Chick SS12
by CristaeThe Chick Class Hunter Is Making Amends! Side Story 12
Joorim stared at her phone after the call ended.
Groo was such an unpredictable child—was it really safe to leave her like this…?
She considered calling Groo, but then shook her head.
Still, Groo loves her mother so much; maybe it would only be meddling to interfere.
Deciding that, for today at least, the two should have some time together, she turned her attention back to the paperwork before her.
In the end, just trying to create mother-and-daughter time had only made her own day busier.
Meanwhile, at that very moment—
Groo startled at Wooju’s whispered plan.
“What?”
“You’re going to show off how successful you are,” Wooju explained.
According to Wooju, the way to find out if someone is really your mom or a fake is to see if she reacts to money.
“You show her how successful you are, then see if she likes it. If she gets excited, it means she’s a fake mom who’s only here for the money.”
“Oooh…!”
It made sense!
Groo decided to follow Wooju’s clever scheme.
And as the children’s test unfolded, Chloe found herself more and more confused.
“Oh dear, my banking app just opened. All my balance is showing!”
Groo flashed her screen as if boasting.
The children glanced at her, clearly waiting for her reaction.
After thinking a moment, Chloe played along.
“Wow—my dear, you have so much money. That’s amazing!”
But maybe that was her mistake.
Whisper, whisper, whisper, whisper.
Wooju and Groo immediately put their heads together, whispering.
There was no doubt—their glances at her were not benign; the air was heavy with suspicion.
‘That wasn’t it? What’s the right answer!’
I don’t know!
Maybe I’m just disqualified as a mom…
Side Story 7: Emergency Press Conference
All this time, she’d never really done anything motherly.
While she’d been a soul residing within her child’s title, her only focus was on Groo’s survival. Even after, she’d been preoccupied with building bonds through quests with other caregivers.
‘Now that we’ve met, did I just disappoint her?’
Now, there were so many good people to love her child, and she herself couldn’t compare with even half of them.
‘Is that why she thinks I’m a fake mom?’
Was it just because she was so different from the mother Groo had imagined?
Chloe was still reeling from the shock when a gruff voice spoke up behind her.
“Dr. Han? A moment, please. There’s something you need to check.”
“…Yes?”
Turning, Chloe saw him take out a tablet and play a short news segment.
The thumbnail bore the caption “Chloe Han” and her face.
“…?”
She’d suspected her survival would be revealed soon, but this quickly?
But the news anchor wasn’t saying what she’d expected.
[…The shocking news of Dr. Chloe Han’s survival has led to an emergency press conference scheduled for 5 p.m. today, drawing attention from all quarters…]
Emergency press conference? Me?
Chloe blinked several times, then leveled a serious stare at them.
“I don’t know anything about this. This isn’t me.”
Someone had learned she was alive and was organizing a press conference without her knowledge.
Chloe’s face hardened at this sudden turn.
“I’m sorry, Doctor, but we need to move you.”
Chloe looked at her children, then bit her lip tightly.
She’d so badly wanted time alone with her daughter, but things were taking a dire turn.
“All right. But at least let me explain to the child—”
“I’ll explain to the children.”
The agent cut her off coldly.
Chloe’s expression darkened, but the man took her arm and tugged her along.
“You need to prepare for the press conference, Dr. Chloe Han.”
He slipped his sunglasses down just a little.
Chloe’s eyes wavered. This wasn’t the face of the agent she’d known.
Someone had switched out. She hadn’t noticed because of the sunglasses.
“…Who are you?”
“Hello, Doctor. Sorry to introduce myself like this, but—I’m Gego.”
“…Gego.”
Chloe exhaled slowly.
He was the one who had sent so many drones to the sky in search of On Ijo.
She hadn’t expected Gego to approach her like this.
“You set up this damned surprise press conference without telling me?”
“That’s right. Because there’s something you need to say.”
“I swear, I really don’t know anything.”
His tone was excessively polite, but Chloe felt as if she’d hit a steel wall.
“That’s all right. Because I know.”
Chloe’s gaze sharpened.
Removing his sunglasses, Gego smiled.
“I know—even that Project Wilderness was a success.”
“…What?”
What the hell is he talking about?
The result of Project Wilderness had been a clear failure.
After mercilessly consuming countless human test subjects, they still hadn’t been able to replicate On Ijo’s abilities.
“You seriously don’t know a damn thing—Project Wilderness was a total failure—”
Chloe raised her finger angrily, but Gego’s gaze flicked aside.
She didn’t need to follow his eyes to know whom he was watching.
A cold sweat broke out on her back.
He hadn’t approached her.
He was after Groo.
She tried to dash to Groo at once, but the man caught her.
As she opened her mouth to shout for them to let her go, the scenery before her eyes spun rapidly.
A teleport scroll.
“Groo…”
She tried desperately to call out her daughter’s name, but the scroll had already activated.
Pop!
As her form vanished completely, Gego slipped off his suit jacket and put on Chloe’s coat.
He pressed his earlobe, and his figure perfectly transformed into Chloe Han’s.
Gego smoothed the coat’s collar, worked his mouth to loosen the muscles—
—so he could smile, just like a mother, at the child.
According to his research, Groo was a clever yet gentle child. If he pretended to be her mother, she would go along with just about anything.
Changing into Chloe’s carefully-prepared shoes, Gego approached Groo.
“Sorry. Did you wait long? Something urgent came up.”
Gego’s awkward smile awaited the gentle child’s response.
But Groo stuck out her lower lip in a pout, blowing air through her nose, clearly displeased.
“Hmph!”
“…?”
Hmph?
Hands in her pockets, Groo shrugged and spoke to Wooju.
“We waited way too long, didn’t we, Wooju?”
“Yeah. It’s almost time for ‘Invincible Battleship,’ too.”
“I see. Sorry, honey. Mom’s really sorry, okay?”
“Eh, not knowing something like that is a total mom fail, right, Wooju?”
“That’s right. Moms always know these things.”
“I-I see. Mom’s sorry. Can you forgive her, just this once?”
“Hmph!”
No matter how flustered Gego became, Groo just kept snorting air and turning away.
What was this? All the research said she was a gentle, well-behaved child.
His information was never wrong—least of all about a child as well known as Groo.
So what was with this cheeky five-year-old right in front of him?