I Was Kidnapped By The Strongest Guild
Chapter 371: Boing

I sat down next to Saebyeok on the sofa.

We were close enough that our bodies touched.

"Saebyeok, want to catch and eat fish at the pond later?"

"Yeah."

Saebyeok's tail wagged rapidly.

But the corners of her mouth didn't lift at all.

Fish alone wasn't enough, it seemed.

I tried thinking of other things Saebyeok might enjoy more.

"After eating fish, let's play in boxes."

Eating fish while resting in boxes.

Though I combined two things she liked, her tail only wagged faster - still no smile.

'Even this doesn't make her smile.'

Of course, her wagging tail clearly showed how happy and joyful she felt.

Sometimes the emotions expressed through her tail felt even more genuine than facial expressions.

So I wasn't disappointed that Saebyeok didn't smile.

I wanted to see her smile simply because she looked pretty when smiling.

'Is there no way to make Saebyeok smile?'

I knew how to make Gaeul and Levinas smile.

They smiled so easily it was almost embarrassing to say I knew how.

For example.

"Gaeul."

I called to Gaeul who sat with a blank expression.

She turned to me, maintaining that blank look.

Making Gaeul smile was surprisingly simple.

I just had to smile first.

"Hehe."

When I smiled at Gaeul, her still tail started wagging.

Then she burst into giggles.

Smiling Gaeul was always so pretty.

'Gaeul smiles so easily.'

We had someone at home who smiled even more than Gaeul.

Levinas, who always wore an innocent smile.

"Look at this!"

Levinas ran over to us with a smile, holding her sketchbook.

It showed a horned rabbit fighting a goblin.

She was smiling even though no one had praised her drawing yet.

Among us, Levinas smiled the most.

"That's really cool. Did you draw a hero horned rabbit?"

"Yes! Hehe."

Levinas plopped down next to me with her sketchbook.

As Saebyeok, Levinas and I sat on the sofa, Gaeul sat on the floor facing us.

Just sitting together like this made me happy.

'...Maybe I'm being too greedy.'

Saebyeok's presence alone was wonderful.

I might have been too pushy trying to see her smile.

I should just stop.

I hugged Saebyeok beside me as an apology.

Then Gaeul, sitting across from us, started giggling brightly.

"Huh?"

Why was Gaeul suddenly laughing so happily?

I slowly released the hug and looked at Gaeul.

Her smile was already fading, as if she'd finished laughing.

'What was that?'

What had made Gaeul laugh?

As I tilted my head wondering, Saebyeok reached out and pulled me into another hug.

Again, Gaeul's laughter rang out from behind.

'Ah.'

She was laughing at seeing us hug.

But had she laughed seeing hugs before?

I couldn't quite remember, but children that age would laugh at even a rolling stone.

I decided not to worry about it.

**

As promised, we caught and ate fish at the pond.

We caught just one fish as a snack and shared it.

"Delicious."

"Yeah."

Fish never got tiresome no matter how much we ate.

Nom, we walked around the park munching on the dried anchovies Saebyeok gave us for dessert.

We were looking for the large boxes Saebyeok liked.

"Wonder if the convenience store has any spare boxes?"

"Let's go check."

I headed to the guild's convenience store with the children.

A large piece of furniture caught my eye, sitting a bit away from the store.

'That's...'

A five-drawer dresser abandoned without an owner.

I approached the dresser and looked around, but couldn't see an owner anywhere.

Did someone abandon it here?

I examined the dresser carefully.

It showed some signs of use but wasn't damaged enough to deserve being thrown away.

Was this normal in wealthy neighborhoods?

Just casually throwing away things like this.

I decided to take it if no owner showed up.

As I lingered near the dresser.

Swoosh-

Saebyeok opened the bottom drawer.

She crawled inside and curled up.

The large dresser had plenty of room for Saebyeok to fit.

"...!"

Gaeul's ears perked up as she pushed in the drawer Saebyeok was in.

Then she opened the drawer above it and climbed in just like Saebyeok had.

"Master!"

"U-um..."

Gaeul signaled for me to close her drawer.

After some hesitation, I closed the drawer Gaeul was in.

"Ah! Levinas wants to go in too!"

"Okay."

After putting Levinas in the third drawer up, I wandered around aimlessly.

I had nothing to do now that I was alone.

'Should I go in too...?'

After considering it, I opened the fourth drawer.

I jumped in lightly and settled into the drawer.

"Hmm..."

When I curled up like the children had, I felt an inexplicable comfort.

This would probably feel even better with the drawer closed.

I shifted my body inside the drawer.

I was trying to close the drawer.

Clank-! Clank-!

My light movements closed all the drawers, and darkness fell.

Then instincts hidden deep in my heart started seeping out.

"Wow..."

The narrow, dark drawer felt incredibly comfortable.

My body grew lazy and sleepy.

Maybe I could nap a bit?

What were the other children doing?

When I perked up my ears in the darkness, I could hear the children's breathing.

From soft sleep-mumbling to purring sounds.

The sounds they made while sleeping.

Were they tired from playing so energetically during the guild tests?

The inside of the drawer was also very cozy.

I should take a short nap too.

After sleeping...

**

Jo Eun-chan.

He was a 24-year-old who had passed Yeomyeong Guild's test.

Having achieved his goal, his next objective was getting his own place.

'The guild provided the room.'

The issue was furniture.

He needed more storage space than others, as he had more belongings.

Storage cabinets and containers.

Since he didn't have much money yet, he bought everything secondhand.

This time he'd bought a storage cabinet that could hold lots of clothes.

-Sir, where are you?

-I left it beside the convenience store. Please transfer the money to my account.

-Okay. I'll send it after moving the item.

Was this normal in wealthy neighborhoods?

Just leaving items and asking for bank transfers.

Jo Eun-chan found the dresser left beside the convenience store.

'Looks clean.'

Jo Eun-chan opened the top drawer.

The empty interior was spacious and neat.

After checking the dresser's condition, Jo Eun-chan moved behind it.

He tilted it slightly to keep the drawers from opening, then lifted it.

'Huh?'

It was a bit heavier than expected.

Heavy, but not too much for someone who'd passed Yeomyeong Guild's test.

Jo Eun-chan carried the dresser toward the guild building.

'I'm a guild member now!'

Jo Eun-chan walked proudly through the guild's main entrance.

On his way to the accommodation provided by the guild, he made eye contact with a red-haired woman.

"Oh my?"

It was Jung Yu-na, Yeomyeong Guild's most famous mage.

Though they were now fellow guild members, he knew the gap between them was enormous.

Bow-

When Jo Eun-chan bowed his head to her, Jung Yu-na started chuckling.

Her gaze was fixed on the dresser Jo Eun-chan was carrying.

"You're working hard."

"...?"

What did she mean by working hard?

Was this some kind of welcome greeting for new members?

Jo Eun-chan awkwardly nodded and headed for the stairs.

He was planning to take the stairs to his floor for exercise...

"Oh."

Several people passing by kept looking at his dresser.

They were quite famous members of Yeomyeong Guild.

"Looks like the kids are sleeping."

"Shh, you're too loud. You'll wake them."

"Ah."

The skilled guild members discussed various things while looking at the dresser.

What were they talking about?

Was this some kind of hidden camera prank for new members?

Jo Eun-chan arrived at his room lost in thought.

Thud-

He carefully set down the dresser.

He should at least roughly stuff his clothes in first.

Jo Eun-chan opened the bottom drawer.

Purr purr purr-

Inside was a sleeping child making typical feline sounds.

"?"

Jo Eun-chan blinked and instinctively closed the drawer.

He closed it carefully so as not to wake the child.

"What's this?"

Wasn't that Saebyeok?

The oldest of Yeomyeong Guild's beast-kin children.

Jo Eun-chan carefully opened the bottom drawer.

He opened it just a quarter of the way to confirm sleeping Saebyeok, then closed it again.

"?"

What was really going on?

Jo Eun-chan opened the upper drawer.

There was Gaeul, sleeping with her tongue slightly sticking out.

No way, could it be...?

Jo Eun-chan opened the drawers one by one.

Right above Gaeul was sleeping Levinas, and above that...

"Mmm..."

Perhaps because he opened it suddenly?

Gyeoul woke up rubbing their eyes.

As Gyeoul stretched instinctively like a cat, her eyes met Jo Eun-chan's in mid-air.

Boing.

Gyeoul's eyes went wide.

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