Geuru smiled along with them before looking back down at the poster.
School Festival!
‘This looks fun!’
As she scanned the poster thoroughly, she spotted a familiar name among the congratulatory stage performers.
‘Oh!’
Geuru sprang to her feet.
“Geuru, where are you going?”
“Where are you going.”
Gidan and Seureuhi asked at the same time.
“Mmhmm! Geuru will go see Nayeon unnie and be right back!”
Leaving the two bewildered people behind, Geuru headed to Nayeon’s office.
‘Iromi unnie is coming!’
A few days after parting with Romi like that, Nayeon had received contact from Romi.
She said they had been in touch constantly after that.
It seemed they hadn’t been able to meet again because their schedules didn’t align.
Truthfully, it was unclear whether it was because their schedules had clashed, or because Iromi was deliberately avoiding her.
But if Iromi came to the festival? An opportunity to meet would arise!
When Geuru opened the door to Nayeon’s office, Nayeon’s eyes went wide.
“Our Geuru, what brings you here? Weren’t you studying with the management team?”
Thanks to Gidan, who made a fuss about dying every time he was dragged along, it was well-known even within Hyeonak that the three of them studied together.
“Unnie, unnie! Geuru and Gidan oppa are going to his school festival!”
“Hmm? Festival?”
She looked at the name Geuru pointed to, surprised, then soon broke into a bright smile.
*
The day of the Justicia International School festival had dawned.
Since it was the only day ordinary people could come and go, the school grounds were packed with people from all over.
Behind the school grounds, so vast they felt magnificent.
Inside a van parked to one side of the lot, Romi, who had been playing a song she composed, looked up at the sound of knocking on the window.
“We’re here.”
Nayeon waved her hand. Beside her, only a tiny child’s hand poked out and wagged from side to side.
“Oh! Just a sec.”
After opening the van door, Nayeon stepped inside with Geuru.
- Looking up at the electronic billboard with your face on it…….
As the lyrics flowed out, Romi, whose face had flushed bright red, hurriedly stopped the music.
It was a song containing Romi’s autobiographical lyrics, and it was embarrassing to hear in front of the person who had inspired the subject matter.
Although she had set aside her dream of being a singer to focus on her path as an actress-
recommended by an idol currently enjoying sensational popularity on Inbyeol, the song had spread like a trend centered on short-form videos, and her stardom as a singer was newly rising.
Nayeon smiled brightly as she looked at Romi, whose face was red.
“I listen to it every day these days. It’s really good.”
At that, Romi laughed softly. It was because she knew Nayeon posted promotional messages on her Inbyeol story every day.
She seemed to have no idea that it was about her.
‘She really is so oblivious, seriously.’
As she shook her head, Geuru piled on praise in turn.
“I wike it so so much! Romi unnie is gonna be number one on the music charts!”
“Right, I had a feeling that would happen too!”
Hehehe. The two grinned broadly as they looked at Romi.
They’re exactly the same. Romi laughed as if dumbfounded.
She wanted to maintain a cold, haughty image, but the corners of her mouth refused to go down.
Romi twirled the end of her hair and shrugged her shoulders.
“We don’t need to hit number one, but… it wouldn’t be bad if we did.”
In truth, she was incredibly excited, but pretending not to be was a habit born from her past failures.
“When is your stage today? How much time is left?”
“I have roughly about three hours to spare.”
After checking the time on her phone, Romi suddenly pulled out a suitcase, placed it on her lap, and opened the lid.
“Pick one.”
Inside the case was an array of sunglasses in all sorts of shapes, enough to put an eyewear store to shame.
Seeing the two pairs of bewildered eyes, she quickly made excuses.
“It’s hard to have fun if you get hassled by people.”
The sunglasses were all in sets of two.
Recalling why there were two, Nayeon giggled as she picked one up.
“Let’s go with this.”
Heart-shaped sunglasses.
Ever since promising to go to the tree-lined street together wearing these someday, Romi had bought and kept them.
Smiling softly, Romi picked up the matching sunglasses.
Then she turned her gaze to Geuru and pointed at the star-shaped sunglasses beside them.
“Then the baby will wear these.”
“……!”
Geuru grabbed the sunglasses with an excited face.
‘Geuru too, sunglasses with the unnies……!’
Thump-thump.
But-
“These might be too big for Geuru, though?”
Just as Nayeon said.
Romi picked up the star-shaped sunglasses and held them up to Geuru, then nodded.
“You’re right. They’re too big; it won’t work.”
Bong—!
Geuru, who had been forcing up the sunglasses that slid down to the tip of her nose, drooped her shoulders sullenly.
“Then Geuru can’t wear gwasses?”
Mumbling in dejection, she was fussed over by Romi and Nayeon, who panicked and tried to comfort her.
“Then let’s not wear them at all together!”
“Yeah! We can just go as is!”
Geuru shook her head vigorously.
‘The unnies can’t not have fun because of Geuru.’
They had met again with such difficulty…….
Sniff. As Geuru inhaled through her nose, she suddenly lit up with an idea.
“Ah, Geuru can make it smaller wif dis!”
Geuru rummaged through her bag and pulled out a band.
[Playing is the Best! Kkororo Children’s Band©]
An object with the band attached becomes a small children’s toy. It contains the earnest wish of children.
*Does not apply to all items. Use with caution.
After wrapping the band around the glasses frame and sticking it on, the sunglasses shrank to child-size.
“Wh-what is this?”
Eyes widening, Romi cupped Geuru’s cheeks with both hands as if squeezing them.
“This baby was a Hunter too?!”
“Yesh!”
“Yeah. Our Geuru is a member of Hyeonak too. Amazing, right?”
“Even though she’s still such a baby?”
Romi turned Geuru’s face this way and that in awe, exclaiming in amazement.
“Wow, amazing…….”
Hihit. Geuru showed off a proud smile.
“Geuru can do dis too.”
Finally, this day had come.
With grave seriousness, Geuru pulled out her duck tongs.
Chak! Chak!
“Wook at dis. Nuffin inside.”
After showing the hollow interior, she infused it with magic power and produced a snow duck.
“See? Ta-da! A snow duckie appeared!”
“Wow!”
“So cute!”
Romi and Nayeon responded with thunderous applause.
Beaming with pride, Geuru gave a bow.
Clap-clap-clap-clap!
“Fank you! Fank you!”
Romi, who had been clapping enthusiastically, suddenly rolled her eyes in thought.
“……?”
After mulling something over for a moment, she leaned in and whispered quietly to Nayeon.
“But does your guild pick Hunters based on their faces too?”
There was no way a child that young possessed some great ability to get into a large guild like Hyeonak. The conclusion she had drawn was, ‘Is it just because she’s cute?’
Romi looked back and forth between Geuru and Nayeon, then recalled Gidan and continued.
“The guild leader must really care about looks.”
Is that so? Nayeon thought of Geuru, whom she had brought in after declaring she wouldn’t take any new recruits, and Seureuhi, the last new member. Seureuhi had been a pretty boy too.
“Yeah. It does seem like that.”
“Oh my…….”
The misunderstanding was deepening.
As Geuru’s snow duck show ended like that, Romi opened the van door.
Three people got out of the van.
Romi, Nayeon, and Geuru stood side by side on the street and put on their sunglasses.
Click, click, click.
“Let’s go, kids.”
“Let’s go.”
“Yay-!”
The trio burrowed through the crowd like loaches.
*
The weather was refreshingly cool, perfect for walking around, but not for Geuru, who had come bundled up from head to toe.
‘Hot!’
As Geuru panted from the heat, Nayeon and Romi each held her padding and scarf, and only then could the three enjoy the festival to their heart’s content.
Because Nayeon broke the punch machine, Romi ended up dragging Nayeon and Geuru and fleeing.
There was a commotion when Geuru hit men who kept persistently trying to hit on them with her duck tongs, nearly starting a fight, but even so—
‘So tasty……!’
Geuru crunched on tanghulu as she looked around, then bought two ugly quokka keyrings as souvenirs for Seureuhi and Jurim.
‘I wish Seureuhi oppa had come too.’
He had waved his hand saying he had no interest in such things, so she couldn’t bring him.
Geuru opened her quest window and let out a deep sigh.
The quest to make a friend Seureuhi could rely on remained at a stalemate.