SOFTIE 51

Yeonwoo shrugged his shoulders. It wasn’t hard, and compared to how much the team members had suffered because of him, it was nothing.

How could it be easy to fight in a team with an Esper who was on the verge of rampaging? Well, they each had their own goals and reasons, but regardless, they were comrades who had decided to fight together.

“Let’s finish this quickly and get off work.”

Perhaps it was because his condition had improved; rather, he felt like pouring out his overflowing power. In a different sense, he might actually need to wear the earrings.

“Oh, I’m down!”

“Gunwoo, please move us to the location.”

After that, everything was handled with lightning speed. Because of the schedule ending so quickly, there was some idle time, but they showed the composure to even clear a gate that appeared while they were on the move.

Articles announcing Yeonwoo’s stability poured out endlessly, and everyone who witnessed him spoke of his strength without exception.

At the same time, civilians saw the round object in Yeonwoo’s arms, Softy, with their own eyes; those who saw it chattered on the internet about how it wasn’t scary like a magical beast, but actually cute.

˖°𓇼🌊⋆🐚🫧

Thanks to the work finishing early, Shin Yoosung was able to head home even though the sun hadn’t set yet. Upon arriving, Shin Yoosung frowned when he saw a black sedan and men in black suits standing in front of the house.

“Young Master.”

They blocked Shin Yoosung’s path. Shin Yoosung tried to move past them, but they stubbornly remained in his way. Shin Yoosung sneered.

They sent civilians because he was an Esper. No matter how burly they were, an Esper cannot recklessly exercise power against civilians. Civilians who were jealous of Espers would sometimes pick fights on purpose.

Shin Yoosung had no choice but to deal with them.

“Who’s a young master? I’ve cut ties.”

“We were told to convey that it is not a tie that can be broken just because the Young Master wishes to break it.”

The men blocking the entrance to the house spoke firmly. Shin Yoosung glared at them with a cold gaze. The men flinched their shoulders but did not back down.

When his father was enraged by the fact that Seo Yeonwoo had returned despite rampaging, he made a proposal to Shin Yoosung.

Kill that damn Guide. Since you’re both S-class, you should be able to do it easily. A look that said, You obviously won’t refuse. And a look that said, If you can’t even do that, what is your use?

He demands perfection from others while being unable to do it himself. His past self, who had struggled to become an Esper just to be recognized by his father, seemed only foolish. And he realized. To my father, I am an existence that is useless unless I occupy the top spot.

Shin Witaek, who had repeated to him every day since he was young that he had to awaken as an Esper—that he had to succeed—even though he had no interest. He led him to compete by making him view the existence known as Seo Yeonwoo as an enemy. At one time, he had considered him an enemy to be surpassed, but not anymore.

Shin Yoosung didn’t want to be swayed by his father’s whims, with him acting under the title of “father.” He didn’t even want to call a person who viewed his own child—who had become an Esper—as a tool, a father. How appalled had he been when he heard the reason the man married his mother?

“Move. It seems you’re acting bold because I’ll be punished if I touch a civilian. But will I really be punished? If I get punished, it will affect Father’s reputation as well, won’t it?”

At that, the men glanced at each other. It was so obvious. They weren’t worth dealing with. What they had to say was predictable anyway. Seo Yeonwoo.

Shin Yoosung’s eyes darkened. There was no one who wasn’t listening for news on his condition. They must have known that the contamination level had dropped to green. They would try to get rid of him before his condition improved.

I don’t know where he gets his confidence.

Does he view an Esper as an ultimate weapon while simultaneously thinking he can finish off that weapon with his own hands? An Esper is not a robot that turns off when you press a button. Besides, who could possibly win against him now that he’s fully recovered?

Though it was during a rampage, Hana, he was the one who cleared an S-class gate all by himself.

“Tell that human. Tell him it would be much better to apologize to Team Leader Seo Yeonwoo and join hands. Tell him he’ll end up dying himself while trying to kill that guy for no reason. Don’t you think the idea of killing an S-class Esper is absurd?”

“It is possible.”

“…The underlings are crazy, too.”

They say birds of a feather flock together; they must have similar brains. Shin Yoosung, saying he had nothing more to discuss, grabbed the shoulder of the person blocking him and pushed.

“Do you not wish to see your mother?!”

“…You say that in front of me?!”

The look in Shin Yoosung’s eyes changed instantly. However, the man continued without losing heart.

“The Esper observation class taking place in four days. Block Seo Yeonwoo so he cannot come there. This is what the Minister said.”

“Ha, is he planning to kill that slime?”

“I cannot speak on that. Just know that if you fail to stop Esper Seo Yeonwoo tomorrow, a harsh training session awaits Young Master Shin Hansol.”

Shin Yoosung ground his teeth. Training. It was a training to strengthen the body in preparation for becoming an Esper. That training schedule was designed solely based on Espers, so it was difficult for an ordinary person’s body to handle.

He had worked himself to death to be recognized by his father, but his younger brother was different. He was a kid who preferred using his head over moving his body. Even if he didn’t become an Esper, he was smart enough to be of help in other ways, yet his father insisted only on him becoming an Esper.

“We will prepare the location. Stop Esper Seo Yeonwoo there.”

The men left after finishing their piece. Shin Yoosung entered the house. He leaned his back against the slammed front door and thought for a long while. He didn’t know the details of what his father was up to.

Shin Yoosung immediately picked up his phone and contacted someone.

“He really came, just like you said. He said it’s in four days.”

—Four days? That sounds like him.

“Are you okay?”

—What’s there to worry about? I’m going to work normally tomorrow too.

“For your information, I recorded everything we talked about when the people that human sent showed up.”

—……

The sound from across the phone stopped for a moment. Soon, a pleasant laughter was heard.

—Good job. See you tomorrow.

Shin Yoosung frowned when the other didn’t ask for the recording file or ask what else he had found out.

But Seo Yeonwoo would stop his father. That much was certain. That was the way for his mother and Hansol to be safe. Even if he brought them back recklessly, that man would just take them away again. In the name of husband and father. Because he played the role of a thoroughly kind father.

˖°𓇼🌊⋆🐚🫧

“Today was comfortable, too. I wish it were always like this.”

“Tomorrow is different.”

“Ah, right.”

Kang Hana’s face soured in an instant.

“I’ll give you plenty of Guiding in preparation for tomorrow.”

They had cleared the gates quite quickly, but the contamination levels had risen. However, it wasn’t at a dangerous level, so they were gathered in one place receiving Min Haeyoon’s radiation Guiding.

That place was Yeonwoo’s house. While receiving Guiding, they each did their own thing and lounged about lazily.

“Why are there suddenly so many gates tomorrow?”

“Isn’t it because the cases of sudden gate occurrences have increased lately?”

“Oh, if even a Guide knows, isn’t that a pretty serious issue?”

“I wonder? The Guides belonging to teams seemed busy.”

Usually, before a gate occurs, it emits something called a wavelength. The association checks the location where the gate will occur in advance, measures the grade, and then assigns a team or an Esper. Of course, there are cases when that doesn’t happen, but lately, the latter was more frequent.

“Haeyoon, are you okay?”

“You guys haven’t been calling me much lately. I have some breathing room. They did call me, but everyone’s condition is good.”

“It’s because of this, this lucky charm.”

Kang Hana tried to stroke it, but Softy dodged shook, shook. Kang Hana stared at the spot where it had vanished in an instant, but since Softy was the one maintaining Yeonwoo in optimal condition and allowing work to finish quickly, she treated it with a generous heart.

“But we’re off work, not on standby, right? We’re not going to be called out suddenly, are we?”

Because such cases happened often, Park Gunwoo spoke as if he were anxious. Kang Hana grimaced, saying even imagining it was terrible.

“That’s not it. Well, maybe for A-class and above, but we won’t be short on hands anymore. We’ve cleared every gate that’s popped up so far. The remaining Espers will be enough.”

“Ah, I have seen a lot of Espers around lately.”