"I won't."
At this point, he had lost count of how many times Yoon Seoyul had said this to him. Does he just give off the vibes of a killer or what? Despite not wanting to part from Yoon Seoyul, he knew he had to. Rubbing the vanilla scent all over himself, Cheon Areum finally turned to the person who wanted to talk to him privately, that is.
"Areum, don't listen to them."
Yoon Seoyul spoke, taking out a jacket for him from his inventory. Cheon Areum had really just walked out in his sleepwear and barefoot, thinking it wouldn't be too bad, but this was just a little bit over the line.
"Introduce yourself. I don't know you."
Cheon Areum asked without using any device, because that was just them being dramatic. With this distance, you would have to be deaf to not hear one another. Hearing him, the middle-aged man too realized that the device was really not needed right now and abandoned it. Walking closer to them, he adjusted his suit's blazer as he responded to him.
"I'm the chief of hunter operations, Kim Sangook. It's my pleasure to meet you, Mr. Cheon Areum."
Kim Sangook extended his hand towards him, but Cheon Areum didn't like shaking hands with strangers, so the hand had to awkwardly exit the scene.
"Take out everyone that is in the building, or you will have to bring in an entire army to fight against me alone."
"Should I consider this a threat, Mr. Cheon Areum?"
"No. I'm telling you to save your time, because this is nearly not enough to take me down, and if you want to come for my family, obviously you will have to win against me."
Cheon Areum kindly explained it to the man. Obviously, it was a threat. What would they expect? That he would take their side over his husband's? Yeah, fuck that. As someone who has only read about these people from Yoon Seoyul's perspective, he wasn't too keen on them either.
"I know how this looks, Mr. Cheon Areum, but trust me, we are just doing our job and trying to keep the public safe. I am also aware you're on maternity leave right now, but the public needs you now more than ever. Please just listen to us first."
Trust you?
Cheon Areum narrowed his eyes and glanced at Yoon Seoyul's expression. He was very clearly upset that he was even talking with this Kim Sangook. Lifting his heels, he pecked Yoon Seoyul's lips, fixing the slight frown between his brows, and locked his eyes with him.
"Let me hear them out, okay?"
"....."
Yoon Seoyul didn't say anything to him, meaning he wouldn't stop him, but he also didn't want him to hear it either. Choosing for himself, Cheon Areum decided to hear what made Yoon Seoyul so angry that he ended up blowing up one side of the central bureau. Hopefully, that side wasn't the registration area for new awakeners.
"Walk out of here. Time to go home. I don't know how to drive, so I'll just walk you guys out the door, and you can take care of the rest."
As he spoke, the ESP team members picked up their weapons and started walking out of the building in a straight line, like ants following each other. They had all heard him, so he doubted anyone of them would be returning to go against him. Kim Sangook saw the scene quietly, as even the team leader followed Cheon Areum's commands with a neutral expression plastered on his face, his arms and legs moving at the same time, walking away as if he was a nutcracker forced to depart.
"Now, where should we go and talk? Also, the awakeners were the first ones out of here, not under my control, just to be clear."
As the chief of hunter operations, Kim Sangook had all the knowledge on Cheon Areum's skills, so he didn't have to give out an extensive answer for him to understand. Nodding, he tapped the watch on his wrist, speaking into it.
"Clean out the last meeting room for Cheon Areum, and I want everyone to be there."
"And Yoon Seoyul."
Cheon Areum added, grabbing Yoon Seoyul by his tie in case he still wanted to run havoc. Kim Sangook didn't lift his eyes at them and quietly relayed the message.
"And Yoon Seoyul will be there too."
Skipping the debris and fallen bricks, Cheon Areum clicked his tongue, annoyed with not having a flat surface to walk on, causing Yoon Seoyul beside him to apologize.
"Sorry. I will pay for the repairs. Should I carry you?"
"It's fine, but next time, just take them out of the building where no damages will be done to the city."
"Okay."
Hearing their conversation, Kim Sangook cleared his throat and pressed the button for the elevator. The last meeting room must be on the foremost top of the building, Cheon Areum concluded, tilting his head to stare up, and in the next second, the elevator dropped down to their floor. As soon as the doors opened, the only person inside was clutching the safety bar inside with a terrified look on his face.
"Don't you know that it's dangerous to use the elevators when Yoon Seoyul is in the building? Stay out now."
Kim Sangook warned the man, who was almost his age, and the man immediately got out of the elevator with a shaky figure. As he had guessed, the last meeting room was on the pointed top of the central bureau. Kim Sangook opened the door for them as Cheon Areum entered, dragging Yoon Seoyul with him.
"Mr. Cheon Areum, please take the end seat of the table."
The conference table, consisting of 16 chairs, only had one separate chair at the end of the table. Taking that chair with no complaints, Yoon Seoyul sat to the closest one to his left. The moment he sat down, he felt a wave of nausea wash over him. This was the most energy he had used ever since he had been carrying this energy-eating baby. Not to alert Yoon Seoyul, who would readily take him out of here to feed him, Cheon Areum waited for all the people Kim Sangook had called to enter the meeting room and take their seats.
Even the executive director attended the meeting. As the white-haired man walked into the room, the three main people who had introduced themselves as someone important in the central bureau stood from their seats to welcome the executive director, and Cheon Areum just wanted to throw up real bad.
"I'm sorry to break it to you all, but it's time for me to eat something..."
"Let's go home if you don't feel well, Areum."
Yoon Seoyul tried to get him out of here at the given opportunity, but that was also because he was too careful with him. He was the one reminding him to eat on time for the last two months, even with the alarms on his phone.
"Can we get a food delivery before the meeting starts?"
Cheon Areum suggested, blinking more to keep his eyes open. The executive director, who hadn't even sat down fully, looked around the room before replying to him.
"Will you not be able to hold out for half an hour? I'm afraid that's all the time we have today for this meeting, because we have more on our hands due to a certain someone."
"No."
Giving it straight to the executive director, Han Myunhjin, Cheon Areum deadpanned at him. He was serious. If they didn't want to be talking with his unconscious self, he would need to eat right now, as using energy boosts would affect his pregnancy. They were out of the options. Seeing that no one in the room had a response for him, Cheon Areum got up with his farewell words.
"Or if it's not that urgent... please wait three years before booking me."
Until he had given birth—and until his baby had survived infancy. Cheon Areum's words caused all the expressions around the room to shift instantly, draining of color. Dread crept into every face but one. It was as if he hadn't made a condition at all—but declared war on them. Only Yoon Seoyul remained unchanged.
"Mr. Bomin, will you be quick?"
The executive director asked in a monotone voice.
"Yes, sir. Just test me. I won't let you down!"
Kim Bomin—Head of Registration and Compliance—strode out of the room with barely contained enthusiasm. There was a spring in his step, as though he'd just been entrusted with a mission of historic importance. As if he were the messenger chosen to deliver the one decision that could save the world from impending calamity. Cheon Areum just wished he would be here before he went out like a light.