*
“Sniff!”
Gru, whose eyes were swollen, calmed the familiars who were making a fuss over him.
“Mm. Sniff. I’m okay now. Don’t worry. Sniff!”
When Gru rubbed his eyes, Jurim stopped him and examined them worriedly.
“You look like a goldfish. Let’s go home and put some ice on them.”
“Okay…”
When Jurim tried to pick Gru up and carry him away, Gru shook his head.
“Why?”
Gru opened his goldfish eyes wide and spoke.
“Yurian is gone. Sniff!”
Only then seeming to realize that Yurian had disappeared, Beilak and Ruksifer opened their mouths so wide their jaws nearly fell off.
“You two didn’t know either?!”
“……”
“……”
Beilak and Ruksifer looked at each other.
After Jurim and Gru had been engulfed in a mass of light, they had suddenly lost consciousness, so they had not paid any attention to Yurian at all.
“Meu!” (You should have paid attention!)
“Kyut?!”
When Beilak pointed an accusing finger at Ruksifer, Ruksifer’s eyes welled up with tears as if he had been wronged.
Just then, a sudden voice came from behind them.
“What are you doing there? This isn’t a place just anyone can enter… Oh, it’s Guild Leader On.”
Jurim merely dipped his head in greeting.
Jurim, who had been sitting until then, rose to his feet. As he brushed the dust from Gru’s clothes, he spoke.
“Daddy will find her for you. Let’s go for now.”
“Okay…”
The crewman seemed to think they had come looking for someone. He gave them a polite bow and walked away.
*
Jurim greeted the Minister of National Defense while holding Gru. He had come to say that they would be leaving first because of the child.
The minister, who had been preparing a drone demonstration, gave a bitter smile when she saw Gru’s swollen eyes.
She appeared to think that the child had thrown a tantrum because he wanted to go home. She gave them a sympathetic look that seemed to say, “Raising a child must be hard, huh?”
That was not the case, but the two of them did not bother to correct her misunderstanding.
The Minister of National Defense had someone escort Gru and Jurim to the car waiting to take them back, and the two left the aircraft carrier behind as they walked away.
‘Mom was with Gru the entire time.’
Gru hugged himself tightly.
Because he felt as though he might be able to sense his mother’s warmth that way.
That was when it happened.
A goldfish suddenly appeared and flew over Gru’s head.
“Mm?”
Gru lifted his head and looked up.
‘Is it Chuen’s goldfish?’
Gru was delighted to see it, but Jurim casually seized the goldfish in his hand.
Pop!
The goldfish burst with a noise.
“Huh?”
“That woman could have just called. Why does she keep sending things like this instead…”
After casually wiping away the magic, Jurim resumed walking.
Step.
At the same time, someone’s footsteps sounded behind them.
A man was looking around with a desperate expression, as though he were searching frantically for something.
‘Is he looking for something…?’
What could he have lost to make him look as though he was about to cry?
Gru buried his face in Jurim’s arms.
Jurim’s large palm gently cupped the back of his head.
‘It’s warm.’
That alone was enough to fill him.
Chapter Who’s My Daddy?
As the dim light of dawn gradually gave way to the morning sunlight,
Gru rubbed his eyes and got up. After confirming that Jurim was still asleep, he walked to the bathroom.
Gru’s reflection appeared in the mirror as he clumsily climbed onto a child-sized stool.
He opened his status window.
[Title: Mom Loves Gru Too Much]
Ting—
Gru read the title his mother had left behind over and over again.
Even though he had read it hundreds of times since it became available, his heart still fluttered every time.
Then Gru spoke to his reflection in the mirror as though it were his mother.
“Oh, Mom. Hi.”
Feeling a little embarrassed by the echo that gave no answer, Gru rolled his eyes around. Then he cleared his throat and continued.
“I didn’t cry at all last night. Because Gru is a grown-up now.”
Of course, his mother probably knew that he had burst into tears from time to time throughout the week after returning from the past.
For some reason, the title seemed to flicker.
Gru rubbed his eyes in surprise, then pouted when he confirmed that the title was not flickering.
Though sadness occasionally came to visit, Gru had overcome it well.
Whenever he thought about how his mother had been with him all along, he felt soft and light, as though he were riding on a cloud.
And now, he could recall his mother’s face.
Was this what it meant to become an adult?
Gru wiped away the tears that had trickled out and rubbed his nose.
“Mom, I love you today too.”
Muah.
After blowing a kiss into the air, he hopped down from the stool before Jurim woke up.
The fact that he spoke to his mother every morning was a secret from Jurim.
If Jurim found out, it might hurt his heart. He might feel sorry for having brought Gru back to the present.
Just as Gru had needed time until he could stop crying, Jurim would also need time for his guilt to fade.
Even though Gru already knew why Jurim had no choice but to do it.
‘Ah, it’s seven o’clock!’
After confirming that it was time to get up, Gru dashed into Jurim’s room.
He took Jurim’s large hand in both of his and used the Filial Piety skill. Jurim began to blearily open his eyes.
Gru rubbed his cheek against Jurim’s.
“Daddy, it’s morning!”
Strong arms wrapped snugly around his body.
“…Did you sleep well?”
The late greeting was thick with drowsiness, making Gru laugh.
“Get up quickly. Today’s the day we’re going to see Grandpa.”
Today was the day they were going to visit the On Ijo Memorial Park with On Suhyeong.
“Don’t go back to sleep.”
“Mm-hmm. Daddy won’t sleep.”
Without Gru noticing, the title glimmered.
*
The On Ijo Memorial Park was quiet in spring.
Unless it was November, when the memorial ceremony was held, the people who visited the memorial park were almost all foreign tourists.
On Suhyeong drew in a deep breath.
He pretended that everything was fine, but he was somewhat nervous because the appointment at the memorial park had been arranged so suddenly.
Jurim had never visited this place in spring before. Why all of a sudden?
Until now, Jurim had only come quietly to leave flowers late at night or in the early hours of some day in November.
He was extremely wary of any commotion related to his older brother.
Even now, people were already taking photographs simply because he had come to the memorial park.
Despite the constant click of camera shutters, his son quietly followed alongside On Suhyeong, seemingly lost in thought.
They had never been particularly talkative when alone together, but even taking that into consideration, the subdued atmosphere was strange, and an awkward silence continued.
Gru, on the other hand, seemed to be in a good mood and was hopping merrily ahead of them.
‘It seems he has something to say.’
Would it be better for me to start the conversation?
Before he knew it, Jurim had stopped in front of the monument and was staring at the name “On Ijo” for a long while.
Unless he had suddenly been overcome by longing for his older brother, there had to be some reason for this.
Just as On Suhyeong decided that, as an adult and as a father, he needed to gather his courage, Jurim abruptly spoke.
“Father, I have something to tell you. Please don’t be too surprised. The child might get frightened.”
“All right. I won’t.”
On Suhyeong nodded.
“What is it?”
On Suhyeong composed himself.
Jurim seemed to be having difficulty speaking, so he resolved to maintain his composure and embrace him no matter what he said.
If the adults lost their composure, the child would be startled too. Whatever the problem was, he would have to make sure Gru did not notice.
He had certainly made up his mind to do that, but…
“Gru is my older brother’s daughter.”
Without realizing it, On Suhyeong repeated his son’s words in a daze.
“Yes. Gru is Ijo’s…”
But the words soon caught in his throat.
“What?”