The SSS Rank Babysitter chapter 35

“Aileen. Eat this.”

Lee Cheongmyeong, who was sitting next to Aileen Spencer, placed a mushroom on her plate.

“Our Cheongmyeong is taking good care of Aileen, huh?”

“Yes. Because she’s a baby.”

Aileen Spencer gritted her teeth.

For the past few days, the sly Lee Cheongmyeong had been calling her a baby and taking all of Do Hajun’s attention and praise.

“Hajun. I don’t want this.”

“You can’t be picky. You always try to eat only bread anyway.”

Aileen Spencer felt wronged by Do Hajun’s stern words.

She wasn’t saying she wouldn’t eat it; she was just asking for some seasoning.

“I like mushrooms! Look at me eat this!”

Lee Cheongmyeong chewed on the mushroom eagerly, and Do Hajun patted his head.

“Good job, Cheongmyeong. Mushrooms are good for you, so eat a lot.”

Even though he didn’t like the slimy texture, he was eating mushrooms well in front of the baby.

Do Hajun found Lee Cheongmyeong, who was acting like an older brother, endearing and laughed.

In fact, he had been a bit worried when Aileen Spencer arrived and Lee Cheongmyeong’s pronunciation started to sound babyish.

But Doctor Oh Yeongeun said this behavior was common in children who suddenly got a younger sibling, and it was better to let them naturally accept their new role rather than force a correction.

“I can eat it too!”

At that moment, Aileen Spencer, determined to prove herself, stabbed the mushroom with her fork and started chewing on it.

Do Hajun felt proud watching the kids eat without fuss.

“Honey.”

Lee Moojin, who had just entered the office, sat next to Do Hajun.

“Aren’t you supposed to start work in the afternoon?”

“You’d get mad if I didn’t eat before going in.”

Do Hajun responded as if stating the obvious, slightly annoyed.

“Can I eat too?”

Do Hajun firmly smacked away Lee Moojin’s hand that was reaching for the lunchbox.

“Get lost.”

“Hing. You’re so cold to me.”

With a scoff, Do Hajun added side dishes to Aileen Spencer’s spoon.

“Me too!”

Seeing this, Lee Cheongmyeong extended his spoon. If Aileen got something, he had to get it too.

“Here.”

However, before Do Hajun could respond, Lee Moojin, with a new pair of chopsticks, placed an egg roll on Lee Cheongmyeong’s spoon.

“No, I don’t want this.”

“Why? You like egg rolls.”

Ignoring Lee Moojin’s clueless reply, Lee Cheongmyeong reluctantly put the spoon in his mouth.

“Honey, isn’t the director coming today?”

“Yes, we have to take the kids to a dungeon.”

Even though the immediate danger had passed, Aileen Spencer was still in a state where something could go wrong at any moment.

Rather than being caught off guard by an emergency, Do Hajun thought it would be better to go to an empty dungeon and practice using their skills, so he requested a meeting with Kang Wontae.

“Which dungeon are you going to?”

“I’m not sure yet. I haven’t decided.”

As Do Hajun and Lee Moojin focused on their conversation, Lee Cheongmyeong took the opportunity to tug on Aileen Spencer’s hair.

“Ouch!”

When Do Hajun turned his attention to Aileen Spencer, Lee Cheongmyeong smiled brightly and said,

“Jun, I want an egg roll too.”

“Wait, Aileen, did you bite your tongue? Let me see.”

Contrary to what he expected, Do Hajun’s attention shifted to Aileen Spencer.

“Ah.”

As Do Hajun carefully inspected Aileen Spencer’s mouth, Lee Cheongmyeong frowned.

“There’s no bleeding. Eat slowly and drink some water.”

“Yes.”

Aileen Spencer nodded with a smile. Her scalp hurt from being pulled, but she liked being cared for by Do Hajun.

“Anyway…”

When Do Hajun’s attention returned to the conversation with Lee Moojin, Aileen Spencer threw a grape at Lee Cheongmyeong.

Hit squarely on the head, Lee Cheongmyeong glared at Aileen Spencer.

“What? What are you going to do about it?”

In a whisper that Do Hajun couldn’t hear, Lee Cheongmyeong picked up a grape from his plate and threw it back at her.

“How dare you throw a grape at me?!”

Forgetting that she had thrown the first one, Aileen Spencer pinched Lee Cheongmyeong’s side.

“Ow.”

“Cheongmyeong, what’s wrong?”

As Do Hajun turned his head, Aileen Spencer quickly spoke up.

“Hajun, Cheongmyeong also needs to eat slowly.”

At her deceitful words, Lee Cheongmyeong clenched his fists.

“Did you bite your tongue too, Cheongmyeong? Let me see.”

“Ah.”

Just like with Aileen Spencer, Do Hajun carefully checked Lee Cheongmyeong’s mouth, telling him to eat slowly and patting his head before returning to his conversation.

‘I hate you.’

‘I hate you too!’

As Lee Cheongmyeong and Aileen Spencer glared at each other, trying to avoid Do Hajun’s notice, a knock sounded, and the door opened.

“Team Leader Do Hajun.”

“Secretary Kang.”

“The director is looking for you.”

At Secretary Kang’s words, Do Hajun looked over at the kids.

The two of them quickly smiled.

“Can you two behave while I’m gone?”

“Yes.”

“Yes!”

Although they didn’t like it when Do Hajun was away, right now, it was better for him to be gone.

“Honey, I’ll take care of the kids.”

Lee Moojin waved reassuringly.

“It’s going to be a long talk, so make sure they finish their meal and brush their teeth.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll take care of the kids, so you go handle your work.”

With a playful response, Do Hajun smacked Lee Moojin on the back and followed the secretary to the director’s office.

“Let’s finish eating.”

“Okay.”

“……”

Determined not to let the other get away with anything, the two kids quietly ate their meal with Lee Moojin present.

To Lee Cheongmyeong, Lee Moojin was someone who knew Do Hajun well and was relied upon by him, and to Aileen Spencer, he was a large man she didn’t know.

-Buzz.

“What? Why?”

Speaking in a serious tone, Lee Moojin stood up to take the call.

“Stay here quietly. I’ll be back after my call.”

“Okay.”

“……”

As Lee Moojin stepped out of the office for the serious call, the room fell into silence.

And then,

Lee Cheongmyeong quickly reached for Aileen Spencer’s side.

“Hmph.”

Aileen Spencer, anticipating his move, blocked his hand and sneered.

“Idiot.” (Korean)

“Stupid.” (English)

Hearing the sudden English word, Lee Cheongmyeong hesitated for a moment, and Aileen Spencer’s lips curled into a smile.

“Hey! Hey!”

“What! What!”

Unable to contain his anger, Lee Cheongmyeong grabbed Aileen Spencer’s hair tightly.

“You punk!”

Aileen Spencer grabbed Lee Cheongmyeong’s hair in return.

“Let go?!” (English)

Holding onto her hair, Aileen Spencer stood up.

Lee Cheongmyeong stood up as well.

“Let go, now!”

“You first!” (English)

With their hair held by each other, they couldn’t make any other attacks.

“Let’s both let go on the count of three.”

Lee Cheongmyeong nodded, seemingly having the same thought.

“One. Two. Three!”

Both let go at the same time and stepped back.

“It’s a duel!”

“Fine!”

The two kids, having quickly come to an agreement, lunged at each other.

Short arms, small fists, and nails flew.

One might think there wouldn’t be any damage since they were just kids, but that was a misunderstanding.

They were SS-class hunters. This wasn’t just a kids’ fight.

Punches flew to heads, shoulders, and chests, leaving scratches and marks on their bodies and faces.

Lee Cheongmyeong grabbed Aileen Spencer’s hair again, which was obstructing his view.

“That’s cheating!”

“There’s no cheating in a duel!”

Aileen Spencer reached out to grab Lee Cheongmyeong’s hair again, but unlike her long hair, his hair was short.

“Let go of my hair!”

Though she swung both fists and a foot trying to hit Lee Cheongmyeong, she couldn’t land a single blow because he had stepped back, holding her hair.

“Let go!!”

“No way! You’re an idiot! Say you surrender! (No way! You’re an idiot! Say you surrender!)”

Aileen Spencer twisted her body harder, but it only made her hair hurt without hitting Lee Cheongmyeong.

“Damn it.”

Feeling wronged, angry, and frustrated, tears welled up in her eyes.

“You two.”

In an instant, both of their bodies froze.

“What are you doing right now?”

It was Do Hajun.

Their heads turned with a creak to see Do Hajun’s stern gaze.

“How have you been?”

Seeing Kang Wontae’s sly smile, Do Hajun frowned.

“Director.”

“If you’re here to talk about the rift, don’t bother. It’s already been approved by the President.”

“Approved?”

Approval from Shin Misook while she’s on an overseas trip? Could they have a separate communication channel?

Do Hajun eyed Kang Wontae skeptically. He knew the Seoul Center was the largest and most powerful, but he didn’t expect they had their own direct lines of communication.

“If you want to argue, take it up with the President. I have no authority.”

Do Hajun sat down across from him without further comment.

Although he had visited the rift, it was Chae Yiwon and Nangdo who had done most of the work while Do Hajun had just observed, and Lee Cheongmyeong had been there for himself.

He had no intention of arguing.

“I didn’t expect you to call me first.”

“Ah, yes. There were orders from the President.”

Kang Wontae handed over a file.

Looking at the file, Do Hajun’s expression soured.

“Is the center out of money? Or are taxes insufficient?”

“Neither.”

“Then are you planning to use the kids to make money?”

Although he’s a government employee who must follow orders from above, putting the kids on a TV show seemed absurd.

Since when did the center’s role change to entertainment?

As Do Hajun, who hadn’t even flipped a page of the file, put it back on the table, Kang Wontae leaned back on the sofa and spoke.

“The public has the right to know.”

“Since when was the daily life of hunters the public’s right to know?”

“Don’t you use the internet?”

“No.”

He barely had enough time to watch the kids for 24 hours a day.

Especially recently, the kids had been constantly clamoring for him, much like baby birds incessantly chirping for food.

The only times of relative peace were when Lee Cheongmyeong was at ballet class or when they took naps or slept at night.

“Click your tongue. You’re young, yet you don’t even use the internet.”

“I don’t think I’m that young.”

“Are you trying to act tough in front of an elder?”

Do Hajun closed his mouth.

Kang Wontae chuckled and tapped the sofa’s armrest.

“I don’t know how you found out, but there’s a rumor on the internet that the Pentagon fire was caused by Aileen Spencer.”

“From America?”

“They wouldn’t be so foolish as to spread their own weaknesses.”

Do Hajun nodded. Although he was taking care of Aileen Spencer and she was part of the Delta Team, she was still an American national.

If the Pentagon incident spread, it would be the United States, not the center, that would suffer globally.

“The rumors are shaking public opinion.”

Public opinion, always an issue.

It had been the same with Lee Cheongmyeong. Now it was a problem again.

“The U.S. won’t like it.”

“Oh, they’ve given permission. It’s fine.”

Do Hajun gritted his teeth and spoke.

“If we reveal the kids’ daily lives and there’s a risk of kidnapping—”

“You sometimes forget that they’re hunters.”

Do Hajun bit his lip tightly.

Right. If a kidnapping happened, the ones at risk wouldn’t be Aileen Spencer or Lee Cheongmyeong, but the civilians involved because of the kidnappers.

“…Even if they’re hunters, they are still children.”

“Yeah, I know. But what can we do? Orders from above are orders.”

“If it were up to me, I wouldn’t issue such orders.”

A heavy baritone voice echoed in the office.

As Do Hajun turned his head, he saw a man leaning against the wooden door.

The man, wearing a slightly out-of-place light pink sleeve and a dark blue jacket, waved his hand.

“Long time no see, Team Leader Do Hajun.”

“How did you get in here?”

“Is there anywhere I can’t enter?”

Do Hajun turned to Kang Wontae.

His gaze implied he should reprimand the man who had entered the Seoul Center, particularly the director’s office, without permission, but Kang Wontae just coughed and turned away.

“Seems like you’re not pleased to see me.”

Chae Yiwon, who had sat next to Do Hajun, smiled brightly.