# Chapter 126
[Hello! Uncle asked me to show my hobby, so I turned this on. This is Mirae!]
[Umm…]
[Uncle, say hi!]
[Hello. This is Jung Iyeon…]
The voice flowing glumly from the video was his own, yet it somehow felt awkward. Iyeon smiled sheepishly.
“She really used it. I had asked Mirae about her hobbies.”
“Yeah, I see you’ve been in good contact with my daughter.”
“We’re friends, you know.”
“And a friend doesn’t subscribe to her channel?”
“I told you I subscribed. And I’m watching it now…”
“Hit the like button too.”
“Alright.”
Familiar conversation passed while they chatted away. With a comment about eating something delicious later, the scene changed to show the interior of a restaurant. Mirae, explaining that she was eating out with her uncle after a long time, described various dishes and concluded the video saying she was going to enjoy her meal.
“If this is the latest one… it’s been a while since she uploaded a video.”
It had been almost two months since Iyeon met Mirae at the Superpower Management Office. When he checked the upload dates in the playlist, he saw that videos had been uploaded one at a time at 2-3 week intervals after the first one. However, the last video was uploaded a month ago.
“She probably lost interest, that’s all.”
Mirae’s videos clearly showed they were made by a child. There were no screen corrections, sound effects, or captions, and they were merely short clips pieced together. Only in later videos did some screen transition effects start to appear.
Of course, if Mirae had done this all by herself, she was definitely a genius. But while people who knew the child might enjoy watching, it probably wouldn’t attract much interest from strangers. The view count and subscriber numbers proved that fact.
Continuing a hobby that doesn’t receive attention despite needing feedback to be enjoyable is difficult even for adults. D.S muttered as if she understood, but she still looked somewhat disappointed.
“I’ll ask Mirae when I see her later. Like, if she’s going to upload more videos.”
“No need. It’s not like it’s going to be her profession, so she might as well quit.”
“Still, though.”
Iyeon smiled as he responded. D.S said “Do what you want” in a gruff tone, but she seemed to have noticed why Iyeon brought up the topic. Her aloof gaze showed a hint of embarrassment.
‘But…’
Iyeon’s gaze slightly glanced at the screen where the video had ended. Mirae’s videos seemed normal at first glance, but somehow they felt a bit unsettling. Nothing particularly unusual, but something felt off… like it was a bit empty. Iyeon stared at the black screen, putting effort into his eyes as if trying to find something hidden, but couldn’t discover a clear reason.
Could D.S have felt something similar to what he was feeling, prompting her to make the doll? Iyeon turned his head toward D.S, who had already returned to the table and resumed her work.
“D.S-ssi. By any chance…”
Just then, Iyeon’s phone rang.
Buzzz, buzzz. Taking out his vibrating phone, Iyeon checked the caller. It was Hyegang.
“Oh, Hyegang. What’s up?”
[Hyung, are you at the workshop right now?]
“Yes.”
Since it wasn’t a busy period, it was safe to say that Hyegang rarely called Iyeon first. What’s going on? Iyeon, with a face full of puzzlement, listened attentively to the call.
[I think you need to come to the office right away.]
At that point, Iyeon noticed that Hyegang’s voice sounded somewhat troubled. A foreboding feeling came over him.
[Someone from the Superpower Management Office is here, and they insist on meeting you.]
The Superpower Management Office usually orders people around, but it’s rare for them to visit personally. It might not be unheard of if the company has some influence, but Chageum isn’t a large corporation like Jesan, nor is it a company with solid foundations like Oreun…
Yet if they came in person and specifically requested the CEO, Iyeon, it definitely wasn’t an ordinary matter. Iyeon pondered about the reason during his entire journey, but he couldn’t figure it out. He had diligently completed all his missions and paid his taxes on time. Could it be because of Je Sano? But Sano hadn’t even signed a contract, so administratively speaking, he wasn’t even affiliated with Chageum.
Arriving at the office with a mind full of questions, Iyeon met two unfamiliar men. They immediately presented their business cards to him, and as Hyegang had said, they were affiliated with the Superpower Management Office.
But that was it. Without any explanation, they only repeated that he needed to come with them to the Superpower Management Office. Since they were clearly government officials, Iyeon couldn’t refuse to go, so he ended up surrounded by the two and arrived at the Superpower Management Office. Throughout the journey, Iyeon asked for the reason, but no answer came.
The final destination was somewhere in the Superpower Management Office building, a small room with only a table and chairs sparsely placed. Click. Glaring at the person who closed the door silently and left, Iyeon plopped down in a chair.
A four-person table with four chairs. The room, without even decorative plants or frames, had an extremely desolate atmosphere. Is this a meeting room? No, rather… While he was frowning quietly, the door opened again. Turning his head, he saw Heesu entering.
“It’s been a while, Jung Iyeon-ssi.”
“Director. What is all this…”
“The illegal research facility recently discovered on the outskirts of Chohosi, known as the ‘superhuman factory’.”
Heesu, who had firmly cut off Iyeon’s words, walked deliberately and sat opposite him. A chilling gaze scanned Iyeon. Before Iyeon could speak again, Heesu pushed forward something in his hand. With a thud, a small bead-like object was placed on the table.
‘I’ll perform a simple surgery.’
It was something he had seen before. The small jewel that Young had shown him, saying it would be implanted in him, was right in front of his eyes.
“As a result of a full investigation of the superpower refining jewels found in the factory, we discovered a jewel with a gi-ryeok wave pattern identical to Jung Iyeon-ssi’s.”
If it was a jewel meant for someone with materialization abilities, of course it would be a similar type of ability. If Dr. Kim had a materialization-type ability, there would only be one. If there had been another, they wouldn’t have needed to bring in Iyeon; they would have experimented on that person instead.
Iyeon’s materialization ability that Morpho had possessed.
“As Jung Iyeon-ssi knows well, that jewel was created by extracting the gi-ryeok of a superhuman. The gi-ryeok owners are mostly victims who were forcibly exploited, and except for those whose whereabouts are unknown, they have been rescued and are recovering in hospitals.”
Eyes darkened with suspicion and hostility stared directly at Iyeon.
“However, Jung Iyeon-ssi has never been reported missing or hospitalized for superpower issues since your superhuman registration.”
I made a mistake. Sweat formed on the back of Iyeon’s neck.
Iyeon hadn’t simply changed his name; he had manipulated all records from before he became an adult. This was also why Sano couldn’t find him.
After the emergence of variants and superpowers, the world had barely managed to stabilize the situation to a point where it didn’t destroy everyday life. However, things could never be exactly the same as before. Variant accidents and superpower incidents were quite common, and amid the confusion they caused, people would disappear or reappear frequently.
Not only Iyeon but also Sano were people who had “emerged” through such loopholes. Of course, unlike Sano, who was registered directly by Heesu, Iyeon had gone through slightly illegal routes. Thanks to a skilled operator who cleanly created a new background for him, there was no record anywhere that he had been Lee Jeongyeon. The same went for any record of experiencing gi-ryeok depletion as a minor.
“Jung Iyeon” was, on paper, a young man who had lived a perfectly ordinary life.
But a jewel with his gi-ryeok wave pattern was found in an illegal research facility. Moreover, Iyeon had even declared that he would catch Dr. Kim himself and took charge of the aftermath. He had also been alone with him just before Sano arrived.
In this situation, one assumption becomes likely: that he secretly extracted his own gi-ryeok and handed it over.
These were circumstances perfect for being suspected as a spy. Even Iyeon would think so if he were in their position.
“How did a jewel refined from Jung Iyeon-ssi’s gi-ryeok end up in their possession?”
Heesu’s thoughts seemed no different. Sharp questioning was directed at Iyeon. What should I do? Iyeon tried to hide his panic as he stared blankly at the jewel on the table.
To explain, he would inevitably have to talk about Sano and Morpho.
He didn’t know how much Heesu knew about Sano’s past, but if Sano himself had never revealed it, it wasn’t Iyeon’s place to speak first. No one wanted to expose such a past.
Plus, if Heesu, as the director, found out that Morpho was involved, things would get too complicated. To think that the developer of the terrain configuration function was actually a vicious superhuman criminal. The implications were obvious even without seeing the wave pattern.
‘Why did I live without saying anything all this time…’
He hadn’t thought he would get caught in a place like this.
But if he continued to maintain silence, he would be arrested as Dr. Kim’s accomplice. What should I do? Just as Iyeon was hesitating, unable to decide one way or the other…
Click, the door opened.
