Chick 308
by Cristae308
“Dad…?”
“Shh.”
Joorim silenced Gru as she called him Dad.
Gru nodded instinctively.
After all, Joorim wouldn’t become her father until far in the future. Calling him Dad now would be strange.
“So you’ve gone and found yourself a woman, and now a kid, too.”
Joorim spoke sharply as he held Gru, his hand running over her back as if to confirm she was truly there.
Just as Joorim seemed flooded with relief at Gru’s presence, Gru’s own heart softened at his arrival.
Just then, Chloe stepped in and snatched Gru from his grasp.
“What kind of chaos is this in someone else’s house!”
Joorim froze momentarily at Chloe’s piercing glare, and On Ijo moved swiftly to block him.
Cradling Gru protectively, Chloe shoved both Joorim and On Ijo out into the corridor with a fierce hand.
“I never thought you’d bring your little brother into this too.”
“No, this wasn’t my idea—”
“Get out. All of you.”
Bang!
In a flash, Joorim and Ijo found themselves unceremoniously ejected, standing side by side in front of the closed door, dumbfounded.
Ijo bonked his head lightly against the entranceway, muttering,
“Joorim.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you crazy?”
“……”
“Do you even know where you are?”
“I followed you. Didn’t know it was your girlfriend’s place.”
On Ijo replied in exasperation.
“I heard you’d left the training center, but what’s going on? Did you speak to the team doctor? Should we get you to an ER?”
“What about you?”
“Huh?”
“You wouldn’t even take my calls. You were just tailing after some woman instead.”
“Tailing after? Is that what you call it, Joorim? Really charming.”
“Well, to judge by the fact we got kicked out together, I guess you got dumped.”
“……”
“So, is that why you didn’t tell me? Because you got dumped?”
Joorim sneered, almost mocking Ijo’s silence.
“Pathetic.”
With that, Joorim slumped down, leaning his back against the wall.
Ijo, as if struck, said nothing for a long while before quietly sitting down beside his brother.
“…I really don’t have anything to say this time.”
The brothers sat side by side outside the apartment door, silent for a while.
As silence filled the hallway, Joorim rested his head on Ijo’s shoulder.
“That’s enough. Let’s talk later. I’m exhausted—I need to sleep a bit.”
“Out here?”
“Yeah… Just let me be for a while.”
Though incredulous, Ijo simply offered up his shoulder.
Joorim hadn’t slept at all for two days.
His last memory was chasing after Gru aboard an aircraft carrier, then shielding her and vanishing together in a flash of light.
It was two days ago that he realized time had been rewound.
The ceiling of the familiar training center had come falling into view, and the realization hit like a bolt from the blue.
The Shea that had always been on his left hand seemed to have been left behind in the future.
He was alone—just him.
Was it just him?
No, that couldn’t be.
He remembered reaching out desperately to grab Gru as she vanished into the light.
Gru existed somewhere in this past. No—she had to exist here.
Otherwise, her existence would have been erased from this moment in the past.
That was why he’d sought out his brother.
If anyone in this past could find Gru, it would be On Ijo.
Come on, answer your phone. I need your help, and it’s urgent.
With this hope, he’d come to find Ijo—but his brother never picked up.
Growing frantic, Joorim had tracked Ijo’s trail and, at last, found it:
Chloe, Gru, and his brother.
‘How could those three be together?’
But that curiosity didn’t last.
Watching the three of them shop at the market, they looked just like a close-knit family.
As if nothing could ever break their bond.
For some reason, a sharp, stabbing intuition pierced the corner of his heart.
‘Han Gru. Five-year-old Han Gru…’
Chloe Han.
Biracial.
That same pale platinum hair.
A similar face.
Grade S in crafting.
‘They really do look alike.’
Gru could pass for the daughter of On Ijo and Chloe without raising the slightest doubt.
A plausible deduction flashed through his mind.
‘Why didn’t I realize this before now?’
It felt less and less like some absurd fancy.
Joorim gritted his teeth.
‘Let’s take it slow.’
For now, just accepting that time had rewound was overwhelming in itself.
‘If I check, I’ll know for sure.’
There was no need to rush to conclusions.
Besides, several sleepless nights had left his head too clouded to think straight.
Crossing his arms, Joorim let his thoughts fade and closed his eyes.
‘Gru is safe.’
Gru was secure—just beyond that door, within his reach.
That was enough. For now…
“……”
Suddenly, he became aware of a firm touch at his temple.
His brother’s shoulder. A shoulder he wouldn’t see for long.
A surge of emotion welled up in his chest.
“Hyung.”
“Yeah?”
“You’re really On Ijo?”
“What else would I be?”
“…What if this is all just a dream?”
Joorim’s voice grew small and uncertain.
“What if, when I wake up, it’s all just a dream?”
Maybe it was from the exhaustion, but he couldn’t suppress the words from spilling out.
What if Gru, and this whole world where Ijo lived, just vanished like mist?
“You must be really burnt out.”
Ijo’s voice, tinged with gentle laughter, made that possibility feel impossible.
Relief washed over him.
Crash!
Once again, Chloe awoke to the sound of something breaking.
Piecing together the fragments of last night in her haze, her face twisted in dismay.
The number of uninvited guests had grown.
From one to two, from two to three.
“Who eats steak for breakfast? No wonder you got dumped.”
“On Joorim, are you going to keep being hurtful?”
“He’s right. Stop saying mean things.”
“There, you see? No bad words in front of the baby. Here—let me help you with the blender, little friend.”
“I’m not your friend; I’m your uncle. And her name is Gru.”
“Uh-huh. Uncle, can you do it for me?”
“Of course, little princess.”
Vrrrr—
On Ijo worked the blender, arms folded, tilting his head.
“Why is my brother acting so weird all of a sudden?”
“He keeps picking fights.”
“Usually you wouldn’t leave the training center for anything. So why did you randomly show up? Are you here to spy on me?”
“There’s something like that.”
“What did you want my help with?”
“It doesn’t matter now.”
While Ijo looked at him in bewilderment,
Chloe could only sigh, looking up at the ceiling.
Had there been such a noisy morning in her life after twenty?
And why did the child keep unlocking the door for everyone?
Had these two spent another night outside?
Her head spun.
‘Ugh…’
When Chloe lowered her head, she found Gru and Ijo each holding out a cup and a plate, respectively.
“Banana shake!”
“Steak!”
Both wore determined expressions, as if vying for Chloe’s approval.
Chloe took the banana shake and started gulping it down.
“Yay—!”
“Knew I’d lose again.”
Gru pumped her fist in triumph, while Joorim gave a snide chuckle.
“You have to start the day with a good meal. Try a bite of this.”
Rejected, Ijo whined like a child.
“Steak for breakfast? Just looking at it gives me indigestion.”
At Chloe’s cold words, On Ijo’s shoulders slumped and his eyebrows drooped gloomily.
Chloe brushed her hair back, her tone indifferent.
“I don’t usually eat breakfast. My digestion’s weak.”
Ijo’s eyes sparkled at that.
“Then I’ll fix something easy on your stomach tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? Chloe was about to retort and tell him to stop with the little tricks when Gru interrupted.
“Banana juice!”
“Alright. Then tomorrow, let’s make banana juice together, just you and Uncle.”
“Yay—!”
“Don’t be so happy about it…”
Why do they get along so well?