Chick 336
by Cristae336
Gru was hesitantly reaching for the call button when—
Suddenly, the gym door burst open with a loud thud.
Everyone turned their attention to those who came in through the door.
“…?”
Spotting a familiar face, Gru spun in his seat, clinging to the backrest.
“Master?”
It was Kazuki—and a foreign woman who seemed oddly familiar.
Recognizing her, Gidan spoke with surprise.
“Alice Cole?”
Alice Cole. The top-ranked S-class Hunter from the United States.
Her visits to Korea always caused a stir; she was a celebrity wherever she went.
A murmur spread through the crowd. So famous was she that, despite being a foreign Hunter, many recognized her immediately.
“Alice!”
“Alice Cole!”
At the children’s chants, Alice beamed and waved her hand.
“Wow!”
After glancing left and right, greeting those around her, she took a deep breath and faced straight ahead, shouting as if from her diaphragm.
“Ho-mi!!!”
“…?”
Joorim was bewildered.
Why is she calling out for a ‘Ho-mi’ while looking at me…? And why did she come all the way here in the first place?
He glanced at Kazuki as if seeking an answer.
But Kazuki only shook his head, looking as if there was nothing he could have done.
By then, Alice came stomping right up before On Joorim.
[“Guildmaster On Joorim!”]
[“Alice Cole?”]
[“Hello. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Still as handsome as ever. I think it’s been over a year since I last saw you, but you haven’t changed at all! Are you a cryogenically frozen man or something? Is it some special genetic trait shared by Asians? Anyway, enough pleasantries, right? As you can probably guess, I’m a bit busy these days.”]
All at once, Alice Cole rattled off her words and extended her hand in greeting, glancing around as she did.
[“So, by the way, where is ‘Ho-mi’?”]
Joorim, caught in a forced handshake, hesitated.
“Mister Ho-mi?”
“Yes! Ho-miiii!!!”
She held a ho-mi—a traditional Korean hand hoe—in her hand.
Alice brandished the shiny new tool energetically.
What in the world is she talking about?
Joorim had met Alice Cole several times before, during things like coordinated raids.
He’d thought she was a bit eccentric, but never quite this headstrong.
[“No, more importantly, you…”]
Joorim reached out and took Alice’s chin in his hand, gazing into her eyes.
As their gazes met, Alice’s eyes wavered for a moment.
[“What’s wrong with your complexion?”]
It happened at the same time he asked. Alice Cole’s body collapsed.
Joorim reached out and caught her as she fell.
‘What on earth?!’
Caught off guard, Joorim briefly met Han Rowoon’s gaze.
Rowoon, too, had been stunned, but as their eyes met, he quickly smiled.
“…”
“…”
With the noisy woman now unconscious, a hush had fallen before anyone realized it.
It felt as though a whirlwind had swept through and vanished as quickly.
“Looks like something’s come up.”
“Ah…”
He wanted to say it wasn’t so, but he couldn’t just leave the woman lying in his arms.
Her pallor also nagged at him…
Joorim let out a sigh.
“So it seems.”
“Ahaha.”
Han Rowoon chuckled, as if he found Joorim’s predicament endearing.
At that moment, Joorim frowned deeply, struck by a strange sense of familiarity.
From Han Rowoon’s chest, a phone vibrated. He checked the screen and spoke.
“I have an urgent matter and must excuse myself. It was a pleasure meeting you, Guildmaster On.”
“Ah, well…”
Joorim tried to call after him, but his words faded helplessly away.
Whatever the urgency, Han Rowoon walked briskly out of the gym.
Holding Alice, Joorim quietly watched the departing figure.
With Jin Siwon following after, the rest should be in good hands, right?
‘But just what did this woman come here for…?’
Joorim looked down at Alice Cole, who was groaning weakly in his arms.
Alice Cole was a Hunter who most often volunteered for dungeon raids in third countries as a form of social service.
Because of it, she was considered the Hunter with the best public image in the world.
Given how busy she must be—as she herself admitted—she wouldn’t have come to Korea without good reason.
Just then, the ho-mi slipped from Alice’s relaxed hand and fell with a dull thud to the ground.
“Ho-mi… why?”
Looking for an explanation, Joorim turned to Kazuki.
Alice had gone to Orchestra in search of On Joorim, and Kazuki had been dragged away from there along with her.
Kazuki spoke with a helpless expression.
“Alice-chan wants to buy a ho-mi made by Fakeclaw.”
“A ho-mi made by Fakeclaw?”
Fakeclaw?
Joorim’s gaze shifted to Gru.
Still sitting among the children, Gru smiled radiantly while speaking on the phone.
When she met Joorim’s eyes, she waved.
‘So she’s at it again…’
Lifting Alice into a more comfortable position, Joorim narrowed his eyes.
‘…?!’
Gru, startled by his expression, rolled her eyes as if nervously pricked by guilt.
To her, Joorim shook the ho-mi he’d picked up.
‘Ho-mi?’
Gru tilted her head in confusion.
— So that’s why. I’ll be going to ByeongEon today.
“Really? I was hoping to see you. That’s great.”
On Ijo kept his phone to his ear, striding quickly away from Eustitia International School.
In the quiet, secluded parking lot, a car waited for him.
Even as he hurried along, he kept smiling, lips curled with delight.
Jin Siwon followed close behind.
Seeing the driver signaling him, On Ijo sounded an “Ah!”
Then he pressed his finger to Jin Siwon’s forehead.
With a soft thud, Jin Siwon crumpled to the ground.
She would wake in less than five minutes, but she would remember nothing about him.
He’d left Jin Siwon with only the barest trace of memory.
When she woke, she’d think she’d shared a brief greeting with him before parting ways.
If things had gone according to plan, he would have used Jin Siwon as a vessel to steal Shea and erected a tower right away…
From the other end of the line, Gru’s dejected voice came through, lamenting that she’d been suspended from the pop-up store.
She was so adorable in her disappointment that butterflies seemed to flutter inside him.
“Really? That must have made you feel bad.”
— Yes… I’m upset.
“There’ll be another bazaar. Don’t worry.”
— You think so?
“Of course.”
Speaking gently, On Ijo got in the car and closed his eyes.
He hadn’t expected his plans to unravel so easily with a single call from his daughter.
Though his title sent warning signals that made his head throb—
‘There’ll be another chance…’
For now, he only wanted to comfort his sulking daughter and hold her small body tight in his arms.