# Chapter 43
“……”
Iyeon quietly pressed his hand to his forehead.
“What is this?”
Only Jaekyung, who still hadn’t grasped the situation, muttered glumly. Iyeon snatched the mouse and forcibly exited the post.
“How can you go around picking fights carelessly? You could get sued.”
“It’s fine. They wouldn’t really do it, would they?”
Those people absolutely would. Unaware of Iyeon’s concern, Jaekyung prattled on triumphantly.
“This is how communities work.”
If this is what communities are like, Iyeon would never get along with the internet for the rest of his life.
“Jonghee-ssi.. The variant supporter is my acquaintance. I just stopped him.”
Iyeon sighed as he composed a message to Jonghee. He had simply wanted a modest hobby to pass the time, but finding a normal person in his circle was proving difficult.
“Dinner.”
As soon as Iyeon entered with Mungchi, Sano asked.
“Let’s order in. What do you want to eat?”
Sano naturally approached as Iyeon pulled out his phone. After quickly placing the order, Iyeon tried to discreetly move away and sit on the sofa, but a question flew at him.
“Where did you go?”
“Ah. To Jaekyung-ssi.”
Would Jonghee have tattled already? Iyeon looked at Sano with slight tension.
“Why there?”
He didn’t seem to know. That was a relief.
“Well, we had various things to talk about…”
His vague answer clearly displeased Sano, but Iyeon could hardly say he’d nearly gotten sued for writing malicious comments about Je Sano. As Iyeon awkwardly averted his gaze, Sano’s eyebrows lowered slightly.
“Don’t get close to that guy.”
“Huh?”
It was fortunate they seemed to hate each other as if destined to. Sano’s cold voice cut through Iyeon’s dumbfounded response.
“People with clear priorities rarely change their standards.”
The temperature was so frigid that reality became immediately palpable.
“Given his top priority, he’ll eventually stab you in the back.”
“…But people can change, can’t they?”
“They don’t.”
The firm voice made a part of Iyeon’s heart twinge. Sano, who had been staring intently at Iyeon’s lowered eyelashes, spoke again.
“They absolutely won’t change.”
*
“I’m going to visit D.S-ssi for a bit.”
On a leisurely weekend afternoon, Iyeon announced from the entrance. Sano, seated on the sofa, gave him a sidelong glance.
“You’ve been going out a lot lately.”
“I’m not a child, so ‘going out a lot’ is a strange way to put it…”
Iyeon mumbled awkwardly. It was true that he’d been making various excuses to reduce time alone with Sano until he found a suitable hobby, but this visit to D.S was partly Sano’s fault. He needed to repair the goggles’ connection jack that had been broken at the laboratory.
This bastard definitely could have neatly removed the jack and brought it, but he deliberately didn’t. Of course, Iyeon was grateful that he’d brought it at all, but still…
“It’s your turn to clean today.”
“I’ll be back soon!”
Iyeon pretended not to hear and dashed out. Sano’s eyes narrowed in disapproval as he watched the front door slam shut.
Hurrying his steps in case Sano came after him to make him clean, Iyeon arrived at the workshop quickly. As he walked along the road in front of the workshop without much thought, he spotted an unfamiliar vehicle approaching from the opposite direction. The well-maintained black sedan gleamed brilliantly.
It looked excessively expensive for this area.
“Wait…”
Iyeon instinctively stopped and hid. Finding himself next to a vending machine, he observed the situation.
What emerged from the car were two familiar faces.
“Oh. Mirae…”
Heesu, with a somewhat rigid expression, and an excited Mirae closed the car door and solemnly looked up at the workshop. So they came to keep their promise. It seemed the pressure Iyeon had applied a few days ago had been effective.
Hey, this… the timing is perfect. Iyeon’s eyes began to shine. His face showed a certain determination as he advanced little by little while remaining hidden. It was an unnecessarily resolute mindset.
Thanks to this, by the time Heesu took a determined step forward after taking a deep breath, Iyeon had positioned himself pressed against a very narrow alley gap beside the workshop’s outer wall, standing by.
He knew eavesdropping wasn’t proper behavior, but wasn’t he also partly involved in this matter? As the saying goes, “cultivate oneself, regulate one’s family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world.” It’s an old saying that emphasizes the importance of family harmony, you could say.
“Is anyone here?”
The ambition of a democratic republic citizen planning someone else’s governance and world peace was interrupted by Heesu’s lukewarm greeting.
“Who… ah.”
The typically expressionless voice rarely wavered. Though Iyeon’s view was limited to the back of Heesu’s head due to the wall, he could easily sense the awkward atmosphere.
“Mommy!”
Mirae shouted energetically. The sight of her running and embracing her mother was full of joy.
“Mirae, have you been well?”
“You said we’d go to the amusement park!”
“Sorry, I was too busy to go.”
Mirae chattered away excitedly as if she couldn’t contain her happiness at seeing her mother, then hugged her tightly. D.S lifted Mirae up and finally shifted her gaze to Heesu.
“What brings you here?”
“Jung Iyeon-ssi asked me for a favor.”
I agreed to pay his credit. Heesu’s voice sounded calm at first glance, but strangely trailed off at the end.
“Unnecessary gesture.”
D.S clicked her tongue. However, her voice was a bit softer than usual.
“Can I come in?”
“No, let’s finish here.”
D.S’s voice was firm. Heesu’s face fell slightly at her chilly response. Soon there was a rustling sound as an envelope was handed over.
“Um, is your living situation okay…?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
D.S cut off Heesu’s words and muttered indifferently.
“I don’t want to hear another lecture from my mom.”
At that, Heesu closed his mouth.
“Mirae, let’s play together later for sure.”
“Can’t we now?”
“No. I think mommy’s too busy right now. I’m sorry.”
“Hmph…”
“Be good and wait.”
At her affectionate tone, Mirae seemed to think for a moment before nodding weakly. It was a maturity that didn’t match her age. Once her tiny feet, which took a long time to leave her mother’s embrace, touched the ground, Heesu turned around with a “We’ll be going” farewell.
Only after the sound of the car carrying the two had faded did the sound of trudging footsteps emerge.
“Come out, you little rascal.”
The footsteps stopped very close to Iyeon. A dry face suddenly appeared before him. Iyeon, who had entered a large shadow, smiled shamelessly.
“Ah… How did you know I was here?”
“I upgraded the workshop’s security system. It alerts me whenever anyone’s in range.”
How thorough… Iyeon straightened his crumpled body and followed D.S as she walked to the workshop. Looking back in the direction Heesu had left, the car was already out of sight.
“Why the sudden security system upgrade? The previous one was fine, wasn’t it?”
At Iyeon’s question, D.S frowned slightly. Uncharacteristically, she looked a bit troubled.
“I’ve been seeing suspicious people around for the past few days, so it’s preventative.”
“Suspicious people?”
Iyeon’s eyes widened. Of course, D.S tended to accept commissions according to her mood, and some equipment did flow through illegal channels. She probably couldn’t say she had no enemies.
Still, the network of engineers—a profession that thrived only in this city—was so tight-knit that everyone was connected within one degree of separation. There was nothing stupider than attacking a skilled engineer.
The fact that someone would attack despite this meant it was a matter of deep hatred. But what could D.S, who rarely left her workshop, be involved in that would warrant such illegal attention?
“Do you have any idea who?”
“No. It just seems like my equipment has ended up somewhere.”
D.S frowned. Engineers inscribe their personal seal somewhere on their work. It was a kind of guarantee mark. Because D.S sometimes accepted commissions through less than clean channels, she usually hid her seal in inconspicuous places, but it seemed someone had managed to identify it.
“Wow, there was a seal? I couldn’t see one on mine.”
Iyeon rummaged through his bag and grabbed the goggles. Just as he was about to pull them out and examine them, D.S’s words came to him.
“Your goggles have it on the connection jack. I concealed it perfectly.”
“…”
“I put the seals in similar places on other equipment too, so they shouldn’t be easy to recognize. I don’t know how someone figured it out.”
Iyeon shoved the goggles back into his bag with lightning speed. Fortunately, D.S was busy organizing tools scattered around and didn’t see his action.
