Moon's Labyrinths

The air started to get cold, and that time of the year when thin clothes couldn’t stave off the cold arrived . In the morning, Sungyoon’s mouth would breathe vapor . So he decided to dress Shinhae in winter clothes .

Jimin had already purchased a lot of clothes for Shinhae, and she had prepared them in the little girl’s closet . The closet contained coats, paddings, jackets, and other outerwear . Either the clothes had fleece inside or they were thick .

Sungyoon was satisfied when he saw this, but he felt a bit down too . This meant that he had missed the opportunity to go shopping with Shinhae .

Shinhae stared into the fire blazing in the fireplace built into the wall .

The new house had come with a fireplace . It was merely an interior decoration since the floor of the house could be heated . However, they used it to roast some yams or sometimes turned it on for fun .

Ding-dong!

The doorbell rang .

Shinhae ran toward the interphone . When she saw who it was, she chirped like a bird as she ran to the door . When the door opened, the Ross siblings entered the house with large bags .

As if she had been aiming for the Olympic gold medal in diving, Shinhae jumped straight into Emily’s arms .

With a bright smile, Emily hugged Shinhae . She stumbled over short Korean phrases while conversing with Shinhae .

Tim picked up Emily’s bag, left the two of them to catch up, and went to the kitchen where Sungyoon was present .

“We bought some party supplies . ”

Tim sounded a bit sad . He kept glancing at Emily and Shinhae . It seemed he was very disappointed by the fact that Shinhae hadn’t greeted him .

“Is it my face?”

Tim rubbed his face .

He was a 190 cm tall, muscular man . His mere presence was enough to intimidate others, and Shinahe was no exception .

A man as big as a gorilla was looking at Emily and Shinhae as if he were a wet puppy . Sungyoon chuckled at the scene .

Soon, the others entered the house too .

Jimin, Grace, and Jiyoon came in that order . Shinhae ran and jumped into each woman’s arms . As everyone laughed and hugged Shinhae, Tim’s face continued to turn glum .

In the living room, they conversed with each other, while Sungyoon cooked the meat .

It also came to Shinhae’s notice that the Ross siblings had bought party hats . Shinhae wore the first one and placed the next on top of Sungyoon’s head . Then, with an eager expression, Shinhae looked at the others .

Everyone laughed as they lowered their heads to make it easier for Shinhae .

Tim liked the fact that Shinhae had put the hat over his head . He readjusted the strings and asked Sungyoon .

“Are you going to be on standby in three days?”

“Yes . I’ll start on the weekdays . I’ll have to go to the standby location . ”

“Don’t you have a helicopter here?”

“Helicopter? There’s the one from the government, but it’s parked at the standby location . ”

Emily’s eyes turned round . Tim and Grace also looked surprised .

Sungyoon and Jimin had no idea why the three were reacting this way .

Tim opened his mouth first .

“You don’t use a private helicopter, Mr . Sungyoon?”

“Private helicopter?”

After earning a lot of money, Sungyoon had bought an excellent car . However, he had never thought about using a helicopter as his private means of transportation .

“Since you have a large backyard, wouldn’t it be better if you had a helicopter back there? You can hire three pilots, and they can take turns so there is a pilot always on standby . When the government calls on you, you can go straight to the site . It’s better than going to the waiting room and doing nothing . You can stay at home, and it won’t cost too much to maintain such a system . ”

It wouldn’t cost that much to buy a helicopter . However, along with it, Sungyoon would need a landing field and three pilots on retainer . Moreover, he would have to pay maintenance fees .

However, high rank Connectors made massive sums of money, and they could afford that expense . Of course, Sungyoon was one of those Connectors now .

“You’re right . I never thought about it . ”

Jimin acknowledged the point .

“Or, the company can buy it and offer its service to Mr . Sungyoon . I’m sure there are some in Korea that travel by helicopters . I’ll look it up . ”

Jimin took out her smartphone and sent some messages .

Helicopter!

It was an item that she had never thought about owning, but she had immediately accepted the suggestion .

Unlike the others, Sungyoon was a bit speechless as he drank his alcohol . It had been a while since he had felt this disparate sensation of how he viewed the world differently than others .

“Dad! Is a helicopter is going to come to our house?”

Of course, that disparate feeling vanished when Sungyoon saw the twinkle in Shinhae’s eyes .

“Do you want to ride a helicopter with dad later?”

Shinhae’s eyes overflowed with joy .

***

When her father mentioned that she would be able to ride a helicopter, Shinhae became excited and more active .

She continued to eat cooked meat and drink soda . However, it seemed time was her enemy, and when the short hand of the clock hit ten, her eyelids started to droop and she nodded off .

“This little rascal . She didn’t even wash her face . ”

Sungyoon gently picked up Shinhae and placed her on her bed . He kissed her on her forehead, then carefully closed the door .

Afterward, the drinking party became a bit more subdued .

It wasn’t a bad thing . However, Shinhae had been the life of the party, so her absence temporarily brought down the mood .

“Is she sleeping?”

“Yes . She’s completely knocked out . ”

Sungyoon answered Jimin’s question as he got back into his seat .

His shot glass already contained clear soju, and he drank it in one go . He then chewed on a piece of meat . Since Shinhae wasn’t here, they started talking about more adult topics .

“What did your father say?”

Sungyoon spoke as he looked at Jiyoon, who was carefully cutting the burnt edges off the meat with a scissor . She raised her head .

“He’s mulling over it, but he’s leaning toward accepting it . ”

“It’s to be expected . Many businessmen dream about leading a large company one day . ”

“Are you really sure my father will be ok for the job?”

She put down the tongs and scissors and looked at Sungyoon with worry in her eyes .

Her father’s company and the company that Sungyoon was trying to buy were very different in scale .

However, Jimin’s words calmed some of Jiyoon’s worries .

“We aren’t asking your father because we are close to you, Ms . Jiyoon . We’ve done our research on him, and we believe that he is fully capable of leading a large company . Of course, he’ll need help in the beginning, and we’ll provide the moonstones to him . ”

Jiyoon felt a bit better after hearing Jimin, and her complexion brightened .

“Please tell him I would like to meet him . I have some time to spare in the near future . ”

Jiyoon nodded at Sungyoon’s request .

As the drinking party moved farther along, the participants became drunk . Everyone was downing drinks as if it were water . The smell of alcohol thickened in the air whenever they exhaled .

Sungyoon looked at his surroundings as he got a hold of his tipsy mind . All of them looked drunk, but they weren’t letting the alcohol rule over them .

“When you go to the standby location, I’ll look out for Shinhae . The helicopter won’t get shipped the next day just because we order one . ”

Jimin poured the hard liquor over a couple of ice cubes as she spoke . She kept tasting the liquor with her tongue as she waited for the right taste .

Unlike her, Tim had forgotten what a cup was used for . He drank straight from the bottle and looked at Sungyoon .

“Does Shinhae really stay by herself when you go to the Moon, Mr . Sungyoon?”

“It can’t be helped . Thankfully, Ms . Jimin and Ms . Jiyoon take good care of her, so she doesn’t get lonely . Because of them, I can relax when it comes to Shinhae . ”

Sungyoon nodded toward the two women .

Jimin shrugged it off as if it were nothing, while Jiyoon looked a bit put on the spot, but she then laughed as she received Sungyoon’s thanks .

Tim’s beard was growing in again, so he rubbed his chin as he spoke .

“Still, it would be better if she had a mother who could live at home and look out for her . Do you ever think about getting remarried?”

Sungyoon had been betrayed by his wife, and he had recently witnessed that ex-wife being killed . Therefore, when she heard Tim speak of such matters, Emily’s eyes turned fierce and she thought of elbowing him .

“I do . I’ve keenly felt the need for it in recent days . ”

It was as if time had stopped .

Jimin had been about to drink her liquor infused with ice . Emily had been about to hit Tim . Jiyoon had been flipping the meat to keep it from burning . Grace had been languidly pouring wine into her cup . All of them came to a stop .

Tim was the only one who couldn’t pick up on the general mood of the group, so he nodded . As he did so, he winked toward Emily as if to ask how she felt .

Emily deflated a bit as she put down her elbow .

Tim continued to speak .

“Mmm . I guess that’s preferable . Do you have a type when it comes to remarriage?”

The room turned so silent that even the sound of a pin dropping would be like the roar of an explosion . Everyone focused on Sungyoon’s words .

“I don’t care about looks or abilities . I don’t care about personality either . I just want someone who will take care of Shinhae as a daughter . ”

Time continued to move .

The four women didn’t move an inch, but they were deep in thought . The only movement came when they kept glancing at the room where Shinhae was sleeping .

Tim smirked when he saw how the women reacted . He refilled Sungyoon’s cup .

“In some ways, that’s a very troublesome requirement . ”

How many women in the world could truly love someone else’s daughter like their own?

“That’s a problem . ”

“However, I’m sure your answer is closer than you think . ”

Tim put down the hard liquor and gestured toward the women with his eyes . All four were deep in thought, so they didn’t catch it .

Sungyoon’s expression turned peculiar .

‘He knows . ’

It was to be expected . The women weren’t shy in expressing their interest in Sungyoon, and even if Sungyoon wasn’t interested in them, it was inevitable that he would notice .

‘If she plays her cards right, my sister might truly find love . ’

Tim was pleased . He picked up a full cup and insisted on clinking glasses with Sungyoon .

***

The two-week vacation went by quickly . It was time for the Connectors to take up their assigned duties from their respective countries . Sungyoon left his house early in the morning to travel to the standby location .

He was assigned a room, and it had the same structure as the room from his previous stay .

Sungyoon lay down in his bed and rooted through his pocket to take out something .

‘What kind of Gem is this?’

Before he had entered this room, an administrator had given him this Gem . It was the Gem that he had found on the labyrinth floor in the mission against the ambushers .

The blood on the Gem had been wiped clean, and its smooth faceted surface reflected light . The Device that had come along with this Gem had been donated to the lab since it was irreparably damaged .

‘They have no idea what it is?’

The blood on the Gem had been sent to the lab as a sample, but the researchers hadn’t checked the ability of the Gem since Sungyoon had its ownership .

It was a Gold rank special ability Gem . In the past, Sungyoon would have been excited to possess it, but the rank was mediocre to him now .

Still, the Gem’s ability could be good .

‘I hope it isn’t like the Gems from those bastards . ’

The Connectors who Jaeho had hired to ambush Sungyoon had died by Sungyoon’s hands, so Sungyoon had received their Gems and Device .

However, neither Sungyoon nor his comrades kept those items for themselves .

Those items were too low in rank . Most of them were Silver rank Gems, and a few were Gold Gems . Moreover, these Gems were mostly weapons and armor . It was almost respectful and foolhardy that those Connectors had tried to ambush Sungyoon with these Gems .

No, they probably never imagined Sungyoon to have become so powerful in a short time of time .

Emily and Grace had been the first ones to lose interest in these Gems and Devices . Tim had also declined since he had better Gems . Since all of them were starting to hit the limit on how many Gems they could use, they had to be picky now .

Sungyoon also didn’t see anything that he really wanted .

If there were other types of weapons, it might be a different story . However, Sungyoon already possessed the same types of weapons as the ones in the Gems . Still, he planned on evolving them to their fullest potential, so he had stored them in the company .

Sungyoon placed the Gold Gem in his hands into his brooch type Device .

‘I’m pretty sure this place has a training facility . ’

He was about to test out the ability of the Gem when the alarm rang .