* * *

Lee Cheongmyeong’s cry echoed like a scream. At the same time, water droplets began forming around him.

“What is this?”

“Ah! Why is there water here?!”

As the child’s crying grew louder, the water droplets filling the office began to clump together one by one.

“No way.”

Everyone’s eyes turned to the child.

Lee Cheongmyeong turned toward the sound.

“Is this kid a Hunter?!”

“Are you kidding me?!”

“Waaaah! Jun!!”

“How can a kid be a Hunter? Isn’t he a monster?”

“Damn snake! What did you bring back?!!”

“Waaaah!! Jun!!!”

Five water whirlwinds formed, and one of them moved its massive body.

-Bang!

The whirlwind shattered the window and wall, heading outside. Simultaneously, it began to grow larger.

Meanwhile, the whirlwinds inside were wrecking the office.

As the office turned into a watery mess, the team members rushed to Lee Cheongmyeong.

“Hey! Ahn Eunseon , calm the kid down, quick!”

“This is crazy! How can the kid suddenly be a Hunter?!”

“Did team leader really not know? No way, that bastard must have known. If he knew, he shouldn’t have left the kid with us!”

“Stop talking nonsense and calm the kid down!”

All the team members tried to entertain Lee Cheongmyeong, but he rejected them with his whole body and cried even louder.

Moreover, realizing he was being held by Ahn Eunseon, he began to struggle.

“Who the hell called him Jun?!”

“Hey! Go get the team leader!”

“I-I’ll go!”

One of the team members sprinted to the door.

At that moment, the door burst open with a bang.

“Lee Cheongmyeong!”

Seeing Do Hajun with his disheveled hair, Lee Cheongmyeong paused his crying, widened his eyes, then burst into tears again and reached out his arms.

The swirling, vigorous whirlwinds halted.

“Jun. Waaah!”

Do Hajun sighed and picked up Lee Cheongmyeong.

Lee Cheongmyeong clung tightly to Do Hajun’s neck, burying his face in his shoulder.

Feeling the hot tears soak his shoulder, Do Hajun patted his back and said, “Don’t cry. Who told you to create that? Get rid of it now.”

[Due to increased sadness, the effect of the skill ‘Stop Crying!’ is halved.]

[Lee Cheongmyeong is feeling sadness.]

[Affinity has decreased by 1.]

[Current affinity: 29 (Friendly)]

“Sniff. I don’t wanna. I hate it.”

“You can’t. If you do, you can’t stay with me. Do you want to be apart from me?”

Although he knew the affinity would drop, it was more important to stop the skill.

Lee Cheongmyeong, who was sobbing, looked up at Do Hajun.

“Hurry. If not, those men from yesterday will take you away.”

Remembering yesterday’s event, Lee Cheongmyeong, now pale, hugged Do Hajun’s neck tighter.

Though it felt like he was choking, the threat worked, and the whirlwinds disappeared without a trace.

“Sniff. I want to stay with Jun….”

“Okay. Stay with me. I’m sorry. This time, it was my fault.”

The team’s eyes widened at Do Hajun’s words.

Who was this gentle voice?

Apologizing? Could those words come from Snake?

“…Doppelgänger?”

Maybe it really was a doppelgänger.

At someone’s mumble, everyone exchanged glances.

Some subtly readied their weapons or prepared to activate skills.

Noticing their looks, Do Hajun frowned.

“What are you looking at? Shut up and clean up the office.”

“He is the team leader.”

The cold voice and harsh tone confirmed it was Do Hajun.

Was the earlier scene just a dream?

“Aren’t you going to do it?”

At his sharp tone, the team hurriedly began cleaning.

Hunters with fire skills dried the water puddles scattered everywhere.

But several desks and cabinets were still a mess.

The team members, puzzled about how to handle the chaos, started by setting up the scattered chairs.

As they cleaned, Do Hajun walked to his desk.

Even amid his crying, the well-behaved Lee Cheongmyeong hadn’t touched Do Hajun’s desk and chair, which remained intact.

Sitting down with Lee Cheongmyeong in his arms, Lee Cheongmyeong spoke as if waiting.

“Jun. Don’t go. I hate it.”

“No, I’m not going.”

“Really?”

“Yes. I’ll stay with you. I won’t leave you alone anymore. Stop crying.”

[The caregiver’s words bring great trust to Lee Cheongmyeong.]

[Lee Cheongmyeong feels at ease.]

[Lee Cheongmyeong’s affinity increases by 5.]

[Current affinity: 34 (Intimate)]

Relieved by the message about the affinity increase, Do Hajun sighed with relief.

‘Must be due to his gentle nature.’

Though sometimes the affinity dropped when he was uncomfortable, it wasn’t significant.

And the lost affinity was quickly restored, so ‘raising’ didn’t feel particularly difficult yet.

So-called gentle child.

Judging by his gentle nature, the original Lee Cheongmyeong must have been gentle too.

As Do Hajun brushed back the sweaty hair of the tearful Lee Cheongmyeong, he said,

“You can’t use your skills just anywhere.”

“I was scared.”

“Even if you’re scared, you can’t. That’s bad.”

Thinking he was being scolded, Lee Cheongmyeong’s blue eyes welled up with tears again.

Do Hajun reached out his hand. His large hand brushed Lee Cheongmyeong’s face instead of the tears.

“I’m not scolding you. I’m telling you.”

“You’re telling me?”

“Yes. From now on, if you want to use your skills, ask me first. If I allow it, then you can use it. Okay?”

“…Okay.”

“Good boy.”

“Hehe.”

Lee Cheongmyeong, shedding tears, brightened up at the head pat.

[The skill ‘Good Boy’ is activated.]

[The sudden compliment lifts Lee Cheongmyeong’s spirits.]

[Affinity increases by 10.]

[Affinity has significantly increased. Lee Cheongmyeong begins to trust you.]

[Current affinity: 44 (Trust)]

[More detailed information about the child is available.]

[Self-control increases by 5.]

[Current Self-control: 5/100]

[Skill control ability increases by 1.]

[Current Skill Control: 67/100]

…

…

Do Hajun internally gaped in astonishment.

Seeing new stats was one thing.

But the values of those stats were ridiculous.

Self-control was at 5, and skill control was at 67.

Basic attack and defense were the same, but self-control and skill control were practically non-existent.

Had he been nerfed when he turned into a child, or was this just how Lee Cheongmyeong originally was?

‘How could anyone know anything?’

“…Excuse me, Team Leader.”

Ahn Eunseon , who had been pretending to tidy up the office while eavesdropping on them, approached Do Hajun when he briefly paused.

Do Hajun, with a look that said “What?” glanced at Ahn Eunseon .

“Is this kid perhaps Lee Cheongmyeong’s son?”

“Ah!”

Do Hajun, remembering that he was going to explain earlier but was called by the Director, waved his hand and said,

“Everyone, attention. I have an announcement.”

The team members, who didn’t particularly want to clean or leave because they were curious about Lee Cheongmyeong’s identity, looked at him.

“There will be an official announcement this afternoon.”

To the general public, Hunters were heroes but also ticking time bombs.

Whenever a Hunter lost control, there were demands for devices to control them.

Lee Cheongmyeong was exactly in that situation. His abilities remained, but as a child, his control was zero.

It was like giving a weapon to a child, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he caused an incident at any moment.

Although they hoped to delay the announcement as much as possible, Shin Misook wanted to reveal it quickly to ease the public’s anxiety because Lee Cheongmyeong was beloved.

After a small sigh, Do Hajun continued,

“Alpha Team’s Lee Cheongmyeong has been turned into a child by a monster’s skill. This kid is that Lee Cheongmyeong.”

“What?!”

“No way!”

“You’ve got to be kidding!”

Lee Cheongmyeong flinched slightly at the screams.

[Lee Cheongmyeong is startled by the situation and is scared.]

“Shut up. You’re scaring the kid.”

Despite the harsh voice, the hand patting Lee Cheongmyeong’s back was gentle.

As everyone stood with their mouths agape, Lee Cheongmyeong, seemingly reassured, buried his face in Do Hajun’s neck.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s nothing. You don’t need to be scared.”

Seeing this, the team members were thrown into confusion again.

Is this a prank?

Are the monsters playing a trick?

But would the monsters even go this far?

Contrary to the soothing words whispered to Lee Cheongmyeong, Do Hajun’s next words were chilling.

“You’ll get the details in the official announcement. He’ll be assigned to our team, so keep that in mind. There’s nothing special today, so we’ll end early.”

After saying his piece, Do Hajun left the office with Lee Cheongmyeong in his arms.

Although the team members’ shocked voices echoed behind him, overwhelmed by the wave of information, Do Hajun quickly walked away, worried that the sleeping Lee Cheongmyeong might wake up.

* * *

As pre-announced, Shin Misook made an urgent statement that evening, revealing that Lee Cheongmyeong had turned into a child.

The repercussions were huge.

It wasn’t just the problem of an SS-rank Hunter, who represented the country, being affected by a monster’s skill, but the fact that he had turned into a minor.

Moreover, since Lee Cheongmyeong had already caused an incident at the Seoul Center, concerns grew.

Faced with a stronger reaction than expected, Shin Misook ordered both of them to stay at home to divert attention from the media. Thus, Do Hajun unexpectedly got a vacation.

“Jun.”

Waking up from a nap, Lee Cheongmyeong rubbed his eyes with his tiny hands.

Do Hajun, who was as exhausted as Lee Cheongmyeong from being around strangers all day and using his skills, had fallen asleep as soon as he got home and woke up at midnight.

Lee Cheongmyeong, who had woken up hungry and crawled on his knees to hug Do Hajun’s neck, was carried to the living room.

The living room was still a mess since he forgot to call someone to clean.

Thinking about what to do, he decided to eat first and opened a delivery app.

“Anything you want to eat?”

“Meat!”

“You threw up after eating meat a few days ago and you want meat again.”

Despite his scolding tone, Do Hajun searched for meat dishes that the child could eat.

Thinking that minced meat would be better than tough grilled meat, he ordered hamburger steak for Lee Cheongmyeong and a Korean meal set for himself, then set Lee Cheongmyeong down on the sofa.

He turned the TV to a children’s program.

“Watch this.”

“Where are you going?”

Seeing the anxious eyes staring at him, Do Hajun patted Lee Cheongmyeong’s head.

“I’m not going anywhere. Just cleaning.”

Do kids always stick to you like this?

Given the situation, he couldn’t call a cleaning service. He had to do it all by himself.

Picking up one of the boxes filling the living room, Do Hajun sighed.

When did my fate become babysitting? Was this my predestined future as a Caregiving Hunter?

Despite his complicated thoughts, his hands moved quickly.

He took out the clothes in the box, neatly folded them, and placed them aside.

He then tore the tape from the empty box and organized it, a series of tasks flowing smoothly.

-Ding Dong.

“Is it here already?”

Do Hajun, who had been tearing open boxes for a while, tilted his head and stood up.

“Jun.”

“Wait a moment. I’m not going out. Are you a puppy? Following me everywhere. Just watch TV.”

Stopping Lee Cheongmyeong, who was about to climb off the sofa as soon as he moved, by gently pressing down on his head, Do Hajun walked to the front door.

“What?”

The intercom showed a familiar woman with her hair in a bun instead of the expected delivery person.

* * *