Effect: The Next Generation [✔️]

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"Hey dad. Are you free to hang out?"

Minkyu asked, bringing two plates of rice balls and watermelon slices.

"Of course Champ~. Any time~"

Mark smiled, and Minkyu immediately sat down next to him.

"So how have you been? After the whole Earth incident I mean"

"I can't complain. It was a scary situation, but we got through it in one piece"

"And you each handled it exceedingly well. I'm very proud of you all"

"Thanks dad~"

Minkyu smiled, munching on one of his rice balls.

Mark ate one of his watermelon slices, but he became worried once he looked at Minkyu in the face some more.

"Everything alright dad?"

He asked, still munching on the rice ball.

"O-Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. It just...you look so mature now. Maybe it's just your hair, or maybe it's just the new badass look you have on your face now. But you just look so cool..."

Mark smiled, admiring his son's face.

"You really think so? I just thought changing things up a bit would look nice. I think the wet look to my hair looks pretty neat"

"It sure does. I actually think it suits you a lot better. You should keep that style~"

"Oh, I intend to~"

The two laughed together and finished eating their treats, then Minkyu remembered something.

"Oh dad! I want to show you something!"

"Huh?? What is it??"

"While we were on Earth, I finally got my own Stand~. But it's not a humanoid Stand. It's completely different~"

"Really?? I wanna see~"

"Watch this~"

As White Album covered Minkyu's body, the air in the room became colder and frost formed under his feet.

"Ta-da~~. I can control ice just like you now~~"

He enthusiastically cheered once his Stand completely covered his body.

"You really can.... T-This is so amazing! What does it feel like~?!"

"Well, the inside of the armor it gives me is always warm. But once it comes off I can feel a little bit of the chill it leaves behind. If we're talking about that chill, I'd say it's very cold, but also very soothing"

"..."

"W-Was that not a good answer?"

"...That's incredible. That's the exact same feeling I have with my ice, especially since the day I got complete control over it~"

"That's a relief... But you didn't always have control over it?"

"Not at all. You see, I have a heart that's different from everyone else's. Specifically, it's a Crystal Heart"

"Wait, I think I heard about those from a book Sungmin read once. She said that they're very rare hearts and can turn out to be life threatening"

"That's right. It's threatened my life twice before, as a child, and as a teen. Did I ever tell you the story about what happened to your grandparents?"