She couldn’t single anyone out, but unpleasant gazes were mixed among the crowd.
Iromi unconsciously narrowed her eyes into a sharp glare, then recalled that she was in front of a camera and relaxed her expression.
‘…Am I just on edge because of that whole mess?’
Iromi recalled the day not long ago when her former agency president had come to see her.
The former president who had shattered her self-esteem during her idol trainee days and even ruined her debut came to find her again, blabbering about how well their agency treated actors.
Not that Iromi would sit quietly and listen.
“Can’t you tell from the fact that I blocked your number ages ago?”
“Hey, you’re gonna keep eating off the entertainment industry, so don’t be so stiff. How long do you think the attention you’ve gotten so quickly is gonna last? Even if your songs are doing well, you’re just a one-hit wonder. You’ll fizzle out in a flash. Your situation is different from Nayeon’s, who’s hit S-rank.”
That grating voice seemed to ring in her ears again, and she shuddered.
‘What business is it of his.’
Iromi composed her expression and stepped out of the warehouse.
He must have brought up Nayeon’s name on purpose. It must have been obvious that Iromi, who had been in the same debut group as her, harbored an inferiority complex toward Nayeon.
Those dark feelings that inevitably reared their heads. They were a burden she would carry for life.
Fortunately, she had also received praise for richly expressing a wide range of emotions through her songs.
‘Don’t let it get to you, Jjangromi. It’s famous that that jerk plays dirty.’
It was just as she was steeling herself.
Vrooom—!
Screech!
At the sound of brakes, her complicated, unpleasant mood vanished in an instant.
The children who had gone out on bicycles had returned. With a cart carrying a full 30-count tray of eggs attached to the back!
“Wh-why did you buy those?!”
Before the surprised Iromi, Uju and Gru—who had stopped their bicycles—spoke in turn.
“…If we bring eggs, we have to say goodbye to Mom, don’t we.”
“Yes. And we hate half-made chicks. We have to eat safe eggs.”
“Peep.”
Mephisto, often mistaken for a plump little chick despite how he gobbled down egg dishes with gusto, bobbed his head and chimed in.
“Incomplete chicks…? Ah, I know what you mean…”
Even Iromi, who was from the countryside, had experienced it a few times. Situations where she’d cracked an egg that was already taking the shape of a chick.
“…It really is awful.”
“Ugh.”
“Eek.”
“Peep.”
The three people and one bird trembled.
“So that’s why you bought them?”
“Ye-es!”
Iromi burst out laughing and took the children’s hands.
Gru pulled the cart toward the hearth, and Kazuki—who had been puffing at the fire—burst into laughter at the sight of eggs that were clearly store-bought no matter how you looked at them.
“Gru-chan, you must’ve really wanted to eat lots of eggs!”
“Were we allowed to buy ingredients?”
Jurim had gotten up at some point and sauntered over.
Gru hid the cart behind her and shook her head vigorously.
“People who don’t work can’t eat.”
“….”
In the end, Jurim had no choice but to help Kazuki crack the eggs.
And while everyone was absorbed in preparing dinner amidst a warm, harmonious atmosphere, there was one person in the back smiling inwardly.
*
While the first day passed in that manner, the man who had sneaked in as an assistant staff member waited for nightfall before he began to move.
Both the cast and the staff were sleeping like the dead, but he couldn’t let his guard down.
He had confirmed that Jurim had gone out before moving, but there was still one more S-rank Hunter remaining. No matter how much this was a production crew, it was no situation to feel safe about.
The man secretly sprayed a colorless, odorless sleeping incense into Kazuki’s room, then opened the door to the room where the cast’s belongings had been gathered.
Creak—
Inside the empty room, carriers and bags were clustered together.
He found his target and was rushing over to open the carrier when he noticed it.
The flowerpot brought by the child called Gru was sitting by the window, faintly emanating mana as it absorbed the moonlight.
‘Mana?’
Besides, an acorn couldn’t possibly grow into a shape like this.
The plant in the pot had only a single long stem growing above its cotyledons, with one acorn perched atop it, as if about to pop out at any moment.
His hand moved toward the pot on its own. A sudden curiosity had flared up—he wanted to find out what it was.
But it was then.
Swish—
The stem bent like a bow, avoiding his hand.
‘It avoided me?’
He reached his hand again toward the side it had dodged—
Swish. The stem bent again.
“…!”
That wasn’t all. The plant that had nimbly avoided his hand began to tremble violently.
The moment the man’s agitated hand tried to grab the bulging root—
something white and round poked its face out from the dirt near the roots and bit his hand.
Chomp!
“Ah! Shit!”
The groaning man quickly withdrew his hand.
‘…It bit my hand?’
Drops of blood were beading on his skin.
When he checked the flowerpot, the white thing that had come out had already disappeared back into the dirt.
Rage instantly boiled up. Just as his rough hand was about to snatch the flowerpot—
“If you touch that… it’s not allowed…”
The drowsily drawling voice belonged to a child.
Startled, he turned around to see a child rubbing her eyes standing in the doorway.
Haaahm—Gru yawned and asked.
“Mister. What are you doing there?”
“Uh, uh? I was looking for something…”
The man adjusted his bucket hat and chewed his gum as he stood up.
“The room is super dark.”
“But you can see just fine.”
“I suppose so. Did you find it?”
“Yeah. I found it, so I should go now…”
The man keenly surveyed his surroundings and hurried to leave the room, but he felt a tiny hand tugging at his pants from below.
“Mister…”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Gru needs to go to the bathroom. It’s too dark and scary.”
“R-really?”
“Ye-es…”
“Won’t your dad be back soon?”
Gru’s eyebrows drooped.
“Gru’s in a hurry.”
“…Okay, let’s go together.”
Nod, nod.
Gru took the man’s hand.
She had been searching for her dad, who had snuck out at night and still hadn’t returned, and had reached her limit.
‘Dad, where did you go.’
Gru followed the man outside, looking all around for her dad.
Jurim had been very strange lately.
Even though Gru filled him with mana, he slept all day long. And he seemed to sneak out at night; today, having come down to the countryside rich with mana, was no different.
His lazing around sleeping all day without working was likely an extension of his recent behavior.
She hadn’t expected him to do so even in front of the cameras, though.
‘Dad is really amazing.’
In many ways.
‘…But.’
Gru glanced up at the man’s face visible beneath the bucket hat.
Did they call him an assistant staff member?
‘How does Assistant Mister know Dad isn’t here?’
Had they passed by each other? Gru opened her mouth to ask.
“Mister.”
“Yeah, we’re here. Go ahead.”
“Ah!”
Gru went into the looming bathroom alone and shivered from the cold.
“Mister, are you there?”
“I’m here.”
“Okaay.”
When she finished and came out, the man—who had been adjusting his hat—strode toward the house first.
Gru followed with quick, short steps.
‘It’s suddenly gotten cold again.’
Rubbing her goosebump-covered arms as she chased after him, a lightbulb suddenly went off in her head.
If Dad had run into Mister when he went out, maybe he knew where he went?
“Mister, did you meet Dad earlier?”
“…What?”
The moment the man asked back with a stiff expression, Gru was startled instead and clamped her mouth shut.
“Why do you ask that?”
Why does he have such a scary look on his face?
“Um, because I was curious.”
“You’re curious about everything, aren’t you.”
“Mister, do you know where Dad went?”
“Well. I wouldn’t know.”
Rustle—
Then, a sound was heard.
Gru and the man turned their heads toward the vegetable garden.
Both of their mouths opened at the same time.
“Dad?”
[“…Chunchun?”]
“Hm?”
Chueeng?
The rapid pronunciation and accent were like a foreign language.
“Mister. Did you come from another country too?”
“….”
“Where did you come from? Japan?”
Hmm, the pronunciation didn’t sound Japanese…
“Or is it a different country?”
As the questions continued, the man looked down at Gru with a face even stiffer than before.
After pondering briefly, he moved his lips quietly.
“Gru.”
“Yes.”
“They say ghosts come out here.”
“Eh…?”
Why suddenly say something so scary? Gru opened her mouth in a blank, triangle-shaped gape and clasped both hands to her chest.
“It’s cold right now, isn’t it?”
Gru nodded slightly.
“I heard it from the village head. They say there’s a ghost in this village that keeps covering the vegetables and fruits with frost.”
Ghost…? Frost?
Recalling a terrifying, deathly pale face, Gru hunched her shoulders tightly.
Gru was among the bravest in the Chick Class, but dark places and scary things were bound to frighten her.
That was why Teacher Jungyun of Saebom Kindergarten had told them:
“T-Teacher said there aren’t any ghosts…”
She had.
But the man smirked.
“Then why do you feel cold right now?”
“Eek!”
Gru whipped her head around.
Fortunately, she couldn’t see anything, but the darkness had settled so thick and black that something could be hiding within it.
“So be careful of ghosts. Got it?”
Having said that, the man looked at the stiffened Gru with a satisfied expression and escorted her to her room.
Slam—
After the door closed, Gru burrowed into her blanket in the silence.
Mephisto and Veilark, who had been asleep, rubbed their eyes and approached when Gru returned, clinging tightly to her side and beginning to doze off again. Gru held them in her arms, her eyes rolling around.
Tonight, it seemed unlikely she would get any sleep.
*
The hooting of an owl began to sound.
The man pressed something on his watch to transmit it, then soon crossed his arms with an anxious air.
Before long, a notification flashed on his watch as if a reply had come.
While the man was checking it,
a figure crept stealthily toward the field.
Jet-black pupils that seemed to absorb light glanced around the surroundings.
Grrrrumble—
It was hiding behind a tree, wary of the man, watching everything.
While biting into a carrot pulled from the vegetable garden.
Crunch—