Chapter 48: The Precious Child Doubles!

The living room of the Han sisters’ house was filled with both hosts and guests. Despite the cozy view of the spacious yard outside, the atmosphere inside was rather tense.

“Can’t you hold your hands up properly?” the Guild Master warned in a low voice.

Gyeonwoo whimpered and raised both arms high. Her arms weren’t perfectly horizontal, and her expression was gloomy. Thanks to her training in the cult, her posture for punishment was exemplary.

Right next to her…

“Hehe.” Pureumi, who looked just like Gyeonwoo, also sat with her hands raised, mimicking her.

“Haah…”

How should they handle this? Everyone gathered – Han Dayeon, Han Yuyeon, Guild Master Lee Sunghwan, and Monk Jamyeong – let out long sighs as they looked at Gyeonwoo. After hearing what she’d done today, more than a few of them had nearly fainted.

“Didn’t we tell you not to go with strangers like that!”

“We said don’t go with people who offer you food, but you thought someone giving you lemonade must be a good person?”

“Th-that’s not it… I just didn’t sense any bad intentions…”

“So you were certain they weren’t a bad person because of that?”

“No…” Gyeonwoo trailed off.

The Guild Master’s fist trembled. What should he do with this brazen child? Honestly, he wanted to give her a good flick on the forehead, but he held back, not wanting to repeat the violent education she’d received in the cult.

Moreover, Gyeonwoo wasn’t the only one they had to worry about now.

“Mmm. What game is this?” Pureumi asked.

“It’s, it’s not a game…” Gyeonwoo replied.

“Then why are we holding our hands up?”

“We’re being scolded…”

“Mama’s getting scolded? Why?”

Pureumi’s chatter didn’t match the serious mood. It felt like a beagle had joined them, giving everyone a headache.

“You understand that what you did was wrong, right?” the Guild Master said. Unlike the all-nighter incident, he wasn’t going to let this slide easily. That had been a harmless prank, but this was different. If something like this happened again, it wouldn’t end with just upsetting a few people.

If he hadn’t found Gyeonwoo quickly, they would have had to mobilize not only the police but guild members too. In the worst case, it could have led to an all-out war against villains, with potential casualties.

At the Guild Master’s cold voice, Gyeonwoo thought, “Ah… I’ve disappointed someone again.” She nodded silently while hugging the fidgeting Pureumi.

She had no excuses. Even if the man had looked sad and seemed to have no ill intentions, disappearing without a word must have worried everyone so much.

Kim Seongyeong must have been shocked too. She’d have to apologize to him later…

She finally realized this belatedly.

Gyeonwoo, who usually smiled brightly, hung her head dejectedly.

As if infected by her contractor’s gloom, Pureumi sniffled, “Hng, Mama…” She was being punished despite doing nothing wrong.

Gyeonwoo silently reached out to pat Pureumi’s head.

As the Guild Master watched this, thinking what punishment to give these innocent children…

“Do you know how worried we were when we thought we’d lost our child?” Monk Jamyeong, who had been quietly observing, gently admonished, trying to ease the tense atmosphere.

“It’s good to help others, but before you do that, think about the people around you too.”

His voice was as kind and comforting as always, but even he looked more haggard than he had this morning. Given his age, it was a miracle he hadn’t collapsed when he heard Gyeonwoo had disappeared.

“Yes… Next time I’ll definitely tell you before I go…” Gyeonwoo responded.

However, she didn’t promise not to help others anymore. Using her abilities to help and atone was something she wouldn’t give up for anyone. After all, thanks to that, she’d been able to save Pureumi, who was suffering innocently.

“Mama didn’t do anything wrong! Why is everyone being mean to Mama!” Pureumi suddenly stood up, blocking Gyeonwoo.

“Don’t make Mama sad!!” she cried out in a thin voice, puffing herself up like an angry cat.

“Oh god,” Han Dayeon, who had been watching silently, clutched her heart.

Pureumi had spread her arms and legs wide, trying to shield Gyeonwoo, but her small frame wasn’t enough to hide her.

To the adults, it looked like Gyeonwoo’s head peeking out over Pureumi’s shoulder, like a Cerberus.

“They’re not being mean, I did something wrong,” Gyeonwoo explained.

“Mmm… I don’t understand that…!” Pureumi protested.

Finally giving up on punishing them here, Monk Jamyeong said, “Well, Dayeon and Yuyeon got hurt rushing out of a Gate when they heard about you…”

“What?! Th-they got hurt?!” Gyeonwoo’s eyes widened impossibly.

“Oof!” She was so shocked she forgot Pureumi was in front of her and fell on her bottom as she tried to stand up.

“Th-then since it’s my fault, I’ll heal them!”

Oh dear. They hadn’t meant to make her feel this guilty. Monk Jamyeong quickly added, “So make sure this doesn’t happen again. You’ll be living with the sisters from now on, so talk with them a bit.”

He had received a mental message from the Guild Master wanting to discuss something privately, probably about this incident.

They planned to leave Gyeonwoo and Pureumi with the sisters.

“Okay…”

“Huh? Who got hurt?”

As Monk Jamyeong exchanged glances with the Guild Master and naturally left the living room…

Han Dayeon kept swallowing as she looked at the two adorable children. Han Yuyeon, exuding an even sharper aura than usual, remained with Gyeonwoo.

“I’m sorry…” Gyeonwoo said as the strange atmosphere continued.

Pureumi, glancing warily at the sisters, snuggled into Gyeonwoo’s arms. It was already an unfamiliar space, and now it was full of unfamiliar people. Moreover, Gyeonwoo, who had saved her life, was apologizing and being scolded for no reason.

“I’ll protect you… Don’t be mean to Mama…” This time, following Gyeonwoo’s advice, she didn’t raise her voice to the adults. Instead, she knelt down and clasped her hands, begging for mercy like she had with the adults who tried to kill her before. It had worked on one of the three people who wanted to kill her!

The effect was dramatic!

“Oh! No, it’s okay! Stand up!” Han Dayeon didn’t want to feel like trash. She already felt guilty about leaving Gyeonwoo in the mountains before. Seeing an even smaller child kneeling and begging made her feel like she was losing her mind.

Wait, why is she doing this to me…?

Han Dayeon, who should have been helpful, just kept frowning in confusion. Thankfully, no one else was around. What would people think if they saw this?

“Our child disappeared, so we rushed here and just scraped our knees a little. Look, it’s fine now, see?” Han Dayeon hurriedly showed her knee. She struggled to pull up her tight jeans, revealing a perfectly white knee. Of course, there wasn’t even a scratch, let alone a scar.

“Y-you shouldn’t kneel down like that carelessly!” Gyeonwoo finally snapped out of her daze and quickly picked up Pureumi.

“…You really didn’t get hurt badly, right?” She reached out and gently stroked Han Dayeon’s smooth knee. She was so worried she forgot her usual caution about physical contact between men and women.

“Hehe, ehehe.” Han Dayeon laughed. She had been thinking she needed to scold Gyeonwoo and not let this slide, but…

With cat-like softness, the small hands pressed her knee.

“Me too! I want to do it too!” Pureumi scampered over and started pressing the other knee.

“Oh god.” Han Dayeon let out a choked sound of joy and hurriedly pulled out her smartphone.

“D-does it hurt a lot?” Gyeonwoo asked worriedly, mistaking Han Dayeon’s groan for pain.

“I-I’m not hurt. I’m just happy our child is massaging my knee.”

“Really? Then I’ll do it more!”

Han Dayeon bit her lip and lied, secretly starting to record a video.

Press, press, presssss.

The two children earnestly massaged her knees with their tiny palms.

By this point, even the thought of scolding them had melted away, and she suddenly realized:

Come to think of it, these children who barely went to school, what do they know?

Wasn’t it wrong to leave them alone on the street without a guardian in the first place?

In America, wouldn’t that be punishable by some childcare law?

This time, it’s the Guild Master’s fault!

As her desire to scold them completely vanished, Han Dayeon immediately unleashed her pent-up desires.

“Eep!”

She suddenly hugged Gyeonwoo, who had been pressing her knee, pulling her into her arms.

The startled girl flailed her arms and legs for a moment.

“N-noona?!”

“Not noona, it’s unni[1].”

Realizing it was Han Dayeon, she gave up resisting.

As Gyeonwoo was nestled between Han Dayeon’s large breasts, Pureumi, who had been watching, naturally came running and snuggled in too.

“Me too!”

“Oof! Yes, unni will hug our Pureumi too!”

They ended up in a sandwich-like embrace with Han Dayeon, Gyeonwoo, and Pureumi all tightly hugging.

“…Are you done yet?” Han Yuyeon’s sharp voice, who had been watching silently with her arms crossed, brought an awkward silence.

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[1. raei: I try to remove kr endearment terms but.. dunno how I’d explain this one otherwise.]