41 Christmas Day (1/2)

December 24, 11:00, the people living in White Canary Village has started to come out of their houses to go to the village square to celebrate Christmas together. They all wore winter clothing, with some clothing designed for Christmas.

Hayden, along with his family and Christopher, similarly walked to the square. Once they arrived, there were many people gathering around, the rows of tables surrounding the fountain in the middle filled with food. There were also tables scattered all around the village square.

Entering the festive square, the chairwoman of the village greeted them. The chairwoman was an amicable old woman that went by the name of Baek Jiyeon, offering for them to be introduced. As new people and foreigners, Hayden and family didn't dare to decline. What's the harm in knowing the people in your own village, regardless if it wasn't your actual home, right?

”Hey!” The chairwoman greeted a family of five with glee, hugging who seemed like the mother of the family. ”This is the new family that bought old man Si's house, the Emperador Family. They're Filipinos.”

Hayden and family shook hands with the other family. Christopher went back to back and translated the conversations between Hayden's parents and the other party's.

As for Hayden, he simply shook hands with the children of the two with a polite smile. Unfortunately, a 13-year-old boy recognized him, ”Supremacy!? You are Supremacy, right? I'm a big fan! Can I take a picture with you?”

With a wry smile, Hayden nodded, obliging. In all honesty, Hayden was surprised that he hasn't encountered any hater yet, only supporters and fans. There were so many hate comments online, saying that Hayden was too young to be a gamer and all that, stating that he should study first.

Well, boy were they slapped by an article from a major online news publishing firm when they published an article about Hayden's academic achievements and the fact that he was in a Scholar Academy, the most prestigious set of academies in Philippines' secondary education.

'Maybe that's the reason why there're no haters that has surfaced yet…' Hayden didn't want to get things over his head, hence, he simply dropped the matter, swearing to not think of it again. 'Let's just say that haters are merely waiting for me to make a single mistake, and that's when they strike…'

Moving on, Hayden shook hands with a girl of his age, who immediately became flustered when their eyes met. Hayden ignored this, smiling calmly. The girl was pretty for her age, probably even school belle-level, it was just that…Hayden had a girlfriend that had beauty that cannot be measured by common sense, basically, if it was in the medieval ages, Eun-ha's beauty could bring entire cities down.

He then shook hands with a person that was at least two years older than him, introducing themselves to each other. Due to the earlier commotion from their little brother, the three recognized Hayden, an up and coming celebrity in the world of gaming.

A few seconds of polite introduction and small talk later, the three bade goodbye to the family of five, with the chairwoman leading them to another family.

With that, the trio, plus Christopher, went on to be introduced to the dwellers of the neighborhood. In the middle of the conversation of the fourth family, which was a family of three, Eun-ha and her family arrived.

It appeared that they were already familiar with Eun-ha, numbing them from her beauty. Needless to say, there were still men of similar age and as young as Hayden that looked like frogs lusting over swan meat.

'Damn, that Fox's Charm is really troublesome…' Internally, Hayden was cursing Eun-ha's otherworldly beauty and the passive of her Ability, literally turning her into a woman that cannot be ignored no matter what.

The family of four of Eun-ha's family went around, greeting other families. Many men of the other families had flushed faces when faced with Eun-ha, causing Hayden to roll his eyes as he observed using Divine Perception while talking with his peers.

Minutes passed, after being introduced to the family of three, they were brought by the chairwoman to the family of Eun-ha. When Eun-ha's father and mother laid eyes upon Hayden, they rapidly blinked.

Clearly, they recognized Hayden from the time he picked Eun-ha from her house. Because of this, Hayden involuntarily shivered. It was a good thing that he was used to Eun-ha's Fox's Charm, if not, he would have been too nervous to even greet her parents.

When Eun-ha and Hayden's eyes met, they smiled and nodded at each other. Suddenly, the chairwoman spoke, ”This here is the most notable inhabitant of our White Canary Village, with little Eun-ha here being a world-famous celebrity.”

Christopher translated what the chairwoman said, leading to Hayden's mother and father to be wide-eyed. Whispering to Hayden, his mother asked, ”She's the one you're dating, aren't you?”

Turning to her mother, Hayden was panicking internally. How the hell did she know? Did mothers have some kind of instinct that gave them this kind of power? ”No, mom, she's not. She's an idol of the world-famous CHORUS, do you really think I have a chance with her?”

Shrugging, his mother ignored Hayden. Meanwhile, Eun-ha, who heard of Hayden and his mother's interaction, looked away, her face wanting to burst out of laughter. Seeing this, Hayden exasperatedly rolled his eyes.

”Ahh, so it's him,” Eun-ha's brother, who was standing beside her, whispered and teased. ”You have pretty good tastes, Eun-ha.”

”What are you talking about?” Eun-ha rotated her head towards her brother. This time, it was her turn to be disconcerted. ”I don't even know him.”

”Sure, sure,” Eun-ha's brother smiled knowingly, nodding his head. ”I believe you, I believe you.”

”You…” Not paying attention to her brother anymore, Eun-ha saw Hayden looking at the ground, holding in his laughter.

On that note, the chairwoman introduced Eun-ha's family of four and Hayden's family of three. Glancing at Christopher, Eun-ha was shocked. What the heck? A Level 3 wielder as a translator?

When Hayden and Eun-ha were introduced, shaking each other's hands, Eun-ha looked at Hayden with confusion. Picking up what she was confused about, Hayden whispered beside her ear silently, ”That's Kidlat, the assassin I told you about. He works for me now. His real name is Christopher.”

Hearing this, Eun-ha blinked her eyes. Fighting two Level 3 wielders at the same day as a Level 2 wielder and even making the first one a subordinate? Where in the world would this situation occur?

”Nice to meet you, Hayden.” Unable to make sense of Hayden's monstrosity, she opted to throw it out of the window. Eun-ha spoke, letting go of Hayden's hands. ”Welcome to White Canary Village.”

”Thank you, Eun-ha-ssi.” Hayden nodded.

In that instance, Hayden's ears picked up what he would call a 'disaster,' from Eun-ha's parents. Similarly, Eun-ha's face paled when she heard of this.

Their parents were actually talking about them, and how Hayden picked up Eun-ha for dinner! Hayden's mother shot a fierce glare towards Hayden, in response, Hayden crossed his arms subtly, his eyes pleading, ”Don't, mom… just don't.”

Thankfully, his mom did not talk about how he texted them that he was going to be late, otherwise, they would be in a whole other mess. Along with that, the two families… hit it off, talking about their lives. It looked as if… the two families tacitly agreed that Eun-ha and Hayden was good enough for each other.

Wearing an anxious forced smile, Hayden stared at Eun-ha, who stared at him as well. They were both breaking out in cold sweat. Abruptly, Eun-ha's brother wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders.

”You two, our families are already getting along this well, why not just reveal your relationship,” Eun-ha's brother spoke bemusedly. ”It's not like they're opposed to you two. It's not like you two's financial situations are bad. Little brother can most definitely already confer Eun-ha a good life even if she isn't a world-class celebrity. One's a dependable young man, and the other is a beautiful woman, what else would parents want for their future in-laws?”

Hayden's face twitched. Although he was being praised, Eun-ha's brother was all too touchy-feely! Not even Daniel can wrap his arm around Hayden in this manner, and that was his best friend!

”Oppa,” Eun-ha spoke, her tone containing faint hint of annoyance. ”Can you not? You do know what would happen if people around us knew we were dating, right?”

”Hah! I knew it!” Eun-ha's brother spoke. The two fell for Eun-ha's brother's trap! ”That's all I need. I'll leave you two alone now.”

Watching Eun-ha's brother departing off towards a family, Hayden shook his head. 'Her brother… They really are related.'

With her brother leaving, Eun-ha was finally relieved. ”Well, he's right though… Is it still wise to hide it with our parents?”

”What do you think?” Hayden honestly asked. ”For me, I guess there's no harm if our parents knew… But for other families in the neighborhood... That's who and what I'm worried about.”

”Hey,” Eun-ha looked at Hayden. ”You do know we can't keep our relationship to the public for the rest of our lives, right?”

”I know,” Hayden nodded. Turning to Eun-ha, he said, ”But do you really think it's not the right time yet? I mean, we've been together for, what, three days? The world isn't ready. You underestimate the power of rumors and how much people twist and exaggerate those rumors. On top of that, do you really think your fans would approve of you dating a 16-year-old? It would destroy you. I don't care if it was only me, but you, it would destroy you, the fame you've built, your reputation.”

Thinking up to here, Eun-ha frowned. Hayden was right. Even if Hayden was considered an adult, he was still a minor, which he doubtlessly did not appear as. Taking a deep breath, Eun-ha spoke, ”However, you do agree that we can reveal to our parents our relationship, right?”

”Of course,” Hayden's face became grim. ”They're already conversing about us anyways, it's much better to come out clean in these types of situation.”