* * *

As Hajun lifted the child, the child struggled as if trying to get free.

“Stay still.”

“Waaah!”

Sitting the crying child on a dining chair, Hajun tilted his head.

‘The chair is too low.’

With no other choice, he lifted the child again and placed him on the table, serving the child some ramen.

“Do you know how to use chopsticks?”

The child, who had stopped crying at the sight of food and was sniffing, shook his head.

‘At least the child understands. But if he can’t use chopsticks…’

A man who rarely prepared proper meals at home wouldn’t have a fork, either.

“Do I have to feed you?”

As Hajun muttered to himself, the child reached for the meat.

“Ouch.”

Tears welled up in the child’s eyes again.

“Oh no, don’t cry! I’ll cool it down for you, so don’t cry!”

Dreading the thought of the child crying again, Hajun suddenly remembered an ability he had forgotten.

‘No way….’

“Stop. Don’t cry.”

[‘Stop Crying’ skill has been activated.]

[The skill is not fully mastered yet, so only a slight effect will be activated.]

[?? has calmed down slightly.]

‘No way… does it really work like this?’

Someone jokingly called him a babysitter hunter, but no one expected him to actually take care of a child, so the situation was bewildering.

However, now was not the time to admire the effects of any skill.

When Do Hajun thought the piece of meat had cooled down enough after blowing on it, he put it into the child’s mouth.

The piece was so big that it puffed out the child’s cheeks.

“Eat.”

After confirming the small mouth was chewing, Do Hajun scooped out some noodles from the bowl.

While he was cooling the hot noodles by stirring them, the child, having already swallowed the meat, reached out for more.

“No, I’ll give it to you.”

When he put another piece of meat into the child’s mouth, the child got excited and wiggled around.

Seeming very hungry, the child barely chewed before gulping down the meat, so this time, he brought the well-cooled noodles to the child’s mouth.

“Eat this too.”

As soon as he put the twisted noodles into the small mouth, the child’s face turned bright red.

“Spicy!!!!!!!”

Noodles began to dribble out, accompanied by loud crying.

“What? It’s spicy?”

One of Do Hajun’s favorite late-night snacks was ramen cooked with spicy tuna.

He didn’t feel any spiciness at all.

When he stood up to get water for the crying child, things took a turn.

“Waaah! Ugh!”

The child threw up the meat that had barely been chewed and swallowed.

* * *

“Who in the world feeds ramen to a child?”

“…But it’s not just any child.”

“Enough. Ramen and meat for a three-year-old? I must salute your sense, Team Leader.”

Amidst the scolding and sarcasm, Do Hajun rubbed his forehead with his fingers.

It wasn’t just a regular child but an awakened one.

Awakened ones could eat poison without any harm, so he didn’t expect ramen to cause such a mess.

‘Why can’t they eat meat? What’s better than meat for growth?’

Unable to voice his thoughts, he just mouthed the words silently while Kim Hana, who had stopped scolding, spoke up.

“Since the child threw up, give them some porridge.”

“Haa. Hana, do you want to take them?”

Do Hajun sighed.

Kim Hana, the colleague he was closest to, was currently on parental leave.

He thought it would be better for the child to be with someone knowledgeable rather than himself, who knew nothing.

“No. This isn’t about finding a foster home for a stray puppy. Order some porridge for the child. If you’re really worried, report to the police. If it’s a missing child, the parents will come for them. Otherwise, they’ll take care of it. Don’t call me again. I’m turning off my phone. See you when your paternity leave ends, Team Leader!”

The call ended abruptly. He tried calling again, but as expected, the phone was off.

‘Well, there are other team members.’

Do Hajun lost confidence in taking care of the child after the vomiting incident.

Even if his skill worked on the child, he lacked basic childcare knowledge.

Studying childcare right away was out of the question, so he tried calling other team members whose numbers he had but had never dialed before.

“The phone is off…”

Oh, right. They were on vacation starting today.

Most hunters turned off their work phones during vacation.

Getting called to work during a vacation was extremely frustrating.

While calling various team members, the child was staring at him.

He had calmed the child down by using his skill and giving them water, but the child still looked a mess.

A wet face, drooling, and vomit smeared on their belly.

Not being a neat freak, even he found the state troublesome.

“…Let’s wash up first.”

Giving up on calling his team members, Do Hajun sighed and approached the child.

He lifted the child by the waist with both hands.

“Stay still.”

He sternly spoke to the child, who started to struggle again, and quickly moved to the bathroom.

After taking away the towel the child was clutching, he turned on the water in the bathtub.

As warm water slowly filled the tub, he opened a delivery app.

Choosing the fastest porridge delivery place, he checked the menu. Luckily, there was a menu item labeled ★Porridge for Kids★.

‘…Still, meat.’

He didn’t distrust Kim Hana’s advice, but he firmly believed meat was the best nutrient.

Even as an adult, he felt lacking without meat three times a day. For a growing child, it should be more essential.

Moreover, the child was an awakened one, needing even more meat.

Unconsciously nodding, Do Hajun selected beef porridge and completed the order. Suddenly, he heard a bubbling sound.

He turned his head towards the noise.

The water had filled up to the child’s chin. The bubbling sound was the child spitting out the water reaching their mouth.

“Ah!”

Throwing his phone aside, he lifted the child out of the tub.

The child, finding the lifting amusing, burst into laughter.

With a pounding heart, he sat the child on the sink and pulled the plug from the tub.

After adjusting the water level to a suitable height, he put the child back into the tub. The child, enjoying the water, splashed around with their hands.

[??? is having fun.]

[???’s affinity increased by 5.]

[???’s affinity increased by 5.]

[???’s affinity increased by 5.]

[??? is starting to feel affinity. The child will follow you better.]

[You can check information from an affinity level of 20.]

[Current affinity: 15 (Affectionate)]

‘So, that’s how it works.’

With the increased affinity, the child smiled brightly at him.

‘Wow, that’s cute.’

Water splashed everywhere as the child’s hands hit the surface.

“Ah. I’m exhausted.”

Do Hajun sat down next to the tub.

The child was cute, but his already tired body felt even more fatigued. He just wanted to wash the child quickly and rest.

Grabbing a shower puff, he started to create bubbles and looked at the child.

Monster blood was often highly toxic.

When blood similar to hydrochloric acid splashed on a hunter’s uniform, it could be handled by simply removing the uniform.

However, some types would cause rashes or poisoning the moment they soaked into the fabric.

Unlike other countries, the national hunter uniforms in this country prioritized appearance over functionality, offering no protection against such toxins.

Because of this, when Do Hajun took a shower, he scrubbed his skin rigorously, almost as if he were scrubbing dirt off.

“…I shouldn’t do it that way, right?”

Even though hunters had high stamina and defense, seeing a small child made him worry that if he scrubbed too hard, the child might dissolve like cotton candy in water.

Besides, hadn’t he just seen it?

A child was still a child, even if they were a hunter. Comparing them to an adult was unreasonable.

Didn’t the child suffer from heatstroke when it was hot, or catch a cold from the air conditioner?

Do Hajun rubbed his eyes and pumped body wash into the water instead of using a shower sponge.

Bubbles formed as he swirled the water with his hand.

“Wow.”

“Careful!”

Before the child, who was trying to catch the bubbles, could fall backward, Do Hajun caught him.

“Phew. That was close. Be careful, you could fall.”

“Hm?”

“Alright. Have fun.”

Taking advantage of the child’s distraction with the bubbles, Do Hajun began to gently wash the child’s body with his hands.

Unsure how gentle he needed to be, he decided to treat it like rinsing a cherry tomato, lightly swirling it in water.

“Now, for the hair…”

Even though it wasn’t covered in vomit, the child’s hair was sweaty when he picked him up from outside.

Hesitating, Do Hajun rubbed shampoo between his hands.

Recalling how carefully he had collected pollen in a dungeon, he cautiously placed his hands on the child’s head.

Fortunately, the child’s hair was already wet from playing with water, making it easy to lather the shampoo.

As he gently rubbed, bubbles formed, almost as big as the child’s face, which the child touched in amazement.

Relieved that one hurdle was over, Do Hajun picked up the showerhead, only for the child to suddenly start crying.

“Waaah. It hurts!”

[???’s affinity has decreased by 1.]

[Current affinity: 14 (Affectionate)]

Suddenly! Why? What hurts?

Why is the affinity dropping? What did I do?

Panicking, Do Hajun saw the child rubbing his eyes while crying.

‘Ah. Shampoo in the eyes!’

He turned on the showerhead and sprayed water on the child’s head.

“Ah! Cold!”

“S-Sorry!”

He quickly adjusted the water temperature at the child’s cry.

“It hurts! Waaah!”

[???’s affinity has decreased by 1.]

[Current affinity: 13 (Affectionate)]

Seeing the affinity plummet just from bubbles, Do Hajun screamed internally.

“All done! All done!”

He shouted loudly in a panic, but the child’s cries only grew louder, as if he couldn’t hear him.

“Stop crying!”

[Stop Crying! Skill has been activated.]

[The skill is not fully mastered, so only a slight effect is activated.]

[??? has calmed down a little.]

The skill made the child stop crying.

“Keep your eyes closed! I’ll fix it quickly!”

The child’s tiny hands went to his tightly shut eyes.

Do Hajun hurriedly grabbed the child’s hands.

“Wait!”

“Sniff.”

The child’s hands, covered in soap bubbles from the body wash mixed in the bathwater, were soapy.

“Sniff. It hurts. It hurts.”

“Okay, okay. Just a moment.”

He rinsed the child’s hands with the adjusted warm water, washing away the slippery body wash.

“Alright. Cover your eyes.”

The child pressed his little hands firmly over his eyes.

Do Hajun quickly brought the showerhead and rinsed the child’s hair.

“Lower your hands.”

When the child, still sniffing, lowered his hands, Do Hajun cupped water in his palms and gently washed the child’s face.

“It hurts!”

[???’s affinity has decreased by 1.]

[Current affinity: 12 (Affectionate)]

Rushing to clean the child’s face roughly, he almost made the child cry again.

“No, it’s done. It’s alright. Stand up!”

He swiftly rinsed away the bubbles and lifted the child.

His clothes got wet, but he didn’t have time to think about that.

He grabbed the largest towel from the bathroom cabinet and wrapped the child up. The child, now a burrito, wiggled and reached out his hands to wrap around Do Hajun’s neck.

“Hold me.”

“What?”

“Sniff.”

Ignoring Do Hajun’s panic, the child clung to him, asking to be held.

“Okay, okay. I’ll hold you. Don’t cry.”

He wrapped his arms around the child’s waist and lifted him. The child seemed satisfied, resting his head on Do Hajun’s shoulder.

[??? feels reassured.]

[affinity has increased by 5.]

[Current affinity: 17 (Affectionate)]

* * *