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Go Woo-jin, who attended in a comfortable outfit, was seen among the people who formed a sea of people to connect with the E-SOF crew. He looked more youthful than usual, probably because of the large jumper that was zipped up to his neck.
“Did you get scolded by the old man again?”
Seon Jae-chan was trying hard not to pay attention to Gyeong Chang-hyun but he chimed in with a mocking tone from the side.
“That old man never stops anyone from leaving. Never.”
Jae-chan frowned. People who go will never stop. Never stops anyone from leaving? Wasn’t that the way Han Tae-hoon dealt with his sex partners, not his subordinates?
They always try to recruit talented people, constantly test their abilities, and push them to their limits without regard for their moral situations. That was how Han Tae-hoon handled his subordinates, or at least that’s what Jae-chan had known so far.
However, since he had been neglected by Han Tae-hoon, he also had doubts about whether Gyeong Chang-hyun was right.
Seon Jae-chan was momentarily confused but decided that he should try everything he had prepared.
“I’m counting on you.”
He pulled out a thick binding file from his crossbody bag placed under the seat. He handed it directly to Chang-hyun. Chang-hyun raised his eyebrows and obediently accepted the hefty proposal.
“Tell the old man this.”
“Okay.”
“As if I wrote it?”
“Okay. Don’t forget our deal. You have to grant any favor I ask later.”
Okay. Jae-chan replied inertly once again.
Gyeong Chang-hyun laughed and moved slowly toward Han Tae-hoon’s seat in front of him.
Since Chang-hyun had made an effort to get the seminar tickets and now this, Jae-chan reluctantly gave in and accepted the childish high-five the guy wanted.
After a couple of hours.
The fourth session which was Han Tae-hoon’s lecture ended with applause. Chang-hyun, who had been glancing at his phone beside him, poked Jae-chan’s side.
“Stop watching the old man. Pick one for me real quick.”
It was a sudden request that caught Jae-chan’s fleeting attention.
“‘Don’t be deviant, don’t act all smart, don’t be cocky’—which one sounds the scariest?”
Gyeong Chang-hyun asked with his eyes still on his phone. For a moment, Jae-chan’s face was visibly troubled, but he still provided an answer.
“‘Don’t be cocky.'”
All three candidates were just cheesy and not scared at all, but they answered that way to prevent annoyance. It was clear that if I ignored it, it would continue to bother me.
All three options were cringeworthy and not scary at all, but he chose that response to prevent further annoyance. Ignoring it would surely lead to continuous pestering.
“Ah, oki.”
‘Oki.’
That was a trendy phrase from a few years ago.
Little did he know that he would feel the realization of returning to the past. Jae-chan sighed and folded his fingertips into the thin coat pocket. The outfit he carefully chose to impress Han Tae-hoon seemed futile as he still felt cold with no result.
While he was about to grab Chang-hyun’s oddly-colored padding, he spotted Chang-hyun, who had been playing with his phone, nonchalantly whistling.
“Done.”
“-?”
“I sent Seon Eun-soo to don’t be cocky.”
“…Huh. Why are you doing that again?”
“What if your brother is swinging his dick around again?”
Chang-hyun’s voice rose at the end. Seeing the glances of the people around him, Seon Jae-chan whispered to make sure the fool lowered his voice.
“Tell me to understand.”
“Lee Hyo-hee dropped the charges against Sun Eun-soo.”
It was an unexpected revelation. A surge of strength subtly entered Jae-chan’s clenched fist, which had been warming up inside his pocket.
Come to think of it, he had been ignoring his father’s contact and hadn’t been paying much attention to how the situation was unfolding. Since Seon Jae-chan never withdrew the charges against Esper Heo Moon-ki, it would have been right to assume that his father approached Esper Lee Hyo-hee the other way and made a deal.
“Oh, there he comes. The boasting bastard.”
Gyeong Chang-hyun pointed his chin at Seon Eun-soo, who was ready to walk in this direction. Sun Eun-soo, who smiled with his dimples like a celebrity making an impression and greeting everyone he made eye contact with, was approaching them.
Jae-chan wasn’t surprised. Not only did that person hang out frequently after the dorm incident, but there was no chance Seon Eun-soo would miss this event. The encounter was no different from a planned situation.
“They’re sitting there talking with a sex offender. What a load of rubbish.”
“Don’t act so cocky.”
While reprimanding Chang-hyun’s grumbling, Jae-chan inwardly ridiculed Seon Eun-soo, who seemed to be seeking people’s favor.
In the meantime, Seon Eun-soo never returned to the guide’s quarters, even though he had been lurking around him. Thanks to Jeong Noah, the guide’s accommodation must have been recognized as a place where ‘bad things’ happened to Seon Eun-soo. It wasn’t even a place to train animals, but his brother had a timid side that made him uncharacteristically vulnerable. It worked out well for him, though.
However, apart from figuring out Seon Eun-soo’s habits and making fun of him, Jae-chan also felt a sense of suffocation.
‘I’ll definitely fix this damn habit.’
It was the reason why he was still leaving Seon Eun-soo alone. It was necessary to get used to his presence. It would have been a disaster if he popped out at an important moment and his body froze up. In reality, his breathing was returning to normal much faster than before.
“Jae-chan. Let’s talk for a moment.”
As expected, the source of the stench was finally approaching him. Seon Jae-chan answered, thinking that he wanted to punch Seon Eun-soo’s dimple that fit snugly around his mouth.
“No, I don’t want to.”
“Still the same as ever.”
With an unflinching attitude, Jae-chan fiddled with his phone in his pocket. He could feel the subtle vibrations of the energy waves mixing in the air.
… Look at this.
He sensed a very thin wavelength seeping into him, like a parasite burrowing into his veins.
During the break between lectures, Seon Eun-soo was trying to take control of Jae-chan’s mind while people were cluttered.
Jae-chan didn’t expect to experience mind control so soon.
‘What a sinister bastard.’
After a moment’s hesitation, Seon Jae-chan stood up obediently, following the command that had infiltrated his body like a parasite. He didn’t forget to start recording by pressing the volume button on the phone in his pocket, which he had set as a shortcut command.
“Well thought out. Thanks.”
Seon Eun-soo answered by showing off alone. Seon Jae-chan followed the smiling Seon Eun-soo and left Chang-hyun, who was oblivious and mumbling curses to himself, behind.
They passed through the shimmering lobby and the deck where small key-shaped trees crawled in low pots. They entered a dark area between the main hotel and building 2, where the shadows of the buildings stretched out. It was a secluded spot behind the hotel, where the large shutters at the back of the building were lowered in accordance with hotel security. There were no passing vehicles in this dimly lit area, and the two of them took their positions.
The energy that had pierced him like a thorn drained out of him. At the same time, Jae-chan pretended to be alert. Seon Eun-soo, who preferred to roll around like a fresh fish than be a marionette, kept her mind control to a minimum when they were alone.
“Crazy bastard.”
Seon Jae-chan spat out swear words. It was the intention of pretending to be angry because he was vague about how he behaved in this case at this time.
“You know that misusing your abilities like this in the Center could lead to severe penalties, right?”
“Report me then.”
Seon Eun-soo laughed.
“But you, you can’t do that.”
He smiled almost triumphantly. Since they were brothers, Seon Jae-chan was clearly aware of his older brother’s habit of obsessing over his pride and hiding his weaknesses in a closed manner.
But now, Seon Jae-chan was in a position where he had nothing to regret.
Wasn’t he trying to maintain his image for a lifetime before passing away at the age of twenty-seven? Even the one thing he was hesitant to tell Go Woo-jin has faded. And he had already revealed in real time that his father was treating him as a disposable item.
There was nothing more to lose.
“… Using mind control without the presence of an administrator is a sentence of life imprisonment.”
Seon Jae-chan pretended to be frightened and let out a restraining tone.
“Don’t be such a drama queen. What I used on you doesn’t even reach the Moderate level.”
Seon Eun-soo mentioned the English name of the unit class that indicates the degree of energy utilization of special-psychic Esper abilities.
‘Good. I have evidence of his abuse of power.’
Jae-chan felt satisfied as he became aware of the weight of the recording phone in his pocket, knowing that Seon Eun-Soo had a citizen’s group on his back, demanding strict limits on the use of psychic abilities. Giving this to the citizen group would be quite entertaining.
“Get rid of this wavelength.”
To obtain more effective evidence, Jae-chan pointed out the slimy energy waves emanating from Seon Eun-soo in the surroundings. Sun Eun-su shrugged his shoulders.
“You seem to enjoy seeing me like this. Why?”
“…Did you also do this to Espers Lee Hyo-hee?”
Jae-chan delved into various topics in an attempt to provoke Seon Eun-soo. Seon Eun-soo, who appeared composed and smiled from a seemingly detached perspective at first, suddenly twisted his lips.