Chapter 09 ..,
Haru was extremely nervous under the gazes of the children staring at her. Strangely, no text appeared above her friends.
‘Does it only appear above adults?’
“Starting today, we have a new friend in Sprout Class. This is Oh Haru. Haru doesn’t know much about kindergarten yet, so you can all help her out, right?”
“Yes!”
The kindergarten children answered in unison.
‘This is the first time Haru has had so many friends!’
“Haru, why don’t you introduce yourself?”
“Hello! I’m Oh Haru! I hope we get along!”
“Then, Haru, you can sit next to Siwoo!”
A boy was sitting beside the seat the teacher pointed to. When Haru saw her deskmate’s face, her mouth fell open in delight.
His skin was fair, and his jet-black hair sparkled beautifully.
‘What a pretty friend! I want to become friends with him!’
“Hi, Siwoo! I’m Oh Haru!”
Her deskmate didn’t even turn his head.
‘Is Haru being ignored?’
Just as Haru scratched her cheek and was about to sit down, she suddenly tumbled to the floor with a crash. The boy sitting behind her wore a mischievous grin.
“Kim Hojun! I told you not to play tricks like that!”
“I didn’t do it!”
Hojun puffed out his cheeks and put on a defiant expression.
“But I saw everything!”
Kim Hojun had been staring defiantly at the teacher, but he eventually sighed and spoke sarcastically.
“It was an accident. Hey, sorry.”
Haru dusted off her knees, straightened her chair, and sat down.
“It’s okay.”
Perhaps taken aback by how bravely Haru spoke without crying, Kim Hojun stammered.
“Y-You’re not going to cry?”
“Why would I cry?”
Kim Hojun met Haru’s fearless gaze and pressed his lips together in displeasure.
But Kim Hojun’s pranks didn’t end there.
He pulled her hair, knocked over her blocks, and tripped her!
Haru needed to investigate the Sprout Class teacher, but she couldn’t get anything done because of Kim Hojun. Could he be one of the villain’s henchmen, too?
‘Or has he figured out my true identity?’
Haru’s big eyes gleamed sharply. Just then, Hojun stepped in front of her.
“Why are you wearing gloves?”
“That’s…”
Haru hesitated, but Kim Hojun forcibly grabbed her arm and pulled off her glove. Haru hurriedly hid her hand behind her back.
“Give it back!”
“No way! It’s not even cold, so why are you wearing gloves? Do you have a scar or something? Let me see your hand.”
Kim Hojun stubbornly held on to her arm and shook it. He was so strong that Haru couldn’t pull free.
‘What if my hand starts glowing here?’
Haru shouted toward her deskmate.
“Siwoo, help me!”
Han Siwoo, who had watched Haru being bullied without saying a single word, looked at her expressionlessly.
“Why should I?”
“He keeps bullying me!”
“So? What does that have to do with me?”
Kim Hojun smiled triumphantly and tightened his grip.
“Open your hand.”
Haru shouted.
“Teacher, help me!”
The Sprout Class teacher spotted Haru and hurried over.
“Hojun, you shouldn’t take your friend’s glove away. Give it back right now.”
Kim Hojun glared at Haru and threw the glove onto the floor. The Sprout Class teacher picked it up and put it back on Haru’s hand.
“Thank you.”
Haru bowed politely, then looked up at the Sprout Class teacher.
“Is there something you want to tell me?”
★Nurungji Candy★
Time remaining: 20 minutes
Without saying anything, Haru reached out toward the Sprout Class teacher.
“Haru wants to go to the bathroom.”
“Hm? The bathroom?”
“I’m scared Hojun will bully me again. Can you come with me, Teacher?”
Haru held the teacher’s hand and made her way to the bathroom.
“Teacher, close your eyes and wait here.”
“Why should I close my eyes? I’ll wait outside.”
“But Haru will be embarrassed. Hurry!”
“All right. Fine.”
“You absolutely mustn’t open your eyes, okay?”
The moment the teacher closed her eyes, Haru quickly took off her glove and grabbed the kindergarten teacher’s hand.
“Hm?”
At the teacher’s puzzled question, Haru emphasized her words once more.
“Absolutely do not open your eyes!”
[Haru’s Case Notebook]
☞ Investigate the Teacher
At that moment, her vision spun.
A computer was switched on in a dark room.
‘Albamong?’
“Damn it. Even though I want to change jobs, nobody will hire me.”
Her vision distorted, and the scene changed.
“There have been no unusual developments with Siwoo today, either. I think we can stop monitoring him now. Could I be transferred to another department? Do you have any idea how many years I’ve been doing this? I really can’t take it anymore. You said I only had to go undercover for a month at first!”
‘Siwoo? My deskmate’s name was Siwoo, too…’
Haru shook her dizzy head and opened her eyes.
The candy really worked!
This time, she didn’t get a nosebleed, and nothing hurt at all.
At the same time, the teacher’s eyes snapped open. Haru flinched in surprise.
“Haru, why did you hold my hand instead of going to the bathroom?”
“I suddenly didn’t wanna go anymore.”
The teacher gave her a lifeless smile.
“All right. Then shall we go back to the classroom?”
“Yes, sounds good!”
‘I’ve discovered the teacher’s secret!’
Haru calmed her pounding heart and bravely acted as she normally would. Holding the hand of a bad teacher was frightening, too, but she endured it and managed to do it.
Haru thought of the red candy inside Gomi’s belly.
Going undercover! Secretly observing someone! Those were exactly the kinds of things villains would do!
If the teacher really was a villain, Haru had to make her eat the red candy!
After returning to the classroom, Haru gazed at Siwoo, who was building blocks all by himself.
“What does that have to do with me?”
Haru puffed out her cheeks.
‘Haru asked him for help, but Han Siwoo is mean! He’s a bad kid!’
Haru glanced at Siwoo again.
Just like the culprit in Detective Dodo secretly tailing the detective, the bad teacher was keeping Siwoo under surveillance.
‘But Siwoo is a bad kid!’
Haru’s cheeks twitched.
But… Detective Dodo had even helped the evil Crow Gang.
As she pondered the matter, Haru murmured one of Detective Dodo’s famous lines.
“Catching the culprit is for the sake of justice, not revenge!”
Haru clenched both fists tightly.
“Okay. Haru will protect you! Because Haru is a great detective!”
Just then, Kim Hojun butted in.
“What are you going to protect him from? You can’t even protect your own gloves!”
Haru folded her arms confidently and looked Kim Hojun up and down. Taken aback by her unexpectedly relaxed reaction, Kim Hojun stammered.
“W-What?”
“Forget it. A little fry like you isn’t even worth my time.”
“W-What? A little fry?”
“Yeah! Don’t you know what a little fry is? It’s a tiny fish, like an anchovy.”
Keeping her gloved hands safely tucked beneath her crossed arms, Haru sharply turned her head toward Siwoo with a whoosh.
“Can I play with the blocks, too?”
“No.”
“Haru is really good at building blocks. Mommy said Haru is a genius.”
“All moms say that.”
“I know! But Haru really is a genius!”
“Dummy.”
Grr!
At Siwoo’s flat, offhand remark, Haru puffed out her cheeks again.
“T-Then, have people called you a genius, too?”
“No.”
Only then did Siwoo’s expressionless face turn toward Haru.
“I don’t have a mom.”
Haru pressed her lips tightly together. Siwoo resumed stacking his blocks as though nothing had happened. Hesitantly, Haru placed her gloved hand on Siwoo’s shoulder.
“It’s okay. Haru didn’t have a dad, either. But now Haru has three of them! So maybe Siwoo’s mom will suddenly show up one day, too!”
Siwoo stared at Haru without saying a word. Then he abruptly knocked her hand off his shoulder.
“Stop bothering me.”
Haru’s eyes narrowed into sharp triangles before returning to their usual round, gentle shape.
‘Sigh…’
Letting out a small sigh, Haru spoke.
“It’s okay if you don’t wanna play with me. But you should remember just one thing.”
As Haru moved closer to Siwoo, he cautiously pushed his chair away to create some distance. Haru paid no attention and followed him even closer, whispering conspiratorially.
“You need to be careful of the teacher.”
With a solemn expression, Haru cupped both hands around her mouth and spoke.
“The teacher has a secret.”
“What did you say about the teacher?”
“Eek!”
At the voice coming from directly behind her, Haru jumped in fright. The Sprout Class teacher was looking down at her with one hand on her hip.
Haru clasped both hands tightly together, her eyes darting around in panic.
‘D-Did she hear me?!’
