Geuru lowered her gaze toward the source of the sound.
A boy was grumbling before three men.
"It's because you guys aren't checking KakaoTalk."
"Then send a real gifticon, you punk. You're loaded."
"Come on, what kind of adult mooches off a minor?"
"No one would call you out for it. You can't even chip in for a company dinner, but you'll fish for coffee gifticons?"
"Wow, you're right. Now that I think about it, that's annoying. Team Leader, should we take care of this punk?"
"Should we? Are we taking Viert's Void, then?"
"Let's do 6 to 4."
"Excuse me, Team Leader. Why are you leaving me out?"
"Fine, you're in too."
"Roger that."
"Ah, that's oppression!"
The team leader strangled the screaming boy's neck as if wrestling him.
Having confirmed their faces, Geuru's pupils shook violently.
Small, flashy, idol-like features visible even from afar. A boy as lanky as a model.
Though he was dressed in a suit unlike usual, he was someone Geuru definitely knew.
'Why is Dangi Oppa here?'
Those with him were the Hunters of Hyeonak's Raid Team 1.
Come to think of it, there were Mallikian byproducts among this auction's items.
Since Geuru had registered the items, the host had sent invitations; naturally, Hyeonak must have received one as well.
Perhaps they had come to see what the winning bids would be.
Just then, perhaps having felt her gaze, Gidan subtly raised his head.
Geuru swiftly hid her body behind a planter.
Peek.
Peeking through the planter's leaves, she saw Gidan deliberately hardening his expression as he talked about something with Raid Team 1 again.
'Ugh.'
If Hyeonak discovered Geuru, they would definitely come over to greet her.
'If that happens......'
Geuru being discovered at the auction house = contacting Jurim = Jurim learning that Geuru had come with Chairman On Su-hyeong.
'The plan might be ruined!'
With Gidan right there, there was no way a danger worth summoning Jurim would arise.
Not only that. Jurim might order Gidan to drag Geuru home immediately.
Peek.
Looking out again, Gidan was tapping on his phone screen as if contacting someone, pointing at the second floor.
'I'm caught!'
Geuru stomped her feet and looked around.
'That!'
She spotted a small ventilation grate door large enough for a child to fit through. Geuru slipped right inside.
*
The moment she entered the ventilation duct, her surroundings fell silent.
'Maybe I'll go out after a bit.'
The dedicated team would soon realize Geuru had disappeared. If Chairman On found out, there might be a huge fuss when he searched for Geuru.
'I wish I could call the Guild Master quickly.'
Geuru had briefly considered doing five backward rolls in the ventilation duct and then calling out that she was in danger, but soon shook her head. Rather than summoning him to such a cramped space.......
'But what were those villains from earlier?'
Those inhuman people who had made Syakipiyo shiver and react.
She had recalled those strange people she had already decided were villains and was crouching for a moment when...
"Can't I, huh? Ask a close friend for a favor like this?"
The voice was slurred, as if drunk.
"You just need to scare them enough to cancel the event. It's not that hard."
Cancel the event?
Scare them?
Geuru crawled toward where the voice was carrying from. The more she did, the louder the man's voice became.
"Are you serious? This auction business is something your family is staking its life on."
She climbed up to a ventilation grate made of iron bars.
Then she saw the man talking with the drunkard sit down, his body plump.
"That's exactly why I'm trying to cancel it. Does it make sense to hand such an important business over to the daughter? When the eldest son is right here, huh? Wide awake like this?!"
The plump man shook his head while swirling his glass.
"Get off the drugs. Before that, even if A-yeong took a dump at the resort entrance, you wouldn't get a shot."
"You never know! If I ruin this event, it's basically A-yeong shitting on Father's face, right?"
"So what do you want me to do about it?"
"Hey, you've got a lot of Awakened friends, right? Call them and do something like in the movies, you know? Ba-bam, pa-bam, boom! That kind of stuff, huh? You know?"
Like in the movies, ba-bam, pa-bam, boom!
It was babbling-level explanation, but to Geuru, it was an eye-level explanation easy to understand.
'Villains!'
There was definitely some kind of conspiracy. They might be in league with those inhuman people from earlier.
Geuru surveyed the space beyond the iron bars where the men were secretly scheming.
And she recalled the building's interior map she had seen earlier.
'Let's go down.'
1. Geuru quickly scurries down to where the men are.
'I heard all of your plans!'
2. Then the villains will threaten Geuru.
'Wh-what?!'
'You brat! I won't let you get away with this!'
3. The moment Geuru is driven into a corner!
Her watch will detect the danger and summon Jurim.
'Guild Master, over here!'
Then, like at the amusement park, Jurim will come find her.
4. Jurim, appearing in an instant, will dispatch the villains in a jiffy.
'After that.......'
In her head, fluffy clouds took the shape of a leopard.
The leopard (Jurim) would defeat the villains and follow the baby lamb (Geuru) out, then meet the daddy leopard (Su-hyeong). It was a splendid family reunion scene.
'Perfect.'
Reality's trivial details couldn't interfere with the imagination in her head, so it always looked perfect. At least until it was brought out into the open.
Having blown away various doubts, Geuru began wriggling back through the ventilation duct. Now that she had the villains in her grasp, it was time to move.
"You're out of your mind."
"Just act, only act. Don't actually do it. If you actually do it, you're really fucked. There are so many Hunters gathered here....... Just scare A-yeong. She's super nervous right now since she's in charge of the event, so if you scare her a little, she'll crumble on her own."
"My friends won't move for chump change."
"Hey, who do you think I am to worry about that? Huh? Of course, huh? I'll make sure it's plenty~ generous."
Hmph. Just you wait, villains.
'They might notice Geuru is gone and come looking, so I should head back first.'
As soon as she came out of the ventilation duct and looked around, a staff member searching for Geuru rushed over.
"Miss Geuru, where have you been?"
"I went to the bafwoom."
Geuru smiled innocently as if she knew nothing.
The staff member smiled awkwardly and radioed someone.
"I've found Miss Han Geuru."
Geuru was led by the staff member's hand and returned to the center's sandpit with the other children.
"We'll go to the banquet hall in 30 minutes. Since your parents will all be there, please wait here for a moment."
Sitting on the sand, she pretended to play sensory games while her eyes darted about.
'They might run away if I'm too slow.'
She had prepared for just such a moment. An item that let her move while evading the adults' gaze!
Geuru took out a parrot doll about the size of an adult's palm from her bag.
[Copycat Parrot Doll (B)]
Mimics the target's appearance and behavior.
The environment had improved greatly since coming to Hyeonak compared to the orphanage.
However.......
'Geuru isn't free.'
There were too many interferers, far too many.
At the company, of course, and at home, a play-sitter and even a housekeeper auntie.
'Geuru needs time alone too.'
At the orphanage, she couldn't receive adult attention often, but in exchange, it was easy to move about while avoiding notice.
Making items or doing business had all been possible thanks to such an environment.
The parrot doll was something she had painstakingly made to enjoy that same freedom.
Geuru hid behind a large toy spaceship and rolled the parrot doll across the sandy floor.
Having recognized Geuru, the parrot doll soon transformed into Geuru and mimicked her actions.
As long as no one talked to it, it wouldn't be found out.
Geuru secretly entered the ventilation duct again and slipped out of the kids' center.