* * *
Today, Grace is the first lost child taken in the center. There were still many cookies and hot chocolate prepared.
When Charlie brought three cookies and hot chocolate to them, Seojun prepared a place on where to put the tray.
“Thank you!”
“Don’t mention it!”
These two children seemed to have already becime best friends even though they had just met each other.
Seojun handed Grace a cup of hot chocolate. Grace sipped the hot chocolate and her cold empty stomach warmed up.
The three children huddled together in a corner of the lost child center. As the blanket wrapped around them, they talked to each other.
“After the contest, vampires and werewolves band would be performing. My dad will be there too. He’s the werewolves pack leader! When performed with my uncles last year, it was amazing. I really want to perform on stage when I grow up!”
“Charlie’s wolf-ears is really cute.”
“I like Jun’s costume more.”
Seojun smiled at Grace’s words.
“Right?”
“Cute.”
At Grace’s words, Seojun rubbed his cheek shyly.
“You can’t be too cute. Werewolves are usually very scary.”
“Like my dad! Isn’t it hard to win first place with such a cute face? Why did you make it like that?”
“Originally, it was a nice wolf hat like Charlie’s father, but after adding many things, it became very heavy. So my uncle made it simplier and light.”
“But it’ll be hard to win first place.”
“What are they usually doing at the contest?”
Charlie answered Grace’s question. Seojun also listened carefully.
“Most people will act on the stage. Vampires will act like vampires and witches will act like witches. They can make props and use them, but not too big. The first place is determined by the reaction of the audience.”
“What if the reactions are similar?”
Charlie shrugged.
“Then they will be tied for first place. That happened quite a lot.”
“I see.”
“Come to think of it, Jun, did you apply for the competition?”
“Yes, I did it as soon as the festival started.”
“What did will you be doing?”
“Transform into a werewolf!”
“I’ll cheer for you. My voice will probably the loudest!”
At Charlie’s words, Seojun and Grace also burst into laughter.
The staff and the couple at the Lost children Center were worried that the lost child might be anxious. Seeing that she settled calmly with the two kids, they waited for Grace’s family with confidence.
“Grace!”
The tent of the lost child center was wide open. Grace’s parents and a girl, who appears to be her older sister, rushed in. As soon as Grace saw her parents’ faces, she burst into tears and cried.
“Mom! Dad!”
“Grace! Where in the world…! No. I’m glad that you’re okay.”
“Are you hurt?”
The couple looked everywhere for Grace, but they still couldn’t find her. Both the girl and the parents looked teary at each other.
Soon after, Grace’s parents gave their thanks to the staff and also to Seo Eun-hye and Lee Min-joon.
“This is Jun and this is Charlie. They found me.”
“Thank you so much.”
Wiping her tears, Grace didn’t forgot to introduced Seojun and Charlie. Grace’s mother, who finished thanking Seojun and Charlie, asked Grace.
“Shall we go to the hotel now?”
She was worried that she might not like the Halloween festival anymore, or there would be a little trauma left on her with this event. Grace’s father and sister waited for her response.
“No.”
Grace gave a big smile to her mother as she replied.
“Jun is participating to the contest. I want to watch him too. Jun wants to win first place, so I have to be there and cheer for him. Mom and dad, let’s go and cheer together!”
At Grace’s words, Seojun and Charlie burst into laughter. They thought she was a quiet child, but she seemed to have not said anything because of anxiety.
“Then make sure you win first place! I’ll cheer for you.”
Grace and her family left the lost child center to eat dinner because they hadn’t eaten yet. Charlie looked at the clock of the lost child center.
“Jun, you should go prepare for the contest now.”
Seojun and his parents also checked their own watches. The time said by the organizer earlier is approaching.
“How did you know?”
“This is already my 10th festival.”
“Do you remember your first time?”
“Hmm, from the Fifth?”
The two children burst into laughter.
“There was a time when I participated there during may dad’s performance.”
“Then, do you want to come with me?”
“Okay. I’ll show you what my dad is preparing.”
Seojun became excited at Charlie’s words. He can finally see the wolf mask up close!
The stage installed in the middle of Orsay Square was bigger than expected. There are still an hour left until the start of the performances, but some people already sat down.
“I think the stage was smaller than this on YouTube.”
“Last year, there were more people than expected, so they installed a bigger one this time.”
“I see. It’s so nice!” Seojun nodded at Charlie’s answer.
The stage was in T shape. There was a small runaway where the participants could walk closer to the audience. It was wider compared to the usual Model’s runaway.
“You can walk out this way too.”
Seojun was thinking of what will he be doing in his head but the stage was bigger than expected, anyway this was good.
“This is the way behind the stage.”
It was very noisy behind the stage. Participants for the competition received a numbered ticket and handed over a paper to the organizers and then stated the timing of the music and stage effects they prepared.
Seojun also gave a paper and received his number. As he was waiting for a while, the employee, who was checking the application earlier, began drawing lots.
Among the 13 teams, Seojun was the last.
As they finished the drawing lots, the organizer reminded them.
“The first performer team get ready inside. If you have props, please prepare.”
There was still time before it was Seojun’s turn, as they followed Charlie, they saw two groups preparing hard for the performance and working together.
At a glance, it was a group of vampires and a group of werewolves. The vampires were dressed in with nice suits, while the werewolves were bare-faced without their wolf masks.
“Uncles! Dad!”
“Charlie!”
“The tailless little wolf is here.”
Vampires and werewolves welcomed Charlie together. With Charlie’s appearance, their practices stopped for a while.
A strange man walked toward Charlie. Charlie ran and hugged the man.
“Dad!”
“…Dad?”
Seojun blinked his eyes. At this moment, the father and son did not match. Charlie is human, but his dad was a werewolf!
The wolf mask was so impressive that it could be mistaken for something real.
The man hugged Charlie tightly and opened his mouth.
“Thank you for taking care of Charlie.”
“No, we had a lot of fun too.”
“Charlie knows the festivals well.”
At the couple’s compliment, Charlie’s dad smiled and stroked Charlie’s head. After greeting other people, Seojun and his party came out.
“Participants can sit in the front row It’s this way.”
Charlie walked ahead.
“Are they all actors?”
“No. My dad runs a restaurant. He cooks many foods, but his Beef bourguignon is the best. Try it later.”
Seojun and the couple blinked. Charlie’s dad is actually a cook.
“The vampire uncle leader makes wine, and the other uncles have other jobs too.”
“Why are they performing?”
“Orsay specialty is wine, but there are many places in France where wine is a specialty.”
Charlie shrugged.
“Halloween festival was done to get many people to come to Orsay and develop tourism. This Halloween festivals have been held for a long time, but there were fewer participants. And as this is known to the public, many Halloween festivals from other countries also started appearing, so they decided to have the participants keep up with the settings so they can really immerse themselves to their monster role. Among the various events that was started to make this festival known, the most notable is the battle between vampires and werewolves.”
Seojun nodded.
“The first try was a little bit clumsy, but everyone liked it a lot. And then more tourists came. Everyone is working hard because they like doing it. I don’t know about anything else, but there won’t be anyone who can be as good as my uncles among the vampires and werewolves at acting.”
At Charlie’s words, Seojun shrugged. Monster acting? There was someone here who could do better than anyone else.
“I’m pretty good too.”
“My dad has been doing this for 10 years already.”
“I’m going to be like that too.”
In this life. Seojun swallowed the last two words he wanted to say an laughed. The couple standing behind Seojun also smiled.
“We will have a better view here. After the awards ceremony, my dad’s performance will be next, we can watch it together.”
Seo Eun-hye put her bag down on the chair, she decided to wait for his turn behind the stage with Seojun, while Lee Min-joon decided to film Seojun’s stage among the audience. Charlie followed Seojun and stayed to watch the contest from the backstage.
* * *
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Thanks for the chapter!