Chapter 437 - Side Story. Lily Of The Valley (11)

"Seo-eun. You've had a tough day, so let's go to bed early. We can talk more tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes..."

After her brother's long meeting at the Association ended, Han Seo-eun dragged herself to her room, unusually drained.

After washing up and lying in bed, what surfaced in her mind when she closed her eyes was:

'...Seo-eun. You understand? You... quickly... run away...'

Whoosh

Those were the terrible memories from the past.

"....."

As she lay in bed, Seo-eun's face gradually turned pale.

She had sworn revenge against the Han-Eun Group. Revenge against those who had experimented on her and imprisoned her so horribly. Especially against Kim Sun-woo, the mastermind behind it all.

That desire for vengeance had been her driving force.

But now that the Han-Eun Group had appeared, she found herself trembling helplessly.

And the reason was clearly because of those fire-wielding ability users she saw today.

'...I'm certain.'

She wasn't completely sure yet, which is why she hadn't told her brother. But the more she watched that footage, the more she observed those fire-wielding ability users...

Han Seo-eun became increasingly convinced of something.

'...That ability is definitely...'

Han Seo-eun hadn't been the Han-Eun Group's only test subject. She had three other test subjects who were like siblings to her.

An experiment conducted on four test subjects including Han Seo-eun. An experiment to artificially induce supernatural abilities in humans.

Among those test subjects, different from her who was researched for super intelligence, was one they tried to artificially implant with "fire abilities."

'...Seo-eun. Don't worry. We will definitely escape from this place.'

Because those people had abilities so similar to his, seeing them brought back memories that were both nostalgic and nightmarish for Han Seo-eun.

And she realized:

'They succeeded.'

The "Supernatural Ability Artificial Cultivation Project" that was thought to have been discontinued after everyone except her had failed, and even Han Seo-eun, the only successful subject, had escaped.

Kim Sun-woo had finally succeeded with it.

This was something she needed to tell her brother. Since he said they would talk more tomorrow, she would tell him then.

Yes, tomorrow she would tell her brother everything. And about how to deal with the Han-Eun Group. And about her own resolve.

With these thoughts, she tried to fall into a deep sleep.

But still.

Run away, Seo-eun. Run away...

Seo-eun. Run away. Leave us behind. Run away alone...

Seo-eun.

Are you happy that you survived alone?

"Hic... ugh..."

Naturally, sleep was impossible.

Lying in bed, she heard voices upon voices. Some were actual voices she had heard before, some were reconstructed in her imagination, and some were illusions created by her own guilt.

After lying alone, suffering to the point of tears, Seo-eun realized:

At this rate, she wouldn't be able to sleep properly tonight.

After contemplating for a moment, she rose from her bed like a ghost, clutching her pillow, and made a decision.

This wouldn't do. She needed a special measure.

She needed to be prepared starting tomorrow, so she couldn't spend tonight tossing and turning.

Therefore...

Tonight, she would sleep with her brother...!

***

And so it came to this.

Blink. Blink.

In Da-in's bedroom.

After pleading with her brother, Seo-eun lay in his bed, feeling his presence beside her as she closed her eyes.

The faint scent of her brother under the covers.

...Having come to her brother's room to sleep, Han Seo-eun realized something once she actually lay down next to him.

'Wait. It's good that those nightmarish memories aren't coming back anymore, but...'

My heart is pounding so much that I can't fall asleep!!

"Ugh..."

After squirming for a while, fighting with herself...

...perhaps due to running around all day and the emotional strain, she began to drift off.

Without realizing it, she opened her eyes slightly, looked up at her brother's profile as he leaned against the bed reading a book, then closed her eyes again and fell asleep thinking:

'It's really strange...'

Just being next to her brother, doing absolutely nothing.

Why do all the bad thoughts disappear?

Why does it make her feel so safe?

With these questions in mind, Han Seo-eun finally drifted into a deep sleep.

And the next morning.

"Mmm... mmm... hm?"

Receiving the morning sunlight, Han Seo-eun woke up.

She felt a warm presence and the sensation of hugging something both firm and soft.

Curious about this strange feeling, Seo-eun slowly opened her eyes.

"...Ah."

"Seo-eun. Did you sleep well...?"

After seeing Da-in's face, looking somewhat troubled as she lay on top of him.

Seo-eun's face turned bright red, ready to explode.

***

Afterwards.

After hurriedly leaving her brother's room, washing up, eating breakfast, and telling her friends she couldn't go to school for a while due to various circumstances.

Seo-eun called Da-in and told him what she knew.

The fire ability was one of the supernatural abilities that the Han-Eun Group had been researching for implantation during her time as a test subject.

Thinking about the past was painful enough to give her a headache, so she spoke haltingly and with difficulty.

But her brother seemed to understand everything, nodding with a serious face after hearing her story and saying:

"I see. Seo-eun, thank you for telling me. So those guys are indeed artificially created supernatural ability users from the Han-Eun Group."

Then perhaps...

As her brother muttered, lost in thought.

After hesitating for a moment, Seo-eun clenched her fists with determination and said:

"Oh, brother! And also..."

"..?"

"I want to take revenge on the Han-Eun Group myself."

When she made this declaration.

Da-in's face filled with puzzlement.

Alright.

Now she needed to convince her brother.

***

The day after putting Seo-eun to bed.

Seo-eun told me, in a strained voice, what she knew about the Han-Eun Group's ability users.

Specifically, that the fire abilities those guys were using yesterday were part of the supernatural ability experiments that the Han-Eun Group had been researching for a long time.

'...The experiment that, in the original story, failed for everyone except Seo-eun.'

It was clearly just a background setting for Seo-eun in the original work. There was no further mention of it afterward in the original.

So perhaps that experiment succeeded in this world?

How?

'I need to look into this more.'

That's what I was thinking when.

Seo-eun suddenly brought something up:

"I want to take revenge on the Han-Eun Group myself."

"?"

Perhaps sensing my confusion.

Seo-eun took a small breath, then looked me straight in the eyes and began to tell me what she was thinking.

"You know, brother. Last night..."

She began to explain at length her feelings and the conclusion she had reached.

Namely:

"I think I need to step up myself."

She wanted to make her own suit and stand on the front lines herself.

She felt that only by destroying the Han-Eun Group with her own hands would her long-standing trauma disappear.

And to her words:

"No, Seo-eun. It's too dangerous. Just providing backup from behind..."

I naturally tried to object immediately.

It was an absurd idea. After all the trouble I'd gone through to keep Seo-eun safe, she wanted to enter combat herself? It was ridiculous.

However.

"....."

Looking at Seo-eun gazing up at me with anxious eyes...

...I felt my resolve weaken momentarily.

The truth is, I don't know how much trauma the Han-Eun Group caused Seo-eun.

I've read about her past through the original work, but there are limitations to understanding that way.

In fact, considering that in the original work, her resentment toward the Han-Eun Group eventually extended to the entire world, turning her into a villain... and judging by her reaction yesterday... it must be enormous. That's all I could think.

These memories of the Han-Eun Group would probably haunt Seo-eun for the rest of her life.

So perhaps, destroying them with her own hands would bring her some relief.

"...Hmm."

Come to think of it, wasn't Seo-eun about this age when she debuted as the villain White Witch?

I remember that in the original work, Seo-eun had such overwhelming (technological) power that she could barely be stopped by Stardust, far from getting hurt, she destroyed everything.

And I'm here too.

With my abilities strengthened after the Star God's restraints were removed, if I support her from behind, and assuming she's wearing a suit, she probably won't get hurt under normal circumstances.

She's grown up now. She's still in high school, but she's had her birthday, so she's legally an adult...

Maybe I should let her make her own choice.

Perhaps reading my hesitation:

"Brother...?"

Sensing an opportunity, Seo-eun grabbed my hands tightly and looked up at me with pleading eyes.

Finally, after that look and thinking about various things in a short time, I sighed and said:

"...First, make a suit. We'll see how it goes."

"...! Yes!!!"

At my words, Seo-eun was so happy she could jump, and immediately flew to the basement saying she would make it right away.

And a few days later,

"Brother! It's finished!"

Seo-eun grabbed my hand and pulled me down to the basement.

"Ta-da. What do you think!"

She proudly showed me the suit standing in the middle of the underground space.

Shining silver, set slightly taller than Seo-eun. A steel suit that completely concealed Seo-eun's appearance.

"So, brother, this suit is bulletproof as a basic feature, and can withstand most bombs... The helmet has everything from night vision to infrared detection, the left hand emits plasma, and there's a small missile booster on the back..."

Watching Seo-eun explain enthusiastically to me with shining eyes.

I couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, clap my hands and say:

"P... pass."

I guess our Seo-eun really is a genius...