Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 113

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 113

 

I looked down at the message screen I received last night.

 

-Baek Cheonhyeong: It’s nothing major, but I have a favor to ask.

 

‘He says happy birthday, but now what’s this favor about.’

 

Moreover, that favor was puzzling.

 

-Baek Cheonhyeong: Can you go to Mugang?

 

Suddenly asking me to go to Mugang.

 

‘Does he think Mugang is the neighbor’s courtyard…’

 

What’s more, the fact that the person making this request was the CEO of ‘Mugang’s’ competitor made it even more impossible to guess the meaning.

 

At first, I thought, ‘Is he finally trying to get rid of me?’ but as I pondered it, an even more chilling assumption came to mind…

 

‘Surely he’s not telling me to do spy work in reverse.’

 

If it was that CEO bastard, it was a sufficiently plausible guess.

 

So I urgently asked for the reason, but the answer that came back was even more vague.

 

-Baek Cheonhyeong: Let me know if you’re interested. I’ll tell you the reason when the time comes.

 

I had no interest at all, but I didn’t forget that this guy was my source of income and sent a message.

 

-I’ll think about it.

 

‘Think about what exactly.’

 

Absolutely not going.

 

‘Why would I go there?’

 

I reflexively ran my hand over my head as if checking it.

 

That strange sensation I felt the moment Baek Cheonhyeong touched my head in the underground parking garage wasn’t easily forgotten.

 

‘It seems like he did something.’

 

Since there’s no evidence, I have nothing to say.

 

“Phew…”

 

Anyway, I decided to politely decline Baek Cheonhyeong’s request in a few days.

 

“Teacher, we’re ready…”

 

And right now, there’s something more important than that.

 

“The kids… are incredibly excited. Yesterday Won-gang couldn’t even sleep… Isn’t that cute?”

 

“Really? I guess I took too much time.”

 

Finally, that day had come.

 

[ Tosik Who Wants to Go to the Moon ]

 

The day to open the curtain on Part 2!

 

‘Sorry… I’m finally bringing this out.’

 

It was the second half of the story, resumed after a whole two months.

 

Do you remember?

 

The handmade storybook I created during that chaotic period when I entered the Early Childhood Education Department and was wandering around.

 

It ended with the protagonist ‘Tosik’ saying he would go to the Moon, giving his final farewell to his friend Darong and boarding a spaceship.

 

After that, I used the excuse of wanting to hear the children’s dreams since we’d heard ‘Tosik’s’ dream, and switched direction to Korean language study.

 

‘And then I received tremendous criticism.’

 

To make a pathetic excuse for why Part 2 was delayed, it was because the fairy tale book had become old and torn over time, requiring restoration work.

 

‘I wanted to show it in the best quality possible.’

 

“Now, is everyone ready?”

 

The children from our class and the two children from Seal Class, Won-gang and Da-yeong, nodded their heads solemnly.

 

‘Okay.’

 

-Tosik, riding in the Yellow Spaceship, looked down at Earth growing smaller and smaller through the Round Window.

 

-And at that moment, Tosik saw it.

 

-His neighborhood, sparkling and twinkling, with all the lights turned on.

 

A firm, narration-like voice flows through my mouth.

 

-Tosik knew.

 

-Every night, at this very time, all his neighborhood friends would turn off their lights without exception to go to sleep.

 

-But today was different.

 

-Just for today, they all kept their lights on for Tosik who was leaving for the Moon.

 

-Hoping that their friend traveling far away wouldn’t lose his way. Hoping he wouldn’t be lonely.

 

-And hoping he wouldn’t be scared.

 

-As the spaceship rose higher into the sky, those countless lights looked different.

 

Another universe.

 

Paradoxically, as Tosik got closer and closer to the Moon, he realized.

 

‘The place where I should be wasn’t the Moon, but down there.’

 

-In the end, Tosik turned the spaceship around. Back to the village where his ‘Moon’ was.

 

“Lee Seo-ra knew Tosik would return to the village!”

 

“Still, since he got on a spaceship, wouldn’t it be better to go to the Moon at least once?”

 

Seo-ra and Cheonji have different opinions.

 

“Hmm… I don’t like space. He’d be alone on the Moon anyway. It’s better to go Home quickly.”

 

“I like Home too.”

 

Tae-jae and Won-gang seem to be on the ‘quick return Home’ side.

 

“Tosik lacks courage. If it were me, I would have already reached the Moon.”

 

As expected, that’s a coldly rational judgment typical of Seo-ro.

 

“What do you think about Tosik returning to the village, Da-yeong?”

 

Da-yeong’s eyes widened at my question, and she answered with a bright smile.

 

“I don’t know… If Tosik is happy, then I’m happy too.”

 

Wow… What a kind and clear answer.

 

As I looked around at them with satisfaction, I noticed two children who hadn’t answered.

 

“What about Nabi and Noah?”

 

“Where friends are is the best place! You mean that round yellow ball the moon sees every night? It looks like it would pop if you touched it!”

 

I explained that the moon isn’t a ball…

 

‘But I’m scared it really would pop if you touched it.’

 

“…What about Noah?”

 

But why is our Noah so quiet today?

 

Usually this child would jump out and answer without being asked, but today he was unusually quiet.

 

When I mentioned his name, Noah finally spoke up hesitantly.

 

“So Tosik… went back to the village because his friends are precious to him?”

 

‘Oh, he got to the heart of the story.’

 

I nodded with delight.

 

“That’s right, Tosik realized something more precious than going to the ‘moon.'”

 

“Teacher…”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Then… what’s the reason for not coming back even when you have someone precious?”

 

“…”

 

I paused for a moment.

 

It felt like I had been hit on the head.

 

The moment I heard Noah’s question, I realized that this wasn’t just a child talking about a fairy tale story.

 

‘Is there some problem at home?’

 

First, I answered calmly without showing my concern.

 

“You’re right, I’m really curious too. Um… Noah, shall we listen to the story until the end? After we finish listening, let’s talk about it separately with Teacher.”

 

“…Yes.”

 

So I tucked away my uneasy feelings for now and turned my attention to the fairy tale book.

 

-Darong and their friends welcomed Tosik back. Darong said with tears flowing.

 

-Tosik, why did you come back? You wanted to go to the moon.

 

-Then Tosik smiled and answered Darong’s words.

 

-My ‘moon’ was here. I only realized that after moving away from it.

 

In the end, at the story’s conclusion, Tosik comes to understand.

 

That everyone has their own special place.

 

And Tosik’s place was beside their friends.

 

I silently watched Noah, who seemed lost in thought.

 

It seemed like someone precious to Noah had lost their way.

 

***

 

Even after that, Noah continued to remain listlessly dejected.

 

I tried talking with him separately to comfort him, but the child’s condition didn’t change.

 

‘This is worrying.’

 

To make matters worse, no helpful information was updated in the Status Window either.

 

Meanwhile, frustratingly, this worry gradually began to change into something different.

 

“Yes? Ah… Yes, yes, I understand. Mother, please don’t worry too much. Sometimes children go through phases like this.”

 

I stared blankly at the mobile phone screen where the call had just ended, and eventually let out a sigh.

 

Suddenly, Noah had started refusing to come to kindergarten.

 

-“Teacher, I’m sorry! The child suddenly started insisting he won’t go, so I think we need to monitor his mood for a while…”

 

On one hand, I thought it was natural for children that age to act this way sometimes…

 

But it kept bothering me that he was refusing to come to kindergarten without any clear reason.

 

…The idea that it might be a family issue was just speculation after all.

 

‘In the end, I was so anxious that I even summoned Tae-jae, who’s like Noah’s best friend.’

 

I indirectly asked Tae-jae about Noah’s condition lately and why he thought Noah wasn’t coming to kindergarten…

 

Tae-jae’s response was:

 

-Noah is always like that.

 

He answered very coolly and left.

 

‘What does that even mean… Tae-jae.’

 

On the seventh day since Noah had started refusing to come to kindergarten.

 

I finally couldn’t hold back anymore and called someone to sit in front of me.

 

“So this is the current situation… Is there something I might have missed?”

 

Kwon Hae-seong, sitting across from me, looked at me with eyes that seemed to find this strange.

 

‘What? Why are you looking at me like that?’

 

You’re the one who said it.

 

-“If anything comes up… please make sure to tell me. Teacher, you don’t speak up easily even when things happen.”

 

‘You told me to definitely tell you if I had any worries.’

 

As I stared at him shamelessly, Kwon Hae-seong looked slightly flustered but hurriedly began to respond.

 

“Uh… Um…”

 

Actually, I wasn’t asking the question expecting any special answer, but rather spoke out of sheer frustration.

 

‘I felt like I’d go crazy if I didn’t confide in someone right away.’

 

This thought even gave me a headache.

 

‘I can’t tell if it’s a family issue, or if he really started disliking the Kindergarten…’

 

Just in case, I even reviewed all the past days, wondering if I had unknowingly made Noah do activities he didn’t want and hurt his feelings.

 

‘But even then, I couldn’t find the answer.’

 

After a moment, Kwon Hae-seong furrowed his brows, then scratched his cheek lightly with his finger and began to speak.

 

“I think Noah isn’t staying away because he dislikes the Kindergarten…”

 

What?

 

“Tae-jae told me before… Noah once even slept with his Shoes on because he wanted to hurry to the Kindergarten in the morning… And he liked it even more after Teacher Hwiyeon came. He didn’t dislike it…”

 

“Then… what could be the reason he suddenly doesn’t want to come?”

 

“If it’s Noah… maybe he has a completely different idea in mind?”

 

“A different idea?”

 

“I’m not sure either, but… his thinking is so unique that maybe he’s thinking of something else. For example… maybe he’s trying to go somewhere other than the Kindergarten.”

 

That makes sense.

 

This is the child who took a Bus by himself because he wanted to go to an amusement park for his birthday.

 

If that’s the case, then it shouldn’t be much of a problem…

 

‘If that’s the reason, he’ll come back soon anyway.’

 

Just as I was naturally falling silent, lost in thought.

 

I looked up at the cold sensation touching the back of my hand.

 

“…”

 

Tap. Tap tap.

 

This guy Kwon Hae-seong was tapping the back of my hand with a ballpoint pen.

 

“Your worries… If you write them down in a notebook, you’ll feel a little better.”

 

“…”

 

…What a funny guy.

 

After looking into Kwon Hae-seong’s past through the Status Window, it was similar to what I had done to this guy.

 

“Don’t worry too much… It’s probably nothing serious.”

 

In the end, I smiled weakly and nodded.

 

Yeah, maybe I’m overthinking this.

 

I used my brain too much, and it seems like I’ve moved further away from the answer.

 

‘Alright, I got it. You bear cub.’

 

However, my wish was not fulfilled.

 

On the day that marked the second week of Noah’s refusal to attend kindergarten.

 

-Teacher, I’m really sorry. Noah is going to transfer kindergartens.

 

As soon as I arrived at work, I received a call from Noah’s Mother.

 

-He’ll probably be going to the new kindergarten in Mugang.

 

And to BOND’s rival kindergarten at that.

 

***

 

So what did I do?

 

I went too.

 

To Mugang.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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