episode_0087

… … … … …

On the way home, three acquaintances continued to comfort me.

I could sense their consideration in their soft voices, which were always there for me, but the sharp glances they would often send at each other were eerie, even though I knew they were not directed at me.

So when our group arrived at my house, they naturally entered my house. I could feel a strange heat in their eyes.

I was a little taken aback that their kindness didn’t end with just dropping me off at my house, but I couldn’t refuse their kindness.

“Son, today was a tough day, wasn’t it? Instead, I’ll make you your favorite dish.”

The Sky Boss smiled at me and headed to the kitchen. Her hands were so smooth as she took out ingredients that it seemed as if she knew every nook and cranny of my refrigerator.

“Boy, then I’ll warm up the milk for you.”

Teacher Wol-hee cleaned up the slightly messy living room and then heated up some milk in the microwave.

“Hey, Autumn. I’ll bring my pajamas. Or… … do you want to wash together like last time?”

As Mr. Ghost whispered in a lower and deeper voice than usual, President Sky and Teacher Wol-hee turned their heads and glared at Mr. Ghost.

“Eek… … ?!”

As I flinched at their terrifying gaze, the heavy atmosphere disappeared as if it were a lie. As if they were claiming that what I had seen was an illusion, they turned their heads and focused on what they were doing.

“You guys. You don’t have to take care of me that much… … .”

I managed to bring up the subject, but the three women shook their heads at the same time as if they had made a promise. They all insisted that I needed care today, and I could only nod to the consistent arguments the three women were pushing.

While Mr. Sky was cooking, Ms. Wol-hee handed me warm milk. Mr. Ghost helped me change into my pajamas.

Even after finishing their meal, they didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving. In the end, I went to bed under their watch.

“””Don’t worry, we’ll protect you.”””

I closed my eyes and heard three women’s voices overlapping in my ears. Maybe it was because of that, but I was able to forget about Yeoreum’s work for a moment.

… … … … …

The conference room at the headquarters of the Awakened Ones’ Association was enveloped in a heavy silence, with several women sitting around a large round table.

Their expressions were equally tense, and their wary gazes crossed each other.

Finally, when all the attendees were seated, the association president stood up and announced the start of the meeting.

His face, with its obvious signs of fatigue, bore the marks of many nights spent struggling to resolve this situation.

“Everyone is here. The topic for today’s meeting is――”

He looked around at the attendees as he continued speaking slowly.

Lee Seo-yeon was staring at him with sharp eyes and crossed arms, while Seo Yu-ryeong lowered her head and scratched the table with her fingers.

Jin Wol-hee was sitting with an expressionless face, her sharp teeth shining through her slightly open mouth.

Yoon Ha-neul was sitting with her back against her chair. She was smiling as always. Occasionally, her lips were seen twitching.

Park Seo-ah clenched her fists so tightly that the veins on the back of her hands were bulging.

Kim Taeyang was smiling fiercely, sweeping his blond hair back. Her eyes were burning golden, and the heat was causing haze to rise around them.

And at the end of the table sat the newcomer Park A-young. She had scars all over her body from a recent incident, and the angry gazes of the other attendees often passed by her.

The association president took a deep breath and continued speaking.

“The topic of the meeting was the issue of the midsummer sheep. I clearly suggested persuading them with good words… …Why did you use violence?”

As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the conference room became tense. Lee Seo-yeon was the first to speak.

“What we did was self-defense. That woman… … was dangerous.

It must have been a snake targeting autumn. ”

Yoon Ha-neul nodded and added.

“That’s right. We actually saved that thieving cat. We should be thankful that they didn’t kill it and just let it live.”

Kim Tae-yang also added a word.

“Yeah. That was just a warning. Very mild. It didn’t leave any permanent disabilities, did it?”

Jin Wol-hee also intervened coldly.

“All I did was cause pain that was beyond the point of recovery. That was a necessary lesson.”

Park Seo-ah said, clenching her fists even tighter.

“In order to protect the autumn seeds, was this kind of measure unavoidable?”

Seo Yu-ryeong expressed her opinion without raising her head.

“Uh, we… …we were just protecting the autumn seeds.”

“… … … … .”

The association president touched his forehead. He had to control them somehow.

“At least… … shouldn’t we pretend to obey the law? This kind of behavior――”

Before he could finish speaking, Lee Seo-yeon coldly interrupted.

“The law? We have tried to protect values that are more important than the law.”

Other women exchanged glances of agreement. The president of the association tried to suppress his frustration as he watched their solidarity. Frustration breeds men.

At that time, Kim Tae-yang said with a sneer on his face.

“You must know what kind of beings we are, right? We should be grateful if you suppress your power and pretend to respect your will.”

Jin Wol-hee also nodded to Kim Tae-yang’s words.

“That’s right. If we really crossed the line, it wouldn’t have ended with just causing harm.”

The chairman of the association kept his mouth shut in a heavy silence. He knew full well that he alone could not completely control those who had been consumed by madness.

He raised his head and opened his mouth, trying his best to appear calm.

“Okay, I see. Let’s not mention this any more.”

An air of triumph permeated the conference room. There was a look of satisfaction in the women’s eyes, and a subtle smile played on their lips.

The moment the association president was about to bring up the next agenda, Seo Yu-ryeong suddenly stood up from her seat.

“I think we need to discuss an important issue now, about sharing time with Ga-eul.”

At those words, the atmosphere in the conference room changed in an instant. The eyes of all the women, who had been slightly relaxed, became sharp again, and the tension became tense.

The first person to break the sharp silence was Yoon Ha-neul.

“Of course, I’m the child’s mother, so I should spend the most time with her, right?”

Then, Kim Taeyang’s blonde hair began to sway like a living flame. The air around her became distorted and heated.

“Ha, are you still talking about your mother? You’re delusional when you’re not even related by blood.”

While Yoon Ha-neul and Kim Tae-yang glared at each other as if they were going to kill each other, Jin Wol-hee also expressed her opinion with a blank face.

“The only person who can take care of the boy’s mental and physical health is me, the attending physician. I need to more than double the regular clinic hours.”

“Treating a child who has no pain at all, touching his body and treating him? Even a passing dog would laugh.”

Park Seo-ah coldly laughed at Jin Wol-hee and sneered. The air inside the conference room suddenly dropped due to their fight.

“Autumn misses her older sister more than anyone else. So I should be the priority.”

“, only I can truly understand Mr. Autumn. Even now, I am observing… … and filming… 24 hours a day… .”

“I also need time to comfort my brother’s wounded soul… … .”

Lee Seo-yeon, Seo Yu-ryeong, and Park A-young also each said what they wanted to say. The women gathered in the conference room did not use violence at least, but their eyes flashed with hostility and competition toward each other.

The association president’s eyes became heavy as he looked at the conference room in chaos.

The chairman of the association has so far used his special ability, quantum bifurcation observation, or Schrödinger vision, to make only the best choices, but all he has done is postpone the coming doom little by little.

What was worse was that the longer we delayed the destruction, the bigger and more powerful it became.

These people, who had surpassed the level of superhumans and were still as good as before, were becoming inexplicably more powerful as they were consumed by madness.

Even Jin Wol-hee and Kim Tae-yang, who were not ordinary awakened people but had migrated from an external dimension, were like that.

The chairman of the association sweated and calculated the best possible strategy. Now, even mobilizing the military would not be enough to stop them. If just one of them went in the wrong direction, in the worst case scenario, it would be possible to overthrow several powerful countries.

For example, Jin Wol-hee, a distant relative of vampires, had the ability to cause a nationwide zombie outbreak, and Kim Tae-yang could cause a second Chernobyl disaster dozens or hundreds of times by dropping a summoned meteorite on a nuclear power plant.

He closed his eyes and tried to hold onto his last hope, but his powers only observed destruction. These women, whose minds had been tainted by the boy, were now uncontrollable.

Now I had to take a gamble, even if it meant throwing in the towel. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to stop them.