Chick 293
by Cristae293
After school, in the backyard of the Eusticia kindergarten.
Groo stood in front of Kang Jei and Goo Heeyeon.
Goo Heeyeon looked around as if searching for Wooju, but Groo spoke up first.
Holding her tablet, she read out the results in a clear, ringing voice.
“Peer evaluation S, top goods sales, physical S, conduct unclear, best attendance.”
Goo Heeyeon and Kang Jei clasped their hands together in anticipation.
“After totaling everything, the top in Orchestra is…”
Groo lowered her tablet and solemnly announced,
“Hunter Shin Nayeon.”
Grumbling protests erupted at once.
“That doesn’t count!”
“Are you kidding me?!”
“Saying it’s Nayeon all of a sudden isn’t fair!”
“This is invalid, invalid!”
As expected, the two flatly refused to accept the results of this evaluation.
Goo Heeyeon snapped at Groo to bring Wooju here, while Kang Jei gripped Groo’s shoulders and shook her, demanding she tell the truth.
Surrounded by the two squabbling like monkeys, Groo gazed off wistfully, thinking of Nayeon unni.
A contest among friends is pointless. Such things only create distance and harm friendships.
For that reason, Groo had deliberately kept Wooju from coming.
‘One villain is enough if it’s me!’
Between Gidanimirai and Sergeyhaljjak still arguing over who could check Groo’s tablet, she closed her eyes tightly and blocked her ears.
Chapter: An Unexpected Ally
“Please come in. It’s not every day we get to host Guild Leader On Joorim; I hope the meal isn’t too modest.”
“It’s quite all right.”
Joorim didn’t bother to hide her distaste as she looked at the important guest across from her amid the extravagant spread at the high-end restaurant.
The elderly man only smiled cheerfully, no matter her expression.
“Since the Orchestra hunter has accomplished such a great feat this time, I thought it only right to offer proper hospitality.”
It was Kwon Honggyun, Chief Secretary.
A key aide who worked directly under the President.
Whatever he had requested to meet Joorim for, it likely wasn’t much different from what she already suspected.
‘It must be about the Mephisto Series.’
In fact, Joorim was currently plagued by the matter of the Mephisto Series mk.3 (S+) rental contract.
Development, production, and use of S+ grade or higher equipment is tightly regulated internationally, and by treaty, the Mephisto Series mk.3 must belong to the state, at least provisionally, in the form of a lease.
Even if Groo made it, it couldn’t belong to her alone.
She’d explained this to Groo, but who knew how much the child really understood. Groo had only nodded, looking confused.
With an expression that seemed to say, ‘If Daddy says so, then I guess it’s true.’
At moments like this, Joorim felt both deep affection and a heavy sense of responsibility.
“It’s only now I say this, but the arrival of the S+ was a huge event for the nation.”
Joorim raised her glass to take a sip of water, concealing a wry smile.
She could see right through the use of terms like “for the nation.”
The government wanted desperately to claim credit for securing favorable leasing terms.
Especially now, when the son of the ruling party’s elite was embroiled in a bribery scandal and the party was facing a crisis.
Depending on how this contract played out, the election’s outcome could be swayed—naturally, that made them all the more desperate.
If, on top of that, they managed any photo ops with “Fakeclaw,” the ruling party would become the focus of media attention once again.
Joorim had little interest in politics—her problem, as ever, was having too accomplished a daughter.
“I’d wanted to tell your illustrious manufacturing hunter personally, but you’ve absolutely refused—”
“She is not someone to be paraded out at events like this.”
Kwon Honggyun took a moment to infer what kind of event she meant, then gave an awkward chuckle.
It was the laugh of a man finding it galling that a much younger person could take such a hard line.
“I thought, since we’d arranged such a meeting, you might at least tell me that hunter’s real name. ‘Fakeclaw,’ well… Just the sound of it… Don’t you agree it’s a rather awkward name for official occasions?”
It seemed, tiresome as it was, she’d done a good job hiding the child’s identity.
Especially if a man as well-versed in intelligence as he spoke this way.
“She prefers to go by that name, so I ask your understanding.”
“So she does. What an unusual individual.”
Kwon Honggyun nodded as he picked up a side dish with his chopsticks.
‘Playing hard to get, aren’t you.’
Surely it couldn’t be so difficult just to shake hands and take a photo with this so-called Fakeclaw.
He clicked his tongue as he sipped his water.
“A shame. I had hoped to repay the guild leader’s kindness in turn.”
Joorim let out a silent sigh. She could almost hear the cogs turning in his head.
“Kindness, you say?”
So now came the scare tactic, she supposed.
Right on cue, Kwon Honggyun wiped his mouth neatly and gave a thin smile.
“The S+ manufacturing, of course. Legally, there’s significant risk. S+ is classified as a weapon of mass destruction, you see. You must know there are strict regulations on its development and production…”
Joorim narrowed her eyes.
“Funny. Just a moment ago you called it a national event, now it’s a liability.”
“It always depends on one’s point of view, doesn’t it?”
Joorim nodded, as if it were nothing to her.
“If you say so.”
She had no interest in politics, but she well knew that anything could become an issue if someone wished to make it so.
“We have no desire for trouble. But if we begin an inquiry into the manufacturing and production of the S+, that independently operating hunter’s identity will be exposed regardless.”
“I see.”
“There’s no sense making things difficult between us.”
“Yes, well…”
Joorim’s brusque reply seemed to please Kwon Honggyun.
Finally, he felt he was making progress.
“Well then—”
Before he could go on, Joorim interrupted.
“Director Lee Soyeon, the former head of the National Defense Research Institute, left behind some interesting achievements. I found them quite impressive.”
Lee Soyeon.
As Joorim invoked the name of the former director, notorious for declaring, ‘I moved to China because the government wouldn’t fund me and Orchestra wouldn’t share technology,’ Kwon Honggyun’s smile faltered.
What she meant was clear: If you take this line, then we will pack up and go to another country.
Kwon Honggyun swallowed hard.
“Guild Leader On Joorim, perhaps you don’t know what became of Lee Soyeon in China…?”
Sensing he wanted to bark, ‘Lee Soyeon was used and discarded!’ Joorim responded as if she’d heard some fascinating story.
“Do you think I would end up like Lee Soyeon? Me?”
“……”
Kwon Honggyun was at a loss for words.
Impossible. Joorim herself could become a pillar of the nation.
Even now, brokers from every country must be trying to contact her.
He knew all too well—so did she—that this was why she could speak so bluntly.
But for someone with all their roots in Korea, it was not so easy to leave. With guild, family, and countless obligations, On Joorim was in a fundamentally different situation compared to Lee Soyeon or Amakusa Kazuki.
“Guild Leader On Joorim. Let me give you one piece of advice, as someone who’s lived a little longer than you. Sometimes, it’s not just about pushing back hard—one must also know when to bend with grace.”
Joorim nodded as if understanding.
“By all means, bend gracefully with all your years of experience.”
At that, Kwon Honggyun fell mute again.
This young guild leader truly had a talent for rendering others speechless.
With a low laugh, Joorim tapped the table.
Saaaaaa—
As she did, the entire elaborate feast turned to dust.
“When you have power,” she said,
“There’s no need to bend.”
Only the glass of water remained.
The golden gleam faded from her fierce eyes.
“Thank you for the meal. The water was excellent.”
Having taken only a few sips, Joorim gave a small nod and walked out.
Click—
As the door closed, Kwon Honggyun clenched his fist above the now empty table.
Her final words echoed endlessly in his ears.
If you have power.
If you have power.
If you have power…
“……”
Lips pressed tight, Kwon Honggyun hurled his water glass against the wall.
Crash!
“That arrogant brat—so full of herself…!”
Who did she think he was?
To talk of power in front of the Chief Secretary?
Grinding his teeth in rage, Kwon Honggyun swore he would uncover Fakeclaw’s true identity.
When his secretaries entered, drawn by the noise, he vented his fury at them.
“What have you been doing all this time? Why can’t you bring me this Fakeclaw person, no matter what it takes?!”
“Pardon?”
But how were they to locate someone who had evaded every attempt so far?
“But…”
“It’s just that…”
As the secretaries faltered, Kwon Honggyun’s anger exploded.
“Turn everything upside down if you have to! Investigate every guild member! Even her precious daughter that On Joorim is so obsessed with—all of them!”