Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 119
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————
Chapter 119
The sand wrapping around my body gradually pulls me deeper into the abyss.
The touch of sand that was initially so comforting begins to grow heavier and heavier.
Just when I’m thinking ‘I want to stay like this forever.’
Urgh.
As I struggle against the sand dust densely filling my nose and mouth… my eyes snap open from the dull pain striking my back.
“Gasp…!”
The sweat beading on my chin falls to the floor as I sit up.
I lift my head to check my surroundings.
Under the bright fluorescent light, a hallway torn in multiple directions.
It matched the scene I saw while falling from the elevator.
‘This is in front of the underground elevator shaft.’
“…Noah!”
I hurriedly look for Noah first, and find him sleeping in the arms of Kang Ho-won who’s lying face down beside me.
‘He’s… breathing.’
After that, one by one, I see not only Lee Seo-hyeok but also the people who were trapped in the dungeon.
They all just seem to have briefly lost consciousness, but none of them appear to be injured.
Only then does relief wash over me like a tide.
‘Finally.’
We made it out.
Outside the dungeon.
“Ah…”
Reflexively covering my eyes with both palms, I let out a sigh of relief.
…I succeeded.
My judgment wasn’t wrong.
No one died, and we returned… to Reality.
“!…Teacher? Where is this?”
Ah, he must have woken up.
Lee Seo-hyeok, who had just regained consciousness, hurriedly looked around before asking me, the only one sitting upright and unharmed.
I brushed back my hair covered in Sand and sweat and smiled at Lee Seo-hyeok.
“We succeeded in getting Outside.”
“H-how…? No, that’s not important—thank goodness! Are you hurt anywhere?”
“I’m fine. What about you, Seo-hyeok?”
“I’m… I think I’m okay too.”
The joy of finally being alive, the relief of escaping from indescribable terror.
All of those emotions exploded, releasing tremendous adrenaline that left us dazed.
As we sat there just catching our breath and smiling emptily at each other…
From the Elevator across from us, which was operating normally, came a cheerful sound.
-Ding.
Both my head and Lee Seo-hyeok’s turned simultaneously.
-The doors are opening.
With the announcement, the Elevator doors opened, revealing the people inside.
“I don’t know what this sudden disaster is all about… Is it true that the Research Team Staff have all gone missing? And what’s this about BOND’s representative coming to the company right now?”
“Ugh! I don’t know the details either, but it seems like the higher-ups secretly caused some kind of accident. They’re in deep trouble… Look, suddenly one of the underground Elevators had its floor completely disappear, so there’s bad news too…”
“…”
Oh, our eyes met.
The pupils of the employee I encountered are rapidly vibrating left and right.
“Th, this is, wh, what….”
Well…. You see.
Then, after scanning the unconscious people behind me, they soon began spitting out words close to screams.
“Eeeeeek?! Th, those pe, people over there! They were reported missing!”
“…Section Chief, why are you suddenly acting like this? What’s in front that you won’t even get off….”
“Ca, call someone!!”
“Huh? Huh? Th, those people?”
“I, I’ll contact the CEO right now…!”
What, what’s this situation?
Missing? All these people were in missing status?
I turned around in surprise as well.
‘Come to think of it, Noah’s Father being in that state inside the company basement dungeon was… strange too, wasn’t it?’
What’s going on here?
As the situation swirled chaotically again and I couldn’t even get up from my spot, something was suddenly placed over my head.
Kang Ho-won, who had regained consciousness at some point, had taken the helmet from Noah’s head and put it on me.
“From now on, don’t take off the helmet unless there are special instructions….”
“Did we…. cause trouble?”
‘Well, I thought it was over from the moment we destroyed the elevator floor.’
Kang Ho-won’s troubled expression was slightly visible through the translucent visor of the black helmet.
“Well…. If you look at it from a fragmentary perspective, we saved employees who were about to die helplessly in the dungeon, so it’s not like we did anything bad, but….”
But the employees are screaming like they’ve seen ghosts when they look at us, so I guess we don’t really know what’s going on.
I nodded my head as if familiar with this, erasing the gleam from my eyes.
‘I get the gist of it.’
You’re saying you can’t move rashly either because you haven’t fully grasped the situation.
‘Right… You handle this calmly.’
I gave you a lifeline by opening my mouth, didn’t I.
While those idiots in helmets were putting their heads together, pondering how to overcome the current situation.
“Dad…!”
“Noah…! Why are you here?!”
Finally, the dramatic meeting between Noah and Noah’s Father took place.
“Hey, Seo-hyeok, should we just go out guns blazing?”
“Senior, are you confident?”
“…I’m not confident about anything else.”
“Yes, let’s do what we’re good at.”
I left the chattering Hunters alone and approached Noah and Noah’s Father.
‘Noah’s appearance is identical to his Mother’s. He only shares hair color and eye color with his Father.’
Despite the situation, seeing a student’s Guardian automatically brought a smile to my face.
“Hello, Noah’s Father.”
“Ah… Hello. Um, excuse me, I’m a bit flustered right now… Who are you?”
“Oh, I’m from Ocean Kindergarten…”
“My Teacher! Teacher and I saved Dad from the aliens! I did good, right!”
Noah blurted out, cutting off my answer.
“You’re a teacher?”
I could see Noah’s Father’s pupils shaking mercilessly.
Yes… I understand that feeling, Father.
Some man who hasn’t even taken off his helmet suddenly shows up at your workplace and introduces himself as your son’s kindergarten teacher – you’d be flustered.
“I’m Na Hwi-yeon, a teacher from Ocean Kindergarten’s Dolphin Class.”
“Ah… Yes, yes! Nice to meet you. But what brings you here, Teacher?”
Watching Noah’s Father try to calmly accept my greeting somehow, I smiled bitterly.
It seems he couldn’t recognize us at all when trapped in the dungeon due to the brainwashing magic.
‘Ah, what should I do… I expected this, but this makes it even more awkward to explain.’
Just as I was about to open my mouth with an awkward smile, trying to explain this situation in simple terms.
Grab. The tip of my shoulder was caught by a large palm. When I turned around, a large helmet was looking down at me.
‘…Kang Ho-won?’
“That… Teacher? You didn’t just reveal your identity, did you?”
“…”
Ah, right.
I reflexively scratched my helmet head and said to Kang Ho-won.
“That… I suddenly saw the guardian and habitually… I’m sorry.”
Hmm… I admit this.
I was wrong.
But you handle this situation.
‘I saved you, didn’t I? Now that I think about it, I broke out in a cold sweat talking to that guy called Sangja or whatever.’
“…Haha. Yes, you did really well. You met the guardian, so yes, do more. More.”
I gladly pretended not to hear Kang Ho-won’s dazed muttering.
I trusted my reliable Baek and opened my mouth again.
Since I can’t take back what I’ve already said, I need to do my best to explain.
“Noah’s Father, you must be surprised, but first, let me explain what happened…”
This is an occupational hazard, so it can’t be helped.
***
In the back seat of the car, Baek Cheonhyeong secretly smiled with satisfaction.
Mugang, which had held out longer than expected, had finally lowered its tail.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Yes, thank you for your hard work.”
As soon as they arrived at Mugang, a familiar face was visible in front of the building.
Mugang’s representative, Kang Mu-jin, was waiting with his executives in tow.
“Hmm…”
Kang Mu-jin is 25 years old this year, right?
Kang Mu-jin’s face visible through the car window looked youthful, fitting for his age.
The characteristic arrogant and overconfident face of someone who succeeded at a young age.
…Well, right now his spirit is completely crushed and he looks miserable.
Baek Cheonhyeong composed his expression and opened the car door. Then, following his secretary’s guidance, he headed toward the waiting Kang Mu-jin.
“I heard you need help.”
“…Yes, thank you for coming all this way.”
Unable to hide his emotions, Kang Mu-jin’s lips could be seen trembling.
Turning his gaze away from him indifferently, he casually asked Kang Mu-jin again.
“I heard about the situation. Hmm… We definitely need information from our side. Right?”
“…Yes. For now, please go inside and discuss how to proceed…”
“CEO!!”
Turning his head at the familiar title, he realized it wasn’t meant for him.
An employee came running out breathlessly, his face flushed red.
The employee who quickly approached soon blurted out shocking news.
“Can’t you see we’re in the middle of an important conversation…”
“We found the gate that disappeared! No, the dungeon has already been cleared! All the missing Research Team members and hunters have returned!”
“What?!”
At this breaking news, Kang Mu-jin completely forgot about leaving Baek Cheonhyeong behind and rushed into the company lobby.
‘Dungeon Clear.’
Are they talking about that dungeon they illegally purchased that caused all the trouble?
Baek Cheonhyeong leisurely entered the building following Kang Mu-jin who was running frantically, and soon noticed that the inside of the company was somewhat chaotic.
“First, let’s move them to the Emergency Treatment Room!”
“Those who need to contact family members, please do so quickly!”
“Where’s the CEO? When is the CEO coming?!”
Rumble rumble.
People being supported, and people doing the supporting.
People making urgent phone calls and desperately looking for someone moved around creating noise.
Even so, all of them couldn’t help but glance somewhere repeatedly.
Three helmeted men in the corner… and several employees trying to communicate with them through gestures.
Baek Cheonhyeong watched that spot with interested eyes.
“You need to identify yourselves first.”
“We’ll reveal that when our people arrive.”
“Among our employees who were trapped in the dungeon, those who weren’t fully brainwashed said they clearly saw you people. We’re not interrogating you. We also need explanations from the teachers who were at the scene to understand the situation.”
“We’ll talk about that too when our people arrive.”
The atmosphere wasn’t hostile, but it wasn’t warm either.
Around the time Baek Cheonhyeong stopped walking and was pondering.
‘Should I turn that way.’
“Hey guys.”
Tap tap tap.
He could see Field Team Na’s team leader Moon Chae-yeong and team member Choi Un-seong rushing over.
Only then did Baek Cheonhyeong realize that the clothes the helmet trio was wearing matched BOND’s field team work clothes.
‘I didn’t recognize them for a moment because they removed the patches.’
And as soon as he recognized the truth, his footsteps were already heading in that direction.
The closer he got, the more violently his heart pounded.
The excitement and anticipation that his impossible imagination would soon become reality.
And then.
“This is Moon Chae-yeong from BOND Field Team Na. These three are my team members, what’s the matter? …Ah, yes, yes. Hey guys, they just want to check your faces. Take off your helmets.”
Following Moon Chae-yeong’s instructions, they roughly removed their helmets one by one.
Kang Ho-won.
Lee Seo-hyeok.
“…!”
Na Hwi-yeon.
My head burned hot with rage.
Just then, Kang Mu-jin, who had hurriedly returned to his side after roughly hearing about the situation, spoke.
“I’m sorry for making you rush over here, but they say the situation has been resolved. The, the disappeared dungeon was also cleared for unknown reasons and the missing employees too…”
Even while explaining to me, this young CEO had a face that showed he couldn’t understand it at all.
However, Baek Cheonhyeong was certain.
Because similar data had already accumulated several times.
‘Na Hwi-yeon did this.’
While staring at Na Hwi-yeon standing there blankly with sweat and heat covering his entire face, he charged straight ahead.
Sure enough, Na Hwi-yeon had caused an incident at Mugang too.
Feeling an inexplicable satisfaction rising up, Baek Cheonhyeong opened his mouth.
“What business do you have with our company employee?”
Now it was time to gladly give compensation for the incident he had caused.
—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————