The SSS Rank Babysitter chapter 6

* * *

“Shut up and sit down.”

As soon as Do Hajun finished speaking, the team members quickly took their seats.

With the exceptions of Deputy Team Leader Lee Moojin, who was dispatched overseas, and Kim Hana, who was on parental leave, everyone sat down, and silence filled the room once again.

“Hey kid, do you want to talk with this aunt?”

As everyone held their breath, alternating glances between Do Hajun and the child, Ahn Eunseon quietly spoke to Lee Cheongmyeong, who was nestled in Do Hajun’s arms.

Lee Cheongmyeong clung tighter to Do Hajun’s neck, as if not wanting to listen.

“Cheongmyeong, you’re hurting me. Let go a bit.”

With surprising strength for a hunter, the choking grip made it hard for Do Hajun to breathe.

As the grip around his neck loosened, Do Hajun swiftly lifted Lee Cheongmyeong and placed him on the opposite side.

Holding the struggling child tightly by the waist, and roughly patting his head, Do Hajun began to speak.

“Before the official orders comes down, I want to let you all know-”

Before Do Hajun could finish, a knock on the door interrupted him.

“Team Leader Do Hajun.”

It was the secretary of the Seoul Center Director who had entered.

“The Director wishes to see you.”

“Ah.”

Standing up while still holding Lee Cheongmyeong, the secretary shook her head.

“The Director wants to see you alone.”

Turning his head, Do Hajun saw the expectant face of Ahn Eunseon .

“Team Leader, leave him to me. I’m really good with kids. I even raised my nephew.”

Recalling the various accidents caused by Ahn Eunseon , Do Hajun was hesitant, but given the current situation, he had no choice.

He spoke to Lee Cheongmyeong in his arms.

“Cheongmyeong, stay here and play with your aunt.”

“Jun?”

“I’ll be back soon.”

Tears welled up in the child’s large eyes.

“Jun will be back soon. Look at this, baby. Wow!”

Ahn Eunseon nudged the teammate sitting next to her.

“Ouch. Why?”

“Hey, you know how to cast a buff, right? When you sing, buffs are activated. Sing now. If you’re going to do it, sing the one with the shark. Sing it quickly!”

“What?”

“Quickly!”

Gritting her teeth but keeping a smile, Ahn Eunseon ‘s command made the teammate start singing involuntarily. As a support-type awakened, singing caused light to shine all around.

“Baby… shark!! Doo doo doo doo doo doo.”

As Lee Cheongmyeong’s attention was caught by the sparkling light, Ahn Eunseon gently took him from Do Hajun and whispered.

“Go now, before he starts crying.”

Seeing that she indeed knew how to handle the child, Do Hajun hesitated for a moment as she loudly exclaimed,

“Wow! The lights are sparkling!”

Diverting Lee Cheongmyeong’s attention elsewhere.

“Team Leader Do Hajun.”

Nodding to the secretary urging him, Do Hajun finally took his eyes off Lee Cheongmyeong and followed her out.

* * *

“Is this about Lee Cheongmyeong?”

The secretary nodded at Do Hajun’s question.

“Yes, it is.”

As he had suspected.

Kang Wontae, the Seoul Center Director, preferred to personally enter dungeons or gates rather than managing the team members at the Seoul Center.

Thus, it was more common to meet him outside rather than at the center.

For him to summon Do Hajun to his office, even with the peculiar circumstances from dungeon allocations to breaches, meant it surely had something to do with Lee Cheongmyeong.

“Director.”

Upon arriving and opening the door to the director’s office, Kang Wontae was seen lounging on a leather sofa, as expected.

The bear-like man, with a shaggy beard, looked extremely tired.

“I heard you have Lee Cheongmyeong, who’s turned into a child.”

At the blunt question, Do Hajun nodded.

“Yes. Did the president tell you?”

“Yes. I got a call early this morning. She said it was a monster skill. Is that true?”

“It’s not confirmed, but even after giving him a curse lifting potion, there’s no effect.”

Kang Wontae clicked his tongue in pity.

“If I’d known that, I would’ve sent him to Alpha Team right away.”

Do Hajun frowned at the pitying comment.

“I didn’t know either. Didn’t I call to have him taken away?”

“I honestly thought you were seeing things. Did you think I’d believe that was Lee Cheongmyeong? Anyway, your luck is something else.”

Do Hajun cursed inwardly at the undeniable words.

Seeing this, Kang Wontae chuckled and clasped his hands together.

“It’s an order from the President. Lee Cheongmyeong will be assigned to Delta Team for the time being.”

“That’s what I requested. Are they selecting a new team leader for Alpha Team?”

“No. Lee Hwan, the deputy team leader, will act as interim team leader for now.”

Do Hajun nodded. Unless Lee Cheongmyeong returned to normal, it was impossible for a child to lead a team.

Given the circumstances, it was better for the deputy team leader to lead the team temporarily rather than appointing just anyone or leaving the position vacant.

“And there will be a press conference today.”

“So, you’re going public with this?”

“Lee Cheongmyeong is the hunter who received the most spotlight in the country. If he suddenly disappeared, there’d be rumors.”

Suddenly, Shin Misook’s similar words echoed in his mind.

She had mentioned how famous Lee Cheongmyeong was, saying he appeared in dozens of commercials on TV. It seemed to be true.

“Isn’t it too dangerous to inform the public?”

If they couldn’t return Lee Cheongmyeong to normal, it would be like starting all over again.

“People won’t stay quiet.”

He was in a state where he didn’t even know what was right or wrong, or knew what is he doing.

If someone got hold of Lee Cheongmyeong in his current state, it would be easy to make him an ally or an enemy.

Having an SS-grade hunter with a blank slate in their grasp, it is like having a powerful puppet.

It was indeed an enticing prize.

“People won’t stay quiet? Lee Cheongmyeong belongs to the country anyway.”

“Belongs to the country in name only. If someone has bad intentions, they wouldn’t care about that, would they?”

“No, they wouldn’t be able to.”

“Why not?”

Kang Wontae, who had been leaning against something, straightened up and gestured for Do Hajun to come closer as if he had a secret to share.

When Do Hajun leaned in, Kang Wontae spoke in a low voice.

“Lee Cheongmyeong signed the contract as soon as he awakened, and he didn’t have a guardian.”

Although the title is “national hunter,” the contracts for hunters were all the same. Especially after the Hunter Association was established and the standard hunter contract was introduced, the only difference was that national hunters received a pension like government employees.

However, when Lee Cheongmyeong awakened and signed the contract, there was no standard contract, and he was a minor.

An innocent high school student who knew nothing.

Surely not…

“What did you do?”

As Do Hajun’s eyes lit up, Kang Wontae shook his head.

“Nothing. I was just a lowly hunter back then. That’s all I know. The rest is classified.”

After telling him almost everything, what does he mean by classified?

Being the unpleasant person he was, Kang Wontae must have meant for him to find out the rest on his own.

As Do Hajun clicked his tongue internally and stood up, Kang Wontae continued as if nothing had happened.

“The chairman has ordered full support for you, so if you need anything, just say so.”

“While you’re giving me full support, please tell him to postpone the press conference as well. Lee Cheongmyeong, who has turned into a child, might not be able to use his skills-”

-Bang!

A loud explosion shook the center building.

Although accidents were common at the center due to hunters losing control of their powers, this was the first time there had been such a loud noise.

As the startled pair exchanged glances, Do Hajun’s eyes widened in shock as he looked out the window behind Kang Wontae.

“Damn it.”

Do Hajun sprang to his feet and dashed out of the director’s office, while Kang Wontae turned his head.

Through the large front window, a towering water vortex that could only be seen in dungeons was rising skyward.

“Can’t use his skills, my foot. He’s using them just fine.”

* * *

The office that Do Hajun had left was filled with shimmering light and song.

Ahn Eunseon, who was holding the baby angel happily, gazed at Lee Cheongmyeong as if entranced, like someone whose soul had been stolen by a siren.

But it wasn’t just Ahn Eunseon who was enchanted.

Except for one team member who disliked children, everyone was staring at Lee Cheongmyeong.

Every time light burst forth, the shimmering eyes looked like sparkling jewels, making it impossible to look away, and the rosy cheeks that puffed up with a smile brought a contented grin.

“Doesn’t this kid look like someone?”

“Huh?”

A support team member who had been staring at the child next to Ahn Eunseon pointed at the child’s face.

“This mole.”

“Oh? Right. I’ve seen this before.”

“Yeah. Someone had a mole like this.”

As the team members mumbled, trying to remember where they had seen it.

“Oh! I remember!”

A team member who had been standing farther away raised their hand and shouted.

“Lee Cheongmyeong! He looks like Lee Cheongmyeong.”

Affirmative exclamations arose from all around.

Come to think of it, the child really did resemble Lee Cheongmyeong so closely it was almost like a carbon copy.

“Isn’t this Lee Cheongmyeong’s kid, not the team leader’s?”

“If it’s Lee Cheongmyeong’s kid, why would the team leader have it?”

“He might have left the kid with him while going to a dungeon.”

“As if the team leader would do that. Our team leader?!”

Even while being distracted by the child, everyone nodded in agreement with Ahn Eunseon’s sharp retort.

Then she recalled something that had happened in a dungeon before.

“Tea-Team Leader. I think I’m injured.”

“Injured? Where?”

“I think I broke my wrist. I nearly slipped and grabbed the wall beside me.”

“Aren’t you a support-type hunter?”

“Pardon?”

“When you cast buffs on other hunters, do you do it with your hands?”

“No, but if this keeps up, it will affect my movement.”

“Really? Do you walk with your hands?”

“…No.”

Do Hajun picked up a long stick lying on the dungeon floor and tossed it to the support-type hunter.

“Use that to splint your arm and stop whining. Don’t you know losing a support hunter is critical? There are hunters who keep fighting even with one arm torn off. If you’re going to whine about a broken wrist, quit and hand in your resignation.”

“…….”

That’s when he earned the nickname “Cold-blooded.”

That hunter, being a support-type, didn’t even receive a healer’s healing and was dragged into the next dungeon and the urgent fissure that had formed.

He behaved more humanely towards monsters.

At least he wouldn’t make an injured monster work.

There was no way that cold-blooded of a team leader would take care of a child.

“But didn’t the Team Leader mention Lee Cheongmyeong’s name in the hallway earlier?”

“What?! I heard that too. He was shouting Lee Cheongmyeong’s name, saying, ‘Don’t run!'”

Everyone turned to look at Lee Cheongmyeong. The identical face and the same name.

The thought of “No way” crossed their minds, but.

“No way.”

“Yeah, as if.”

“Must be just a coincidence that they have the same face and name.”

“But what is this kid’s connection to the team leader? Did you hear earlier? ‘Jun~ Jun~'”

At that moment.