Chapter 30

It had been a few days since I started hanging out with Jisuk and his friends.

They have been showing me around for a while now, and I have come to like their company.

Jisuk and Subin had their reservations before meeting me, but both of them have eased up in front of me.

Plus, I also got the trip I wanted and went to tour the country with my mom before returning to Seoul.

Now, I have just one reason to stay in this country, and that is to spar with Jiyoung Yoo, who still hasn't given me a date.

It's getting really annoying because now she is just jerking me around till the time I have to leave. It is not an honourable thing to do to your guest.

Plus, there is only so much I can do here.

I never thought I would say this, but I want to go back to the WAA. Not only to see the changes that must have happened in my absence, but because this place is seriously incredibly peaceful.

It seems like I never realised that I actually loved the action, fights, and thrills of an awakened life.

Sure, sometimes it can be a bit much, but in the end, I love training and getting stronger. But since I am still here for a few more days, I am still hanging out with the four friends I have made here.

Anyway, right now we are walking in the streets, feeding stray cats.

Apparently, it's a thing that started with Jiwoo and Wooin, and then later, Jisuk and Subin also started feeding stray cats with them. And now, it's part of their daily routine.

"Weird. Wooin missed school, and he is not picking up his phone." Jiwoo said, squating in front of the cat he is feeding, with Jisuk and Subin at his right side.

I stood next to the wall, leaning on it and texting on my phone.

Emily has been a little worried since I have been speaking to her less and less. But I can't really tell her where I am and what I am doing, so I tend to avoid these topics and try to make her life the main topic of discussion.

But I guess she can see that I am trying to avoid talking to her about those things, and if her misunderstandings become too much, it could be very bad for our relationship.

'I gotta see her before I go.'

"He probably slept in." Jisuk said to Jiwoo

"But he should be awake by now, right?" Jiwoo asked

"He has been acting weird since yesterday. I bumped into him in the union, and he was so preoccupied with something that he didn't even hear me calling. I got curious, so I called him last night, but he didn't pick up." Subin said

"But hasn't he always been a quiet and reserved kind of guy?" I asked

The three of them looked at me, and Jiwoo said, "True. But he has never completely ignored us like this. He has been out of touch since yesterday."

Subin and Jisuk shared a look with each other and decided, "Let's go to his place."

***

Wooin's house wasn't that far away. And when I say it wasn't that far, I mean relatively to other places. Because these guys, besides being rich, prefer to walk everywhere they want to go.

I didn't know exactly where we were, but there was a dog clinic nearby, and well, it wasn't a very good neighbourhood.

Then we went down to the basement of a facility, which made me curious about just what kind of place this guy lived in and also made me feel a little pity for the poor guy.

Subin, who has also never been here, shared my thoughts, and we both expressed our concern for that guy.

I mean, this isn't a proper living space; this is just a basement.

That guy literally just had a futon, and a desk in his room.

"It's not so bad."

We turned around and saw Wooin there.

Jiwoo immediately asked him about his weird behaviour, and Wooin simply said, "I am sorry. I had things to do."

Jiwoo insisted he share what was happening to him, and Wooin finally caved.

"My professor is Dr. Delein." Wooin said

I had no idea what he was talking about, but apparently Subin and Jiwoo did.

"What? You are his apprentice?" Subin asked in shock

"Who is Dr. Delein?" Jisuk asked

"He is an awakened one who is wanted for doing illegal experiments." Subin explained, and I was shocked at this revelation.

Any experiments regarding awakened ones that are not authorised by the World Awakener's Union are considered taboo. No group can get away from the punishment for breaking this rule once they are found.

"Did something happen to him?" Jiwoo asked

"He ran away. The union is after him." Wooin said in a low voice.

"What? Seriously?" Jisuk said

"Also, why isn't the union after you for being his disciple?" I asked

This bugged me. Usually, everyone, even those remotely related to the criminal, is investigated. So, how come Wooin isn't being pursued by the union despite knowing he is that person's disciple?

"That's a long story. I will explain it to you later." Subin said in my ear

"He may be a wanted criminal, but to me, he is like a parent." Wooin said this with his back still turned to us and his shoulders shaking.

"Are you trying to find him?" Jiwoo enquired

"Yeah. I want to hear it from him. Whether he truly wants to leave me behind." Wooin said

"Then let's look for him together." Jiwoo suggested it, and all of us agreed.

Luckily, Wooin had a list of places where he could be. So, we won't have to search the entire city of Seoul in order to find him.

***

We checked about 10 places together, but there was no sign of him.

These places looked like there had been no visitors in a long time.

"It looks like they have noticed we are gone." Jisuk said while looking at his phone, which was buzzing with messages.

"I just turned my phone off." Subin and I said at the same time

"Oh, good idea." Jisuk said that and turned his phone off as well.

I had already done that before we started searching for Wooin's professor.

"Why the long face? because we didn't find your professor yet?" Subin asked Wooin

"No. It's just that; I feel like I got you guys in trouble." Wooin said

"You are worrying for nothing." Jisuk said

"That's what I am saying," Subin said

"And I can't even get into trouble since I am not from here." I said it while showing him a thumbs up.

"Wooin, how many places are left on the list?" Jiwoo asked

"About five." Wooin said

"Alright, let's each take one since it's getting late." I said

"Good idea. Make sure to call everyone if anyone finds anything." Subin said

We each took one place and went over there.

I used "Soru" since mine was a lot farther away from the place we were currently in.

After arriving there, I scavenged the entire place, but there were no signs of entry for anyone in this place, just like in all the other places.

I texted that to the group, and Jisuk said the same thing as well.

Now I just had to wait for the other three to reply, and hopefully, this whole hide-and-seek will end.

As I was moving back to the place we all diverged, I heard a loud explosion and then felt it.

It was a powerful explosion. Enough to send shockwaves that could cause the ground to shake and the glass on the windows to break.

I got to a higher ground and used my Observation Haki to see if this explosion was just a natural accident or if it was related to an awakened one.

As I focused on that place, I could feel just who was there, and what I felt shocked me.

The guy in the centre of all that destruction possessed an aura that could rival a very high-ranking awakened one in the top 200 category.