Chick 287
by Cristae287
“Dad, Groo fetched it!”
“…….”
Joorim wore a stunned expression at Groo’s unexpected action.
That was when the murmurs from those around them began.
“Isn’t that On Joorim over there?”
“Did he just ask a child to fetch a frisbee?”
“My goodness… How could anyone do such a thing?”
For an S-rank like Joorim, the gossip stabbed at his ears as if shouted right beside him.
He could now see people busily tapping out messages on their phones as well.
Watching this, Joorim’s face hardened.
“No, I wasn’t telling Groo to fetch it…”
Joorim tried to explain as he took the frisbee, but Groo, panting, wagged an invisible tail.
“Dad, should Groo fetch it again?”
Joorim squeezed his eyes shut.
Even for someone as inured to public scrutiny as he was, the idea that he was making his child fetch a frisbee was mortifying.
Whatever the case, Groo simply beamed up at his father with an innocent smile.
Joorim glanced around, rolling his eyes, then checked his wristwatch.
“Time for work… We should go. Dad has to go to the office.”
“Already? Groo wants to go with you.”
Groo quickly scooped Yulian into his arms as he spoke.
“Aren’t you going to play more?”
“Nope. Groo wants to go with Dad.”
Groo bounced ahead, and Joorim followed, saying all right.
Stealing a glance at his father with a guileless face, Groo then turned forward with a sly grin.
‘Hehe. Finally free of the dog park.’
No matter what, making a person act like a dog was far too cruel.
‘I need to change her back soon.’
First, he had to get to the office and make some preparations.
At that moment, the nearby dogs, panting, began to run circles around Groo.
“Woof woof!”
“Oh, no no!”
Groo hugged Yulian even tighter to prevent her from getting scared.
Joorim spoke to the other owners to keep their dogs away.
While Groo held her so tightly it was nearly suffocating, Yulian finally let out a long sigh.
How had she ended up needing protection from such a child?
‘No, is it happening again?’
Yulian rested her chin on Groo’s arm with a dejected look, thinking it had been a long time since she’d last been petted like this.
Meanwhile, at Orchestra, a public tour for ordinary citizens was underway.
At the very back of the tour, sneaking along, Lea pushed her oversized glasses up her nose.
‘Uncomfortable! Dizzying!’
She had never worn glasses in her life—especially not such thick, heavy ones just to cover her face—and it was making her nauseous.
Lea slipped away from the group, saying she’d use the restroom, and let out a shaky breath outside the door.
Taking off her glasses for a moment eased her queasiness.
‘These damn glasses…!’
Irritation flared, but she couldn’t go without them.
If anyone recognized her face here, she’d be in trouble. She was behind enemy lines!
She had snuck in for the sake of children like Groo.
She was determined to find proof that Orchestra was conducting experiments on children—and expose them.
“Hoo…”
Lea took a deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. She put her glasses back on, preparing to resume her mission, when—
“Hm?”
Suddenly, two long shadows loomed over her head.
“Look who it is.”
“Lea Müller?”
Lea found herself in an even more uncomfortable spot than before.
‘Gidan? Sergey?!’
Why, of all times—here and now?!
Gidan and Sergey blocked her, pinning her against the wall.
Lea, sweating coldly, lowered her head.
“I—I think you’ve got the wrong person…”
She whispered, but Gidan smirked, quirking up one corner of his mouth.
That meaningful smile sent a chill down Lea’s spine; she tried to dodge sideways.
But Gidan was faster, blocking her with a foot against the wall.
“You really move quickly.”
“…….”
Of course—this was Gidan. Lea’s eyes narrowed.
Should she make a move here?
She summoned her magic, ready to use a skill to escape, but Gidan, tilting his head like a street thug, spoke.
“I heard you did my kid a favor during the exchange match against Germany.”
“Huh?”
“Right before the match, I mean.”
Ah, he must be talking about when Groo was injured and needed treatment.
“A favor? I’m not sure I remember…”
She had no desire to get tangled up further here.
If they asked why she was at Orchestra with those glasses, she’d have no excuse.
So she began to protest ignorance, but Gidan was having none of it.
“Let’s take her in, Sergey. We ought to show her how it’s done.”
“What?”
Lea blinked.
“I think there’s a misunderstanding…”
Before she could finish, Sergey, looking annoyed, grabbed one of her arms. Gidan took the other.
Then, together, they easily carried her off to the lobby.
“Uwaaagh!”
Lea looked around to try to get help.
But all she saw were people watching Gidan and Sergey with interested stares—like they were celebrities—or staff members exchanging looks as if to say, “There they go again.”
‘What’s going to happen to me?!’
Lea squeezed her eyes shut. If only she’d told her colleagues where she was going!
Just then, a bright voice called out.
“Hey, are you guys doing something fun without Groo again?”
Groo, just back from her walk and on the way to work, stood there with her hands on her hips, pretending to be upset.
Somehow, the little fluffy puppy was at the very limit of the leash Groo held, staying as far away from her as possible.
As if she was desperate to run away.
“Oh, Groo Groo. Good timing. Have you eaten?”
“No, I haven’t.”
“Great, then let’s go!”
Gidan let go of Lea and took Groo’s hand instead.
“Huh?”
So, led by Gidan and Sergey, Groo and Lea arrived at the Orchestra cafeteria.
“Wow~ food~”
Groo, clearly accustomed to it, picked up her own special Tiny Ping tray and queued up.
“Not that one—use this.”
When Lea tried to take a children’s tray like Groo, Sergey stopped her and handed her a regular tray.
“What’s this?”
“Food.”
“Lunch.”
Sergey and Gidan replied in turn.
“…Lunch all of a sudden?”
Groo, rising up on tiptoe, placed a yogurt on Lea’s tray.
“Yogurt, it’s yummy.”
Groo beamed, and Lea managed a half-hearted smile back.
‘…Yogurt?’
What’s that?
Then Sergey and Gidan piled Lea’s tray with braised short ribs, seasoned fried chicken, kimchi, bibimbap with all sorts of vegetables, and more.
“Auntie, she’s our friend. Give her lots.”
“Oh, this must be Dany’s and Sergey’s foreign friend. Eat as much as you’d like~”
The cafeteria cook even heaped on some extra bean paste stew.
With a tray full of food and question marks in her eyes, Lea was led to the table by her underage captors.
Once seated, Lea lowered her gaze.
What…is this.
‘Are they bullying me?!’
She removed her glasses and laid them down, folding her hands primly in her lap.
The bibimbap in the large steel bowl was adorned with colorful, neatly arranged ingredients and looked delicious.
Lea sniffed it furtively—spicy, savory, sweet, and tantalizingly complex.
“Lea, have you had Korean food before?”
“No…”
“Wow, you haven’t lived. Right, Sergey?”
Sergey let out a sigh.
Gidan had given him the same line when he’d first arrived at Orchestra.
“Hm…”
With bibimbap before her, Lea clumsily managed to pick up a bean sprout with chopsticks and ate it.
‘It’s savory.’
But apart from that, the rest of the vegetables hardly had any flavor.
Are they really bullying me? She began to chew the plain vegetables, suspicion mounting.
“Mmmn…”
“Hm?”
Groo, cheeks stuffed with food, called to Lea, who tore her gaze away from the bowl to look around.
“……”
“……”
Gidan and Sergey both frowned as they gazed at her, Groo included.
“…What?”
When the subdued Lea finally spoke, Sergey, seated across from her, took her bibimbap bowl.
He began mixing together the egg, vegetables, rice, and sauce, then added a spoonful of bean paste stew.
As Gidan nodded approvingly beside him, Sergey gave the bowl back.
“……?!”
Lea clapped both hands over her mouth, trembling.
They really were out to torment her.