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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Xrecker
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The pouring rain, a hallmark of the monsoon season, crashed against the ground, its rhythmic drumming strangely soothing.
I’d left headquarters early to pick up Kirk’s daughter, as promised, and entered a bustling restaurant. Yu-bin had texted, asking what I was doing, and I told her I was about to have lunch alone. She offered to join me, but I told her not to bother.
I didn’t want her to feel bad about being turned down, so I promised to have dinner with her when she came over later.
Then I received a message from Yu-ra. It wasn’t just a text; it was a picture, a selfie taken in the cafe storage room, showing ample cleavage, which made me jump. I quickly looked around, worried someone might have seen it.
“Honestly…”
I diligently replied, feeling a pang of guilt towards Yu-ra for last weekend’s shift. I hadn’t been able to properly engage with her because of the exhaustion and lingering thoughts from helping Green.
She must have been upset after those two days. I’d have to make it up to her this weekend.
As I sat there, waiting for my food, the restaurant suddenly became noisy. It was lunchtime, so it was already bustling, but a sudden commotion disrupted the pleasant chatter.
“What are you going to do about this?!”
I turned my head towards the angry voice and saw a customer arguing with what seemed like a staff member. Or rather, the customer was the one yelling.
“I’m sorry.”
The staff member was apologizing profusely, and I, having been engrossed in my phone, finally looked up and assessed the situation.
The picture was clear.
A dish was overturned on the customer’s table, and there was food on his sleeve. The staff member must have spilled the food.
While it was understandable for him to be upset, I couldn’t comprehend his level of anger, grabbing the staff member by the collar.
The commotion drew the attention of other customers, and the owner even came out to try and calm the man down, but he wouldn’t release his grip on the staff member.
Was he incredibly strong? Several staff members were trying to restrain him, but he wouldn’t budge.
I suddenly noticed the angry customer’s face. Dark blue hair, sharp eyes, and a shifty-looking expression… I felt like I’d seen him somewhere before.
I must have been mistaken. I dismissed the thought and turned my attention away from the commotion. It wasn’t my business; I just wanted to eat and leave.
But the situation wouldn’t let me be. The commotion escalated, delaying my food.
“You’re going to pay for this. Do you even know how much this costs, you little shit?”
Green’s recent experience had made me particularly sensitive to people behaving badly. While it wasn’t my place to interfere, I found his behavior annoying and tried to ignore it.
“Sorry for the wait.”
“No, it’s okay.”
My food finally arrived. The fried rice I’d ordered for a quick lunch looked delicious, and just as I was about to take a bite, something came flying towards me, knocking over my table.
“…”
I registered the situation a moment later. It was a person, one of the staff members who’d been trying to restrain the angry customer, not the one he’d been holding by the collar. Thankfully, he didn’t seem injured.
The biggest casualty was my lunch.
“Are you okay?”
I checked on the staff member, just in case.
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
Seeing his apologetic expression, my annoyance shifted towards the customer who’d caused the commotion. I didn’t usually resort to violence. I wasn’t particularly strong, and I didn’t have any hidden powers.
However, I was aware of the difference between my strength and that of ordinary Earthlings, and I avoided using force, knowing I could easily hurt someone.
But the staff member being thrown into my table had made me a part of this situation.
“Hey.”
I called out to him casually, and his sharp gaze turned to me. There were sharp gazes that exuded charisma and authority, and then there were sharp gazes that just looked shifty and untrustworthy.
This man’s gaze belonged to the latter category, and I felt an instinctive repulsion.
“Who are you? Stay out of this!”
I grabbed his arm, the one holding the staff member by the collar, and squeezed. While he was physically fit, I was stronger, and he loosened his grip, the pain evident on his face.
The staff member finally broke free, and the man and I glared at each other.
“You little shit. I told you to stay out of this!”
Seeing him lose control infuriated me.
He was about to attack me, and I braced myself, when one of his companions spoke.
“Indigo, stop it.”
“…What?”
Indigo, looking at his companion, then at the crowd of onlookers filming with their phones, clicked his tongue.
“If you cause trouble again, you might get seriously punished.”
“Fuck.”
His vulgar language was unpleasant.
He shook off my hand and left the restaurant with his companions. He glared at me one last time before leaving, but I ignored him, figuring I’d never see him again.
Perhaps because Green’s father’s abusive behavior had made me sensitive to displays of anger and violence, I felt a little embarrassed by my uncharacteristic outburst.
“Thank you, sir. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Is everyone else okay?”
The owner came over to thank me, and I, whose lunch had been the only real casualty, checked on the other staff members who’d been trying to restrain the man. Thankfully, no one seemed seriously injured.
“We’ll get you another meal right away, so please wait a moment.”
“It’s okay, take your time.”
My mood improved instantly with the troublemaker gone, and I sat back down, patiently waiting for my food, not minding the delay.
Listening to the other customers’ chatter, it seemed the man and his companions had been putting their feet up on the table, even after their food arrived, and had become angry when the staff member asked them to put their feet down so he could serve their food.
He hadn’t grabbed the staff member by the collar because the food had been spilled. He’d spilled the food because he’d grabbed the staff member by the collar. There were a lot of crazy people in the world.
When I paid for my meal, the owner tried to refuse the payment as thanks, but I insisted, handing him cash. I didn’t want any attention, and since some people had been filming, I asked him to keep me out of any online posts.
As I stepped out of the restaurant, Green called.
“Hello.”
“Hello. Have you had lunch?”
“Yes, I just ate.”
“Oh…”
Her voice held a hint of disappointment, and I wondered what was wrong.
“Is something the matter?”
“No, I was just about to have lunch, so I thought I’d ask.”
She’d probably hoped to have lunch with me since the park and my “workplace,” the headquarters, were nearby.
“How did the investigation go?”
“It went well, and I just left. They said they’ll contact me again.”
“That’s good to hear. Let’s have lunch another time. I just ate, and I’m out on another errand today.”
“Another time?! Okay!”
Her sudden cheerful tone made me wonder if having lunch with me was that exciting, and I smiled, happy to see her in a good mood, regardless of the reason.
“I have somewhere else to go, so I’ll hang up now.”
“Okay, take care.”
After the pleasant conversation, I headed towards the kindergarten where Kirk’s daughter attended.
It was almost time for her to finish, so I figured I’d arrive just in time.
I slowly took in the unfamiliar scenery as I followed the directions to the kindergarten Kirk had sent me. It wasn’t much different from my own neighborhood.
Still, there was a certain novelty to visiting a new place, and I observed the surroundings as I walked.
“Nice neighborhood. The people who live here must be rich.”
While the scenery wasn’t drastically different, certain areas in Seoul were known for their expensive real estate. Even similar-looking buildings could have vastly different prices, and I figured only wealthy people could afford to live in this area.
I arrived at the kindergarten just as it was time for dismissal and noticed young parents waiting to pick up their children. Most of them seemed to be mothers, and I was the only man.
I waited for Kirk’s daughter, watching the children emerge from the building. I knew her name and face and had met her before, so there was no need to confirm her identity. The problem was, while the other children were leaving with their mothers, Kirk’s daughter didn’t appear.
Kirk lived nearby, so his daughter didn’t take the kindergarten bus. I was supposed to meet her at the front gate, so what was going on?
“Hey! It’s Uncle A!”
A girl with brown hair in pigtails, exuding a mischievous aura, came running towards me, holding an umbrella.
“Jo Eun-ji, it’s been a while.”
Kirk’s daughter’s name was Eun-ji, and I’d played with her a few times at their place, so we were somewhat familiar.
I’d made eye contact with Eun-ji as she approached, then noticed she was holding hands with a boy and tilted my head in confusion.
“You didn’t know I was coming?”
“Dad didn’t explain properly. He was too excited about his date with Mom.”
Eun-ji was mature for her age. She understood social dynamics and knew that parents had their own lives, so she’d readily agreed to let them have their anniversary date without her.
As we exchanged greetings, I couldn’t help but notice the boy holding Eun-ji’s hand.
He looked up at me nervously, perhaps intimidated by the unfamiliar adult, and mumbled a greeting.
“Hello…”
“Hey there.”
I greeted him back and looked at Eun-ji expectantly.
“He’s my boyfriend, Ho-yeong.”
I was taken aback by the word “boyfriend” coming from a six-year-old, but each generation had its own norms. I couldn’t help but chuckle, though it wasn’t because of the children’s relationship.
“Boyfriend? Does your dad know?”
“No. That’s why we played together today and left together.”
Kirk, despite his burly physique, was a doting father and had been incredibly excited when Eun-ji was born six years ago.
“Your dad’s going to freak out.”
“You betray me, and you’re dead. Got it?”
“Okay, okay.”
I smiled at Eun-ji’s not-so-intimidating threat and looked at Ho-yeong, her “boyfriend.”
“What’s your last name, Ho-yeong?”
“Yoo. Yoo Ho-yeong.”
Children’s whims were fickle, and I didn’t know how long their relationship would last, but I figured it was worth remembering.
Eun-ji had left with Ho-yeong because I was there to pick her up, but I didn’t see Ho-yeong’s parents.
“Ho-yeong, aren’t your parents here?”
“My parents…”
Just as Ho-yeong started to speak,
“Ho-yeong~”
A gentle voice called out his name from afar, and the three of us turned our heads.
A woman, holding an umbrella, came running towards us. She was wearing ordinary slacks and a shirt, her blue hair in a braided bun. While her appearance was rather plain, I recognized her immediately. She stopped in front of us, looked at Ho-yeong, then at Eun-ji, who was holding his hand, then at me, and greeted us.
“Hello.”
“Uh, yes, hello.”
She also seemed to be assessing the situation, the unfamiliar scene before her.
“Hello! I’m Jo Eun-ji, and I’m six years old. And I’m Ho-yeong’s girlfriend!”
Eun-ji, with her confident personality, immediately introduced herself.
“Girlfriend? Ho-yeong.”
The woman’s eyes met Ho-yeong’s, and he, usually quiet and reserved, nodded and said,
“Aunt, can we play a little longer?”
Eun-ji’s eyes lit up as she looked up at me.
“Uncle! Let’s play a little longer.”
The two adults, dumbfounded, exchanged glances.
I saw my own surprised reflection in her clear, blue eyes.
I hadn’t expected to meet Blue like this.
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