.

  “You didn’t call,” she grumbled.

  Jaehyun blinked and sighed. He made sure to call her every week, but since he had been on a Tower raid, he had missed out on doing that. It was his fault.

  “I’m sorry.” He placed his hand on her hair, patting it gently. “I don’t have any excuses.”

  Harin pursed her lips, as though unwilling to accept her elder brother’s apology. Jaehyun was well versed in that tactic of hers. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, “Send me a list of what you want and I’ll get them for you. Is that okay?”

  Harin’s drab eyes widened as she smiled. “Yes!”

  A clap called their attention from each other to the woman standing at the top of the stairs, arms folded. She was the spitting image of Harin just with an older look. Jaehyun rose to his feet and bowed.

  “Good afternoon, mother,” he greeted. “I didn’t realize you were back.”

  She snorted. “Stop with that nonsense and come hug your mother. What? Am I too old to be treated like my daughter?”

  Jaehyun smiled. “Of course not.” He walked up the stairs and gave his mother a hug, pressing his head deeply into her chest so he could hear her heartbeat. “I missed you, Mrs. Jiwon.”

  “I missed you too, my love.” She rubbed his hair. Then she pulled him gently away, eyeing him from head to toe. She shrugged. “Six marks.”

  Jaehyun frowned. “Six?” He looked at himself. “That’s absurd. I’m dressed well.”

  “Black t-shirt and beige pants?” Jiwon scoffed. “Where did you get the dress code? Pinterest?”

  Jaehyun stiffened and reddened. She had caught him.

  Jiwon laughed. “You haven’t changed.”

  Jaehyun cleared his throat and picked Harin up, who was hugging his leg.

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  “When did you get back from France?” he asked as they walked into the house, taking off his shoes at the entrance and putting on a pair of clogs instead.

  “Yesterday,” Jiwon answered. “You did not think we would miss your festival, did you? My son’s becoming a Mage; I should be present to witness every step of the journey.”

  Jaehyun halted, his throat suddenly having a lump in it. “Is that what this lunch is about?” he asked. “The tournament?”

  Jiwon glanced over her shoulder. “I’m interested in the festival, my love.”

  “Not you,” said Jaehyun. “Father and grandfather. They’re interested in the tournament, aren’t they?” He pressed his lips together. “I should have known that was what this was about.”

  “And I see no reason why that should warrant such a displeased look from you,” an assertive voice said from a corner, drawing a sharp gasp from Jaehyun as he glanced in its direction. There stood his father, Lee Seojoon. Tall, imposing, with black hair and black eyes, and a glowering look that rarely ever left his face.

  “Father,” said Jaehyun after a moment. “Good afternoon.”

  “Hopefully it will.”

  “Honey,” Jiwon upbraided.

  Seojoon sighed and turned away. “Make sure to wipe that look from your face. I will not have you displeasing your grandfather today.”

  …

  It was halfway through lunch that the food lost its taste to Jaehyun. He had managed to keep his annoyance from bleeding into his expression, and most especially his tone whenever his grandfather asked him a question. But now that they were slowly treading into unwanted territory, Jaehyun’s chest was beginning to feel heavy with each passing second.

  “It’s nice that your Cohort has finally taken first in its ranking, but your academic ranking isn’t anything to gloat about,” Lee Taeyang began, unable to separate the authoritative tone he used while in office from that which a grandfather should possess. “You should be first.”

  Jaehyun wanted to remain silent. No reply was a good reply, as it meant there was no way anything he said would be taken badly. But his father shot him a glare.

  “I’m trying my best, grandfather,” he said, unable to pick up the cabbage hanging from his fork. He was no longer hungry.

  “Your best?” Taeyang sighed. He gestured at one of the maids standing close by, and she brought his tab to him. He opened a list and scrolled through it. “There are four people above you, and considering their resume, I should expect you to be better than at least three of them. But I’ll go through it just in case you have no idea who your competition is. Starting from the most notable, Kim Yiseo. A-Class Mage and Daughter of Kim Hyeonki. Hmm. She’s above you with just a single point, so I have hope that you’ll eventually be able to get past her. Regardless, you should have never been below her in the first place. Your resume trumps hers.”

  He clicked his tongue.

  “Next we have Park Yuri. Daughter of Park Ilseong.” Taeyang paused, furrowing his brows. “The academy’s headmaster?”

  “No, father,” said Seojoon. “The headmaster of Prestige Academy is Im Ilseong. It’s a common confusion as they’re both S-Class Mages.”

  “I see.” Taeyang nodded. “Then Park Yuri is a tricky one. Daughter of one of the greatest S-Class Mages of the Cataclysmic era, and granddaughter of Park Heechol, guildmaster of the Silver Dragon Guild. Second in the rankings. A-Class Mage as well. Her resume is quite similar to Kim Yiseo’s. I’d say they’re on the same level. Which means, you should be higher than both, Lee Jaehyun.”

  Jaehyun’s chest caved in. He stole a glance at his mother, reliving his childhood where he always sought out her help in these situations. Because he knew where this conversation was headed. But just like then, when his mother tried to open her mouth, she was shut down preemptively.

  “Not now, Jiwon,” said Taeyang, not taking his eyes off his tab. “Do not interrupt me.”

  His voice carried a harsher tone this time, and everyone remained silent. Even Harin. She was only eight years old, but she was quite quick on the uptake when things were going south.

  “Nora Tyrrell,” Taeyang started, and Jaehyun felt disoriented. “A-Class Mage. Very smart, I’ll give her that. Scored ninety-six percent in the academy’s theory exam. Hmm. But besides that, there’s nothing special about her. Parents are surgeons, and yet, she is topping the academic rankings. Not only that, she is one of the biggest contributors to taking the cohort you are a part of to the first position in the rankings. It wouldn’t be a reach to say she’s the best Mage in your year, Jaehyun.”

  Jaehyun gulped. He dragged his hands from the table and placed them on his lap, curling them into fists.

  “And worse,” continued Taeyang, “is her twin brother. Deficient Mage. Scored sixty-five percent in the theory exam, and somehow manages to top you in the academic rankings?” He slammed his tab on the table, shattering it to pieces and sending his plate crashing to the ground. Harin reached for her elder brother’s hand in that instant. “Do you think this is a joke?! The grandson of the president of South Korea, and son of the Guildmaster of the top rated guild in the country, fifth in the academic ranking of the most prestigious Mage Academy in the country? Are you having a laugh?”

  “Father,” Jiwon chimed in. “That’s enough. Please.”

  Taeyang raised a finger, shutting her up. “If you do not want me to do your job, then speak some sense into your child. Being an S-Class Mage isn’t enough. You have to prove that you’re worthy to assume the mantle that comes with it. I will not have the guild me and my son worked so hard to build destroyed. Set your head straight or you will no longer be the next guildmaster of the Tiger Guild.”

  “Father!” Jiwon voiced.

  “I will rather uphold the name I worked so hard for than destroy it over family bonds. That is all.” Taeyang stood up and walked out.

  Jiwon shot her husband a glare. “And you just sat and watched?”

  Seojoon glanced at her, then his son and his daughter, who both had their heads lowered.

  “Father is right,” he said, standing up too. “It is appalling that a Deficient Mage is above an S-Class Mage in the academic rankings.”

  “You know that kid isn’t just any ordinary Deficient Mage. You talked to me about him.”

  Jaehyun’s brows pulled in and he raised his head slightly to steal a look at his parents.

  They talked about Merlin? What for?

  “That has nothing to do with this,” Seojoon replied. “The boy’s prowess on-field has nothing to do with his academic rankings. Jaehyun is lacking behind. I will not support such foolery.”

  Jiwon clicked her tongue, slamming her palm on the table. “You’re a fool.”

  Seojoon’s brows furrowed, but he said nothing and turned to his son instead.

  “I am sure you’ve had enough of this back and forth; if you want to put it to an end then consider doing what is necessary.” He turned away, walked a few steps, then halted. “Contribute substantially in the tournament, take Prestige Academy to first in the Mage Academy rankings, and we shall see how things go from there.”