It was around 6 PM. The sun was halfway dipped into the horizon, casting a soft orange glow across the sky. A calm breeze moved through the backyard of the mansion, cool and quiet.
Jin walked alone on the grass, barefoot. The soft earth grounded him, but his gaze was fixed ahead on the sun.
"Look who decides to come back home after 10 years."
A calm voice came from beside him, followed by the light weight of an elbow resting on his shoulder. Minho stood next to him, casually leaning in as he looked out at the same sunset.
"You're talking like you stay at home the whole time. I know you're in other countries, one after another, avoiding to come here. But you somehow did manage to get here every year..." Jin's tone was gentle as always, still staring ahead.
Minho gave a small shrug. "Well, I gotta handle the business when you left. I can't just dump all the work on Ryuto."
He turned slightly, watching Jin's expression. "What's making you worry?"
"Nothing," Jin replied.
Minho didn't back off. "You think you can hide your emotions from me? Now tell me. I can see clearly something is bothering you."
Jin smiled faintly, still watching the sun as it dipped lower.
"Guess I can't hide from you after all. It's just the recent mess-up. I'm getting nervous a little. I know the peace won't be held for long… but what after that? I grew up in a peaceful world, and now that peace is coming to an end."
"I'm just worried... how will Hana live in this world."
Jin finally turned his head, looking at Minho.
Minho didn't respond right away. He pulled out a crumpled cigarette pack from his pocket, slid one out, and held it between his lips. With a flick of his index finger, a small flame sparked at the tip, lighting the cigarette.
Jin casually reached for the packet.
But before he could touch it, Minho slipped it back into his pocket like nothing happened.
"You smoke yourself and don't let me smoke, huh?" Jin muttered.
"Didn't you read the warning? It kills. So why do you think I'd let you smoke?" Minho said as he took a slow drag and let the smoke drift into the air.
Jin raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk. If it kills, why do you smoke then?"
Minho exhaled the smoke with a smirk. "Well... you could say it's a habit now."
He paused for a second, his gaze drifting toward the fading horizon again.
"But why are you so worried about Hana's future? Even if peace breaks, you're strong enough to live through it normally. Why overthink it?"
Jin stared at him quietly for a few seconds. Then his voice dropped a bit.
"Well, you see, Hyung... I'm getting weaker. Day by day. That's why I'm keeping Ryuto around Hana."
Minho's eyes narrowed slightly.
"That's strange... now you're getting weaker? Your powers have been strange from the start, though. Well, whatever." He smiled and raised his hand, gently patting Jin's head.
"Don't worry. Your Hyung will take care of whoever's behind the last incident."
Jin tilted his head slightly. "I'm not a kid anymore."
A beat passed, then he looked over with a grin.
"But Hyung… when are you gonna get married? Even Ryuto has a girlfriend now."
Minho stopped mid-drag, then exhaled slowly with a blank look.
"...That's boring. Get married, have kids? Nah, that's too much for me. I'm fine being single."
He dropped the cigarette and crushed it under his heel, letting the last ember die out.
"I was gonna tell Ryuto about it..."
Jin's voice stayed gentle as always. "The two men who attacked him Shun did some digging. Found some details, but it's not adding up."
"What doesn't make sense?" Minho asked, flicking his gaze over.
"Well... their names are Ren and Rei. According to Shun, both of them grew up in an orphanage. Pretty normal life. Long story short, they didn't even have powers until six months ago. But the thing is they're already that strong."
Jin shook his head slowly. "Ryuto said they fought like people with no clue how their powers work. No technique, no control. Just raw strength. So how can anyone get that powerful, that fast? Out of nowhere? Is that even possible?"
Minho frowned, the cigarette barely between his fingers now.
"Yeah... that's weird."
He exhaled sharply through his nose. "But don't overthink it. I've got a few clues myself. Just need to dig deeper... maybe then I'll find out who sent them."
He turned to leave.
"I've got work to do."
Then, in a soft rush of wind, he vanished.
Jin continued walking, the grass cool under his feet. A few quiet minutes passed before he stopped now standing in the middle of a flower field, right in front of two graves.
There were two fresh flowers placed neatly on each.
"He really only comes here for this, huh," Jin whispered to himself.
He crouched slightly, eyes soft, focused on one of the gravestones.
"Tell me, Dad what made you the strongest? How did you go up against the world and win without even breaking a sweat?"
A small smile touched his lips.
"Don't tell me you came from another planet or something. You were just a human, like all of us. So how.?"
He stood in silence for a moment, then let out a soft chuckle.
"I'm just talking like you'll actually answer me."
Turning away from the graves, he began walking again as the last bit of sunlight disappeared behind the horizon, the world slowly dipping into twilight.
---
It was around 8 PM. The car moved steadily through a quiet forest road, the headlights casting long shadows that danced between the trees. The cool night air flowed gently through the slightly open windows, carrying with it the soft chorus of crickets and rustling leaves.
Inside, the atmosphere was calm. Hana sat in the back seat, completely focused on her game, the light from her tablet reflecting in her eyes as her fingers tapped quickly on the screen.
Hinata sat in the front passenger seat, munching on a snack. She looked out at the dark blur of trees passing by before speaking.
"Miss Anna did talk about your childhood a lot."
Jin smiled faintly, eyes on the road. "Well, I do mess around a lot these days," he said with a quiet laugh.
He opened his mouth slightly, and Hinata casually offered him a bite of her snack. He leaned in and took it.
"Oh, hey me and Shun are going somewhere tomorrow," he added after chewing. "So take Hana with you to your office."
Hinata raised an eyebrow. "Well, my holiday lasts until next week, so I'll be at home. Where are you two going?"
Jin kept his eyes on the road. "Not decided yet... but we're going to fight an SSS-rank beast."
Hinata was mid-sip from her water bottle and nearly choked, spilling some onto her clothes.
"Huh? What did you just say?" she turned toward him in shock. "You're not going anywhere! And why do you even need to fight an SSS-rank beast?!"
"Chill," Jin said calmly. "It's just some work. I'm not going for a death match it's for analysis, nothing dangerous."
Hinata stared at him, eyes wide. "Since when does an artist have work that involves fighting beasts?!"
"It's just analysis tracking its moves and strength," he replied, reaching over to gently pinch her nose and then releasing it with a small grin.
Hinata stared for a second, then leaned back with a sigh.
"Promise me you'll be back by dinner. And without a single scratch."
Jin smiled. "Fine. I promise. I'll be back without a scratch right on time for dinner."
From the back seat, Hana suddenly shouted, "Yes! I beat the lava boss!"
Jin glanced at her through the rearview mirror, smiling. The road stretched ahead, quiet and long, with the moonlight flickering between the trees. For now, despite the worries waiting tomorrow, the night felt calm.
[Chapter 33 end]