# Chapter 38
## 13. My Little Sister Has Changed
Seeing Jaeha’s guilty expression, the employee quickly added:
“The Black Pig meat itself is actually good for your body. Regular people just need to neutralize it before eating.”
“Neutralize it? Is that difficult?”
“Not at all. The research lab has plenty of neutralization facilities to spare.”
The employee explained that many dungeon by-products can cause allergic reactions in regular people.
“I see. That’s a relief.”
As Jaeha’s tense face relaxed with relief, Dorim, who had been watching silently, quickly buried herself in his arms.
“Huh? Dorim?”
“I don’t want to eat that. I want to eat what Oppa makes for me.”
Jaeha picked up Dorim, who was whimpering like she might burst into tears at any moment. When his eyes met the employee’s, he smiled awkwardly and found himself making excuses.
“Haha, I don’t know why such a well-behaved child is throwing a tantrum today.”
There was no way to handle it when the usually well-behaved Dorim started throwing tantrums. When Jaeha held and comforted her, her whimpering eventually turned into sad crying. As the confused Jaeha tried to leave the cafeteria, a researcher who had been watching spoke to him with a warm smile.
“No need to be so flustered. All children grow up with some tears.”
Jaeha felt much better after the motherly woman’s kind advice.
“Dorim rarely cries. I don’t know why she’s suddenly throwing tantrums and crying.”
“It’s because you’re a good person.”
As Jaeha patted Dorim’s back, wondering what that meant, another researcher in a white coat stood up with her tray and added:
“Children always know when it’s safe to throw tantrums and when it isn’t.”
Jaeha paused while patting crying Dorim’s back. The researcher’s words hit the center of his heart, bringing up a lump of emotion.
“But… Dorim rarely cried when she was with Dojoon.”
“If this hasn’t happened before, maybe it was an environment where she couldn’t be demanding. I think your friend has been making the child feel very comfortable.”
“What? I’m just her brother’s friend.”
Though the researcher’s advice suggested Dorim was very attached to him, flipping that statement around made it sound like Dojoon, who had sincerely taken care of Dorim, was being discredited. Uncomfortable with someone who didn’t know Dojoon misunderstanding his efforts, Jaeha firmly answered the researcher.
“It’s because Dojoon, the child’s brother, did so well. Her crying now is probably because I’m lacking.”
“Oh my, did I try to score points and end up being disliked instead?”
Jaeha was flustered by the researcher’s casual laugh. He wondered why she would try to score points with him, but he felt sorry for responding sharply to words meant to help him.
“N-no. Um… thank you for the compliment.”
“Hic… knock-knock meat…”
“Ah, yes. Dorim, you wanted meat, didn’t you?”
Dorim’s nasal crying voice was even cute. So cute that Jaeha wanted to go home right away and get the frozen Black Pig meat. But he couldn’t just leave the center where they had come for safety.
Jaeha asked the employee and researcher:
“Is there any way to get Black Pig meat here?”
“We haven’t hunted Black Pig recently, so we don’t have any meat.”
“That’s right. We don’t have meat, but there are live samples in the lab. Would you like to see them?”
“What? Samples?”
“Oppa, I want to go.”
Seeing Dorim pleading while clinging to him, Jaeha took out his phone. Luckily, when he sent a message to Jaeyoon, who had been too busy to contact recently, he got a quick reply.
Can we go see the Black Pig at the research lab?
It’s just a baby, so it’s fine.
“Oh, that’s unusually quick. Jaeyoon says it’s okay.”
Cheonoh, who had been quietly watching from behind, nodded at Jaeha’s words.
“Yes, the research lab is even more strictly controlled than the dormitories, so there won’t be any safety issues.”
The researcher’s expression became subtle at Jaeha’s repeated confirmations, but Jaeha acted confident, thinking this level of checking was necessary when going to an unfamiliar place with young Dorim.
* * *
The research laboratory they followed the researcher to was substantial in size. It seemed to use an entire underground floor of the large resort, with research facilities everywhere. Overwhelmed by its scale, Jaeha belatedly expressed concern.
“Excuse me, are we allowed to see all this?”
“Of course. There were instructions to accommodate Seo Jaeha.”
Just as Jaeha was starting to feel uncomfortable, wondering if the kindness had an ulterior motive, the researcher busily moved her hands in front of what looked like a solid wall. The wall opened to reveal a space surrounded by glass walls. The floor was dirt with some plants, and between them, they could see a living Black Pig.
“Koo?”
“Da—”
“Cute!”
Before Jaeha could say “damn,” Dorim jumped up and down, exclaiming how cute it was.
Beyond one glass wall, a small baby Black Pig quickly approached on short legs. Jaeha knew it was a monster in familiar animal form, but he never expected it to be this adorable.
When Dorim held out her hand through the glass, the Black Pig tilted its head, making the flower on top wobble. Finding even that cute, Jaeha took out his phone to capture Dorim’s reaction despite being tense in the unfamiliar place. When the researcher asked him to refrain from taking photos since it was a research facility, he reluctantly tried to memorize Dorim’s expression with his eyes.
“I want to touch it.”
“No, Dorim. It’s dangerous.”
When Jaeha refused, remembering the flower on its head was poisonous, the researcher smiled and pointed to a door.
“It’s okay. You can go in and touch it.”
“But I heard the flower on the Black Pig’s head is poisonous.”
If everything Jaeyoon had said was true, then what he said when he first caught the Black Pig must also be true.
“The samples here aren’t adults, so they don’t have poison. They become adults after consuming a certain amount of dungeon poisonous herbs.”
So we ate a pig that ate poisonous herbs. Jaeha decided he should definitely hold off on feeding the meat to Dorim. But Dorim couldn’t take her eyes off the baby Black Pig.
‘Maybe showing this wasn’t a good idea.’
It was so cute that even Jaeha understood why Dorim was so captivated.
Thanks to the researcher’s consideration, Dorim could touch the baby Black Pig as much as she wanted. She showed great interest in the flower on its head, but after being told the pig would be very sad if it was plucked, she carefully touched only its body, avoiding the head. Jaeha and the researcher couldn’t stop smiling at kind-hearted Dorim’s behavior.
“It’s well past lunchtime, so we should close up now.”
“Goodbye, Kooku.”
Despite Jaeha’s worry that Dorim might throw a tantrum, not wanting to leave, she came out willingly, though with disappointment. Her eyes were teary, but thanks to the researcher’s comforting words that she could visit anytime, she didn’t burst into tears.
My smart Dorim.
When Jaeha, who had become completely doting, returned to the room with Dorim, he could still see Cheonoh standing guard by the door. He belatedly felt concerned about neglecting someone who had come for work.
“Dorim, do you want to go in first?”
“Yes, Oppa, come in quickly too.”
Dorim glanced at Cheonoh, squeezed Jaeha’s hand tightly, then let go and went inside. Cheonoh’s expressionless face and short haircut probably made him look intimidating to Dorim, making her uncomfortable. Jaeha had sent him away when they went to the research lab, and now he could see Cheonoh’s deflated spirit after arriving ahead of them.
“You’re back.”
“You don’t wait like this all day, do you?”
“No. I was just planning to leave after confirming your return.”
“Um… can I ask you for a favor?”
“Yes, of course. I’ll do my best with anything.”
Seeing Cheonoh brighten up, Jaeha brought up something that had been bothering him.
“Yesterday, my friend and I went to a clothing store. There was a bomb explosion and the store was damaged. I think I should pay for it…”
“You’re referring to the rift. If that’s the case, the association will handle everything from accident cleanup to compensation. You don’t need to worry.”
Jaeha was relieved by Cheonoh’s smooth answer. With that worry resolved, he listed the items Dorim wanted one by one. Despite it being just an errand, Cheonoh showed no signs of displeasure as he took notes and nodded.
“I’ll bring them today.”
“No, you can bring them tomorrow. Just get what you can.”
“No, I’ll get everything. Thank you for trusting me with this task.”
His determination was so strong it seemed like he would bring back a rare artifact rather than school supplies. Seeing Cheonoh leave immediately, Jaeha finally felt at ease. He was sure Cheonoh wasn’t a guard assigned because of safety concerns, since he left his post. Although Jaeha didn’t understand why Cheonoh felt indebted to him, seeing him run off with a lighter face made Jaeha feel comfortable too.
While Dorim took a nap, Jaeha turned on the TV. Except for the children’s channel Dorim had been watching, all channels were buzzing with stories about Espers and the Daesung Group.
In addition to what he had seen yesterday, there was footage from multiple angles showing Haeil and Jaeyoon demonstrating how Esper powers manifest in various ways.
“This really looks like CGI.”
Just a month ago, Jaeyoon was just an immature, ordinary brother. A normal sibling who was gruff but would snap back when teased. His brother, who used to wear mismatched socks without caring, now looked so polished on screen he didn’t even look out of place next to the interviewed celebrities. On another channel, he was surrounded by what appeared to be important adults.
The Jaeyoon on screen was composed and mature. Compared to Haeil, who spoke with a strong voice in front of many people, Jaeyoon might seem a bit less skilled, but his eyes looking straight at the camera conveyed sincerity.
‘I should have believed him properly.’
Jaeyoon had told him many things.
Among them was to stay away from Dojoon, but that was difficult in his current protected situation. He wanted to ask Jaeyoon if he should still stay away from Dojoon even in these circumstances. If so, he was thinking of moving away from Dojoon to another place.
It would be really unfair to Dorim, who trusted him enough to throw tantrums, but he regretted not believing Jaeyoon’s words that much.
“Ugh… but it was really hard to believe.”
Jaeha continued to mutter excuses toward the Jaeyoon on TV in a small voice.
Jaeha, who had always seen the world as it appeared, wasn’t particularly cautious. However, his tendency to trust people and accept those around him had always created good people and opportunities in his life.
Jaeyoon, who was once his brother and whom he still considered a brother, was such a case. Even though they were legally no longer family, Jaeha couldn’t let go of Jaeyoon once he had accepted him as family.
“I wonder if he’s eating properly. He’s such a picky eater.”
Even while knowing there was no need to worry seeing Jaeyoon constantly on TV, Jaeha still felt concerned. As he flipped through channels, he found debate channels filled with accusations that this was a national scam, speculations about recruiting aspiring actors, and conspiracy theories.
“How dare they call him a scammer!”
Even though Jaeha himself couldn’t believe it at first, he couldn’t forgive others insulting his brother. Just as he was looking for his phone to call the channel to complain, he heard a noise from the door. Judging by the sound of a key card being recognized, it seemed Dojoon had returned.
“Hey, Joo Dojoon. Where have you been wandering around without even feeding your sister?”
Of course, he knew Dojoon might be busy as an Esper, but Jaeha headed towards the door, giving his usual light scolding.
Standing in front of the door, Jaeha was a bit taken aback to face an unexpected person.
“Hyung.”
“Huh?”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
