Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 91

“I put it on you so you wouldn’t catch a cold,” Do-Jun said, not giving the current situation much thought.

Ae-Kyung wanted to ask if he had laid his hands on her, but judging by his reaction, it didn’t seem like he had. Instead, she asked a different question.

“Alright, just one more thing... Where did you sleep, Supervisor Lee?”

Looking at her as if she was asking the obvious, Do-Jun placed the eggs and bacon onto a plate and replied, “I slept in the bed.”

That response left Ae-Kyung completely stunned—only one thing could have happened when two grown adults shared a bed.

Tugging at the hem of his shirt, she whined, “W-who’s going to marry me now...?”

“Huh?” Do-Jun looked genuinely confused.

What did her marriage have to do with him?

Then, he had a sudden realization of what she was trying to say. He sighed and muttered, “All we had was a good night’s sleep. Since you’re up, have some breakfast. I’m heading to work.”

Do-Jun put on his suit jacket and grabbed his briefcase, thinking he should probably head out soon to arrive on time.

Ae-Kyung wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth about last night, but she decided to believe him.

Thinking about the situation rationally, she realized that the bedsheets were still clean. She also didn’t have any soreness or discomfort, which would’ve been expected as that would’ve been her first time. Plus, Do-Jun didn’t seem like the type to do something like that anyway.

“Have a good day...” she said to Do-Jun, weakly.

“For the next three days, you’re Byeol’s mom, so please take good care of her while I’m gone.” With those parting words, Do-Jun left, and the front door closed behind him.

Ae-Kyung, who had been waving weakly, stopped and looked at the plate of eggs and bacon on the table. The food was still steaming hot.

***

Meanwhile, in a hotel lobby in Haeundae, Busan, Yong-Yong was checking the itinerary for Yoon-Hee’s school trip.

Today, they were scheduled to visit the Busan Regional Hunter’s Bureau and explore a B-rank Great Fissure, followed by plans to attend the International Hunter Festival at BEXCO the next day.

“Alright, it seems like I just need to keep an eye on her during the Fissure part.”

Do-Jun had sent him on this school trip to protect Yoon-Hee, and other than the Fissure portion of the trip, there didn’t seem to be any major danger.

Visiting the Hunter’s Bureau for a tour shouldn’t be an issue, and during the B-rank Great Fissure exploration, he planned to follow closely, just in case something happened.

“Why did you bring your dogs along?” Hye-Jung asked as she looked at Yong-Yong and Karsiel.

Yong-Yong scowled in displeasure that this girl had just called the mighty dragons “dogs,” but he quickly sighed and chose to ignore it.

“Oh yeah, these are the pets your dad tamed after he Awakened as a tamer, right?” Jin-Soo asked Yoon-Hee.

Jin-Soo and Hye-Jung knew that though her father worked as a civil servant at Seoul City Hall, he had one day Awakened as a Tamer. They thought these dogs were monsters he had tamed in the Fissures.

“But what kind of monsters are they? They don’t look like Mad Dogs...”

Mad Dogs were E-rank monsters, similar in size to large dogs, with vicious fangs. Yong-Yong and Karsiel didn’t have those trademark fangs and instead had horns sticking out of their heads.

“And what’s with the numbers on their foreheads?” They were referring to the numbers “1” and “9” on their foreheads.

Yoon-Hee awkwardly smiled, avoiding the question. She couldn’t exactly tell them they were dragons as it might cause chaos.

“By the way, tomorrow’s going to be amazing, right, Yoon-Hee?” Hye-Jung asked and grinned.

“Tomorrow?”

“Yeah, Kanzaki Soshiro is coming.”

“Kanzaki...? Sorry, I’m not sure who that is.” Yoon-Hee fidgeted awkwardly. In truth, she didn’t know much about Hunters outside of Korea.

Jin-Soo pulled up a picture of Kanzaki Soshiro on his smartphone and showed it to her. “He’s super famous. He’s ranked first worldwide in taming. Though to be fair, there aren’t many people who awaken as Tamers...”

“R-ranked first in the whole world?”

Even if it was limited to Tamers, it was still shocking. Yoon-Hee took a closer look at the screen Jin-Soo was showing her.

“The Master of Dragons to attend the International Hunter Festival; Schedule revealed?”

When she clicked on the article, a picture of Kanzaki Soshiro appeared. He was a young man with shaggy hair, a style popular in Japan. Behind him was a massive dragon.

“He has a dragon, too?” Yoon-Hee asked.

“Huh...?” Jin-Soo tilted his head in confusion and replied, “Wait, what do you mean, ‘too’?”

“Oh, never mind.”

“Well, it’s not exactly a dragon. It’s a Wyvern.”

Wyverns were S-rank monsters that looked similar to dragons. Though they couldn’t use breath attacks like dragons, they had a similar skill called “Blast,” where they shot fire cannons from their mouths.

For most people and Hunters below A-rank, Wyverns were seen as being on par with dragons in terms of danger.

“But this isn’t just any ordinary Wyvern; he tamed a Wyvern Lord. In Japan, he’s practically a hero—kind of like the Sword Emperor here. His fan club has over five million members.”

“Wow... He must be incredible.”

Yoon-Hee glanced at Yong-Yong and Karsiel, who were staring at the itinerary, particularly the lunch section. Yong-Yong pointed at the section labeled “Chinese course meal” with his front paw and showed it to Yoon-Hee. “Have you tried this?”

***

Ae-Kyung took Byeol shopping for children’s clothes at a department store in Gangnam, as none of the clothes at home fit her.

“How about this one?” she asked Byeol, showing a black mini dress with a red ribbon.

“I like it.”

Ae-Kyung took Byeol to the full-length mirror. Byeol seemed pleased with her reflection.

The dress was priced at 199,000 won. It was quite expensive, but Ae-Kyung didn’t think much of it. In fact, even something worth hundreds of millions would be a mere pocket change for her.

Ae-Kyung took out her smartphone to check an incoming text message.

Supervisor Lee Do-Jun: Sorry, but could you bring the tablet from home?

Byeol’s eyes were filled with anticipation. Ae-Kyung felt a deep affection for her and how she called her “Mom.” Even though Byeol wasn’t her biological daughter, her heart felt warm.

Was this what maternal love felt like?

“Mommy, I...”

“Yes, Byeol?”

“Where’s Daddy?”

“Do you miss Daddy?”

“Yeah. I like Daddy.”

Ae-Kyung smiled as she gently stroked Byeol’s hair. “Shall we go see Daddy, then?”

“Yeah!”

Ae-Kyung’s heart fluttered. It wasn’t love for Do-Jun, but rather the thought of what it would feel like to have a family of her own.

That’s what she wanted to believe, at least.

***

Seoul City Hall, Fissure Management Division.

Three men, Cheol-Soo, Hyuk-Soo, and Do-Jun, were in a meeting room separated from the rest of the office by a transparent partition.

After the meeting, Do-Jun was erasing the marker traces from the whiteboard when Cheol-Soo spoke up. “Hey, Do-Jun.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“I know a nice woman.”

At this, Hyuk-Soo made an uncomfortable face and said, “Chief, Do-Jun has a daughter...”

“I know that! The woman I know is an elementary school teacher. I showed her Do-Jun’s picture, and she had nothing but praise. She said she doesn’t even mind that he has a kid.”

“She’s okay with him having a child?” Hyuk-Soo asked in surprise.

“Yeah. As long as Do-Jun’s fine with it, she’s totally on board. I’ve already set everything up.”

Cheol-Soo stood up and showed Do-Jun the profile picture of a woman named Im Soo-Ah on KakaoTalk. It was a selfie taken in a café, featuring a pure and gentle appearance with long, straight hair.

“What do you think? She’s thirty, so four years older than you. But doesn’t she look younger?”

Do-Jun glanced at the picture without much reaction, and when Cheol-Soo noticed that Do-Jun didn’t show the enthusiasm he expected, he added, “You can’t find a better bride than an elementary school teacher! Plus, her family is full of teachers, so you don’t have to worry about supporting her parents into retirement. She doesn’t even mind that you have a daughter. It doesn’t get any better than that, Do-Jun.”

Listening to his Chief’s words, Hyuk-Soo nodded in agreement. “If this is all true, it’s an incredible opportunity, Do-Jun.”

Do-Jun looked uncomfortable. Honestly, he wasn’t thinking about getting married right now. No, if he were to marry, it would be after Yoon-Hee got married. Plus, he was only twenty-six, so there was no need to rush.

“I appreciate your concern, but I’m not thinking about marriage right now.”

“What? Why? Think about it, Do-Jun. You won’t find a better match than this!”

Just then, there was a commotion near the office entrance. Cheol-Soo and Hyuk-Soo turned to look, and their eyes widened.

They saw a woman and a child, but the woman was so famous that the child was overlooked entirely.

“M-moon Ae-Kyung? Why is she here?”

Ae-Kyung, a member of Korea’s top guild, Behemoth, and ranked third among Hunters, had come to the Fissure Management Division.

Cheol-Soo shot up from his seat and hurried over to her. “H-hello. I’m Kang Cheol-Soo, the Section Chief of the Fissure Exploration Unit.”

“Sorry for the sudden visit. Is Supervisor Lee Do-Jun in?”

“If you’re looking for Do-Jun...”

Cheol-Soo turned and looked toward the meeting room.

Ae-Kyung followed his gaze and spotted Do-Jun through the transparent partition. She gave a small nod of thanks to Cheol-Soo and approached Do-Jun in the meeting room.

As soon as Byeol saw Do-Jun, she beamed and ran toward him. “Daddy!”

Do-Jun naturally picked Byeol up in his arms.

The office staff stared in stunned silence.

Ae-Kyung handed the SpacePad to Do-Jun.

He glanced at the black dress Byeol was wearing and asked, “This dress is...?”

“We picked it up at the department store on the way here. There’s nothing for her to wear at home.”

Do-Jun looked at Byeol and asked, “Did Mommy pick it out for you?”

“Yeah! Mommy said it’s pwetty!”

Ae-Kyung smiled as she watched the two.

The entire office was in complete shock.