Chapter 27: Making Things Right

Kael woke up earlier than usual the following morning.

For a few minutes, he remained in bed, staring at the ceiling while thinking about his argument with Sera. They had apologized to each other the previous day, and they had agreed on a plan for his work and training. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he had left something unfinished.

He had been so busy explaining why he wanted to become stronger that he had barely listened to what Sera was trying to tell him.

The worst part was that she hadn’t asked him to give up.

She had only wanted him to think about what he was doing.

A small noise came from the other side of the room. Noah was beginning to stir, moving his arms inside his crib.

Kael got out of bed and went to check on him.

"Good morning, little man," he whispered.

Noah responded with a few soft noises.

"Yes, I know. It’s early. You can complain to your mother about the schedule later."

He picked Noah up and checked his diaper before settling into the chair near the window. By the time Sera woke up, Kael had already changed him and was trying to keep him comfortable.

She stopped at the bedroom doorway when she saw them.

"You’re awake early."

"So is your son."

"Our son," Sera corrected as she approached.

Kael smiled. "Our son. I was hoping he’d let me sleep a little longer, but apparently, he has other plans."

Sera checked Noah’s face before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Did he need changing?"

"Yes. I think he was waiting for the perfect moment to wake me up."

"He’s very considerate."

"Extremely."

They shared a small laugh, but Kael noticed that Sera seemed a little quieter than usual. She wasn’t avoiding him, and she responded when he spoke, but their conversation didn’t flow as easily as it had before the argument.

He couldn’t blame her for that.

After feeding Noah and putting him back in his crib, Kael started preparing breakfast. Sera joined him a few minutes later, and they worked together without discussing anything serious.

Kael was cutting vegetables when he finally decided to speak.

"About yesterday..."

Sera looked up from the eggs she was preparing.

"What about it?"

"I’ve been thinking about what you said."

She waited.

Kael put down the knife.

"I shouldn’t have acted like you were trying to stop me from becoming a hunter. You weren’t. You were asking me to think about how much I was taking on, and I treated it like you didn’t believe in me."

Sera turned off the stove before facing him fully.

"I was worried about you."

"I know that now. I should have listened before getting defensive."

She studied his expression for a moment.

"Thank you for saying that."

Kael nodded. He had thought about apologizing several times since waking up, but saying it aloud was harder than he expected. Not because he didn’t mean it, but because he couldn’t undo the way he had spoken to her.

"I still want to become a hunter," he added. "That’s not going to change. But I don’t want to make decisions that affect both of us without talking to you first."

Sera leaned against the counter.

"I don’t expect you to ask for permission every time you want to change something about your training. I just want us to discuss decisions that affect our routine."

"That’s fair."

"And if I disagree with you, it doesn’t automatically mean I’m against your goal."

Kael nodded again. "I’ll try to remember that."

"Good. Because I don’t want us to start arguing every time one of us has a different opinion."

"Neither do I."

She returned to the stove, and Kael resumed cutting the vegetables.

The conversation wasn’t long, but he felt better afterward. They hadn’t magically solved every problem between them, yet they had managed to understand each other a little more.

Breakfast was simple that morning. Kael made eggs and toast while Sera prepared a small portion of fruit. They ate together at the table, with Noah sleeping nearby.

After they finished, Kael brought out his notebook.

Sera glanced at it and sighed.

"Please tell me you’re not making another schedule."

"Not a new one. I want to look at the one we already have."

"Why?"

"Because I think we should test it properly before changing anything else."

Sera seemed satisfied with that answer. She pulled her chair closer and looked over the page.

Their existing routine accounted for Kael’s morning training, his afternoon shifts, household chores, and the time they needed to care for Noah. It also included periods when Sera could work on her drawings without being interrupted.

They had agreed to test it for a week, but Kael had already started planning extra exercises before he had even returned to work.

"I got ahead of myself," he admitted.

"A little."

"All right, more than a little."

Sera smiled.

Kael pointed to the afternoon section. "My shifts are only four hours for now. I’ll see how I feel after work before deciding whether anything needs to change."

"And if you come home tired?"

"I rest."

"And if you come home and immediately start doing push-ups?"

"I will be reminded of this conversation."

"By me."

"I had a feeling."

Sera laughed, and the last of the awkwardness between them began to fade.

They spent a few more minutes discussing their schedule. Kael agreed to keep his current exercises instead of adding extra sessions, while Sera promised to tell him when she needed help rather than silently trying to manage everything herself.

They also agreed that if the routine stopped working, they would change it together.

Once they were satisfied, Kael closed the notebook.

"That wasn’t so difficult."

Sera gave him a look. "We could have done it yesterday if you had listened."

"You’re not going to let me forget that, are you?"

"Not anytime soon."

He laughed and stood up to clear the table.

While he washed the dishes, Sera returned to her sketchbook. She had been working on a design for a small living room, and Kael noticed that she had added several details since the previous evening.

He dried his hands and looked over her shoulder.

"That’s coming along well."

Sera glanced at him. "You think so?"

"Yes. I like the shelves near the window."

"I wasn’t sure about those. I thought they might make the room look crowded."

"They don’t look crowded to me."

She studied the drawing again. "I might change the arrangement a little."

"Then you should try it. You don’t have to decide everything in one sitting."

Sera looked at him, then smiled.

"Was that advice for me or for yourself?"

Kael considered the question.

"Both, probably."

She laughed and returned to her work.

He went to check on Noah, who had started moving in his crib. After making sure his son was comfortable, Kael sat nearby and let Sera continue drawing.

He had been thinking about how to protect his family, but yesterday’s argument had reminded him that he wasn’t the only person in the apartment with plans for the future.

Sera wanted to build something of her own. She wanted to explore her interests, make decisions without her family’s approval, and find out what kind of life she wanted beyond the responsibilities of motherhood.

Kael wanted to support her in that, but he also realized that support didn’t always mean offering money or trying to solve a problem. Sometimes it meant making sure she had the time and space to do what mattered to her.

After a while, Sera put down her pencil and stretched her fingers.

"I think I’ll work on this again later."

"Do you want to take a break?"

"Yes. My hand is starting to hurt."

Kael nodded. "I’ll watch Noah for a while. You can rest."

Sera hesitated. "Are you sure? You wanted to look into the Hunter Association again today."

"I can do that later. I’m not going to forget how to read a website in a few hours."

She smiled. "All right. I’ll make some tea."

They settled into a comfortable routine for the rest of the morning. Kael looked after Noah while Sera took a short break, and later they switched when Kael wanted to review his notes. Neither of them tried to do everything at once.

It wasn’t a perfect arrangement. Noah became fussy shortly before lunch, and Kael had to put his research aside while Sera helped him settle their son. But they handled the interruption without blaming each other.

That afternoon, Kael prepared for his next shift at the convenience store. He checked the time, packed what he needed, and made sure Sera knew when he expected to return.

Before leaving, he stopped beside the sofa.

"I’ll message you when I’m on my way home."

Sera looked up from her sketchbook. "All right. Don’t rush if the roads are busy."

"I won’t."

"And remember to eat something during your break."

Kael smiled. "Yes, boss."

She rolled her eyes. "I’m serious."

"I know. I’ll eat."

He left the apartment with a lighter feeling than he had carried the previous day.

The disagreement hadn’t changed his goal. He still wanted to become stronger, take the aptitude test, and find out whether he could build a future in the hunter world.

But he no longer felt that he had to increase his training immediately to prove he was serious.

There would be time to improve. For now, he needed to return to work, follow the routine he had agreed on, and learn what his body could handle.

More importantly, he needed to keep talking to Sera instead of assuming that he already understood what she meant.

When Kael returned home that evening, he found Sera sitting on the sofa with Noah beside her. Her sketchbook was open on the table, and she was comparing two versions of the same design.

"How was work?" she asked.

"Busy, but manageable."

"Are you tired?"

"A little."

Sera watched him for a moment, perhaps waiting to see what he would do next.

Kael walked past the training space he had cleared in the living room and sat down beside her.

"I think I’ll leave the exercises until tomorrow."

Sera smiled and moved the sketchbook so he could see the drawings.

"Good. Now tell me which one looks better."

Kael studied both designs carefully.

"The second one."

"Why?"

He pointed to the shelves near the window. "This arrangement leaves more space in the middle of the room."

Sera looked at the drawing again and nodded.

"I was thinking the same thing."

They continued discussing the design while Noah rested nearby. Their conversation wandered from furniture to the cost of setting up a small workspace, then to what they might need to change as their son grew older.

Nothing important was decided that evening. They didn’t need to make another schedule or solve another problem.

For once, they could simply talk.

Kael had spent a long time believing that becoming stronger meant preparing himself to handle every difficulty alone. He was beginning to understand that building a stable family required something different.

It required him to listen, to admit when he was wrong, and to trust Sera enough to let her share the decisions that affected their lives.

He still had a long way to go, both as a father and as someone who hoped to become a hunter.

But at least he no longer felt that he had to make the journey alone.