# Chapter 125
It was as if she had seen through Iyeon’s thoughts. When Iyeon turned to look at her, D.S nodded toward the monitor. Mirae, giving up on talking to her mother who wasn’t responding, was now playing house with her doll. “Eat up. You can use your left hand,” her chattering voice came through like background music.
“Generally, superpowers manifest during adolescence. At the earliest, from age 15. That’s when the ‘failures’ start appearing.”
D.S planned to take Mirae away as soon as she graduated middle school. Whether she manifested superpowers or not didn’t matter. That was what they had agreed upon in the contract from the beginning.
“So it’s fine for now.”
The family is very generous to “potential superhumans.” This was something D.S had learned firsthand growing up in that house. So it wouldn’t be bad for Mirae’s development either. It could even guarantee a better environment than D.S could provide while working all day and raising a child.
“But… you’ll be separated for so long.”
Mirae was currently 8 years old. It would take another 8 years for her to graduate middle school. They would have to be apart for as long as Mirae had been alive.
“About 11 years ago, there was a case like mine.”
They weren’t direct descendants but a branch family, though they were one generation above and thus had more influence within the family. A non-superhuman born there, and their child. The non-superhuman wanted to sever ties with the family and raise the child directly, while the family wanted to keep the potential superhuman within the family’s boundaries.
The outcome of this intense standoff was devastating.
“The parent was forcibly stripped of custody. The 6-year-old child was taken by the family.”
“…What?”
Iyeon couldn’t believe his ears. Was that even possible? It sounded like something out of a trashy drama, but D.S wasn’t laughing at all.
“Unfortunately, the child did manifest superpowers. Thanks to that, they’re growing up completely isolated from their parents until adulthood.”
“Then…”
“Yeah. Even if they’re parents, at that point there’s no attachment or anything. They’re practically strangers to the child.”
D.S laughed crookedly.
“It’s better to see them even a little than that.”
“…So is it true that when Mirae turns sixteen, the family will willingly let her go?”
“Maybe not.”
At this calm statement, Iyeon turned his head in surprise. D.S was looking at her daughter’s hand as she held a spoon to the doll’s mouth.
“When a child turns 13, the child’s testimony is included in custody hearings.”
Mirae wants to live with her mother. Once the child gains a voice, it won’t be easy for the family to strip custody rights no matter how much they protest.
That was the only hope.
“…What does Mirae usually say to her doll?”
Iyeon deliberately asked lightly to change the somber mood. Despite the abrupt change of topic, D.S went along with it.
“Nothing special. School stories or what she ate. Sometimes conversations with Jin Heesu or her friends. She talks about you occasionally too.”
“Me?”
When Iyeon asked with round eyes, D.S nodded.
“Yeah. How did you sweet-talk her into only talking about going out together later? If you disappoint her, I won’t let you off easy.”
“Ah, Mirae seems to have a lot of places she wants to go. I think it’s because Director Jin is busy.”
After exchanging contact information with Mirae, they’d been chatting occasionally. As if to prove his point, Iyeon opened his messenger app and showed their chat with Mirae. What are you up to these days? How’s school? Take care! Uncle, do you know this place? Mirae wants to go here. That sounds fun, let’s go together later. Such conversations were gathered like soap bubbles. Cute emoticons dotted throughout the chats made Iyeon smile fondly.
“At eight, many kids still can’t read and write properly.”
D.S muttered proudly as she stared intently at the phone screen.
“Really? Then Mirae must be a genius.”
“What genius? She’s just a bit smart.”
When Iyeon matched her tone with praise, she seemed pleased even as she tried to act nonchalant, slightly pulling up the corner of her mouth. Even the usually gruff and irritable D.S was no match for the pride in her daughter. Finding this fascinating and endearing, Iyeon deliberately continued the topic about Mirae.
“I saw Mirae was recording a vlog. Have you seen that too?”
“You haven’t subscribed?”
Overwhelmed by D.S’s glaring eyes, Iyeon flinched and mumbled. Ah, no. That’s not it… I did subscribe but haven’t had time to watch… Dismissing his cowardly excuse with a snort, D.S opened Mirae’s channel. The subscriber count was 4. That number included Iyeon’s subscription.
About ten short videos were uploaded to the child’s channel. Each video had around two-digit views. Judging by her expression, about half of those views seemed to be from D.S.
“Play one for me. I want to see too.”
At Iyeon’s request, D.S unusually didn’t nitpick and quietly played one video. It was the very first one.
[Hello, I’m Mirae!]
A familiar face smiling somewhat awkwardly filled the screen. Her chubby cheeks rose with her smile.
[My name is Kang Mirae, and I’m eight years old. It’s morning now, so get ready for school with me!]
The video shook frequently and the focus came and went. The camera, awkwardly fixed on what seemed to be a sink without anyone helping, was set too low, cutting off the top of her head. Her hand movements while washing her face—eyes tightly closed, going “ah-poo-poo”—were quite rough, with water droplets visibly splashing.
“She doesn’t normally wash her face like that. Jin Heesu must have taught her wrong.”
D.S grumbled with a frown. After finishing washing, Mirae dried her face with a towel, neatly removing even the few strands of hair stuck to her cheeks, then picked up the camera again.
[Now I’m going to put on lotion!]
The cheerful child changed locations. Not thinking to film the transition, the angle was pointed at the floor. A blurry view of what looked like an old wooden floor appeared.
“The family home must be a traditional house.”
“It’s terrifyingly decrepit, but they absolutely refuse to move.”
Despite clicking her tongue with a displeased face, D.S’s gaze remained on the screen. Soon the camera shook heavily, and Mirae’s face appeared again. Having seen this done somewhere before, she squeezed a bit of white lotion onto the back of her hand, showing it to the camera before busily dabbing and applying it to her cheeks, nose, and forehead. Her tiny face quickly became smooth.
[Now I’m going to get dressed, and today I’m going to wear…]
That’s when it happened. With a knock-knock sound, the door opened. The camera didn’t show who came in, but the voice made it clear.
[Mirae, are you ready?]
It was Heesu. At the gentle voice, Mirae jumped up with a slightly flustered face. As a result, her face suddenly disappeared upward from the screen, showing only her midsection.
[Oh my, uncle. I was just about to change clothes!]
[Oh, were you? What are you going to wear?]
Hearing his amused voice, Mirae quickly forgot she was recording and focused on the conversation with Heesu. Her small body moved out of frame, leaving only the empty background. Faint chatter about wanting to wear a t-shirt and skirt mixed with sounds of what seemed like rummaging through a closet.
[But why is your phone standing up, um…]
Someone picked up the phone, as the screen shook roughly, panning across the room. A child-sized wardrobe and a large bed flashed by.
[Don’t touch that! I’m recording my vlog!]
[Vlog? Where did you learn about that?]
[Everyone does it these days. Uncle doesn’t know because he’s old?]
[I see. I didn’t know because I’m old.]
With a soft laugh, the camera turned to Mirae. Having changed completely during their conversation, she was now nicely dressed. A light pink t-shirt and a pleated denim skirt matched adorably. Mirae posed as if for a photo and smiled.
[Ta-da! All ready! See you next time!]
The video ended there. The darkened screen quickly brightened again with the next video. Auto-play was turned on.
All the videos were ordinary daily vlogs without much special content. Besides the first uploaded video about getting ready for school, there were videos introducing what food was served for dinner when she ate alone, explaining her favorite clothes chosen from her closet, getting ready for bed… And the most recent one included some cuts from when Iyeon met Mirae at the Superpower Management Office.
