Chapter 166

"Ta-da! We're finally here!"

As the heavy front door swung open, a spacious, upscale interior came into view at a glance.

"How is it? Totally different from the old place, right? You have no idea how much Mom and Dad have been waiting for our Hayun and Hajun to come here."

Dad kept up a deliberately cheerful patter, but he kept sneaking glances sideways at the kids' faces as he showed them around.

"And this — this is our Hayun's room!"

The door swung open on a lavish room decked out entirely in lace and pink.

Then the door next to it opened, and this time a room stuffed with a deep blue — from the wallpaper right down to the furniture — came into view.

But as the twins looked back and forth between the two rooms, their faces went subtly stiff.

"Our… rooms are separate?"

"Of course! You're six now, so you should have your own rooms."

Dad tried to coax them warmly, but at the faintly trembling voice, Hayun and Hajun only gripped their joined hands tighter.

The kids' response was so lukewarm that Mom — who'd been trailing a step or two behind the whole time — hurriedly clapped her hands in a big, exaggerated flourish.

"Oh, right! Look at me! You must be starving, coming so early — I've got a whole spread of tasty things ready, hurry, this way!"

Despite the bright voice, in the end Mom couldn't bring herself to take the kids' hands; she only made urgent fluttering gestures through the air as she led them toward the kitchen.

"Ta-daaa~!"

The dining room, thrown open along with Mom's cheer.

On the huge table sat a lavish spread you'd wonder if even two little kids could get through — piled so high the table legs looked ready to bend.

But even faced with the enormous spread, the twins' faces stayed cold.

Filling the table wasn't katsu or sweet cake — the kinds of things kids liked.

Gold-flake-dusted top-shelf sashimi, red beef tartare, huge lobster, and pitch-black caviar.

It wasn't so much a meal for little children as a puffed-up grown-ups' spread — nothing but expensive, precious things piled high for their own sake.

"Come on, sit down! Mom called in the hotel's head chef first thing this morning to make something special for Hajun and Hayun—"

"We…"

Cutting off Mom mid-move to pull out the chair, Hayun spoke up in a small but firm voice.

"…can't eat raw shtuff."

For an instant, the couple's overblown laughter — which had been filling the dining room a heartbeat before — cut off dead.

"…"

"…"

Face gone ashen, the man whispered at his wife, edged with resentment.

"H-honey! What on earth did you order for the kids?!"

"But — I meant to prepare the finest of everything—!"

Flustered, the woman — blood drained from her face — hurriedly summoned the chef.

Before long, the chef, neatly dressed in whites, came rushing in out of breath.

The woman snapped at him irritably.

"What are you thinking, bringing out nothing but raw stuff like this when it's for kids?!"

"Excuse me? You told me guests were coming and to prepare the most expensive course. There was no mention of children this young—"

"Enough! Deep-fry katsu, something the kids can actually eat!"

The woman cut the chef off hastily and drove him roughly out.

The twins' eyes, watching this ridiculous little farce unfold in front of them, were oddly still.

Parents who kept up a front while doing everything they could to avoid any real point of contact with them — it was already too familiar, too obvious a pattern.

Hayun's eyes drifted naturally to the rabbit-shaped bracelet on her wrist.

As she toyed with the smooth bracelet, a sudden pang of longing hit — the warm meals in the Sunshine Room, huddled together with the Director and the older kids.

The always dainty little dishes plated with kids' tastes in mind, the sweet, gentle side dishes.

That perfectly ordinary menu she'd been able to spoon down happily, without a complaint, had been the Director's careful thoughtfulness all along — the realization struck her fresh.

…I mish the Direektuh.

"Hooo…"

At the surge of longing, Hayun let out a small sigh under the table —

"Eek!"

At just that faint breath, the parents — strung tight — flinched hard at the shoulders.

Then, gone ashen, Dad hurriedly rustled a big shopping bag out from behind his back.

The way he thrust the shopping bag out in front of his chest — as if it were a shield to defend him from the threat in front of him — was pretty comical.

"H-Hajun, Hayun! Dad bought you presents too! It's the Peach Bear plush you used to love so much back in the day!"

What his trembling hands yanked out in a hurry was a decently sized bear plush.

But the twins' eyes couldn't have looked more indifferent.

The Sunshine Room already had enough Peach Bears — limited editions the Director swept up for them every season — to build a castle wall out of. No way some run-of-the-mill plush like that was going to move them.

The ones in our room are way bigger and prettier, they snorted inwardly — but there was no need to show it and invite suspicion.

The twins exchanged a quick look.

"Wooow—! We. Love. It. Sho. Much! Thank youuu!"

When the twins beamed with sparkling eyes, only then did the couple let out sighs of relief.

Once the excruciating meal was over, the couple carefully asked the kids what they wanted to do.

What they really wanted was to head straight back to the guild, back to the Director — but having drawn the sword, they couldn't back down now.

"We'll play with Peach Bear in the room!"

At that, undisguised delight lit the couple's faces.

"O-oh, really? Have fun then. If you ever need Mom or Dad, just call, all right?"

"Yeeess~!"

The twins beamed back at the adults' twitchy, forced smiles, joined hands, and pattered off to the room.

The instant the flashy pink door shut, every trace of innocent smile drained from the kids' faces.

"What d'you think?"

At Hajun's question, Hayun tossed the Peach Bear plush into the corner of the bed and answered coolly.

"It'sh not about finding ush. They've clearly got shome other reason."

"Are they really after the Direektuh? Or like Yul-hyung shaid, trying to shell us off?"

"Could be both. Either way, don't let our guard down — let's watch closhely!"

"Yeah yeah!"

The two of them clenched their tiny fists tight and set their resolve.

From that day, the tasting period got under way in earnest.

The parents came three times a week, without fail, and took the kids out.

The destinations were incredibly varied and lavish, too.

From the amusement park they'd gone to before with the Director, to premium kids' cafés running hundreds of thousands of won per hour, to children's musical theaters with VIP-only seats.

On the surface, they were nothing but the finest itineraries any child would cheer for.

But as the outings went on, the parents themselves grew scarcer and scarcer.

The couple who'd forced themselves along the first few times soon slipped quietly out of sight, pleading "I'm sick" or "a business meeting."

In the end, the only ones by the kids' side every time were unfamiliar hired hands.

The twins tried to hunt for clues, scrutinizing the hands tailing them like guards with sharp, hawklike eyes — but as time went on, only the boredom snowballed.

Ughhh… sho boring. Training with the older kidsh is a hundred timesh more fun…

That day was no different.

Today's destination — a massive aquarium in the heart of District Three.

Even with flashy schools of tropical fish drifting overhead, the twins sat alone on a bench, faces blank and hollow.

Bored out of their minds, lips out in a full-blown pout — that was the exact moment.

"Hi, little friends!"

Along with a bright voice, a huge shadow that had suddenly loomed up blocked the kids' view.

A full-body seal costume, plump and covering the wearer head to toe so no trace of identity showed — and behind it, a massive orca costume standing tall.

"!"

In that instant, the twins' eyes went round as saucers.

Dazzling blond hair spilling out through the gap at the nape of the seal costume, and the too-familiar voice that had just brushed their ears a moment ago.

It was the person they'd been missing all this time — even the faintest trace was enough to give him away in an instant.

"Direektuh?!"

"Ack!"

The seal quickly clapped its huge, cotton-ball paws over the kids' small mouths with a "hup!"

Soon a familiar voice, thick with panic, burst out from inside the mask.

"Wa-wait! How on earth did you know?! I'm covered head to toe — there shouldn't be an inch of me showing!"

At the sight of the flustered seal bouncing in place and the huge orca (unmistakably Number Three) standing stone-faced behind it, the kids' faces lit up in an instant.

"Kyaaa—!"

"—we mished youuu!"

Flung into the Director's arms, the kids giggled like they had the whole world, nuzzling their faces hard into the plush belly of the seal costume.

Right, I knew.

That I shouldn't be making contact with the kids like this.

But I really couldn't stand it.

From the first day the kids went into the District Three house, I'd been using the artifact's power to secretly tail them every time they went out.

At first I meant not to rush in — just to quietly watch.

But the more I watched the situation, the more my blood boiled.

The so-called parents just slapped hired hands onto the kids and stood back completely, and even the hands, far from actually caring for them, kept their distance and watched the kids like beasts behind bars.

I'd even had to watch, a few days ago at the amusement park, as the kids stood there stranded — no guardian willing to hold them, unable to ride even the carousel.

I saw red at the sight and was about to storm out — if Kang Taemin hadn't stopped me, I'd have blown the whole thing wide open and been exposed long ago.

That is absolutely not what parents who miss or care about their kids look like.

That day, back at the institute, I immediately told Lee Jinwoo to dig into what was behind the couple, thoroughly.

At least until those results came in, I'd meant to squeeze out some patience and stay on the sidelines.

But today, the moment I saw the kids' faces sitting blankly on the aquarium bench, the last thread of my reason snapped.

Their eyes, empty even as the flashy schools of fish drifted past.

The moment I read the awful hollowness lying underneath, I couldn't stand it.

So I bolted straight around to the back of the aquarium.

And through a very courteous, very capitalist compromise — pressing checks worth ten times their daily wage into the part-timers' hands — I secured this seal and orca costume.

That was when.

The hired hands, watching the kids from a distance, picked up on something off and started edging closer.

"Who are you? Who do you people think you are, walking up to these children like that?"

At the wary question, I hurriedly waved the seal's cotton paws and put on a bright voice.

"Congratulations! You've been selected for the aquarium's Special VIP Event today! For today only, we sea-creature friends will serve as exclusive guides for our little guests and give them a great time!"

I brazened it out, but apparently the couple had briefed them in advance — the hired hands' eyes only narrowed sharper.

"We haven't been told of any such event. For safety, we'll need to verify your identity — please take those masks off right now."

For a moment I was at a loss for words.

If my identity got out here, the parents would obviously come after me, claiming I'd broken the rules.

What do I do? Should I tell Kang Taemin to take them down?

Sweating cold inside the seal mask — that was when.

"Sssssshhh—! Shtop right there!"

The twins, who'd been clinging to my legs, suddenly pattered forward and planted themselves squarely in front of me.

"M-Miss. Wh-what is it?"

Startled by the sudden outburst, the hired hands stopped, thrown.

Facing the frozen adults, Hayun cocked one short, chubby leg out sturdily and lifted her chin, all arrogance.

"I'm playing with thish sheal — who ashked you to butt in?!"

Not to be outdone, Hajun set his short arms on his hips and screwed up his fair little brow.

Cheeks puffed out to bursting, huffing and snorting — to my eyes they were nothing but darling little puppies playing at being wild beasts.

But to the hired hands' eyes it apparently looked entirely different.

The big-bodied hands stumbled back like paper before a wind.

Then, to drive it home, Hayun snapped her head up sharply at them.

"Get losht already, would you?!"

"!"

The hired hands, meeting her eye, flinched hard at the shoulders.

"Get behind me, right now! Or elshe…!"

Hayun and Hajun laced their fingers together and clamped down tight.

Woooong—!

In an instant, dense energy pouring out of the kids' small bodies pressed down heavy on the surrounding air.

A chilling, overwhelming pulse — even a non-Awakened could feel it on the skin.

"Eeeek!"

"O-okay! P-please calm down! W-we'll fall back!"

Ashen and half out of their wits, the hired hands cried out, bolted, and in a heartbeat were gone.