Inside the worn-out bathroom under construction.
Jurim, having shoved the two corpses that had been mangled by their brains into the corner, turned his eyes toward the closed stall.
Two signs of children.
He carefully opened the door so as not to startle them.
The rusty hinges creaked, and the sound rang in his ears like tinnitus.
Jurim, having splashed his face with water, let out a long sigh.
“This... I can’t do this twice.”
He knocked on his ears as if trying to shake the heaviness from them. Had he pushed himself too hard? It felt like his eardrums had been torn.
With his elbow on the wall, he looked down at the child.
Guru, holding a boy she had never seen before, looked up at him.
“So, I can’t do it twice. Got it?”
Tears welled up in her large eyes. Now that her emotions had caught up with her, the face that had been holding steady turned a bright shade of red.
Her small mouth twitched, like a little chick.
“Guildmaster...”
Jurim smiled and picked Guru up.
Feeling the warmth of the feverish child, it was as though his heart was finally starting to beat again.
With his eyes closed, he buried his nose in her little head and took a deep breath. He hadn’t realized how to breathe until the moment he felt Guru was missing.
Jurim exhaled deeply, as though learning to breathe again.
A strange sense of relief settled over him, soft as feathers.
It was a different kind of freedom than when he had conquered the Tower. It felt warmer, more comforting.
Jurim, Guru, and Wooju sat side by side in the lost child protection center.
Because both Jurim and Wooju were well-known faces, the people inside the center were frantically typing away on their phones.
Feeling the eyes glancing their way, Guru grasped at Jurim’s clothes. The tension soon faded.
The relief of having an adult to rely on.
Now she understood why they were told to find a guardian in the first quest and to choose their caretakers.
It was because of the adults who could protect her, care for her, and cherish her.
This feeling gave her a sense of stability that she had never experienced in the orphanage.
Wooju rolled his eyes, then quietly whispered to Guru.
“Is On Jurim—no, Hunter On Jurim your guardian?”
“Mm. Guru was adopted after being in the orphanage.”
“...Really?”
There was much more she wanted to ask, but when the words “orphanage” and “adopted” came up, Wooju shut his mouth tight.
Not long after, a glamorous woman flung open the door to the lost child protection center.
“Seo Wooju!”
The sharp tone made Wooju’s shoulders flinch.
She had covered her face with a hat, as though afraid people might recognize her.
“You’re causing trouble again, I can’t show my face to your father.”
“Is this my fault?”
Wooju shot her a defiant look, and she sighed, brushing her hair back, clearly frustrated.
“You’re getting more and more bitter. I told you that kids shouldn’t learn about society too early...”
“Auntie. Taking care of a child is the guardian’s job.”
“Are you seriously still calling me ‘auntie’ at a time like this?”
Her voice ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) rising, she fell silent when she noticed everyone’s gaze. Checking around, she quickly spoke quietly.
“Let’s go. We’ll talk at home.”
Wooju stood up.
“Auntie, give me my phone.”
She scowled but pulled the phone from her clutch.
Wooju took the phone and handed it to Guru.
“Enter your number.”
“Ah, okay.”
Guru pressed the numbers, then pulled Wooju’s arm as she took the phone back, whispering into his ear.
“’s okay?”
Wooju, while saving the number, replied gruffly.
“What’s okay?”
“Nothing...”
Guru looked at the woman staring at the phone, then shook her head.
“I owe you today. You gave me your number, so I’ll pay you back.”
“No, it’s fine. You don’t have to.”
“You idiot. I’m doing it because it’s easier for me. It’s not because I like you, so you don’t have to say you don’t want it.”
Guru smiled sweetly.
“Wooju is pretty and nice.”
With a grimace, Wooju responded, though his ears were flushed bright red.
Wooju bit his lips, then sprinted toward the woman waiting for him.
"Let's go now."
Wooju urged the woman, then said coolly,
"I'm going. See you later, pretty."
"Mm, take care."
Guru waved her hand, and Jurim, flustered, cleared his throat softly..
"Pretty?"
Guru looked up at him as if asking what the problem was.
This left Jurim even more confused.
Wasn't this the first time he’d met her today? But "pretty"? What was that about?
Now that he thought about it, when he first went to pick up Guru from the orphanage, there had been a boy who had awkwardly clung to her.
‘Is this how kids are these days?’
He didn’t know who it was, but that boy was certainly less pretty than Guru. Still, her "mother" didn’t leave a good impression either.
Jurim's mind, now accelerating without brakes, went from thoughts about marriage to in-law conflicts, and as he failed to control his expression, it was then that the staff entered the shelter.
An elderly woman, dressed in a black suit, was flanked by agents.
Jurim gave her a short nod.
‘That’s the grandmother from earlier!’
She was the woman whose eyes had met his back at the exhibition hall when he was about to ask for help.
She smiled kindly at Guru.
"Little one, so you're Guru. I’m Grandma Nam Jiwon. I’m the owner of this amusement park."
The owner of the amusement park?! Guru opened her mouth in surprise, then quickly bowed.
"Oh, hello!"
"You were really impressive earlier. You caught the pickpocket, right?"
She must have seen the pickpocket frozen while holding onto Guru’s cart.
Guru blushed and lowered her head. Was it the right time to show her Hunter License card?
At that moment, the elderly woman continued.
"I’ve received a lot of help from you. Thank you."
“Eh? Ah! It wasn’t me. Guildmaster Jurim helped both me and Guru find it!”
Guru tugged at Jurim’s hand and smiled widely. The old woman shook her head.
"That kid is just a bully who uses his strength to intimidate others. The person who helped me was you. The thief who took your watch was after me."
The rumors about carrying around a USB were intentionally spread, though the contents weren’t the real will they sought. That was something she decided to keep quiet about.
In the end, it was a strategy to catch the culprit’s tail, and the child had helped greatly with that.
"Enough with the difficult talk, I’d like to give you a gift as a token of my gratitude."
“Uh...”
Would it be okay? In truth, Guru hadn’t really done much.
As Guru hesitated awkwardly, the woman pinched her soft cheek lightly.
"Sweetie, when an adult gives you something, you should accept it graciously without hesitation."
‘Oh! Is that how it is!’
Guru hastily accepted the box the elderly woman handed her and bowed quickly.
“Thank you!”
With a smile that made her eyes round, the woman whispered in Guru’s ear.
"Open it when you're home alone. Jurim might get jealous, so it's a secret what’s inside, okay?"
“Okay!”
A secret! Guru nodded vigorously.
She then straightened up and looked at Jurim.
"I heard you adopted this child, but I didn’t expect her to be so clever and beautiful. You really are lucky."
"Yes... I do consider myself quite lucky," Jurim responded.
"Quite shameless too."
The elderly woman smiled, clearly not minding this side of Jurim.
"Your father’s doing well. I’ve heard about your adoption from him. He’s been worrying about wanting to see his granddaughter."

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