Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Getting Closer
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Leaving behind the curious stares, Su-hyeon stepped into the lobby.
Unlike the other buildings on the grounds, this place saw a constant stream of outsiders coming and going, so there were no security gates or anything of the sort.
Su-hyeon paused for a moment and looked around the lobby.
It was a vast space that felt more like a train station or an airport than an office.
'But where do I go?'
She felt like she'd been dropped alone into a place that didn't suit her at all.
Su-hyeon decided to wander around the area for now.
As the child started moving, her hair fluttering, the gazes around her kept following.
Of course, Su-hyeon was too busy scanning for signs to notice.
'I've come full circle.'
After wandering around for quite a while, the child plopped down on the round central bench.
She looked so adorable as she toddled about, eagerly reading all the signs on the floors and walls—clearly, she hadn't been literate for long.
The young woman at the reception desk thought of her own little niece.
Her niece had only recently learned to read Hangul herself and would read every sign she saw whenever they went out in the city.
The child's appearance was about five years old—the perfect age to start learning letters, from what she'd heard.
The moment the child leaned back against the cylindrical bench, her eyes went wide.
She sniffed the air, then climbed onto the seat with her knees and peered at the pile of grass behind it.
Even her small, round head had something like hair swaying gently.
Had she caught a whiff of something fresh?
But the grass was just decorative—fake, really. Hidden inside was a mana-based purification device.
It could even neutralize trace amounts of demonic energy, just in case.
With hunters and civilians mixing in this building, such devices were installed everywhere.
The kid must have pretty high mana sensitivity.
At that level, she might grow up to be a talented detection-type hunter.
The child soon spotted the hidden machine and lost interest, turning back around to sit properly.
'But how did a kid like this end up all the way here?'
It wouldn't be so strange near the attached daycare, but for a child to reach the main building? That was rare.
Especially on a weekend.
Most people spent time with their kids rather than dropping them off.
The daughter of someone on duty, maybe?
The young receptionist tilted her head.
She ran through today's staff roster in her mind, but no parents came to mind.
'Maybe it's the unusual hair color? Oh, eye contact.'
The child's big eyes, which had been happily playing alone, turned this way.
She gave a slight smile and a little wave, and the green eyes trembled faintly.
She probably hadn't realized she was being watched.
Even though the reception desk sat right in the middle of the lobby, from the child's perspective, it might have just looked like a big decoration.
'Ah, she's coming.'
The child hopped down from the chair and walked straight toward the desk.
"Hello. What can I do for you?"
"……Hello. I'm here for the sponsorship talent screening? To sign the promising prospect contract."
"Uh, yes…?"
The receptionist couldn't hide her surprise.
Who wouldn't be, if the little kid they thought had just learned to read spoke so fluently?
Her voice was a bit soft and hesitant, but no babyish lisping—and she even used some pretty advanced words.
Meanwhile, Su-hyeon rolled her eyes slightly as the receptionist froze instead of guiding her right away.
'What's this? Did I say something wrong?'
"Um, they said I could come anytime, so I did…?"
Maybe she should've skipped the weekend.
It had been during work hours when they said "anytime," so perhaps her assumption was off.
Just as her green eyes began to drift downward slyly, the receptionist snapped out of it and asked again.
"Did someone tell you about this?"
"……Hunter Goo Jun-hyuk."
"Pardon?"
The receptionist's expression grew even stranger.
A child's mouth had just uttered their guild master's name.
Just as resentment toward her friend bubbled up a point in Su-hyeon's heart—
"Ah, could it be that? One moment!"
The receptionist hurriedly tapped at her keyboard, pulling up a recent directive.
A girl with a distinctive appearance, or possibly a helmeted awakener, might come looking—escort her straight to the office. It had come directly from the top about a week ago; she'd wondered about it with her colleagues….
"It's under the name Kim Su-hyeon. Is that you?"
"!! Yes!"
No duplicates, probably.
Sensing the issue resolved at last, Su-hyeon's face lit up.
"……Hunter Goo Jun-hyuk."
"Yes?"
A pause.
Passing by the lobby coincidentally, Ye-rin's ears caught a name she couldn't ignore.
'Why's the master's name coming up?'
Curiosity piqued, Ye-rin approached the reception desk, where the young woman was fumbling around preparing something.
"What's going on?"
"Ah, Chief Secretary!"
After a light nod in return to the greeting, Ye-rin glanced subtly at the tiny child.
Catching the look, the receptionist gave a quick rundown.
"I have to escort this child—no, this person—to the master's office, but it's the weekend, and I'm the only one at the desk right now… haha."
"I see."
Ye-rin grasped the situation immediately from the explanation.
It wasn't easy for a lone desk clerk to contact upper management and guide someone up—especially a VIP headed straight to the master.
Usually, visitors to the master sent word ahead or came and went like it was their own home, so no issues.
But unpredictable situations like this cropped up too.
"I'll take her up."
"Pardon? You'll do it yourself…?"
"Yes, I'm heading that way anyway. No need to call ahead."
"Ah, thank you."
The cool-featured woman who ended the conversation bowed politely to Su-hyeon, facing her.
"I'm Kim Ye-rin, handling finance, operations, tech, and marketing for Camellia Guild. I'll escort you personally from here."
"Ah, hello."
Not to be outdone, Su-hyeon bowed her head deeply too.
The receptionist stifled a grin at the adorable gesture, desperately holding back with her towering superior right there.
"Well then…."
Ye-rin extended her hand to the child, who stood there with hands clasped, looking puzzled.
"Yes?"
61st floor.
62nd floor.
63rd floor.
The elevator, reserved for authorized personnel only, shot upward endlessly.
Inside were a cool beauty and a tiny child who barely reached her midsection.
Eyeing….
Su-hyeon glanced at Ye-rin, who held her left hand.
Her face was nearly expressionless—stiff in a different way from Brüel's impassivity.
She looked just like an illustration of a strict secretary.
The type who'd scold you quietly but terrifyingly if you messed up?
Having only met friendly, bubbly women since her body changed, Su-hyeon felt a bit intimidated.
But….
'Why's she holding my hand?'
Cool, slender fingers wrapped firmly around her short, chubby one.
"Not scared?"
"Y-yes?"
Su-hyeon's arm flinched at the sudden question.
Of course, with her hand gripped, she couldn't pull away.
'…Did she notice?'
"We're rising higher than the clouds right now."
"Huh?"
Su-hyeon blinked at the out-of-left-field comment.
Clouds, suddenly?
"Don't you want to touch them, or worry about falling?"
Even so….
It wasn't shaking, and with no view outside, she didn't feel it.
But sensing some expectation, Su-hyeon faked a startled reaction.
"W-wow. Does it, like, hit airplanes…? Clouds would hide it."
A stifled laugh.
"We're nowhere near airplane altitude, so no worries."
"Ah, okay…."
A glance.
Was that… satisfaction?
'What is this….'
Odd, but she didn't seem as scary as she looked.
Surely not like Brüel?
Ye-rin savored the soft sensation in her right hand, recalling a long-buried memory.
Back when she was just entering fifth grade, left at her grandparents' due to her parents' overseas transfer.
To attend the only awakener academy nearby, she had to commute to the city.
"Haa…."
She hated the countryside.
Dirty, inconvenient, full of bugs.
Few convenience stores, and buses that took forever.
"Hey, you're the kid from that academy, right?"
Hunter hopefuls were mostly kids who acted like they owned the world before reality hit—willful and reckless.
Especially in that stormy age, many mistook themselves for the chosen ones.
No way they'd leave a sharp-tongued city girl, newly isolated in the sticks, alone.
"Yes?"
"Our sisters went to that academy too, but our phone's dead. Lend it."
"Yeah, bus fare too~."
"……."
Smart as she was, Ye-rin knew handing over her phone meant not getting it back.
Money aside, no phone meant no contact with friends for a while.
No NewTube in that boring grandparents' house.
"Um, the battery's…."
"We saw you using it earlier, so don't hide it."
As the scary high school girls cackled, Ye-rin's legs went weak.
To elementary kids, it wasn't adults who were scary—it was uniform-wearing big sis and bros.
High schoolers were like apex predators.
Saving her was a boy passing by with a soccer ball.
"Hey, what're you doing?"
A first-year high schooler was still young, but to little Ye-rin, he seemed plenty grown-up.
Enough to steal a city girl's heart in an instant.
But unlike his cool entrance….
"Aaaah! Cops! Call the cops quick!"
"Cops in this backwater? Takes forever, you punk!"
"Beat this jerk more!"
"Cocky bastard!"
"Aaaah!"
He got grabbed by the hair and pummeled by the girls.
So pathetic that even watching Ye-rin felt secondhand embarrassment.
Wooo-woo-woo-woo—wooo-woo-woo-woo—
"What?"
Lucky the siren timed perfectly.
Ye-rin thought the stranger who'd helped her would end up bald.
"No way, they actually came?"
"Damn, we'll get you!"
The scary girls dropped a clichéd line and fled, as a somewhat short boy emerged from the alley.
The siren blared loudly from his phone.
"Dude, what took so long? Thought my back was done for. Ugh."
"Sorry, it was a 20-second ad."
"Tch, ads are unavoidable…."
They approached, bumping fists.
"Yep, scored another one—."
"Nice one, man—."
Thinking it wrapped up, Ye-rin approached her two rescuers.
"Excuse me."
"You okay? Nothing taken?"
"I bolted the second I saw, so probably not."
"Yes, nothing. Thank you for helping."
Ye-rin bowed crisply.
Then pointed out what had bugged her.
"But that sound."
"Oh, this? Cops take forever here, so I just pulled it from NewTube."
"My idea. Cool, right?"
"You bolted after mumbling crap. Basically mine."
Ye-rin shook her head at their smug tones.
"That's not a police siren. It's a fire truck."
"Ah…?"
Their faces went blank.
"Whoa, you're right. Should've picked the bottom one."
"Are you idiots? Believed that and tanked hits. Unbelievable…."
"Yeah~ You didn't know either till I said."
The camaraderie vanished as they blamed each other.
That was her first meeting with her current sole boss.
She wasn't sure if Jun-hyuk remembered.
And….
'Kim Su-hyeon.'
Back in school, he'd definitely called his friend that.
She'd heard the name Kim Su-hyeon at the desk too.
She glanced at the little one beside her.
'Does she look like him…?'
Hard to say, but those innocent eyes seemed a perfect match.
'Must be his daughter.'
She'd heard the name, and the master had directly ordered the desk to let her in—had to be.
'So cute.'
Makes sense—if same age as the master, she'd be 33. Old enough to be married with a kid this size.
If Ye-rin married at her current age, Jun-hyuk would have a daughter just like this.
'Hmm, a daughter….'
Ye-rin fiddled with the small hand once more, picturing the person waiting in the temporary office they were heading to.