POSSESSED 53

“Do you know Yeonji? I am Yeonji’s—”

“Are you the one who knows Yeonji… a Hunter?”

The man who approached asked bluntly, cutting me off. He wasn’t asking if I was the Eden Daycare Teacher, but if I was a Hunter. It was an absurd situation, but I couldn’t let my guard down, so I just blinked. Then, the man pulled Yeonji—who was quietly looking up at him—behind his back, and then firmly pushed my chest, staying on high alert.

Yeonji was so startled that she began to cry, “Uaaang…!” I tried to soothe the child, but the man didn’t budge. He didn’t withdraw his arm extended toward me, signaling me not to come any closer.

“What do you think you’re doing? Yeonji is crying!”

“State your affiliation instead. Which guild Hunter are you, and why are you with Yeonji?”

“I’m from Eden Daycare! I’m not a Hunter; I’m Yeonji’s daycare Teacher. So move!”

“Daycare Teacher? You should try fooling someone who’s actually gullible.”

The man grabbed me by the collar, saying he didn’t believe me. Because the man was taller than me, my feet naturally lifted off the ground. A choking ack-ack sound escaped my mouth. Yeonji’s crying grew even louder.

“Can’t we both see mana? So what’s with this lie about being a daycare Teacher?”

“What…! Ugh!”

“Why try to deceive a fellow Mental-type? Who do you think Yeonji’s uncle is that you’re doing this now….”

A fellow Mental-type? Don’t tell me this green light I saw on the man was mana?

‘Hunters of the same type can feel each other’s mana.’

Suddenly, Kim Gitak’s words came to mind. Back then, I wondered what that was supposed to mean. I had brushed it off, complaining about what kind of warning that was, but now that I’m experiencing it firsthand, I finally understand.

Those of the same type really can see mana. Which means this man can see my mana too. That’s not good.

My heart sank. As cold sweat ran down my spine, I flailed my body to escape the man’s grip.

“Do you seriously not even know this basic knowledge? Are you an uneducated rookie?”

Looking at me with pity, the man clicked his tongue, tsk-tsk, and pulled out an identification tag that had been hidden by his clothes. Before I could even register the faded tag hanging from his neck, he revealed his identity on his own.

“White Night Guild. Ho Seowon.”

White Night Guild? Ho Seowon?

“Ah!”

The man, who threw me down onto the ground, approached me and crouched down. Then, he said that if I wouldn’t speak up, he would find the identification tag himself, and began fumbling over my upper body.

“I have a guild in mind that I suspect. It’s Jeoksang. I need to see if you’re one of those bastards or not.”

“Jeoksang?”

This is beyond ridiculous. To mistake me for Jeoksang!

“I-I really am a daycare Teacher. I told you! You can just ask Yeonji!”

“How do I know if you haven’t placed an ability on the kid? Just stay still; there should be an identification tag somewhere…. If you have it, you’re lucky; if not, you’re in big trouble. I’m going to take you straight to Joomyeong-i.”

Joomyeong-i? Calling Baek Joomyeong so familiarly, and knowing Yeonji… just who is he?

Ho Seowon’s hands, which were persistently rummaging from my neck to my chest, headed toward my pants pocket. While there was no lewd intent, so it wasn’t exactly offensive, I didn’t particularly like it either. Just as I was about to shake him off, I spotted Yeonji, whom I hadn’t been able to pay attention to and didn’t even realize had disappeared.

Yeonji was being carried in someone’s arms. It was Baek Joomyeong.

“Ho Seowon, who do you think you’re touching right now?”

Holding a drink in one hand and carrying Yeonji with the other, he kicked Ho Seowon in the side with a terrifyingly hardened face. Even with a light kick, Ho Seowon was sent flying quite a distance. Before I could even feel relieved by Baek Joomyeong’s appearance, I was jaw-droppingly shocked that a person could be sent flying like that.

“Someone even I’ve only been able to touch the hand of…!”

Hmm? Unable to ignore the low, gritting voice, I looked up at Baek Joomyeong. His teeth were grinding, and his eyes were shining with a cold light. Though his focus seemed a bit off, Baek Joomyeong looked truly resentful.

Is he angry because that man touched me? Isn’t the reason for his anger a bit wrong?

While looking blankly up at Baek Joomyeong, I slowly raised my upper body and looked back toward Ho Seowon. Ho Seowon, who had collapsed after being kicked by Baek Joomyeong, was also picking himself up.

Yeonji climbed down from her uncle’s arms and ran toward me.

“Teacher-nim…!”

The child hugged me, and tears like beads fell drip-drip. The girl’s tears, shed out of worry for me, helped me pull myself together.

“Yeonji-ya, you were really surprised, weren’t you?”

“Heuu…. Heu, uaaang….”

“Teacher is sorry. I’m sorry for scaring you.”

I patted the back of the child, who showed no signs of stopping her crying. I could tell from her stiffened body just how terrifying the situation just now must have been for a young child.

“Teacher. You aren’t hurt, are you?”

Baek Joomyeong reached out a hand to me. Understanding that he meant for me to take it and stand up, I decided to accept the help without refusing.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

As I took his hand, Baek Joomyeong pulled me up in one go. Even with Yeonji with me, which must have made it difficult, his strength was effortless.

Ho Seowon had returned to our side by now. He had a long scratch from his right cheek to his cheekbone. It was presumed to have happened while he was sent flying and tumbling, and it looked quite painful, making me frown instinctively. However, he seemed unfazed. He just dusted off his clothes and didn’t pay any mind to the wound.

“Hunter Baek. Is this someone you know?”

Looking back and forth between me and Baek Joomyeong with bewildered eyes, Ho Seowon approached Baek Joomyeong. He didn’t seem to mind that Baek Joomyeong had kicked him and sent him flying.

“He says he’s Yeonji’s daycare Teacher, but how can I believe that? He looks suspicious no matter who sees him.”

“That’s right. Yeonji’s daycare Teacher.”

“Huh? He really is a daycare Teacher?”

A flustered Ho Seowon blinked and gaped before looking at me. After staring for a few seconds, he narrowed his eyes.

“You haven’t been hit by a mental attack, have you? That man is a Mental-type Hunter. I can see that man’s mana.”

“…….”

“It looks like he hasn’t received mana training. It’s quite dangerous and rough. I don’t know which guild he’s from, but he looks like a rookie who appeared targeting Yeonji.”

So, he is fuming in a voice that has become small, unbefitting of his size, saying that instead of kicking him, he should have kicked that man. Baek Joomyeong looked at Ho Seowon—who was telling him to snap out of it—with pity, and then let out a sigh. The moment he was about to say something, Yeonji, with her eyes squeezed shut, shouted toward the man.

“He is Yeonji’s Teacher! I said he’s right!”

Furthermore, just as I thought she was climbing out of my arms, she ran to the man and pounded on the man’s legs with her small, fern-like hands clenched into fists.

“Don’t bully Teacher…!”

Yeonji even bit his leg. Ho Seowon was at a loss, unable to do anything about the child who was attacking him with resentment. I approached Yeonji and picked her up, telling her not to do that, and Baek Joomyeong corrected his misunderstanding.

“I’ll say it again: that person is indeed a daycare Teacher.”

His blue eyes, which had calmed down as his anger dissipated, were fixed on me.

“And it is also true that he has Mental-type abilities.”