"What do you mean by that? Did you contact her?"
"Why? What business do you have with her?" Hyeseung glared as he bombarded them with questions. His eyes were about to come out of his socket.
"It's not what you-" Hawoon was cut off mid sentence.
"I knew it! Babe I told you, didn't I?" Hyeseung pointed his finger to Hawoon in a rude manner. "I was suspecting it, but still hoping it just me being delusional."
"Now, the heck you're talking about?" Hawoon just wanted to get to the business.
"You!"
"What? Just say it!"
"You like me, don't you?" Hyeseung said, eyes narrowed. "You contacted her to stay away from me, because you want me. Eww!" He covered his body with his arms like he was shielding himself.
"…"
Eunji burst into laughter as she slammed her hands on the table. "Haha! Like him?"
"… You know I'm done with this! Think whatever you want!" Hawoon had enough. He rubbed his forehead, soothing the headache caused by these overgrown kids.
"Then, why would you contact her?" Hyeseung wasn't leaving the question. He was convinced that his delusions were true.
"Babe, it's not like that!" Eunji tried convince him.
"He didn't contacted me. He had some matters with Eunjun."
"Eunjun? Why?"
"I don't know. Eunjun told me to bring this to Hawoon as he was busy with some other matter." She pointed to the file in front of Hawoon.
"Busy? More like he's lazy." Hyeseung grumbled. "Always giving his work to Eunji! He's way too annoying for being brother and brother-in-law."
"Hey! Don't say that! He's still my brother." Eunji sided with her brother.
Hyeseung just ignored and sighed before turning to Hawoon. "So, what business did you have with Eunjun?"
Hawoon glared at Hyeseung for a moment, "…It's about that kid. The one behind the rampage."
That got their attention.
"Ah, yes! I didn't knew you had another son, Hawoon. I'm disappointed that you hid something like that from me." Eunji complained.
"It's not like that. That kid is not his son."
"…What? But-"
"That's what i want to know too. Why did you say that?"
"Hah!" Hawoon sighed before he revealed the whole story. They were surprised and found it strange.
"Royal Family? Why would they go after some child's life?"
"That's why I asked Eunjun to find information about the kid. The kid is still unconscious. And, the reason why i agreed to present a scapegoat to public."
"I see! Then, check the files." Hyeseung pointed out.
"Ah, right." Hawoon sighed before opening the files. It had a picture of the kid. Kim Suho. 9 years old. Born on 2 September. Mother used to work at Servant Quarter and died on 29 October… the fire at the Palace.
Hawoon turned the page hurriedly. No information about father except that, he died when Suho's mother was 7 months pregnant with him. There was no other information.
Watching Hawoon's expression, the couple got concerned. "What's in there, Hawoon?" Eunji voiced out.
Hawoon handed the file over. They checked it, each face growing more troubled.
"What's the meaning of that? Don't tell me…" Eunji bit her lips, couldn't complete her words.
"Yes! The kid, Suho knows who is behind the fire and the Royal Family couldn't let anyone live who knew the truth." Hawoon completed the words for her.
Eunji covered her mouth, shocked. "Then, you can't let the kid's information leaked out."
"Yeah! I will prepared the documents to legally adopt him. Then, we can find the solution later."
"Things keep getting worse." Hyeseung said, relaxing his back as he placed the files on the table.
"What about the kid? The amount of mana released… was unimaginable."
"He's fine. But, still unconscious."
"Then, guess I have to do what I'm best at."
"What are you going to do, babe?" Hyeseug asked.
She smirked, leaning forward.
Lee Eunji—married to Lee Hyeseung—was not just anyone. She was a member of the Elite Officers' First Division. Unlike the Second and Third, the First Division stood apart, completely independent of Royal control. Their identities were hidden, their presence whispered about more than confirmed.
They were said to be the strongest mages alive. The only thing the public truly knew was that there were four of them, ranked among the top four mages in the world. They never appeared at official meetings, never attended royal gatherings, and were infamous for defying the monarchy's commands without consequence.
The First Division revealed themselves only when the world itself seemed ready to collapse—when a monstrous S-class beast breached the kingdom's barrier, or when a rogue mage's rampage grew too powerful for the Royal Army or even the other Divisions to contain. And yet, whenever such a calamity struck, one of them would somehow appear, end it with frightening ease, and vanish again.
Rumor spread that even during the recent mana rampage, a First Division officer had been there—watching—but did nothing, as the situation resolved itself.
Paparazzi and spies had tried countless times to uncover their secrets, but it was useless. They were masters of concealment, so much so that the public had given them a name, Phantom Mages.
Lee Eunji was one of them. Along with being a Principal of EMS.
Hawoon knew this only because Hyeseung, drunk at a banquet, had let it slip. By sheer luck, Hawoon had been the only one sober enough to catch the words.
Later, Hyeseung himself exposed her brother, Park Eunjun, on the grounds that, since he already knew about her, he might as well know about her brother too. He got into trouble for that. His wife had him kicked out for whole one week. It was the disastrous one week for Hawoon.
"Well, if you're going to adopt him, you have to take care of his needs, like his health, studies and as long as I remember you wanted to train Hajun yourself when he would awaken his magic."
"So, of course, you will train him too. But, you need to hide his identity, so…"
"So?"
"I will concealed his identity along with Hajun by using my authority as a Principal of EMS. Then, they wouldn't have to go to the school, but still graduate. They just need to appear for the evaluation tests. And, for that I will just have to prepare separate rooms for them." She smiled that was not so innocent.
"Why do I feel like there's hidden motive behind your help?" Hawoon narrowed his eyes.
"It's nothing. I'm just excited to welcome our future member of the Division."