Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: Family Dinner
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Clink.
The meal resumed.
Gulp.
Though Rachel was still on edge, was it thanks to Yun Seung-ah's consideration?
She was gradually regaining her composure.
‘How did you do it?’
Lee Jaekyung seemed to ask Yun Seung-ah with a glance.
‘I slowed the flow of thoughts a bit.’
It meant she had drawn on her Authority.
Poke.
At that moment, Go Yohan nudged Yun Seung-ah's side.
“……!”
Yun Seung-ah whipped her head toward him, her face flushing red.
The corner of Go Yohan's mouth twitched carefully.
‘Thank. You.’
Only then did Yun Seung-ah regain her color and nod.
It was something she could have conveyed telepathically, but Go Yohan wanted to express it directly.
And with good reason.
‘The World Tree….’
She had just returned from a mission a few dozen minutes ago.
The World Tree mission must have been grueling for Yun Seung-ah and Kim Sion too, yet she had to use her ability right away for this gathering. He was truly grateful.
“Ahem, ahem?”
Go Minji cleared her throat awkwardly while looking at Go Yohan.
‘Why?’
Go Yohan mouthed with just his lips.
‘Hey, do something.’
As superhuman players, they could read what others said from lip movements alone.
‘What?’
Go Minji glanced around with her eyes.
The reception room's table was now packed full.
Clink.
The only sounds were utensils clinking amid an awkward silence.
And understandably so—Go Jaehan and Go Woojin weren't the talkative types to begin with.
“…….”
Shin Sookyung watched the apostles, who still looked so young, with pity and caution.
“…….”
The apostles were tense at the meal with Go Yohan's family.
That was it.
“Ahem, ahem….”
The apostles were genuinely nervous.
The name "Divinity" might not faze them, but the fact that these were Go Yohan's family brought an immense pressure.
Tremble.
Just like Rachel, who was still shaking.
It was then.
"You're Sion, right?"
Shin Sookyung said to Kim Sion.
"Yes…. Yep? Yes!"
Sion, who wielded twin blades in both hands to slaughter anything in her path, now held chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other, shouting like a malfunctioning robot.
"Pfft."
The one who laughed at the sight was, ironically, Rachel.
To Rachel, Kim Sion was a writhing mass of black terror.
Yet seeing that terror so tense and comical, the humor won out over the eeriness.
As Kim Sion tried to glare.
"You handle chopsticks really well."
Shin Sookyung's praise rang out.
"Huh?"
"It's cool. Boys your age usually struggle with them. Like Yunsu here."
"M-Mom."
"Sion does it so well. I was just curious."
"Th-Thank you!"
The ice was broken.
"Does the food suit your taste?"
Shin Sookyung cautiously asked Yun Seung-ah too.
"…You can speak comfortably."
"Oh, can I?"
Shin Sookyung stared straight at Yun Seung-ah as she said it.
Yun Seung-ah, the epitome of expressionlessness, bowed her head shyly.
"Yeah, eat lots."
"Thank you."
After that, Shin Sookyung looked after the apostles.
She sat the still-clumsy Inkyung on her lap and fed her directly, and even struck up a conversation with Lee Hayeon.
"What on earth does that Yohan have that makes you all treat him so well?"
Go Minji, now chatty too, fired off questions.
"That's."
The apostles gradually relaxed and joined the talk.
"Seeing Sehyun here like this feels nice. I meant to invite you sooner."
"No, sis."
Go Minji and Kim Sehyun, who had bonded in America, seemed genuinely glad to reunite.
And so the meal drew to a close.
"So."
Go Minji said with a triumphant smile.
"Who's Inkyung's mom, anyway?"
"No… Go Minji."
Laughter spread alongside Go Yohan's subdued voice.
*
*
*
Yoon Jihyuk, a CIA special agent with dual Korean and American citizenship, couldn't stop his body from trembling.
A high-level player specialized in intelligence gathering and assassination, he had recently received a directive as the de facto head of the Korea branch.
-Monitor Go Yohan and Divinity.
It was an order to surveil Go Yohan, who was shaking the world—villain or hero?—and the Divinity backing him.
Aware of the mission's gravity, Yoon Jihyuk staked his life on it, but his options were limited.
‘Damn.’
The church where he mainly stayed was a special zone impossible to monitor even with the CIA's vast resources.
Not even hundreds of satellites could peer in, nor could player abilities pierce it.
So he had focused on surveilling Divinity.
"…He stormed into North Korea alone."
He'd heard the news last night about the solo raid on North Korea.
It was tied to the plane Go Yunsu had been on going missing—likely to hit global news by evening.
‘Is war breaking out?’
Sure enough, Go Yohan had casually crossed into South Korea by car from North Korea today as if nothing happened.
It yielded major gains.
‘Lee Jaekyung.’
He'd tracked the movements of Lee Jaekyung, Go Yohan's closest aide.
And following that, the key figures of the Temple called "Shins" had appeared one after another.
‘Damn.’
How shocked he'd been.
Each Shin was said to hold power capable of toppling nations.
The last time they'd moved together like this was at the Mapo Gate when Go Yohan himself showed up.
Thinking of what happened then...
"Raise all alert levels to maximum. Report to HQ."
"Yes."
On this carefree Christmas when everyone let their guard down, he suspected some world-shaking threat—or that they were creating one.
And now.
Tremble.
Yoon Jihyuk was shaking.
The entire Divine family and the Shins were gathered in one mansion.
In that demonic mirror of a place where no ability revealed anything.
"What the hell are they plotting…?"
What was happening?
North Korea conquest?
U.S. overthrow?
World domination?
Just imagining what those titans might discuss filled Yoon Jihyuk with dread.
"…Somehow."
Even at the cost of his life, he had to infiltrate and gather intel.
"I'll go in alone."
As a ranker assassin, surely he could find a way.
As he geared up with resolve to move—
Flinch.
Something constricted his body.
‘When?’
From vast experience, Yoon Jihyuk knew.
Right behind him now.
Tremble.
Someone was there.
At some point, the reporting agents' voices had cut off, replaced by an eerie silence.
"Just…"
A voice.
“……!”
It was Go Yohan.
"A family gathering."
“……?”
"So go home today. If you stir up trouble…"
The whisper in his ear made Yoon Jihyuk's skin crawl.
"Unnecessary things might happen."
That was it.
When the constricting pressure vanished—
Whip!
Yoon Jihyuk spun around frantically.
No one was there.
No one but the fallen agents.
*
*
*
"Where'd you go earlier?"
The meal had ended well, and Shin Sookyung had brought out tea and snacks to share with the apostles.
"This is a gift!"
A voice from inside.
"Woooow! Thank you!"
Kim Sion was jumping for joy like a boy his age.
"…Here. A gift for you."
"Oh my, really for us? Can I open it?"
"Of course."
"Oh… this? It's too… expensive…."
Voices of Lee Hayeon and the surprised Shin Sookyung carried over.
"Hang on, pest control?"
Go Yohan said to Go Yunsu.
"Tough job."
Did he get it?
Go Yunsu nodded.
Turning back, Rachel seemed to be fitting in decently now too.
"…So."
Go Yunsu spoke first.
"What happens now?"
The meal had been warm, but the crucial matters remained.
‘North Korea S-rank Gate, Iron Lion Knights, World Association.’
And.
‘Rachel Ashford.’
Rachel, now bearer of a massive secret.
Go Yunsu hadn't anticipated things escalating this far on the way to Korea, though his heart wasn't light.
“…….”
He'd planned to return to England because of Rachel, but Royal's true nature gave him pause.
"What do you want to do?"
Go Yohan asked instead.
“…….”
Go Yunsu pondered.
"How far can you go?"
Leaning on his brilliant brother wasn't embarrassing.
Born in Divinity, raised as an elite player—he knew to place the right people in key spots and leverage their talents.
"Hmm."
Go Yohan thought before speaking.
"Anything."
“……?”
"I'll grant whatever you want."
"What."
Pfft.
Go Yunsu chuckled.
Even for Go Yohan...
But.
Flinch.
Seeing Go Yohan's wordless smile, he could tell.
It was sincere.
"Today, I'll be Santa for you, hyung. Tell me. Anything."
"Joking…"
But Go Yunsu said seriously.
"Protect Rachel. And let me stay with her too."
Easier said than done—the pursuers would be Royal, holders of that massive secret.
Ones who wielded gates freely, tied to the World Association.
"Sure."
Go Yohan replied without hesitation.
"Yohan! Come quick, there's a gift for you too. Yunsu!"
A voice from inside. Go Yohan shrugged once and headed in.