Moon's Labyrinths

Sungyoon lay in his bed mindlessly flipping through the channels by clicking on the remote control .

The facility at the standby location was better than expected . But the thought that he might come to enjoy the place only lasted a moment . Even if the body was comfortable, a person needed freedom . At that moment, Sungyoon felt the truth of it with every fiber of his being .

‘How long do I have left?’

The clock ticked every second, and he diligently watched every movement of the clock hands . His standby duty was supposed to take place from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM .

‘Thirty minutes more . ’

Sungyoon forced his eyes away from the clock as he continued to flip through the channels with the remote control .

He didn’t know how he had spent the remaining time, but Sungyoon barely said goodbye to everyone as he left in his car .

‘She should still be at the company building . ’

These days, Jimin was very busy with the company work, so she would frequently take Shinhae to work, and they often stayed late at her company .

Jimin and Shinhae were still at the company building today, so Sungyoon drove his car toward his destination .

He arrived at the company building around 9:30 PM . He could see the light through the office window, so he went up to the office .

“Ah . You’re here . ”

Jimin was locking up the door . Sungyoon saw Jiyoon standing next to her while carrying Shinhae on her back . The little girl was soundly asleep .

“Shinhae is sleeping . ”

“I see . ”

He took hold of Shinhae . When her body was shaken in the exchange, Shinhae let out a little groan as she cracked her eyes open .

When she confirmed it was her dad’s face, a smile appeared on Shinhae’s lips despite her sleepy expression . Naturally, she clung to Sungyoon, and she was once again asleep in Sungyoon’s arms .

‘If it were like before, I could’ve continued to stay with Shinhae when I’m staying on Earth . . . ’

He really hated the monsters that had started appearing on Earth .

After locking the door to her company, Jimin checked several times to make sure the door was truly closed . Then, she turned around .

“Did you bring your car?”

“Yes . ”

“Please take Shinhae home first . I have to drive Jiyoon to her home . ”

“I’m fine . You don’t have to do that . ”

Jiyoon tried to turn down the offer, but Jimin shook her head from side to side .

“You worked very late to help with the affairs of the company . Of course, I’ll take you home . ”

Jimin spoke preemptively and cut off Jiyoon from turning down the offer .

She pressed the elevator button, and they waited for the elevator to come up . They all watched the display as the floor number changed .

Dding!

The door opened . Someone was already inside the elevator . Only a person that had business with their company would get off on this floor . They all took a step back, so the person could get out . However, Jiyoon didn’t take a step back .

“Dad . ”

Jiyoon sounded flustered as took a step forward .

“Did you just get off work, Jiyoon?”

Jiyoon’s father got off the elevator and called out to her in a warm manner . He also caught sight of Sungyoon and Jiyoon .

His gaze became fixed on Sungyoon .

“What brings you here, Dad?”

“You were late, so I came here to pick you up . ”

Jiyoon’s father then looked at Jimin .

“You are the president of Jungbum, Hahn Jimin? My name is Jung Inhoo . I’m Jiyoon’s father . ”

“It’s nice to meet you . I owe a lot to Jiyoon in many ways . ”

The two of them bowed to each other . Then, Inhoo’s gaze landed on Sungyoon .

“How should I say this... It has been a while? I wonder if you remember me . ”

“Of course . ”

Sungyoon carefully adjusted Shinhae in his arm as he extended a hand forward .

“It has been a while, Mr . Jung Inhoo . ”

Jimin and Jiyoon didn’t know what was going on, so they just blinked .

***

Cheeeeek!

They heard the sound of meat sizzling . Flames appeared between the red coals, and the meat turned golden brown .

Jiyoon picked up the tongs and flipped the meat before it burned . As she did so, she kept glancing at her side .

Sungyoon sat across from her, and her father sat next to her .

Surprisingly, it seemed the two of them knew each other .

When Inhoo suggested having some alcohol together, Sungyoon didn’t push back too hard . He left Shinhae with Jimin and followed the father and daughter to a restaurant .

However, Jiyoon still didn’t know the exact relationship between the two men, so she opted for a wait and see approach .

Clink!

The clear soju glasses clinked against each other, and Sungyoon and Inhoo drained the soju in one go .

“Kooo!”

Inhoo made a face and quickly popped a piece of meat into his mouth . Sungyoon also picked up a piece .

“How’s your business doing?”

Surprisingly, Sungyoon was the first one to speak . In most cases, he only spoke when others spoke to him first, unless the other one was Shinhae . This surprised Jiyoon .

“Well, I’m somehow managing to stay afloat . ”

Unlike his words, Inhoo’s face was filled with exhaustion .

“It seems it isn’t going well . ”

“If I’m being honest, it isn’t . ”

Inhoo let out a sigh .

“After Mr . Sungyoon left the industry, Daesung Energy started to monopolize the market in a frightening manner . Most of the small energy companies have gone under, and my company is barely hanging on by a thread . ”

Jiyoon kept stealing glances at Inhoo .

This was the first time her father had mentioned his business was struggling . She was very surprised .

Sungyoon and Inhoo had been peers in the same industry, so they had sometimes bumped into each other in the past . But this didn’t mean they were close friends .

In short, they had been rivals in business .

However, Sungyoon had left the industry . Of course, the nature of their relationship accordingly changed . It allowed their relationship to evolve into something else .

“A company of that size acquired bleeding-edge technology . Of course, that would happen . ”

After agreeing with Inhoo, Sungyoon drained another cup of soju .

Their new technology was the one stolen from Sungyoon .

Daesung Energy .

It was one of the subsidiaries of the Daesung group . Jaeho was the president of Daesung Energy, and there was no love lost between Jaeho and Sungyoon .

The moonstone refining business was part of the mainstream global energy sector now . It was a fierce arena of competition where large companies fought for market share . All these large companies had invested incredible sums of money into this industry .

In this fierce competition, some small companies had also survived . Sungyoon’s business had been one of them . His company had bleeding-edge technology that could compete with the large companies . On the other hand, Inhoo’s company was a bit behind in terms of technology, but he had personal connections to Connectors . He could purchase moonstones at a relatively discounted price . It helped Inhoo’s company survive .

“I believe my company can make ends meet . However, I can only forget about expanding my market share . Even the other large companies are feeling their margins tighten thanks to Daesung Energy’s rapid progress . ”

Sungyoon had consciously avoided any news about the moonstone refining industry . He felt a bitter taste in his mouth when he heard about the current state of the moonstone refining industry .

If two people in his life hadn’t betrayed him, his company would be making rapid progress in taking up market share .

However, Sungyoon let go of such thoughts . He was a Connector now . His new life allowed him to spend a more fun life with Shinhae .

“I hope everything works out . ”

Sungyoon had nothing more to say, and he didn’t want to think more on the subject . The moonstone refining industry was his past .

“Thank you . ”

The two of them clinked cups once again .

They took turns pouring drinks and finished a couple of bottles . Sungyoon had the body of a Connector, so he was still fine . However, Inhoo was pretty drunk .

The alcohol gave Inhoo courage, and he could ask the question that he was curious about .

“This might be too forward of me, but what happened, Mr . Sungyoon?”

“What are you referring to?”

“I’m talking about your company . ”

Sungyoon had become a Connector, then a hero . However, anyone that knew Sungyoon from his past wanted to ask the same question as Inhoo .

“Everyone in our industry heard rumors about you, Mr . Sungyoon . The rumors were split into two . First one was that you were a fraud who used your close relationship with the president of Daesung Energy to enrich yourself, and things went wrong . The other one is that the president of Daesung Energy stabbed you in the back, and you’re the injured party . ”

“There is no way Mr . Sungyoon would defraud someone! He isn’t like that!”

Inhoo became surprised . He hadn’t even directed the question to her, yet Jiyoon had answered him . Moreover, the anger in her voice was evident .

Jiyoon belatedly realized what she had done . She lowered her head and silently started grilling the meat .

‘No way . Is she . . . ’

As Inhoo wondered how to react to Jiyoon’s outburst, Sungyoon answered .

“I’ve never defrauded him . However, I have no evidence to back up my statement . ”

Sungyoon no longer spoke about it . Inhoo didn’t ask any questions either . He had become worried about something more important than learning the truth behind the rumors .

The three of them continued to drink for a bit longer . Then they exited the restaurant .

Both parties called a driver rental service to drive them home . Inhoo watched as Sungyoon’s car drove away, then he turned to look at his daughter .

“I have a question I would like to ask you, Jiyoon . . . ”

“It’s fine . Let’s just go home . ”

Jiyoon was clearly avoiding the topic . Thankfully for her, the driver from the driver rental service pulled up with Inhoo’s car . This put an end to their conversation . However, the thoughts kept churning within Inhoo’s mind .

‘He is a divorced man with a daughter . There is also a large age gap, yet she fell for him?’

However, Sungyoon had become a Connector, so the age gap might not be an obstacle .

Inhoo had learned about Sungyoon being a Connector through TV . He had seen that Sungyoon looked younger, but in real life, Sungyoon looked even younger . This fact surprised Inhoo even more .

Moreover, the opinions about Connectors had changed to the positive when people saw Sungyoon fight against the monster on Earth .

If he took all of that into consideration . . .

‘No . Am I taking this too far?’

Jiyoon was only twenty-one years old . He could see that she was infatuated with Sungyoon, but there was no way she was thinking about marriage .

‘I guess this is the curse of being a father . ’

Inhoo made a decision at that moment to be hands-off . He decided to let Jiyoon make her own choices in life .

***

Sungyoon opened his eyes . He felt the sensation of a soft blanket over his body and the warmth that came along with it .

He pushed the blanket off his body and got up .

Shinhae had fallen asleep holding his pajama, so when he moved, she was tossed in the bed .

‘It is 7 AM . ’

Sungyoon’s night shift had started the previous day .

However, he didn’t mind it since he could sleep until the emergency siren rang . He didn’t have to be bored like in the day shift . He preferred the night shift over the day shift .

Moreover, Sungyoon had decided to bring Shinhae here since the bed was quite large .

After he equipped himself, Sungyoon woke up Shinhae . The little girl complained saying she didn’t want to get up, but he didn’t budge an inch . It would be time for her to go to her kindergarten soon .

Shinhae brushed her teeth, took a bath, ate breakfast . She then wore a set of clean clothes, and the father and daughter exited the building .

“Please take care of her . ”

“Please don’t worry . ”

A man dressed in clean suit replied to Sungyoon .

He was one of the drivers put on standby by the government . Connectors could use them as chauffeurs . They were here to support the Connectors, and at times, they drove children of the Connectors to their school or kindergarten .

Sungyoon put Shinhae in the car .

“Have a nice day, Shinhae!”

“Yes! I’ll be back!”

Shinhae yelled out loudly through the open window . Sungyoon kept waving his hand until he could no longer see the car down the road .

He returned to the lobby . He still had thirty minutes left in his shift .

He once again had to kill time, so he decided to go to his room to watch some TV .

At that moment, someone entered the lobby .

“Hello, Mr . Sungyoon!”

It was Jinsoo, his recent acquaintance . When Sungyoon’s night shift had started, Jinsoo’s schedule had changed to the day shift .

“You’re early, Mr . Jinsoo . ”

“I give myself thirty minutes, so I don’t feel rushed when going to work . Also, you never know . I don’t want to be late when an emergency might occur at any moment . ”

It was an excellent mindset . It was true for Dongin, Hyunwoo, and now Jinsoo . It seemed Fabion only had people with a good mindset . Sungyoon was impressed .

He wondered how could Soobin enter such a company .

“You still have some time left until your shift ends, right? If you don’t’ mind, we can talk . . . ”

It happened at that moment .

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhng!

A noisy siren started blaring within the office . The faces of Sungyoon and Jinsoo hardened in an instant .

A monster had appeared .