Chapter 65: You Are So Persistent

I blinked at the bodyguard.

When our eyes met, he made a bewildered expression for a moment, then shook his head slightly and stared straight ahead.

“Yeah.”

It seemed that he didn’t intend to talk to me, so I quietly closed the door and returned to the bed.

“What happened?” I asked Shine while sitting on the bed and smoothing the white blanket.

She, who was sitting on a small chair in front of the bed, tilted her head at my question and asked back, “What do you mean?”

My last memory was hazy. I remembered showing off some cool skills and dropping bad guys from the sky, but I didn’t remember what happened after that.

“I want to hear what happened after I lost consciousness.”

Shine got up from her chair at my words. She sat down next to the bed I was sitting on. I could faintly smell Shine’s body.

“Amy said the helicopter wasn’t normal.”

“What, the one we were riding?”

“Yeah. When Jeff clapped his hands, a bunch of other bad guys fell, right? The helicopter we were riding couldn’t avoid the effect.”

I touched my cheek at Shine’s answer. Although she said I was controlling it, since I couldn’t control it delicately like Victor, it seemed that the helicopter we were riding was also affected by my ability.

According to Shine, we had no choice but to come down here because the helicopter was staggering as if it was going to crash at any moment.

After finishing our short conversation, Shine and I slowly shook our legs and looked at the closed door.

“Ah.”

At that moment, I looked around, remembering something I had forgotten. However, I couldn’t find what I was looking for.

“What are you looking for?”

“My bag?”

Shine shook her head as if she didn’t know what I was asking. I frowned. Inside the bag were the witch’s hat and wand that Amy had given me as a gift. Then there were the dinosaur rocks and a sketchbook. Lastly, there were a lot of souvenirs I had from the theme park. Losing that bag would mean losing everything I had.

I let out a sigh as if I was going to collapse, and Shine gently patted my head.

“Where did it go?”

“Sorry, Jeff. I didn’t see your bag when you got off the helicopter.”

I buried my face in my pillow and covered myself with the blanket. My eyes were stinging, and I felt like tears were about to fall. I didn’t want Shine to see my crying face, so I didn’t raise my head.

“Jeff.”

Shine called my name softly and snuggled next to me.

“Are you feeling bad?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m depressed.”

Shine smiled faintly at my answer and hugged me gently. Warmth filled the empty space.

Knock-knock.

As I was tangled up with Shine and squirming under the blanket, a faint knock was heard from beyond the door.

Shine and I looked at the door with only our faces peeking out from the blanket.

The door opened softly with a click.

“Amy!”

I kicked off the blanket and ran toward the door.

Amy, who was standing there, put the pot she was holding on the floor and opened her arms toward me.

Amy’s embrace, which received me as I naturally flew away and jumped, was soft and warm.

“Jeff, does anything hurt?”

“Yes!”

My head was a little dizzy, but not enough to say that it hurt, so I smiled faintly and got down from Amy’s embrace.

“What’s that?”

Shine, who approached late, pointed to the pot that Amy had put down and asked.

I, too, became interested in the contents of the pot. A strong, savory smell wafted in.

The delicious smell of food that stimulated my appetite made my salivary glands work.

The thing in the pot was porridge. White, savory porridge with lots of meat and vegetables.

Amy pulled over a small table and placed the pot on it.

“Jeff, are you sick?”

While Amy was preparing the meal, Rain came up next to me and asked with a worried expression, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s okay.”

Rain’s expression brightened at my answer.

“Jeff is really great.”

“Am I great?”

“Yeah! You have such a cool technique.”

“Jeff Spiralize?”

“Yeah! That!”

Amy said the name of the technique was strange, but Rain’s eyes sparkled as if she liked it.

I recalled that memory and raised my power with my fingertips, the sight of a blue current surging along with a crackling sound. However, I couldn’t raise my power any further because of the bracelet on my wrist.

“Let’s eat!” Amy shouted brightly after finishing preparing the meal.

We immediately ran to the chairs near the table and sat down.

The ladle in Amy’s hand scooped up the steaming porridge and put it in a bowl.

As I moved the spoon and ate the porridge diligently, my long hair started to enter my mouth. Even if I tried to brush my hair back with my hand, when I lowered my head to eat the porridge, it would come down again.

Amy, who had been watching me, got up from her seat and came behind me.

“Are you uncomfortable?”

I nodded silently, my mouth full of porridge.

Amy’s gaze turned to me and Shine. Shine was no different from me. There was porridge all over her mouth, and her hair was also covered in porridge. But she didn’t care and continued to eat.

Amy took out a hair tie and a comb from her pocket and gently stroked my hair.

Swish—swish—

With each stroke of the brush, my hair became soft and loose. After wiping the porridge-covered hair with a wet tissue, she swept it back and tied it up in one go. Her long hair, like a horse’s tail, hit my back. When I shook my head slightly, a white horse’s tail brushed past my cheek.

Amy, who had finished taking care of my hair, approached Shine behind her and began to organize her hair. Shine, who had her hair all over her head like me, was also getting the same treatment. The only difference between her and me was the color of the hair tie that held my hair up.

After emptying the large pot, I yawned and slumped down on the chair. I immediately looked at Amy. I was worried that she might scold me since I had lost all the things she had given me as gifts. However, Amy didn’t mention what had happened in the helicopter.

I mumbled as I watched her back. After that, Amy started to examine my physical condition. As if she were examining me at a hospital, she pressed the stethoscope and thermometer all over my body.

“Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”

“Yes.”

At my answer, Amy looked relieved and hugged me. It felt like Amy had been hugging me more often lately. Feeling Shine’s gaze from the side, I awkwardly laughed and escaped Amy’s embrace.

When I sat down next to Shine, she hugged me tightly. A subtle smile escaped my actions as if I was imitating Amy.

“Then shall we go back?”

I didn’t ask where I was going. As Amy said, the outside world was dangerous. Even though it was the house Amy had given me, this was also the outside.

Shine nodded silently, as if she had the same thoughts as me. She took off the white gown she was wearing and changed into the clothes Amy had prepared for her. The clothes had a completely different design from yesterday. Still, the feeling of the fluttering hem of her skirt was very awkward.

The moment I stepped out into the hallway with Amy, more than five bodyguards followed me from all directions.

When I looked at Amy with a puzzled expression, she smiled and answered, “They are the ones who will protect you.”

“Us?”

“Yes.”

I looked at the men in black suits, then cautiously opened my mouth, looking at Rain hanging around nearby. “Rain too?”

Of course! I’ll protect you too!

Rain answered with a confident expression.

Currently, she was wearing similar clothes to the bodyguards nearby.

She looked a little cool in a black suit that seemed to be tailored to her small height.

The sunglasses on her head looked too big, but she didn’t bother to point it out.

Rain’s bodyguard was diligently keeping watch over the surroundings.

Even after leaving the mansion and arriving at the wide yard, that watchfulness was maintained.

Rain was keeping watch over the surroundings with fierce eyes.

At that moment, a small puppy approached behind Rain.

The puppy, who was moving its short legs diligently, looked at us once and tilted its head.

Kang-i-ji, whose tongue was slightly sticking out, looked stupid for some reason.

As Rain started to move, the puppy’s tail started to wag.

The puppy followed Rain’s actions, crouching down and following him slowly.

Rain still seemed unaware that the puppy was chasing him.

The number of bodyguards following us increased.

As we began to move around the area, the puppy ran away with a puzzled expression.

The puppy ran to the end of the yard and hid behind a large tree.

Was that puppy raised separately in this mansion?

Since I didn’t have any good memories of dogs, I quickly erased the image of the small puppy from my mind.

As we headed to the entrance of the mansion, an incredibly long car was waiting there.

A limousine?

“Are we going by car this time?”

“Yeah. I can’t take the helicopter today.”

Amy didn’t explain why she couldn’t take the helicopter.

Shine and I got into the limousine with Amy.

The inside of the limousine was comfortable.

There was a small refrigerator and soft seats.

I gaped at the interior space that seemed more than enough even for Shine and me to lie down in.

“Isn’t Rain here?”

“We’ll be getting on soon. Rain is the team leader, so she has to give orders.”

Rain seemed a little different than usual.

She hadn’t gotten into the car yet.

Outside the wide-open door, Rain was standing, giving orders to men in black suits.

I couldn’t hear them because I was a little far away, but I could tell that the men in front of her were truly following Rain.

Their sparkling eyes felt similar to the way I looked at Amy.

It didn’t feel real that all those people were under Rain.

As I blankly stared at Rain, she turned around, perhaps sensing my gaze.

Our eyes met in midair.

Rain smiled at me and immediately ran towards me.

“Everyone, do your best!”

Just before the car door closed, Rain shouted to her teammates.

“Rain. Are those guys Raincoat’s teammates?”

I asked, recalling the story Rain had told me last time.

However, Rain shook her head and answered my question.

“No. Raincoat is a different team, and they’re Amy’s personal bodyguards.”

“… Then what about Rain?”

“I’m Amy’s bodyguard too.”

When I looked at her with a confused expression, Rain answered with a mischievous smile.

“That’s when we’re out and about.”

I nodded, recalling Rain’s usual appearance.

To be honest, I couldn’t believe that Rain was a bodyguard, but since Amy didn’t say anything, it seemed like Rain was right.

Could such a small bodyguard really exist?

I didn’t trust the fact that she looked like she would follow someone on the street if they offered her ice cream.

I patted Rain’s head without saying a word.

The limousine we boarded slowly started moving and left the mansion.

Immediately after, numerous vehicles began to follow us.

The cars were painted black and surrounded the limousine we were riding in on all sides as if they were escorting it.