# Chapter 149
Sano took charge of handing over Taejin, Seeun, and Semi to the authorities. His extensive experience in shutting down illegal research facilities was a big help. After taking the three of them back into the elevator, Sano returned only hours later.
By then it was already late dawn, and the night ended with Sano giving Iyeon—who had been nodding off on the workshop corner sofa with his head against Hyegang’s—a piggyback ride home.
“What happened to those three?”
Iyeon asked Sano, who was leaning against the wall alone checking his phone. Sano answered without taking his eyes off the screen.
“Lee Taejin will receive a prison sentence.”
That was entirely expected. Even setting aside Sano’s experience, Taejin had been Dr. Kim’s accomplice. Moreover, during the investigation of the gems he possessed, his exploitation of superhumans would be further revealed. He was also the person in charge of Mirae’s experiment.
“What about Lee Seeun-ssi and Lee Semi-ssi?”
“Those two will probably receive community service orders.”
The one who answered this time wasn’t Sano. All three people turned their gazes toward the voice coming from the entrance.
“…Jin Heesu?”
D.S murmured with a slightly bewildered face. Heesu bowed his head slightly. A black sedan with heavy window tinting was visible behind him.
“Though the two did actually participate in the crime, their roles were either minimal or only attempted. The superpower bracelets as well—if they claim that they didn’t directly refine the core material, the gems, but received them from Lee Taejin, it’s likely to be considered as a mitigating factor. Superpower resources are always precious too.”
“I see…”
Iyeon trailed off with a lukewarm response. It was a troubling verdict in many ways.
Heesu was dressed in a neat suit, but the dark circles under his otherwise tidy eyes had deepened since last time. After explaining in a slightly drooping voice, Heesu continued talking from the doorway without entering the workshop.
“I’ve heard a general explanation from Je Sano and Mirae. …My family has done something shameful, it seems.”
His face looked gloomy as he calmly acknowledged the disgrace. It was his mother’s doing, after all. He couldn’t help but be shocked.
“Do you have no intention of revealing the full story?”
Seeing how the news had glossed it over as a simple accident, it seemed a conclusion had already been reached, but Iyeon still asked carefully. Heesu smiled bitterly.
“I think I mentioned this before, but I don’t have much power.”
His face, which omitted a great deal of the story, was filled with deep weariness and self-deprecation. It didn’t seem like he was hiding things because he wanted to. Unable to fully grasp his feelings, Iyeon could only quietly close his mouth.
“So the most I can do is something like this.”
As Heesu finished speaking, he turned his back. Click. The sound of the sedan’s back door opening was heard. Iyeon’s eyes, which had been staring blankly, gradually widened.
A small foot was stepping out of the car.
“There was an anonymous informant who reported the experimental data from the main house’s basement.”
As Heesu opened the door wide, Mirae jumped out energetically.
“Mom!”
“Among those documents was content stating that Jin Jeongwon, the head of the family, ordered a researcher to conduct an experiment to remove Kang Mirae’s gi-ryeok, a member of the household.”
D.S, who instinctively embraced the child diving into her arms, blinked her eyes. It was an unusually blank expression for her.
“On the condition of keeping quiet, Kang Mirae will be sent to Jin Deokseon.”
D.S’s eyes widened at the statement that fell like a sentence. Heesu smiled faintly.
“If it’s going to be buried anyway, isn’t this kind of deal beneficial?”
“Mom, they said we can live together now!”
Mirae, who had lifted her head from her mother’s embrace, chattered excitedly. While staring intently at the face overflowing with bubbles of happiness, D.S pressed her forehead against Mirae’s. Her hands, which held the child as if afraid of losing her, spasmed intermittently.
“…But raising a child in this kind of environment…”
Even while hearing the words she had longed for, D.S hesitated to believe them and awkwardly began to speak. The words that the family elders had drilled into her remained deep in her heart.
What came back was an unexpected question.
“Do you know why Mirae went down to the basement every day to look at the laboratory?”
When his nephew suddenly appeared in his office at dawn with a severed piece of bed, Heesu thought he might faint. Mirae, wearing earplugs with her eyes wide open, jumped up as soon as she saw Heesu. After confirming where she was, she suddenly burst into tears.
After making her warm cocoa, wiping her tears, and covering her with a blanket, Heesu had a long conversation with Mirae. As a result, he came to understand most of her actions.
“She said it resembled the atmosphere of her mother’s workshop.”
A large desk, scattered documents, tools strewn all over the place. Machines. With just those commonalities, Mirae had found a connection to her mother.
“She said being there made her feel like she was with her mom.”
D.S said nothing. Her forehead, which had been pressed against Mirae’s, slid down. Mirae, saying her neck was ticklish, laughed and shrunk her body. The tiny shoulders were a bit too small to hide an adult’s face, but D.S stubbornly concealed her expression.
“Let’s live together.”
Her voice, sounding as if something was clogging her throat, trembled badly. It was so small that it was barely audible.
“I’ll do well, Mom…”
But the person who gave the answer heard it clearly.
“Yes!”
Along with the energetic reply, small hands embraced D.S’s back. The broad back was too big for a child to wrap around completely, but the strength was enough to thoroughly wrinkle the work clothes she gripped.
The three others were somewhat excluded from this touching scene. There was no need to intrude anyway. Sano, who had approached Heesu’s side, muttered slowly.
“Anonymous?”
Heesu chuckled at the anonymous informant’s protest.
“It’s a secret that you took everything from there.”
Even at the main house, they had no idea about the identity of the intruder. It might have been partly due to Sano taking all the evidence, but ChilChil’s explosion had also contributed greatly to scattering what few traces there were.
Moreover, the existence of the underground laboratory was top secret among top secrets. It was a secret they hadn’t revealed even to Heesu, the family head’s son, and now with Taejin, the actual owner of the lab, as well as the twins all caught, it would be even more difficult to make a move.
“You’ve fallen out of favor, I guess.”
Sano muttered indifferently. Heesu patted him on the shoulder as if to say not to worry.
“I was never in favor to begin with.”
The plainly smiling face looked strangely refreshed, leaving an impression on Iyeon. He thought he understood a little why D.S trusted Heesu.
While they were chatting, D.S had already composed herself, seated Mirae in a chair, and resumed her work. At this natural return to business, Iyeon opened his mouth in disbelief.
“No, D.S-ssi. Is this the time to work? After such an emotional reunion, you should play with Mirae. You were even crying so much…”
“Shut up.”
D.S snapped and moved her hands busily. It seemed to be a continuation of the work she had been doing earlier. What has she been making all this time? Are her commissions that backed up? With a puzzled face, Iyeon leaned on the back of the chair Mirae was sitting on and pushed it toward D.S’s desk. Drr-rrr, with the sound of wheels rolling, two heads peeked out.
On the desk was a machine about the size of a human head. The body, made of smooth metal parts, was short and stocky like a snowman. Two black button-like objects placed in the center could barely be guessed to be eyes, so roughly made was its appearance.
“Mom, what’s that?”
At Mirae’s question, D.S pressed something on the machine without answering. Then there was a whirring sound of parts rotating.
[Hello. What is your name?]
Oh, this voice. Iyeon’s eyes widened. Mirae, who hadn’t noticed the surprised face, answered cheerfully.
“Kang Mirae! What’s your name?”
[My name is Future-7. You may also call me FT-7.]
The FT series was an artificial intelligence robot series that D.S had created thinking of her daughter. It was closer to a charm embodying her wish for Mirae’s safety. Even with the same number, since it was newly made, the data accumulated previously could be considered gone, but FT-7 was a robot, so that was inevitable.
“FT? That’s a weird name.”
[Is there a nickname you would like to call me?]
At those words, D.S slightly raised her eyebrow.
“…What? I never included such initial questions.”
The soft murmur snapped everyone to attention. Iyeon stammered as he spoke.
“Chil, ChilChil.”
[Would you like to set it as ChilChilChil?]
The next answer had a bit more force behind it.
“No, ChilChil!”
“Hey, you again…!”
D.S belatedly expressed her displeasure, but the small machine processed commands incredibly quickly. The cheerful mechanical voice announced:
[New designation has been entered.]
Although robots couldn’t possibly do so, the voice sounded somehow like it was smiling, making it bright and lively.
[I look forward to working with you.]
