On tiptoe, grunting and straining, Guru pushed open the door and hurried over to the corner of the sofa, curling up into a small ball.
On Jurim checked the time.
It was 11 PM. A kindergartener who usually falls asleep by 9 shouldn’t be awake at this hour.
“Why aren’t you asleep? Did you wake up from a nap?”
On Jurim asked as he found a blanket and wrapped the little bean bug in it.
The bean bug, sticking its head out of the blanket, spoke seriously.
“Guru’s been thinking a lot because of the resurrection.”
On Jurim burst into laughter. It was probably just some weird program Guru had been watching, spouting nonsense. Tomorrow, he’d have to get rid of the TV for sure.
He rubbed the corners of Guru’s eyes, which were half-closed from drowsiness.
“Let’s go to bed. Do you want me to read you a book?”
Shake, shake.
“Then I’ll pat you until you fall asleep.”
Shake, shake.
Guru just shook his head, then collapsed sideways, lying down.
“You don’t have to worry, Guru.”
There was no way Guru would refuse being hugged and tucked in. He had always enjoyed small acts of affection, often asking for it.
At first, On Jurim had felt awkward, but by now, he was used to patting and brushing Guru’s hair, and until things got busy, he would make sure to stay with Guru at bedtime every night..
But suddenly, Guru said he didn’t need any attention?
It was hard to understand what was going on in that tiny head.
Though confused, On Jurim figured Guru would just sleep it off, so he picked up a stack of papers again.
“Guildmaster! Guru’s made a decision.”
“What’s that?”
On Jurim asked in a somewhat displeased tone.
He knew all too well that Guru always said something strange at times like this.
Maybe he had watched a labor union documentary again and would start condemning this or that. Why do those documentaries always come in a three-part series, tormenting the protectors of the company?
“No union oppression! Right now, it’s the workers who are oppressing the employers.”
The company representatives were really enduring a difficult battle.
“And also...”
“Yeah?”
“Guru’s decided to quit kindergarten and become a hunter!”
The stack of papers fell to the floor with a crash.
So, Hanguru was the one thing in his life that couldn’t be predicted or guessed.
Wrapped up like a caterpillar in a blanket, Guru fell onto the bed with a thud. He had been carried from the study to the room and now peeked his face out from under the blanket.
On Jurim sat beside the bed, stroking Guru’s forehead, which poked out from the blanket.
“Is it because you don’t want to go to kindergarten? You liked it just a while ago.”
After getting his hunter license, Guru was even more excited.
Pride and boasting are human instincts, and even this little one had proudly worn his license to school, never missing a day.
That’s why his announcement of quitting kindergarten was even more shocking.
Guru fiddled with the edge of the blanket and then spoke.
“Kindergarten is fine...”
He didn’t dislike it. He liked playing with his friends, and the teachers were nice too.
“Fine, huh?”
Guru hesitated, then spoke in a tiny voice.
“Um, the kids at kindergarten...”
“Yeah?”
“Guru... they don’t like me.”
It seemed like a serious matter, and On Jurim’s face stiffened.
“When we play princess games, they won’t let me be a princess...”
“What did they say? A servant?”
Shake, shake.
Guru’s lips trembled, recalling the hurtful memory.
“They said I’m just a stable kid...”
On Jurim bit his lip and began to pat the child again.
“Hm, you can just say you want to be a princess too.”
But Guru frowned seriously.
“I don’t want to do that.”
“Right...”
It seemed like Guru hadn’t gone to kindergarten much, so maybe he didn’t know much about these things.
“Is that all?”
“No... there’s more... during crafts time, I made a super cool Saurus warship, but it got broken...”
On Jurim furrowed his brow.
“That’s not good.”
Guru nodded.
“Did you tell the teacher?”
“Yeah... Harry said he was sorry for breaking it.”
But Guru was still upset.
It wasn’t even about the broken warship, but more about his friend’s sudden change of heart.
“Why do you think your friend is acting like that?”
“I don’t know. They just suddenly...”
It was frustrating and painful because Guru had ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) been close to Harry, and now, without any reason, Harry suddenly hated him.
“Hm... can’t you play with another friend?”
“I want to be friends with Harry...”
“Why?”
“Harry’s pretty and like a princess, so everyone likes him...”
On Jurim thought for a moment. No exaggeration, Guru was the prettiest child he had ever seen.
Maybe, just maybe, the other kids should be the ones trying to be friends with Guru.
“He always wears a pretty dress and his dad comes to pick him up every day.”
“Dress? You have lots of dresses at home.”
Picking out children’s clothes had always been awkward for him, so he left it to his secretaries.
But that led to them buying an overwhelming amount of luxury kids’ collections, to the point that the dress room was overflowing. Even his sitter aunt jokingly said it was the hardest job to pick clothes for Guru.
“And not just that, but he’s pretty too.”
“Hm...”
On Jurim continued to sit, lost in thought, as if faced with a difficult problem.
Guru wiggled and snuggled up next to On Jurim's thigh, sensing his unease.
Talking it out made him feel lighter, but now his head was full of new worries.
‘What if the Guildmaster gets annoyed with me?’
Adults tend to prefer children who aren’t a bother.
Especially when they’re busy.
On Jurim had been buried in work for days, staying up all night.
So, while Guru didn’t know the details, he could tell that Jurim was preoccupied with something.
‘Earlier, he was frowning and looking at a thick stack of papers...’
For someone like On Jurim, who was depleting his mana, sleep should have been a priority. He was likely pushing himself hard.
‘A supreme Hunter can’t act like a baby.’
Guru hugged On Jurim tightly, then rolled off the bed, tumbling to the end.
“I’m fine now. I’ll go to sleep.”
He covered himself with the blanket, pulling it all the way over his head.
On Jurim called his name a few times, but Guru remained perfectly still, his mouth shut like a clam, eyes squeezed tightly shut.
Eventually, On Jurim quietly left the room.
The next morning.
“Yawn...”
Rubbing his eyes, Guru got up and, as usual, opened On Jurim’s door. Waking up in the morning and brushing their teeth together had become a daily routine.
But today...
‘He’s not here!’
On Jurim wasn’t around.
Guru, used to the sight of On Jurim still struggling to get out of bed in the mornings, looked around the large room and then dashed out to the living room.
But Jurim wasn’t there either.
‘No way...’
Could it be because Guru had been a bother yesterday?
Did he leave because of that?
Thump, thump. His heart began to race.
‘I’m scared.’
Guru pouted and knocked on the bathroom door, then opened the door to the study.
“Guildmaster...”
Rustle.
As soon as the door opened, a pile of papers on the floor was stepped on, crunching underfoot.
The study was full of scattered papers and empty coffee cups.
On Jurim was fast asleep, slumped over on the chair, his head resting on the desk.
‘I found him...’
Guru let out a small sigh of relief upon seeing On Jurim.
Thank goodness. The Guildmaster had just fallen asleep in the study after working all night.
He started walking toward him, but his feet kept getting caught on the countless papers strewn about.
‘Oh no!’
Guru quickly began gathering the papers from the floor, one by one.
[Handling Children’s Social Relationships]
[Kindergarten Bullying]
[Role of Parents of Kindergarteners]
Columns, articles, community posts, research papers...
Encouraging self-esteem. Boosting morale.
The papers were covered in fluorescent marker highlights.
Squatting down, Guru began to read through them. While he didn’t understand the hard words, he could make out the general meaning.
It seemed like the Guildmaster had been up all night researching this stuff and had accidentally fallen asleep in the process.
‘All because of me...’

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