Chapter 361: Chapter 361

After picking up his siblings from foreign countries, Shinwoo returned to Korea. Shinhwee and Shinhyun had incompatible personalities, so they frequently clashed with each other. They would keep it in check for the near future because of him. However, when he saw them fight again, Shinwoo let out a burst of forced laughter.

"I want you guys to go home first."

"Huh? You aren't going to come with us, Hyung-nim?"

When she heard Shinhyun, Shinhwee acted like she was about to throw up.

'Barf! He said Hyung-nim!'

Shinhyun glared at Shinhwee.

"I get stressed out being with you two. I'll bring the others. You guys can go first."

"Are you talking about Shinbi and Shinjung? Do you know where they are right now?"

"They'll soon be sent to the Moon as Connectors, so they are at the training field where you guys had gone in the past."

"I remember. However, I preferred being taught by Dad."

Shinhwee and Shinhyun bickered about everything, but Shinhyun grudgingly nodded to support Shinhwee's words this time.

"Dad has work to do. Also, he'll go on practice runs through labyrinths with them. He will do for them what he did for us."

"Both Shinbi and Shinjung are at the training facility?"

"Yes."

"Shinbi might be ok, but do you really think Shinjung will be willing to take instructions from someone else?"

"..."

"I feel the same way as him, Oppa."

Now that he thought about it, there was someone more troublesome than these two. Shinwoo unconsciously massaged his temples.

***

"Ah! It's Oppa!"

When Shinwoo arrived at the training facility, a woman ran toward him. She was a fully grown adult, but it was apt to describe her as cute.

"How's your training, Little Shinbi?"

"I'm no longer a kid, Oppa."

Her cheeks puffed up as she pouted. She looked adorable at that moment. Instead of a young woman, she looked more like a girl. Shinwoo suppressed his fatherly smile... No, he suppressed his brotherly smile as he looked at his surroundings.

"Where's Shinjung? I heard he's here with you."

"He cut class. You know how he is."

"I see."

Shinwoo pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Do you know where he— No, I know where he went."

"Huh? You know? As expected of Oppa..."

Shinwoo didn't want to be praised for this.

'I'll just drag him back later.'

"So which specialization will you be pursuing??"

He decided to focus his attention on his little sister rather than the little brother who had run away.

"Specialization? Ah! You're talking about which Gems I'm going to specialize in."

Connectors without clear support from their parents or companies had to use whatever Gems they were given. They couldn't afford to think about specialization or how the Gems were balanced. They used whatever Gems monsters dropped. However, Shinwoo and Shinbi didn't have to worry about such things since they came from a well-resourced family.

"Mmm! Mom wants me to be rear support like her, but I like this better."

Shinbi raised her hand, and a sharp, large Dao appeared in her hand. The summoning had been instant, but Shinwoo wasn't surprised by it.

"You want to fight up close?"

"That's what I prefer."

Shinbi was the daughter of Emily, Earth's greatest support Connector, yet she enjoyed fighting head-to-head battles. It seemed her father's blood ran stronger than her mother's blood.

"If you want that, you should go for it."

Their father Sungyoon always respected the choices his children made. Shinwoo had learned under Sungyoon while growing up, so his world view was similar to Sungyoon's. Therefore, he didn't go against Shinbi's decision. However, it was also true that the danger one faced increased when one fought close to a monster.

He had to speak out of concern.

"At the very least, you should carry around some healing Gems. Also, you have to get a passing grade from Dad after you finish your training. Alright?"

"Yes!"

Shinwoo pinched Shinbi's cheek when she gave a cheerful answer. Unlike his other siblings, Shinbi listened to him. She lived a stable life. Shinwoo was so thankful to her that he wanted to shed a tear. On the other hand, he had to keep his private life separate from his professional life, so he couldn't do much for Shinbi. He coldly spoke to her.

"You have to convince mother Emily."

"Can't... can't you help me a little bit with that, Oppa?"

"No. You have to do it. You have to. You have to take responsibility for your own decisions so that you don't grow up to be irresponsible."

Even though he said those words, it wasn't the real reason he wanted her to do it. He absolutely didn't want to face Emily's crying face.

"Alright. Since you're doing well in your training, Oppa will buy you a present. Don't you like teddy bears?"

"Not really? I'm all grown up, so I don't really like that kind of stuff."

She tried hard to deny it, but Shinwoo could see the desire for a new teddy bear in her eyes. He laughed out loud as he mussed up Shinbi's hair.

***

Shinbi said she wanted to train a little bit more, so Shinwoo let her be. He knew his responsible dongsaeng would be on time; he also didn't want to show her where he was about to go.

Shinwoo arrived at a huge, luxurious officetel. As if he had been here before, he easily navigated the building and stepped inside an elevator. The elevator stopped on the nineteenth floor, and Shinwoo walked down a corridor to stop in front of a particular front door.

Ding-dong!

He pressed the bell, but no response came.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Ding-dong!

He pressed it several more times, but the interphone remained silent. Was no one inside?

'There's no way.'

Shinwoo let out a sigh, and he started pounding on the door.

"Woo Shinjung! I know you're here! Open up, or I'll destroy this door!"

Shinwoo continued pounding on the door.

Ggee-eek!

The front door opened after a while, but the person who came out wasn't Shinjung. It was a woman he didn't know. However, Shinwoo wasn't surprised.

"E... excuse me."

The woman dodged Shinwoo as she quickly left through the front door. After watching the woman's retreating figure, Shinwoo entered the house. It was a large one-room apartment, so he saw the bed as soon as he entered through the front door. He found the person he had been looking for.

"Yo~! Hyung."

Shinjung, who was still lying down on the bed, shamelessly waved his hand toward Shinwoo. Shinwoo let out a sigh.

"I should've known when they said you cut class at the training facility. I knew you were here meeting a woman again."

"Cut class? Don't be so harsh. I did all my required work for the day."

Shinjung was telling the truth, and his trainer had told Shinwoo the same thing.

'He's too talented for his own good.'

It wasn't just Shinjung. Sungyoon was peerless amongst 1st Gens, and since 2nd Gens were born stronger than 1st Gens, all of Sungyoon's children were born with immense talent.

Shinbi could activate her Gems without delay, while Shinwoo had graduated from his training course in record time.

"Still, you have to train for a certain amount of time. At the very least, you should stay for the allotted time. Be like Shinbi. She's taking the initiative to train more."

"Let's get this out of the way. Our personalities are different."

Shinjung got up from the bed. He was shirtless, and his well-defined muscles were in full view.

"It isn't because of a big difference in personality. You just want to have fun with women."

"I'm saying this because there is some truth to what you say. However, I planned on showing up on time for our appointment. I was just meeting her for a short time because it's her birthday. You know what happens when you don't celebrate your girlfriend's birthday."

Shinwoo couldn't refute that part. Shinjung took his time as he put on his clothes.

"I can't believe a womanizer like you was born from mother Jiyoon."

Amongst all their mothers, Jiyoon was the gentlest and kindest person. She also had a courteous and obedient attitude. It was almost hard to believe that Shinjung was her son.

"Well, the world would be boring if children were born with their parents' personalities. Am I wrong?"

"Bullshit."

Shinjung cackled.

"I'm just making sure, but you didn't tell anyone about this place, right?"

"Don't worry about it. I didn't say a thing."

Shinwoo hadn't done it out of loyalty. If Shinjung lost this place, Shinwoo would have a hard time tracking him down.

'When he goes missing, he's usually here.'

"That's why you're my hyung. Let's hurry up and go now."

Shinjung let out an impudent smile as he urged Shinwoo forward. Shinwoo slapped Shinjung on the back of his head before he left the apartment.

***

"Ah! You found him."

The two of them caught up with Shinbi, who was going home after finishing her training session. Shinbi pointed at Shinjung, who was behind Shinwoo.

"It's rude to point at someone like that, Shinbi."

"Whatever! Did you go to meet another woman?"

Since Shinjung knew he probably shouldn't say anything, he scratched the back of his head. Shinbi knew the answer even if Shinjung remained silent. She clicked her tongue.

"You should stop meeting so many women. Someone's really going to stab you someday."

"You keep talking about me as if I'm some unfaithful womanizer. I won't deny that I like women, but at the very least, I have a set of morals. I don't go out with women who don't want to go out with me. I do go out with a lot of women, but that's the case with a lot of Connectors. It's not like I'm meeting my women in secret either."

"Really? Is that why you meet up with a different woman every day?"

"Some might look at it as a negative, but I think a man and a woman should break up if one side isn't happy. It isn't like a marriage where you're bound by law, right?"

"You should really cool it. Your antics will get picked up by the press if you don't."

Shinbi was earnest in her advice, but Shinjung just shrugged. He didn't take it seriously.

"I might be a bit of an extreme case, but you and Hyung should also go out with more people. Our family should go out with a lot of people. Our family is famous."

Their father had achieved much, but in terms of fame, political power, money, and fighting power, their entire family was almost peerless. Of course, they were popular with people of the opposite sex.

"I'm sure many in our family like going out with a lot of women, but they refrain because they don't want to get entangled with a particular type of woman. You know our family is a bit sensitive to this subject. You know what happened with the mothers of Shinhae noona and mother Jimin."

When it was framed that way, Shinjung could say nothing. Shinbi's reasoning skill was peerless, so Shinjung didn't say anything as she berated him. He did his best to avoid her scolding.

***

After sending the rest of his siblings to the house, Shinwoo got in his car. He had to go somewhere before entering his family home.

Ggeek!

He parked his car in the yard of a single house. This place hadn't changed at all from his childhood memories; the house was always warm and welcoming. In the dead of winter, the yard had lost all its color, but he always remembered this place as warm and cozy.

Like always, he opened the door and the familiar smell of the house tickled his nose.

"Who— Oh my! Shinwoo?"

A woman came out of the kitchen. She looked elated to see Shinwoo. Shinwoo also didn't hide his smile.

"Grandma!"

"Aigo! My baby!"

Hweeyoung gave Shinwoo a big hug. Jimin wasn't born from Hweeyoung, but she was her daughter in all aspects. Shinwoo had grown up with lots of love from his grandmothers since he was Jimin's son.

"Oh my! Shinwoo is here?"

Another woman exited the kitchen after Hweeyoung. She also let out a bright smile when she saw Shinwoo and opened up her arms.

"Grandma!"

"Come here."

Shinwoo didn't resist as he let her hug him. It felt good when Aiin patted him on the back. However, Shinwoo's hugs weren't at an end yet. He had one more grandmother.

"Oh? Shinwoo is really here."

The last person to come out of the kitchen opened up her arms toward Shinwoo.

"Grandma!"

"You must be tired. Come in, and have something to eat. We cooked something delicious."

Plu-El hugged Shinwoo like Hweeyoung and Aiin.