Chick 365
by Cristae365
While the customer was waiting, Nurse Goo (Goo Hyeoyeon) kept him company with chat.
Meanwhile, Groo retreated to the back of the booth, Wooju trailing behind.
Behind the curtain, in the booth’s rear,
Wooju placed the robots on the operating table.
“This surgery won’t be easy today.”
At Groo’s words, Nurse Seo (Seo Wooju) pulled gloves onto her small hands.
With gloves flapping loosely on both hands, Groo clapped smartly.
Now it was time to prepare the materials necessary to repair the toys.
First, Groo pulled out hard star-shaped candy, Lego blocks, and squishy magic clay from her bag.
“Nurse Seo, drill.”
“Yes, Doctor.”
“Oooooong~”
Groo lightly shaved just enough of the joint with the drill.
Then she patched the loose joints with magic clay, replaced missing parts with Lego blocks.
Finally, by using her skill to fuse the tough star candy—
[Skill ‘Mold and Shape’ has been activated.]
“Whew…”
As Groo pretended to wipe sweat from her brow, Wooju helpfully dabbed her forehead with a sleeve.
The robot, having taken Groo’s skill perfectly, now looked nearly new.
“Mm, perfect. Now, for the next procedure.”
Wooju cocked her head.
“Next? Isn’t it done?”
Groo shook her head adamantly.
“No. I want the robot’s eyes to shoot laser beams.”
“Ah…!”
Wooju gave a little gasp. That actually sounded kind of cool.
“And also combine, and transform, and be waterproof, and fly, and have tiny automatic missiles that shoot down unidentified flying objects.”
“Ooh…”
Wooju’s eyes sparkled and her cheeks flushed.
“Can you do all that?”
“Mm, I dunno. Just want to try.”
“Okay!”
Wooju nodded, then whispered softly,
“…Groo, you’re a real top Hunter.”
Groo’s ears perked.
“Really?”
Wooju replied shyly, voice barely audible.
“…Really.”
Suddenly their eyes met.
Groo grinned, and an embarrassed Wooju swallowed hard.
Her face turned fiery red, and her heart thumped so hard it felt like it might burst.
“Groo…”
Wooju’s lips parted unconsciously.
“Beep beep—!”
Before she could finish, a fat bird swooped out of nowhere and delivered a Mephisto Kick right to Wooju’s cheek.
Pabababap!
The white bird, wings raised menacingly, kept kicking without letting up.
“Stop, stop.”
Groo grabbed the agitated Mephisto and set him on her head.
With an icy glare, Mephisto settled down, fixing Wooju with a long stare.
“Beep!” (Hmph!)
Wooju rubbed her stinging cheek.
But the shock of what she’d almost done was even greater than getting attacked by a bird rival.
Had she just been about to confess? So soon? Had she forgotten all about boys and girls shouldn’t sit together after a certain age? You fool!
The more she thought, the redder she became. And when her gaze met Groo’s once more, she looked away hastily, mortified.
While Wooju was thus lost in self-reproach with her mind blank,
Groo, after soothing fluffed-up Mephisto, took out new materials from her inventory.
A top-grade Critaito reactor, the horn of Thunderbeast Zapfir, a mane of the Lion of the Sun, a tail scale from Shea, a feather from Mephisto, a tuft of Bailach’s tail…
“Combine all this—”
[Skill ‘Mold and Shape’ has been activated.]
The two toy robots glowed briefly.
[Mecha Joorim mk.1 (Grade: Undetermined)]
[Assessing grade……]
[Mecha Joorim mk.2 (Grade: Undetermined)]
[Assessing grade……]
“Oooh…”
She had a feeling she’d made something incredible.
Groo took a robot in each hand and raised them towards the ceiling.
“Mecha Joorim!”
Glittering in the sunlight, the two robots sparkled as if new.
“Wow!”
Impressed by her handiwork, Groo bounced on her heels.
Time to hurry and show Grandpa and get some praise!
Cradling the robots, Groo raced out to the booth.
“So, Gidan-oppa uses this skill right here?”
At the booth, Nurse Goo was showing On Suhyeong one of Gidan’s videos.
“Isn’t he awesome? So cool! Like a brave baby lion, right?”
“Mm, I see.”
“Grandpa! We’re done with the surgery!”
“Really?!”
On Suhyeong leapt to his feet with relief, escaping Gidan-fandom talk that was starting to make his ears ring, and welcomed Groo.
“Tada!”
Groo held out the robots, and On Suhyeong, with a surprised look, turned them this way and that.
“Truly, my Groo has such clever hands.”
Groo giggled and twisted shyly.
“If I press here, will it play a recorded voice?”
“No, that’s the beam saber.”
“Beam saber?”
“The sound comes out if you press this one.”
Following Groo’s instructions, On Suhyeong pressed the button on the robot’s back.
His heart swelled at the thought of hearing little Joorim’s voice from when he’d played with toys.
But instead—
—Mecha Strike Force! Deploy! Vroooom~ Combine!
A grown man’s voice blared out.
Groo perked up her ears.
On Suhyeong tried the sound again, hardly able to believe it.
—Mecha Strike Force! Deploy! Vroooom~ Combine!
Now convinced, Groo asked,
“Was that you, Grandpa?”
“Yes… It must have been. I think I recorded it when I first bought this toy.”
As On Suhyeong stroked the robot, memories from long ago surfaced.
Perhaps the reason he could remember that distant time so clearly was because he’d spent so little of it with his young son.
If there had been countless memories of playing together, it would have already faded, but because they were so rare, they stayed vivid.
‘Little Joorim didn’t treasure the robot so much as the memory of me playing with him.’
Now understanding why Ijo had searched for the robot, tears welled up in On Suhyeong’s eyes.
Even now, Ijo really knew Joorim better than he did.
Then Groo asked,
“Grandpa, what sound comes out of Mecha Joorim mk.2?”
“Hm?”
Joorim watched as Groo bounced rhythmically into the guildmaster’s office, clearly excited.
The fat bird on her head flapped its wings along in time.
With her short arms and legs pumping as she marched in, Groo looked so cute that Joorim smiled as he asked,
“Sounds like you had fun at the bazaar?”
“Yep! Groo fixed toys!”
“What kind of toys?”
“Robots! Mecha Joorim mk.1, mk.2!”
Joorim’s smile flattened into a straight line.
“…Those names are a little odd, aren’t they?”
Groo shook her head hard and held out the robots.
“…?”
Somehow, these toys looked awfully familiar. Why?
As a sense of foreboding crept up on him, Groo pressed the button on the robot’s back.
“If you press this–”
—Mecha Strike Force! Mecha Joorim Red!
A bright child’s voice called out.
—Com! Bine!
Joorim shot to his feet.
That was unmistakably his own voice.
Groo pressed the button again, as if to show off.
—Mecha Strike Force! Mecha Joorim Red! Com! Bine!
Then, looking up, she said,
“Cute.”
“Beep!” (Pfft!)
Joorim yanked the robot from Groo’s hand just as she was about to press it again.
“No calling Dad cute! Birds aren’t allowed to laugh at people, either!”
“Aaah!”
Just then, the chest button on Mecha Joorim mk.2 was pressed, and a light streamed from the robot’s hand.
“…?”
Joorim’s voice trembled as he stared at the mk.2 now holding a beam saber.
“…Why is it doing that?”
“Groo modified it for you, Dad.”
“How?”
“Combination, transformation, waterproofing, flight, mini-missiles that automatically shoot down UFOs, beam saber, and… laser cannon?”
As Groo babbled on, explaining her creation, Joorim cut her off.
“So it’s an item now?”
“Yep!”
“…”
Joorim pursed his lips, glancing at his daughter’s sparkling eyes. He should have known she’d come up with something strange again.
He pulled up the item info window to check the robots’ grades.
“Grade undetermined?”
“Yep. You still have to get it evaluated.”
A sense of dread crept over Joorim.
An item that even needed a demonstration to be evaluated?
He suddenly recalled Groo’s recent Mephisto series mk.3—and that one had turned out to be S+ grade.
Joorim’s expression darkened.
‘…’
If it turned out S+ again?
A Mecha Joorim that spoke with his childhood voice could be designated a national asset and loaned out to various countries.
—Com! Bine!
The echo of his young voice rang in his ears.
‘…A nightmare?’
It felt like his hair was standing on end.
Without hesitating, he turned on his heel, moved a picture frame, and opened the safe behind it. Then, without a second thought, he shoved both robots deep inside.
Realizing what he was about to do, Groo clung to him.
“Nooo~ You have to get them evaluated~!”
“No! They’re sealed away forever!”
“Waaah! Mecha Joorim!”
“That name’s banned, too!”