Chapter 79: Concerns (6)

While Gyeonwoo and Pureumi giggled and washed in the bathroom, it was already past 8 AM.

He should have left for work by now, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the children alone.

“Right, understood. At least that piece of trash is being helpful.”

Guild Master Lee Sunghwan was handling urgent work on his tablet when.

Swoosh-

The bathroom door smoothly opened, revealing an interior as spacious as a decent-sized pool.

Steam poured out like smoke from a bomb – they must have played while washing with warm water.

And through that steam emerged two children wrapped in mist.

“…Kids.”

He tossed aside his tablet and covered his eyes.

Han Yuyeon, Han Dayeon – what have you been doing living with these kids?

He sighed seeing the children appear dripping wet without clothes.

Where should he even begin correcting this?

“Yes?”

At his call, Gyeonwoo just blinked her innocent eyes, clearly not understanding.

Good grief.

She’d thrown a fit when Han Dayeon first tried to hug her, screaming that casual skinship was wrong and too lewd.

Yet here she was appearing naked without shame in front of him, an adult male?

That wasn’t all.

Both children had such long hair that they left trails of water with every step.

Though the water could be cleaned up…

He worried they might act like this around other people.

And would they catch colds this way?

“…Dry off and get dressed before coming out.”

Just as he used telekinesis to drape thick towels over Gyeonwoo and Pureumi…

“Ah! Hehe, it’s okay! Want to see something amazing, uncle? Pureumi’s incredible!”

Pop-

Gyeonwoo poked her head out from the towel with a proud “hoo hoo” laugh, grabbing Pureumi’s shoulders.

Her pose was oddly like a medieval lord praising a subordinate.

“Pureumi, let’s show him!”

“Yeah! Pureumi’s amazing!”

With that, Pureumi swung her hand with a “hup,” and in the blink of an eye, both the steam warming the room and the water soaking the children vanished.

“How was that? Amazing, right?”

“Ahem!”

Following Gyeonwoo’s boasting, Pureumi also thrust out her chest while looking at the Guild Master.

Sparkling eyes!

Clearly waiting for praise.

But…

“…Yes, very impressive. Now let’s get dressed before catching colds.”

Where should he even begin explaining this?

Since Pureumi could instantly remove water, they’d probably gotten into the habit of walking around undressed.

The problem was that as a man, saying the wrong thing could lead to misunderstandings.

And Guild Master Lee Sunghwan had no intention of distancing himself from Gyeonwoo.

So he made a resolution.

“Ah! Yes! Pureumi, come here!”

“Okay!”

I just need to protect our kids from wolf-like boys.

These small habits could resolve themselves as Gyeonwoo grows up.

“Should we head to the guild together today?”

At Guild Master Lee Sunghwan’s suggestion, Gyeonwoo and Pureumi nodded without hesitation.

The children naturally joined hands like they always did for outings.

Though they weren’t legally adopted yet, this moment felt like a real parent-child relationship, warming his heart.

“Uncle?”

“Unkie?”

They gave worried looks just because he stood still for a moment.

“Yes, let’s go.”

How could anyone not love these children?

After hiding the cake he’d secretly retrieved from his inventory, he immediately took flight toward Chungseong Guild headquarters.

“Wow…”

As always, Chungseong Guild headquarters was clean and vast.

Gyeonwoo couldn’t help but gasp at the pristine sight.

To think it was this clean after last night’s huge party!

As expected of the Guild Master!

But…

I just enjoyed myself and didn’t help clean up.

Avoiding responsibility was one of the behaviors Gyeonwoo hated.

“Ugh… I left by myself… Everyone must have worked hard cleaning without me…?”

The scenery matched the crisp morning air in its serenity.

Yesterday’s magical moments felt like a fleeting dream.

As she hung her head dejectedly…

“My, did this brother lie and say he cleaned alone?”

A gentle voice that felt soothing just to hear came from above.

At first she was startled, thinking “Ah! Did the Guild Master become a woman like me?!”

Ah. Right.

Since they called the Guild Master “brother,” it must be someone else!

Finally realizing this, she slowly raised her head.

That’s when Gyeonwoo spotted a woman approaching from not far away in the park.

“Sister put permanent cleaning magic on the three guild headquarters. So they won’t get dirty unless the buildings collapse. Don’t worry about making a mess.”

Click- click-

A woman in a dress, her heels making distinctive sounds.

“Um… w-who are you?”

From her words, she seemed close to Guild Master uncle.

“My, brother’s unusually late today – ah, he must have been coming with the children?”

She even seemed to know Gyeonwoo and Pureumi, making them wonder if they’d met before.

Should I greet her?

W-what if I’m forgetting someone I know?

As Gyeonwoo shifted from foot to foot watching the approaching woman…

With each step closer, a natural bouncing motion drew the eye.

More pronounced than the water rippling in the hotel bath earlier, Pureumi instinctively stretched out both arms and exclaimed:

“Wow… so much milk…!”

Silence fell for a moment.

The woman, Guild Master Lee Sunghwan, and Gyeonwoo all froze.

As a breeze finally whooshed by, Gyeonwoo snapped out of it and pinched Pureumi’s cheeks.

“Eek!”

Uwaaah! How could you say something so rude!

Even if she’s wearing revealing clothes!

That doesn’t mean you can sexually harass her!

“Pureumi! You can’t say things like that carelessly! We don’t know her.”

Oh, we don’t know her, right?

I hope I’m not hurting her feelings by not remembering…

Though Gyeonwoo unconsciously hummed “hmm…” wondering if they’d met, the woman’s appearance was too striking to need such consideration.

Despite being used to Han Yuyeon and Han Dayeon’s beautiful looks, her long legs were surprisingly striking. Even her dress couldn’t hide her curvy hips and bust.

We definitely don’t know her! Certain of this, Gyeonwoo bowed ninety degrees at the waist to apologize.

“I-I’m sorry! Pureumi’s still young…”

Fortunately, the woman wasn’t offended.

“Fufu, children can be like that. Come here. Want sister to give you a hug?”

“Hmm?”

Instead, she approached Pureumi with open arms inviting a hug.

“Yeah!”

As if enchanted by the woman’s maternal aura, Pureumi naturally fell into her embrace.

Thank goodness she wasn’t upset about Pureumi’s mistake, but…

“Do you like sister’s chest?”

“Yes!”

“My, you must be Pureumi from your small size? Pureumi has good taste?”

“Yes!”

But seeing them getting along so well…

Ah, it’s happening again.

Watching Pureumi laugh innocently in the woman’s arms, her chest ached inexplicably and irritation rose to her scalp.

She wanted to jump between them and stop their conversation right now.

I also… I also want to…

Gyeonwoo squeezed her eyes shut and took deep breaths, trying hard to control her emotions.

I’ll just cause trouble again like yesterday!

Once is a mistake, twice is carelessness.

Even if uncle is comfortable with it, I don’t want to keep being a burden!

So get it together, please!

“Hmm…”

The woman narrowed her eyes watching Gyeonwoo.

She’d wondered why brother was late and brought children to the guild without notice.

“Did Gyeonwoo mention having some concerns?”

At the woman’s telepathic message, Guild Master Lee Sunghwan silently nodded.

He didn’t want to gossip about the children behind their backs.

But that was all the answer she needed.

After all, she’d been secretly in love with Guild Master Lee Sunghwan for years.

But had she been the only one drawn to him all this time?

The most skilled among the three major Guild Masters.

Blunt but caring on the inside.

Rich and handsome too – naturally many women had confessed to him.

Even people who usually feared him would send yearning glances.

“Looks like Gyeonwoo’s jealous of Pureumi.”

Though not exactly a proud experience…

That experience let her recognize Gyeonwoo’s reactions as a type of jealousy.

“…Gyeonwoo’s jealous of Pureumi?”

“Yes. We’ll need to talk to know the exact cause, but I can guess. Living captive in the cult, she must have many repressed desires. And not know how to express them.”

I see.

It was certainly a plausible theory.

All of Gyeonwoo’s strange reactions had involved Pureumi.

And Gyeonwoo herself said she felt strange emotions whenever looking at Pureumi.

Perhaps… her suppressed instincts from acting mature were gradually bursting out.

Unlike Pureumi who acted purely childlike as she wished, Gyeonwoo still anxiously tried to remain a good child as if she had to.

In any case, as expected, the perceptive and caring Kang Hari would be more helpful than his awkward self with the children.

Setting aside his embarrassment, Guild Master Lee Sunghwan quietly made his request:

“She’s a child with many wounds. Though it feels like I’m using you… please take care of Gyeonwoo.”

He hadn’t even warned her the children were coming.

It was a selfish one-sided request without promising any compensation.

“She’s our child, so of course I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry.”

Far from refusing, the woman showed a shy smile.

While Guild Master Lee Sunghwan stood stunned by this girlish smile so different from her usually strong impression…

The woman stroked Gyeonwoo and Pureumi’s heads and spoke in her elegant voice:

“I’m Kang Hari. Though inferior to brother, I’m also a Guild Master of the big three.”

This was their first meeting with the mysterious third Guild Master.