Chapter 56
Chapter 56
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 56
Chapter Title: Young Boss's Right Hand is 6 Years Old (1)
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It was still before the dinner rush when someone burst into the shop.
A female student in uniform, breathing heavily.
A familiar face.
Kwon Su-young.
In her hand was something long and thick, a green bat.
Yoon-seul, who had been playing alone on the shop floor.
She checked who it was and grinned.
"Uda-da-da-da-da!"
No mercy for intruders barging in during break time. She immediately opened fire.
Reenacting the gunfire cutely with her mouth.
In her hands was a wooden Gatling gun.
Almost as big as Yoon-seul herself.
She pretended her body was shaking violently from the recoil.
Her little fingers gripped the Gatling gun's handle tightly.
- Gat... Gatling gun?
Su-young caught her breath.
As if understanding Yoon-seul's intent, Su-young dove right into the act of getting hit.
Her shoulders, waist, hips, and knees trembled like an aspen in a gale, as if dislocated.
"Bwaaaah, aaaahhh!!"
It was an act packed with realism.
She might have real talent for acting. The scene felt straight out of the battlefield.
Fortunately, only the three of us were in the shop.
No one like that guy who always wears the red hat to embarrass us.
"Hey, Yoon-seul. Is that how you hold it at your Unniee? No, that's not right."
"Eeng... But it came out so cool. Can't come out like that now."
"So you shot because she's an intruder?"
"Yep! Yoon-seul guards Oppa and the shop."
She thumped her chest proudly and delivered her gallant line.
But guarding with this model wooden Gatling gun—which couldn't actually fire, just a model—didn't count for much.
Unlike the wooden rubber-band pistol shaped like a handgun.
That was the concept of their play.
- Ahem, what's with the toy gun? And the quality's insane? It nails the Gatling gun shape perfectly.
"A customer from our shop gave it to Yoon-seul as a gift last time."
- They gave you something like this? Looks like it could fetch a good price if sold.
"It's a non-firing sample, so they said it was just taking up space in the shop anyway and gave it away."
- Ah...
Su-young nodded as if it made sense.
It had happened not long ago.
This wooden Gatling gun was a toy that Hye-won-ssi had brought over. She came with it in a case, saying she was truly grateful.
Apparently, thanks to our restaurant, their marriage had gotten even better. Hearing that made me blush a little, as I could guess why.
Seems like sharing some donburi ingredients had helped Yeon-woo-ssi a lot. They must've reconciled without issues.
- This would just take up space in the workshop anyway. Yoon-seul seems to like stuff like this, so it's fine as a gift, right?
'Yes... We'd be grateful, but are you sure you can just give it away?'
It looked too expensive. Yeon-woo-ssi and Hye-won-ssi sold wooden crafts like this, so I figured it was merchandise. The model Gatling gun had that level of craftsmanship.
- This was just a test sample we made; we can't sell it anyway. Needs some tweaks here. So it'd just waste space in the workshop.
'If that's the case... We'd be thankful.'
Looking down at Yoon-seul then, she had a solemn expression.
It reminded me of someone's face, and thinking about it, she was mimicking a villain actor from [Wasteland Desperado].
There was a scene where that villain threatened the protagonist with a Gatling gun. Seemed like she was channeling that.
With that expression,
'Oppa, what's that cool thing.'
She added that one line.
Meaning she really wanted it.
'Hye-won-ssi, thank you. Please say hi to Yeon-woo-ssi too.'
That was how the conversation wrapped up.
"But Su-young, how do you know what a Gatling gun is?"
- Huh? Saw it in a movie.
Looks like she caught that box-office hit, [Wasteland Desperado], too.
Not exactly a famous gun, though.
The power of mass media is something else.
Catching her breath, Su-young wiped her sweat and naturally plopped down at the bar table.
Thirty minutes till dinner opening, but as a regular, I decided not to scold her.
"It's almost summer; it's getting hot, huh?"
I handed her a glass of water, and she bowed her head slightly before gulping it down.
Gulp, gulp—Pha...
Seeing that, Yoon-seul tugged at my pant leg, probably thirsty too.
Wanting a cup for herself.
Yoon-seul could just reach the water purifier in the shop, but barely—she had to stretch on tiptoes.
I gave her a glass too, and only then did Su-young speak up.
- Yeah, hot. Back in the day, June wasn't this bad, but lately it's summer weather all the time. Real global warming.
"Yeah, hot enough to sweat, but why run around in this weather? That hungry?"
- No, not rUnnieng for food.
Kwon Su-young shoved something in front of me.
The thing she'd been holding when she dashed in. The long green bat.
An indescribable, overwhelming aura radiated from it.
It smelled dangerous.
Couldn't tell what it was, but I could guess its use.
I'd seen it plenty in middle school.
"That's... no way."
"Yep? Malmae?"
Even Yoon-seul sensed it instinctively.
Putting the word "malmae" to her lips.
The surface was green because it was wrapped tightly in blue tape.
A brutal method gym teachers often used to amp up friction.
- Right! Malmae! Name's Great Genocider!
Kwon Su-young spread her arms wide dramatically.
What a grandiose name.
I think I'd heard it from Su-young's friend Ji-ah before.
Her homeroom teacher was the PE instructor and wielded this as her main weapon, or something like that.
"Great Genocider? Got that, but why do you have it?"
- Ah! I stole it. From the staff room, snuck it out.
"Ah! I see. You stole it. Snuck it out."
I didn't engage further and started pushing her out the door.
Had a bad feeling it'd get extremely annoying.
If she'd run here in this weather with the stolen Great Genocider.
Her PE teacher might show up at our shop demanding it back soon.
"Su-young, I'm grateful you come here often. But handle things with your teacher yourself. Our shop has nothing to do with your theft."
- Ack, wait. Joo-hyun Oppa. Just hear me out. Just listen! Aaa—don't push!! And not theft, call it sharing between teacher and student.
She planted her rubber-soled shoes flat on the floor, resisting as best she could.
Hilarious, admitting she stole it then backpedaling.
But kicking her out like this might not be great for Yoon-seul's emotional development.
"Fine, let's hear why you came here first."
- Yes! As expected of Joo-hyun Oppa~!
A blue foreboding washed over me.
PE teachers in my memory weren't exactly mild-mannered.
Back then, some wielded explosive force on students' calves and thighs, and our middle school teacher was about that type.
Looking back now, not ideal at all, but it was the era where it seemed normal. And if memory served, some kids—pervy as it sounds—secretly enjoyed the "spank spank" on the butt.
Yoon-seul, who'd been watching us quietly, opened her mouth.
"De-nooth... Ge-no-saa... Ge-no-saa... ider? Great?"
She was diligently trying to pronounce Great Genocider.
"So why'd you steal it?"
- If I had to say, inspired by Joan of Arc.
"Beat around the bush and you're out. I'll give you a chance to rethink if that's the right direction."
She looked flustered, cleared her throat twice.
Maybe jealous of our chat, Yoon-seul toddled over—dodo-do—and claimed my knee.
- Hehe... Truth is, we kids in class plotted? Planned? Something like a surprise event for the teacher.
"What kind of surprise?"
- A surprise where we take away her favorite weapon!
"Not a surprise, just theft."
- Hey, don't criminalize our cute prank!
"Looked like you were fleeing for your life, not pranking, but whatever. So you planned that. Then what?"
- I took the most important role.
"RUnnieng off with it?"
Su-young still clutched the Great Genocider. Gray tape residue everywhere, like it'd been rewrapped after damage—clearly battle-worn.
- Yep!
"Who else took other roles?"
- No one. Solo stage for me.
"Kinda hesitant to say this, but... if you're being bullied... what's the number again?"
"Yep? 117?"
- Yoon-seul! How do you know that number?
"TV said."
"Kids know ads better than adults anyway."
- True.
But I still hadn't heard the key part.
I got the crime—no, prank—but.
"Anyway, got that far. But why run to our shop? Your school to here... even rUnnieng hard, it's five minutes."
Five minutes rUnnieng isn't short.
Without training, kids collapse after two or three.
- Hehe, call it my strategy.
"Strategy?"
"Stwategy?"
- Yep! Because our homeroom teacher...
At that moment.
Thump, thump—
Someone knocked on our shop's glass door.
Quickly thump-thump—
No,
Thump, thump—
The tempo made it tense even to turn around.
Just the rhythm change felt alien.
One thing clear: Kwon Su-young, facing the door, went pale.
"She here?"
I asked without looking.
Su-young nodded in reply.
"Then hand you over quick, and we can start dinner service."
- Traitor!
I turned and headed straight to the door.
Opened it for her.
The "Break Time" sign probably made her hesitate.
But...
Somehow familiar.
A face I'd definitely seen before.
"Huh?"
- What.
Our "Huh?" and "What" hit almost simultaneously.
After seeing each other's faces.
Faded gray jersey top and bottoms, cheap sunglasses hanging on her neck.
Hair swept forward then tied back tight.
No doubt.
I'd seen a PE teacher with this vibe.
At our middle school.
"Teacher Mi-jeong?"
- What? You... no way, Song Joo-hyun?
Teacher and student reunited after nearly ten years.