I Became the Protagonist’s Favorite

I tried to refute Chae-a’s shocking statement, “The signature looks like a worm,” by explaining why it didn’t resemble one, but…

To be honest, even I had to admit it kinda looked like a worm, so I couldn’t say anything.

Still feeling wronged, I weakly protested in a tiny voice…

“It’s not… It’s not a worm…”

Chae-a tilted her head in confusion before smiling brightly and replying…

“Huh? W-what?! No way!”

“…”

I deflated like a punctured balloon, but Yuna patted my head and complimented my signature…

“It doesn’t look like a worm. Your sign is nice.”

While that gave me a little hope, I soon realized Yuna didn’t really know what a proper signature was either, and she started curling up while making “eek” sounds.

Feeling an immense sadness as my tail petted my head, I shook it off and regained my composure…

Just then, Seoa tilted her head saying “Hm?” and started watching my phone intently. She then began making hand gestures similar to signing.

Tap tap.

Though it was more like smacking the phone with her palm than actual signing, she seemed very satisfied, so I decided not to say anything. Finding Seoa’s concentration adorable, I giggled until Han Arin turned around and spoke…

“Hae-un, do you think you can give autographs to the fans coming to the signing event?”

Considering the current issue briefly, I replied honestly…

“Chae-a said it looks like a worm, so people might not be able to read it.”

“Hmm? Oh, that’s fine. The signature itself isn’t really important anyway.”

With Han Arin’s words concluding that the signature wasn’t crucial for the fan signing event, we arrived at the association…

* * *

Regardless, since we were having a fan signing event, some practice seemed necessary. So I seriously told the kids in front of me…

“How about we practice signing?”

Yuna was the first to respond, excitedly running over…

“Okay!”

Next was Chae-a, who after finishing her song wiped her forehead dramatically…

“Haeuni might not understand yet, but we have to work hard like this!”

What’s the connection between singing and working hard? Though unclear to me, I nodded along with Chae-a’s unique logic. Meanwhile, Seoa hugged me tightly, giggling “Hehe?”

Deciding to practice together, I explained…

“So how do we sign?”

At Yuna’s question, I showed them the signature I’d practiced in the car while laughing…

“Yeah. You write your name like… Don’t write straight, just scribble around like this!”

Thinking about it while explaining, why does a signature become all squiggly? My theory that it happens when trying to sign quickly emerged, though being just speculation, I shrugged it off.

“So you do it like this!”

Assuming Chae-a, Yuna, and Seoa probably couldn’t write their names yet, I deliberately wrote each of their names for them to copy. Then I let them write however they wanted. Thinking interfering too much would diminish their interest, I stayed silent. Soon…

Chae-a happily showed me her finished signature with a grin…

“Ta-da!”

Looking at it curiously…

She’d drawn three wriggling worms.

‘So apparently seeing my signature in the car completely ingrained the image of worms for signatures.’

I briefly considered telling her it wasn’t correct but remembering artists who draw pictures instead of signing, and not wanting to stifle Chae-a’s creativity, I praised her…

“Yeah…”

Chae-a, delighted by my praise, grinned wider and started drawing more worms. Watching the growing collection of worms, I blinked awkwardly before looking away…

‘Anyway, Yuna’s doing incredibly well.’

Her writing was so neat, I’d believe an adult did it. Realizing Yuna had amazing handwriting skills, I watched in admiration when Seoa tugged on my sleeve…

“Hmm?”

Seeing Seoa proudly showing me mysterious squiggly lines, I understood she wanted praise too, so I petted her head…

“Seoa’s doing great too…”

“Yay!”

Smiling happily, Seoa nodded and continued creating more mysterious squiggly lines. Watching the kids again, I decided to practice harder myself…

* * *

After about an hour of practicing, Han Arin informed me about the signing event details…

“It’ll be held at your Lair tomorrow at lunchtime. Is that okay?”

Tomorrow at lunch?

Surprised by the unexpectedly quick schedule, nearby Seorin awkwardly laughed and asked Han Arin…

“That seems a bit rushed…”

Not sure if it’s fortunate or not, but Seorin perfectly expressed my thoughts, so I hugged my tail and vigorously nodded. Thinking about it, holding it at lunch tomorrow felt rather sudden.

So I sent a signal suggesting more time would be better, when Han Arin explained why it was rushed…

“If we schedule with too much leeway, there could be security issues. Opening without prior announcement seems better.”

“Ah.”

Listening to Han Arin, Seorin silently nodded in agreement after seemingly recalling something…

“Definitely.”

“Yeah. And if we’re short on people, we can ask Perseus for help, so continuing as planned seems best.”

Honestly, from just that explanation, all I could infer was scheduling the fan signing event with extra time could cause problems…

I stared silently for a moment before shaking my head and hugging my tail…

‘I don’t fully understand, but it’s probably related to terrorism.’

Judging from the evasive language, use of the word ‘security’, and Han Arin glancing at me, it likely involved preventing terrorism.

‘Still, we don’t necessarily have to hold it.’

Since fan signing events can be held anytime and aren’t mandatory, considering the circumstances, skipping it might be better. So I cautiously suggested to Han Arin and Seorin that we didn’t need to hold it…

“If there’s a problem, we don’t have to do it…”

At that, Han Arin and Seorin simultaneously turned to me and firmly stated…

“No.”

“It’s mandatory.”

What made them both react like that…?

I truly couldn’t comprehend it. After a long while, I only wagged my tail anxiously…

* * *

Even though the fan signing event is at lunchtime, there’s plenty to prepare, so we’ve been busy since morning.

Staring blankly at the swaying ponytail beside me, just as I thought I’d gotten completely used to it…

Seorin suddenly approached and revealed a shocking fact…

“I saw earlier, but loads of Hunters gathered at your Lair.”

“Huh?”

Confused beyond comprehension, I blinked repeatedly. How could so many Hunters gather just to get my signature when I’m just an ordinary person… no, a Half-Dragon?

‘This makes no sense…’

While pondering in bewilderment, Seorin chuckled and continued…

“Don’t feel too pressured. I’m a Hunter too, right? From a Hunter’s perspective, this feels like an unprecedentedly fun event, so it’s actually a good thing.”

Still confused, I tilted my head showing my puzzlement, then Seorin picked me up and said…

“Anyway, just go and have fun. There’s no need to worry too much.”

“Ara…”

“That’s right. Shall we go?”

Nodding in agreement, Seorin carried me towards my Lair…

‘Honestly, I don’t think many will come though…’

While knowing there are Hunters who like me, I still doubted they’d attend such a sudden fan signing event…

After all, I’m an outsider, merely someone different within the Association…

‘So even if few come…’

Deciding not to worry too much about it and looking ahead…

An unimaginable number of people were lined up…

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