The Chick Class Hunter is Being Filial

Lee Romi buried her face in her knees.

Her memories were hazy.

She thought she heard a woman laughing. It had been a very beautiful voice...

What was that...

On the home screen of her phone, cluttered with apps, one spot was blank—like something had been deleted.

****

As they stepped out of the waiting room, Guru tightly held Nayun’s hand as if to comfort her.

Nayun gave her a soft smile.

“It’s okay. It was just a bad person controlling her, that’s all. Romi...”

“Yes,” Guru replied, bowing her head.

The “bad person” Nayun mentioned had seemed to control Lee Romi through her phone. It had vanished the moment Guru shattered it.

Guru knew crimes committed by Awakened weren’t uncommon. You just had to turn on the news to see it.

“What if that bad person comes back?”

“Then we’ll beat them again. We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

Nayun bent down and offered a fist.

Guru giggled and bumped it with her own.

“Thanks for earlier, Guru.”

Guru blinked, mouth slightly open at the unexpected gratitude.

Nayun smiled again.

“If you hadn’t been there, I... I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.”

The fear of helplessness she’d felt for the first time was still vivid.

She had been swept away—by surprise, by fear, by sorrow—and it was this small, squishy child who pulled her back to reality.

Nayun gently hugged Guru for a moment. Guru hugged her back and rubbed her cheek against Nayun’s neck.

The warmth of the little one in her arms wrapped around the frantic beating of her heart.

It gave her strength. And from now on, too—if it was for this adorable angel—she’d do anything.

“I’m [N O V E L I G H T] recharged thanks to you, so now I’m back on my feet!”

Nayun straightened up with new energy.

“Oh, by the way, Guru—how did you get there earlier?”

“I used the vent and did a masky sneak.”

“Ah! That makes sense. You really were like a phantom thief. Amazing.”

“Heehee.”

The two were perfectly in sync, like best friends their age.

Guru was still holding Nayun’s hand as they walked through the hallway, when suddenly Wooju appeared.

“Uh...”

Guru studied Wooju’s face, tilting her head, and asked,

“Wooju, did you throw up? Is your tummy okay?”

“Throw up? Are you feeling sick? Should I call the manager?”

“Ah—no! I didn’t throw up!”

“Wooju’s face turned tomato.”

“No, that’s just the lighting...!”

Wooju scrunched up his face. He wanted to hide his blushing cheeks, but with all the makeup on, he could only look away.

“It’s okay. You’re still pretty. Pretty Wooju.”

Guru smiled sweetly, and Wooju’s face flushed even hotter.

Nayun gasped, covering her mouth with both hands.

“Guru, you’re unbelievable...”

“Huh? What is?”

“Mm, nothing.”

Laughing, Nayun gave the kids a gentle pat on the back and led them outside.

When she glanced back at Lee Romi’s dressing room, she felt only one presence left inside.

After the Tower was cleared, the world was supposed to become peaceful—but that had been naïve. Crimes by Awakened were increasing every single day.

Nayun had helped the Special Crimes Task Force bring down several criminal groups by now.

But this time... she didn’t know how to deal with it.

Guru had said Romi was no longer connected to whoever had controlled her. No traces left—completely clean.

Maybe it was just some twisted prank from a high-level Awakened. Or maybe there was something deeper going on. For now, there was no way to tell.

She’d report it to the task force, of course—but it was easy to guess they wouldn’t get much out of it.

What are they after...?

****

The woman opened her parasol.

Click, clack—each step she took sent her long, waist-length golden hair fluttering in the breeze.

“What a shame... She was ripe. Could’ve become such a lovely student.”

Lost in thought, she pressed her lower lip with her index finger.

I wonder how they figured it out.

It didn’t seem like the kid had targeted the phone by chance.

Could she have “seen” that the infected medium was the phone?

Was it really possible for such a small, young child to have that kind of ability? She couldn’t have been older than four.

“Incredible... I thought only Zhenya could sense me.”

Korea really was fun. She’d burned every bridge and come here on a whim—but surprisingly, she had no regrets.

Korea was far more entertaining than she’d imagined.

The country that destroyed the Tower.

His country.

Irina loved Korea’s flawless perfection. Things that are perfectly built... are even more beautiful when they fall apart.

For as long as she could remember—so long ago her memories were fading—breaking things had always brought her an intoxicating joy.

“I hope we get to meet again someday...”

She really wanted that child.

What could she do? How far could she go? The curiosity tickled her.

Suddenly, she looked up at the sky beyond her parasol. A bright day, with sheep-shaped clouds drifting across the blue sky.

He must be under this same sky somewhere.

“I wonder what Zhenya’s doing... I want to see him soon.”

Humming a little tune, Irina kept walking. Some children recognized her and waved with bright smiles. Irina smiled back and waved gently in return.

****

[Title: A Big One Just Dropped!]

<Image of Shin Nayun surrounded by Korean celebrities, all focused on her>

The 6th S-rank?! Shin Nayun, welcome to the National Pride Club.

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