Chapter 13
After pondering for a moment, I checked my schedule.
Although Baek Eunseong had issued a warning, it was all too obvious how a child without a guardian would appear to kidnappers. They'd see him as prey crying out "Take me away!"
If by some chance Baek Hamin got kidnapped again, I might actually be framed as the culprit this time. And taking this opportunity to make a solid impression on Do Yudam didn't seem like a bad idea either.
I don't know how many years from now it will be, but when P's Box opens, Do Yudam will take the lead in trying to seal it. To tag along then, getting close and making my face known from now on seemed like a good move.
He'd rather take someone he somewhat knows than a Hunter he doesn't know at all. Since I'm S-rank too, if I establish a connection, it's practically guaranteed.
—Uncle... are you coming?
"Probably."
—Waaaaah!
...My eardrums.
Baek Hamin, expressing his joy in an incomprehensible language, chattered for a long time about which class he was in and what abilities he would show. Since it was quite cute, I let him be without stopping him, but Baek Eunseong, who was listening beside us, gave him a warning, and only then did Baek Hamin hang up.
Then, every day until the test day, he called to ask if I was really coming, and
"Uncle!"
As soon as the day arrived, he greeted me hopping around in front of the Academy gates.
When Baek Hamin in his Academy uniform came running patter-patter, flowers bloomed beneath his little feet. The yellow dandelions matched quite well with Baek Hamin's brown hair and sky-blue uniform.
"Pick me up!"
I picked up Baek Hamin, who was hopping below my knees, and exchanged nods with the Baekwoo Guild members who looked about three times my size. With bodyguards like this, I guess I don't need to worry about him getting kidnapped.
...No, there was absolutely no need to worry.
"Baek Hamin, come here."
"Uncle?"
That was because Baek Eunseong appeared not long after.
* * *
About 20 minutes before running into Baek Eunseong, Baek Hamin was dragging me around the Academy, holding my hand. This was also a place 'Seong Dohyun' had attended as a child, and I had visited recently to see Do Yudam, so I told him he didn't need to explain, but Baek Hamin...
"No! You don't know this place!"
He insisted, pulling my hand.
Looking around the training ground we arrived at, a silver-haired kid was moving training dummies.
"Do Yudam?"
At my murmur, Baek Hamin, who had glared with axe-like eyes, alternated his gaze between me and Do Yudam before pulling my arm as if it would come off.
"Uncle, let's go over there."
"Hold on."
I pushed aside the pink flowers blocking my view and stared at Do Yudam beyond the glass window.
...Is that ten-year-old kid cleaning this entire training ground by himself right now?
'Even if he's going to become the protagonist later, he's still just a kid?'
What the hell is Jeon Jiyoon doing that he doesn't even know the kid is being treated like this? I called Ashil and ordered it to find Jeon Jiyoon.
"...Uncle?"
Without realizing, I had been grinding my teeth in anger. When I saw my fierce face reflected in those green eyes, I let out a sigh. After taking a few more deep breaths, the fierce energy surging from within me settled down.
"Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing."
Coming back to my senses and looking again, Do Yudam was simply practicing alone.
Feeling sheepish at my overreaction, I smiled awkwardly and scooped up Baek Hamin, who was watching me cautiously.
"...Are you okay?"
"Just let me watch this a bit more."
Avoiding Baek Hamin's hands that kept trying to cover my eyes, I peered into the training ground. Do Yudam had turned on the switch and was fighting against the dummies.
Wow, is that really a ten-year-old?
Do Yudam was calmly dealing with the dummies, unlike a typical child. He really is the protagonist, I guess—every movement was cautious.
As I let out a small exclamation of admiration, Baek Hamin pressed my cheek to make me look at him.
"I can do better than Do Yudam!"
I looked at the gorgeous flowers blooming from his small fingertips, then patted Baek Hamin's head. I put down Baek Hamin, who was recklessly blooming flowers everywhere, claiming he could make more, turning the surroundings into a sea of flowers, and secretly followed Do Yudam with my eyes as he headed toward the corner of the training ground.
'Hmm? His expression...'
Even from a sidelong glance, the dummies Do Yudam had faced had fallen perfectly. Yet he wore an unsatisfied expression somewhere.
Ah, come to think of it, the original work did mention he had perfectionist tendencies...?
It might look well done to others, but he himself might not be satisfied with it. I tried to understand, but Do Yudam, standing in the corner, had his hands neatly together and was watching the instructor's mood.
What's that situation about?
I stared intently at Do Yudam's stiff expression and opened the skill window.
[I hear the day words and I hear the night words.]
"Do Yudam, I told you not to do that."
"Yes..."
"What I'm worried about is that you'll rely only on your strength and act recklessly, causing others to get hurt or die. You won't get hurt, but ordinary people aren't like you, right?"
No, what do you mean 'act recklessly' to a kid? I understand holding back an S-rank to some extent, but why only the whip? Don't you know about the whip and the carrot? You only feed Baek Hamin carrots, but you only whip Do Yudam?
I was frowning with all my might, and eventually, perhaps running out of patience because of Baek Hamin throwing a tantrum telling me to look at him, I had to tense my arm firmly. The child clung tightly to my neck, urging me to go somewhere else.
"Hunter Seong Dohyun?"
That was when it happened. Jeon Jiyoon, walking along following Ashil, greeted me with a puzzled expression.
...Ah, right.
No, he came at just the right time.
Why is this bastard only arriving now? I signaled to Jeon Jiyoon and pointed at Do Yudam standing over there. I was about to confront him about the training intensity being too harsh for a child, but Jeon Jiyoon smiled brightly and reached out his hand toward Baek Hamin.
'What, what's he doing?'
When I reflexively stepped back, I felt Baek Hamin, curled up in my arms, raise grass around him like an angry cat.
"Haha. You two still get along well."
"It just happened that way."
I answered openly with reluctance and looked for Do Yudam over Jeon Jiyoon's shoulder. But the instructor must have taken him somewhere in the meantime, as he was nowhere to be seen. Jeon Jiyoon asked in a whisper with a worried face.
"Um... if it's not too presumptuous, about your memory..."
"It is presumptuous, so please don't ask. And as for my memory, not yet."
"Memory?"
At the soft, gentle voice, I turned around and met pink eyes. Not feeling Baek Eunseong's massive presence would actually be harder. I had already known since he arrived at the Academy entrance.
"What conversation were you having?"
"About my memory."
"So..."
"There's a problem with my memory, and I haven't recovered it yet."
I enunciated each word clearly in case he misheard. Baek Eunseong should know what he needs to know. That's why I deliberately answered Jeon Jiyoon's useless question even while knowing Baek Eunseong was nearby.
Anyway, Baek Hamin, you little liar. Baek Eunseong isn't coming? Nobody's looking after me?
This is why people should talk face to face. With just a voice, it's hard to tell if someone is lying or not. And I could use my abilities if needed. I shot a not-unfriendly glare at Baek Hamin's small head.
"Come here."
When I handed Baek Hamin over to Baek Eunseong's outstretched hand, Baek Eunseong, who securely caught Baek Hamin, glanced at me before turning around and quickly walking away.
I don't want to see you either, you know? I was contemplating whether to flip him off behind his head when Jeon Jiyoon spoke to me.
"Then, do you still have no intention of joining the Center?"
"The Center?"
Seong Dohyun? In an organization full of only a sense of justice? In a Center that pays less than a quarter of what other Hunters make while doing all the grunt work?
After thinking for a moment, I realized it wasn't a bad condition. There was a research institute within the Center, so I might be able to obtain the materials needed to repair M more quickly. It was also an opportunity to get closer to Do Yudam.
"You'll probably decline again this time, but please think about it positively."
Jeon Jiyoon left after bowing with his perpetually sleepy-looking eyes. As I mulled over Jeon Jiyoon's proposal, a familiar presence approached from the side.
"Are you probing the Center now?"
"What business is it of yours?"
I stood at an angle and looked at Baek Eunseong.
Even though I, no, Seong Dohyun, had done a lot of things, seeing Baek Eunseong questioning me every time he saw me—asking what scheme I was plotting, what kind of mischief I'd done—was getting tiresome.
I've lived quietly for three months, shouldn't it be about time to let it go and move on? And I wasn't the one probing?
The same goes for how he took Baek Hamin away just now like he was snatching him. Did I hold him first? Baek Hamin was the one who clung to me.
I wanted to confront him, but I couldn't. That was how much Seong Dohyun had wronged Baek Eunseong. So I wanted to just think 'Baek Eunseong is just that kind of person' and move on, but strangely, that wasn't working well.
"Uncle's leaving."
In the end, what I chose was to avoid the situation. Not because I was scared, but because it was unpleasant.
After saying goodbye to Baek Hamin and turning around, I could hear Baek Hamin whining to Baek Eunseong, but I turned off the skill to block out the sound.
Wandering aimlessly through the Academy, my anger subsided.
"Now what should I do?"
Ah, right. Do Yudam.
"Ashil."
Before I even called, 'Ariadne's Thread' manifested and began racing to track Do Yudam's traces. Following the thread slowly, I spotted Do Yudam crouching in a corner.
Seeing Do Yudam with his shoulders slumped, I was at a loss for words. How should I put it?
'Later, when something big happens, could you take me with you?' felt too suspicious. I was groaning, having come all this way but having nothing to say, when...
"Did you lose your way?"
Do Yudam, having noticed my presence, approached me. On the small face looking up at me, his cheeks were chubby.
Wow, how is he so young?
The fact that Do Yudam was still just a ten-year-old child, only awakened as a Hunter, hit me anew. To think we have to entrust the world to a kid like this. In about 10 years, he'll grow taller and become burly, but...
As if my earlier concerns were meaningless, I swallowed all the words I had planned to say.
"No, just. I saw you practicing earlier, and you did well."
When I casually gave him a light compliment, Do Yudam's cheeks flushed peach-colored.
"Thank you..."
Do Yudam hesitated, but still hovered around me, seemingly wanting more praise.
At that moment, from far away, something charged toward me at a terrifying speed.