episode_0007

… … … … …

Recently, Seo Yu-ryeong’s day started at Ga-eul’s work time.

But for the sake of minimal privacy, I didn’t follow her into Mr. Autumn’s apartment.

From the time Gaeul-ssi entered the mart until she returned home, Seo Yu-ryeong followed her like a shadow.

Seo Yu-ryeong is also a person with common sense, so I often thought that this observation was a bit out of the ordinary…

‘This is… … yes. It’s to protect Gaeul-ssi. That person is in danger, so there’s nothing I can do… … .’

Every time such impure thoughts came to me, I tried to push away the hesitation by raising a counterargument in my head.

Yes. This is absolutely not a criminal act like stalking. Seo Yu-ryeong is simply protecting Ga-eul.

In the first place, it was wrong for the Autumn Seed to look like it would fly away if the wind blew, causing Seo Yu-ryeong to worry.

A child as delicate as that could trip over a rock while walking and get seriously injured, or like last time, other employees could physically harm her.

But if Seo Yu-ryeong is nearby to ‘protect’ Ga-eul, it’s a different story. If she’s waiting around, Ga-eul will be able to be kept safe even if an emergency arises.

That day, just like any other day, Seo Yu-ryeong was hiding near the mart where Ga-eul worked and waiting for Ga-eul.

After a long wait, he finally saw Mr. Ga-eul over there. As soon as he saw him, Seo Yu-ryeong’s large heart started pounding and her body became full of energy――

‘Alone, no… … ?’

Something was different today. The autumn she had been waiting for was not alone.

Next to Mr. Autumn, there was a woman who was holding his hand and leading him as if protecting him. She had short blue hair and was walking while smiling and talking to Mr. Autumn of the West Rhyme.

‘No way, Lee Seo-yeon… …!?’

Seo Yu-ryeong immediately recognized the woman’s identity. It was Lee Seo-yeon, one of the higher-ranking Awakened Ones.

Seo Yu-ryeong’s heart began to beat faster. She instinctively took a few more steps back to distance herself from them.

Even if someone as strong as Lee Seo-yeon couldn’t completely neutralize Seo Yu-ryeong’s stealth ability, she might still be detected at too close a distance.

‘Why on earth is that woman… …!?’

Along with the doubt, a strange, dark, sticky feeling filled Seo Yu-ryeong’s chest.

Was this fear? She couldn’t quite figure out what this emotion, which was new to her, was.

Carefully keeping her distance from them, Seo Yu-ryeong tried to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Sister, I saw it on the internet last time―”

“Huh, then?”

‘… … … Sister?’

Only then did Seo Yu-ryeong notice their relationship. After observing Ga-eul, the identity of the ‘older sister’ who often muttered to herself was none other than Lee Seo-yeon.

… … … … …

As she watched Ga-eul and Seo-yeon stand and talk for a while before walking into the mart holding hands, Seo Yu-ryeong felt a strange but very strong emotion.

It was damp, hot, and black, like tar.

Then her body began to tremble. She clenched her fists so hard that her fingernails dug into them, and clenched her teeth so hard that the muscles in her jaw were visible.

Now she knew what the feeling was that filled her heart so much it was ready to overflow: hatred.

‘That woman, she’s my older sister… … She couldn’t even protect Ga-eul… …!

Why are you holding Ga-eul’s hand? Even I, who protects that person every day, couldn’t do it?’

At that moment, the cold part of Seo Yu-ryeong’s head muttered an uncomfortable truth. This is jealousy.

But this time, she did not acknowledge her own insight. This was not some kind of low-level jealousy. It was justified anger and hatred.

‘Yes. Even though she’s my older sister, she doesn’t even know that Ga-eul is being bullied, and yet she dares to hold my hand… …!’

Seo Yu-ryeong tried hard to ignore her jealousy and inferiority complex. Her hatred grew stronger as she rationalized it.

But today, she had to observe and protect Ga-eul-ssi. However, she felt she needed to know the reason why that woman went into the mart with her.

‘For now… … I’ll watch both of them today. I have to see with my own eyes what happens.’

With that determination, Seo Yu-ryeong cautiously followed them to the mart.

“Sister, I’m going to work!”

As she entered the mart, she saw her precious protection object, Gaeul, running away to the employee break room.

‘Ah, I have to see Gaeul-ssi’s undressing… … .’

Observing the Autumn Seeds as they change their clothes in order to ‘protect’ them was a precious part of Seo Yu-ryeong’s daily routine.

But today was different. As a spy for Seo Yu-ryeong, my intuition was sounding an alarm on that detestable woman, Lee Seo-yeon.

‘I’m sorry, Ga-eul. I won’t be able to see the undressing scene today.’

After apologizing to Gaeul-ssi for not protecting her, Seo Yu-ryeong approached Lee Seo-yeon. As Lee Seo-yeon’s silhouette became clearer, jealousy and wariness became a tangled mess in Seo Yu-ryeong’s heart.

‘Seo Yu-ryeong, calm down. Your opponent is definitely not easy. Be careful, and keep him in your eyes… … .’

Seo Yu-ryeong bit her lip and calmed her mind. Now was not the time to be swayed by emotions. She began to watch Lee Seo-yeon’s every move with cold eyes.

… … … … …

Lee Seo-yeon was talking to the mart employees. Judging from their reactions, it seemed like they were already somewhat acquainted.

On the surface, it appeared to be a kind and beautiful woman chatting with her employees, but Seo Yu-ryeong, trained in espionage, intuitively felt that there was something hidden between them.

‘It’s strange… … .’

Seo Yu-ryeong, who was closely observing Lee Seo-yeon, discovered something suspicious about her. It was the glove on Lee Seo-yeon’s hand.

‘Those are… … Lee Seo-yeon’s Awakened Ability Assistance Gloves, right?’

The identity of the gloves worn by Lee Seo-yeon was an incredibly expensive piece of equipment. No matter how much money you have, it is not something you would wear in everyday life.

‘Then, surely… … .’

Seo Yu-ryeong’s intuition turned into suspicion, and the suspicion turned into certainty. Lee Seo-yeon was definitely using her supernatural powers at this very moment.

‘But, that woman’s ability must have been… … strengthening physical abilities through brain control?’

It’s strange. It’s suspicious. Now that I look at it, the expressions on the faces of the employees talking to Lee Seo-yeon and their eyes seem a bit cloudy.

Seo Yu-ryeong bit her lip. She wanted to get a little closer, but it was too dangerous to get any closer to Lee Seo-yeon.

… … … … …

Meanwhile, as Seo Yu-ryeong was concentrating on digging up Lee Seo-yeon’s suspicious points, movement was detected in the employee break room.

It was her precious being, Miss Autumn, who came out of the break room wearing her uniform.

Seo Yu-ryeong knew that she had to look into Lee Seo-yeon a little more, but she couldn’t hold back her overflowing jealousy any longer. She put aside other things and approached Ga-eul.

‘You look great together again today… … .’

Admire its delicate and pretty appearance from a distance of about 50cm, where it would not hit the autumn seed even if it turned its body suddenly.

Then, when he saw Lee Seo-yeon, the dark and sticky something that had filled his chest disappeared, and he felt a warm and soft emotion fill his chest. Seo Yu-ryeong smiled without realizing it.

But the good times were short-lived. When Seo Yu-ryeong looked around belatedly, Lee Seo-yeon was gone, but the atmosphere inside the mart was a little different than usual.

To be precise, the other employees’ gazes toward Ga-eul were a bit more hostile than before.

“Is that woman earlier his older sister?

So you’re stuck here because of your sister? Even though you can’t do anything.”

“… … … … .”

A sarcastic voice is heard, as if telling Ga-eul to listen, but Ga-eul lowers her head and endures it.

But the more Ga-eul endured, the more the sarcasm grew and grew.

“That’s right.

Tsk tsk. You’re making your awakened sister do all the dirty work. If you know you’re being treated like shit, then you should stop. ”

“You must be a real burden in life, Jim. If you have a younger sibling like that, it won’t be easy to get married. Isn’t there a family that wants to live their whole life by sticking their nose into it?”

Even Seo Yu-ryeong couldn’t stand those words. It was the fault of that incompetent and detestable older sister. Why was Ga-eul a burden?

But there was nothing she could do in the current situation. What could she do other than be angry inside?

While Seo Yu-ryeong was gritting her teeth in helplessness, Ga-eul, who could no longer bear the insults, approached the employee and began to protest.

“Stop… …Stop it! Don’t talk about your sister.”

“Oh, look at that little thing getting all worked up. Trying to hit me?”

‘Huh, huh?’

Although Mr. Ga-eul was very angry, the employees who were much bigger and had malicious intentions were not going to apologize and back down easily. The situation was getting worse.

To Seo Yu-ryeong, it was obvious that if a few more words were exchanged, Ga-eul would swing her fist.

Then, Gaeul will have no choice but to quit her job at the mart, and the special relationship between Seo Yu-ryeong and Gaeul will no longer be able to continue.

‘T-That won’t do… … Should I step forward? Me?’

Should I just give in to social phobia and watch helplessly?

Otherwise, should I muster up the courage to step in and save the autumn seeds?

There was no more time. Seo Yu-ryeong had to make a decision now.