‘Now I have to do something delinquent.’
It was only proper that a delinquent preschooler should at least skip kindergarten on a whim.
The moment she made up her mind, Geuru contacted her grandfather and asked him to show her around his company.
Then she secretly slipped out of kindergarten, climbed into the car her grandfather had sent, and headed for the company.
‘Thump-thump!’
From the moment she sneaked out of kindergarten while avoiding Teacher Yuni’s sharp eyes, Geuru felt as if her heart were about to burst.
‘Geuru is really delinquent…….’
Skipping kindergarten was on an entirely different level from wandering around while avoiding the director or her sitter auntie.
It was the first time in her life she had wilfully failed to do something that was part of her daily routine.
Geuru turned off her phone and stuffed it deep inside her bag.
Her heart pounded fiercely, uneasy at the thought that she might have done something terribly wrong for her very first act of rebellion. Perhaps she had caused far too much trouble in the heat of the moment.
‘Should I have told Teacher Yuni before I left?’
But Geuru soon shook her head firmly.
Then it wouldn’t be an act of rebellion. It would be a field trip.
Besides, Teacher Yuni was incredibly capable. If Geuru had told her the truth, she surely would have stopped Geuru from carrying out her rebellion.
She had to steel herself.
‘Strong and firm.’
As she was gathering her resolve once more, On Suhyeong asked in a gentle voice,
“Geuru, did you contact your father?”
Shake, shake.
Geuru raised her eyebrows high and shook her head, her cheeks puffed out.
On Suhyeong roughly guessed what had happened and patted her back.
“It seems something happened to make you angry with Jurim.”
“Daddy’s a fool. Even when Geuru does a good thing, he says Geuru musn’t just do it. He doesn’t even listen to Geuru.”
“Hmm.”
On Suhyeong listened quietly and nodded.
“I see. Then let’s leave your foolish father by himself and have fun with Grandpa.”
“Yesh!”
*
Wherever they went, talk of the anonymous Santa dominated the conversation.
Thanks to the Syrup Potion, Korea was no longer in such an urgent position, which gave it the upper hand in negotiations with other countries.
The foreign officials who had hoped to gain a major advantage from this opportunity naturally wore sour expressions.
And of them all, the person with the most displeased expression was Jurim.
Jurim sat alone at the cheerful table, arms folded and looking thoroughly displeased.
Director Gokang of the Management Bureau glanced at Jurim, wondering what country the man was even from.
He had complained that he could hardly see his daughter’s face, so why did he look as though he had eaten something rotten even when things were going well?
But Gokang now knew how to appease Jurim.
“Our Geuru must be quite adorable. Even that On Suhyeong is making such a spectacle of himself.”
With a mischievous grin, Gokang showed Jurim an article. It featured a photograph that had just been published, so it was certainly one Jurim had never seen before.
He meant to tell Jurim to lighten up at the sight of his beloved daughter, but Jurim’s face crumpled when he saw the photo article Gokang showed him.
[Photo] Chairman On Suhyeong Shows Off His Love for His Granddaughter in the Company Cafeteria
(A photograph of On Suhyeong personally feeding Geuru a pork wrap)
When Jurim even snatched away his phone and stared intently at the article, Gokang—who had naturally assumed he would be delighted—hesitated.
“Director, I’m going to step away for a moment. It’s urgent.”
“……Huh?”
Leaving the bewildered Gokang behind, Jurim quickly stepped out of the hall and immediately called On Suhyeong.
Soon, the ringing stopped and the other party answered.
“Ah—!”
Jurim, who had been about to raise his voice, drew in a breath.
“Father……”
—Oh, Jurim.
Contrary to how Jurim felt, his father’s voice was full of cheerful laughter, which only made him more furious.
“Didn’t you send Geuru to kindergarten?”
—Ah, you saw the article? I was going to take her out to eat, but it couldn’t be helped because of my schedule. I’ll make sure she eats a proper dinner at home, so don’t worry.
Jurim furrowed his brow.
“Don’t change the subject.”
—What made you contact me?
Jurim let out a small sigh.
“……Is Geuru going to stay there?”
She had remained angry with him, so she must have gone to his father.
His father did not know the full story, so of course he would take her in. But this was something Jurim could not yield on, either.
He wanted to explain in detail just how dangerous what she had done was, but instead he tried to persuade his father with a heavy silence.
On Suhyeong knew well that once Jurim made up his mind, he did not easily change it.
Then, after a brief silence, On Suhyeong called him softly.
—Jurim.
“Yes.”
—I don’t think I ever properly scolded you children.
“What?”
Jurim replied in a dazed voice.
His father was right. He had never scolded them. He had not actually reprimanded them……
He had merely faced them until they arrived at the right answer.
For hours at a time. Even through the night.
On Suhyeong’s principle had always been that, as a father, there was nothing he had failed to teach them, and that they already knew the answer but simply had not put it into practice.
He would wait until they acknowledged that they had done wrong.
It was not an incorrect approach. At the time, Jurim had simply not wanted to admit it.
He had tried making excuses for hours, shouting, and even keeping his mouth shut, believing that when someone acted like a bastard toward him, he was allowed to act like a bastard in return.
But his father had done nothing but listen and watch in silence.
—Looking back on it now, I think it was because I wasn’t used to confronting people emotionally, either.
Expressing his feelings had always seemed like a difficult assignment for On Suhyeong.
—You must have felt that I was forcing my thoughts on you every time. But listen. I heard everything you had to say.
“……”
—The reason I devoted myself to work was so I could support you, no matter what you wanted to do.
“……”
—Whether you wanted to exercise, pursue art, study, or go into business. If I wanted you to be free to choose anything, I needed to have more to give you.
He knew how difficult life in this world was, and how many countless mountains one had to cross.
As a father, he had wanted to clear at least a few stones from their path.
—……Though you children always exceeded my expectations.
Who could have imagined that the world would suddenly be turned upside down? And then, out of nowhere, they had said they were going to the Tower.
At the words “exceeded my expectations,” Jurim let out a laugh that sounded almost like a sigh. By now, he fully understood what those words meant.
—If I had stopped you, would you not have gone to the Tower?
Jurim closed his eyes.
“……No.”
—All right. I’ll take Geuru to the main house. Cool your head, then come pick her up.
“Yes……”
Jurim slipped his phone into his inner pocket and returned to the hall.
The day he had beaten up the senior who had picked a fight with him.
While his father had silently watched him, it had been Jurim who finally raised both hands in surrender.
Because he knew that it had all been his own stubbornness.
Everyone from Korea in the hall was smiling.
It was a change Geuru had brought about.
Jurim frowned, folded his arms, and tilted his head to the side.
*
By the time Geuru had thoroughly toured the designs with her grandfather and arrived at the main house, snow had piled thickly on the ground.
When Geuru wandered through the broad garden, leaving footprints behind, a helper came running out with clothes in hand. She put Geuru in the teddy-bear jumpsuit Chairman Nam had sent and wrapped a scarf snugly around her neck.
“You’ll catch a cold, sweetheart.”
“Thang you.”
When Geuru bowed deeply at the waist, On Suhyeong smiled and bowed in turn.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, it was nothing. I never imagined I’d meet such an adorable granddaughter in this world.”
“Jurim has a good eye.”
“He certainly does.”
On Suhyeong answered with a smile, and she beamed back at him.
Meanwhile, Mephisto, who had been flying around for a while, settled back onto Geuru’s head.
“Geuru, would you like to go see Chairman Nam tomorrow? He’s been making quite a fuss, saying he wants to throw a birthday party for you.”
“……!”
Geuru’s eyes lit up as she nodded.
Buzz, buzz!
“All right, then I’ll let him know. I’ll be watching from here, so go have as much fun as you like.”
“Yesh!”
With one hand raised high as she answered, Geuru crossed the center of the garden, stepping through the deep, sinking snow.
Even while crouching down to pile up snow and make a snow rabbit, she kept turning over her grandfather’s words in her head.
‘Geuru’s birthday!’
A birthday party just for Geuru.
The corners of her mouth melted into a soft smile.
‘Amazing!’
Would her older sisters and brothers come to the party, too?
And.
‘Daddy…….’
Would Daddy come to Geuru’s birthday party? Was he worried about Geuru right now?
Her heart suddenly softened like a marshmallow.
Her phone, which she had turned off, seemed to beckon her, but there were things Geuru could not yield on, either. This time, it was something she could not give in on even if it was Daddy.
She firmly resolved not to forgive him until Daddy regretted it and sobbed his eyes out.
‘Because Geuru is going to become the Supreme Hunter!’
No one can stop Geuru! Not even Daddy!