Hips, momentarily flustered at being caught off guard, explained to Cheche that the Endem family was a family that appeared even in Alcity’s history textbooks, and that the names of Evil’s parents sometimes appeared as short-answer questions in middle and high school tests.
“Each and every one of them has the power to shake not only Alcity but the entire world. If you’re going to live in Alcity from now on, it won’t hurt to know their names. At least memorize the parents’ names.”
Though they were all busy people and he’d probably rarely see their faces, there was a possibility of encountering Evil’s parents. Yesterday, they had contacted Hips in shock after learning that their son had displayed the supernatural ability he’d been hiding. They had guessed that Evil wasn’t displaying all his abilities, but never dreamed he’d reveal them so easily. When asked if he knew the reason, Hips answered:
‘I don’t know either. However, he has been showing unfamiliar behavior recently. Like commuting on time, fixing his appearance in front of the mirror before going to work, bringing a refugee secretary home.’
‘You mean that Tartarian? You said he’s staying in the room in front of Evil’s. His name was Cheche, wasn’t it?’
‘Yes, the Secretary-General gave me a hint that Evil-nim’s attitude toward Cheche was strange, so I watched for ten days and it was definitely strange.’
‘I heard about it too. In what way was it strange?’
‘If it weren’t Evil-nim but an ordinary person, I would have thought he was suffering from first love.’
Jenis burst out laughing. She laughed it off as if hearing a very nonsensical joke, then said, ‘Anyway, if you have any guesses about why he opened up his abilities, tell me anytime,’ and sent Hips away. Even Evil’s mother didn’t think at all that Evil was someone who could fall in love. If she had directly seen her son’s strange behavior, it might have been different, but…
“Evil-nim’s parents are very good people. They donate most of their profits, don’t accept bribes at all, and don’t neglect volunteer service even when busy. They run a donation organization called Peace&D and have probably sent donations to Tar several times.”
“Yes, I know.”
Cheche nodded calmly.
“I remember everyone who helped Tar.”
“If you remember everyone, why don’t you know their names?”
“Because the representative of Peace&D wasn’t that name. It was Demian Rosario.”
“…”
Hips couldn’t bring himself to say that Peace&D was a money laundering company that used someone named Demian Rosario as a figurehead president. It was a fact all Alcity people knew. If someone grabbed a passing Alcity person and asked who the Peace&D representative was, eight or nine out of ten would say, ‘Isn’t it the Endem family?’ That’s why Hips made this mistake without being alert. Hips cleared his throat.
“Anyway, what’s important is that those people have extremely noble character. Do you understand?”
“Yes, seeing the Director who is their son, I thought his parents must be very good people.”
“…?”
Hips, who had momentarily experienced cognitive dissonance at the words that didn’t match up, suddenly widened his eyes.
“Are you daring to insult those two right now?”
“No.”
“How can you criticize them in such a way!”
“…”
“Aren’t you mocking them right now, saying how could such dignified and good people be the guardians who raised a child into such a personality-disordered person, human trash, devil’s human-shaped avatar, Satan’s greatest rival of his lifetime!”
Hips shouted with bulging veins. Unlike the angry grandfather puffing through his nose, Cheche was as calm as if surrounded by a protective barrier.
“I apologize. That wasn’t my meaning.”
“How could that not be your meaning? When you know full well how much of a piece of trash the young master is.”
“Because he doesn’t seem to be that much of trash.”
“…”
“Is the Director really that much of trash?”
Cheche, without being intimidated, recited very calmly exactly what Hips had just said.
“Is the Director trash to the extent of being a personality-disordered person, human trash, devil’s human-shaped avatar, Satan’s greatest rival of his lifetime?”
“…”
“…”
“I don’t think I expressed it quite that far…”
“You expressed it exactly the same.”
“That’s…”
Hips, who had taken a breath, walked quickly and flung open the door. There was no one in the corridor.
No one heard me again, right?
Cheche stared blankly at him as he anxiously looked around.
Extremely embarrassed, Hips brought his hand to his mouth and cleared his throat. He lowered his voice strictly, solemnly, and seriously while frowning his grayish eyebrows.
“The conversation has gone off track. Anyway, the Director’s parents are Chairman Jenis and Chairman Tarida. Remember them.”
“Yes.”
Although it turned out he had insulted those people’s child, Hips greatly respected the two of them. Despite being younger than himself, they were truly good people to the extent that he wanted to regard them as teachers.
It was every Alcity person’s question how such a devil came from such kind people. Evil’s parents were not only perfect as social welfare advocates, politicians, and businesspeople, but also had a high reputation as people who loved nature and kept faith with their friends. They were perfect in most areas, but failed to properly fulfill only the role of parents.
They were afraid of Evil. From when Evil was very young. The elders of the Endem family who should have admonished the young couple also turned away from them because they were afraid of the little kid. If only there had been relatives to nag Evil, he wouldn’t have become such a devil.
A beast wandering leisurely among fragile humans without any shackles or leash.
Just because he saved millions of people by eliminating a tsunami doesn’t make a beast human. Evil, revealed to have even stronger power, was a more dangerous beast than yesterday, a monster, and a devil. Despite saving countless lives, he had become an even more fearful existence.
Hips already knew how disastrously the press conference had ended.
The press conference was nothing more than a place to reconfirm just how much of a monster Evil was. The reporters asked pre-screened questions and hurriedly left, afraid Evil might explode.
As Hips expected, no one dared to scold Evil. Because they knew that he, who must have exhausted all his patience just by not overturning the press conference venue and arriving at this place obediently.
However, it was unexpected that after the press conference ended, he obediently followed as the Endem family called. Since it was the Endem family who had the responsibility to reprimand Evil for hiding his abilities, they called him for now, but they naturally assumed he would ignore all requests and return home.
The more he thought about it, the more amazing it was.
It was the first time Evil, in a bad mood, responded to the family’s summons. These days, it was always a series of ‘firsts.’
“They say you’ll arrive in about an hour, so I’ll prepare the meal for that time. Please rest.”
“Yes.”
“…Cheche-nim.”
Hips hesitated without going out to the corridor, then opened his mouth as if having made a decision.
“The young master is changing.”
“……”
“If it were the usual him, he wouldn’t have even held a press conference. He wouldn’t have stopped the tsunami either, and he wouldn’t have headed to Armal in the first place.”
“……”
“James and I think it’s thanks to Cheche-nim.”
The gray-haired adult curved his wrinkled eyes toward Cheche and smiled gently.
“Thank you.”
Hips bowed his head in greeting. Hips was a person with very strong pride, and he bowed his head for the first time to a young person (not Evil) young enough to be his grandson. That’s how sincerely pleased he was with this change.
After Hips, who conveyed his thanks, left, Cheche stood there for a moment and reflected on the emotion he had just felt.
Hips’s emotions. Affection for Evil, gratitude toward Cheche, the hope that this change wouldn’t be momentary, and the anxiety that it might eventually return after a fleeting moment.
Once he became aware of it as a Soul Aura User, those emotions were felt completely. In that moment, they were no longer someone else’s emotions to Cheche. He didn’t confuse them as his own emotions, but they weren’t entirely someone else’s emotions either.
Soulers described this as similar to empathizing with a character’s emotions while watching a highly immersive movie. However, Cheche, who had never seen a movie, didn’t know anything to compare this state to, nor did he have the vocabulary to express it.
Amid the emotional turbulence transmitted even more strongly due to his high rank, he pressed his palm firmly against his slightly racing heart and waited for this disturbance to pass.
***
Just as Cheche had done, Evil also headed to the bathroom as soon as he returned.
He came out of his room to move, having been told dinner would be prepared in time for when Evil came out, and as soon as he opened the door, he felt a sweet smell wafting faintly. It was the smell of Sunhu.
