Murim Protagonist - Modern Version
Okay, this guy was obviously a ‘Murim, modern world version’ protagonist which meant there’d be annoying female figures who couldn’t do a thing themselves but were arrogant enough to believe he owed them something and send their poor bodyguards/ male relatives after him to get beaten up/ killed and idiot males who’d try and take him on to prove their ‘top dog’ status, get beat and then go running to their family/ bosses to try and take him on/ out.
For a peaceful life, she needed to steer clear of him… unfortunately, she was his ‘childhood friend’. At least she’d been a decent one rather than a leach or a bitch.
And she’d never had designs on him so there was no tension in the family over whether she’d wed him or make a good match with him or whatever.
It was just she and her father, mother having gone back to the main family with her brother, and she hadn’t been heard from since.
Father cared for her in a distant way but he was usually busy working and so not a big part of her life.
The Protagonists family and semi taken her in, he felt more like her brother than a romantic interest and she genuinely cared for him… but she wasn’t going to get in his way.
He obviously had a destiny and, if these things ran to form, would steam roll anything in his way.
Family, who were not all that supportive, included.
His father, the one who had taken care of her and made her part of the family, had been involved in an accident and was badly injured.
His mother wasn’t a bad person, per se, but she was busy caring for his younger siblings, twins, and the two took a lot of her time and energy.
Where the issue was is that his rather bitchy, snobbish younger sister who ‘married up’ to an older husband who gave her all the monies… but none of his time or attention she was a second wife and he already had an heir, had come to help ‘care’ for him.
She snapped and sniped at everyone, flaunting her wealth and rubbing it in their faces.
There was a lot of tension between bitch and mother and bitch and brother.
The only reason he was tolerating her presence at all was it was helping with the hospital bills and she KNEW it.
She was just doing her best to spread the misery as, since she was so unhappy, she felt he, who had been content with his middle class wife, kids, job and life, when he could have been a rising star, should be too.
The bitch absolutely loathed her, since she wasn’t even family!
She doted on the twins though and offered to sponsor them so long as the parents turned over legal authority to her… So far, it wasn’t happening but her toxic presence was turning perfectly good kids into little, entitled, monsters.
Protag had escaped to her quiet little flat a lot as that hurt him a bit.
He’d quite liked his younger siblings and the bitch had turned them ont he rest of the family more or less… except her brother who wouldn’t tolerate her bullshit and shut her down regularly even from a wheelchair.
Problem was, he was in an out of hospital regualrly and so wasn’t always there.
The bitch wasn’t actually living with them, thank goodness, as their small house was far to plebian for her tastes… but she was still around often enough to be an issue.
Money talks and she was doing her best to sideline Protag’s mother in the twins life.
She seemed to hate Protag since he was almost her brother’s mirror image at that age only he took after his mother in looks.
The 'siblings' were in their first year of college and eighteen odd. The bitch had been complicating their lives since they were twelve and the twins were three.
They were both glad to get far away from her as they’d both gotten full ride scholarships. She in computer sciences and he in ancient history and medicines.
The bitch had offered to pay their way if they’d study what she wanted them to but they both turned it down. They wanted nothing from her…
Unfortunately, the bitches ‘niece’ aka, the husbands younger daughter also attended this campus and was quite the queen bee. Bitch, mark two.
Aaaaand she was shaping up to be annoying female contender number one.
Protag was grateful his childhood friend/ pseudo sister was more sensible than silly and definitely NOT a bitch.
She was also more inclined to avoid confrontation were she could and handle things herself where she couldn’t.
She didn’t need a male backer to deal with things. A bit of blackmail here, a few rumours there, a slipped bit of information in that corner and suddenly, those focusing on her had other things to worry about.
She wasn’t a Cultivator, and had carefully stayed that way, but she knew enough self defence to ensure she didn’t need rescuing that often and was careful not to put herself in risky situation.
It gained her a bit of a reputation as boring and a nerd but she didn’t care.
There was enough drama in her ‘home’ life to be going on with. She didn’t need more at school.
Neither of the siblings were legal yet, not fully, and so both were staying with host families… hers was arranged by her father, who seemed more stressed and frantic the few times she’d heard from him, but he was proud of her.
His younger sister and her family.
She hadn’t married up and her husband wasn’t anyone particularly important but somehow, her teen son still had an attitude… their rules were a lot more restrictive than she was used to as well. Far more so than for their son though whether that was because he was their actual child, male or something else she didn’t know.
Apparently, the younger sister had gotten it into her head that because she was raised without a mother she must be a wild child who needed ‘taming’ back into a respectable young lady. After all, just look at her chosen area of study… She’d never get a man that way…
Like she wanted one? She’d chosen what she was good at and what she felt she could make a living off of, what’s wrong with that?
She wouldn’t be marrying for security or advancement… or even compatibility. While she liked kids, she wasn’t going to put herself into a situation where she was struggling to care for a child with a non supportive or even not present partner… or alone. Done that before, it sucked, would not recommend, not doing it again if she has any say…
If she had a kid now, or even got into a relationship, it would be with a partner she was committed to and with and who WAS a partner to her.
She wouldn’t be doing so without decent capital behind her either.
She might want and love kids, always, but any child she had she also wanted them to be raised in a situation where the family wasn’t struggling. She wanted to be able to devote the attention and care a child, or a partner for that matter, needed on them.
As such, she had no issue with the edict of not having any boys around, being back by a certain time outside of late lectures or classes and they wanted to know about those ahead of times and the expected her to keep them up to date if she was with any form of study group…
She was expected to help with the house work when she was around too and manage her own expenses, clothing, laundry etc.
For this she got a roof over her head, access to bathing and laundry facilities and breakfast along with a portion of the evening meal set aside if she wasn’t back in time. She was expected to eat with them when she could. She could manage that.
They were bemused that she was still learning how to work a mobile phone and how to navigate her new laptop. Both were gifts from her father and only had professional numbers in them, outside of their families. Next to no apps either. The phone was on a prepaid plan and her father agreed to pay for it until she was legal adult. Her living expenses as well, such as they were.
She knew how to be frugal and live cheaply. She’s done this before.
Her hostess was, apparently, very disappointed at her lack of feminine clothing and that there wasn’t a single brandname among them. The only even moderately expensive part of her wardrobe were her boots, which were steel capped, came up to her ankle and pretty much everything proof. They’d been gotten secondhand and were a bit scuffed now but well worn in and comfortable. A lot of her stuff was secondhand or gifts and she was fine with that. The scholarship paid for her books and the college app let her into the platform for lectures, timetables, library bookings and so on.
She only had to tolerate them for another two years before she was legal and, if worst came to worst and she really couldn’t stand it, she’d ask Protag if she could room with him.
She didn’t care about reputation or lack of it as she was here to study, no more, no less.
As far as she was concerned, her mother’s family had abandoned her and could go hang. There was a reason she went by her father’s name only.
Protag was staying with the mother’s younger brother who was a sensible guy and not married yet, not even courting much to family disapproval, but Protag mentioned that he was unlikely to ever do that. He was a man whose first love was his passion and job, that of the main designer of a online security firm.
He was very, very good at this job, but it left little time for anything else in his life… including housework.
In exchange for taking over the domestic chores, protag would be allowed to live there though he’d have to handle his own food expenses and cooking.
There was a drinking party to welcome all the new comers but she was able to bail out early due to the curfew her host family had on her.
She noticed Protag wasn’t staying either. Okay then.
Her hostess is a bit bemused to see her back early ish but after having introduced herself and her major and after everyone started getting drunk, she saw no reason to stay. She had a curfew after all and she’d agreed to their rules.
Oh dear. They hadn’t meant it like that. She’s going to need to sociliase if she wants to make good connections and find herself a well set man. (She tunes that bit out completely)
They’ll give her their number and, if something like this comes up again, they’ll expect her to let them know when she’ll be out late and what time she’ll be coming in. Didn’t she socialise at her father’s house at all?
Nope, she was too busy being semi adopted by her best friends family. Her father had been rarely home and it had been the neighbour’s who’d mostly raised her.
Yes, they’d heard about her hanging around some deadbeat…
Er, no. She was hanging about her brother in all but blood who got a full ride, same as she had, and studied hard to get here, just like she had.
It’s possible her hostess had gotten mixed messages from that… person living in the area. The younger sister of the father to that family is living in the area. She is a second wife who married up and her husband doesn’t spend anytime on her. When the father had an accident, she came to stay to ‘help’. She helps with the hospital bills but is generally unpleasant to all believing them beneath her. She especially didn’t have time for the neighbour’s kid who was ‘freeloading’... or the older son who looked like the wife she didn’t like, considering her brother to have married down.
The two of them decided to work hard and try for early graduation to escape that.
Neither of them have caused trouble and both of them have generally kept their heads down and stayed out of any power plays.
The parents seem bemused as though they were expecting an untamed wild cat and, instead, gotten a house cat who didn’t eat much, didn’t make a fuss, took care of her own business and was an excellent mouser besides.
If anything, they found her TOO quiet.
She never stayed out overnight, always let them know if there was going to be a late class, quietly took care of her own domestic affairs, doing her small amount of laundry in the washer dryers on campus, finding her own way home and basically not causing any trouble whatsoever.
She studied hard, kept her head down and socialized very minimally.
If it wasn’t for her hostess insisting on buying her some feminine clothing, she would have had a total of eight outfits she mixed and matched along with necessary outter ware (coat, hat, scarf) and underware (enough to last a week and a half, in case of accidents and four for above the waist), along wifth one pair of winter pj's, one summer nighty and a pair of summer sandles.
As she had no interest in fancy shoes or handbags (her tote doubled as purse, backpack and book bag) she now had one set of cute, low cut sandshoes and a pair of sneakers along with three pairs of fashion socks, two sets of leggings, three fashionable dresses and accessories (her hostess was horrified that she used no jewellery, perfume or make up and all her clothing were practical and sensible mostly in dull, muted colours), two cute button up shirts, two short sleeved T’s with shoulder cut outs, one lone sleeved T and several pairs of flattering pants.
She drew the line at skirts and the dresses needed to be adaptable to day and night ware too. A summer pj set joined her nightie and her hair was trimmed and styled.
She did accept a pair of white dress sandals that went with all of the dresses and matching handbag.
There would be times she’d need to make a good impression and dress the part.
Time rolled by and, as expected of a Protagonist, her former childhood friend was swarmed by the stupid needing to prove themselves and air headed females trying to latch on.
He was grateful for her calm, undemanding presence and she was grateful to be able to hide out at his place since the brat didn’t like the fact his parents were comparing the two’s behaviour and finding him wanting, despite there only being a few years between them.
It was awkward and she didn’t like the way the brat was watching her lately. She didn’t trust him not to do something stupid and the fall out that would happen. She was careful to take her shower before he woke up and to never be left alone with him.
Her hostess was quite disappointed as she was hoping for someone she could do female bonding things with and, while their homestay listened well enough and was mostly obedient, she could tell the young woman didn’t care about any of the things she was trying to promote.
While her manners were nice enough, she didn’t care about fashion, make up, nails, hair, socializing, boys, climbing higher in society or anything else her hostess felt a young woman should.
She took no pride in domestic tasks and the only thing she was even halfway interested in was cooking so she could feed herself whens he moved out. Even then, she was after cheap meals she could make a lot of and freeze rather than fashionable food or recipes.
She wasn’t even looking at any of the boys sharing classes with her and seemed to have no interesting in even getting a boyfriend.
She was so serious all the time, rarely went drinking to relax and, outside of the required chores and shared meals, kept herself to herself.
Nor was she interested in tapping them for anything other than living space and the occasional meal. It was almost like living with ghost...
Things rolled on in this state until word came that her father had been killed in an accident.
She only has a few months until she’s twenty, and by now the standard modern Murim protagonist weirdness has been inflicted on the Protagonist so he’s not around as often, but she asked if he’d come back with her for this, and he agreed.
There is a will to read and arrangements to be made for the funeral.
If shit was going to go down, which it ineveritably would… a side effect from being in close contact with the protagonist and male lead, the she wanted to go in packing heat… and you didn’t get much hotter and dangerous than protagonist.
She wasn’t looking forward to the drama but at least protagonist would be there to curb stomp it.
As expected, it there was drama. SUCH fucking drama.
The estranged mother, who was apparently from a Family, and her now quite prideful and haughty little brother turned up, to ostensibly ‘retrieve her for the family, now she was of an age to be useful. Be grateful’.
Um, no. They weren’t there for any of the important parts of her life so fuck them.
She’d rather suicide that be used for whatever they wanted to use her for… and protagonist was there to make it stick.
Other than a few odds and sods, everything went to her… and her custody was left to the father of the family who had done most of the raising of her.
The hostess was extremely disappointed and so was her husband as they’d expected more, being one of the deceased few relatives.
What more did they want? He gave them money, keepsakes of their parents and grandparents and that was it. His assets had been liquidated, with them getting a third as thanks for allowing her to live in their house, even if they’d benn paid for it as well, with a few trinkets going to friends or workmates and the rest, including most of his money, to her.
Her new guardian was holding the majority of it in trust but she got a generous stipend.
(While he was there, protagonist may have fixed his father… just a bit and paid off what was left of the hospital expenses and then paid back all the funds the bitch had supplied all at once… and that was after she’d commented on how useless and low class he was.
Now that he was healthy ish and they owed her nothing, she was ‘encouraged’ to take her toxic self off and get lost… and dont’ bother trying to bring her husband in on it. He was already aware and wouldn’t make a move on her behalf. Only the twins would miss her, but things would be changing a great deal now that uncle was back in business.
She could hardly wait.)
Ex mother and brother made threats and swore to get the decision overturned but she steps up and tells them she’d rather be dead than go back with them so they can just take themselves right back to wherever they came from and stay there!
They didn’t want her before. They don’t get to try and horn in now. Get lost and she never wants to see or hear from them again.
She rejects them, their name and anything to do with their family…
Protagonist helped her make it stick.
There was only a month or two to go until her year officially turned over and she was twenty so she just needed to ride things out for that long.
She asked for and got permission to move into the dorms as it was closer to the school.
As…welcoming as her host family had been, she knew her odd hours had troubled them and, while she’d miss the homecooked meals, the convenience of not having to report to anyone but herself was what she was really looking forward too.
Not having to be on company manners all the time would be lovely but she didn’t mention that.
Her stipend is raised a little now that she’ll be having to fend for herself food wise with the rent and utilities of the dorm coming out of her fees.
She added two sets of ‘interview’ clothes along with professional ‘interview’ shoes and underware and left it at that.
She’d have to come up with some other excuse not to stay as long during ‘social nights’ but she’s sure she could come up with something…
That sorted and with uncle in charge of the majority of her inheritance, she went peacfully back to student life, while the protagonists crazy continued on track.
She had few more incidents due to being his friend but mostly her college life continued a pace…
And then he took over the world, because of course he did… in usual Modern Murim style, this world was a small world tucked inside of a larger world and not high up on the scale of importance, anymore than ants were to humans. Lovely.
She could only facepalm.
Well, at least it got both aunty, the bitch and her mother’s family off her back AND convinced them she had no designs on the protagonist.
She was unsurprised to be drafted to help manage one of the businesses he set up but the pay and conditions were good, the work was fulfilling and she could be helpful to him and the family who raised her even if he should leave and emerge into the greater world beyond their own.
This was fine.