38 Who is she to you?

"Come out."

After a moment, a man comes out of the shadows. He stops ten meters away from Choi Min Ho. He is about five feet and eight inches tall with dark hair and dark eyes. He is wearing a brown jacket, grey trousers, and a checkered shirt. He looks like an ordinary man who can easily blend in the crowd.

"Long time!" He grins at him.

"Do you want a smoke?" Choi Min Ho brings out a cigarette packet. "Do you still prefer this brand?"

"I don't mind." The man looks happy, but he doesn't take another step. Choi Min Ho pulls out a cigarette and throws at the man. The cigarette lands on the man's hand with uncanny precision.

"It's quite rude this way." The man lights the cigarette. "Are you afraid that I will attack her if you remove the barrier?"

The barrier between Choi Min Ho and the man flickers like the candlelight. The man is trying to get in, but Choi Min Ho is trying to keep him out.

"I don't trust the company." Choi Min Ho lights another cigarette. "We aren't precisely friends."

"We have known each other for decades." The man's eyes shine with laughter. "Your brother was my mentor. He gave me a name."

Choi Min Ho clicks his tongue. "If you had a deep relationship with him, does it mean that we have to be close?"

Cain has been trying to take a step in, but the barrier has been repelling him. The more powers he used, the stronger the barrier becomes.

"It's no fun." He flicks the cigarette. "I didn't expect that you will become a council's dog."

"Your attempts at making me lose my concentration is laughable." Choi Min Ho chuckles. "Get to the point."

"She has an R graded gift." Cain looks at the house. "She belongs to the Monarch."

"No, she doesn't." Choi Min Ho takes a drag of the cigarette. "The Monarch company can't force anyone. The gifted are not the Monarch's property."

"Council has to poke its nose where it doesn't belong." Cain's voice is dangerous. "Do you think that you can stop her from coming to the Monarch? She belongs with us, Min Ho."

"She doesn't belong to the council or the Monarch." Choi Min Ho puts his hands in his pockets. It's cold tonight. The sky has a full moon.

"Sell us the contract." Cain doesn't want to talk in roundabout ways. "The company will pay the money. Send her to us." Peacefully.

"Even if I sell the contract, she has to attend the academy," Choi Min Ho tells him sternly. "I am not selling the contract anyway."

"One way or another, she will come to our side." Cain laughs at him. "Your efforts are futile. Why are you delaying what's inevitable? How many of your past projects have been successful, Min Ho? Do you know how many gifted ones are hired by the Monarch after they leave your academy? She is an R graded one. Did you forget what happened to your brother? Someone like her can never live a normal life."

"She is living one now." Close to normal. "She will not come to your side."

Cain snorts after hearing his words. "Min Ho, it's only the beginning. For the last five years, she has been asleep. She lived as a ghost. But now, she is in her best condition. Her mental energy is fully recuperated after taking the ever healing leaf. Her abilities will gain at an exponential rate now. She has to make up for the last five years. You can't save her. Monarch can. We have what it takes to contain her."

"Tell Monarch." Choi Min Ho's voice is easygoing. "Nam Ji Won won't come to Monarch's side. If there is a time when she comes to your side, I will stop her. If I have to break her legs, I will stop her. Even if it means killing her, I will stop her."

Cain is surprised to hear the provocation. Choi Min Ho has never acted like this. Though his voice is carefree like he is talking about the weather, his eyes are cold and firm. Who is that girl? Why does he have a personal interest in this girl?

"Who is she to you?" Cain's expression hardens.

"Let's see..." Choi Min Ho looks at him like he is trying to solve a mystery. "Why I am interested in her?"

"She is an astral traveller." Cain wants to walk to him, but he is again blocked by the barrier. Choi Min Ho didn't loosen the barrier for a moment while they talked. "Is it because she has one of the abilities that your brother had?"

Choi Min Ho doesn't answer him. He is looking at the house. "You have been keeping me busy."

"So, you figured out now." Cain laughs. "The Monarch sent two of us after her. It seems that he has found a loophole in your barrier. He is quite good at it. After all, he was one of your students once."

Choi Min Ho turns around and runs to the house.

"Too late, Min Ho." Cain yells after him. "Jasper already found her."