The Chick Class Hunter is Being Filial - Chapter 76

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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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Chick Class Hunter is Being Filial! Episode 76

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And On Jurim tilted his head while reading the comments on the Mom Cafe.

‘Is it really that important whether someone is a father or a guardian?’

Isn’t the quality of the nurturing environment what matters, whether it’s family or not?

He didn’t think it was bad parenting. He had hired four sitters just to take care of the child. It was an environment where he could fulfill whatever she asked for, and his relationship with the child wasn’t bad either.

On Jurim rhythmically tapped the back of his mobile phone with his index finger while reading the comments.

The orphanage director had said it would take time for Han Gru to accept On Jurim as family, but On Jurim didn’t particularly want that anyway.

Wouldn’t a relationship that doesn’t hurt without worrying about being abandoned again, a safe and comfortable home, and an environment where he could fulfill her wishes be enough?

Whether it’s mom, dad, guardian, or guild leader…

He tapped the keyboard with a slightly displeased expression.

Meanwhile, Park Mirim had deliberately positioned herself at the very back, stealing glances at On Jurim while waiting for the right timing.

She thought she understood why he had avoided personal contact.

S-Rank. And the strongest among them, the number 1 ranker, dealing with a kindergarten peer’s mother (very weak even among ordinary people) wouldn’t look good either.

It was like a lion not bothering to receive an apology from an ant.

‘Harry, did the friend you bullied really have to be On Jurim’s daughter? Were there truly no other options? Like the option of just getting along well…’

Even if it wasn’t On Jurim’s daughter, she had hoped for such a relationship, but what happened had happened, and it was just spilled water.

Park Mirim, who had been eagerly waiting for a chance to strike up a conversation, noticed the mobile phone On Jurim was holding.

‘Huh?’

The cafe displayed on On Jurim’s screen looked strangely familiar.

‘Why?’

It was when she narrowed her eyes and craned her neck forward.

The screen scrolled down to the bottom. Above the comment box, she could see the username ‘Du Gru’.

Not long after On Jurim tapped the keyboard, a notification rang on Mirim’s mobile phone that the Mom Cafe user ‘Du Gru’ had posted a comment.

[Du Gru: Does that matter? It’s just a title.]

‘Ah, since the child’s name is Han Gru, it’s Du Gru.’

Mirim smiled a little at the quite cute username choice, then bit her lip.

‘I’m screwed. Damn it.’

The person she had been giving harsh criticism to on the local Mom Cafe under the username On Jurim was On Jurim himself.

* * *

While Harry’s mother and Han Gru’s father’s anguish deepened, the presentation was beginning.

On Jurim watched the children’s presentations without much interest.

The children would stammer or just keep their mouths shut tight, not knowing what to do when they couldn’t remember. Each time this happened, when they were cheered on and waited for, the children would gain confidence and complete their presentations.

“The Guild Leader didn’t go to kindergarten, so he wouldn’t know.”

Remembering Han Gru’s words, a snickering laugh escaped him.

He didn’t know why such a misunderstanding occurred, but after coming to the kindergarten presentation, he understood what kind of feeling prompted those words that day.

What his father said was hesitant, incoherent, and messy, just like a kindergarten presentation.

But he had read the truth in that urgency.

A truth that, without Han Gru, he might never have heard in his lifetime.

The disappointment and anger toward his father had been festering for so long that they weren’t things that could be washed away in a single moment.

If it hadn’t been for the goby fish story that his father and Han Gru shared in front of Gu Shinhu—no, if it hadn’t been for the carnivorous kindergartener’s demand for meat, his relationship with his father might have just drifted by regardless of the truth.

But after hearing his father’s heartfelt story and having a meal together…

He could vividly feel things changing. Life with a child was a continuous series of changes and realizations.

“I am Yoon Soyoung from Chick Class! I will present about mommy rabbit and daddy turtle!”

The presentation topics were diverse.

Some talked about animals, others about family, and the children especially loved dinosaurs.

Parents cheered and applauded the messy presentations of the 4-year-olds.

“Well done! Our Soyoung!”

Han Gru looked back each time. Then she would glare at On Jurim, who was resting his chin on his hand looking bored.

Then On Jurim would watch Han Gru’s expression and clap along. Han Gru would nod once as if she were a drill instructor praising a private.

The children smiled brightly at the enthusiastic cheers, bowed politely, and returned to their seats.

Soon after, Han Gru came forward, waving a piece of paper and fidgeting nervously.

When she gets nervous like that, it always shows. On Jurim, who had been resting his chin on his hand, smiled.

“Oh my, the baby is so pretty.”

“So cute. Like a little chick.”

Seeing exclamations of cuteness burst from among the gathered parents, it seemed the child wasn’t just cute in his eyes alone.

Since dinosaurs were the hot topic of the presentation, he thought Han Gru might also talk about some kind of -saurus.

‘Since she likes hybrids.’

Or maybe about the Hunter License she was dying to brag about, or the refrigerator egg she cherished and carried around, or the morning drama full of chairmen that she was obsessed with lately.

On Jurim recalled the small, trivial stories of life he shared with Han Gru. Without realizing it, he had come to know so much about the child.

However, what came out of Han Gru’s mouth was a completely unexpected topic.

“The person who raises me is the Guild Leader of Hyeonak.”

“…?”

Instantly, everyone in Chick Class looked at On Jurim.

“…”

Flustered, On Jurim released his hand from his chin and straightened his posture.

No wonder the child who usually chattered like a talkative bird had kept what she wrote a secret.

“The Guild Leader of Hyeonak is very handsome and cool. He’s so strong that even scary monsters run away when they see the Guild Leader.”

“…”

On Jurim had never, truly never in his entire life, been so conscious of people’s gazes.

Even when receiving spotlights from around the world, far from being nervous, he had actually been so composed that he was called someone whose mouth was the only thing alive.

Yet here he was, getting nervous at a mere kindergarten presentation.

What are you trying to say here?

“The most amazing thing about Guild Master is that he climbed the terrifying Tower.”

“….”

Of all things… On Jurim wiped his face once with his hand to avoid showing his nervousness.

Whenever the Tower was mentioned, Jurim became a traitor.

He didn’t care about criticism from others, but he feared the words that would come from the child’s mouth or the looks the child might receive.

“Guild Leader gave his all to save many people.”

Jurim lowered his eyes.

In truth, he never had any grand goal of saving the world.

“Let’s go together. This would be meaningful work for you too, Jurim, wouldn’t it?”

Since hyung had suggested it, it was just a new goal he made during those boring, endless days.

What meaning could there be in something like that.

The sense of achievement he felt while conquering floor by floor like a game, and his struggle for survival – if anything could be called meaningful, it was that.

Was that all? Rather, the Tower became a shameful mark of his first failure.

A 1st generation survivor who returned alone without even reaching the top floor, abandoning even his family.

That label didn’t only represent a hero’s Medal of Honor.

Jurim’s return brought as much resentment and criticism as the praise that followed.

“If you had tried a little harder, couldn’t you have brought back at least one or two others alive?”

“Wasn’t there really any other choice to save more people?”

Well, most of it might have been true. Even now, he was uncertain whether he had really done his best.

“That might be possible. But is that a meaningful question to ask now?”

From the moment Jurim answered the reporters’ questions like that, his treatment as a national hero quietly faded away. Now, five years later, he was only mentioned during boring ceremonial events.

After coming down from the Tower and watching people’s reactions, what suddenly occurred to him was the fact that no one remembered the truly difficult process.

The tremendous attention he finally received only after achieving his goal puzzled him.

Was that the ‘meaning’ hyung had talked about? The mourning and praise for results and success?

Father seemed worried about his son who wasn’t always spoken of favorably by people, but Jurim himself found it hardly amusing.

He was the only surviving 1st generation. Now there was nothing that could harm him. The Tower and hyung had both disappeared like mirages.

The grief was his alone to bear, and he had no intention of putting on a tearful show to meet someone else’s expectations.

Therefore, whether it became merit or fault, Jurim no longer placed any meaning on his act of climbing the Tower.

Until now….

“I’m the most proud of Guild Leader in the whole world.”

Still, if you’re proud of me, then it wasn’t completely meaningless.

More than anyone else’s praise or flattery, when it’s the child’s pride, he finally feels like he accomplished something.

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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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