Hunter Kindergarten, Dolphin Class! - Chapter 14
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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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Episode 014
I woke up the twins who were sleeping on the emergency center bed and came out of the company. I barely managed to stop Lee Seo-hyeok from following us and sent him back.
Both of us haven’t reached quitting time yet.
“Seo-ra, Seo-ro. From now on, we’re going quietly. Got it?”
And currently, the twins and I are hiding under the kindergarten wall.
…Yeah, honestly, let’s just accept it now.
That I can’t disguise this bold unauthorized absence as a plausible field assignment.
But I didn’t even consider the option of honestly confessing to the Principal.
Then, wouldn’t it be fine if I don’t get caught.
I brought my index finger to my lips and made a determined gesture. Then, the twins followed me and put their index fingers to their lips and nodded.
‘Good.’
I raised my waist slightly and looked over the wall at the courtyard connected to the kindergarten’s main gate.
‘No one’s there.’
I pressed my back tightly against the wall without any gaps. The twins clumsily pressed their bellies against the wall.
“Teacher, what awe we doing?”
Her white cheeks were pressed against the wall, making her pronunciation muffled. I wiped Seo-ra’s tear-stained eyes and said.
“Um, hide-and-seek, I guess…?”
The problem is it’s hide-and-seek that ends if we get caught.
I moved stealthily and acted cautiously. Opening doors, checking surroundings, and occasionally confirming that the twins were following well behind me.
-Creeeeak…
‘We passed the main gate, good.’
Perhaps thanks to such caution, even with the goal right in front of us, we hadn’t been caught by anyone.
…Just a little bit more to go.
We were almost there. It was the moment I reached my hand toward the entrance door handle.
“Hwiyeon… Teacher?”
In an instant, I experienced the strange phenomenon of the air around me dropping to what felt like 5 degrees below zero. My stiffened mind immediately flashed warning lights.
“Teacher Hwiyeon?”
At the urging call, I finally slowly turned around… The twins were looking up at me, frozen like stones.
Sorry, kids.
“…Principal.”
The balding Principal in his 50s had such a gentle appearance that strangers would mistake him for a nearby apartment resident.
But I know. I know how talkative and petty that gentle-looking Principal is.
His narrowed eyes swept over me and the two children now behind me.
‘Striking the nape to knock unconscious, was it?’
No. That would probably only be possible with a hand blade like Kwon Hae-seong’s.
“Teacher Hwiyeon? Where are you looking?”
My overloaded mind kept trying to reach strange conclusions. I was breaking out in cold sweat while suppressing the impure thoughts that kept intruding.
I should say something soon…
“Teacher Hwiyeon!”
-Smack.
The rough grip grabbing my forearm finally got a response out of me.
“…Yes.”
I quickly composed my expression and tried to think of a plausible excuse… but I gave up on that too cleanly.
‘I can’t help it even if I get in trouble for this.’
Because looking at just the facts, I didn’t do anything right.
Even if I did it with good intentions.
Whether the twins’ worry for Lee Seo-hyeok infected me too, I just bundled up the kids and climbed over the kindergarten fence.
Regardless of whether my actions were good or bad, if I was going to act as I pleased, I could be asked why rules exist and why I even came to this kindergarten.
So, it’s right that I get in trouble. Anyway, I’m currently in a subordinate position.
“…”
I had finished organizing my thoughts. I would get scolded cleanly and reflect on it.
…But for some reason, instead of the expected nagging, the Principal started making his own misunderstandings.
“Ah~ outdoor activities or something like that? Since you’re from the Early Childhood Education Department, you do all sorts of things.”
He’s misunderstanding it like this?
“Kids play well on their own if you just let them loose on the playground, so why go to such lengths.”
The Principal’s lukewarm gaze fixed on a certain spot behind me. I also slightly turned my body to shift my view.
Then, behind the twins, a small half-tended garden came into view.
‘It looks like the garden that Teacher I-deun manages.’
Small Plastic Pieces were stuck in the soil like nameplates, and sprouts were growing in neat rows following those nameplates.
Lettuce, perilla leaves, herbs, potatoes.
As I unconsciously read the names of plants written one by one with a Name Pen… I naturally realized.
‘Ah, I think I understand.’
What the Principal saw that led to such a misunderstanding.
He must have made his own deduction after seeing the few small shovels scattered around the garden and the twins covered in dirt from playing on the playground before meeting Lee Seo-hyeok.
‘If he’s going to misunderstand on his own like this, I’m actually grateful.’
So I didn’t bother to correct the Principal’s words. Instead, I just wore a professional smile and added a comment.
“Still. Playing the same way every day would get boring. I thought it would be good to have time to learn about the preciousness of life while tending to plants.”
The lies flowed smoothly without missing a beat. I said I was prepared to get scolded, not that I wanted to get scolded.
I naturally turned my back to the Principal and faced the twins, kneeling on one knee. I also detailed the act of taking their hands and brushing off the dirt from their palms.
“You got a lot of dirt on you. Let’s go inside, wash up quickly, and have snacks.”
“…Yes! Today was fun!”
“Teacher, what are today’s snacks?”
“…!”
I was trying to escape by playing both the drum and janggu by myself, but thankfully the children helped me out.
“The snacks are roasted Sweet Potato. Next time, let’s plant Sweet Potato in the garden too.”
When I slightly lowered my eyes as if I was moved, the twins smiled brightly.
How reassuring they are.
“Was there a garden there? Good grief, spending company money on all sorts of things. Anyway~ you kids need to be good to your parents!”
“…?”
Did I hear wrong? Was that a dog barking?
“Kids these days don’t even know to be grateful to their parents! Do you two at least know what filial piety is?”
The finger visible diagonally was clearly pointing at the twins. I slowly stood up from my position and looked down at him.
“…Ha.”
A slightly disgusted exclamation slipped out.
‘He’s saying all sorts of nonsense in front of the kids.’
The apologetic feelings I had for causing trouble in various ways became meaningless as irritation suddenly surged.
The Principal looked up at me as I suddenly approached right in front of him. I was about to quietly persuade him to leave when.
‘What’s this, why is he suddenly like this?’
The Principal couldn’t properly maintain his balance. He stumbled left and right, and when trying to Stand up again, he flailed his hands in the air several times and even panted heavily.
‘Huh? Why is he like this?’
…As I watched that sight, a smell that hit my nose suddenly wafted over.
The smell of alcohol.
I deeply lowered my head and then raised it again. I could feel anger slowly rising from deep in my core.
‘This crazy bastard.’
Looking at him now, his neck had turned bright red, he was hiccupping, and he didn’t even notice the alcohol dripping from the Pack Soju in his hand.
“Ha…”
It’s amazing that I was so distracted by handling the unauthorized absence issue that I didn’t immediately recognize this sight.
“Hiccup! Damn, being born with good bloodlines, attending such a fancy company kindergarten, and later becoming a hunter or whatever to live well without any effort?”
Can’t I shut that mouth of his?
“Lucky them~ When I was young, everyone was ordinary! Back then, we only competed with money and brains! Just those two things.”
I placed my hands on my waist to calm my mind and body. Since I was completely blocking the children’s view, there shouldn’t be any problem.
‘Come to think of it, wasn’t this guy the only ordinary person here?’
This type of person was rare, but I had seen them before.
People who had antipathy toward Awakeners.
However, that was usually something you’d only occasionally see in the internet world or among the older generation who were getting on in years.
But this guy was targeting the most vulnerable children…
“You think I want to live like this? Even this worthless principal position cost me several thousand…!”
“…”
Work negligence and drinking, followed by bribery and parachute appointment suspicions.
I’m learning a lot of unpleasant truths today in various ways.
I took a deep breath and exhaled again. I was starting to worry I might die young from stress-induced illness.
“Hiccup!”
Watching this guy’s behavior that didn’t match his age was so absurd that I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
While trying to cool my anger, I looked up at the sky…
“Hmm?”
Instead of a clear sky, I witnessed a strange scene.
I could see human silhouettes in the 3rd Floor Seal Class windows. Looking closely, not only Kwon Hae-seong and Kang Sa-gwa, but all the other children were pressing their faces against the glass windows.
‘What are they doing up there?’
At that moment, Tae-jae, who made eye contact with me, waved his hand at me.
I smiled slightly and waved back at him.
As my gaze naturally moved to the side, I caught sight of Kwon Hae-seong and Kang Sa-gwa. Those two were raising both arms above their heads and making all sorts of gestures at me.
What were they trying to say?
“Teacher Na Hwi-yeon should also take it easy~ You know, no matter how much you care for those little ones, they won’t even remember when they grow up anyway. Ungrateful brats.”
I reflexively caught the Principal who was suddenly about to collapse onto the ground.
…I can’t listen to this anymore. I placed my right hand on the Principal’s shoulder instead of my left arm that had been supporting him.
I should either tuck him away nicely in the Principal’s Office or stuff him in some corner.
Come on, let’s go, you drunk old man.
“Principal…”
-Crash!
Just as I was about to support the Principal and put strength into my shoulder, the 3rd Floor Corridor window opened roughly.
Then I heard what sounded like a terrified shout.
“Teacher Hwiyeon!! You, you can’t hit him!”
“I’ll… I’ll! Come down…!”
What?
***
“You did well.”
Kang Sa-gwa praised me with what seemed like a sincere expression. I responded while awkwardly accepting the coffee she offered.
Don’t tell me…
“For not hitting the Principal?”
“Yes.”
Well, I never had any intention of hitting him in the first place.
“Actually, among the previous Dolphin Class teachers, some resigned, but there were also several who were fired.”
“Ah… I see.”
“The Principal enjoys drinking, and he often causes incidents when he does…”
Considering the context, it seemed like the Principal’s drinking and incidents led to my predecessors being kicked out.
‘But normally, wouldn’t the person who caused the incident be the one to resign?’
Of course, that Principal didn’t seem like the type of person who would voluntarily resign over such moral issues.
Just then, Kwon Hae-seong seemed to understand this question and began explaining.
“…In the past, when he drank, he’d lose control of his tongue and pick fights with every teacher who passed by… Usually people would just ignore it and pass by, but sometimes incidents happened.”
Don’t tell me those incidents involved assault or brawls.
“Still, things have calmed down a bit since Teacher Jin-chae handled it.”
I don’t know what or how Yu Jin-chae handled it, but roughly… I get what they mean.
They’re keeping open the possibility that I might cause violence or fights like my predecessors.
“Does the Principal act like this often?”
“About twice a week.”
“Still, it’s fine if we put him to sleep in the Principal’s Office… He usually doesn’t come out of there.”
Wait, something sounds strange as I listen to this.
Why are these guys so detached? Like people who’ve accepted everything and given up.
And, though it’s a bit funny for me to think this, the CEO’s sibling attends here.
‘Seems like reporting to higher-ups would work.’
I immediately shared the thought that came to mind without filtering it.
“What about informing headquarters about this?”
“…”
“…Hmm.”
Their gazes crossed.
I immediately read that subtle exchange of looks.
It was useless.
“Why? This might sound a bit odd, but we have Cheonji in our class.”
It might sound a bit like saying we have an S-rank Pokémon.
Anyway, I can’t understand having such an attitude when there’s a blood relative of such a big shot among big shots.
“The Principal is related to one of the directors at headquarters. And well… from what I’ve heard, he got in by bribing higher-ups.”
I also overheard this earlier by chance.
‘That parachute appointment was a more premium parachute than I thought.’
Blood relations. It’s so textbook that it’s not even surprising.
Still, that fact alone couldn’t allow him to go this far.
Just then, Kang Sa-gwa cleared up this doubt of mine.
“Of course, this alone wouldn’t have been enough to keep his position until now. The problem is that the Principal is smarter than expected.”
Oh, that guy who cracks open pack soju in broad daylight?
Kwon Hae-seong scratched his head and picked up where Kang Sa-gwa left off like a relay.
“…When inspections come or parents visit, he acts perfectly normal like a ghost. Or he just avoids the situation… And we don’t have connections to higher-ups who could properly report these facts…”
I nodded understandingly while drinking coffee and continued absorbing information.
“Moreover, since it’s a company-affiliated kindergarten, management is inadequate. There’s not much interest. Whether it operates or not doesn’t matter much. Parents with awakener children are grateful for even such childcare facilities.”
Just as I was rejected by countless kindergartens simply for being an awakener, the children here would have been rejected for the same reason.
‘And they were pushed and pushed until they ended up here.’
“The parents send them here reluctantly. As for us, we don’t even have teaching certificates, but thanks to that we can secure positions and earn salaries to live on.”
Why did the conversation suddenly turn that way?
At Kang Sa-gwa’s harsh self-evaluation, I quietly put down my coffee and casually added a comment.
“Taking care of children isn’t easy. You’re more than qualified to receive salaries.”
People who raise children would know. This is tremendous physical and mental labor.
Spending at least 6 hours barely separated from children, caring for them devotedly, yet thinking of their situation that way was unacceptable.
If they think like that, everyone will think taking care of children is easy.
“…Is that so?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Hmm, that’s true. We should receive salaries.”
“Yes, you absolutely should.”
Good, that’s the attitude. Seeing me satisfied, Kwon Hae-seong brought up the original topic again.
“So, that’s why I stopped you… I didn’t mean anything else, I was just worried you’d get fired…”
No, I’m telling you I had no intention of hitting him at all!
“I think you’re both misunderstanding something, but I never intended to…”
I shook my head vigorously and looked at both of them to clear up the misunderstanding.
That’s when it happened.
-Ding!
“….”
Damn it.
‘Isn’t there some way to turn this thing off?’
I finally escaped only for this to start all over again.
I tried my best to filter my words and changed what I was going to say to something else.
“Can I ask you a random question?”
“Yes, of course.”
“…Yes, go ahead.”
Right, these people are Awakeners too, so they might know something about this phenomenon.
“Is Ability Control normally not something you can control at will?”
Does this damn Status Window normally act on its own?
There was no option for me to mention the Status Window or my strange ability here.
Being treated like a lunatic once was enough.
“No.”
“…Why not.”
However, contrary to my expectations, Kang Sa-gwa gave a rather firm denial.
“Because you’re past the age where emotional states make Ability Control difficult.”
Even Kang Sa-gwa, whom I trusted, abandoned me. What about you, Kwon Hae-seong?
“…I think the same way….”
So what, are my emotions all over the place?
I looked at the Status Window still floating in the air. After hearing Kang Sa-gwa’s words, I somehow felt like I was being treated as a kid with poor emotional control.
“Do you have some problem with using your ability?”
It’s not that, it’s just that sometimes some guy in the air suggests I try deleting other people’s human rights.
Since I couldn’t tell the truth like that, I just shut up and played dumb.
Then, however they interpreted my expression, I unexpectedly heard an answer.
“Then, go to the Headquarters Research Lab tomorrow and ask them about it.”
“…?”
There’s a way like that? I’m grateful, but….
Can you just walk into a place like that?
“You didn’t know….”
“Know what?”
I saw her complexion instantly turn pale.
Why are you making such an anxious expression?
“Tomorrow, we’re going on a field trip to our main building.”
“Tomorrow? Tomorrow?”
I gasped and turned to look at Kwon Hae-seong.
Hey, did you know about this too? Was I the only one who didn’t hear?
“…Yes, tomorrow.”
Even Kwon Hae-seong, whom I hadn’t trusted, abandoned me.
—————
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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