Hyejin and Taejoon's Discussion

Taejoon's POV

"This is some bullshit." I said as I fiddled with the noodles in my bowl

"Hey, do not play with your food." Mother scolded from across the table

We were at her place having breakfast, she decided to quickly cook up Shin Ramyun before we went to work. It was a Tuesday morning and the day outside seemed like it was gonna be a gloomy one. Looking outside the window, I saw that the sky was filled with dark grey clouds. It might rain today and it could definitely fit the gloomy mood.

I then turned to see Mother who was wearing her usual sleepwear; a white sleeping robes that covered her pajamas she was wearing. She was reading something on her tablet as she was drinking water from a glass.

I had spent the night here, Mother telling me to use one of her guest rooms. I was wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt. I was in no mood to dress up this day.

"Any word from Lee?" I asked as I looked down at my bowl of ramyun

I started to twirl them with my chopsticks.

"No." she said placing her glass down, "And I told you not to play with your food, Taejoon. Finish your noodles. "

I shrugged, "I don't think I'm that hungry." I said

"Then do not play with them." I could feel her scowling at me, "I took the trouble of cooking for you and this is how you repay me?"

"I'm sorry." I said not looking up

I felt her gaze still. She did not say anything for a few moments. Then I heard as she placed her tablet down.

"What's wrong with you, son?" she asked, "You usually reply with witty remarks when I scold you."

I looked up at her, "What do you think?" I said, "The killer is still out there. And we're told not to do anything and await orders. Why did you have to listen to Apex?"

She sighed, "You know Apex as well as I do, Taejoon." she told me, "He only cares for the safety of the country. I do not agree with his decision either but it is the most logical one that even I could not come up with. My gut told me to listen to him."

"Yea but, you wanted to apprehend the culprit as much as the rest." I replied, "And you were willing to let Michael and the others to do so."

She tucked her hair behind her ear as she closed her eyes.

"Listen, Apex is right." she told me, "If we focus our attention on that criminal even for a moment, we will be attacked by many other directions in which we will switch our focus from him to the greater enemies we'll have and then he will do what he plans to do. And let's not forget we do not know what his goal is. We have to approach this carefully, I now understand that."

I leaned back and thought on it for a bit. She was right, of course. The threat of Manti-Gore and Torrent is still looming over by China. They are serious dangers that have been repelled many times before but not without casualties. They are not to be taken lightly. S-Class criminals are ridiculously strong these days.

I sighed and looked over to the hallway that led to the rooms. Wondering why it was just the two of us here, I frowned and crossed my arms. Now that I thought about it, I have not seen the old man in weeks.

"Hey, Mother." I asked without looking at her, "Where is Father?"

"Oh, I was wondering when you were gonna ask for him." I turned to see her taking a bite out of cinnamon roll, "He left to take care of family business overseas. He won't be back for a while."

I shuddered at the mere mention of the two words "Family business" when it comes to the old man. Nothing good ever comes out of those people. And I do wonder why he even associates himself with them.

"Does he know of the current situation?" I asked

She nodded, "Yes. And it angers me to say that he does not care at the moment." She said, "I spoke to him yesterday and he was irritatingly apathetic to the matter. He told me we could handle it. And if we can't, Apex will."

"Oh, is that so?" I raised an eyebrow, "Does he not have faith in his son?"

She looked at me while she chewed, "I am sure about that." she said, "I know for a fact that he has a great deal of faith in Apex."

I scowled and looked away, "Tch."

Apex. The one man that nobody seems to loose faith in. I don't blame them, the guy's the real deal. But for the old man not to care about this situation and being confident Apex will take care of it, its foolishness. Apex isn't even in the country from what Energy told me. Yet, the old man knows everything will be fine.

"I know that when push comes to shove, Taejoon..." Mother started, "You will handle things. Your father acknowledges your strength, but it is your personality that worries him. You spent too much partying and having fun rather than being the warrior he set you up to be."

"Whatever." I said crossing my arms still not looking at her, "What's the point of this life if I can't have fun. Not my fault the old man didn't live a fun life."

Mother chuckled, "That may be true." she said, "But still, I have faith in you completely. You are my son, after all."

I looked at her, she gave me a warm smile before looking back at her tablet. She may be right, I spend too much time partying and having the time of my life. I do that because I spent too much time harshly training in my childhood that I have no recollection of having fun like normal kids.

But that's the thing, I am far from being a normal kid. From day one, I have never been a normal human much less a normal superhuman. No, since I am my father's son, I am different.

I looked down at the bowl of noodles, thinking of a lot of things that were clouding my mind. I was still hung up on the old man being apathetic to the whole ordeal we were dealing with here.

"You know what?" I said, "Screw that old man. If he doesn't care about this, it doesn't matter. Not like he's a part of Purgatory anyway. Hell, we don't even need Apex for some random scumbag. The others and I will have this wrapped up in no time."

I looked to see Mother give a slight smile, "Well said, my boy." she said, "In all his years, that man never thought he would father a proud warrior of a son."

Damn right. I am not just a Hero. I am The God Sword Taejoon, the strongest swordsman in South Korea. I am in no way, shape, or form someone that my father can belittle.

"That reminds me." Mother continued, "When will you father your own child?"

I blankly stared at her, "Eh?"

She closed her eyes and sighed, "You are turning 30 this year, Taejoon. Don't you think it is time for you to get married and have children?"

I still blankly stared at her. What in the world was she even telling me? Marriage? Children? What the hell do those things have to do with me?

"W-what?" I stammered

She opened her eyes and looked at me seriously, "You are my only son, Taejoon." She said, "I must have some sort of legacy left behind when I leave this world. I know I may have retired from my old days of fighting and avoided the fate most of my kind met, but you my boy are still young and fighting, you may not have the same luck."

I blinked. What was she on about? Does she mean that I could potentially die in battle as young as I am? She does have a point. We heroes are in a constant risk since we're fighting unbelievable dangers at a daily basis. There is no guarantee that we might live for as long as we want to. And she's also right, I am the only son she has. The same with my father, I am their only child. Their legacy must be upheld sooner or later.

"I, uh, haven't thought about it." I said

She nodded, "Uhuh." she said, "Just know that you must bear at least 3 children to continue my bloodline. Your father did not want to try to have more children after you were born. He said that you will be a handful one to deal with on your own. He was in many ways correct about that."

Well, that was flattering to hear. The old man was always an ass.

I rubbed the back of my head, "Uh, mother." I asked, "How do you expect me to think of my future at a time like this."

"It is because of a time like this that I want you to think of this." she sternly said, "You have to get your mind out of it because like Amily, you might have the risk of being emotionally unstable."

"No need to compare me with her." I muttered

"I am serious, Taejoon." she said, "You ten might be the strongest heroes we have, but you are all still people. Emotions are the root of your existence and you cannot act purely on them. So by all means, think of something other than that. Think about what kind of woman I want as my daughter in law."

I blushed, "Now's not the time to talk about that, though." I managed

She shook her head, "I've waited long enough to have this discussion." she told me, "Ever since you turned 20, I have been worried you might end up with a lot of women in your heels."

"I mean yea, I got plenty on my heels but still." I said, "None have come to mind when it comes to marriage, geez, Mother why are we even talking about this?!"

I got up and started walking away.

"It better be that Taeyeon, Taejoon!" I heard he say as I headed for my room, "I really like her!"

I ignored her as I walked in to the room and closed the door behind me.

I stood there while staring at the bed. I was still thinking of many things that were bothering.

From my old man leaving the country, to Apex giving us the order to stay put, and now to Mother mentioning my future. It all started to bother me very much.

I let out a loud exhale, "Ahhhhhh....." I said as I looked down,

"What in the world shall I do?"