"That's all for today, great job everyone. Let's head back and finish our guiding session."
I said with a beaming face, seeing how well we had been coordinating these past few days made me proud.
"I've been wondering, but what's with your outfit Ethan?" Ilyas asked curiously. That was a given, considering the dark suit I always wore was changed into a silver one.
"Ah, this? My cousin is having a wedding today, so I was forced to use a brighter colored suit to promote their wedding."
Today was finally the Sunday I had been dreading for. Since Saturday morning, I'd been receiving calls from my mother to attend various celebration parties. It's not the actual wedding itself, it was just a party intended to flaunt their wealth – which didn't sit right with me – so I used my job as an esper to excuse myself from attending.
Checking the time, I had exactly 4 hours before the actual wedding started. Wrapping up our guiding session, we parted ways.
"Drive safely Ethan."
"Thanks, you too Ilyas."
.
.
Driving to the hotel my parents told me to come by, I noticed how tight the security was.
Even when I was stepping inside the elevator, I was accompanied by bodyguards, though they seemed to be avoiding me instead of guarding me.
The moment I stepped out of the elevator however, was a battlefield on its own. Opening the only room on this floor, I was immediately greeted by a chilling atmosphere.
Eight pairs of eyes focused their gaze on me. They were from my parents, my grandparents and my uncles and aunts.
They were sitting on one table while their children were sitting on another table on the opposite side of the room.
Out of etiquette, I bowed in front of them.
"Grandfather, Grandmother, Father, Mother, Uncles, Aunts."
Addressing each of them in this order was a must, in some way it was a show of hierarchy within this family.
Seemingly satisfied by my greetings, my mother beckoned me to come closer. Wrapping her arms around mine, she said in an affectionate tone.
"My son is such a diligent esper. He's thinking about civilian's safety every day. He even rushed here right after he finished raiding gates."
"You're exaggerating mother, it's already a duty for us espers to protect the city."
Although her eyes were focused on me, her words were sarcastically taunting my uncles and aunts' children.
Out of all the members in this family, I was the only one who awakened as an esper and she used that fact to flaunt her superiority in front of my grandparents.
It's our first family gathering in years because of my grandparents' worsening health, maybe that's why she's desperate to appeal to my grandparents for some of the company's shares.
"Sorry, I'm late."
The door opened, revealing the tired face of a man. It was Wilson, his dark circle almost rivaling mine.
"You're finally here Wilson. Come here my child, I heard your company has another success in developing medicine for espers, is that true?"
My mother switched sons to praise as fast as lightning. Wilson locked gaze with me before answering.
"You will soon know the result when I publish the official news mother, so how about we focus on today's preparation first?"
Wilson definitely knew how to control conversation flow well. Our grandfather and grandmother had been glaring for a while, so Wilson's attitude managed to calm them for a bit.
Wilson greeted the elders before patting my head and took me to the other end of the room.
All the youngsters of this family were gathered here, but the atmosphere was honestly suffocating. We didn't talk or make eye contact, each one of them was focused on their phone.
Wilson nudged me on my shoulder, "Let's go home together later, I have something to show you."
His tired face didn't hide the expectant look in his eyes, he seemed eager to show me things he had been working on.
I nodded at his suggestion. I was eager too, not for the same reason as Wilson, but to get out from this place as soon as possible.
.
.
As night fell, the wedding venue became even more crowded. The celebration was held inside a glamorous hall decorated with red roses and rubies.
With how many of those scattered across the room, it made me wonder if the decoration was real, so I curiously touched one of them.
'Oh, these are real.'
It's understandable to have the roses all over the room, but for the rubies… My mind couldn't even fathom how much the rubies cost.
There were a lot of guests coming up to me to start a conversation, but Wilson had even more guests to greet than me, so we somehow got separated.
"Let's welcome the groom and the bride!"
Within three hours after it started, the party had wrapped up. There was no heartfelt hug between the family members, just a photo to commemorate that this wedding had ever happened.
My heart was totally unsettled after attending this party. Not only my parents but the whole family treated each other as tools to climb up the ladder of power.
'It's definitely the opposite of my real family.'
A sigh involuntarily escaped my mouth. This was the first time I felt this frustrated. It's because the original Ethan's memories and feelings from the past kept overwhelming me. Urging me to get even a speck of my parents' acknowledgement, something I logically knew wasn't possible.
I finally understood what the real Ethan wanted. He yearned for a loving family, that's why he was so desperate to impress parents who only saw 'result' as their goal.
"Ethan."
At some point, Wilson had stood beside me. He pouted, "I've been calling your name for a while. Are you purposefully ignoring me?"
"Ah no, that's not… I was just thinking about something."
'What is wrong with my senses these days? I keep missing sounds of people approaching me.'
Wilson observed my face for a while, then dragged me to a quieter place. He slipped a small bottle into my hand and whispered.
"Take it, this is the new formula I specifically developed to suit you."
I accepted the bottle reluctantly. I could definitely see the effort and care Wilson put into me, more precisely his little brother 'Ethan', which made me feel even more guilty.
'Is it right for me to act as Ethan and receive his brotherly love in his place?'
I felt like me, transmigrating here robbed the original Ethan's chance to recognize his brother's love, especially since I was a foreign substance unwanted by the author.
Rather than chasing for his parents' nonexistent parental love, wasn't it better to focus more on his bond with his brother?
Regardless of the original Ethan's feelings, I'd made up my mind. I'd take responsibility of this accidental transmigration to create more bonds for Ethan. So when he returned to this body, he would be surrounded by other forms of love.
"Let's go home."
Wilson tapped my shoulder and led the way to the parking lot. He took my car's key from my hand, gleefully entered my car and sat in the driver's seat.
I raised my eyebrow, "Is my home your home now?"
"Of course, a place where family members stay is considered home, no?"
I was left speechless by his words. Wilson really knew what to say on every occasion.
A smile unconsciously formed on my lips. Sitting in the passenger seat, I said, "Sure, drive me home then."
A smirk showed up on Wilson's face, "Gotcha."