# Chapter 19
“…You want me to make a cat fishing rod that doesn’t get damaged by electricity?”
D.S looked Iyeon up and down with a face that suggested she thought he’d gone senile. Iyeon drooped his shoulders and poured out his grievances.
“I’m seriously going crazy. I bought a pack of ten just in case, but they all got completely destroyed. At this rate, I’ll go bankrupt because of toys.”
“What’s going bankrupt is your head. Why are you keeping a mutant as a pet and making such a fuss? Don’t you watch the news? Are mutants something to take lightly?”
“Mutant symbiosis is trending these days. Just keeping up with the times…”
“What symbiosis are you talking about when you’re raising an electricity-spewing mutant inside your house? Did you get permission from your neighbors?”
“Raising?”
Iyeon suddenly turned serious.
“It came to me already fully grown. If I had raised it from the beginning, I wouldn’t have raised it to be a friend that destroys toys. Don’t underestimate my parenting philosophy.”
“What’s really your problem?”
However, after saying that, D.S fell into silence as if thinking about something. After a moment, D.S folded her arms and looked at Iyeon.
“Fine. There’s a condition.”
“What is it?”
“My kid’s elementary school is about to finish soon.”
“What?”
“Bring her back instead of me.”
“You’re a working mom?”
Iyeon had been doing business with D.S for years, but this was the first time he’d heard that she had a child. It was an unexpected request, but it wasn’t difficult… Iyeon nodded, agreeing, and casually added as he left the workshop.
“Oh, my tablet is broken, can you fix that too?”
“Sure.”
At the straightforward acceptance, Iyeon quickly rummaged through his bag and pulled out a tablet with a shattered screen.
“And please add some attack functions to my goggles too. Oh, and while you’re at it, just one communicator…”
“You never stop when I give you an inch. Aren’t you going now?”
The elementary school that D.S’s child attended was surprisingly in a wealthy neighborhood. No matter how shabby she might look, an engineer’s income isn’t something to scoff at, but… she didn’t seem like someone with extreme educational aspirations. Iyeon glumly looked at the splendid exterior of the elementary school. True to D.S’s words, it seemed to be dismissal time as children were exiting the school gate in small groups.
Iyeon found her daughter after intensely comparing the photo D.S had given him. She was walking dejectedly with her gaze fixed on the ground.
“Hello, are you Mirae?”
At the gentle inquiry, the tiny head lifted. The child dressed in colorful clothes was named Kang Mirae. She was a slender, lanky girl despite being only eight years old. D.S must have contacted her quickly because Mirae didn’t seem surprised to see the unfamiliar men.
“Are you the people my mom mentioned?”
“Yes. We’ll take you to your mom right away.”
Even though he was telling the truth, there was something uncomfortable about taking a girl he’d just met, so Iyeon deliberately acted extra friendly. However, despite the excessive kindness, Mirae didn’t seem very interested and soon lowered her head again. Seeing how she barely gave any attention even to Sano’s handsome face, it seemed like she didn’t have much interest in anything around her.
“My name is Jung Iyeon.”
“Yeees.”
“And that’s Je Sano.”
“Yeees…”
Sano, who had his title omitted, merely raised an eyebrow crookedly without saying anything. The two people, matching their stride to Mirae’s, soon left the elementary school. The workshop was quite far from here.
“Let’s go quickly.”
“Where’s Mom?”
“Huh? At the workshop…”
“Mom promised me.”
“Huh?”
“She promised to play with Mirae.”
“…Huh?”
The child’s face quickly contorted. Her cheeks trembled as if she might cry at any moment. No, no. Don’t cry! Panicked, Iyeon unconsciously picked Mirae up. Thankfully, the child allowed herself to be held quietly, but her teary eyes remained the same.
“She said we’d go to the amusement park, Mom and I pinky promised.”
“Uh, yeah. She did? Uncle will take you to Mom quickly. Then you can go to the amusement park with Mom.”
“Right after school, amusement park…”
Her eyebrows drooped glumly, showing how much she had been looking forward to it. Iyeon was so flustered and panicking that he didn’t even notice his phone ringing in his back pocket. Sano reached out and checked it for him.
“Good girl. We’ll take you there soon.”
“Hey.”
When a low voice tapped his shoulder, Iyeon, who was comforting Mirae, turned to look at Sano. Sano showed him the new message.
[D.S] Do everything she asks while I work
[D.S] Practice your parenting philosophy well
Iyeon alternately looked at the phone and Mirae with a betrayed expression. Only then did he realize D.S’s scheme.
This person… dumped her on us…!
And thus, the three of them reluctantly entered the amusement park.
“I’m going back.”
As Sano promptly tried to sit on a nearby bench, Iyeon caught him. A fierce gaze pierced Iyeon.
“You have to come along, Sano.”
Despite receiving the deadly aura, his smiling face didn’t crumble. It contained strong clinginess that indicated he absolutely wouldn’t die alone. Sparks flew as their gazes clashed.
“Sano, Sano.”
It was Mirae who stopped the life-or-death staring contest. Mirae, pulling on Sano’s coat tail, pointed somewhere with her hand.
“I want that.”
What the finger pointed to was a father giving his child a piggyback ride to catch a balloon hanging from a tree.
Is she asking Je Sano… to give her a piggyback ride right now? It was an enormous ambition. The little kid, who didn’t realize she was expressing the ambition to climb onto the shoulders of the number one ranked person, was still pointing in that direction, even standing on her tiptoes.
Sano’s brow furrowed fiercely. A cold gaze turned toward Mirae. It was a gloomy atmosphere as if he might harm her at any moment. This is dangerous. Just as Iyeon was about to step forward nervously.
“Be satisfied with a balloon.”
Sano spat out in a chilly voice and started walking. It was in the direction of the balloon stand. Mirae followed Sano, who was walking ahead with large strides, with small hurried steps.
‘…That’s unexpected.’
Iyeon, left behind, blankly watched the scene before following a bit late.
Mirae, holding a helium balloon that fluttered gracefully through the air, first headed to the mini Viking ride.
“Can you ride alone?”
“Yes!”
Mirae, sitting in the small boat-shaped ride, nodded bravely. Soon, with loud music, the ride began operating.
Sano and Iyeon sat blankly on a nearby bench, watching her. Mirae’s balloon, which Iyeon was temporarily holding, fluttered occasionally when the wind blew.
Je Sano and an amusement park—it was a combination of two words he’d never thought could go together. With a strange feeling, Iyeon kept stealing glances at Sano. The knife-like profile was, as always, cool and expressionless, but looking again, it wasn’t entirely out of place here.
“Stop staring.”
It’s unclear how he knew when he wasn’t even looking this way. Iyeon quickly diverted his gaze, pretending he wasn’t doing anything, and waved to Mirae. Through Mirae’s fluttering hair, a bright smile answered back.
The impromptu amusement park outing was better than expected. The weather was sunny, the colorful and happy atmosphere was floating all around, and Mirae was running around with an excited face, often smiling brightly.
Iyeon took a few photos of her and sent them to D.S. D.S didn’t reply, but judging by how terrifyingly fast she checked the messages, she seemed to be watching them well.
Most surprising was that Sano was cooperative, breaking the expectation that he would leave soon. He didn’t get annoyed even when Mirae unknowingly dragged him around, and he quietly followed. Even his wide stride, which normally would have him walking briskly on his own, was adjusted to match Mirae’s pace.
There was something about that sight that softened the heart, and Iyeon unconsciously smiled warmly.
“Why are you smiling like that?”
Unfortunately, he didn’t seem to be willing to accommodate Iyeon as well. Despite the fierce tone, no different from usual, Iyeon said teasingly.
“I didn’t know the great Je Sano had a weakness for children.”
Sano frowned. A knife-like rebuttal followed.
“I don’t have a weakness.”
Denying what I clearly saw. Iyeon, with a generous heart, decided to pretend not to notice the shy Sano.
“What do you like most at amusement parks?”
It was a tone clearly meant to change the subject. Sano’s eyebrows rose in dissatisfaction, immediately recognizing the intention, but he answered without picking a fight.
“It’s my first time, so I don’t know.”
“What?”
It was Iyeon who was surprised instead. No, what have you been doing all this time without going to amusement parks?
“Seems like you’ve been many times.”
“Of course I went when I was young!”
The somewhat grumpy retort was met with disbelief. Mirae, who was running ahead, turned around with round eyes at the loud voice. Iyeon, who quickly managed his expression, smiled and waved, and Mirae began playing by herself again, waving the balloon.
“What have you been doing all this time?”
“I was busy.”
It was a brief, concise answer. Je Sano having never been to an amusement park… Well, can’t be helped then. Iyeon lifted his head resolutely.
“Then you should enjoy it.”
“What?”
“What do you want to ride first?”
There was even a sense of mission in his solemn expression, but if examined closely, his eyes were sparkling with fun. It was clearly evident that he wanted to enjoy himself too, using this as an excuse.
“No thanks.”
“What do you mean, no thanks? You’ve never even ridden a roller coaster!”
“Want to make me one?”
He looked like he would build a custom hell-bound rail right away if Sano just nodded. Iyeon flinched and gradually coaxed him.
“It’s good to try it once. It’s fun.”
“…”
“It would be a waste to come all this way and not enjoy it.”
Iyeon smiled slyly and pulled on Sano’s arm. His eyes gleamed disapprovingly, looking as cold as if he might bury someone right away, but his large body didn’t resist the weak force and moved along.
