Chapter 57
"Huff... huff..."
Suryeon ran through the dark alley. Her breath was ragged, and her legs were starting to go numb. But she couldn't stop running.
"Catch her! We must catch her!!"
"It's a child who can use magic!! We can sell her for a high price!!"
Thud thud thud thud—
The sound of adults' footsteps kept getting closer. Greedy hands reaching out for her.
"D-Dad...! Help me...!!"
Suryeon called out desperately for her dad as she ran hard to avoid being caught. She was too scared to even look back. She was terrified of facing those emotions full of malice.
'Those humans' eyes were strange... I-If they catch me, something terrible will happen...'
It was instinct. If those hands caught her, she'd never go home again. She'd never be able to lie at home using her smartphone or eat the meals Dad made for her.
'I don't want that...!'
I absolutely won't let them catch me.
As she ran, Suryeon knocked over a trash can in the alley.
"Argh!!"
"Y-Yes, it worked...!"
The homeless person in the lead tripped over the trash can and fell, but the pursuit of Suryeon showed no signs of stopping.
"That little brat! If I catch her, I'll gouge out her eyes first!"
"Step over him and keep going!"
The homeless people trampled their fallen comrade mercilessly as they passed.
"Aaaagh-!! I-It hurts! Help me!"
Despite hearing cries of pain, the homeless people stepped on their fellow human without any guilt. Suryeon was shocked to witness this scene with her own eyes.
"A-Are these really humans...? The humans I know... weren't like this..."
I'm scared. I want to run away. I don't want to see any more.
Even more terrified by what she saw, Suryeon ran and ran to escape the alley.
"Haa... haa..."
To survive.
What started as a casual outing turned into an experience of fleeing from kidnappers.
It was a shocking experience that most young children would rarely face.
***
After passing through the dark alley, Suryeon caught her breath and looked back. The group of homeless people was no longer in sight.
"Haa... D-Did I finally lose them...? They're gone, right...?"
Suryeon kept her guard up, watching her back for quite a while. Even after some time passed, the homeless group didn't appear. Relieved, Suryeon ducked into a collapsed storefront to catch her breath.
"Haa... I barely made it... Thank goodness the alley was narrow... If it had been just a bit wider..."
I might have been caught by those bad humans. They might have gouged out my eyes like they said.
Startled by the thought, Suryeon touched her eyes.
"M-My eyes are still here...! Th-That didn't happen...!"
What a relief. I was lucky. I used the terrain well, too.
"But that means if I hadn't been lucky, something terrible would have happened..."
Dejected, Suryeon hung her head low. She thought she had grown up a bit, but today's events hit her hard.
"I'm a dragon... Why did I run away from humans without even looking back? What was I so afraid of...?"
Suryeon realized three uncomfortable truths:
First, humans were more dangerous to her than she thought. Second, she was helpless if dangerous humans attacked her. Third, she couldn't do anything without her dad.
"I thought I had grown up a bit... But I'm still young... It's dangerous without Dad..."
I shouldn't have come out. Now I understand why Dad told me not to go outside. It's because the outside world is this dangerous.
"I didn't know it was this dangerous... He said that for my sake... I didn't know humans could be so scary..."
I should have listened to Dad.
Thinking this, Suryeon slowly got to her feet. Still, she had to get home before sunset.
"I can't let him know I went outside. This has to be my secret. I need to get home."
Jump!
Suryeon left the building, determined to go home. But looking around, she realized there was a problem.
"...Where's home?"
She had gotten lost while fleeing through the narrow, complex alleys. Suryeon tried to retrace her steps, drawing a map in her head.
"...I don't know. I can't remember. I've come too far."
The desperate struggle to survive. Maybe because of that, her mind was blank and she couldn't remember anything. Suryeon's eyes darted around as she realized she couldn't get home.
"H-How do I get home...? I can't remember... What should I do...? There's no solution..."
Shiver—
Suryeon trembled with fear at the thought of not being able to go home. And as if misfortune comes all at once,
"She's not here?! She must be around here somewhere!"
"Search everywhere! Leave no stone unturned!"
The voices of the pursuing homeless group started to reach her ears.
"What should I do... What should I do…?"
Pitter-patter—
Suryeon paced anxiously.
"N-Now's not the time for this. I need to hide first..."
Suryeon went back into the building, curled up, and sat on the floor. Every time she heard the homeless group's voices, she squeezed her eyes shut. Burying her face in her knees, she whispered softly.
"Please help me, Dad... I'll be good from now on..."
As the sky grew darker, Suryeon prayed for her dad to find her.
"Please..."
***
"Phew, I’m finally done."
Why are these C-rank dimensional gates so unnecessarily big?
"I'll be going now. Good work, everyone."
I said goodbye to the Association staff and headed for the station. It was late again, and I wanted to get home quickly.
"There's too much work since becoming C-rank. Tsk, I feel so bad for the kids."
I have a lot of days off, but\ when I get called in, I come home late. The longer I'm out, the longer the kids have to wait.
"...I should at least get them something tasty since I'm late."
A delicious meal might help. The kids will complain less, and I'll feel less guilty. Before heading home, I packed four servings of ox bone soup.
"It's a clear broth, so they should all like it, right?"
I've never seen a kid who doesn't like ox bone soup. Smiling at the thought of the kids eating happily, I headed home.
Creeak—
"Kids, Dad's home!"
I opened the door energetically and went inside. This is usually when the kids would scold me, "Why are you so late?!" But for some reason, no one welcomed me today.
"...What's going on? This is our house, right?"
Did I come to the wrong place?
I double-checked the door number just in case. It was definitely our house.
"Did I do something wrong today? Why are the kids acting like this?"
Did something happen?
Puzzled, I took off my shoes and went to the living room. Then Hwaryeon and Choryeon quickly ran towards me.
"Dad!"
"Father!"
These rascals. Did they prepare a surprise to welcome me?
I spread my arms to welcome Hwaryeon and Choryeon.
"Come here, all of you-!!"
"Dad! This isn't the time!"
"Th-That's right! Read the room, Father!"
"..."
Guess not. That stings a bit.
Pushing aside my hurt feelings, I calmly asked the frantic Hwaryeon and Choryeon.
"What's wrong, kids? Did you cause trouble again? Come to think of it, where's Suryeon? Is she in the bathroom?"
"Suryeon's the problem, Dad! She went outside! And she hasn't come back yet!"
"...What? Suryeon went outside?"
"Yes!"
Suryeon went out and hasn't returned yet.
"..."
That news made my blood boil. I asked Hwaryeon and Choryeon coldly.
"What were you two doing when Suryeon left? You should have stopped her."
"I-I tried to stop her... But Suryeon unnie wouldn't listen..."
Shrink—
Choryeon answered timidly. Seeing that, I cooled my anger a bit.
"...Okay, we'll talk about this later. Did Suryeon say where she was going?"
"She didn't say anything..."
"I'll have to search the whole area."
Sigh—
I put the packed ox bone soup on the table and put my shoes back on. Hwaryeon followed, fidgeting nervously.
"D-Dad! Should I come too? I can help!"
I shook my head firmly at Hwaryeon.
"No, Hwaryeon, stay home. If you're hungry, eat the food on the table. Wait here. I'll find Suryeon."
"Okay..."
"I'll be back."
I crammed my feet into my shoes and rushed outside. Forgetting even to close the door, I ran through the streets with my enhanced body.
"Suryeon!! Answer if you're nearby!! Suryeon!!"
To find my runaway daughter, I shouted frantically as I searched the streets.
"Please be safe..."
If some weirdo caught her, it would surely end badly, especially if they found out Suryeon is a dragon.
"If anything happens to Suryeon..."
Clench—
I clenched my fist, suppressing my anxiety as much as I could. And I ran through the streets, calling Suryeon's name desperately.
Maybe because this was the first crisis with the kids, my emotions were like a rollercoaster, rising and falling uncontrollably.
How a parent feels when something happens to their child was something I didn't want to know, but I learned it firsthand.
"Suryeon!! Where are you?!! Answer if you're nearby!!"
Please.
Just answer me.
I ran until my legs felt like they'd split, shouted until my throat felt like it would burst, praying desperately for Suryeon to answer.