Chapter 7

[To create a rare lair, the most important thing to focus on is enjoyment.

So rather than trying too hard to make the perfect lair, I hope you feel happiness while creating it.]

I was squatting on the floor, tail swaying gently as I held its tip with both hands, all ears to the Suspicious Viewer’s advice.

There were plenty of chairs around, yet I chose to sit on the cold floor for two reasons.

First, the chairs were simply too high for me to climb up without trouble.

Second, whenever I sat on a chair, my tail kept wiggling uncontrollably, making me worry about falling off.

‘So instead of throwing tantrums trying to sit on a chair…’

I concluded that compromising with reality and squatting like this was a rational decision.

Feeling quite proud of my reasonable choice, I was puffing out my chest when suddenly the counselor teacher called out to me with a perplexed expression.

“Uh… Hae-un?”

Making eye contact, I wondered why I was called, and the counselor seemed to ponder for a moment before handing me a cushion with a concerned look.

“How about sitting on this instead of the floor?”

The counselor’s offered cushion looked cuter and fluffier than I imagined possible, nearly nodding in agreement unconsciously.

But no matter what, even as an adult male who’s not exactly a macho man, it felt inappropriate for someone my age to sit on such an adorable cushion.

Struggling to resist the temptation, I maintained my composure and declined as maturely as possible.

“Thank you, but I’m fine.”

Feeling quite satisfied with my grown-up response, I puffed out my chest again. But the counselor didn’t seem to agree, gripping the cushion tightly and speaking earnestly.

“The teacher would appreciate it if you’d sit on this cushion instead of the cold floor… Could you do this small favor for your teacher?”

When put that way, it was hard to refuse. Nodding to preserve the teacher’s dignity, the counselor thanked me and returned to their seat.

Staring at the counselor’s retreating back blankly, my eyes eventually fell upon the newly acquired cushion’s design.

“So cute…”

Though not quite a macho man, even I had to admit the design was adorable enough to please anyone receiving it as a gift. Just then, the chat window started flooding with messages.

[SeorinSeorin – Hae-un likes puppies, huh? I’ll definitely get her a puppy plushie.]

[RichAndSuspicious – Excellent! We have our first decoration item for the lair.]

[PerpetualCGradeHunter – Heard there’s a cute one in the community, and wow, they weren’t kidding.]

[NyannNyann – Is it even legal for someone to be this adorable? Already a full package beauty.]

The number of chats had more than doubled since before.

Checking the screen, I noticed the viewer count had increased to 424.

“424 viewers…?”

Why so many all of sudden? Was it a glitch?

Unable to comprehend the sudden surge in viewers, I stared at the screen intently but found no clear answers, eventually giving up.

“If it’s an error, it’ll resolve itself later.”

With that thought, I stood up.

“Then let’s find a place to build the lair.”

Standing up, still somewhat awkward but mimicking other streamers, I began introducing what I was about to do while preparing to leave in search of a lair-building spot. Realizing I needed to open the door to go outside…

“My hand doesn’t reach.”

How unexpectedly frustrating.

Realizing I was already facing a major obstacle from the start, I clenched my eyes shut.

“What should I do?”

Thinking about using a chair to reach the door handle, I remembered I couldn’t even climb onto the chair due to my height and fell into despair.

Realizing I couldn’t do anything alone, I was standing there dumbfounded when the counselor smiled kindly and opened the door for me.

“Shall we go together?”

Is the counselor secretly an angel?

Gratefully bowing deeply as before, I left the room with the counselor to find a place to build my lair.

*

Though Seorin and I had toured the association briefly before, it was just a casual look-around. This time, I wanted to carefully observe the surroundings to find a suitable location for building my lair…

“Everything’s so big.”

Since everything was designed for adults, none of it suited me. Moreover, building a lair inside the association would likely cause inconvenience, so I had no choice but to return to my room.

Realizing my goal of showing the viewers a magnificent lair had failed, I was feeling quite down when someone knocked on the door.

“Who’s there…?”

Thinking it might be Seorin or Han Arin, I asked who it was, but received no reply. Eyeing the door suspiciously, the counselor opened it for me and spoke.

“Who… Oh!”

The counselor looked outside, then exclaimed in slight surprise before smiling warmly, picking up a box that was left behind, and addressing me.

“Someone left a present. Here you go, Hae-un’s present.”

Staring blankly at the box placed before me, it contained blankets and various toys. Clearly high-quality items, I shook my head feeling it wasn’t right to accept them, but then a message appeared from the Suspicious Viewer.

[RichAndSuspicious – Sent these because they’ll be useful for building the lair. It’s common sense that adults help younglings with their first lairs.]

Reflecting on it, creating a lair does require a lot of materials. Naturally, hatchlings like myself would find it difficult to build one alone. Understanding that it’s normal for adults to assist, I bowed deeply once more to thank the Suspicious Viewer.

[FamilyName – Haha, your tail always wags when you’re happy. Are you insane how cute you are?]

[GradStudentWanted – Hang on, I think I’ve secured a room.]

[SicaNoKohoHiTamTang – Watch out for stags. They’re not deer.]

Despite the odd comment mixed in, I could ignore it. Gratefully bowing to the kind-hearted viewers, I began examining the contents of the box.

“A blanket?”

The first item was a blanket. It seemed intended for use as flooring or ceiling material. Deciding to start with basic construction, I looked around.

“Under the desk seems decent enough.”

Actually, there weren’t many other options besides under the desk. Approaching the corner desk in the room, I laid the blanket underneath and began arranging the items from the box on the floor.

“Though I don’t usually display dolls…”

Remembering how streamers decorated their walls with gifts from fans, I decided to follow suit despite feeling slightly awkward given most of the items were dolls. Whether taking one or ten out made little difference, so I ended up displaying them all.

[CandyMumu – Are you showing off the dolls to us? Haha.]

[SeorinSeorin – The dolls aren’t as cute as Hae-un herself, right?]

[RichAndSuspicious – Even though it’s her first attempt, it’s quite impressive.]

Though my lair looked shabby to anyone else, the overwhelming praise made me feel a bit embarrassed. Not that I disliked it. Chuckling quietly, I realized my tail was wagging faster than ever before.

“Ahh!”

My tail makes hiding my emotions nearly impossible. Determined to find clothing to conceal it, I hugged it close when suddenly someone knocked on the door calling for the counselor.

“Counselor Jeong Su-a, are you there?”

A gruff male voice.

Hearing it, I suddenly felt self-conscious about the extremely amateurish lair I had been excitedly building and started panicking.

“And anyway, it’s embarrassing for someone not a child to be this enthusiastic about making something like this.”

Speculating that perhaps my body had reverted while my mind hadn’t caught up, I blushed with shame just as a muscular man in his mid-30s entered with the counselor’s permission.

Seeing him, I became even more embarrassed about my lair and tried to hide it by standing on tiptoes and shielding it with my whole body. However, being so small, it was completely ineffective, leaving me inwardly lamenting. Regretting not having built it secretly outside…

“Aren’t you tidying up? Let me help.”

The muscular man approached quickly, then proceeded to dismantle my lair mercilessly by pulling away the blanket.

“Huh…?”

Though honestly surprised, I didn’t feel particularly angry or sad. My body, however, thought otherwise as I suddenly felt tears welling up.

Confused by this unexpected physical reaction, I tried wiping them away with the back of my hand to show I wasn’t crying. But doing so only made the tears grow larger, eventually flowing uncontrollably.

[SeorinSeorin – Hae-un, don’t cry!]

[GradStudentWanted – I’ll come over immediately. Please wait a moment.]

[MunYaMunYa – Oh dear, what should we do?]

Feeling increasingly flustered by my unresponsive body, the counselor quickly embraced me.

Being hugged like this was incredibly embarrassing, so I pushed away to indicate I was fine. However, the counselor only pulled me closer and began patting my back.

“Mr. Sung-hyun, I apologize. Due to past experiences, seeing the lair destroyed must have been shocking for Hae-un.”

“Oh… Sorry, Hae-un. I was just trying to help. Um, I’ll rebuild it for you, okay?”

Attempting to explain that this was all a misunderstanding and that I wasn’t upset for any real reason, my voice choked with tears, preventing me from conveying the truth no matter how hard I tried.

“What a fool.”

Not understanding what I was doing, I closed my eyes tightly in resignation.

* * * * *

Around the time Hae-un was sobbing loudly.

A speculative post on the community board gained popularity.

—

[Speculation on Why the Dragon Baby is Crying So Pitifully feat – Terror

– I heard from an association staff member that this baby was rescued from prison.

Looking up “prison,” I found that a large-scale terrorist attack occurred a month ago, and most of the people living there went missing.

In addition to various pieces of evidence that I’ll organize in a separate post, it seems highly likely that this dragon baby was taken during that terrorist attack.

Reversing the situation, this means that she was living safely with her parents when strange intruders suddenly broke in, destroying her home and taking her away.

In short, she has trauma knowing that her protective home could be destroyed at any moment. Seeing her newly created “lair” destroyed again probably caused her to cry. Yeah.]

n Well, if this is true, the kid’s mental state must have been severely affected.

n Damn, I’m furious but don’t know what to do.

n What is the association even doing? They need to catch the culprits quickly.

—

Though lacking substantial evidence and mostly speculative, this post was sufficient to ignite the hunters’ anger regardless of its veracity.

Thus, what should have been forgotten after a month…

[Recruiting Hunters with Investigation Skills.]

[Will Reward Those with Relevant Information. Contact Me.]

[Planning to Investigate the Prison. Anyone Interested in Joining?]

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