Chapter 46 – If You Wish
#Yuna Seo
“Quickly! Hurry!”
Even the normally calm children raised their hands with twinkling eyes when they placed the chicken in front of them. The chicken that made me so excited was amazing, and at the same time, I felt bad for not being able to buy something like this properly.
“Don’t run or push! Don’t get hurt!”
Thanks to the children who loudly informed me of my arrival, the head of the daycare center, who must have been resting inside the building, came out and was worried that the excited children might fall and get hurt.
The head nurse, wearing thin-rimmed glasses, stroked the excited children’s heads with her wrinkled hands to calm them down. When there were no children making loud noises even with the chicken in front of them, he lifted the envelope containing the chicken to make it visible to the director.
“Director.”
“Yes…”
Today, on the director’s face, wrinkles like the growth rings of an old tree stood out.
“I brought you chicken.”
The director looked at the chicken I was holding in both hands and made an apologetic expression. It was hard to know if he was worried about me for not being able to sever ties with this place even after growing up, or if he was sorry for me for exchanging the money I had risked my life for for my children to eat.
“I was surprised when I got the call. I prepared the bowl and fork inside, so let’s go to the dining room.”
“Baby, did you hear? Let’s go to the dining room in order.”
“Yes~”
The eldest children took care of their younger siblings and entered the restaurant. Each of the children sat at their favorite table, each holding a fork that was neatly placed in a corner.
After confirming that everyone was seated, the director and the director tore open the packaged chicken and properly divided it into bowls. They were all made with boneless chicken, so it was easy to share without worrying about fighting over the chicken legs or chewing the bones hard to injure your teeth.
When I handed out the chicken in the bowl, it was cute to see the children waiting for permission to eat it. When he was allowed to eat, the fork moved rapidly in all directions, like a beast snatching its prey.
I was watching them eat happily, saying that it was so delicious, but the director motioned me to go outside as if he had something to say. As I left the children who were busy eating and went out into the hallway, I felt the cool night breeze.
The outside wind was coming in through a crack in the poorly repaired hallway. It used to be repaired, albeit belatedly, but that gap, as far as I know, was several years old.
“It’s Yuna.”
“Yes. Director.”
“You must be living outside, but thank you for coming and playing with the children from time to time.”
“I’m just coming to see you as an older sister.”
“Hunter job going well? Hurt, scared… Or no bullying?”
I felt like I was holding my breath for a moment at the director’s question. Here, I had to be a great hunter to defeat the monsters that caused the children to be here after losing their parents.
He slowly turned his head and forced a smile. It was a smile that I learned naturally because I didn’t want to show a weak side.
“It’s okay. I’m doing well and my abilities are recognized.”
“Then I’m glad. Among the four seniors who graduated from here, there are many people who have suffered hardships because of their background.”
A lot of things happened. After muttering, the director put his hands together neatly in front of him and let out a low sigh.
“At the longest, it will be several years from now.”
Looking more tired than usual. The absence of at least one helper during the evening. A building that has not been repaired, has an outside breeze coming in, and no lights are on except for the restaurant. I couldn’t figure out what you meant.
“It’s Yuna. You too, don’t get caught up in this place and go in search of your happiness.”
“Where is my happiness?”
“At least I’m sure it’s not here.”
The director shook his head and looked up at me. I used to have to look up for a while. Now he was a weak old man, small enough for me to look down on.
“Is it because of the money that nursery school is difficult?”
“Money is only one of the causes. And I didn’t live shamelessly enough to open my hands to a child.”
It was the director who broke the uncomfortable silence first.
“I knew from a young age that you tended to want attention from those around you to fill the void in your heart. It’s a kind of lack of affection, and a child like Yuna who lost her parents at an early age tends to have that tendency.”
“…What do you want to say?”
“It’s good to give the kids the impression that you’re a wonderful older sister who takes care of you. But, Yuna. Is there someone who takes care of you, cares about you, takes care of you?”
There could be no such person. The money I could get from the quests that non-parties could receive was very small, so I couldn’t afford to care about others, and most of the people who even knew my name were only hunters who didn’t come from the academy and didn’t want to.
“Somewhere in this world. Don’t come here again until you find happiness in giving loving attention.”
“Director!”
“Isn’t that enough of self-sacrifice? You’re not a nun, and you don’t have to spend your youth like this.”
The director turned around as if he had nothing more to say. He then went into the cafeteria and told the kids that I was leaving because I was busy.
Today, when the atmosphere had no choice but to return, I had no choice but to say goodbye to the children and leave the nursery school. He exhaled white breath as he walked toward the subway.
“Happiness is…”
I was used to being hated. The word happiness felt luxurious. Perhaps, if I could get out of isolation and give a shot to the hunters who had discriminated against me, the happiness the director said would come.
Then, naturally, the three people I was with today came to mind. Kim Ye-na seems to have a quiet personality. Park Ha-rin, who grumbles but doesn’t seem to be a bad person, and Lee Ji-yoon, who seems polite and innocent.
Until I returned from the mission, I thought I was ignoring him like everyone else, but that wasn’t the case. It was just the first time we met, so it was just awkward.
To prevent the temporary party from ending temporarily, I took out the memo that Jiyoon gave me. He was inclined to accept the decision through a conversation with the director.
I reached out to the only opportunity to change the current situation. After a few beeps, the call was connected.
“Hello? Jiyoon Lee, is this your phone?”
[Yes. That’s right.]
“My name is Yuna Seo. We had a mission together today…”
My heart was pounding.
It wasn’t until after the phone was connected that I was worried that my decision might have changed because of the stories other hunters gathered around me after I left.
[Ah! Miss Yuna! You contacted me!]
When Jiyoon responded in a very bright voice, as if she was worrying for nothing, she swallowed a sigh of relief and continued.
“Yes, I thought about that proposal once, but I contacted you because I wanted to meet you again and talk face to face.”
[All right. Um… Then tomorrow at 10:00 am is it okay?]
“Yes. It is possible.”
[I just sent you the location information. Can you confirm?]
“Wait.”
Looking at the smartwatch, information about a cafe in the city came to mind. It was a location where I could arrive leisurely by 10 am.
“Yes. See you there tomorrow.”
I ended the call with excitement.
#Ispin
He tightly crossed her arms so that she wouldn’t fall off Shia, and held Jena’s arm with her other hand. Jiyoon looked at us with a puzzled expression.
“President. You have to get used to it.”
“How do you get used to it? How did humans build such a labyrinth and not place any traps or guardians? Making a long tunnel as a passage only for movement and moving a large iron wagon?”
I lowered my voice so as not to annoy those around me. I made an appointment to meet with Yuna, so I followed him, but this subway, an unknown ride, was complicated from the start.
This time, I was able to use it because Yena and the others helped me from side to side, but I vowed to never use the subway from now on.
I felt much better when I arrived at the destination and came up to the ground. There was no difference between underground and above ground in terms of the turbidity of the air, but the fact that there was no musty smell was a big difference.
“President. I decided to meet Yuna-san over there.”
Looking at the place Jiyoon pointed to, I saw a place where humans sat and talked over various drinks and cakes. Harin described it as a cafe.
When I nodded and looked around her, I saw Yuna, who had arrived a little earlier than her appointment time, and waited near her cafe, touching what she called her smartphone.
“Are you not going to tease in the shadows this time? It was a pretty good video…”
Jiyoon licked her lips with her tongue as if regretting it. Voyeurism pervert scolded her healer while pressing her head.
“I can’t keep seeing only you. Mine.”
After confidently declaring that Yuna was mine, she hurriedly dealt with it.
“Of course, Shia is mine too.”
“Of course. And as I am of the contractor. Don’t forget that the contractor is also mine.”
She kissed Shia on the cheek and agreed with her actions. Now it was time to bring Yuna face to face with her.
