66.
‘Is it my imagination? Yes. It must be my imagination.’
His biological father’s voice calling him “my son” somehow sounded like he was grinding his teeth. They were equally unfamiliar with each other’s existence as blood relatives. While it wasn’t exactly a welcome relationship, there shouldn’t be any particular grudge warranting such immediate hostility at their first meeting.
Even if there was a grudge, wouldn’t it be more appropriate to direct it at the Research Director who secretly stole his genetic information? Ryu Ho-yeon, without the slightest suspicion that Howard’s sudden appearance might be due to Lexy rather than blood ties, stared blankly while pondering these thoughts.
From Ho-yeon’s perspective, it was perfectly natural. He had never seduced Lexy or anyone else. He had never even uttered a single word about becoming pairs or suggesting naturalization to Korea.
By the way, what should he call him? If the other party said “my son,” should he respond with “hi father” out of courtesy? But referring to a complete stranger as “father” was absolutely repulsive. Ho-yeon’s shoulders shuddered at the mere thought, finding it both unfamiliar and distasteful.
Meanwhile, Howard, who had somehow discovered his whereabouts and broken down the door to enter, now glared intensely at Ho-yeon without even trying to hide his fierce gaze. The stubborn eye shape with slightly upturned corners was indeed identical between the two Espers. Perhaps this is why they say you can’t steal seeds. The difference between them was that Howard had a tall build exceeding 190cm with spacious features, while Ho-yeon had a petite frame barely over 170cm with delicate, fine features. Their different hair and eye colors also contributed to the contrast in their appearance. Only if one consciously looked for the resemblance would they realize how surprisingly similar they were.
“Just who do you think you are…”
A low voice growled threateningly. What did he mean? Was it criticism for being so short despite inheriting his genetic information? But being short isn’t a crime! Ho-yeon, who had always been somewhat self-conscious about his height, glared back with equal intensity. It was quite a warm and friendly atmosphere for a father-son reunion after nearly thirty years.
“Speak up. How did you manage to seduce that person?”
“…Hmm?”
At this point, Ho-yeon finally realized the purpose of Howard’s visit. Apparently not expecting an answer to his question, Howard, having completely crossed the threshold, walked heavily inside. With his shoes still on.
While they might need to have a conversation if there was business to discuss, wouldn’t it be better to first ask him to take off his shoes? As Ho-yeon was thinking this, not quite trusting a foreigner’s sense of cleanliness, his face was suddenly seized and lifted up.
It wasn’t just his head turning upward. The hand gripping his chin was so strong that his body, which had been half-lying against the cushion, was practically lifted up.
“Is it this glossy face that resembles mine? Or is it that ability rumored to be so special?”
“Mmph, mmph…”
He wanted to explain that he hadn’t seduced anyone, but the large hand engulfing his small face completely blocked his mouth. An Esper abandoned by his Guide truly looks pathetic. Ho-yeon frowned.
Why would Lexy become so desperate to pair with him after just one meeting to ask for directions? He didn’t know the exact reason, but if Lexy had used it as an excuse to escape this crude, hot-tempered Esper, it would be understandable.
Though not deeply interested, he had been somewhat curious about what kind of person his biological father was, but this brief encounter allowed Ho-yeon to completely shake off that curiosity without a drop remaining. Could the man’s violent and rough demeanor, devoid of any hint of intellect, be any more disappointing?
“Speak, speak up!!”
“Tell me, fucking, any reason!!” The man’s voice, consumed by anger and impatience, rang loudly in his ears. What’s the point of saying “tell me” while covering my mouth? Really… a human with nothing worth seeing except his ability as an Esper… Ho-yeon inwardly grumbled, still feeling no sense of danger.
As if truly intending to cross the line, a heavy pressure began to bear down on his shoulders. It was David Howard’s ability to control gravity in space. With the mighty power said to stamp down on dungeon monsters like a stamp, he was now genuinely trying to kill his biological son, though it might not hold much significance.
Ho-yeon was a special-type Esper with no physical differences from ordinary people, unlike natural-type or physical enhancement-type S-class Espers. Yet the speed at which gravity pressed down on his entire body increased rapidly. After blinking a couple of times, he already felt alarming pain in his shoulders and spine.
‘Alright, stay calm. I know the principle…’
It was beneficial that he had looked up related videos after learning his biological father was an Esper with gravity control abilities. The algorithm of the video platform had shown all sorts of interesting scientific facts and principle-based products on Ho-yeon’s phone, which now served as an excellent means of self-defense.
What Ho-yeon was trying to manifest was a structure that counters gravity—tensegrity. It had been worth watching intently out of interest in the concept that all forces acting within a space maintain equilibrium to sustain motion. In fact, he had already manifested simple tables and chairs several times. The principle and theory were perfect. The most important thing was the balance between compressive and expansive forces.
Although given the special circumstances, it was somewhat challenging to manifest the understanding of a ‘principle’ without form, rather than an object with shape.
‘Will it work? I’ve never tried manifesting just a theory without form… Ah, I should have practiced when guiding was good.’
Since Choi Jae-won had been absent continuously, he hadn’t received guiding for about two days. He couldn’t quite gauge how far he could use his ability. Then, stars suddenly flashed before his eyes.
“Nngh…!!”
Wow, that startled me. An unusual crackling sound came from his shoulder blades, followed by pain intense enough to bring tears to his eyes. If his mouth hadn’t been blocked, he would have screamed. Howard’s eyes were almost unfocused.
This won’t do. There’s no time to argue anymore. Ho-yeon stopped his distracting thoughts, took a deep breath, and strongly drew up his wavelength.
Not stronger, not weaker. Just enough to match the gravity pressing down on his body right now. While thinking of the balance of forces.
“…What?”
Breathing became easier, and soon, the pressure weighing down his entire body also lightened considerably. Howard also seemed surprised. Guiding was being drained mercilessly. Ho-yeon gritted his teeth and endured. Since Lexy had been in South Korea for quite some time, the one with less guiding was definitely Howard. He was confident that if he could just hold on a little longer, just a little more…
“Kuhack, huck…!! What the hell, they said manifestation, but how can you do this without creating anything…!”
As expected, within just a few minutes, Howard collapsed first. His severe coughing was mixed with faint traces of blood. He may have come charging in with his eyes rolled back, but with a body that hadn’t received guiding for well over a month, even maintaining daily life must have been challenging.
“Not creating anything? Is that really how it looks to you?”
As the two exhausted Espers sat side by side catching their breath, a leisurely voice emerged, quite annoyingly, through the wide-open front door. It was Lexy, the S-class Guide who could be said to be the root of all this trouble.
“L-Lexy…!”
Howard murmured his name with the emotion of someone who had found a feast after long starvation. His struggle to somehow get closer to him despite his poor condition was pathetic to watch, but the recipient of that desperate affection didn’t show the slightest interest in Howard and walked straight up to Ho-yeon.
“I can only lament that I alone witnessed this marvelous sight, Ho-yeon.”
Lexy praised in a dreamy, languid tone.
“Do you know? What you just ‘manifested’ wasn’t merely a simple object. It was the grand principle itself that traverses the universe!”
While it was true that he had manifested the principle of a formless theory, it didn’t seem like such an amazing feat worthy of such worshipful frenzy. It felt like some foreign cult’s “Do you know the way?” approach, making Ho-yeon want to bundle Lexy and Howard together and send them straight to Incheon Airport. Anywhere would do, as long as they never returned to this country, letting these abnormal people live together cozily.
“Actually, I was still a little, just a little confused. Between David and you, which one was the messiah I needed to find. So I was planning to pair with you as well and observe from the side. But this confirms it.”
What messiah…? Indeed… it was definitely a foreign “Do you know the way?” cult.
“I’ve waited so long. My destiny. You can’t even begin to imagine how long, how desperately I’ve been searching for you.”
“…I said.”
Whatever delusional dream he was trying to rope people into with his religious fishing rod, Ho-yeon couldn’t tolerate it any longer.
“Pardon? What did you say, Ho-yeon?”
“Take off your damn shoes first, will you!”
The sight of dirt-covered sneakers stepping on the living room floor was incredibly irritating. So very irritating.
