“A strange note came for the Guild Master, ’kay? From a bad person. In bright red letters, asking if he’s happy he came back alive alone.”
On Su-hyeong lowered his eyes, his face darkening.
“I see. Yes… I suppose it’s that time again…”
“The Guild Master says he’s fine and not to worry, but still, Gru was sad.”
“Yes… I can imagine.”
Despite his cold impression, he listened well to what she had to say and accepted it, and Gru felt her confidence surge in that instant. Clenching both fists again, she spoke boldly.
“So! Even if you don’t want me to, Gru can’t go. ’Cause Gru will be strength by the Guild Master’s side.”
Ha! Gru, she was just like the protagonist of a drama. Totally cool. A million times braver.
“Hm, alright. Do as you like.”
“…?”
The rising momentum leaked out like a deflating balloon. The strength in her tightly clenched hands loosened slackly.
On Su-hyeong swirled his wine and gazed steadily at Gru, who stood there with her mouth agape.
Omitting unnecessary words was his chronic habit. Recalling this, he explained slowly and carefully once more for the child’s sake.
“It seems I caused a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
“I heard that you are an outstanding child, so I wanted to provide a good environment. It’s been a while since I’ve dealt with raising a child… I got ahead of myself. I didn’t mean to separate you from Jurim.”
“Then… Gru doesn’t have to go far, far away?”
“Didn’t I say I would grant whatever you wish?”
“…!”
Gru’s eyes sparkled brilliantly. Only now did his words seem believable to her.
In the end, On Su-hyeong let out an uncharacteristically low laugh.
When he had first heard that Jurim had adopted a child, how worried he had been.
The truth was, after what happened with his first child, when only Jurim remained as the second, he had erased any expectations for an heir.
And for good reason—Jurim was a child who, from a young age, had never even raised a potted plant, let alone animals. If there was anyone in the world who hated bothersome, hands-on things the most, it was Jurim.
His relationships with women were also endlessly light—he didn’t stop those who came, nor did he stop those who left. With such a view on romance, he likely had never even imagined being tied down by marriage.
Thus, On Su-hyeong had worried whether Jurim might bring a child home and neglect her as easily as one might bring home a potted plant without a thought.
So On Su-hyeong had secretly assigned people to watch over Jurim and Gru, the father and daughter.
Since Jurim naturally drew attention wherever he went, unless there was a threat, he paid little mind to his surroundings, allowing On Su-hyeong to obtain plentiful photos and information.
In the photos, Jurim was seen holding the child, holding her hand, even smiling.
And that wasn’t all.
To think they had gone to Chairman Nam’s amusement park. (At that time, On Su-hyeong wondered if he had mistaken his son for someone else.) To think that, when the child went missing, Jurim threatened to block access to the amusement park, and they had even suffered considerably for it… (At that time, he was certain it was his son.)
On Su-hyeong had been so curious about the child who had melted Jurim that he could barely focus on his work.
But if left like this, Jurim would never show him the child.
Thus, he had forcibly recruited the child’s sitter, intending to catch a glimpse of her face when she was brought home obediently. As luck would have it, he ended up sharing a meal with her.
Now that he had met her in person, he understood.
The child resembled the first child slightly in feeling. Not only that, but she was so cute and lovely that she couldn’t help but be adored.
He was acutely experiencing the saying that she was so precious he wouldn’t feel pain even if she entered his eye.
Then, Gru, who seemed to be pondering something, stretched her neck out like a meerkat and looked around before bending her body close and whispering.
“Chairman, then. Will you be Gru’s companion too?”
“Companion?”
“Yep. For the Guild Master. He pretends not to be, but lately he’s all wobbly. Like, like a jellyfish that came out of the water.”
As Gru moved her body limply, she perfectly reproduced a jellyfish.
“Like a jellyfish?”
On Su-hyeong coughed loudly, holding back his laughter.
“So, Gru wants to make the Guild Master energetic. Like a jellyfish that returned to the sea.”
He could no longer hide or erase his smile as he gazed at Gru for a long while.
“Chairman too, please be a companion who makes the jellyfish vigorous and fresh.”
Gru smiled brightly.
When was the last time he had felt such loveliness? The warmth that seemed to embrace his heart was welcome.
As Gru seemed to wait for an answer, he hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“May I… participate in such a thing?”
“Huh? Yeah.”
Of course! Gru nodded her head vigorously.
“Chairman is family connected by blood to the Guild Master, after all.”
Unlike Gru, who was adopted. The two of them were ‘real family.’
“Family…”
Murmuring softly as he lowered his eyes, On Su-hyeong returned to his usual expressionless face. A faint sorrow peered through his cold features.
“Well… I’m not sure he would like that very much.”
“Huh? Why?”
On Su-hyeong spoke bitterly.
“Jurim is very angry with me. Because I did something to disappoint him.”
“Something… disappointing?”
“Yes… It’s all my fault.”
That such an answer would come. Gru was at a loss for words, bewildered.
On Su-hyeong’s slowly turning gaze fixed upon one spot. His faintly furrowed eyes were filled with sorrow.
Gru’s eyes followed his gaze.
Beyond the restaurant’s large window, banners had been draped across the building at some point.
‘Ah.’
Without realizing it, Gru stared blankly at the banners.
There, a large upper-body photo of a man smiling gently was printed. Beside his face, a message was written vertically.
[5th Anniversary of the Tower Conquest. In honor of On I-jo and his noble sacrifice…]
On Su-hyeong, who had been unable to tear his gaze from On I-jo’s photo for a long while, spoke in a choked voice.
“I-jo is my first son. Jurim’s older brother.”
As the child had said, the reason Jurim had become a jellyfish was likely not because of the malicious note, but because I-jo’s memorial day was approaching.
On I-jo’s memorial day was the day the Tower was conquered, the day Jurim had returned alive from the 99th floor, and the day his older brother had gone up to the 100th floor alone and never returned.
*
[Title: Is it ignorant to not know On I-jo?]
I’m an elementary school 2nd grader now
My crush says I’m ignorant because I don’t even know On I-jo
She’s pretty smart, haha but it’s not that I’m ignorant, right?
I know On Jurim
Offering points
[Answer]
Kids these days don’t know On I-jo? He’s On Jurim’s older brother, a 1st Generation who died going to the 100th floor
I’ll put up a lot of points and tell you the story from back then, yeah
This was right when the Great Upheaval opened and the Tower was erected
Back then, there weren’t even guilds or anything like that
They said if the Tower broke open, the world would end, so what could you do? Everyone had to hold hands and fight together
So the advanced countries gathered and just made multiple Avengers teams
Those guys rotated going up the Tower
These days, 2nd Generation Hunters are just celebrities who appear on TV. But the 1st Generation was the real deal
Back then, humanity really fought with its survival on the line
You can pretty much think of every team member as an On Jurim
Back then, On Jurim was the youngest and in the mainstay position
But among those Avengers, the one acknowledged as humanity’s undisputed top was On I-jo
They never properly revealed what his ability was, saying it was classified
But whenever they interviewed the raid teams, they always said On I-jo was amazing, fantastic, so there were like tens of thousands of national pride videos made from compilations of foreign Hunters
But honestly, until the Tower was completely conquered, people probably had doubts about On I-jo, right?
When the Tower first appeared, America predicted that conquering the Tower’s 100th floor would take a perilous five years
Some even said the five-year conquest deadline was propaganda to reassure people
But it was conquered in just three years
Because On I-jo went up to the 100th floor alone and tore the Tower apart
That’s when he officially became humanity’s legend, the undisputed top
But On I-jo couldn’t come down from the 100th floor
The only survivor was On Jurim, who reached the 99th floor and came back down.