Moon’s Labyrinths - Chapter 302

 

“There are more pictures in the envelope . ”

 

Sungyoon searched through the envelope again .

 

Aside from the documents, he found several pictures that had been blown up to the size of an A4 paper .

 

“Heek!”

 

Jiyoon gasped . The picture depicted a scene that was too horrifying for a normal person to stomach .

 

“Is… Is that a heart?”

 

“Yes . ”

 

A Connector’s heart didn’t resemble a jewel, but it didn’t look like a normal human heart either . The picture in front of them showed a red heart with a red jewel embedded inside it .

 

Either blood vessels or connective tissue were spread out from the jewel . Whatever it was, the picture was a creepy sight . The reaction of a normal person like Jiyoon was understandable .

 

Moreover, this picture wasn’t just one of a kind . Multiple pictures of the same heart showed it from different angles, and some pictures even showed its dissection .

 

“These pictures depict the heart of the Connector you killed . We also confirmed it with the Connectors that we killed . Most of their hearts are like this . ”

 

“Most? Are there other cases?”

 

“Some of these Connectors had normal hearts . The Rejected does have some real Connectors . They are the Connectors who awakened late, after they were thrown away by their parents . It seems they hold an unbelievable amount of grievance toward society even though they eventually became Connectors . ”

 

Sungyoon glanced at the pictures once again .

 

“If they can create Connectors at will, this is a big problem . ”

 

“They can’t . ”

 

The Mayor quelled Sungyoon’s worries .

 

“We questioned a few that we were able to capture alive . The success rate of this experiment was very low . Moreover, even when the process was successful, these people suffered side effects . Their lifespan became shortened to the extreme . ”

 

“Why are they going through with the experimentation knowing that outcome?”

 

“Their anger toward society and the Connectors is that large . ”

 

Sungyoon thought about the Connector he had killed not too long ago . When he had declared himself one of the new rulers of this world, his voice had been full of deep resentment .

 

‘I can understand why he went through with the experimentation if his enmity was that deep . ’

 

The Connector had gone through with it despite knowing he could lose his life .

 

“Anyway, the Rejected received orders from Lee Dongin, so he should know the exact size of the organization . He’ll have a rough idea on how these artificial Connectors are created . ”

 

“No . He has no idea . ”

 

“… He doesn’t know?”

 

“Yes . He’s clueless . To be precise, what he knows differs way too much from reality . ”

 

Jiyoon tilted her head in puzzlement . However, Sungyoon understood what the Mayor was saying, and he frowned .

 

“The Rejected weren’t under Lee Dongin’s command in the first place . ”

 

“That’s right . Lee Dongin became enraged when he realized the same thing . He was the chairman of Fabion, but the true power within the company had shifted toward Hyunwoo Sung . He and his group had already shifted their allegiance to Grenoid . Grenoid and Hyunwoo Sung were the ones who really propelled Fabion to such a height . They reaped profit, while they hid behind the front called Fabion . They are parasites!”

 

Boom!

 

The Mayor sounded incensed as he slammed his fist on the desk .

 

When Jiyoon flinched, the Mayor quickly brought his anger under his control .

 

“We did receive some guidance about the artificial Connectors from Ms . Plu-El . ”

 

“What did my mother-in-law say?”

 

“This is a form of Flesh Gem, but it differs from the Flesh Gem used by the descendants of Planote . ”

 

The Mayor explained while pointing to the Jewel embedded in the heart .

 

Sungyoon had heard about the Flesh Gems from Plu-El in the past, and he could see that the jewel embedded in the heart differed from the one in Plu-El’s description .

 

Afterward, the two of them continued to talk for a while .

 

With the conversation coming to an end, Sungyoon said his goodbye and left the Temporary City Hall .

 

“Was it instructional for you?”

 

“What?”

 

Sungyoon asked Jiyoon as he drove the car .

 

Jiyoon’s notebook was full of words as she manipulated the tablet, and his words surprised her .

 

She understood the meaning behind his words a beat late and nodded .

 

“I’m trying my best, but it’s hard . ”

 

Dark circles had appeared on her fine features . Unlike her normal self, she was wearing more makeup than usual . It was an attempt to hide those dark circles .

 

“Why don’t you take it easy for a while?”

 

“I can’t . ”

 

Normally, Jiyoon had a hard time expressing her opinions, yet she flatly refused his suggestion .

 

“I’m an employee in charge of the Knight . I’m not arrogant enough to say that I won’t make any mistakes, but I have to do my best to minimize the number of mistakes I make . If I make a mistake, it’ll tarnish your and the company’s reputation . ”

 

“The reputation of the company is important, but you don’t have to worry about my reputation . ”

 

“No way!”

 

Jiyoon was forceful once again as she contradicted him .

 

“Mr . Sungyoon, I’ve always noticed that you’re very indifferent when it comes to anything regarding yourself . ”

 

“I’m selfish in many ways, but fame and reputation are not what I desire . ”

 

He had his precious daughter and a beautiful wife, who would wash away his daughter’s wounds . Moreover, he had more than enough money to support his family .

 

“I have my family, and I have enough money to support them . That’s enough for me . ”

 

“… You’re a very family-oriented man . ”

 

Both Sungyoon and Jimin weren’t the type to excessively express their love for each other .

 

To be precise, they showed so much love toward their daughter that people became envious . In contrast, the two of them almost showed zero outward expression of love toward each other .

 

However, Jiyoon had seen the two of them at the company . A comfortable and stable atmosphere always surrounded them . It was clear that the feeling of love flowed between the two even if it was barely visible .

 

Moreover, Jiyoom had caught them exchanging light touches with each other . She knew this was how they showed affection to each other .

 

Jiyoon was in college, and when her friends dated, they made sure everyone saw their affection for their significant other .

 

Although she didn’t think that it was bad, she didn’t want the intense affection shown by her friends . She preferred the calm and mature feeling displayed between Sungyoon and Jimin .

 

In the beginning, Sungyoon only showed his love and affection to Shinhae .

 

However, it changed after he married Jimin . Sungyoon’s love was like a calm wave, and it washed over Jimin without him realizing it . Jiyoon could feel it being near the two .

 

‘I want… . ’

 

She wanted that wave to wash over her too . She wanted to be a part of it .

 

This was why she didn’t want to cause any trouble for Sungyoon .

 

“Please don’t worry about it . I won’t do anything unreasonable . ”

 

Sungyoon no longer brought up the issue .

 

“How’s your father’s business doing?”

 

“Not well . He is no longer receiving his supply of moonstones, but he’s doing his best . My father dreamed of running a large company, so he’s working hard to find different streams of revenue . ”

 

“He is that kind of a person . If he needs any help from me, he just needs to ask . ”

 

“Understood . ”

 

The two of them continued to converse in a low voice, and the ambient sound of the car didn’t bother them . There was a level of peace that could be felt between the two .

 

***

 

“Here . ”

 

Jimin took out the tofu from a black plastic bag . It wasn’t boiled or fried, but an uncooked piece of tofu .

 

She wielded it like a weapon as she shook it in front of Woosang and Woosung .

 

“Open your mouth . ”

 

“No, Noona!”

 

“Open!”

 

Woosung resisted, but his protests didn’t work on Jimin .

 

While Woosung was having a hard time fending off Jimin, Woosang looked toward his mothers for help .

 

However, both women were amused by their antics, and they didn’t stop Jimin . They folded their arms as they watched the scene unfold .

 

Woosang looked at Sungyoon as a last resort, but Sungyoon just shrugged . He felt tempted to move his eyes toward Shinhae and Soyoung, who stood next to Sungyoon, but his pride wouldn’t let him ask for help from the two girls .

 

In the end, Woosang shut his eyes, let go of the strength in his body, and opened his mouth .

 

Shove!

 

The soft tofu crumbled inside his mouth .

 

Woosang put his hands up to catch the crumbs as he chewed on the tofu .

 

“Noona! The investigation found that we committed no crime . We are prisoners who just finished… Oohp!”

 

Jimin ruthlessly shoved a different piece of tofu into Woosung’s mouth .

 

If Woosang and Woosung were to resist in earnest, Jimin wouldn’t be able to commit such atrocities against them . However, the two refrained from doing so .

 

In many ways, the three siblings were close to each other . After Jimin finished feeding the tofu to each of her brothers, Hweeyoung and Aiin approached their children . They hugged their sons as they commiserate with the hardships they suffered .

 

Sungyoon had rented a large vehicle for today and driven everyone to a nearby expensive restaurant . Aiin and Hweeyoung wanted to do this because their sons probably didn’t get to eat good food in recent days .

 

It had been a while since the whole family was able to meet like this, so everyone was happy . However, things started to become weird when they started talking about Soyoung .

 

“So you’re saying this child is our dongsaeng?”

 

Woosung looked at Soyoung, and Soyoung flinched a little .

 

“Why are you scaring the kid?”

 

“I didn’t!”

 

Woosung was a bit sad that his dongsaeng looked a bit afraid of him on their first meeting . As if to make things worse, his mother berated him too . He grumbled .

 

Woosang was more patient compared to Woosung, and he approached Soyoung with kindness .

 

Soyoung stammered as she slowly started to talk to Woosang, and this scene made Woosung more frustrated .

 

“Did you say her name is Ms . . . Plu-El? Where’s our new mother?”

 

“The descendants of Planote are still in the process of settling on Earth, so she has a lot of work to do . Unfortunately, she couldn’t make it here today . ”

 

Sungyoon answered Woosang .

 

“Ah . Is that so? We should go greet her sometime in the future . ”

 

Woosang and Woosung were used to these scenarios as Connectors, and they held no suspicion toward the existence of a new mother .

 

After having a party to celebrate the addition of a new family member, the group returned to Hweeyoung and Aiin’s house .

 

The sun had already set, and when they arrived at home, Shinhae and Soyoung were sound asleep .

 

“As expected, this house is the best!”

 

Woosung was in his feelings as he stood in the front yard and opened his arms wide . Aiin slapped him on the back, and the others laughed when they saw this exchange .

 

“Ah! Elder brother-in-law . . . ”

 

Elder brother-in-law .

 

For a brief moment, Sungyoon had no idea who Woosang was referring to . He quickly realized that Woosang was talking to him .

 

“Uh . What is it, Brother-in-law?”

 

Sungyoon sounded a bit flustered, but he also used the correct title .

 

“Thank you very much . ”

 

Woosang bowed at a ninety-degree angle .

 

“We learned about what happened to our father thanks to you . ”

 

Silence descended in the surroundings .

 

“If you weren’t in our lives, we would’ve continued to believe that our father died fighting monsters . We would’ve continued to call those bastards ahjussi, and we would’ve been under their thumbs . Moreover, we wouldn’t have been able to meet our new mother and our cute dongsaeng . ”

 

“The one who didn’t give up until the end is your noona . You should give your thanks to Jimin . ”

 

“Of course, I’m going to thank her . However, she wouldn’t have been able to achieve her far-fetched dream without you . You helped her make her dreams come true . That’s why we would like to thank you, Elder brother-in-law . ”

 

Woosang bowed even deeper .

 

“Thank you very much, Elder brother-in-law . ”