episode_0080

It had been almost an hour since Shihyuk had walked back the way he had come, carrying the child in his arms. During that time, he had come to realize two things.

“Eat slowly.”

“Yeah.”

One is that children can be appeased more easily than expected by simply giving them sweets like ice cream and a smartphone with a video app running.

“… The places or places you stayed that remain in your memories. If only you could remember the direction your father disappeared in.”

“Yeah… .”

The two of them were curious enough to set out, but finding the parents of a lost child was much more difficult than he had thought.

Especially if there are no clues, and the child doesn’t even have a cell phone for emergency contact, let alone a missing person’s bracelet.

Whether or not he knew that Shi-hyeok was getting impatient, the child was still pulling at the tail of his beanie hat, which was still hanging on his shoulder.

He sighed silently so that the child wouldn’t hear.

What. There were quite a few other facts that Shihyuk learned, aside from those two.

Under the influence of the pink cotton candy and melon-flavored ice cream, the child answered his prying questions faithfully.

The child’s name is Park Han-byeol. She is 7 years old. She lives in Neulsaeron Villa 304 and goes to Sangnok Kindergarten. Her favorite color is blue and her hobby is drawing. If there is anything special about it-

“… … .”

“Heeelp, -keung.”

The likelihood that the child’s mother is absent.

It may be a hasty judgment, but usually children at this age look for their father more than their mother.

Somehow, he felt cautious about mentioning it, so he didn’t ask twice. When Hana Shi-hyuk asked about his mother’s location, the child simply answered, “I don’t know,” and muddled the question.

Judging from the reaction alone, it seemed like the child had no good memories of his mother, or none at all.

It was a very sympathetic and heartbreaking thing.

But… to be blunt, this information wasn’t very helpful in solving the problem.

Despite the fact that Shi-hyuk had been making full use of his height, which was much greater than average, to carry the child around in a way that would make him stand out, and despite scanning the area and walking around crowded places in his own way, he was unable to find the child’s father.

It could be that he was so unlucky that he kept crossing paths with the father who was looking for the child. Or it could be that the child’s father was literally in a completely different place. Or… .

Shihyuk shook his head. He decided to think about it only up to that point.

In any case, it was not much of a gain compared to the busy pace he had been walking. Aside from the time wasted, he was worried about the child.

“Oh my… .”

The child also felt a sense of relief at having strong support, but it was only for a moment. As the situation did not improve, he began to express his anxiety again, going beyond the sugar in his mouth.

Shihyuk glanced at the child who was whining and sniffling while hugging his head tightly.

When I looked up at the sky, the sun that was high in the sky when I set off was already lowering its head as if it was about to set. In just one or two more hours, the sun would set.

It was summer so the weather wouldn’t be too bad, but I couldn’t stay relaxed forever.

There was only one way left for him.

“Hanbyeol-ah.”

“Huh?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s all for you. Someone else will look for your father.”

“Mr.… ?”

The sound of crying.

He felt his hands, like bracken, tightening their grip on the hat, but there was nothing he could do. This was the best he could do.

[Guri Inchang Police Station Donggureung Police Station]

Shihyuk returned to the vicinity of the entrance to Donggureung in order to safely leave the child at the police station.

Beyond being old-fashioned and inflexible, it can also be seen as stupid.

It might have been better to just stand there and report the missing person, or even go find an Awakened Management Agency agent or police officer patrolling the area and hand them over.

“Don’t cry. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you.”

But, you know, I couldn’t keep my promise. I wanted to do this much.

At least so that the child can be safe. So that I can have peace of mind.

He felt sorry that he could not help the child. This was the least and the last duty that a man who had not kept his promise to his child could do.

Shihyuk reached out and placed his hand on the child’s head.

“Huh… .”

The boy shook his head slightly as he fiddled with the beanie he was wearing. What did he mean? Was it okay for him to not apologize because he knew he did his best, or was he throwing a tantrum?

I don’t know the answer, but-

“Hanbyeol-ah.”

“Huh?”

“When you were looking for your father earlier. What did you say?”

“… My dad is Superman. He always runs when Hanbyeol calls him.”

“That’s right.”

Shihyuk nodded his head.

“I’m sorry, but I think your voice didn’t reach your father because you were with him.”

“Ugh… .”

“Instead, if you call your father together with the police officers here, he will come right away.”

“… Really?”

He put the questioning child down on the ground, bent down, and patted his back.

“That’s true. Instead, you shouldn’t cry. If you cry, your voice will tremble and your father might not be able to hear you.”

“Hanbyeol isn’t crying.”

“Okay, that’s fine.”

He placed his finger on the child’s outstretched small hand and slowly headed inside the police station.

=====

Description of the circumstances under which Mia was found, location where she was found, name and phone number of the finder, and address.

The Mia handover procedure was quite complicated, but it went smoothly. Of course, it was a very time-consuming process.

I bow my head and ask the police officer to please take good care of me as he says he will send me the results of the measures via text message.

When Shi-hyuk left the police station after waving goodbye to the child and vaguely saying goodbye, the sunset sky had already turned a light blue.

He had figured out in advance that the [Chakgapsa] gate was not open 24 hours a day due to its low rank and uniqueness. Even if he went there late, it would be closing time soon.

Some of the street vendors who had been occupying the space were already preparing to close up shop and go home.

Although it was a little bitter, Sihyuk smiled slightly.

It would be a lie to say that I have no regrets about the schedule being different from what I had promised when I moved in. However, that doesn’t mean that I felt like the time I spent on my child was wasted.

-Thank you, sir!

A thank you with a stuffy nose and a short tongue. The sight of a little child waving his hand in greeting, his short arms clinging to his small head like an acorn.

A sense of fulfillment that surpassed regret was lingering in his chest.

The sense of accomplishment that came from helping Mia, who had lost her parents, and the feeling that I had helped someone were as valuable as the time I had lost today.

Although it’s late, since I’ve come this far, I’ll go in today and take a look around the inside a bit before leaving. I guess I can start having proper exchanges and experiences tomorrow.

When Shihyuk, who had made that judgment, returned to the center of the wall-site, the entrance to the Awakened Ones, there were already more people coming out than going in.

Perhaps his only consolation is that the waiting line is less than half the length it was when he first arrived.

Suddenly a commotion spread.

“Oh, look over there! It’s finally coming out!”

“Whoa, what’s that?! Is that all monster blood? Go wash off and come out, you filthy bastard!”

“The production staff have their hands full today too! Moving all that must be a lot of work.”

“Thank you for your hard work today! I’m taking pictures, so please look over here and smile just once!”

Some people are as proud as generals, while others are worn out and worn out.

Armed attack-type Awakened people were walking out. Among them, there were also some production-type Awakened people pulling large backpacks or carts.

They were also met with a mix of cheers, reprimands, and support.

I thought that the number of people leaving had simply increased significantly, causing people to gather around, but when I looked again, I saw that the number of tourists watching them had doubled, in contrast to the shorter line of people entering.

Shihyuk nodded. The time of entry may be different for each person, but the time of exit is fixed.

In that sense, unlike the awakened people, this was actually the golden time for the tourists. They would be able to see more people.

There was no time to just sit back and watch. It was the moment when he had to head straight for the procession.

“Hey, teacher!”

Someone caught Shihyuk.

He felt a sense of unease as he looked back at the situation that was somewhat similar to before, and a man wearing a cone-shaped helmet was smiling at him.

Black helmet, red shoulder pads, blue breastplate.

If you look down, you will see that the men are armed in such a colorful way that you wonder if it is okay for them to be like this.

The inconsistent outfits were more ridiculous than flashy. The rainbow-colored equipment was not even properly maintained, and was as unsightly as its tacky colors.

With an exaggerated gesture closer to a clown than a warrior, the man opened his arms wide toward Shihyuk.

“Is this your first time visiting Donggureung? I haven’t seen you in a while!”

“No, I-”

“Anyway, welcome! This may be a random boast, but I’ve got some rare and valuable loot! Would you like to take a look?”

He cut him off and the man suddenly reached out his hand from his pocket. Inside, a red heart-shaped stone was shining.

“This is the [Rare Grade Amulet] that you can only get once in a hundred attempts at [Chakgapsa]! It has the effect of increasing luck! And that’s not all? The person who has it will have vitality in their body and will not get sick, helping them live a long and healthy life!”

“… … .”

Shihyuk’s gaze narrowed.

When he saw the object and closed his mouth, perhaps he thought that his words were getting through to him. The man’s excited voice, like a frilled lizard, grew even louder.

“Sadly, I’m in a situation where I need money urgently, so I have no choice but to hold back tears and sell this precious item to someone for a very low price! But when I see you, teacher, I feel like sparks are flying! Hahaha! ”

“This is also fate, I will give this item to you cheaply! You are lucky, teacher! Of course!”

“… … .”

You’re a scammer.

Sihyuk concluded as much.

In the first place, he had never heard of any information that a finished product would be released in a low-grade gate like [Chakgapsa], which he had investigated in advance.

This is a gate where so many people walk around. If something like that were to come out, it would have to spread by word of mouth.

Even if what the man said was true, instead of just holding onto that one person and making a fuss, the sale should have already been completed beyond the entrance.

Above all, Shihyuk’s eyes were not slits.

The blacksmith had followed the great master and seen quite a few objects and materials. He only lacked [item appraisal] skills, but his eye for detail was not bad.

It was just a flash of light, holding no mana or value.

What good would it do to hide it? He immediately recognized the true value of the item the man was talking about as a [rare grade amulet].

What, it was strange that people couldn’t recognize it even though I had cut the shape a bit and added some color.

Because the identity of that object was the ‘lower-grade magic stone’ that Shihyuk had been fiddling with for the past few years.