By Zephyria Eui-jae grabbed the two cheeks of the face that was sticking to him and carefully examined his face. A purring sound echoed, as if he was satisfied.
‘I can’t watch you every time, so go in and check his condition!’
That was because of the request, not an order, from the great ‘Hong Ye-seong’. Lee Sa-young in this state seemed more faithful to his instincts than usual. He was stickier than usual, liked to cling, and craved touch. If Eui-jae moved even a little away, he immediately showed his discomfort. Well, maybe what he had told him last time worked, as he didn’t cling beyond a certain point.
Eui-jae stared at Sa-young, who was rubbing his cheek against his palm, and asked.
“Are you okay?”
“I can… endure it.”
“How long will it take today?”
“Umm, I don’t know….”
Sa-young began to nibble on his palm. Eui-jae sat down with a thud on the damp floor. Sa-young hugged him tightly. Clang, the iron chain and iron bar were clearly grasped in his hand. He couldn’t even pull this out.
His heart was heavy. It seemed like there was nothing he could do. Eui-jae closed his eyes, stroking Sa-young’s hair, which had now begun to gnaw at his neck.
What value do I have if I can’t fight?
Suddenly, that thought came to mind.
It was right after Eui-jae had a clean shower in the Wave Guild shower room that he received a call from Ha-eun. There was a missed call, so he called back, and Ha-eun said in a gloomy voice.
―Uncle, can you pick me up today? Only if you’re not busy….
How could he not go after hearing those words? Eui-jae immediately contacted Min-gi Seo. Min-gi Seo told him not to use him as a personal driver, but still took him to Ha-eun’s school in his old truck. When they arrived, it was just the time for school to let out. He saw a small figure walking with her head bowed. Eui-jae spread his arms wide.
“Ha-eun!”
Ha-eun raised her head sharply. A bright smile appeared on her gloomy face. Ha-eun ran at full speed and hugged Eui-jae. Of course, Ha-eun would get hurt if they collided head-on, so Eui-jae caught her with his hands before that happened.
“So, you know, the teacher gave us homework….”
“Yeah.”
Eui-jae, with a pink character bag on his shoulder, took Ha-eun’s hand, who was chattering excitedly, and headed to the convenience store. After sitting face to face on the plastic chairs on the convenience store terrace, he put a straw in the yogurt and handed it to her. Ha-eun drank the yogurt and pointed to her hair.
“Uncle, aren’t you going to dye your hair anymore?”
“Dye?”
Eui-jae picked up the bangs that had fallen over his eyes and examined them. Even if he dyed it with that expensive Kraken ink-containing dye, the black color didn’t last long. It returned to gray as if nothing had happened. The color of the dye he had done last time had already faded. Eui-jae shrugged.
“Yeah, I decided to just live with it. How’s school these days? Is it okay?”
“It’s okay. Except it’s boring.”
“Why is it boring?”
“The teacher tells me to go straight home instead of going anywhere else. I can’t even stay in the computer lab or the library. All the kids go to academies….”
Ha-eun swung her feet. Was she not getting along well with her peers? Eui-jae tried to recall his memories of the past, but his memories of Ha-eun’s age were very distant. Moreover, she was a child of a generation where Rifts and Awakened existed from birth, so her way of thinking might be different from his.
Eui-jae tore open a bag of snacks and spread it on the table.
“Does Ha-eun want to go to an academy too?”
“No… it’s not that, but I don’t have any friends to play with.”
“Because everyone goes to academies?”
“Yeah. And now you’re not around either, Uncle.”
The top of Ha-eun’s head looked particularly gloomy. It must be hard if she can’t get along with her peers. Even if she gets along well at school, she will be lonely if she can’t hang out after school. Eui-jae rummaged through his vague memories.
“…Do they still have taekwondo these days? Do you want to go to a taekwondo or hapkido dojang? Wouldn’t that be fun?”
“…Uncle, do you have a lot of money?”
Eui-jae, who had heard people ask him to borrow money because he must be rich, closed his mouth at the question of whether he had a lot of money, which he had never heard before. Ha-eun, who was sucking on her straw, sighed like an adult.
“You’re unemployed, Uncle.”
“Where did you hear the word unemployed….”
“Min-ji lives with her unemployed uncle, and her mom gets mad at her all the time.”
“…….”
Eui-jae pretended not to know and replied.
“I told you, I work at Wave Guild. I have a lot of money.”
“…….”
Is that really the look in an elementary school student’s eyes? Ha-eun stared at Eui-jae’s face with a suspicious look. She wouldn’t believe him unless there was evidence. This wouldn’t do. He should ask someone to make him a fake business card. Eui-jae scratched his head and replied.
“I’ll show you my business card next time. Will you believe me then?”
“Yeah.”
“And about taekwondo, if Ha-eun wants to go, let’s go from this month. I’ll talk to Grandmother. Or do you want to register now?”
Ha-eun raised her head sharply and looked at Eui-jae. The way her eyes were sparkling was very cute.
“Can I really do that?”
“Yeah. Is there a place you want to go?”
“There’s a taekwondo place that Min-ji goes to. It’s near here!”
Ha-eun jumped up from the plastic chair as if leaping. Eui-jae followed the small figure running along with a colorful bag on one shoulder. It seemed like she had grown a bit taller since he last saw her. He hadn’t been able to pay much attention to Grandmother and Ha-eun since the Hanover Soup Restaurant closed.
‘I need to pay more attention.’
Following Ha-eun, he came to a familiar alley. It was the alley where the Hanover Soup Restaurant was located. His pace slowed down. He had been there several times since the Hanover Soup Restaurant closed, but it felt strange to come with Ha-eun. He felt like he should open the sliding door and start business right away.
“…….”
Eui-jae deliberately turned his gaze away from the red letters. Because he knew very well that he couldn’t. But his head was full of thoughts related to the store. It didn’t seem like Grandmother would reopen the business. Her knees were still not good. She would probably clean it up someday. And he couldn’t go back to the Hanover Soup Restaurant either.
“It’s right in front!”
After running for a while through the Hanover Soup Restaurant alley, the small figure stopped in front of a shopping district. Eui-jae raised his head. There was a sticker of a cute tiger wearing a white uniform doing a kick, and a slightly cracked blue letter sticker was attached to the window.
Awakened Taekwondo
Now even dogs and cows are using the word Awakening. Eui-jae looked at it with a sullen expression and went up the stairs. The taekwondo dojang was in the corner of the 3rd floor. The door was wide open. Eui-jae poked his head in to check the inside. Slippers and small shoes were scattered at the entrance, and it looked quite clean. He could hear the shouts and laughter of children. This was good enough. Just as Eui-jae was about to rub his chin, he felt a presence.
“How can I help you?”
“Ah, I’m here to register…. Oh?”
Eui-jae’s eyes widened. His mouth opened slightly. Because the man wearing the uniform in front of him looked exactly like Bae Won-woo, whom he had seen in Incheon earlier. Uh, uh, Eui-jae pointed at Bae Won-woo, who was wearing a white uniform, even though he knew it was rude.
“S, Shield Guy!”
“…….”
The man’s face changed to a sullen expression. But as if it was a familiar occurrence, he quickly erased the sullen look and bowed his head in greeting.
“He’s my cousin.”
“…Shield Guy? Or the instructor?”
“Shield Guy is my cousin.”
“Ah, ah, I see. Yes….”
They looked so alike that he would have believed they were brothers. Shield Guy’s brother looked Eui-jae up and down, then smiled at Ha-eun, who was sparkling her eyes next to Eui-jae. Even his smiling face was the same as Bae Won-woo’s, which gave him a little goosebumps.
“Is this friend here the student who will be registering?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I’m Min-ji’s friend. Min-ji goes here, right?”
“Min-ji… Jang Min-ji? That’s right. She’ll be here in 10 minutes.”
“Uncle! I want to go here!”
“Okay, okay….”
Eui-jae was already half out of it. So, while Shield Guy’s brother, the instructor, sat him down and explained the curriculum and time slots, he nodded and answered without any Soul. It was then that something caught his eye. It was a frame placed in the corner of the small office. It looked like a photo of Shield Guy and the instructor with their arms around each other’s shoulders.
‘They really look eerily alike….’
The moment Eui-jae made a strange expression, he heard hurried footsteps. Eui-jae and the instructor turned their heads at the same time. A student who looked a few years older than Ha-eun burst into the office, sobbing.
“Instructor!”
“What’s wrong? What’s the matter….”
“They’re, they’re here again…. They’re even trying to block the stairs!”
“…….”
The instructor’s face hardened coldly. He stood up from his seat and bowed his head to Eui-jae.
“I’m sorry, but can we continue the conversation later?”
“Ah, yes. May I come with you?”
“…It wouldn’t be very….”
“I’m still an Awakened, though. A D-class.”
Eui-jae readily spat out the lie that was now like his own skin. But the instructor’s face hardened even more fiercely. He slowly shook his head.
“Then you shouldn’t follow us any further.”
“Why?”
He seemed to faintly hear several people shouting.
Awakened, step aside….
Eui-jae’s expression also hardened.