715
[Chapter 182]
[Life of the Weak (6)]
The incident that occurred in Seongnam City.
The news that ape-type monsters were living in nearby mountains spread in an instant.
"How could they not know even if they were hiding in the mountains?"
"The local clans must not have been doing their job. There's plenty of work just staying in the city center, why would they go into the mountains?"
"If Pandora Clan hadn't searched, they would have never known."
"Pandora Clan does good work. Aren't they a clan from Seoul? Why when monsters invaded last year..."
"Yes, that's them. They say the Pandora Clan Lord personally commanded the operation."
Fortunately, since it was resolved before the damage increased further.
The social impact wasn't large.
There were just occasional complaints about the Seongnam City clans.
In contrast, public opinion towards Pandora Clan who commanded the operation this time was quite favorable.
Since Pandora Clan's jurisdiction wasn't Seongnam City, local residents felt grateful to them for coming from far away.
"By the way, what about that person... They say she won't be able to walk properly in the future because treatment was too late..."
"Tsk, a young person ended up in a pitiful state. It's good she survived but to end up like that..."
"Fortunately, Alice Group said they would treat her for free..."
Rather than the incident, people were more interested in the survivor.
People were outraged hearing that the monsters cruelly cut the survivor's ankle tendon.
Active fundraising for the survivor took place in the region, and Alice Group decided to provide free treatment.
Lastly─.
[─We award this certificate to the above clan in recognition of their meritorious service in resolving an urban disaster with courageous determination.]
Under the pretext of appeasing public sentiment.
Seongnam City awarded Pandora Clan.
Awards given by local governments were one of the items reflected in clan comprehensive evaluations.
☆
Due to post-incident processing and such.
Eunha couldn't return to Seoul right away after wrapping up the incident.
Nevertheless, Eunha didn't envy sending all the clan members back.
Originally, the reason he visited Seongnam City wasn't to resolve the incident.
The justification for being in Seongnam is now gone too.
The justification for meeting Ha Baekryeon.
That justification also ended with the award Eunha now held in his hand.
Eunha smiled bitterly.
In the end, today would be the last day he could see Ha Baekryeon.
Therefore─.
─I have to settle it today, what else can I do.
Eunha made a decision.
Eunha headed to Ha Jieun's shop as soon as he received the award from Seongnam City.
"Huh? Pandora Clan Lord?"
"Hello. I'm here."
A little before 11 AM.
When Eunha arrived, Ha Jieun was just about to open the shop.
Eunha lifted the shutter up for her.
"Did you come back after receiving the award? You really worked hard. Now you can go around with peace of mind. Thank you so much."
"It's the clan members who worked hard, not me. Ah, are you open for business now?"
"How could I turn away the Pandora Clan Lord who came? Please wait a moment. I'll set up quickly."
She retied her hair.
The sight of her fixing her hair with a rubber band in her mouth was quite impressive.
It was exactly like how Ha Baekryeon fixed her hair in the previous life.
She resembles her in this aspect too.
Not just her face.
Even her actions are the same.
Eunha smiled bitterly.
"Why are you smiling?"
"No, it's nothing."
"Did you perhaps fall for me? Ah, come to think of it, this is the first time you're seeing me not wearing the shop clothes. Is it unfamiliar?"
"You just put an apron over it anyway, so it's not unfamiliar."
"There's a big difference between wearing it and not wearing it. What do you want to eat today? Since the Pandora Clan Lord worked so hard, I'll make anything you want today."
Putting on an apron.
Ha Jieun went into the kitchen and spoke to Eunha.
Eunha sat at the bar table seat and looked at her.
"─You."
"Huh? What did you say?"
"You make anything. I just want to eat anything."
"I thought you said... But isn't calling me 'you' a bit much? How long have we been seeing each other's faces and you're still saying 'excuse me' or 'you'?"
"Then Baekryeon's mom? Auntie?"
"Just call me noona comfortably. There's not much age difference between us, how can you call me that?"
"The age difference is quite..."
"Tsk. Should I put in lots of jalapeños?"
"Yes, noona. Then I'll call you Jieun noona."
Thud.
Ha Jieun glanced at Eunha while stabbing a knife into the cutting board.
Eunha immediately changed his attitude.
Only then did she smile brightly and start cooking.
"Then I'll make whatever I want. I haven't eaten lunch either so let's eat together. The Pandora Clan Lord must want to eat something else too after only eating hamburgers all this time, right?"
"...That would be nice."
"You're a strange person. If you're that tired of it, you could eat lunch somewhere else but you always come to our shop. Not that I mind making money. It's nice talking to a young person too."
"This location is good for receiving reports, and the hamburgers are delicious. I feel like we get along well too, noona."
"You're really not trying to seduce me, right?"
"Yes, I'm trying to seduce you."
"What?"
While Ha Jieun was preparing ingredients.
Eunha suddenly spoke up.
She who was handling the knife stopped her hand movements with a thud.
"You're joking, right?"
"No. I'm serious."
"..."
She raised her head.
Eunha smiled slightly when their eyes met.
"I appreciate the Pandora Clan Lord's feelings but I have Baekryeon..."
"What misunderstanding are you having?"
"..."
Teasing Ha Jieun is fun.
Eunha burst out laughing at her flustered appearance.
Only then did Ha Jieun seem to realize it was a joke.
She put strength in her eyes.
To this, Eunha apologized and said.
"I had some people I know taste the hamburgers noona made recently. The reviews were quite good."
"So?"
"So Luminous Group showed interest in the recipe this time."
"What?"
"Luminous Group wants to buy noona's recipe. You'll probably have a detailed conversation when you go to Seoul. When I said I knew you, they said they would take good care of you so you won't feel slighted."
"..."
It was something that happened just two days ago.
Eunha asked Euna who was going up to Seoul to deliver hamburgers to Lee Yujung.
Although she looked at him with suspicious eyes.
Euna granted Eunha's request and went to meet Lee Yujung after a long time.
It's good I sent plenty then.
I didn't expect they would show interest.
Lee Yujung and the Luminous Group people showed interest in the hamburgers, they say.
It was something Eunha heard directly from Lee Yujung.
She contacted him saying thank you.
They who had been reducing contact with each other had a pleasant conversation using the hamburger gift as an excuse.
And Luminous Group also contacted Eunha separately and said they wanted to buy the recipe.
"How about it? Try going up to Seoul once and talking. If it's difficult because of the shop, I can tell them to come down."
"No, I should go up. But I'm a bit flustered..."
Meanwhile, Ha Jieun who heard the story didn't know what to do.
Eunha shrugged while looking at her flustered appearance.
Then he opened his mouth.
"That's Luminous Group's proposal, and I have a separate proposal."
"Huh? What's that..."
"If I go to Seoul like this, I'll hardly ever come down to Seongnam. But noona's hamburgers are delicious, so I think I'll keep thinking about them there. So I want to recruit noona to Pandora Clan."
"Recruit? Are you telling me to become a player?"
"No. There are several shops in the Pandora Clan headquarters. I'd like noona to open a shop there."
"..."
"Our administrative manager approved it too. We'll treat you well so you won't feel slighted."
Eunha brought up the main point.
Eunha's goal was to keep Ha Baekryeon by his side and protect her.
To do that, he needed a justification to bring Ha Baekryeon to Seoul.
He found that justification in Ha Jieun's shop.
Fortunately, Seohyun approved it too so you don't have to worry about the aftermath.
After racking his brains over and over.
This was the best move Eunha came up with.
All that remained was for Ha Jieun to decide.
So Eunha urged her who was conflicted.
"Right now only clan members use it, but in the future we'll open the floor with restaurants to people visiting the clan. So you don't have to worry about sales, and I'll talk to them so you don't have to pay rent. Just come with your body. You said it was hard because of the key money last time, right? I just need to eat hamburgers."
"...Why are you doing this for me? Are you perhaps..."
"No, that's not it."
Ha Jieun is conflicted.
She was about to open her mouth with a wary attitude.
Eunha immediately stopped her mouth.
She seemed to be misunderstanding but that wasn't it.
"It's because noona's skills are good. I can't just leave it like this."
"..."
"You don't have to just make hamburgers. You can make whatever you want, whether it's soybean paste soup or kimchi soup."
"...Really? You're not deceiving me?"
"Have you been deceived a lot?"
"Not really... It's just that such a good opportunity is falling on me."
Ha Jieun glares at Eunha.
She pouts her lips and confesses.
Soon she positively accepts Eunha's proposal.
But the problem is─.
"─Seoul protected by the Cocoon is better than Seongnam. But Baekryeon will have to part with the friends she made here..."
Ha Baekryeon's elementary school life.
Eunha groaned understanding Ha Jieun's concern.
There was no particular solution for this.
It's not like we can move the entire elementary school to Seoul.
I'll have to hope Jieun noona persuades Baekryeon well...
He had no choice but to leave it to Ha Jieun.
It was then that Eunha thought that.
"─I'm okay!"
Ha Baekryeon appeared.
The two turned their heads.
"Baekryeon, how are you here at this time..."
"We only had 3 periods today because we just did a reading quiz."
"Schools have gotten better these days... In my time we even went to school on Saturdays. Then you haven't eaten either, right?"
"More importantly mom, I'm okay with transferring to Seoul."
Ha Baekryeon who came running with her school bag.
She who climbed up to the seat next to Eunha with effort said.
"It's a good opportunity for mom."
""..."
"I can make friends there! Right?"
Ha Baekryeon speaking energetically.
At the unexpected reaction, Ha Jieun just blinked her eyes.
"...Is it really okay?"
"Yes! I know you're having a hard time because of me, mom! I'm 9 years old now so you don't have to worry about me."
Ha Baekryeon spoke maturely and.
Ha Jieun shed a few tears.
And so the two decided to entrust themselves to Pandora Clan.
☆
He's really a strange person.
When I first saw him, he was just a suspicious-looking man.
But such a person came to mom's shop almost every day.
Ha Baekryeon's rebellious feelings grew even more.
Without a doubt.
He's after our mom.
Putting aside the fact that she was her mother.
Her mother was younger and much prettier than her friends' parents.
So when her mother started the shop, people came around to see her mother.
And they often pestered her to the point of making her uncomfortable.
I have to protect mom.
I'm the only one who can protect our mom!
Ha Baekryeon knew her mother's kindness well.
She knew her mother loved her and was working hard so she could live happily.
Therefore, Ha Baekryeon's love for her mother was extreme and.
Of course, she was wary of men who came to the shop and bothered her mother.
I'm disappointed.
To think
That ahjussi was the same as other ahjussis.
Ha Baekryeon became wary of him in such a flow.
She who saw him flying in the sky facing Yekyung on TV last year couldn't help but be disappointed.
So she deliberately poked at him more.
Nevertheless, the ahjussi just kept grinning for some reason.
He's stupid.
Why does he keep smiling?
She found that even stranger.
So she became even more wary of the ahjussi.
But as time passed─.
─Is our mom that good? Even I can't eat hamburgers every day...
Ha Baekryeon sensed changes in daily life after the ahjussi started coming.
First, sales increased. Residents bought things like french fries since the ahjussi received reports at the shop.
Her mother's face became all smiles.
Business hadn't been good until then, and the occasional ahjussis who came didn't lead directly to sales.
Second, people who pestered her mother every day stopped coming.
The ahjussis were scared by
He doesn't seem to be a bad person...
Due to various factors like these.
Ha Baekryeon gradually developed a favorable impression of the
Absolutely, it's not because she succumbed to the macarons.
Therefore─.
"─I'm okay."
Ha Baekryeon whose school ended early that day eavesdropped on what the ahjussi and her mother were talking about in front of the shop and.
She suddenly went inside and said.
"It's a good opportunity for mom."
""..."
"I can make friends there! Right?"
She had long known the fact that
While watching the ahjussi for over 2 weeks, she came to know he wasn't just a bad person.
Above all, she didn't want to see her mother struggling so hard.
Also, she didn't want to become an obstacle in her mother's life.
So she shouted.
"...Is it really okay?"
"Yes! I know you're having a hard time because of me, mom! I'm 9 years old now so you don't have to worry about me."
If they go to Seoul, her mother won't have to struggle as much as now.
Ha Baekryeon pushed her mother's back with such thoughts.
That's how her mother made the decision, and Ha Baekryeon decided to transfer schools.
It's a shame I won't be able to see Jean Valjean...
It was nice that we got along well...
Although there were regrettable points.
Ha Baekryeon who cherished her mother more didn't show it.
In fact, Jean Valjean only added fillers like "Ah, really?", "Really?", "Wow.", "You're really smart.", "So what happened?" to her conversations but.
In her memories, Jean Valjean was recognized as someone very scholarly, compatible, and agreeable.
At that moment─.
"─Here. Will you accept it this time?"
The ahjussi suddenly offered allowance money.
Ha Baekryeon, who was about to go buy snacks at the convenience store after eating lunch with the three of them, looked up at him intently.
"Hmm, okay. Thank you."
"Good, thank you. Use this to buy whatever you want to eat at the convenience store."
After some deliberation.
Ha Baekryeon decided to accept the allowance the ahjussi was offering.
The ahjussi was pleased.
He's making a stupid expression.
He was such a strange ahjussi.
But she won't be fooled.
Hmph, you think I don't know?
You're just trying to look good to me to look good to our mom.
A man trying to take away her mother.
Her intuition was sharp.
Ha Baekryeon believed this without a doubt.
She's just tolerating him because he's the most decent among the ahjussis.
But still, nothing more than that.
"─Ahjussi. Your ear for a moment."
"Huh? Why?"
So she decided to make it clear.
Ha Baekryeon called the ahjussi.
The ahjussi bent his knee without any suspicion, matching her eye level.
Soon she approached the ahjussi and whispered so her mother couldn't hear.
"Ahjussi, you like our mom, right?"
"..."
"I know everything."
"..."
"I'll be watching everything. Be careful. Our mom likes me much more than you, you know?"
"You're misunderstanding something, I'm not interested in your mom... No. What's the use in me saying this."
"I'll be watching. Got it?"
"...Okay, I got it."
The ahjussi tried to make some excuse but.
Ha Baekryeon didn't listen.
In the end, the ahjussi nodded to her words.
☆
From that day on, Ha Baekryeon and Ha Jieun prepared to go to Seoul.
Ha Baekryeon's school transfer was also decided.
So she visited the library as soon as her transfer was decided.
"Ah, Jean Valjean!"
"Hm? You came?"
Jean Valjean had many secrets.
She only knew he was the same age as her, but didn't know which class he belonged to.
So the place to meet him was always set as the library.
Even that couldn't happen every day.
Nevertheless, she enjoyed the time talking with Jean Valjean and.
This relationship riddled with secrets felt very appealing to her.
"You know, I'm going to transfer schools."
"Ah, I see. Where to?"
"To Seoul. They say we're going to Dongjak-gu."
"Well, at least it's not too far away. We won't be able to meet anymore, but live well there."
"Yeah, thanks."
But that relationship was now ending too.
Ha Baekryeon told Jean Valjean.
When Jean Valjean spoke with a lonely face, she felt a lonely emotion too.
Soon she brightened her expression.
"So let's go out and play today! I'll buy you something delicious!"
"Something delicious? Do you have money? There's no need to do that, to commemorate your transfer I'll..."
"Some ugly ahjussi gave me allowance money recently! I want to use it to buy something delicious to eat with you..."
"...Ah, I see. So he's ugly..."
"Huh? What's wrong?"
"...It's nothing. But then how do I look?"
"You? You're um... Why are you asking that?"
"No, I'm just curious."
"I won't tell you that. Anyway, I'll buy you something delicious today, let's go!"
"Okay, I'll eat well."
Ha Baekryeon pulled Jean Valjean's hand.
Jean Valjean, no, little Eunha soon followed her with a bitter smile.
"Eating with my own money... Well, I guess it's fortunate she's not eating with some other guy."
Such complicated feelings.
Little Eunha smiled slightly.