TCHF 05

Chapter 05

The chick toy soon came to a stop in front of the information center counter.

Thud—

Blocked at the front and catching its target, the chick stretched its neck long.

“Kkarurururu! Kkarururururu! Kkarururururururu!”

When the chick burst into laughter like a scene straight out of a horror movie, the staff member at the information center screamed in fright.

“Eek!”
“What is it? What’s going on?”

A small commotion broke out in the lobby.

“What now…?”
“Let’s go check.”

The security guards left their posts.

In that brief moment, Gru slipped poof through the access gate. She was so tiny that as long as she lowered her head, she wouldn’t trigger the entrance sensor.

Successfully passed the entrance!

Next…

“There!”

Gru sprinted at full speed toward an elevator whose doors had just opened.

The employees inside the elevator all turned their eyes toward Gru at once.

“…!”

Startled, Gru’s eyes darted around.

“H-hello. I am Han Gru from the Chick Class of Saebom Kindergarten.”

When Gru bowed deeply from the waist, exclamations erupted from all around.

So cute!
A kind-looking older sister asked her where she was going, and Gru pointed with her index finger to the very top.

“Th-there. The very top floor.”

In truth, she had no idea where the guild master of Hyunak was.

But in her head, the logic was simple:
“Guild master of Hyunak = the highest-ranking person.”
“High-ranking person = high floor.”

In dramas, important people were always on the top floor.

“If not, I’ll just come down one floor at a time.”

With each floor the elevator climbed, her heart pounded beyond its limits.

Ding—

Arrival at the top floor.

Tense all over, Gru stepped out of the elevator.

Luckily, the offices were made of glass, so you could clearly see who was inside from the outside.

Whenever Gru spotted a man inside an office, she plastered herself against the glass and glared in with terrifying eyes.

When their eyes met, one man jumped as if he’d seen a ghost and hurried over.

“Nope. This uncle’s ugly.”

Without a shred of regret, Gru ran off to avoid him.

After racing back and forth across the top floor like that, Gru finally spotted a familiar face at a corner.

“He’s handsome!”

Julim had noticed the child ten minutes earlier.

“…Is she one of our staff’s kids?”

No matter how indifferent he usually was to things, it was hard to keep ignoring a child who stared at him as if she bore him a grudge.

The child was hiding behind a white pillar, peeking out just enough to watch him.

Momentarily confused, he rested his chin on his hand and asked the person reporting to him,

“Hunter Shin Nayeon. Did you secretly become a mother without me knowing?”

“Me? I thought you had secretly become a father without me knowing, Guild Master.”

“No way.”

“Well, she looks like the result of a sticky, drawn-out love-and-war romance between you two. That gaze she’s giving you isn’t ordinary…”

“Not even in my dreams. Sticky love and war.”

Julim looked steadily at the child.

No matter how many past women he ran through his mind, none fit. Then who on earth was she?

When the child’s eyes met his, she flinched and began looking around frantically.

“It’s you. You’ve been found.”

When he pointed at her with his index finger, the child finally stepped out from behind the wall.

She was a little girl with a doll-like face, pale platinum-blond hair of low saturation tied into twin tails.

“Mixed-blood?”

Chubby cheeks and big eyes. Wearing a sky-blue dress and a yellow hat, she was unmistakably a kindergartener.

Julim gestured for her to come over.

She approached with quick, light steps that practically came with a plop-plop sound effect.

Soon, the child stood right in front of his desk.

“H-hello.”

“Yeah.”

Julim flipped through his documents.

The child continued staring at him with sparkling eyes.

Reluctantly, he asked,

“Who are you?”

At that, Gru stood properly, bowed from the waist, and said,

“I am Han Gru from the Chick Class of Saebom Kindergarten.”

She tried to speak clearly, but her babyish pronunciation was unavoidable.

Julim glanced at Nayeon, who was covering her mouth to suppress a “so cute!” squeal, and asked flatly,

“You’re looking for your parents, right?”

He was about to arrange for an announcement himself, but Gru shook her head side to side.

“Then are you looking for someone to play with? There’s no one like that here.”

“No!”

At the immediate reply, Julim let out a quiet hum.

Just as he was about to tell her to go find her parents anyway, an unexpected statement popped out of the child’s mouth.

“Guild Master! Please scowt Gru!”

Silence fell.

Nayeon blinked in surprise, and Julim asked back, unsure if he’d heard correctly.

“…Scout?”

Gru changed her expression, as if to say, You don’t know what scouting means?

“Guild Master! Please put Gru in the guild!”

She looked like she’d kindly explained it in simpler terms so he could understand.

He smiled as if he got it.

“Ah, that happens a lot. Kids who want to become hunters…”

In this day and age, hunters were objects of admiration.

Some guilds already searched for talented children and raised them under the name “youth supporters.”

Because of that, students coming all the way to Hyunak was hardly rare.

Gru waited for his answer, eyes shining.

“And you’re the youngest among them.”

Ha! My outstanding talent!
Gru puffed out her chest proudly.

At that moment, Julim picked up the phone.

“Take this kid and send her home.”

Click—

The moment his short call ended, secretaries flooded into the office.

“Oh my, how did you get in here?”
“Waaah…”

Dangling in someone’s arms and shooting a pitiful look his way, Gru was ignored as Julim turned his gaze back to his documents.

Gru puffed out her cheeks in a sulk.

This was a mistake. Her preparation hadn’t been thorough enough—today was a tactical retreat.

And so, the next day.

“Gru never gives up easily!”

For the twenty million won sleeping in Onion Market, for the quests, and for Mom and Dad!

Fully prepared, Gru once again stood in front of Julim’s desk.

She opened her status window and read it aloud like a presentation.

“I may be young, but I am an Awakened. Due to cognitive adjustment by the system, I possess high-level intellectual learning ability, and I have talents that perfectly match the kind of prodigy Hyunak seeks.”

After pausing for a beat and letting out a tense hoo of breath, Nayeon clapped enthusiastically like a parent attending a kindergarten recital.

She was friendly to Gru—and the number one contributor who’d let her into Julim’s office.

“Our amazing Gru! How can you be this good at presenting? That’s incredible~”

Feeling proud, Gru lifted her dress slightly and bent her knees in a little curtsy.

Meanwhile, On Julim—whose nap had been rudely interrupted—was simply bewildered. Since when had his office become a kindergarten recital hall?

Removing his eye mask, he looked between the kindergartener waiting for an answer and the guild member snapping photos because she was about to die from cuteness.

Julim tapped the desk with his knuckles.

“Hunter Shin Nayeon. You seem to be quite free these days?”

“Huh? Yeah. How did you know?”

“Wouldn’t it be strange if I didn’t? You’re here in my office every day.”

“Oh~ I see~”

Tsk. Julim clicked his tongue.

Nayeon was the living embodiment of the saying that when the body’s great, the brain doesn’t have to work.

He sharpened his words so even she would understand.

“Hunter Shin Nayeon. You can cause trouble outside, but not in my office.”

“Oh, really?”

She answered innocently, as if it didn’t affect her at all. Until someone used force, Shin Nayeon was invincible.

“From now on, only come into my office when you have business.”

“I do have business.”

With a flourish, Nayeon pointed at Gru with both hands.

“Hehe.” Gru clasped her hands behind her back and swayed side to side shyly.

Ah, I see.
Smiling as if he understood, Julim beckoned Gru over.

Oh! A positive response? Gru’s face lit up. Had he finally recognized her ability? She scurried over.

Julim held out a document to the now-very-close Gru.

“Here. Take a look.”

Gru stared at the paper densely packed with tiny letters.

She had a bad feeling.

The document was completely filled with English.

Julim pointed at a word starting with an A.

“Read it.”

“Uh……”

There it was. A vile, cruel question aimed at a kindergartener.

Her head spun at the parade of difficult words.

She didn’t know. For now, everything she knew came from kindergarten or TV.

After squirming and hesitating like a little puppy for a long while, Gru finally spat out the one English word she knew.

“Apple…?”

“Rejected.”