“Hmm.”


  It had already been 2 weeks since her relationship with Bom turned awkward. They occasionally encountered one another since they were still both living at Unit 301 but Yeorum didn’t greet and nor did Bom.

  “Hmm…”


  Even just then was the same.

  She went to the kitchen to have supplements with milk and found Bom filling up a cup with water at the water purifier. While Yeorum was opening the fridge, Bom walked away after filling her cup with water despite their eyes having met for a split second.

  “That bitc*, she holds grudges for so long…”


  In spite of her words, she felt slightly uncomfortable on the inside. Even after looking back at what she had done, Yeorum couldn’t understand Bom and thus found it difficult to apologise wholeheartedly.

  What was the big deal about a stupid pen name?

  “Hmm. Hmm… F*ck.”


  After thinking for some time, she felt slightly annoyed.

  So what if that wasabi dragon hates me or not? Since when did I care about things like that?

  But thinking from another perspective, she did ruin her mood so it was correct for her to apologise if they weren’t planning to go entirely separate ways.

  But wait? I did apologise. I apologised and yet she’s just ignoring me right?

  Or did I? Am I the only one that thinks I apologised…? Well, I did go over it quite fast…


  No. Wait. Shouldn’t that still count as an apology? I also had to force myself to say something I didn’t want to! Isn’t it better for both of us if she just accepts it without making a big fuss about it?

  F*ck. This is stupid. What’s the big deal with a stupid pen name that she’s being so picky, huh?!

  Yeorum’s concerns repeated on without an end. She irritatedly scratched her head.

  “Ah, so annoying…”


  Like that, she agonised over it for 2 weeks and finally came to a decision today.

  Let’s give it just one more shot. One last shot. I’ll apologise sincerely and if she’s still like that, then f*ck it all.

  Thinking that, Yeorum walked towards Bom who was lying down on the sofa of the living room. Blankly Bom was reading the book and lifted her face after sensing a presence in front.

  Their eyes met.

  “…”


  “…”


  The two of them stayed silent for a bit.

  “You look pretty even from up here, you bitc*…”


  “…”


  “Oi.”


  “Why.”


  “You still mad?”


  “No.”


  “Then what? Why’re you walking past me every damn time? You ignoring me?”


  “Not really.”


  “Why’re you ignoring people when you’re not even mad then. Doesn’t feel good.”


  “Sorry.”


  In the middle of her speech, Yeorum shook her head. This was the speaking style of the stupid grass race and it would simply lead to a vicious circle if she were to nitpick on it.

  Yeorum heaved out a deep sigh.

  Then, she thought of a target she could resent for this irritatingly annoying and cumbersome situation.

  Yu Jitae.

  Whatever the reason,

  Yu Jitae was just a son of a bi*ch.

  After resenting her guardian like that, she felt slightly more at ease. Soon, Yeorum opened her mouth.

  “Oi. You know how I changed your pen name.”


  “…”


  “Sorry if that made you upset.”


  In that instant, Bom’s eyes widened a little bit.

  “…?”


  Yeorum wanted to listen to her reply as well but after saying it out loud, her fingers started to distort from how cringe it was. Thus, she hurriedly turned around.

  Woah this feels like shi*.

  Yu Jitae you son of a b*tch. Son of a bi*ch…


  In any case, this time it seemed that she was able to give a decent apology.

  That evening when she was alone pressing barbells at a gym, Yeorum was lost in thought as usual.

  Now that the awkwardness dissipated something else rose up inside her head. Thinking back to her observations, Bom had been cuddling next to Yu Jitae for especially long periods of time during the past 2 weeks.

  Hmm…


  So. What was up with Yu Bom?

  ***

  All the situations came to an end at the Association.

  By the time the reinforcements of the Association belatedly arrived, the battle was already close to over. In just over five minutes, Clone 1 had managed to defeat the flying boss type monster Kyalkaophe.

  The physical prowess demonstrated by One to the officials of the Association and the overwhelming might of the Level 4 artifact shocked everyone. He rivalled or exceeded the power level of the 5 Transcendents. Only then did the superhumans realise that One wasn’t just a lucky guy who happened to have connections.

  “The 3rd grade agent position is just ridiculous for a different reason now…”


  “I know right. Who would put a transcendent-level ranker as a 3rd grade agent? So, did the chairman want to change it to 6 Transcendents?”


  “Nah. That guy. Apparently he wanted to stay a 3rd grade agent.”


  “What?”


  The Association attempted to give a better position to One but was rejected and did not alert the media about his identity either. The rewards all ended up going to Antonio Jefferson.

  On the outside, One and Jefferson were comrades who had been acquainted for a long time ever since the Great War. Soon the Association realised that Jefferson was an extremely important personnel when dealing with One.

  “Then, what about that guy called Season?”


  “I heard he disappeared from the Association.”


  “Disappeared?”


  “Yeah. He only talks to One and Jefferson and apparently mentioned he would only come back when necessary.”


  “Haa… Seriously, what in the world happened inside the Control & Command Room that day I wonder…”


  That day’s events of the Control & Command Room were extremely simplified. People simply talked of how a god-like transcendent prophesied about the upcoming future and shocked all the executives of the Association including Chaliovan.

  But as always, it was impossible to completely stop words from spreading.

  “Dude. This is a secret but…”


  “Nn? What is it.”


  “Apparently Season made Christoph tremble there without even moving his fingers.”


  “Hah!”


  The superhuman listener burst into laughter.

  “Mate. You’re making things up again!”


  “No dude. I heard this from a reliable informant.”


  “Quiet! What kind of nonsense is that? You better cut ties with that informant!”


  There were too many unbelievable stories and rumours. Later there were only a handful of people that knew the truth.

  But surprisingly, the Association began to gradually change. It was slow that people couldn’t sense the change but it was certainly enough to sweep across all the officials.

  The Association rode on the current of reformation.

  Meanwhile, Clone 1 observed the eye taken away from Kyalkaophe. It was a vivid yellow eye as large as a human head. It was filled with an especially filthy aura.

  <[Hostility]’s Trace Fragment gathered: 37.3%…>

  The fragments that had stopped at 37.2% once again started building up. Once this reached 100%, Yu Jitae would be able to know for certain what the ‘Hostility’ exactly was.

  However, the eye of Kyalkaophe bounced on its own or acted as if trying to explode. Despite not being alive, it was wriggling from the influence of Hostility. Therefore, Clone 1 headed to the underground labyrinth and created a spot at the top of the Fragment of Paradise for the eye and only then did the eye stop moving.

  Afterwards, Clone 1 headed to the Association once again. He would be even busier now since Yu Jitae would not be present most of the time.

  On the other hand, BM disappeared from the underground labyrinth once again in search of new ingredients,

  And after taking his hands off of the Association’s affairs, Yu Jitae headed to the [Shallows of the Abyss (S)] and looked after Jung Taebaek’s corpse when the dragons were sleeping at night. He started separating the leftover fragments of the chimera that were tangled with the body.

  In order to suppress the superhumans of the Association without relying on violence, even Yu Jitae had to reveal all his power. Yu Jitae, who had released the [Chains of Hell], bound his heart again with the black chains after it was over.

  He returned to Unit 301 early the next morning after the incident.

  For the first time in a long time, he felt exhausted. This was the first time he was tired ever since he killed Noah.

  That was when a message appeared inside his head.

  <[Vintage Clock (EX)]: …>

  You here? Good work.

  <[Vintage Clock (EX)]: ( ?

  ω??) >

  What.

  <[Vintage Clock (EX)]: (

  ω??) >

  What. Why.

  <[Vintage Clock (EX)]: (

  ∧??) >

  <[Vintage Clock (EX)]:?(?`^′?)?>

  <It states it doesn’t know>

  Then, the presence of the Vintage Clock disappeared from his head. He wondered what was wrong with it but decided to let it be for now.

  In any case, he took the pocket watch out and checked the time. It was 7 in the morning, about time for the kids to wake up.

  He walked up to the door of the dormitory.

  ***

  One day before Yu Jitae returned,

  Yeorum looked for Kaeul. There were a lot of eyes in the house and it might be that she was the slowest to realise it, considering the fact that she had been uninterested in things like this at the start.

  “Unn?”


  Kaeul blinked her golden eyes.

  “Oi Yu Kaeul.”


  “Why?”


  “You know…”


  “Huh? Uhh, wh, why? Why are you walking towards me? Go away.”


  “Come here for a bit. Have a chat with unni.”


  “Huuuhh? Whyy!”


  Kaeul was dragged by the arm and was taken to Yeorum’s room.

  “Whyy! There’s a drama about to start right now!”


  “Dude. A drama isn’t what’s important right now.”


  “Then what is!”


  “Yu Bom.”


  “Unn? What about Bom-unni?”


  “Does Yu Bom like Yu Jitae?”


  Yeorum’s question lifted the irritation away from Kaeul’s expression. It wasn’t because she was talking casually. That was normal since Yeorum tended to call anyone by their name when they were the only ones having a chat.

  Kaeul appeared slightly surprised as a sense of dilemma appeared in her face. She belatedly replied with a loud voice.

  “I don’t know…?!”


  Although Yeorum wasn’t the best at reading through people’s lies, Kaeul’s reaction spoke for itself to a ridiculous extent and she thus immediately realised it.

  “You know something, don’t you?”


  Kaeul gave an awkward smile in response. “Unn??”


  “You definitely know something. Right?”


  “Hnn? What do I know?”


  “What is it. Come on. Tell me. Does Yu Bom really like Yu Jitae?”


  “Well… uh, of course right? I like ahjussi as well.”


  “No. You know that’s not what I’m trying to say.”


  “I don’t know! How do I know what Bom-unni thinks about ahjussi?”


  “Hmm…”


  “W, what made you think like that unni?” Kaeul asked.

  “What?”


  “Why did you think Bom-unni was strange?”


  “…What’s that about? I didn’t say anything about Yu Bom being weird though?”


  Oops. After realising that she made a mistake, Kaeul closed her mouth and bit her lower lips.

  “It’s fine if you don’t know,” said Yeorum.

  That was when Kaeul slightly gazed up to read Yeorum’s mood, before glancing at the door once again. A different light appeared in her golden eyes, as she suddenly ran towards the door with a worried look on her face and locked the door.

  “Unni. Listen carefully.” She said.

  “Huh? Okay.”


  “Actually…”


  Kaeul glanced at her and hesitantly swallowed her words.

  Hoh, is she going to say something? Thinking that, Yeorum waited but when the hesitation exceeded her patience, she was about to get mad.

  “Come on you idiot. Say something!”


  “Uahhh… whatever…! Bom-unni really wants to have ahjussi all by herself!”


  “What?”


  After finishing her words, Kaeul blocked her own mouth with her hands. Then, she carefully placed her hands near Yeorum’s ears and whispered with a voice ever so soft.

  ‘Bom-unni wants to have ahjussi by herself okay?!’


  ‘What? Really?’


  ‘Yes yes…!’


  ‘What do you mean specifically?’


  ‘Macarons!’


  ‘Macarons?’


  ‘If ahjussi buys 30 macarons for us, uhh, then both you and Bom-unni would want to eat them right?’


  ‘…? Anyways, okay?’


  ‘But I want to eat them by myself! Without giving them to anyone else…! It like, feels something like that…!?’


  Yeorum pondered for a bit before asking her again.

  “When did you notice that?”


  “You know uhh, when we went to the island before.”


  “Why didn’t you tell me?”


  “How would I tell anyone that! I didn’t want to know about it either and it was against my will…!”


  A wish to monopolise.

  Yeorum contemplated how different that would be for love and like but couldn’t come to a conclusion no matter how much she thought.

  “Oi monkey. Does that feel different from liking someone?”


  “Hmm? I don’t know either. I haven’t like, loved someone like shoujo manga either so… what about you unni?”


  Although she had never liked someone either, trying to put that into words hurt her pride a bit for some reason.

  “Hmm. Got it.”


  “But why are you asking that all of a sudden?”


  “Nothing. For now, keep our conversation a secret okay?”


  “Nn? Why?”


  “Don’t ask why. Just know that it has to be a secret.”


  After walking away from Kaeul, Yeorum began looking for Gyeoul. Gyeoul, who had been struggling to open the container of food for the fish, turned around with a flinch when someone opened the door without even knocking.

  “…What now?”


  She asked with a frown.

  “Oi, blue.”


  “…What.”


  “Let’s have a chat for a bit.”


  “…Don’t want to.”


  When Yeorum obstinately walked in, Gyeoul immediately moved her hands and sprinkled water over her face. However, Yeorum cursorily flicked it away with her hands and walked towards her in large strides.

  Then, she crouched down to look into the eyes of the child.

  “…Leave.”


  “Wait, just listen.”


  “…Leave, I said.”


  “No. Seriously, this is important, okay? It’s related to our household.”


  “…What nonsense… are you trying to say now?”


  Gyeoul glared at the infiltrator with a disapproving gaze but the next words that left her mouth did intrigue her a little.

  “Do you know what Yu Bom… I mean what Bom-unni talked about when she was alone with ahjussi?”


  The child widened her eyes.

  “…Nn? Why?”


  “Like, you were using the same room with Bom-unni for a long time yeah.”


  “…Nn.”


  “Did Yu Jitae ever… I mean, ahjussi ever talk to her alone inside the room?”


  Calling him Yu Jitae made Gyeoul frown so Yeorum had to try as hard as she could to please the child since she was the one asking the question.

  Crossing her small arms, Gyeoul went, “Hmm…”. She touched her chin but after seemingly thinking of something, she turned back towards Yeorum.

  “Do you know something?”


  “…Talk, outside.”


  Yeorum was annoyed after hearing that and even thought to herself that she shouldn’t have asked her the question. That was until she heard the next words from Gyeoul that continued after they entered Yeorum’s room.

  “…Unni and ahjussi… were on the bed together.”


  Shocking words caused Yeorum’s chin to drop.