Chick 210
by Cristae210
Chapter: This Is the Kind of Person My Dad Is
The sparkling sunlight tickled at the corners of Groo’s eyes.
‘Morning!’
As soon as morning came, Groo’s eyes popped open and she once again raised the round item she’d hugged all night above her head.
‘It’s not a dream!’
Gathering her jittery excitement, Groo pressed a fist under her chin, just to steady herself.
She’d cuddled the item while sleeping, worried it might all be a dream.
‘Groo’s transformation item…’
Quickly, Groo sat up and brought up to check the schematic for the “Metallic Armor Changer.”
Just as she expected, it used a mechanism similar to the magical amplifier Taemin once lost control with.
It seemed a device that, during a surge of magic, wraps the body in metallic fibers, encasing the user in battle armor saturated with explosive magical energy…
“But Bailyach, if it’s made like this, wouldn’t I end up like Taemin oppa did?”
Groo whispered her concern, recalling Taemin during his out-of-control episode. Bailyach checked over the item and nodded his head.
“Myu-myu.”
It meant that, with continued use, it could become dangerous.
“Hmm.”
That meant it would need modifications.
As it was, she couldn’t use it, but if she extracted the star candy with “Pluck Away” and transplanted it, it could become a safe transformation item.
Grinning to herself, Groo stealthily opened her bag so Joorim, still asleep beside her, wouldn’t notice.
‘I’ll definitely transform once we get home.’
It was only after she buried the item deep in her bag that she woke Joorim.
He might scold her for getting into trouble again, so the night’s adventure would remain a secret shared just by Groo, Mephi, and Chuen.
As they got ready to start the day, a small commotion was stirring outside the room.
Up at dawn, Romi had run to Producer Hwang to explain that the assistant staffer was actually a spy for the former CEO.
“He ran the moment he realized he’d been caught!”
Groo worried that Romi might mention Chuen, but she crafted a plausible story: that the former CEO had sent someone to ruin the variety show, and when caught stealing, fled…
It seemed the goldfish Chuen left behind had muddled Romi’s memories somewhat.
Thus, the producers and cast all double-checked their belongings, making sure nothing was missing, and after a meeting that lasted until breakfast, they decided the shoot would continue as planned.
After many twists and turns, the day began once more.
“One, two, three, four, two-two, three, four.”
As she did morning exercises with Romi, Kazuki, and Wooju, Groo made a firm resolution.
‘This can’t go on.’
Groo’s fiery, determined gaze landed on Joorim, who was lying out on the wooden veranda.
Whatever he’d been doing all night, he hadn’t returned before Groo fell asleep, and in the morning, when all the commotion started, he wandered about like a zombie with barely opened eyes, then simply sprawled out at exercise time.
He said he was too old for things like exercise.
‘You’re the same age as Saburang.’
Stretching both arms and leaning to the side, Groo puckered her lips in disapproval.
Kazuki, catching her eye while exercising in sync, gave her a gentle smile.
“…!”
Kazuki, always enthusiastic about everything, truly was a (former) treasure of Japan and a model adult, while Joorim, being lazy and idle, failed to set any such example.
Groo gazed at Joorim with the worried eyes of a parent plagued by a troublesome child.
‘Orchestra will be recruiting new members soon…’
What if Joorim gets bullied by the newcomers? Her anxieties stacked higher and higher.
Clouds of worry drifted through her mind.
Imagining new lambs whispering behind the back of the black wolf, Groo’s face crumpled in distress.
‘No, that can’t happen!’
After exercises, the two adults—minus Joorim—and the two children discussed what to make for breakfast.
“What should we do today?”
“I think I’m getting tired of eggs.”
Wooju nodded at Romi’s comment. Groo clenched her little fist and declared,
“Fish!”
“Fish?!”
“Don’t we have to catch them then?”
Wooju and Romi both exclaimed in surprise.
But Groo, her mind made up, pulled out her fork.
“I’ll catch them!”
Then she pointed her finger right at Joorim.
“With Dad!”
“…?”
Joorim cracked one eye open, a question mark hovering over his head.
Regardless, Groo snorted purposefully.
This time, she would get Dad’s cool side captured on camera.
She would show the world: this is what kind of person my dad is—how dependable, kind, and amazing the Guildmaster of Orchestra could be!
Following the winding, narrow country path down to the creek.
Joorim watched over Groo as she took the lead, double-checking if she was keeping up.
The little girl looked so desperate to go fishing it almost struck Joorim as strange.
When he reached out to hold her hand, Groo beamed up at him with a bright smile.
Other than that, there was nothing all that peculiar.
‘Is this my problem?’
As he returned her smile and reflected on himself, Joorim felt a faint shock.
He wondered if he’d been neglecting the child lately.
They’d come all the way out for this country experience, and here he was, an absent-minded father not paying any attention to what his child tried to do—perhaps that’s why she seemed anxious.
A twinge of disappointment in himself made Joorim rub his forehead.
“…..”
He opened and closed his left hand.
He had a competitive streak—adversity only fanned it.
Resolved to pay more attention to Groo, just as Groo was determined to make her dad look cool, the two arrived at the creek.
Groo rummaged through her inventory and produced a fork and a child’s cart.
“Catch fish with this, and bring them home in here.”
“With this? Okay.”
Joorim responded with some enthusiasm, and Groo’s eyes sparkled with excitement.
“Let’s catch fish!”
“Yeah.”
He rolled up Groo’s pant legs and carried her out to the center of the shallow creek.
Fork in hand and Mephi perched on her head, Groo stood in the ankle-deep water, all alone.
“Hm?”
Meanwhile, Joorim lounged half-reclined on a rock, sunglasses on.
Why was the one supposed to impress everyone with his fishing off sunbathing alone, while she clutched the fork herself? Before she could puzzle it out,
“Groo, raise your fork.”
“Okay?”
Groo instinctively thrust her fork up with both hands.
“Stab.”
“…Ha!”
With a poke, a fish impaled itself right on the fork, thrashing frantically.
“Biiip!”
“Whoa!”
Mephisto and Groo celebrated the catch with high excitement.
“I got it!”
Groo transferred the fish to her cart, and Joorim mussed her hair with his hand.
“Well done.”
Wha! Groo’s cheeks flushed pink.
“Go try again.”
Groo nodded and darted for the water’s edge.
Her lips pressed tight, her eyes sharp as a gull’s hunting prey.
Raising her fork overhead like a tiny warrior, she responded to Joorim’s direction:
“Now.”
“…!”
Before she realized it, Groo had caught about ten fish, and the cameraman gave her a big thumbs-up.
“Did you have fun?”
“Mhm!”
“Now that we’re done, time to go.”
“Yeah!”
Groo bounced along the stones, then suddenly stopped mid-hop.
‘Huh?’
She did have fun.
But, that wasn’t the point—it hit her only now.
‘In all the excitement, I was the one who looked cool… I didn’t get to show off Dad at all…’
She’d gotten drunk off her own fork skills…
Joorim, ready to head back, wheeled over the cart and Groo grabbed his hand, on the verge of tears.
Mouth trembling, eyes glistening, she looked up and Joorim, flustered, scooped her up in his arms.
“What’s wrong, why are you crying all of a sudden?”
“Hiuuung…”
“Is it because you want to catch more fish? Should we stay a bit longer?”
Groo shook her head.
“No… sniff!”
She wrapped herself tight around Joorim’s neck.
“I’m sorry, Dad.”
“For what?”
“I was too cool today.”
“…?”
Groo, you were too cool today. But tomorrow, I’ll make sure I capture how cool Dad is…
“Huh… I guess you were. And you did catch a lot of fish.”
“Uhmm… keung!”
With his praise, Groo stifled her tears even harder.
Joorim, puzzled, patted her back, then pushed the cart as they headed home.