Ch.145Episode 30. Responsibility (2)

Tap, tap.

As expected of a model, her walk was precise and confident.

“It’s been a while, Mother Yeonhwa.”

When she came closer, I could faintly smell the citrus perfume I had bought her before.

Noticing this, I glanced at Gu Yeonhwa. She seemed to recognize the scent too and looked at me. We exchanged knowing smiles.

“Next time, let’s make sure to bring a gift.”

“Yes, let’s do that.”

As we snickered and whispered to each other, Michelle looked at us both with displeasure.

“…Why are you laughing?”

“Pardon?”

“Are you laughing at me?”

“Ah~ I noticed you’re wearing the perfume I gave you for your birthday. I’m glad you like it.”

“Not particularly… I just wore it because I didn’t have any other suitable perfume.”

“Yes, let’s go with that.”

“…”

I nodded as I spoke. Michelle’s brow furrowed, apparently displeased with my nonchalant attitude. However, those wrinkles smoothed out as soon as she looked at Gu Yeonhwa beside her.

“Have you been well?”

“…Same as always, I suppose.”

“I’ve been doing great!”

“So…?”

Michelle awkwardly rubbed her arm as Yeonhwa responded with high energy before even being asked. She probably didn’t know how to face her daughter due to guilt and regret.

“How’s work?”

“I recently went back to modeling. I’m looking into other things too.”

“What about becoming a rescue hero again?”

For reference, Michelle was an A-rank ability user, but not the combat type.

Her ability was to condense air, which was extremely useful at disaster sites.

She once worked as a rescue hero, creating pathways through collapsed buildings by condensing air so rescuers could enter, or forming air barriers during floods to prevent water overflow.

That’s not to say she was completely ignorant about combat. As a graduate of an American academy, her basic physical abilities were far superior to most heroes.

“I’m done with hero work…”

“…I see. I thought it would be nice to work as heroes together with Mom.”

Yeonhwa expressed disappointment at Michelle’s response.

The reason she quit being a hero.

It was because of her husband’s affair.

During her active period, when both Jipyeong and Akcheon were running rampant, she was often away from home, and her husband took those opportunities to have affairs, which became traumatic for her.

However, directing her anger at Yeonhwa instead of her husband was certainly an issue worthy of criticism.

Though it’s not completely incomprehensible that in her broken mental state, seeing Yeonhwa reminded her of her unfaithful husband.

“…Stop talking nonsense and let’s go in. Our reservation time is almost here.”

“Before that… Yeonhwa is wearing her academy uniform… Don’t you have anything to say about it?”

Her steps toward the restaurant halted. She glanced over Yeonhwa’s entire figure before speaking.

“Well… it’s much better than that black dress she used to wear around.”

“Mm-hmm. I think so too.”

“…I can’t tell if that’s a compliment or an insult?”

When I agreed with Michelle’s opinion, Yeonhwa clicked her tongue with a disgruntled expression. She must have wanted us both to tell her she looked pretty.

“Enough, let’s go in.”

“Yes!”

I watched the blonde mother and daughter walking side by side from behind. It seemed they were slowly returning to a proper relationship.

But it’s not enough yet.

To protect this daily life, Akcheon needed to be eliminated.

As long as Akcheon remained, Michelle’s safety could be threatened at any moment.

The Association was regularly communicating with us, occasionally destroying Akcheon’s hideouts and capturing their members, but they hadn’t been able to catch the executives who had gone into hiding.

If possible, we should capture the other executives before the eX potion is developed…

“Oppa! Hurry up!”

Lost in thought, I didn’t notice Yeonhwa approaching until she naturally took my hand. I smiled slightly as I watched the back of her head as she led me.

“That looks natural.”

“Pardon?”

Michelle’s gaze was fixed on our joined hands.

“It doesn’t look like this is the first or second time.”

Yeonhwa, feeling caught by Michelle’s probing words, hastily let go of my hand and explained defensively.

“N-no, it’s not like that. It’s just that Oppa was spacing out, so…”

In situations like this, it was better to act casual and nonchalant to avoid misunderstandings.

In that sense, Yeonhwa’s flustered behavior was as good as confirming Michelle’s suspicions.

See, Michelle’s eyes were narrowing more with each word Yeonhwa spoke.

…But why was she looking at me?

“I didn’t say anything. I have no right to comment on who you date.”

“…You’re being cold again. That’s why Yeonhwa keeps getting hur—”

“But if that person is her instructor, I should blame the instructor rather than the student.”

“…”

Look at that build-up.

She glared at me with hostility, as if she’d caught me red-handed. Yeonhwa anxiously looked back and forth between us.

“Instructor, just to be clear, you haven’t laid a hand on Yeonhwa, have you?”

“…I haven’t.”

I could answer with some confidence since, although I’d done many things that might make Yeonhwa develop feelings for me, we hadn’t had a physical relationship.

“Really?”

“Yes. We haven’t gone that far.”

“That far…?”

Michelle’s eyebrow twitched. Her blue eyes began to blaze as they fixed on me.

Why did she have to phrase it like that? It only creates more misunderstandings.

“So you’ve done everything up to that point?”

“No. That’s not it.”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

Just switching from formal to informal speech made her incredibly intimidating.

There was a chilling quality to her lowered voice. It felt like facing Ha Yuri’s cold aura.

“Tell me honestly. Did he touch you?”

“No. No, he didn’t!”

Yeonhwa frantically denied it. Thinking that staying silent would only build up misunderstandings, she appealed with all her might.

“…Really?”

“Yes, really!”

She nodded repeatedly. Michelle, who had been eyeing Yeonhwa suspiciously, turned her glare back to me.

“It better be true, right?”

“…Yes, it is.”

“It better be. If you did anything, I’ll make you take responsibility for Yeonhwa’s life.”

Perhaps due to her own painful experiences with men, she showed strongly conservative tendencies.

“…Yes.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

Seeing Michelle stride forward, Yeonhwa sidled up to me and whispered.

“I’m sorry. I said something unnecessary.”

“No, it’s fine.”

“Anyway… let’s keep this a secret from Mom. If she finds out, you’ll be dead… Instructor.”

That’s really not reassuring in the slightest.

* * *

She ordered a similar set meal as last time and now sat across from me and Yeonhwa, studying us intently.

Her eyes still held suspicion.

Feeling that the atmosphere would only grow more awkward if we just maintained eye contact, I brought up a conversation topic.

“Um… I heard you’ve been talking with Yeonhwa on the phone recently.”

“Yes. I don’t want her causing trouble at the academy like she did in high school, as that would be problematic for me. I just call to ask how she’s doing.”

She took a sip of water that Yeonhwa had poured for her as soon as they sat down.

“I think you don’t need to worry about that since I’m there.”

“…I feel like trouble might happen precisely because you’re there.”

She seemed completely convinced that there was something between me and Yeonhwa. To be fair, it would be strange if she hadn’t caught on after Yeonhwa called her instructor “Oppa.”

“You’re not denying it?”

“Would you believe me if I did?”

“No.”

Damn. Isn’t that too resolute?

“But why did you invite me as well? You could have just called Yeonhwa. I heard you had something to talk about.”

Michelle’s eyes shifted to Yeonhwa.

Yeonhwa, who had been looking around the restaurant she hadn’t visited in a long time, felt the gaze and turned to Michelle. Meeting those innocent eyes, Michelle smiled awkwardly and spoke.

“It’s nothing grand. I just… thought Yeonhwa would be more comfortable meeting me if her instructor was present.”

Thinking about it, if she had something to say, she could have done it over the phone. There was no particular reason to call me.

Despite that, the reason she invited me seemed to be because I could help ease the awkwardness between mother and daughter.

Since I also wished for this mother and daughter to reconcile, I was more than happy to be used in this way.

“Besides… I’ve heard plenty about your skills and evaluations from outside sources.”

“Is that so?”

“You’ve already become the official 5th rank. The news calls you the meteoric S-rank hero.”

She seems to be monitoring me more than I expected.

“And it was Instructor Eugene who captured the S-rank villains Nightmare and Paris. Do you know how many heroes those two killed?”

“Well… roughly…”

The number of heroes killed by those two executives would easily exceed three digits. The civilian casualties are beyond count.

It wasn’t difficult for me since their skills didn’t work on me, but both executives had mental abilities, which would have made them challenging opponents for others.

“I’m grateful that an instructor with the skills to subdue such villains is in charge of Yeonhwa’s education.”

“I see.”

“Oh! You finally got recognition, Oppa!”

I wasn’t sure whether to smile at Yeonhwa’s genuine joy. In a way, Michelle was saying she’d be keeping a close eye on me.

“However, I won’t tolerate you using your looks and abilities to take advantage of Yeonhwa personally.”

“…I’ll be careful.”

I answered with an awkward smile. She really was someone you couldn’t let your guard down around.

“Yeonhwa… seems to be doing well, which is good to see.”

“Of course! Oppa is kind, and everyone in the special class is nice too!”

“So you’re not alone like before? Is anyone bullying you at the academy?”

“As I told you before! I wasn’t bullied! I was the one bullying others!”

At Yeonhwa’s outrageous statement, Michelle’s expression hardened, and I instinctively smacked my forehead.

Please, Yeonhwa…