* * *
National hunters had fairly stable job.
Since dungeon byproducts usually belonged to corporations rather than the nation, the government hired national hunters with the goal of national stability rather than capital gain.
Therefore, unless there was a sudden dungeon explosion or a new rift, their main task was regularly entering existing dungeons to clear out monsters to prevent explosions.
Most hunters who applied for the national hunter position preferred stable lives over high earnings.
Though Do Hajun had different reasons, he was quite satisfied with the stable life.
“So, we only need to clear one B-grade dungeon.”
“Yes.”
Do Hajun nodded. It was a wonder the state hadn’t overworked Delta Team until now.
After the press conference solved Lee Cheongmyeong’s issue smoothly, it seemed time for the state to assign a dungeon to Delta Team, and sure enough, a dungeon was assigned to them.
“Team Leader. What about Cheongmyeong?”
“We have to leave him. We can’t take a child into a dungeon.”
Even underage high school hunters could only enter dungeons when they became adults.
And Lee Cheongmyeong was three years old.
Even though he was an SS-rank hunter transformed into a child, taking him into a dungeon without adult memories was out of the question.
“Where will we leave him?”
Ahn Eunseon asked worriedly, looking at Lee Cheongmyeong, who was sleeping in Do Hajun’s arms.
“Well. It’s only for 1-2 hours, so we’ll go while he’s napping.”
At that moment, Lee Cheongmyeong looked up.
“Jun, where are you going?”
“I’m just going out for a bit while you’re napping, Cheongmyeong.”
[Lee Cheongmyeong’s condition changes rapidly.]
[Status: Anxiety/Restlessness]
[Lee Cheongmyeong is feeling anxious.]
Startled by the sudden change, Do Hajun widened his eyes.
But before he could react, large tears welled up in Lee Cheongmyeong’s eyes.
“No!!”
Why is he suddenly crying?
Throwing his pen, Lee Cheongmyeong grabbed Do Hajun’s jacket and started to sob.
“Don’t go! Don’t go!”
“Cheongmyeong, Jun’s just going out for a bit while you nap.”
Ahn Eunseon , flustered, approached and spoke soothingly, but Lee Cheongmyeong shook his head vehemently and screamed.
“Don’t go!! No!!”
Do Hajun hurriedly picked up Lee Cheongmyeong. Why was he acting like this just for a short trip?
He stayed put even when Do Hajun left briefly to take out the trash at home.
“Cheongmyeong, don’t cry.”
[Skill ‘Stop Crying!’ activated.]
[The skill ‘Stop Crying!’ was canceled due to the target’s rejection.]
‘What? The skill can be canceled? It even worked when we first met.’
“Waaah! No! Don’t go! No!”
Standing up with a crying Lee Cheongmyeong, Do Hajun started to walk, patting his back. This was advised by Kim Hana for when he cried too much.
But it didn’t work on Lee Cheongmyeong, who clung to his jacket, screaming.
[Status: Panic/Suffocating/Panic Attack]
[Lee Cheongmyeong temporarily fell into a state of panic.]
His condition worsened rapidly. As Cheongmyeong panted heavily, all the team members rushed to him.
“Cheongmyeong, Jun will be back soon.”
“Yeah, Jun wouldn’t leave you behind and go anywhere!”
“Don’t cry. Ebe-be-be.”
“Stop, stop. Shall we have some candy?”
Despite the team’s efforts to calm him down, Cheongmyeong didn’t stop crying. Seeing him gasping for breath, Do Hajun urgently shouted.
“I’m not going! I’m not going anywhere!”
“Sob, sob. Don’t go. Waaah!”
“I’m not going. I won’t leave you. Don’t cry! Stop!”
[Skill “Stop Crying” activated.]
[Crying stops.]
[Status changes.]
[Status: Distrust / Fear]
[Lee Cheongmyeong’s emotions stabilize a little.]
“I really, really won’t go.”
Wiping away his tears with his large hand, Do Hajun muttered “I’m not going” like a chant.
As his heavy breathing returned to normal and his tears stopped, Cheongmyeong, who was clutching Do Hajun’s jacket tightly, fell asleep.
“Sob, sob.”
Even while asleep, Cheongmyeong’s whimpering made Do Hajun sigh as he carefully sat down on a chair.
What on earth is going on? Why did the situation change so suddenly?
“Is he asleep?”
“Hiiing.”
At the small voice of a team member, Do Hajun nodded while patting Cheongmyeong’s back.
[Status: Asleep / Tired / Separation Anxiety Level 1]
‘What? Separation anxiety?’
Why did he suddenly develop separation anxiety?
‘I’ve done everything he asked for.’
‘When he wanted to be carried, I carried him. When he wanted to watch something, I watched it with him. When he wanted to draw together, we did it together…’
‘We played in the water together, and recently, we even went to the amusement park. He was always well-behaved and listened well, so why did he suddenly become like this?’
At that moment, a message window popped up.
[Low self-reliance can lead to separation anxiety.]
[Low self-reliance, trust → dependence.]
[Status: Separation Anxiety]
‘Damn it. Why does higher trust lead to lower self-reliance?’
A team member, who had just given a report, approached and wrote something on a piece of paper.
– Can you go?
Just stepping out briefly wasn’t a problem. However, without Do Hajun, Cheongmyeong would panic and inevitably use his skills.
If Cheongmyeong woke up while they were in the dungeon…
The somewhat recovered public opinion would be a complete mess again.
Opinions about needing to fill the SBC would resurface.
But, as the team leader, Do Hajun couldn’t skip every mission.
‘If only we had a deputy leader’
They could manage until the separation anxiety was treated.
He never imagined he’d miss the deputy leader, who left a note saying – ‘Honey, I’m going to make money’ and went abroad.
Do Hajun sighed and picked up his phone from the desk to text Kim Hana.
[Can separation anxiety be treated?] -11:00
The reply came quickly.
[Possible. But even Dr. Oh Yeongeun said it takes a long time to treat. Why? Does Cheongmyeong have separation anxiety?] -11:01
‘Damn it. If even the child expert that I know says it takes a long time, I can’t leave Cheongmyeong now.’
But taking a child to the dungeon is out of the question.
– How about just taking him along? The team leader can stay in the back and not go inside.
“Make some sense. There’s no place to take him…”
Then again, maybe it’s not a bad idea.
Do Hajun pondered. Better to take him along than to leave him at the Seoul Center causing trouble while he slept.
And if something happened, unable to control his own skills, Cheongmyeong could end up in danger.
But no matter how safe the rear is, it’s still a battlefield. Taking a child the size of a chickpea is unthinkable.
As he sighed, Cheongmyeong, who had fallen asleep, opened his eyes.
“Jun?”
“Yeah, Jun is here.”
Like a child who found his lost mother, Cheongmyeong stared intently at Do Hajun’s face.
“Did you have a good nap?”
“Ung.”
Due to his separation anxiety, Cheongmyeong woke up faster than expected.
Sensing the remaining drowsiness in his eyes, Do Hajun patted his back, but Cheongmyeong, as if not wanting to sleep, rubbed his face against Hae-jun’s shoulder.
“Not sleepy?”
“Ung. I don’t want to sleep.”
“Then shall we draw something together?”
“Ung-ung.”
Shaking his head vigorously in refusal, Cheongmyeong made Do Hajun sit down.
Picking up a piece of paper from the desk, Do Hajun handed it to Cheongmyeong.
“Then shall we look at this?”
“Ung?”
The paper had various shapes, flowers, leaves, and drawings of ducks and puppies.
“Pick something you like from here, Cheongmyeong.”
“Pick?”
“Yes, pick one.”
Cheongmyeong took the paper with his small hands.
“Team leader.”
“Shh.”
Do Hajun covered his lips with his finger, worried that talking about the dungeon might make Cheongmyeong cry again.
“This one!”
“Cheongmyeong likes ducks.”
“Ung. I like ducks.”
“Alright, alright.”
Do Hajun took the paper from Cheongmyeong and handed it to a standing team member.
“Since Cheongmyeong has calmed down, I’ll go meet the director.”
Holding Cheongmyeong, Do Hajun headed to the director’s office.
Due to Cheongmyeong or the lack of appealing dungeons lately, the Seoul Center director had been reporting to the office daily.
“Hello, are you here to see the director?”
“Yes.”
“But there’s a guest inside, could you wait a moment?”
At the secretary’s words, Do Hajun nodded and sat on a sofa in the secretary’s office.
“Jun hand.”
“Here.”
Due to the habit of playing with his hands during meetings, Cheongmyeong liked to play with Do Hajun’s hands when they weren’t doing anything.
As Cheongmyeong pressed his index finger and grasped his thumb with his small hands, the secretary approached Do Hajun.
“Would you like something to drink?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Then, would Cheongmyeong like a candy?”
At the secretary’s words, Lee Cheongmyeong quickly raised his head.
“Candy?”
“Yes. Do you want this?”
Lee Cheongmyeong accepted the candy offered by the secretary and giggled.
“Say thank you.”
“Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.”
With both hands placed on his belly button, Lee Cheongmyeong bowed deeply, making the secretary beam with a broad smile.
“Will it take long?”
“No, it will be over soon. It’s a personal guest, not a meeting.”
A personal guest for Kang Wontae, who went crazy over dungeons and even got divorced because of it?
Noticing Do Hajun’s curiosity, the secretary whispered.
“It’s a friend of the director who’s getting married soon. He came to be congratulated and give a gift since the Director can’t attend the wedding.”
Do Hajun nodded at the interesting connection.
“Alright then.”
The secretary waved to Lee Cheongmyeong and returned to his seat.
Do Hajun, watching Lee Cheongmyeong cheerfully swing his feet with the lollipop, fell into thought.
‘How can I help him develop a sense of independence?’
Independence. Independence.
Nothing specific came to mind.
Should I have him do something on his own? But what can a three-year-old do by himself?
“Maybe I should start with small errands.”
Do Hajun recalled a childcare program he had seen at home.
It was a program where children ran errands to foster their independence.
His parents were avid viewers of that show.
Since the remote control at home was under his parents’ control, Do Hajun had been forced to watch the program.
The children who appeared on that show were all around Lee Cheongmyeong’s age.
‘Should I have him run errands to a strore?’
“Team Leader.”
The secretary tapped Do Hajun on the shoulder, breaking his train of thought.
“Yes?”
“You’re being called in for a moment.”
Nodding at the secretary’s words, Do Hajun headed to the director’s office.
Opening the door, he saw Kang Wontae, nonchalantly sucking on a lollipop like Lee Cheongmyeong, and a PD with a cheerful smile.
“You’re here.”
“Hello. Team Leader Do Hajun. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you. I’m Ha Yundal, a PD from BSS.”
“Hello, I’m Do Hajun. Cheongmyeong, greet him too.”
“Hello, I’m Cheongmyeong.”
Ha Yundal’s eyes sparkled at Lee Cheongmyeong’s greeting.
“I heard you were here before being called in. What’s going on?”
“I came to discuss something.”
“Is it about a dungeon?”
“Yes.”
While answering, Do Hajun glanced at the PD.
‘Don’t trust those broadcasting station guys.’
That was advice from a retired hunter. At first, he found it puzzling, but as he worked as a national hunter and a team leader, he came to deeply agree with it.
‘Masters of manipulation who can twist “A” into “B.”‘
All they cared about were ratings, always seeking sensational elements.
“Don’t worry, speak freely. This is off the record.”
“Exactly.”
Off the record. Even though it wasn’t an embargo, broadcasting people couldn’t be trusted. But Do Hajun trusted Kang Wontae, so he started talking about Lee Cheongmyeong.
“Lee Cheongmyeong need to develop a sense for independence.”
“Independence?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“His low independence has led to separation anxiety.”
Kang Wontae was confused at Do Hajun’s words.
Why is separation anxiety a problem?
Suddenly, Ha Yundal asked out of the blue.
“How old is Hunter Lee Cheongmyeong exactly?”
“He is three years old. Four in Korean age.”
“That’s perfect. That’s just right.”
At the absurd statement, Do Hajun looked at Ha Yundal.
What’s perfect about Lee Cheongmyeong having separation anxiety?
“I should introduce myself again. I’m Ha Yundal, PD of ‘Our Child’s First Errand Adventure’ on BSS. I’ve come to formally recruit Lee Cheongmyeong.”
* * *
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