Mental Care Service (2)
"Do you know what the nagging that's not quite nagging S-grade heroes hear the most?"
Baek Seolhui's question left me unsure how far I should go in answering. Our bodies were already bared completely to each other, soaking together in the open-air bath, but we weren't officially dating, and there was still a clear line between us as man and woman. Especially when the other person was an S-grade hero—crossing that line carelessly? If word got out, it'd be a death sentence.
Still.
"It's about getting pregnant, right?"
"...Yes. Exactly."
Baek Seolhui had crossed that line first, and now she hoped I'd do the same and speak honestly.
"Then, if two superpowered individuals marry and have a child, what's the probability it'll be superpowered too?"
"At least over 50%, easy."
Statistically speaking. Among those twenty or older—adults—there were already superpowered women who'd given birth, and quite a few at that. Like the saying "a tiger's seed produces a tiger." Sure, sometimes it's just a tiger in pattern only, but most of the time, a real tiger comes out.
"When a superpowered person marries a regular human and has a kid, the odds of it being superpowered are way higher than between two regulars. There are variables, but when three factors align, the probability peaks. Know what they are?"
I raised three fingers above the water.
"One. Both parents are superpowered."
"Right. That's what I just said. And the others?"
"Two. The superpowered parent has a high mana rank."
"Yes. We can't measure mana in the body precisely, but... kids of people with lots of mana inside have a high chance of being born superpowered. And the last, biggest factor?"
"...A woman who hasn't given birth yet."
"Exactly."
Baek Seolhui looked up at the sky with a gloomy face.
"Someone online said it: An S-grade virgin's child is 100% superpowered. No exceptions so far, just like always."
"......."
"Newborns might differ in talent, but everyone agrees they'll all be born superpowered."
I had no idea why this was possible. Probably genetic influence, or maybe regular genes mutate during modification to match superpowered ones. One or the other. If that was all I knew, I wouldn't be Dokkaebi or Do the section chief—I'd be Professor Do, renowned geneticist.
"We're just now seeing the first generation of superpowered adults entering society, but give it five years, and they'll flood in like bamboo shoots after rain. Before, it was regulars making kids; now, it'll be deliberate superpowered breeding."
Spot on. The prime example? Devil's Seeds. They turn people into devils, not superpowered, but the seed of life sprouted from a superpowered source has high odds of producing one—same context.
"In other words, my first child is almost guaranteed to be superpowered. Husband regular or superpowered, doesn't matter—I'm S-grade and haven't borne any yet."
That was the sole reason Baek Seolhui had opened up at such length.
"They're pressuring you to have a kid for the sake of the nation."
"Yes. Exactly. Everywhere I go, it's 'Have a child quick for the country—childbirth is patriotism.'"
Baek Seolhui shrugged, genuinely pissed.
"If I weren't S-grade, it'd be bad enough, but they've even quietly set up matches for A- and B-grades. Some couples make it work, but others couldn't take it and fled overseas."
"Because the matches are all politicians' sons or chaebol heirs, second or third gen?"
"Yes. Some are fine with it... but plenty aren't. You know the 'Haegneul Morning Drama' incident?"
"Yeah."
One of this world's scandals. A real-life romance drama aired at 10 PM on network TV: an A-grade female superpowered caught in a love triangle between her childhood friend the mailman and Haegneul's chaebol third-gen.
"In a drama, the main leads—childhood friend guy and superpowered girl—might elope or whatever. But reality? People thought it was romance; it was suspense crime thriller."
"The Haegneul heir threatened the childhood friend guy? Not just his life, but friends, family, even their coworkers."
"Yes. A chaebol third-gen could ruin a whole family on a whim. The guy ruthlessly drove her away in the end, and she became Haegneul's daughter-in-law. Gave birth last winter—superpowered kid. So the heir got a half-his-blood superpowered heir. Haegneul too."
"Messy and horrific."
"Yeah. But the most horrific part... was that woman's unavoidable choice."
Baek Seolhui whispered softly, face on the verge of tears.
"She still loved the childhood friend. But choosing him meant too much pain for him, so she gave up. Even A-grade can't fight a whole nation, or drag her family and his into exile. Especially against Haegneul."
"And in the end...?"
"She went berserk right on the edge, barely snapped back. Haegneul used her parents to persuade her, but mostly, she couldn't let her unborn baby die with her."
Superpowered folks are delicate, but human too. Their fragile mentality can explode, but sometimes they grit through other triggers, clinging to will to live.
The exceptions? All dead. Their rampages "accidentally" ended that way.
"Such a tragic end."
"Yeah. And that's one of the milder stories we can even discuss openly. What about the others?"
"......."
No matter how much power to overturn mountains and rivers, the oldest superpowered are 00-born. No proper middle or high school—just hero academy brainwashing: "Be a great hero for this nation." Can they really judge right?
No way. Limited info sources, media, and periodic hero ideology injections? Even Baek Seolhui faced patriotic blackmail; imagine the rest.
"You get the point of me telling you all this, right?"
"Who's the lunatic pressuring you to get pregnant?"
"The president."
"......."
Boss level from the start.
"President has one son. Unmarried. Not just him—prime minister, ministers, chaebol heirs too."
"No one in politics or business to protect you?"
"Opposition leader's eyeing me for his grandson. No one in business can shield me."
"......."
In times like these, parents are the rock, the pillar, the mental anchor. But Baek Seolhui has none. Dead, both of them. Even S-grade hero parents were regulars—villain rampages don't care.
No allies to shield her socially.
Then...
"Seolhui."
"Yes, Jihwan."
"I'm just Do Jihwan, ordinary librarian. Can't directly help you against the government."
I drew the line clearly. Her face fell gloomily, but ideals and reality differ.
"But I can be someone you confide in, someone to hear your worries. Even if the world curses you, even if those curses are fabricated by the powers-that-be to control you, I'll cheer you on."
"......That's what I wanted to hear."
Baek Seolhui pressed her flushed cheeks with her hands.
"Talking to you was the right call. There were rumors and all, but today's biggest pressure was that."
She cleared her throat, frowning.
"Hero Snow White sees it on Sejong Island too, right? We need more superpowered. To handle security, protect citizens."
"Who said that?"
"Yes. I said I came to Sejong Academy to train such superpowered through education, and they twisted it."
"How?"
"A woman only becomes complete after bearing and raising a child."
"What bullshit from some old fart."
"Yeah. 'Marry anyone quick.' Bonus if it's their kid, relative, or political ally's son. Tsk."
Baek Seolhui vented openly.
"I'm not marrying just anyone..."
"Then who do you want to marry?"
"......."
Her body sank lower, nose dipping underwater as she paused.
"If I marry and have a child, the partner would be..."
Baek Seolhui resurfaced, gazing at me with a faint smile.
"Someone who sees me purely as me. Not as an S-grade superpowered, but as one woman. That kind of man."