Chapter 249

Chapter 249. Invasion (2)

– K: I’ll join.

– Kj: Yayyyy! Just wait up.

I heard what seemed to be Kim Yul’s exclamation and couldn’t help but chuckle.

‘Just in time for the kids’ summer break.’

With all urgent matters settled, the priority now was planning combat scenarios and accumulating mana.

Taking this opportunity for a break didn’t seem like a bad idea.

‘I was feeling a bit worn out myself.’

Before dawn broke, I wrapped up one mission and returned to Earth.

There, I came across Jonghun by chance in the lab.

“Hyunwoo!”

Spotting me, he immediately stood up and came over.

The warmth of his embrace reminded me I was back on Earth.

I calmly sat across from Jonghun, momentarily tempering the acute senses I’d honed.

“Sorry for being late.”

“It’s fine. You’re back safely; that’s what matters. Have you had lunch? I was just about to order. If not, join me. I have some things to tell you.”

I sat on the sofa as Jonghun suggested.

While we waited for our delivery, I brought him up to speed with recent events.

“What? The twins are doing what?”

From Jonghun, I heard unexpected news.

*

The espresso machine let out a consistent ‘woong’ as it operated, amidst a jumble of other noises.

A high-pitched whir from a blender concocting another drink.

“Order 307, your blueberry smoothie and yogurt smoothie are ready!”

The voice of a part-timer trying to catch the attention of a customer who hadn’t picked up their completed drinks.

“The hygiene here is terrible. A hair in my drink? Make me a new one, now!”

The grumble of a low-class customer demanding a new drink after having consumed almost the entire original.

“Hahaha! Seriously?”

“Don’t even mention it. I wanted to crawl into a hole.”

Conversations of patrons scattered across the cafe.

The whole place was filled with various noises, enveloping Yeonwoo.

Since summer break began two weeks ago, she had started her part-time job.

Balancing work and study was tough, but she had no intention of quitting.

Finally, she was able to ease some of Hyunwoo’s burdens.

“Orabang started working at our age too. Why can’t we?”

Hyunwoo would be upset if he found out.

He’d insist on studying more with the time spent on part-time work.

Jonghun only allowed it for the duration of the break, against prolonged work.

Yet, while Hyunwoo was away, they planned to save as much as possible.

And when he returned, she would tell him.

“You don’t have to bear all the hardships alone anymore.”

Easing their big brother’s burdens made any hard work feel insignificant.

Yeonwoo buried herself in work, washing empty drink cups.

New orders poured in through the kiosk as soon as she finished sorting them.

“A caramel mint frappuccino and a grapefruit aid to-go, please.”

Yeonwoo quickly prepared the drinks, ready to call out their order number.

But suddenly, she froze in surprise.

At the cafe’s corner, where the drinks were served, she locked eyes with a man standing at an angle.

A tall, broad-shouldered figure with a slender waist, clearly muscled even through a white tee and jeans.

How had she not noticed such a striking presence before?

Everyone at the cafe took a glance at him.

As soon as he met her gaze, he began walking over slowly, as if drawn by her eyes.

“Why are you so startled? Did you see a ghost?”

“Uh, uh…”

The man in the simple white tee, jeans, and a cap was Hyunwoo.

Yeonwoo could hardly find her words, her mouth agape.

She had a list of things she’d planned to say upon seeing him again.

Yet, the sudden reunion froze her thoughts.

Hyunwoo surprised her by handing one of the prepared drinks to Yeonwoo.

“The mint one is yours, right? You like this one, don’t you?”

“Mm…”

Yeonwoo nodded absentmindedly, accepting the drink.

Hyunwoo muttered as he shook his head, still baffled by the mysterious appeal of what he thought tasted like toothpaste.

He pierced a straw into his iced Americano and continued.

“Where’s Jinwoo?”

“What?”

“Where does Jinwoo work? I heard at a nearby theater, but I’m not familiar with this area.”

“Oh, uh, just in the building right behind…”

“Box office? Or concessions?”

“Bo-box office…”

“Hmm.”

Hyunwoo took a sip of his coffee, silently watching Yeonwoo.

Then, out of nowhere, he reached over with a light chuckle.

Instead of a comforting pat on the head, a firm flick landed on her forehead.

“Ouch!”

Yeonwoo reflexively covered her forehead.

“Don’t dawdle; get back to work!”

Hyunwoo said as he collected the other drinks.

“When you finish, come straight home. We’ll talk then.”

“Uh, okay.”

With her response, Hyunwoo left the cafe.

Yeonwoo watched him walk away, rubbing her forehead.

“He didn’t scold me like I expected.”

Surprised by Hyunwoo’s unexpected demeanor, Yeonwoo found herself unable to say any of what she’d prepared.

She briefly fiddled with the drink cup Hyunwoo had left.

“What’s up with that? Who was he?”

One of her colleagues approached, showering Yeonwoo with questions.

“Who is that? He’s super handsome, is he your boyfriend?”

“Wow, Yeonwoo, I didn’t think you’d have a boyfriend. You said you didn’t have one.”

“Does it matter? What’s with that drink he left?”

“Gorgeous body, is he a PT model?”

“Athlete, perhaps?”

Startled, Yeonwoo tried to speak up, flustered by the barrage of questions.

“No, no, he’s my brother! My real brother!”

Her response only fueled their curiosity even more.

“Really? How old is he?”

“Does he have a girlfriend? If not, introduce me!”

Her female coworkers’ interest only grew.

*

Jinwoo’s reaction at the cinema box office wasn’t much different from Yeonwoo’s.

He froze in shock as soon as our eyes met.

Clearly, he knew I wouldn’t be pleased with this development.

“And yet they went through with it.”

They must have exchanged knowing glances, planning something quietly.

“Huu.”

Honestly, hearing the news about the twins from Jonghun left me with mixed feelings.

I could already see what thoughts were swirling in their heads.

I was slightly upset, yet also deeply moved.

Having grown from toddlers clinging to my waist, they were now old enough to try standing on their own.

I refrained from ordering them to quit, opting to watch from afar.

But that didn’t mean I intended to leave them be.

That evening, I sat at the dining table with the twins after they returned from work.

Jonghun was on the night shift, and Jaehyuk, home from his internship, observed the family meeting from the sofa.

“How long have you been working?”

I broke the silence, causing Yeonwoo to nervously glance at Jinwoo before responding.

“I’ve been at it for 2 weeks, and he has for 3…”

“So, Jinwoo started before summer break.”

“Yes, right after finals…”

Yeonwoo answered my questions diligently, while Jinwoo simply kept his mouth shut.

He seemed more guarded when we met earlier at his workplace.

– We don’t share everything with you, hyung.

– We didn’t think we needed to explain or get your permission for everything.

He wasn’t wrong.

“And they’re both 18 now.”

They should be able to think and decide for themselves.

And bear responsibility for those decisions.

‘Honestly, part-time work isn’t necessarily bad experience.’

Jonghun had a similar educational philosophy to mine, allowing a short period of part-time work.

‘If it was life-threatening or part of some crime, I would’ve dragged them back by their collars.’

In reality, both dangers were more likely involved in what I was doing than what the twins were doing.

Simply put, they were legally employed, unlike some of my endeavors.

‘But letting them continue is inefficient.’

They were in their final year soon enough, and it was time to focus heavily on their studies, not part-time jobs.

‘There’s already plenty of money.’

Selling all the loot from Bihar could fetch tens of billions.

There was no necessity for them to work to ease my burdens.

The problem was explaining all this money to them was impossible.

‘If I could just say that, they’d avoid unnecessary efforts.’

As I pondered over a solution, words failed me, and the twins stayed silent in turn.

No matter how much I mulled it over, the conclusion remained the same.

Making time to earn a comparatively small amount of money was inefficient with what I’d accumulated.

“You two.”

At my words after a heavy pause, Yeonwoo and Jinwoo swallowed nervously.

“Are you confident you can maintain your grades while working?”

“Yes!”

“Of course!”

They might have thought I’d approve of their part-time jobs.

The twins answered quickly, eyes sparkling with hope.

“Do you have the same confidence to earn full scholarships?”

Yet, they hesitated, unable to answer my follow-up question.

“If you have time to earn hourly wages, use it to study for a scholarship.”

Honestly, it isn’t easy.

The top talents all gather in one place, making full scholarships a rare deal.

That’s why I never brought up scholarships before.

I didn’t want to add to their burdens. I intended to cover their tuition myself.

But seeing them work so pointlessly, things had to change.

If I wanted to keep their focus aligned, I needed to provide a more definite motivation.

“I know you’ve grown up, doing things on your own, but does it have to be now?”

“… We, we just didn’t want to be a burden anymore.”

As the conversation veered toward stopping their jobs, Jinwoo, filled with anxiety, stared squarely at me.

I returned his gaze without avoiding it, continuing.

“It’s not a burden. It’s my duty.”

I hoped this would suffice.

Having brought up scholarships instilled motivation and caution.

“It’s my fault you’re going through this. So…”

“Why is it your fault!”

Jinwoo suddenly interrupted me, yelling loudly.

“It’s the fault of those who ran off with our parents’ money! Why is it your fault?”

I was taken aback; it was the first time something like this had ever happened.

Jinwoo had never raised his voice in front of me like this, not while our parents were alive nor after their passing.

Unlike Yeonwoo, who sometimes acted out or showed her anger, Jinwoo always considered consequences before acting.

As a result, his emotional expressions weren’t active.

I often hoped he’d display more of his feelings, at least like that one time.

“You haven’t done anything wrong, so why…”

As I stood there, stunned into silence, Jinwoo abruptly stood up.

“O, oh, hey! Where are you going?”

Yeonwoo, equally flustered, called after him, but he ignored her and stormed out.

I simply watched the direction Jinwoo had left.

“O, orabang, I’ll go after him, don’t worry too much!”

Yeonwoo hurriedly followed after Jinwoo.

Once the twins left, Jaehyuk, who’d been witnessing it all from the sofa, let out a long yawn before speaking to me.

“I knew this would happen at some point. Shocked?”

I glanced back at him and replied.

“Just a bit surprised.”

“You look a bit pleased for someone who says they’re surprised.”

I was. It was hard to deny that truth.

Was it comforting to see Jinwoo expressing his feelings, even if through anger?

“Not bad.”

Leaning back in my chair, I murmured with a chuckle.

“Though it does feel like he overreacted a bit.”

I valued Jinwoo expressing his feelings, yet understanding what triggered them was another matter.

Couldn’t we have just resolved things later once things got better?

As I mused, Jaehyuk let out a disbelieving laugh.

“You know, your empathy is sorely lacking sometimes.”

“Are you picking a fight?”

That was a cue to stop.

Cutting off Jaehyuk’s admonition, I stood up from my seat.

“Seriously, you planning on following him?”

Jaehyuk clicked his tongue as if saying what’s the big deal.

“If you go now, in the heat of the moment, what will you say?”

Sauntering over to the kitchen, he pulled a beer from the fridge and said,

“At times like these, just let it be.”

I furrowed my brow as I caught the beer can he tossed.

“You won’t allow them to work, right?”

So, it’s best not to rekindle the fire and give it time to naturally simmer down.

Jaehyuk was right. The next morning, Jinwoo came to me on his own accord.

Damned System