* * *

Contrary to the flustered Do Hajun, the woman, knowing he was watching through the intercom, knocked on the door.

“Stop watching and open up! Quickly!”

“Jun!”

Startled by the knocking, Lee Cheongmyeong’s voice came from the living room, making Do Hajun hastily open the door.

“Hey! Quit being-”

The woman, shoving something into his arms hard enough to make a noise, took off her shoes and strode in.

“Wow. Is this a house or a dump?”

“Why are you here?”

“Jun!”

Lee Cheongmyeong ran to Do Hajun and clung to his leg.

“Team Leader. Even if you live alone, how can you leave the house like this when you have a child?”

“Kim Hana. Aren’t you on vacation?”

At Do Hajun’s slightly irritated tone, Kim Hana replied.

“The Seoul Center Director asked me to help you. He said you wouldn’t know how to take care of a baby.”

“But when I called, you told me to report to the police. Why are you here during your vacation, not taking care of your own kid?”

“My mother-in-law is watching my child, so it’s fine.”

“Then I’m fine too.”

Do Hajun, who had been holding the burdens Kim Hana had forced on him, put them down and gently patted Lee Cheongmyeong on the back.

As expected, Lee Cheongmyeong was frightened.

“It’s okay. It’s someone I know.”

“Someone you know?”

“Yes. It’s not someone who came to take you.”

Do Hajun, who knew what Lee Cheongmyeong was afraid of, spoke calmly.

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

Ensuring Lee Cheongmyeong felt reassured, Do Hajun firmly answered and gestured at Kim Hana with his chin.

“Leave.”

“Team Leader.”

“I’m not in a position to take orders from you, am I?”

At Do Hajun’s words, Kim Hana’s expression hardened, but she soon raised a corner of her mouth.

“Team Leader.”

“What? Stop talking nonsense and leave.”

“Do you know how to bathe the child?”

This time, Do Hajun’s expression hardened.

“It looks like he didn’t bathe last night either.”

“I did bathe!”

Seeing Do Hajun conversing comfortably with Kim Hana, Lee Cheongmyeong quickly responded, perhaps deciding that he was not a bad person.

Kim Hana’s gaze, which seemed to say, “I told you so,” shifted to Do Hajun.

“How can you put the child to bed without bathing? Did you at least brush his teeth?”

“What’s brushing teeth?”

“Teeth brushing.”

At Kim Hana’s explanation at eye level, Lee Cheongmyeong shook his head.

“I didn’t brush.”

“Oh my, Cheongmyeong didn’t brush his teeth~.”

Kim Hana’s elongated speech conveyed a look of “Don’t you need my help?” as the doorbell rang.

“Delivery!”

It was the food they had been waiting for.

Returning with the delivery food while holding Lee Cheongmyeong, Kim Hana, who had her arms crossed, spoke up.

“Are you planning to keep feeding the child delivery food?”

“I also eat delivery food for all three meals-”

“Do you think a child is the same as an adult?”

“This child is not just any child but a Hunter.”

Kim Hana groaned and held her head.

Do Hajun passed by her and went to the living room table.

He placed the packaged food on the table and put Lee Cheongmyeong down on the sofa.

“Is it meat?”

“Yes, it’s meat.”

As he began to cut the hamburger steak, Kim Hana approached.

“It’s too big. Think about the baby’s mouth.”

“He’s already teething. He can bite into it.”

“That meat is ground, so if he bites into it, it’ll crumble. Cut it smaller. Otherwise, the carpet will be covered with meat pieces.”

“……”

Silently, Do Hajun cut the hamburger steak into smaller pieces. Watching this, Kim Hana took out a fork with a character on it from the bag she brought.

“Cheongmyeong, let’s eat with this.”

“Fork!”

“Yes, it’s a fork. Do you know how to use it?”

After patting the head of Lee Cheongmyeong, who nodded enthusiastically, Kim Hana watched Do Hajun, who finished cutting the hamburger steak and unwrapped his own food.

“Can you even eat now?”

“Aren’t you leaving?”

“Our Cheongmyeong’s teeth will rot. If the baby teeth decay, the gums will be damaged, and the permanent teeth won’t be strong. Oh, since Cheongmyeong was an adult and became a child, does he have permanent teeth instead of baby teeth?”

Chewing on the hamburger steak, Lee Cheongmyeong tilted his head, and Do Hajun put down his spoon and sighed.

“What do you want me to do?”

Seeing Do Hajun give in so easily for the first time, Kim Hana smiled brightly.

“First, have your meal. I’ll clean up a bit.”

“No, earlier you asked if I could even eat. I’ll do it.”

“No. I have to organize the side dishes I brought, so just stay put.”

“No, eat quietly.”

Despite Kim Hana’s dissuasion, Do Hajun got up and headed to the kitchen with the bags.

“That kid is Lee Cheongmyeong, right? The one who threw up after eating ramen?”

Nodding, Do Hajun took out the side dishes from the bags.

“No matter how much of a Hunter he is, his body is still a child’s. Don’t do that again. Spicy food for a child?”

“I know.”

“Does he have any allergies?”

At Do Hajun’s puzzled look, Kim Hana sighed.

“What can I expect from you?”

“Did you make the side dishes?”

“No. The Director packed them from the cafeteria. Foods suitable for the child to eat.”

Seeing Do Hajun’s relieved expression, Kim Hana’s eyes narrowed.

“What’s wrong with my cooking?”

“Ask your husband.”

“My husband says it’s delicious.”

In truth, her husband had never said that.

But he never complained either. Well, she believed he was satisfied as long as he had no complaints.

Seeing Kim Hana speak with a slightly anxious expression, Do Hajun chuckled and said.

“It must be true love.”

Unable to find a retort, Kim Hana bit her lips as Do Hajun finished organizing the food. Then she took out items from an eco-bag.

“Shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion, body lotion, toothpaste, toothbrush-”

“Why so many things?”

“Did you think the child would grow up on his own?”

“No, it’s just.”

Do Hajun, who despised troublesome things, used only shampoo and soap for everything.

The body wash was a gift he had kept since moving in, but he never used it himself.

Moreover, he had never applied anything to his body other than his face.

But lotion? Body lotion?

“You don’t need to apply these-”

“If his skin gets dry, he could get a skin disease.”

Thinking that the straightforward mention of disease would be more convincing to Do Hajun than an explanation about maintaining smooth skin, Kim Hana’s guess was correct.

Do Hajun, who had slightly furrowed his brow, picked up the body lotion with a serious expression.

And he intently read the name and ingredients on the lotion.

Looking at the ingredient list, Kim Hana leaned forward curiously, prompting Do Hajun to snap in annoyance.

“Take an appropriate amount? Is that an instruction? What kind of vague nonsense is this?”

As if it were an electronic device, you’d have to explain everything step by step.

Kim Hana grabbed the body lotion from Do Hajun’s hand, who was gripping it tightly as if he would throw it, and opened the lid.

She squeezed out an amount the size of a 500-won coin.

“Take this much, spread it on your hands, and then apply it.”

“How can that tiny amount cover the whole body?”

“…For each part, use this much.”

“Ah, and the lotion?”

“Yes, the lotion is for the whole face.”

Ignoring Do Hajun’s expression, which seemed to say, “Do you think I wouldn’t know that?”, Kim Hana applied the lotion to her hands and then picked up a toothbrush.

It was a small toothbrush that made her wonder if it could even brush teeth properly. She squeezed out a pea-sized amount of toothpaste.

“Use this much toothpaste to brush.”

“I will be brushing his teeth?”

Kim Hana nodded, with a look that asked what else he was expecting.

“Can’t he do it himself?”

“Even if he tries, it won’t be thorough, so a guardian has to help him at least.”

Do Hajun sighed at Kim Hana’s words.

He had prepared himself, but whenever the reality of babysitting hit him, he couldn’t help but feel frustrated.

“What else do I need to do?”

Despite his annoyance, Do Hajun obediently listened, and Kim Hana began to explain the precautions for raising a child with a smile.

* * *

“Ah.”

“Ah!”

He learned how to bathe, brush teeth, and dress the child.

Hunter healer Kim Hana, who was exceedingly gentle in the dungeon, was a strict teacher at home.

If he showed even a hint of incompetence, she would sternly scold him, as if venting her pent-up frustrations.

“Good.”

Lee Cheongmyeong, who had approached the exhausted Do Hajun on the sofa, rubbed his head against his shoulder and spoke.

“Good.”

[Lee Cheongmyeong feels clean and happy.

Cleanliness score: 100 (▲60)]

A 60-point increase. Just how dirty was he?

He had noticed the detailed stats rising sharply yesterday, but he didn’t have time to check each one.

Thanks to Kim Hana’s diligent efforts, the living room and kitchen had returned to their original state, and Lee Cheongmyeong had become a clean child.

“Jun.”

“Yeah?”

“I’m bored.”

Although quite a bit of time had passed due to the whirlwind of activity, it wasn’t bedtime yet.

“Isn’t TV fun?”

“No.”

He thought it would be fine for the child to watch TV quietly while cleaning and getting scolded, but that wasn’t the case.

“What should we do?”

He wanted to take him to the playground, but the child’s skills weren’t under control yet.

Earlier, he had created a water vortex in the bathroom while playing, which had given him quite a scare.

Luckily, it happened at home. If it had happened outside, public opinion would have turned very negative.

“Hmm.”

As Lee Cheongmyeong pondered what to do, Do Hajun rummaged through an eco-bag that Kim Hana had left behind.

It contained items for the child to play with, but they weren’t suitable for Lee Cheongmyeong’s age.

He set aside a rattle that made noise when shaken and a keyboard that made sounds when pressed, then took out a sketchbook and crayons.

“Want to draw?”

“Draw?”

Showing interest, Lee Cheongmyeong slid off the sofa, and Do Hajun placed the sketchbook in front of him.

He handed him a yellow crayon.

“Draw whatever you want, Cheongmyeong.”

Despite Do Hajun’s encouragement, Lee Cheongmyeong only tilted his head, not starting to draw on the paper.

‘Does he not know how?’

Do Hajun picked up a blue crayon and drew a cloud.

“Wow.”

“This is a cloud.”

Even the clumsy, round cloud drew an amazed reaction from Lee Cheongmyeong, who widened his eyes.

Next, he drew a small and a large circle touching each other, and a line next to the large circle.

“Snowman.”

“Wow!”

After patting the amazed Lee Cheongmyeong on the head, Do Hajun tapped the paper.

“You try drawing.”

“Draw?”

“Yes, here.”

After getting another nod of approval, Lee Cheongmyeong’s hand, gripping the crayon tightly, moved towards the paper.

And then a message appeared.

* * *

The vacation ended quickly.

As Lee Cheongmyeong continued to remain hidden, people, growing anxious again, demanded his appearance, and the government eventually ordered them to return.

Faced with increasing negative public opinion, they judged that revealing Lee Cheongmyeong would be better than hiding.

After ending his precious vacation and returning to work, Do Hajun sat Lee Cheongmyeong on his lap and began tackling the backlog of paperwork.

“I drew this.”

The paper Lee Cheongmyeong held out was covered in an indecipherable abstract drawing.

“You drew me, right? Good job.”

“Hehe.”

Do Hajun handed him a new sheet of paper, making Lee Cheongmyeong’s cheeks blush with the light praise.

“Draw again.”

“Okay!”

As Lee Cheongmyeong eagerly resumed drawing, Do Hajun watched with satisfaction.

[Skill (Increased Precision Attack) C Rank – 11.1%]

* * *