Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 109

Saturday was the best day of the week for office workers. It was a day to finally release the week’s accumulated fatigue by indulging in a deep, restful sleep.

However, for Do-Jun, this Saturday was not like that.

While he wasn’t one to sleep in any way, today, he was up even earlier than his usual weekday time, thanks to a study group proposed by a fellow intern.

[Announcement. Please gather at the Yeonchan Hall by 10 AM on Saturday.]

The group chat had a total of fifteen intern colleagues, including Do-Jun.

This “Talk” messenger app felt foreign at first, but Do-Jun had gotten used to it, and his friend list had grown to an impressive fifty-five contacts. Adding all the interns in the group chat as friends played a big part, but it was still a big leap from when he first arrived on Earth and had fewer than five friends.

Do-Jun felt pleased to see himself gradually adjusting to life on Earth.

After his shower, he put on a neatly ironed dress shirt that Yoon-Hee had prepared for him. The hot, humid summer weather was approaching, but he had long since transcended any temperature sensitivity.

As he straightened his suit and looked at himself in the full-length mirror, he saw the image of a man in his mid to late twenties—a prime example of a working professional.

“Master,” Yong-Yong called.

“Hm?”

Usually, Yong-Yong wouldn’t wake up until well after 10 AM, but today, for some reason, he was up before 9. In fact, Yong-Yong tended to wake up earlier than usual on weekends.

“Are you going to work?”

“Yeah. I’m going to a study session with the other interns.”

Typically, Do-Jun didn’t go to work on weekends. Instead, he’d either explore the Core or go out somewhere. Yong-Yong was visibly disappointed that today wasn’t the same as usual and sluggishly crawled back into the bed.

“I humbly ask for a melon ice cream on your way back.”

Do-Jun chuckled and headed out.

***

Yeonchan Hall, a study hall built for the employees of the Hunter’s Bureau, could be used when needed to read up on work-related topics. It was occasionally used as a meeting room when other rooms were full.

Since it was a weekend morning, Yeonchan Hall, located on the seventh floor, was vacant.

While waiting for the elevator on the ground floor, Do-Jun heard the elevator bell ring as it descended from the thirteenth floor. It was a high-speed elevator, faster than typical ones in most buildings.

When the doors opened, a man in his fifties with his hair slicked back stepped out. He looked slightly surprised when he saw Do-Jun.

“Oh, h-hello,” the man stammered.

He immediately recognized Do-Jun, who took a moment to recall him and greeted him with a friendly smile. “Director Park Jung-Ryul, right?”

“Yes! It’s an honor that you remember me.”

“It’s nothing. Are you also working today?” Do-Jun asked him.

“Just stopped by to pick something up. But what about you...?”

Park Jung-Ryul was curious about why Do-Jun was at the Hunter’s Bureau so early in the morning.

Do-Jun showed him his intern ID badge hanging around his neck.

“An... intern?” Park Jung-Ryul muttered, visibly puzzled.

“I was told that it was mandatory training for civil servants in the Fissure Management field,” Do-Jun explained.

“Ah! I see. I wasn’t aware of that. But... today’s Saturday.”

“We’re having a study session with the other interns, so I came by.”

Park Jung-Ryul’s mouth fell open slightly. Pulling himself together, he said, “I hope you have a pleasant time here during your training period.”

Seeing the overly stiff Park Jung-Ryul, Do-Jun said, “Right now, I’m technically below you in rank, so you don’t have to be overly formal with me.”

“N-no, Supervisor Lee, I could never. In any case, if you need anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

Do-Jun nodded as he stepped into the elevator.

***

Meanwhile, a man watched the two from a corner of the lobby. He was Han Baek-Myung, an intern in the Planning Department at the Hunter’s Bureau, who had created the group chat and organized this study session.

“Did I... just see that right?” he muttered in disbelief.

The idea of a Planning Director of the great Hunter’s Bureau bowing to a mere intern was unthinkable, if not outright impossible. Just as he was about to lean out and double-check that he wasn’t hallucinating, he accidentally made eye contact with Park Jung-Ryul, who was walking toward him in the lobby.

“Gah! Good morning, sir!” Han Baek-Myung shouted and bowed so low his head nearly touched the ground.

Park Jung-Ryul gave him a quick glance up and down. Noticing the intern badge hanging around Han Baek-Myung’s neck, he gave a casual wave of acknowledgment and strode outside.

The difference in his demeanor was truly remarkable.

***

“This is too haaard...” Byeol wailed.

She was on the verge of tears, struggling to write out consonants and vowels. The book in front of her was a children’s Korean workbook titled “Hangeul Class for Kids.”

“This... this is kinda tough,” Yong-Yong said, scratching his head.

He was helping her study, but there was one big problem. His Korean wasn’t much better than Byeol’s. On top of that, his handwriting was so atrocious that it was hard for Byeol to understand anything he wrote.

“Yong-Yong... you’re... kinda like me,” Byeol muttered, tilting her head in confusion.

Feeling his pride getting stabbed mercilessly, Yong-Yong gripped his pencil tightly with his front paw and trembled. Until now, he had believed that the amount and variety of experience he had gained in Korea was a mountain compared to Byeol’s, but it wasn’t showing.

Watching from the side, Karsiel turned her head away, stifling her laughter.

Noticing her reaction, Yong-Yong looked at her with a serious look and motioned at her with his paw.

“Look at me,” he commanded.

“S-sorry, Lord Izaas... b-but... haha!”

Yong-Yong’s face turned red with embarrassment. His skin, which was already red, turned redder than a beet, while Byeol, who didn’t understand the situation, just tilted her head in confusion.

***

On the ninth floor of the Hunter’s Bureau, in the planning office, two men were drinking coffee in the office break room. These were Assistant Manager Kim Cheol-Soo, now in his fourth year with the Bureau, and the intern, Han Baek-Myung.

On the table in front of them lay a single USB drive.

Han Baek-Myung bowed his head in thanks and slipped the USB into his pocket.

“I’m doing this just for you, so don’t let anyone else find out about this,” Kim Cheol-Soo said.

“Thank you, hyung.”[1]

“Hyung? It’s assistant manager in here, got it?”

The USB contained materials from project reports completed by previous interns that had been rated “Excellent.” The two were alumni of S University’s business school, so they already knew each other well.

At every company training, HR would harp on about ending networking cliques based on school ties, blood ties, or regional ties. However, it was only natural that such things were hard to stamp out.

“Hey, hyung, have you heard of this guy named Lee Do-Jun? You know, the intern who was working as a civil servant at the City Hall?”

“Lee Do... oh, you mean the one Doo-Hwi was praising for his work?”

Kim Chul-Soo and Doo-Hwi, Do-Jun’s mentor, were colleagues, and they had joined the company at the same time.

“Yes, him. But guess what I saw this morning?”

“What?”

“It was Director Park Jung-Ryul bowing respectfully to Lee Do-Jun. I mean, can you imagine a Director bowing to an intern?” Han Baek-Myung said.

Kim Cheol-Soo let out a laugh of disbelief.

“That man? Bowing? You must have been hallucinating,” he dismissed Han Baek-Myung’s claim.

“I swear I saw it with my own eyes. He treated him like a total superior,” Han Baek-Myung insisted.

Kim Cheol-Soo gulped down the rest of his coffee, crumpled his paper cup, and tossed it perfectly into the trash bin as he got up.

“Quit with the nonsense. You should spend more time preparing for your presentation instead of spreading gossip. I took a look at the other interns this year. You have some serious competition. If you slack off and fail, don’t come to me for help.”

With that, Kim Cheol-Soo headed back to the office.

Left alone, Han Baek-Myung mumbled to himself, “Man, I did see it though...”

***

Most of the other interns were already gathered at Yeonchan Hall. Everyone was typing away on their laptops, seated one seat apart from each other due to the notion that they were each other’s competition. Still, that didn’t stop them from sneaking glances at the other screens whenever someone got up to go to the restroom or grab a coffee.

Of course, there wasn’t much point in peeking. The contents of each project proposal were new business ideas related to each team or department’s work, so there was rarely any overlap.

Only those who stand out succeed—that was the mindset of most interns.

Everyone poured their hearts and souls into creating proposals filled with fresh, profitable ideas, crafting them to be eye-catching and professional in hopes of impressing the evaluators.

Let’s see what he’s got going on. Stretching, Han Baek-Myung casually strolled over to Do-Jun’s seat.

Unlike others, Do-Jun had not left his seat once, focusing solely on his own presentation. Curious about his ideas, Han Baek-Myung sneaked a glance at his screen, only to be flabbergasted.

The reason was simple: it was plain, painfully ordinary.

It seemed like he was working on content appropriate for Fissure Management Team 1, but it felt a bit different from the other interns’ proposals. It didn’t look like he was proposing any new projects.

Guess I don’t need to worry about him after all, Han Baek-Myung decided.

Maybe it was because he had come from a civil service background, but Do-Jun’s presentation was utterly devoid of any sense of urgency.

Thinking about it, he probably didn’t need to worry about it in the first place. After all, he was a civil servant. He probably didn’t have to worry about competition nearly as much as one would in the Bureau.

While the Hunter’s Bureau was technically a public corporation, it was still known to be a grueling place to work, where employees had to work several times harder than those in other major companies just to survive.

And despite that, the Bureau’s salaries were high enough to draw in top talent with stellar credentials.

I heard he’s good, but... maybe he’s nothing special after all. Han Baek-Myung completely disregarded Do-Jun.

***

Do-Jun finally arrived home at 4 PM.

Time had flown by as he had lunch with his fellow interns and made a few adjustments to his report. Though many interns stayed behind at the Bureau to continue working on their presentations, he preferred to have dinner at home with his family, so he decided to head back early.

“Lord Izaas got fifty-five and Byeol got eighty,” Karsiel announced the scores.

“W-wait, are you sure you marked that right? What is that? Is that my score?” Yong-Yong argued back.

“Checked it twice; I marked it right.”

“I won!” Byeol exclaimed in joy.

The “children” were gathered on the living room floor.

Do-Jun handed Yoon-Hee a melon ice cream he had picked up from the store and asked, “What’s all this?”

Yoon-Hee chuckled and answered, “They’re practicing spelling. Siel’s helping them with their studies...”

“Karsiel is?”

“Yes. Even I didn’t know, but Siel’s pretty decent at Korean.”

Spotting Do-Jun, Byeol ran over. He picked her up, lifting her high as she beamed.

“Daddy, Byeol won!”

Do-Jun chuckled in amusement.

***

A few days later, the results for the intern project proposals were posted.

The evaluations were split into four tabs in an Excel file. Han Baek-Myung opened the tab labeled “Good” and found his name there.

He still thought his result was satisfactory, as a “Good” rating meant he was still in the top tier. Curious about who had received an “Excellent” rating, he clicked open the tab labeled “Excellent.”

Soon, Han Baek-Myung’s expression hardened.

1. “Hyung” is what men call other men older than them. ☜