Episode 48. jwachungudol (4)
Confused, I looked at Kang Ah-ram.
“hey.”
Before I could say anything, Aram Kang raised his voice and spoke.
“My brother was in the Septagram organization. Now, with his help, I got him out safely, but at that time, my brother knew some information about the artificial intelligence project in the organization.”
“… huh?”
“Oh right. Was it a satellite project? anyway! When he heard the story, he said he couldn’t stay still and said he had to go get it. I said that I would cooperate in return for saving my brother.”
I was stunned and had nothing to say.
It’s a skillful mix of truth and lies. It was not like Kang A-ram, it was quite a speech skill.
‘I heard you gave me some counseling, so you’re going there?’
Seol Chae-hwa, who was quietly listening to the story, spoke.
“That story. When did you come and go?”
“It’s been a while. Has it been about a month?”
“It means that it was being prepared before I asked Mr. Kim Do-yoon for the request.”
“Originally, I was going to find more colleagues, but I wonder what happened, I just bent over. That’s why I kept waiting until, unfortunately, an incident broke out in which you were falsely accused of cooperating with the plan.”
“It’s literally very public… .”
I felt tense.
Seol Chae-hwa has the experience of being betrayed by the Ghost she trusted and relied on for a long time. For such a woman, even the smallest elements will make you suspicious.
“what. Are you sure you don’t believe me?”
Aram Kang seemed to have sensed that atmosphere as well.
“There’s no reason to lie here.”
“Are you lying to me that I’m crazy? I just revealed that my brother was a former Septagram member. Whether this is true or false, if the police find out, they risk being arrested.”
“I didn’t mean to interrogate you.”
“I told him honestly because he said he could trust you guys. because i trust him Because I just felt that he was a guy I could trust. How are you guys? You said you’ve known me longer? I got a sense right away, but do you guys still have it?”
An insolvent room that becomes quiet for a while.
Aram Kang speaks again.
“I understand that you don’t trust me. It’s been a few days since we met each other.”
“I believe in you sister… … !”
“You shut the f*ck up. You are talking.”
“yes.”
“Come back! If you don’t believe me, trust the gisaeng brother here. Or, do you not believe me?”
A question clearly intended to provoke.
Nayeon Eom raised her hand.
“I trust my uncle! If you don’t trust a wonderful person risking his life to save a child he’s never seen, who will you trust?”
As he said that, he looked at Seolchaehwa as if it was his turn this time. Her expression hardened for a while, but then she smiled weakly.
“I believe too. Coincidentally, I also recently saw Kim Do-yoon, who performed the same.”
Aram Kang shrugged lightly when our eyes met.
‘Extraordinarily trembling.’
But thank you.
It was because he didn’t have to make the irrational claim that he had read Glenn’s mind.
***
The sooner the better.
Reflecting my opinion, the day after the research institute raid was decided the day after tomorrow. In my heart, I wanted to go tomorrow right away, but my thoughts stopped at thoughts.
‘Because it’s a plan to invade the enemy camp. Everyone will need time to fully prepare. If there were other schedules that were already set, they would have to be coordinated.’
Eom Na-yeon and Kang A-ram left the club first. I still stayed in the room with Seolchaehwa because she said she had something to say.
“please accept this.”
“This… … .”
What she held out was a square box. For a moment, I remembered the ring storage box Pyo Yu-rim gave me, but this one was much larger than that.
“Would you like to open it?”
“What is this?”
As I asked, I opened the lid of the locker.
Click.
『Magical soul watch』
:: Mana is a manifestation support artifact designed for adults who treat mana as a form of spirit.
[Vital Chip Artifact Database Query Result. It has been detected that it is the product of ‘Magnus’, an artifact craftsman belonging to Chilsung.]
[Check the additional performance registered in Magical Soul Watch.]
[Increased mana consumption efficiency]
[Increase in natural power]
[Increased activation stability of nature]
[The above performance was detected.]
Inside the box was a gold pocket watch.
“I was trying to give it to you as a reward for saving Seol-ah the other day. I missed the time to give it because I was confused about the villa incident, but I am giving it now.”
“This… … .”
“Of course, that doesn’t mean I’m going to replace it. Mr. Magnus left the malignant stock… greatness! It’s one of the artifacts you gave me as a birthday present. I think Kim Do-yoon might need it.”
Where is it simply necessary? Artifacts of this level of performance were not necessary, they were just necessary.
‘Isn’t Magnus the Artifact master who unconditionally puts himself in the top 3 when discussing the best?’
Then you don’t have to doubt the performance.
“Isn’t the artifact made by Magnus expensive just for its name value? Even if sold as a luxury item, the price would be exorbitant.”
“There is a thing called Dori. It goes against my convictions to give something I received for free from someone as a reward.”
“thank you. It’s an artifact I really wanted to have. I will write well.”
“If I get back on track, I’ll give you a more proper reward. Think of it as temporary.”
I grabbed the gold chain strap of the pocket watch and lifted it up. Watching the line stretched like this, I suddenly felt strange.
“Would you like to shake it from side to side?”
“hmm? Are there any hidden features?”
“A feature that makes women fall into hypnosis?”
“… … really?”
Seol Chae-hwa shyly covered her mouth and laughed.
“Whoops. It can’t be. Since Kim Do-yoon is holding it like that, I felt like a hypnotist in rumors, so I tried it once.”
Chow!
I hurriedly grabbed the pocket watch that had been hanging down in my hand. I was wondering why I was feeling weird, but that was it.
“You are as mischievous as Kang Ah-ram. It was a really chilling joke.”
“The reaction is more fun than I thought. I can understand why Nayeon and Kang Aram sunbaenim are having fun playing with you.”
“You know my reputation. Even if a really trivial incident breaks out, rumors are greatly exaggerated and spread. You have to buy yourself.”
“For example, something like this? A girl from a ruined chaebol family. I was captured by a hypnotist who was aiming for a gap in my heart, and in the end… … .”
“Finish! Just finish it there! You know I’m not that kind of person!”
When I hurriedly stopped talking, Seol Chae-hwa shook her shoulders and started laughing.
‘Well, still.’
He must have been under a lot of pressure in many ways, but if he could relieve tension by giving him a laugh in this way, it could have been more broken than this.
“sorry.”
“What else are you sorry about?”
“I’ve asked for unreasonable favors twice, but I made a request that only I thought of. Senior Kang Ah-ram is right. I was so pushed into it that I didn’t even think about the safety of others.”
“You always traded in a certain state of coming and going. Even if you entrusted a dangerous request to the other person, it would be enough if you paid the same amount. You must have gotten used to it.”
Originally, I planned to take charge of the three labs, one at a time. Unlike the original work, the plan just went wrong because they made meaningful achievements in the artificial satellite project.
‘Come to think of it, is No.45 doing well?’
last night.
After being discharged from the hospital, I remembered that I couldn’t bring it to Signal, so I left it with Seol Chae-hwa’s acquaintance. I had a hard time comforting No.45 who didn’t want to fall.
‘Because it’s difficult in many ways to take a girl to the men’s dormitory. Neither do the people around me, nor do I have any experience taking care of a child.’
I implicitly asked Seol Chae-hwa about the status of No.45.
“In fact, I had a schedule planned for the child’s work. I was going to get a house near Signal and hire a housekeeper to take care of No.45. Kim Do-yoon goes to school from that house.”
“Hmm.”
“However, as you can see from the process of handling the work, I am in this position… … . Aside from Ghost, it seems that there are quite a few Septagram infiltrators within Chilsung. I caught the unnatural movement of No. 45 trying to take it back, so I had to get the child out in a hurry.”
“and… ?”
“Since the child keeps showing symptoms of anxiety, I can’t send it anywhere, and as you know, the situation isn’t good enough for me to take care of… … . Ahahahaha.”
Why are you fooling around with laughter? Uncharacteristically for Seol Chae-hwa, the fact that she kept blurring her words was something suspicious.
“for a moment. You didn’t bring me to my dormitory, did you?”
“that… … . You don’t have a roommate?”
That one word was enough to realize the situation.
“What if the dormitory supervisor finds out?!”
“are you okay! It’s because I robbed myself of my own money and asked the male housekeeper to quietly take care of me! If you have any difficulties, ask the housekeeper and he will help you!”
I touched my forehead with the palm of my hand.
More than this. It was unavoidable.
“okay. Then I will be in charge of that child for the time being. From the moment I decided to save you anyway, I was thinking of taking some responsibility.”
***
Click.
The moment I returned to my dormitory and opened the door, I could see that No.45 was really in my room, just as Seol Chae-hwa said.
A body that turns around like a shrimp. He was asleep in front of the shoe rack in the hallway, leaving a decent bed in front of him.
‘I wonder if he was waiting in front of here until I came.’
Thinking about it made my nose tingle, but my heart ached at the same time.
“Aww… … . dad?”
I was stealthily taking off my shoes so as not to wake you up, but No.45 woke up on the way. The child blinked his eyes for a moment, but soon looked at my face and his expression brightened.
“Dad!”
“hi.”
The child jumped up from his seat and hugged my leg. He was so small that the crown of his head could barely reach my waist.
Fathers with children live with such pleasure. Feeling such a meaningless feeling, I stroked the child’s head.
“You can’t sleep here from now on. Sleep on that soft bed over there. got it?”
“Are you coming often?”
“Because this is my home. will always come.”
“lol.”
“I’ll probably be away from home often, though.”
“Ugh… .”
Your expression changes in an instant.
“But while I’m with you, I’ll do anything you ask me to do.”
“exciting! Do you really do everything I ask you to do?”
“Is there anything you want?”
“I am then I won’t go into that cold room anymore. Is that okay?”
“… … .”
moment.
My mind goes blank.
I stare down at the child holding my leg, forgetting even to breathe.
right. Come to think of it, if I keep standing like this, the child looking up at me must have a sore throat.
“Oh, no? Even if it’s only for an hour… … .”
“are you okay. You don’t have to go in there anymore.”
I got down on one knee and held the child tightly in my arms.
“lol. warm.”
The child rubs his face against my chest.
I clenched my fists because I couldn’t stand the trembling of my fingertips. Even his tightly clenched fists trembled, unable to withstand the emotions that came through him.
He forcefully swallowed his dry saliva, and let out the sticky breath as if pushing it away.
I didn’t use the Emotion Implant. I wanted to accept this feeling as it is.
Swoop. Swoop.
How long have you been hugging me? At some point, the child was asleep again in my arms. It looks more comfortable than when I first saw it when I opened the door. But is it really so?
I carefully laid No.45 on my bed.
＜Emotion implant＞
:: The caster’s own desired emotion. Or inject it so that the other person can feel it.
:: You can check and receive the feelings the other person is feeling.
This time, he intended to use his second ability.
[Activates ‘Emotion Implant’.]
[The other party is currently happy, but feels a bit uneasy.]
No. 45 intermittently talked in his sleep, as if he had not fallen into a deep sleep. He licked his lips and shivered as if he was cold even though the blanket was covering him.
[Receives the other person’s feelings.]
The feeling that comes through is loneliness. And it was bitterly cold. A small child crouching down and blowing his breath to warm his frozen hands came into my mind.
[caution! I have detected that the caster’s emotions are fluctuating abnormally.]
[Excessive abuse can adversely affect the caster’s mind.]
I’ve been feeling this way
I gave No.45 warmth to drive away the cold so that he could sleep more comfortably.
[Activates ‘Emotion Implant’.]
The child’s trembling finally stopped completely.
‘Sleep soundly.’
My heart ached at the thought that there would be hundreds more of these children in the lab.
Leaving behind my sleeping child, I sat cross-legged on the floor and closed my eyes.
‘I don’t have time to spend leisurely. I have to make the most of this spare time.’
In any game, there is always a special move that represents that character. I also wanted to train and create my own special moves.
The technology I want to create is an idea I came up with in the hospital room the other day.
‘The power to intentionally raise a halo and amplify one’s abilities.’
I would name it, “Overflow”.
If this technology is perfected.
‘I might be able to use the 4th level nature.’
[Mind Siege] that manipulates the opponent’s body. “Eyes fake” that deceives the opponent’s vision. I am thrilled to think that I can use those two techniques in practice.
It was a moment when I felt more motivated than ever.