# Chapter 186
Young hesitated, unable to answer easily. Rather than disliking it, she seemed confused about whether this was really okay. It was too merciful a condition for someone who had caused so much trouble. It felt almost unreal.
“I’ll do it.”
It was Jaei who answered instead. The girl bowed her head slightly to D.S, looking somewhat embarrassed as her eyes darted around.
“I’ll be in your care.”
“What about you? Don’t tell me you’re going to go your own way?”
D.S asked Young once more. Young tightly closed her eyes and then opened them.
“…I’ll be in your care.”
D.S chuckled at her slightly trembling voice.
“You should have done that from the start.”
“What? What are you asking for?”
Mirae, who had been looking back and forth at the adults conversing, asked with curious eyes. D.S playfully introduced the new family members.
“They’re sisters who’ll be living with us from today. Our house is big enough, so it’s fine, right?”
“Wow! The sisters are going to live with Mirae? Will you take me sledding at home too?”
“You ride sleds outside. Listen well to your sisters.”
“Okay!”
Iyeon silently smiled as he watched the women chatting among themselves. This worked out well.
D.S shooed everyone away, telling them to hurry and get their belongings from the motel since it was decided. As Iyeon watched the three people leaving the workshop, he murmured.
“D.S-ssi, you’re really… like an adult.”
“You’re only realizing that now?”
D.S chuckled and looked down at Iyeon with arrogant eyes.
“There’s a ten-year age gap between you and me. Our experience levels are different, kid.”
“Will I be like that in ten years too?”
“Are you kidding me? In ten years, everything changes completely. You should be better than this.”
“Hey.”
The bantering conversation between D.S and Iyeon was interrupted by another voice cutting in. When Iyeon looked up with curious eyes, Jeongheon was standing there.
“You haven’t left yet?”
“Just remembered something I wanted to talk about.”
“Good timing. You hurry and get out too. Let me work.”
D.S seized the opportunity and waved her hand as if shooing away flies. She’d endured quite long enough. Iyeon pouted at the unceremonious dismissal but obediently got up to follow Jeongheon. He didn’t forget to wave goodbye to Mirae. Only after leaving the workshop did Jeongheon cautiously bring up the topic.
“I also have something to apologize to you for.”
“What? What is it?”
“Your description probably leaked from me. I didn’t mention anything about your ability, so you don’t have to worry about that part. When a familiar name came up at the hunters’ gathering, I reacted without thinking… I heard you had a hard time with the Superpower Management Office. I’m sorry.”
“Ah…”
So it was him. Since Jeongheon seemed to have extensive connections among hunters and considerable respect, any information he mentioned would have quickly spread throughout the city.
“It’s okay. It’s just a seasonal rumor anyway.”
“I hate to pour cold water on your hopes, but as long as you’re connected with Je Sano, that’s not likely. You two are already a set menu. No matter how many times I say that you and I just briefly met at Cho Jeonryeok, in their minds, we’re best friends. While we’re on the subject, let me tell you—you don’t have to talk to me when we meet in official settings from now on. I’ll pretend not to know you too.”
“Afraid of becoming best friends?”
“What? I don’t mind. I’m saying this for your comfort.”
Hearing his answer without a hint of hesitation, Iyeon could understand why this person had so many friends. He smiled gently.
“It’s really okay.”
“Really?”
“I’m not working with Je Sano anymore.”
“…Did I just say something tactless?”
Jeongheon’s sullen question had a certain endearing quality in its honesty. Iyeon shrugged lightly.
“Well, it was a bit tactless, but it can’t be helped. Don’t worry about it.”
“Hey, just tell me to apologize. I’m sorry.”
“I’m kidding.”
When Iyeon responded with a voice tinged with amusement, Jeongheon grumbled lightly, saying he hadn’t realized.
“Is Yu Jeongheon-ssi heading back to the company now?”
“Yeah. My colleagues keep suspecting I might quit since I’ve been using vacation days like they’re meals, all because of someone.”
“Being a company employee sounds tough.”
“Are you talking like you’re not a company employee?”
“I’m a CEO, you know.”
“…I’m jealous.”
Iyeon burst into laughter at the sincere reply. Just then, someone called from behind.
“Jung Iyeon.”
When he turned his head to look, it was Young. Based on how quickly she had left the workshop earlier, he would have expected her to be gone the fastest, but surprisingly, both Young and Jaei remained. Since they could have used Jaei’s teleportation ability to leave immediately, they must have deliberately waited for him.
“Oh, what is it?”
“Well…”
While Young hesitated and mumbled without easily starting to speak, Jaei grabbed Jeongheon’s collar.
“Mister, help me out.”
“Mister? I’m the same age as her, you know.”
Jeongheon pointed at Young with an indignant face, but Jaei ignored him.
“There’s too much luggage for me to carry alone. Help me.”
Her robotic repetition of the same words seemed like an attempt to create time for Young and Iyeon to talk. Lately, it seemed he was constantly cleaning up after others. Jeongheon sighed heavily, trying not to make it obvious.
“Fine, let’s go.”
When Jeongheon held out his hand, Jaei grabbed it eagerly. Soon, all traces of the two disappeared.
The street suddenly became quiet. Iyeon smiled gently toward Young.
“Shall we walk for a bit?”
The weather was getting chilly. The increasingly darkening sky had a faint reddish tint. After staring at the bluish scenery for a while, Iyeon abruptly asked.
“Are you feeling okay?”
The gem inside Young’s body hadn’t been removed. This was because they didn’t know what side effects might occur to her forcibly fused body if they performed surgery to carelessly remove it. Young nodded lightly.
“I don’t feel anything special. I haven’t used it since then either.”
“That’s a relief. Please don’t use it in the future either. It’s really dangerous.”
Iyeon nagged like a strict parent. The fact that Young didn’t collapse from gi-ryeok exhaustion after forcibly using a superpower stronger than her own was probably because her gi-ryeok wavelength was similar to Taejin’s. It was literally a stroke of luck that she had only those side effects, especially since she didn’t even have mechanical assistance like Taejin.
“With Young-ssi’s current skill, it should be enough to take the tier advancement test. Didn’t you receive an offer after participating in Cho Jeonryeok last time?”
“I don’t know. I got contacted by the factory side right after Cho Jeonryeok ended.”
Young answered like that and fell silent for a moment before speaking again. This seemed to be the main point.
“You told me I wasn’t weak.”
“Yes, I did.”
“Were you sincere?”
Iyeon looked at her with an incredulous expression.
“Look, I saw you beating up hunters with just a staff right beside me. Normal people can’t do that.”
“Then was it also sincere when you said I could do well?”
Young turned her head to look at Iyeon. There was a desperate light in her eyes that made Iyeon hesitate to answer hastily.
“Did you say that just because you wanted to stop me then, or were you sincere?”
Young’s life had been full of evaluations. Her father’s praise, expectations, superpower assessments, Dr. Kim’s experiments. The standards Young had set for herself were repeatedly denied. She gradually lost faith in herself.
“Of course it was sincere.”
That’s why it felt strange. Words that unhesitatingly affirmed a value that even she herself couldn’t be certain of.
“How do you know that?”
She was afraid. Afraid that those words might be wrong again.
“You know, Young-ssi. Becoming a hunter isn’t the end, it’s the starting line.”
Young quietly listened to Iyeon’s voice flowing gently. The slightly chilly air swept past her ears with a soft whoosh.
“I don’t know what kind of hunter Young-ssi will become. That depends on how you handle your missions. But as you go along, you’ll succeed sometimes, fail sometimes, and gain experience. When you gather all that up bit by bit and look back later.”
“…”
“If you can think that you did well, that’s enough.”
Iyeon smiled brightly.
“Thinking that way, there’s a lot of time left, right? Even if you make a mistake for a moment, there’s plenty of time to turn things around. Just move forward.”
“…Is that all?”
“Yep, this is life. You just have to believe you’re doing well and live that way, what else can you do?”
Iyeon replied lightly and playfully tapped Young’s arm. Young looked at Iyeon with a face full of bewilderment, then suddenly chuckled.
“And don’t do anything that could kill you?”
“You know it well. That’s the most important thing. Don’t do foolish things, or I’ll come find you again. I’ll be keeping an eye on that gem embedded in you too.”
“Thank you.”
“What?”
Iyeon paused in his stream of nagging at the sudden expression of gratitude. Young lowered her gaze.
“Like you said, if I had stayed there, I probably would have really died.”
