TL: SHW
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Are we really going to the movie theater?”
Mini- asked again with a face mixed with joy and suspicion.
I could understand the joy, but I didn’t get the suspicion.
Mini- stared intently at my face and then blurted out.
“You saw it.”
“……”
“You saw it, didn’t you.”
So that was the issue.
What? Were you hiding that bucket list?
If it was that important, you should’ve hidden it better. Sure, hiding it on a tablet PC has its limits, but then at least you should’ve changed the tablet password.
That tablet PC belongs to Hong Seok-young. He never really used it, and I picked it up and gave it to Mini-. I planned to show so educational programs on it, but Mini- didn’t respond very well, so it got tossed aside again.
Then Han Tae-kyung picked it up and started showing that damned animation with the cat. If I had known Han Tae-kyung would pull that kind of crap, I never would’ve let Mini- use it in the first place….
“You did see it!!”
Mini- shouted loudly and kicked my leg.
I didn’t do anything, so why does he always resort to violence first? Where did this go wrong? Wasn’t really any spot for it to go wrong, right? It’s probably Han Tae-kyung’s fault, isn’t it? This is why Western animation is a problem!
“I didn’t see it.”
"You're lying."
“I didn’t.”
"Then what didn't you see?"
“……”
Sharp...
“Whatever it is, you’re hiding it. Would hyung look at sothing without I-rok’s permission?”
Mini- squinted his eyes.
He seed to be debating whether to believe or not.
Better distract him before he starts doubting more.
"Isn't it boring staying here? What did you do when you were at the orphanage?"
I still don’t understand how they managed to keep people from suspecting anything while keeping him out of school. They used the excuse that he was hospitalized due to health issues, but according to Lee Mi-seon’s investigation, there were no such dical records. I suppose it’s better than being really sick though.
The na Mini- used at the orphanage, Park Jung-min, was officially registered. Father unknown, mother gave birth and disappeared. A disabled grandmother raised the child. Without even a birth certificate.
I don’t know if there really was a kid nad Park Jung-min, or if it was fabricated by Ark. Maybe it was an incredible coincidence and they borrowed the identity of a child who happened to have the sa na as my mother. Or maybe they deliberately created that identity using the na as a label.
If there has to be one more missing child, I’d rather it be the latter. Though I’m not sure if Mini- would agree with that.
“Just….”
Mini- pouted his lips.
“I read the books that were there and stuff.”
"Really? Have you never been to see movies?"
“……”
Mini- glanced up at . His lips, stuck out like a duck’s beak, made smile. His cheeks were plump and healthy, maybe because the food here, as lacking as it felt to , was still better than at the orphanage. …Should I get him to exercise?
“Uh….”
Mini- hesitated a lot before speaking.
His half-clenched hand twitched. His thumb and pinky touched. He rubbed the tips of his fingers, then opened his hand again.
It was a habit I had when I was nervous as a child.
Seeing it with my own eyes felt strange. As a kid, I used to think I was hiding my feelings well and always wondered how hyung could tell I was lying.
Well, if a much older hyung couldn’t spot a little kid’s lie, he might as well just die. After all, he was a Cleaner of Ark.
Just like hyung used to do to at tis like this, I curled my finger and flicked Mini-’s forehead. Not hard, just gently pushed it with my finger.
“Why are you trying to hide it so much.”
“…But.”
“Hyung won't get mad at I-rok.”
“You do.”
"That's because you're an to other kids..."
Mini- wrinkled his nose. His previously fidgety hands ca to a stop.
"I did watch TV sotis."
“At the orphanage?”
“Yeah.”
“Really? What did you watch?”
“…It wasn’t fun. Mostly stuff I’d already seen there.”
In the limited space of the research lab, they usually played movies or sothing similar to keep the children quiet. Fortunately, I liked watching things. There was a world in there that I had never seen before.
I keep forgetting that Mini-’s situation is different from mine.
When I was at the orphanage, Ark didn’t have any influence. I went to school normally, and outings to amusent parks or movie theaters were frequent. After my father started visiting, I went with him.
But this kid probably barely left that small orphanage. And now we’re asking him to behave quietly here. I’d hate it too if I were him.
It's not like it's the entire Pilot High School, and I could protect one child even with just around. I should have shown him the outside world little by little. This is my oversight.
“Then we should go see sothing I-rok hasn’t watched yet.”
I patted Woo I-rok’s head. His soft hair slipped through my fingers.
Since it was the vacation season, a few animated films that kids might enjoy were showing at the theaters.
I had already inford Hong Seok-young in advance.
If there was one more thing I needed…
“Ah, I was just looking for you.”
“Teacher Woo…?”
I headed to the kitchen with Mini-.
I couldn’t bring myself to take Mini- inside, so I just waved to call soone out from the kitchen.
Ji Yoo-geon staggered toward with a face that said he wanted to strangle . Hmm. That’s a familiar expression. When a newcor made that face, it usually ant they were no longer a rookie. It typically took about three months.
Han Tae-kyung managed it in two days.
"Your face looks much better."
"This?"
"At least you're not dying."
“……”
If Ji Yoo-geon had a knife in his hand, he might have stabbed .
“Hahahaha!”
A loud noise ca from the inner kitchen, followed by Han Tae-kyung’s laughter. I don’t know what he did, but flour burst out like mist. I gently pushed it away with mana.
“I’ll help you escape from Teacher Han.”
“Wait, wasn’t it you, Teacher Woo, who offered up as a sacrifice?”
“Don’t dwell on the past.”
“……”
“Anyway, do you need help?”
Ji Yoo-geon looked unsure whether to trust .
“Huh? Uh? Why is this happening?”
But then Han Tae-kyung’s ominous voice ca from the kitchen.
“Hunter Ji! Hunter Ji Yoo-geon! Chef!”
At Han Tae-kyung’s urgent cry, Ji Yoo-geon’s hesitation ended.
“I’d be grateful.”
“Perfect. Then get changed and bring the car keys.”
“What?”
I pointed at Mini-.
“We’re going to the movies, and it’d be a bit awkward to call a taxi… You know?”
“……”
Ji Yoo-geon once again wore that look like he wanted to strangle .
***
“How was it?”
“……”
Woo I-rok sipped the rest of his drink with a sulky face. The drink slid up the straw with a slurp, and the ice clattered noisily.
“You didn’t like it?”
“…No.”
A voice as tiny as a mouse squeaked out of Mini-’s mouth.
Pretending like that when he was bouncing with excitent the whole ti.
No matter how big the TV, it couldn’t compare to a movie theater screen. As soon as we entered the theater, Mini- couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. When the screen lit up, he jumped to his feet in his seat. He even watched the pre-movie comrcials like he was srized.
If I poked him a few more tis, he’d probably squeal that it was fun.
But since I went out of my way to make him feel good, there was no need to make him cranky now.
“It was fun, right?”
“……”
"Hyung found it fun. Should we co again next ti?"
"If hyung wants to..."
“If I-rok didn’t enjoy it, I’ll just go by myself next ti.”
“……”
His shoulders flinched. So easy to read, it’s nice.
"Wasn't it fun?"
“…It was fun.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
At first, he opened his mouth cautiously, but once the floodgates opened, Mini- quickly began chattering away.
“The screen is really huge! It didn’t look that big when I watched it on TV. And watching it with the lights off made it easier to focus.”
“It’s fine to do that in the theater, but don’t watch with the lights off when you’re using the tablet.”
“I shouldn’t?”
“It could hurt your eyes.”
Though if he’s anything like , I doubt his eyesight would go bad that easily, but better to be safe. Environnt plays a big role in a person’s growth.
And showing too much animation isn’t good either. There are already enough cats. For so reason, even in the Daseon car Ji Yoo-geon was driving, that pink cat was there. Ji Yoo-geon didn’t know why it was there either.
Since we were already out, maybe we should grab a al before heading back. That was one of the things on Mini-’s bucket list. Number 20 or 21, maybe.
There wasn’t a single thing on that list I couldn’t do. In a normal environnt, he’d have already experienced all of them.
“Wait a second, I-rok.”
I adjusted the cap Mini- was wearing.
A hyung and younger brother with almost a twenty-year age difference. I wonder if to other people we look more like father and son.
Leaving aside the complicated emotion that he is , I could understand why hyung treated so carefully. Even without that, any decent person wouldn’t treat a child who barely reached their waist roughly. Especially not a real sibling.
“Hey, hyung.”
“Yeah?”
Mini- pulled his cap down tightly.
“You know… the place we’re staying at now.”
“Yeah.”
“Is that our ho?”
Ho.
I was a little surprised by the unexpected word.
“You said the research lab wasn’t a ho.”
“Yeah.”
“Then what about that place? Is it our ho?”
“……”
Ho.
A ho, huh.
His unexpected question made miss my chance to answer right away.
Just then, it seed another movie had ended in a nearby theater, and lots of people were coming out. Worried he might get swept up in the crowd, I grabbed Mini-’s hand. He gripped my hand tightly in return.
The answer was already decided.
"No. That's not ho."
“Then? Aren’t we living there? You said a ho is where you live.”
What would hyung have said?
He had never had a ho either.
Even the things hyung used to say when describing a ho were all abstract. A place where your family is. Warm. A place where you can eat whatever you want. A place where you can rest comfortably…
A place you can always return to.
I didn’t know his exact age. He was probably a few years younger than I am now. He lived his whole life in a research lab until that point. You’d think he would’ve given up, but he kept trying until the end to get out.
“That place,”
I cleared my throat.
“is just sowhere we’re staying temporarily.”
“Then where’s our ho?”
Ho.
Such a short word, yet it landed with surprising weight.
I don’t have a ho right now. The place Hong Seok-young arranged near Pilot High School or Lee Mi-seon’s villa is just a temporary spot.
I guess I’ll need a ho.
To raise a child, a stable living space is essential.
I looked at Mini-, who was waiting for my answer. I held his hand and slowly walked toward the theater exit.
“We don’t have one yet, but hyung will find one soon.”
That I’m only now able to give him the dream hyung so desperately wanted to achieve…
Life is truly strange that way.
“Really?”
Mini-’s eyes sparkled at my words. A face full of anticipation.
It didn’t feel bad. Not at all.
“Yeah. Soon we’ll have our own ho.”
***
For more chapters, you can check out my Patreon here --> spatreon/SHWTL
If you enjoy this novel, please review and rate it at Novelupdates. Thanks! 😊
To receive the latest update notifications or report mistakes, join our Discord server linked below.
Reviews
All reviews (0)