MBTJ 36

Chapter 36

“Haah….”

Morae stopped halfway up the hill and let out a sigh.

Between worrying about getting caught being with Suho and working overtime, she felt especially exhausted.

“I can’t relax like this.”

If something like today happened again, she might actually have a heart attack. From now on, she’d have to tame Suho somewhere other than the kindergarten.

“The lab might be good….”

She should ask Shin Jiyul. Resolving to do so, she patted her shoulders a few times.

Maybe because she’d been taking turns holding the kids, her shoulders ached.

“Whew, this is tough.”

It was already almost 11 p.m. She should go up, shower, and go straight to bed.

Just thinking about resting gave her a burst of energy. Morae climbed the stairs briskly—then stopped short.

A black cat was sitting calmly on the railing.

“Huh? Nabi.”

It was Nabi, the leader of the stray cats in the neighborhood.

She’d treated him after catching him wandering around injured once, and they’d become friends after that.

Of course, that was only how Morae saw it—the black cat considered her more like a subordinate he had to protect.

“You haven’t been coming around much lately. Did you get yourself a human?”

When she held out her hand, the black cat rubbed his face against it. She felt a calm resonance; he didn’t seem to be hurt anywhere.

[What have you been up to lately?]

“Huh? Are you nagging me all of a sudden?”

[You keep coming home late. Thieves break in.]

“What?”

Startled, she hurried up the stairs. The black cat followed silently behind her.

“W-What is all this?”

All sorts of items were scattered messily across the rooftop, and the front door—which she was sure she’d locked before leaving for work—was wide open.

Morae gripped her phone tightly. She dialed 112 first, then slowly approached the front door. A trembling voice leaked from her stiff lips.

“N-Nabi, it’s dangerous, so go somewhere else.”

[Such a coward. The thief already ran away.]

“R-Really?”

[I’m telling you.]

Just as Nabi said, she didn’t sense anyone’s presence. Morae let out a long sigh of relief and turned on the lights.

“Hoo….”

She didn’t own anything valuable enough to worry about being stolen in the first place. The problem was figuring out how to clean all this up—it felt overwhelming.

What kind of thoughtless thief would break into a place like this? It looked poor at a glance.

“Ah, I should report it first.”

Thankfully, there was a security CCTV camera in the alley near her house, so catching the culprit shouldn’t be too difficult.

“Did you happen to see what he looked like?”

The black cat, who had been grooming himself haughtily, let out a meow.

[He was really fat.]

“…Didn’t he have narrow, slanted eyes and thin lips? Blond hair, too.”

[Is he someone you know?]

So it was Kang Minuk.

Had he trashed the place to vent his anger over what happened with Suho? Morae rubbed her tired face.

“Thanks, Nabi.”

[Want me to get revenge? I’ll scratch his face clean if I run into him.]

“No, he’s dangerous. If you see him, run far, far away. Got it?”

[Hmph. You should be more careful yourself. How weak do you have to look to have this happen to you? Did I teach you to be like this?]

“…Sorry.”

The black cat stretched his front legs in a long yawn, then walked away leisurely. His slender tail stood elegantly over his hips.

Staring at his retreating back, Morae picked up her phone again and pressed the call button.

“Yes, I’d like to make a report.”

A short while later, flashing police lights brightly illuminated the narrow alley at midnight.

“Ugh….”

A groan slipped out on its own. Without even opening her eyes, Morae turned off the alarm.

By the time she went to the police station and finished giving her statement, it had been 3 a.m. the night before.

She’d come home half-asleep, cleaned up roughly, and thought she’d only closed her eyes for a moment—yet it was already morning. It was hard to believe.

Morae barely got up and rubbed her face. Forcing her swollen eyes open, she was greeted by a scene of total devastation.

“It looks even worse in the daylight….”

First things first—she had to go to work.

She quickly got ready, then untied the string she’d used to secure the door handle in place of the broken lock and went outside.

Fortunately, she managed to arrive without being late.

As she hurried into the kindergarten, Gil Seyun, who had arrived earlier, asked with a mischievous expression,

“What’s the occasion? You’re here at this hour?”

“Sorry, I’m late, right?”

“You usually come way too early. Please keep coming at this time from now on. You’re making my workday start earlier, Morae.”

“I will.”

Even though she arrived later than usual, maybe because she was used to it, she finished the opening preparations quickly.

After even having time to enjoy a cup of coffee, it was about time to open. The first visitor was Odoa.

“Welcome, Hunter Odoa. Rohan, please take the kids.”

After handing over eleven dogs to Gil Rohan, Odoa remained standing there. Morae kindly asked,

“Can I help you with something?”

“When are you finally coming over to hang out?”

“Pardon?”

“You said you’d come to my place.”

She’d completely forgotten because she’d been so busy. She wanted to go even today, but she had a mountain of things to do at home.

“I’m sorry. I’ll definitely come next time.”

“Was I being too clingy? Are you avoiding me because you think I’m some weird woman?”

“Why would I avoid you, Hunter Odoa? Actually, my place was broken into yesterday. So there’s a lot to clean up.”

“What? A break-in?”

“Morae, someone broke into your house?”

Odoa’s and Gil Seyun’s voices rose at the same time. Gil Rohan also widened his eyes and strode over to Morae.

“Uh… yes….”

Had she said too much?

As Morae looked uncomfortable, Odoa pressed her for details.

“How much did they steal? You reported it, right?”

“It was so messy that I think I’ll only know after cleaning, but it doesn’t seem like anything’s missing. I already reported it.”

“That’s unsettling…. Check your underwear too. It might’ve been some pervert.”

Knowing the intruder’s identity, Morae simply nodded.

“Do you have CCTV at home? What did the police say? Can they catch him?”

“There is security CCTV near my place, but they said it might take a while to check.”

Honestly, she didn’t care if he was caught late—or not at all. She’d only reported it as a warning to Kang Minuk anyway.

But Odoa didn’t share Morae’s thoughts. She narrowed her upturned eyes sharply and ground her lips together.

“Ha, how should I catch this bastard and beat him down?”

The silence that followed felt ominous. Before Morae could change the subject, Odoa spoke up.

“I’ll help you clean your place.”

“No, it’s okay. I don’t have many belongings, so I can handle it on my own.”

“Of course you could do it alone. I just want to help. We’re friends.”

“…….”

It was probably closer to polite talk than sincerity, but even so, it made her feel good—to have two people calling her a friend.

Odoa tapped the desk lightly.

“What time do you get off work today?”

“Five o’clock, but….”

“Got it. I’ll gather some workers to match the time.”

“Excuse me?”

Without further explanation, Odoa turned and left.

‘…It’s probably nothing, right?’

But it didn’t take long for Morae to regret underestimating Odoa’s drive.

Because the moment Gosan entered the kindergarten, he shouted,

“Morae! I heard your place got broken into?”

He was the first worker Odoa had recruited