After finishing her rolling admissions interview, Jisoo received a call from her brother and headed towards the meeting spot, looking a little surprised.

  "What brings you all the way here?"

  Jisoo asked with strong dissatisfaction that her brother hadn't waited for her.

  However, Jisoo soon noticed the person next to Jihyeon. It was a female student, paralyzed with fear.

  Seeing her face, Jisoo guessed that something had happened.

  "Um, who is she, Oppa?"

  At Jisoo's question, Jihyeon recounted what had just happened.

  "I'm sorry. I was supposed to wait downstairs..."

  Jihyeon apologized to Jisoo. At his words, Jisoo merely gave a wry smile.

  "No, it's okay. It was something you couldn't help. Just like that time..."

  Jisoo trailed off as if the fear of being kidnapped flashed back to her. For her, it was a wound that hadn't faded yet.

  That's why she actually felt proud that her brother helped someone else. Perhaps it was because she knew it was never easy to help someone in trouble, just as he had helped her.

  "So, what about her?"

  Jisoo approached the still-trembling female student, comforted her, and asked Jihyeon.

  "We'll have to tell the police a more detailed story when they arrive."

  Jihyeon said that and looked around.

  Fortunately, he couldn't see any of the cult members within his line of sight. It seemed they had all temporarily fled due to the commotion.

  However, using his ability by releasing the restriction to survey the surroundings was still difficult for Jihyeon. He couldn't help his expression changing unintentionally due to the headache.

  "Phew..."

  Sighing, Jihyeon checked to see if Jisoo had seen his face. Fortunately, Jisoo didn't seem to have noticed. Still, it would be better to be careful.

  Meanwhile, the police arrived at Jihyeon's location. After a brief talk, Jihyeon allowed the female student to speak with them.

  "Then, for now, let's discuss the details at the station. Ms. Park Mina, please get in the car."

  After hearing a rough summary, the female officer put the student, named Park Mina, into the police car. Watching the scene, Jihyeon sighed.

  "Uh, um, thank you. Really, because of you..."

  Before getting into the car, Mina expressed her gratitude to Jihyeon. She didn't seem to know what to say to Jihyeon, who had protected her during a truly critical moment.

  Jihyeon simply smiled lightly at her words. However, the information pouring into his head was filled with unpleasant things.

  Mina, an outcast who went to school without friends, had no one to ask for help. Sadly, due to various circumstances, she had ended up alone and had to handle everything by herself at a time like this.

  Her parents couldn't help her immediately either. It seemed difficult to call her working parents.

  "Oh dear..."

  Jihyeon clicked his tongue unintentionally as he thought. If things stayed this way, Mina would have to go home alone as soon as she left the police station.

  But doing so at a time like this would be painful for her. Since he had already decided to care, he might as well be a little more meddlesome.

  "By the way, do you have any friends you can call after the investigation is over?"

  Jihyeon asked Mina, pretending not to know anything. Mina shook her head. As if he couldn't just leave her alone like that, Jihyeon continued.

  "Then please contact me when you leave after the investigation."

  Jihyeon said that and handed Mina his contact information. Mina looked surprised to receive it but soon nodded.

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  "Oppa..."

  Jisoo looked at Jihyeon with a face that suggested he was up to some kind of unnecessary mischief. But when Jihyeon briefly explained, she soon accepted it.

  "Well, in that case, there's no choice."

  Having received Jisoo's permission, Jihyeon looked back at Mina. She replied in a quiet voice.

  "Then I'll contact you later."

  Leaving those words, Mina headed to the station with the police. Jihyeon sighed and started searching for where he should go next.

  After escorting Mina home following the investigation, Jihyeon went back out. This time, it was for investigation.

  'That cult has a tool to neutralize CCTVs...'*

  Jihyeon was dumbfounded. Just how much evil were they planning to do that they acquired something like this?

  Of course, if one had the money, he could acquire it too. But the price was by no means negligible.

  Jihyeon felt a strong hostility toward the cult members who casually carried such an item.

  Of course, it only keeps them off CCTV, but it can't evade the eyes of the intended target. However, neutralizing only the CCTV dramatically increases the number of evil deeds they can perform.

  Jihyeon thought that, for Jisoo's sake, and considering Mina's incident, he, as her brother, should clean up such trash in advance. Therefore, he began circling the area near the school.

  And soon, he found his targets.

  "Is that them..."

  Jihyeon muttered. A group of people easily recognizable. It sickened him to see the ones with seemingly pure expressions put forward, while the ones behind them looked at others with filthy eyes.

  But what was important now was not such personal feelings.

  'People who aren't directly involved in kidnapping and such don't possess the neutralization equipment.'*

  As is always the case, expensive things cannot be used carelessly. It was highly unlikely they would give such high-end equipment to those who just shout in front, knowing nothing.

  'I generally understand the gist of it...'*

  Jihyeon walked past them, pretending not to notice anything. He thought they wouldn't care even if he did.

  However, that was Jihyeon's mistake. They were much more persistent and relentless than he thought.

  "It's this bastard, isn't it? The one who disrupted the 'brother' earlier!"

  Suddenly, someone yelled an insult and directed their anger at Jihyeon. Jihyeon immediately identified the source of the sound and confirmed the information.

  'This might be a bit dangerous.'*

  He was the one who was secretly keeping watch from behind, though he couldn't participate because he lacked the equipment. It was a mistake that he missed him because he wasn't near the cult's table.

  However, Jihyeon wasn't afraid of his anger.

  "Who are you to insult someone first?"

  In this situation, a confident attitude is the best way to break their momentum. With an expression that showed he wasn't surprised at all, Jihyeon looked at him.

  The man who saw Jihyeon's eyes couldn't help but be flustered. Normally people would be scared, but he was defiant, so the man seemed overwhelmed.

  "And by 'earlier,' do you mean when you were trying to kidnap someone?"

  Jihyeon deliberately spoke loudly. The atmosphere instantly turned chilly. It was still a time when students were moving around.

  People reacted to the talk of kidnapping. Many already knew that there had been an attempted kidnapping on campus.

  That was because Jihyeon had posted about it on the school bulletin board.

  Thanks to this, everyone, without exception, looked over. Their gazes were filled with curiosity, fear, and contempt for the opponents.

  "Wha- what? Who, who said that!"

  The man who was about to curse and hit Jihyeon seemed to have not expected such a counterattack. His stammering look of embarrassment was no different from admitting defeat.

  "You tried to forcefully drag a female student just now, didn't you? And what? 'Brother'? Are you saying you're an accomplice to the kidnapping?"

  Jihyeon said that, putting one hand in his pocket. And then he immediately called the police. Jihyeon made good use of the fact that he could contact them through his smartphone just by his will.

  "N-no, we are merely people who are sharing good words. It seems there's some misunderstanding..."

  Then, a slightly older person stood up in place of the man who picked a fight with Jihyeon, trying to calm the situation. To continue their 'business'—in other words, their proselytizing—here, they couldn't afford to escalate things.

  "Good words? And what is that? Insulting passersby."

  Jihyeon focused the conversation only on the immediate incident. It was enough to just talk about the fact that he was insulted when he had done nothing wrong.

  Smiling as if he were mocking his opponent, Jihyeon concentrated his mind to gather more information about them. The headache bothered him again, but Jihyeon ignored such minor things.

  'As expected, there's something going on.'*

  If you delve just a little into the truth, anyone can find out that something is being hidden. That's why Jihyeon tried to stall for time as much as possible.

  "We apologize. So let's end it at this."

  The man who came out on behalf of the insulting man said that, trying to smooth things over and retreat. If the police arrived while they were stalling, it would be a big problem.

  "Whether I accept the apology or not, don't you see the other students here now?"

  Jihyeon lightly ignored their shallow trick. Instead, he focused on securing the information he needed as much as possible. And he was able to acquire much more than he expected.

  "What's going on?"

  And just in time, the police arrived. Jihyeon told the officer who got out of the car what had happened to him.

  "Let's talk about it at the station first. Aack!"

  The officer who was trying to resolve the situation couldn't finish his sentence. It was because the man who had cursed and threatened Jihyeon earlier had immediately thrown a punch.

  Some people who cannot control their emotions cross the line. This time was no different.

  Jihyeon immediately realized that he was next after the officer. It was because the man's eyes held only rage.

  "Aack!"

  However, the man who was trying to punch Jihyeon collapsed with a scream.

  In the moment of crisis, Jihyeon cleverly ducked and made the man lose his balance and fall due to his own force.

  It was only a moment, but when Jihyeon's concentration was at its peak, the opponent's movements appeared incredibly slow, and Jihyeon had merely chosen one out of countless possibilities.

  For now, that was enough. There was no need to resort to violence in front of the police.

  That settled everything. Patrol cars always move in pairs, and the moment the remaining officer saw his partner attacked, he requested backup and pulled out his gun simultaneously, preventing anyone from moving.

  Jihyeon sighed. He thought it was fortunate that things concluded this way.