"I'm back!"
Hai Na pushed open the door of her family's shop and called out loudly.
Of course, she hadn't brought a key. But in a small village like theirs, keys simply weren't necessary.
On ordinary days, every household left its doors wide open. Not to mention, many families here ran small businesses of their own... Hai Na's father, for example, was the best blacksmith in the village.
Perhaps Hai Na had inherited her great strength from him. For that reason, her family was also considered somewhat wealthier than most in the village. That was why they could afford to send her to school in Bagpipe Town instead of leaving her in the village to marry young.
Now, they had only shut the door at noon because winter was cold.
Hai Na still remembered how, when she had been doing her homework, the old Hunter from next door would often burst straight through the door without even saying hello, dragging her father away to go fishing.
"Big Sister!"
A young, excited voice came from inside the house. "Mom, Big Sister's back!"
It belonged to a boy who looked about twelve or thirteen.
"Jack!"
Hai Na was overjoyed. She casually set her luggage on the floor, then crouched down and hugged the boy.
After letting go, she rubbed her brother's head with a hint of nostalgia. "You've grown quite a bit..."
In Hai Na's memory, Jack was still the little brat who ran everywhere behind her with a runny nose. Now, he could already be considered a "young man."
His brown curls were fluffy, and his yellowish-brown eyes were warm like amber. His features resembled Hai Na's by roughly seventy or eighty percent. Though village life had left his skin somewhat rough, and the tip of his nose and cheeks were