# Chapter 139
“Mr. Lee Taejin told you to bring me?”
It wasn’t clear if Mirae’s kidnapping was also part of the plan to lure Iyeon. If that was the only reason, it would actually be fortunate because Mirae would be safe until Iyeon arrived. But if there was truly some kind of deal with the head of the household and experiments were separately scheduled… Iyeon’s grip on Chilchil unconsciously tightened.
“You’re too soft.”
That’s when Sano stepped in front of Iyeon. With just a few steps, he instantly reached behind Seeun and casually swung his arm. Following his movement, jet-black metal spikes erupted from the ground, targeting Seeun. They moved with such a fierce velocity that they seemed about to pierce through various parts of her body.
Clang! What blocked them was a rock wall that suddenly rose behind Seeun. The fairly solidified wall barely stopped the sharp attack. Rock wall. Stone. Only then did Iyeon remember that when rescuing Semi, Seeun had attacked the police using rocks.
Seeun turned her head. Contrary to the complicated feelings Iyeon had expected, her face was calm. There was only one emotion contained within it.
Hostility.
Backing away, Seeun widened the distance between herself and Sano while summoning large rocks to block their view. With a cracking sound, the floor broke in several places. In an instant, huge boulders filled the corridor.
“Useless tricks.”
Sano snorted and called forth much thicker spikes than before. The spikes that shot up from the floor and walls like a porcupine mercilessly shattered the rocks. Bang, bang, crash! Fragments of rock fell in showers under the powerful attacks, like hammers crushing walnuts.
Seeun wasn’t as strong as Sano, but she wasn’t weak either. If she had been officially evaluated, she would probably be Mugunghwa Tier 4. An uncommon talent.
Judging by the fact that he didn’t immediately follow up with another attack, it seemed Sano didn’t intend to kill her either. However, his sharp aura flowed out undisguised. It was a declaration that he wouldn’t hesitate to use force if necessary.
“Tell me where Morpho is.”
That voice was colder than any Iyeon had ever heard.
“…I have no reason to tell you.”
Seeun glared at Sano. Her gentle face held clear refusal.
“Then die.”
With those words, Sano’s spikes lunged at Seeun again. Bang, bang! The sounds of sharp wind and spikes embedding themselves everywhere scattered. Seeun moved nimbly, narrowly avoiding fatal wounds.
Watching their battle from a distance, Iyeon narrowed his eyes. Seeun was showing movements strangely familiar with fighting. The proof was that she wasn’t helplessly crumbling under Sano’s attacks.
Combat ability against people isn’t a skill that automatically comes with being good at using superpowers. Perhaps Seeun…
Bang! The questions scattered like smoke with the continuing explosions. This wasn’t the time for leisurely contemplation. Iyeon’s mind snapped to attention.
“Why are you following Mr. Lee Taejin’s plan? Don’t you want to save Mirae?”
Iyeon shouted toward Seeun. Though he couldn’t fully trust everything she’d said about Mirae since she had deliberately led them into a trap, her story had unusually clear details. It was difficult to believe it was completely fabricated.
Hearing his voice, Seeun glanced at him while fighting Sano. Their eyes met. In slow motion, Iyeon saw her lips moving as if she was trying to say something.
“Honestly, Lee Seeun. I was wondering why you were dawdling.”
It was then that an unfamiliar voice cut in. Iyeon’s eyes widened at the voice coming from right behind him. It was a tone similar to Seeun’s but subtly different.
Before he could fully turn his head, his shoulder was grabbed.
“Let’s not play detective games too much. We’re in a hurry.”
As Sano, noticing the intruder, turned his body toward Iyeon, black minerals burst from beneath his feet. The sight of the sharply forged metals extending toward Iyeon seemed to unfold in slow motion.
“Jeong…!”
Sano shouted with a grimace, stretching out his hand. Before its tip could reach Iyeon, Iyeon’s vision spun. Along with the flipping scenery, a familiar nausea mildly rose up. Iyeon closed his eyes slowly.
I knew this would happen.
Seeun had used Mirae as bait to lure Sano and Iyeon. But even at this point when the two had completely descended into the basement, Taejin was nowhere to be seen.
Then naturally, there must be more to the scheme.
“Hello, Jeong-yeon.”
The air touching his cheek changed. Iyeon inhaled the cool-scented air slowly and opened his eyes. The large, brightly lit room was unfamiliar yet somehow familiar. Familiar desk, familiar documents, familiar lab table.
And familiar person.
“Have you been well?”
It was a warm greeting, as if welcoming an old friend. The face smiling at him kindly was one he would never forget, even in dreams.
“It’s been a while.”
Even though he was seeing it clearly with his own eyes, it felt unreal. Iyeon wasn’t even sure if he was responding properly. His flat voice came out stiffly. Only the feel of the doll’s fur clutched in his hand somehow made him aware that this situation was real.
“Uncle.”
It was a reunion after ten years.
“My nephew, you’ve grown so much since I last saw you.”
Taejin smiled broadly. He had barely changed from how Iyeon remembered him as a child. At most, maybe a wrinkle or two had been added to his face.
Behind Taejin, numerous monitors were arranged in a large rectangle. Each screen displayed scenes from various spaces – some places Iyeon knew, others he didn’t, but their identity was easy enough to guess.
Surveillance cameras installed throughout the Jin household.
Taejin had been watching Sano and Iyeon since they infiltrated.
“You look the same, Uncle.”
Iyeon replied, pretending to be calm, while checking the person who had brought him here from the corner of his eye. For someone with teleportation abilities who would be in Taejin’s underground laboratory, he didn’t need to guess much.
“It’s been a while, Ms. Lee Semi too.”
“Can you stop pretending to know me?”
Semi frowned and instantly moved behind Taejin. Her attitude made it clear she didn’t want to associate with him.
Taejin’s goal had been to separate Sano and Iyeon. With Sano present, he wouldn’t have had a chance to talk with Iyeon. He probably already knew Sano’s identity too. Knowing Sano from childhood, it would have been harder not to recognize him.
“Is Ms. Lee Seeun a sacrificial pawn?”
“Sacrifice? Seeun is a capable child.”
Even so, she wouldn’t be able to hold out against Sano for long. Taejin would know that too.
Semi had only brought Iyeon. That meant Seeun’s assigned role was to buy time by engaging Sano until Taejin achieved what he wanted.
And Taejin’s goal was probably…
“You want to take my gi-ryeok again?”
The smile on his face, which looked too young to guess his true age, deepened.
“I’m glad you’re more reasonable than you were ten years ago.”
He no longer bothered to hide his intentions.
It was only natural. With terrain setting features, gem refining, and even using it to make Semi’s bracelets, no matter how much gi-ryeok he had extracted, it must be running low by now. After all, it had been a full ten years. Taejin was already someone who understood the usefulness of materialization abilities to the bone, and he would also know that Iyeon hadn’t died in the laboratory.
Because until his parents, who were also Taejin’s blood relatives, passed away, he was Lee Jeongyeon.
“How did you find me?”
But at the point when Iyeon was left alone, he suddenly erased all traces of himself and disappeared. Even Sano, who was openly looking for Jeongyeon, had no news, so no matter how clever Taejin was, it shouldn’t have been easy to find out. Yet he already knew Iyeon’s whereabouts when he was working at the club’s research facility.
“They say heaven helps those who help themselves. And I’m a bit lucky with people.”
“…Lucky with people?”
“And it also helped that you were still Lee Jeongyeon.”
Taejin smiled mysteriously after making these puzzling statements. The fact that Iyeon found that smile truly unpleasant was proof that he had grown up.
“Don’t call me Lee Jeongyeon… Actually, never mind.”
He had no intention of getting caught up in Taejin’s pace with meaningless banter. Iyeon sighed lightly and glared with hostile eyes.
“Where is Mirae?”
