That night.
After a hearty dinner, Guru lay beside the deeply asleep Jurim, her eyes wide open and sharp.
Whether it was an animal or a ghost, she was going to see it with her own eyes and prove that what her preschool teacher said was true.
For a kindergartener, their teacher’s words were absolute truth—like the sun rising in the east.
But that wasn’t all.
Guru glanced at Jurim’s sleeping face.
She was planning to pretend to sleep, then catch her daddy sneaking out and sternly demand to know where he was going.
Yeah, that’s the plan!
It hadn’t been long since she’d made up her mind when a colorless, odorless scent began to drift into her room.
“Piiit! Piiiit!”
A loud chirping in her ear stirred Guru awake, blinking blearily.
Mephisto was pushing both of her cheeks with his two wings to wake her up.
“Snf.”
Guru sucked in a string of drool from the corner of her mouth.
Huh? She was only supposed to be pretending to sleep for a bit?
She rushed to check the time.
11 PM.
Daddy was nowhere to be seen, and outside the window was already pitch black.
‘Mission failed!’
Was it because she’d gone too hard with the tambourine earlier?
She had told Veilach and Mephisto to wake her up, but if she was only waking now...
“Mephie, you slep' too?”
“Piiing.”
Mephisto tilted his head down and brought his wings together, swaying side to side.
It meant he felt guilty.
Guru glared at Veilach, who was snoring with his belly fully exposed, then patted Mephie to comfort him.
“I’s otay. Maybe Daddy not come back yet.”
“Pii—”
Nodding, Mephisto fluttered up and plopped himself down on top of Guru’s head.
Guru pulled a fork from her inventory.
“Wet's go.”
“Pit!”
“Depawting now. Pway Chick Ghost Huntuhs!”
The fork ➤ NоvеIight ➤ (Read more on our source) and Mephie’s wings pointed skyward.
“Hmph!”
“Piiit!”
Guru snorted through her nose and gripped the fork with both hands, sneaking toward the garden.
Step by step, quiet as a mouse.
As Guru and Mephisto crept close to the vegetable patch, their eyes went wide.
A long-haired figure was moving around in front of the garden.
Guru’s lip quivered.
“Me, Mephie. Go check who dat is.”
But Mephisto was just as terrified.
“Pipipi...”
He shook his head, clinging tightly to Guru’s hair.
“Mephie, scawdycat.”
“Pipit-pipipi.”
[Guru, scawdycat!]
Mephisto’s response popped up in a translated system window.
Guru puffed her cheeks in a pout. One moment he was blowing hearts, now he was calling her a coward? What a meanie—two servings' worth.
While quietly grumbling at each other, Guru and Mephisto called a truce.
“On dwee, we go.”
“Pit.”
Fwooo—Guru took a deep breath and steeled herself, then whispered the countdown.
One, two, three—!
The fork launched toward the stranger.
But the sound of tiny footsteps made the figure spin around, reaching out to grab the fork—
“Gotcha—!”
“Hyaaaang~!”
“Huh?”
“Um?”
Guru’s scream rang out just as Iromi caught the fork. Both blinked in surprise.
“...Guru? Why aren’t you asleep?”
Romi unnie? Not a ghost?
Tears welled up in Guru’s eyes in relief, and she sniffled hard.
“Gho... ghostie... sniff!”
“Ghostie?”
Nod-nod.
“Gwuu came to catch ghostie... hic!”
“Ahh, the stealing ghost?”
Iromi nodded, realizing she must’ve overheard the staff earlier.
“You couldn’t sleep ‘cause of that? Poor baby, you must’ve been scared. Sorry for scaring you.”
“Heuuu...”
As Iromi gently patted her back, Guru whimpered and buried herself in her arms.
Sniff, snf! Guru clung to the warm hug as she inhaled through her nose.
Grrrrgle—
“Are you hungry, baby?”
Shake-shake.
“Dat’s not Gwuu tummy.”
“Oh? Then...”
Suddenly, Iromi’s face went pale, and even Guru’s expression drained of color as she realized what that meant.
“W-Who’s there.”
Iromi’s voice trembled.
Someone was here who wasn’t them.
She quickly pushed Guru behind her, and Guru clenched her fork again.
“I’m calling someone. Come out now.”
A tense silence followed.
Rustle—
Leaves rustled in the grass, and finally—
A long-haired figure emerged, shoulders hunched like a guilty criminal.
Grrrrrrgle—
Once more, her stomach roared like thunder.
“...I’m sorry.”
Chuen quickly bowed her head.
Guru’s eyes widened.
A ghost-pale face. Jet-black hair and eyes.
No doubt about it—someone she recognized.
“You da unnie fwom Jeju?”
Chapter – The Price of Kindness
“Not Jeju-do... I’m Chuen.”
Even now, Iromi kept her guard up as she cautiously asked,
“You’re not... the owner of this house, are you?”
“No.”
Lifting her head, Chuen replied with a serene tone, like a wandering ascetic.
“I don’t have a house. I’m on the run, so there’s nowhere I can go.”
Gasp! Guru inhaled sharply, while Iromi clamped her mouth shut in alarm.
‘Is... is she in debt or something?’
“Then the garden...”
“I was hungry... I’m sorry.”
Her speech was choppy, and despite her blank expression, her embarrassment was obvious.
Iromi sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead with her palm.
“Aah, I thought you were someone the CEO sent...”
“Ceo?”
“Yeah. There’s this really nasty guy who treated unnie terribly... I thought he was trying to mess with my shoot again, so I was waiting out here...”
Then what was with those hostile stares? Iromi trailed off and tilted her head.
“Bad ceo bwotherin’ unnie? Gwuu can beat him up if ya want.”
Iromi chuckled.
“It’s fine. Even if Guru doesn’t beat him up, he’s such a bad person that a scary ghost will probably take him away.”
Just then, Chuen, who had been quietly listening, blinked and murmured blankly,
“I can take him away.”
“Sorry?”
“Um?”
Their eyes met, and her blank face flushed faintly red with embarrassment.
“Never mind...”
Still frowning, Iromi crossed her arms and stood up.
“I get your situation... but either way, if you’re not the homeowner, I think it’s best to talk to the police.”
“Huh?!”
The one who shouted in surprise wasn’t Chuen—it was Guru.
Kneeling beside her, Chuen looked puzzled as Guru sidled up next to her and gazed up at Iromi with sparkling eyes.
“Chuuw unnie says she's bein’ chased.”
“Well...”
Images flickered through Iromi’s mind of a small, skinny woman being hunted by gangsters.
She looked foreign. Maybe she’d been conned or something...
“Chuuw unnie’s hungwy too...”
“Well, that...”
Grrrrrgle—
Right then, Chuen’s stomach let out a thunderous growl, and Guru furrowed her brows into a sad frown as if to say “See?”
“We hafta hewp.”
Guru declared with determination from between the two of them.
“Fiwst, food.”
Grrrrrrgle—
“...I’m sorry.”
Chuen apologized again, expressionless.
Iromi buried her face in her hands.
“Guru, do you know this person?”
Guru nodded.
“A widdul bit.”
In the end, Iromi gave a small nod as if she had no other choice.
'Why am I so weak to people who look like they need taking care of?'
“...Just wait here for a bit. I’ll make some rice balls and bring them. After you eat, then we can talk about calling the cops or waking someone else.”
With that, Iromi turned toward the kitchen hearth.
There should be some rice left from tomorrow’s portion—she planned to mix in a little sesame oil and make some rice balls.
“Whew—”
As Iromi left, Guru exhaled a sigh of relief and wiped her forehead.
She looked up at Chuen with sympathy, feeling a kinship as a fellow tragic-criminal soul.
‘Yup. Police are danger.’
Especially since Chuen was a [Prospective Caregiver].
The system alert about caregiver registration being possible if attachment levels rose was still valid.
[Prospective Caregiver = good person]
And a good person having a grumbly, empty tummy was a sad, sad thing.

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