Chapter 2
As a heavy atmosphere weighed upon the room, Do-Jun took a sip of the green tea before placing his cup down as he gazed steadily at the girl sitting across the table.
The girl, Seol Yoon-Hee, met his eyes and quickly lowered her head to avoid his gaze.
Do-Jun broke the awkward silence by asking, “So, you are telling me that you are the daughter of my brother’s… girlfriend?”
“T-that’s right.”
“And you’re saying that my brother and his girlfriend passed away in an accident, and I agreed to care for you since you have nowhere to go? That’s why I gave you the passcode to my door, and you are here today?”
Yoon-Hee nodded vigorously in affirmation.
Do-Jun took out his phone and looked through his contacts again. So, the two names under the “Others” tab referred to his brother’s girlfriend and her daughter.
“Have we met before?” he asked.
“N-no. It’s the first time today,” Yoon-Hee answered anxiously before looking down again.
Holding his throbbing temple, Do-Jun fell into thought.
With all things considered, he wasn’t in a position to care for someone. Money wasn’t the only issue. He had returned to Earth just a day before, and it was already challenging to adapt to the life he once knew all over again.
“Do you have any other family?” Do-Jun inquired after a short silence.
“My mother was an orphan. So, no, there’s no one else I can rely on…” Yoon-Hee replied, looking up at Do-Jun anxiously while fidgeting with her fingers.
That’s when Do-Jun noticed a plate wrapped in plastic wrap on the table. It was omurice.[1]
“And this is?” he asked Yoon-Hee, glancing at the plate.
“It’s omurice. Uh, I made it for you… to eat when you get home… from work,” she replied haltingly.
Do-Jun replied bluntly, “To tell you the truth, I cannot take you in.”
“B-but you clearly said…” Yoon-Hee protested as she pulled out her smartphone. Opening something on the screen, she showed it to Do-Jun.
It was a text message sent by Do-Jun himself.
The gist of the message was that she could live at his house until she graduated from high school. It was dated three days ago, two days before his car accident.
Do-Jun realized that Yoon-Hee didn’t know he had been in a car accident.
“It seems I did send you this message,” he accepted reluctantly.
Yoon-Hee frowned as she couldn’t understand why Do-Jun was reacting this way. If she had shown up unannounced, it would be understandable, but he was the one who had offered to help.
Do-Jun explained, “I was hospitalized until yesterday due to a car accident and just got discharged today. What I’m trying to tell you is… that I have amnesia.”
“A car accident? Are you okay?” Yoon-Hee asked, shocked.
Do-Jun nodded and replied, “I have fully recovered.”
Yoon-Hee sighed with relief, clutching her chest.
“My biggest problem is the amnesia. I am afraid it is going to cause me significant issues. I need time to readjust to my own life, so I am in no position to take care of someone else right now.”
Those words were like a bolt from the blue for Yoon-Hee.
She had nowhere to live since she hadn’t been accepted into the dormitory of National Hunter Academy, which she was set to enter in March, due to poor grades.
“A… a contract. Let’s make a contract,” she said suddenly, sounding desperate.
“A contract?”
“Please become my father! Just until I graduate,” Yoon-Hee blurted out.
“What?”
That was something he hadn’t expected to hear.
“You said you have amnesia. It will be hard for you to live alone. Cleaning, laundry, cooking—I’ll do the household chores. All I ask in return is that you let me live here just until I graduate… No, even just for half a year! Until I can get into the dormitory.”
Do-Jun looked at the omurice on the table, then at Yoon-Hee, who was staring at him anxiously, biting her lips.
It wasn’t a bad deal. No, it was rather good.
He had been in the Central Plains for a long time, making his daily life in the modern world a clumsy affair. Of course, he could use his power to reign over Earth and make everyone serve him out of fear, but right now, all he wanted was to live an ordinary life.
Moreover, he could ask her if there was anything he didn’t know about his new life.
After weighing all the pros and cons, Do-Jun agreed. “Alright. If those are the conditions, I think this will be helpful for me as well. Let’s draw up a contract.”
“Sorry? An actual contract?” Yoon-Hee asked, surprised.
Do-Jun nodded and took out paper and a pen from his briefcase, starting to write the contract terms slowly.
For a moment, he was worried that writing in Korean would be awkward, as he had been using Chinese characters all this time, but fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t forgotten it and could write with no problems.
Once he finished drafting the terms, he placed the pen on the table and handed the draft over to Yoon-Hee.
She wondered if they really needed to write a formal contract for something like this, but she wasn’t in a position to argue.
1. This contract is between Lee Do-Jun, hereinafter referred to as Party A, and Seol Yoon-Hee, hereinafter referred to as Party B.
2. Party A will provide a living environment for Party B until December 31, 2020.
3. Party B will notify Party A of all utility bills, living expenses, and allowances with receipts or other statements, and Party A will pay Party B the stated amounts unless there are special circumstances.
4. Party B must diligently perform household chores during the contract period.
[...]
“Please read it through, and if there is anything you don’t understand or need to be amended, let me know.”
“A-ah, yes!”
She calmly and carefully read the contract, though she felt a bit sad as she did so. She glanced at Do-Jun’s expression over the paper.
Do-Jun tilted his head and asked, “Is there anything you want to amend?”
“N-no, there isn’t!” she said, shaking her head.
“Then let’s go ahead and sign it.”
Yoon-Hee wondered if such a formal contract was necessary.
Though they weren’t blood-related, she was still the daughter of his brother’s girlfriend and could be considered an acquaintance—one who had lost her family and needed care.
She felt a bit, just a bit, dissatisfied with how coldly Do-Jun was treating her, but she had heard that in such times, even parents and children often became estranged. When she looked at it like that, she felt it was only natural for Do-Jun to treat her so formally, though it was still a sad thought.
Do-Jun signed the contract, followed by Yoon-Hee.
She was a bit concerned about the one-year contract period in the first clause. Of course, if she worked hard and got into the dormitory, the problem would fix itself, but she thought it would be beneficial for both of them to live together.
Yoon-Hee shook her head and clenched her fist as she made up her mind. She was going to work hard and become independent.
“Then, I look forward to living with you for the next year,” Do-Jun said, putting the contract away.
“Y-yes! I will work hard. Ah, should I start… calling you Father… now?” Yoon-Hee asked slowly.
“You can call me whatever you prefer,” Do-Jun answered calmly.
“Please call me Yoon-Hee. And please don’t be so formal with me.”
“Got it, Yoon-Hee.”
“Huh? You’re quick to adapt,” she commented.
Do-Jun chuckled and stood up from his seat.
He walked over to the laundry basket, took off his suit jacket, and unbuttoned his dress shirt to change into more comfortable clothes now that he was home.
Yoon-Hee’s eyes were unknowingly drawn to Do-Jun’s body.
From the first moment they met, she thought that Do-Jun had the physique of a model—a well-balanced, sturdy body.
It was almost hard to believe that this man, at least 180 centimeters tall and with distinct features, was the brother of Lee Kang-Jun, her mother’s boyfriend.
That’s that, but he hasn’t mentioned anything about me cleaning up the house, Yoon-Hee thought with a frown.
When she first entered the house, it was as dirty as a pigsty. The floor was littered with clothes thrown everywhere and piles of dried-up food containers as if he had ordered food delivery every day.
There were leftovers like chicken and braised pork trotters rotting in the fridge, which took a lot of effort to throw away, and the house stank so bad she had to ventilate it, vacuum, and mop.
Of course, Do-Jun was not praising her because he had no memories of this filthy state.
The fridge is empty, so I need to do some grocery shopping, Yoon-Hee thought.
“Father,” she called.
“Hm?”
“There’s nothing in the fridge, so I need to do some grocery shopping…” Yoon-Hee trailed off.
With a flourish, Do-Jun pulled out a card from his wallet and handed it to Yoon-Hee.
She held the card in her hand and stared blankly at Do-Jun.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“W-well, you said you have amnesia, right? Maybe if you go grocery shopping at the local store, it might trigger some memories?”
“Hmm, that makes sense. Let’s go together then.”
He didn’t find modern life difficult to adapt to because of amnesia. It was actually because of the long time spent in the Central Plains, but Do-Jun couldn’t give people that explanation.
***
“Father, I realized that you don’t eat a lot of vegetables, so I plan to make a lot of vegetable dishes for you for a while. Is that okay?” Yoon-Hee said as she picked up a bunch of water parsley and put it in the cart.
Do-Jun chuckled and patted Yoon-Hee’s head. For a moment, her face turned red.
“Thank you,” Do-Jun said with a smile.
He didn’t avoid vegetables, but seeing her take care of such trivial matters was a plus for him, and it almost made him feel proud of her.
Suddenly, a scream rang out of nowhere.
“Aaaaack!”
“R-run!!”
Crackle!
An electric current sparked in the air about ten meters away, and a moment later, it seemed like space itself was tearing apart. A crack appeared, spanning just over a meter.
People shopping nearby screamed and scattered hurriedly.
“What’s that?” Do-Jun asked.
Yoon-Hee explained, “It’s a Fissure. Fortunately, it’s not an entrance, and the length is just over a meter... It’s probably a goblin. Father, it’s dangerous, so please stay back.”
A moment later, she took a revolver-like gun out of her bag. It wasn’t a gun that used regular bullets but one of the basic weapons of Hunters, a mana gun.
It was a simple weapon that required the infusion of mana, which would then be condensed and shot out like a bullet.
Yoon-Hee was confident in handling the mana gun. Although she didn’t have much mana, she was confident that her control of it was second to none.
“Kerrrk!”
Just as Yoon-Hee had predicted, a goblin jumped out of the Fissure.
A store employee was gesturing for people to evacuate, and someone else was hurriedly calling the police.
Do-Jun observed Yoon-Hee silently. He didn’t bother to take a step forward, as he intended to live without standing out.
She is a Hunter? he thought in surprise.
He could feel something similar to qi from the gun Yoon-Hee was holding. Although the gun was barely noticeable by Do-Jun’s standards, he judged it sufficient to handle the goblin before them.
Bang!
The mana bullet spun forward and pierced through the goblin's head, killing it instantly without giving it even a chance to scream in pain.
“I-it’s dead!”
“There’s a Hunter here!”
Relieved cries were heard around them.
Yoon-Hee put the gun back in her bag and then looked at Do-Jun with a frown. He hadn’t moved back and was still standing beside her.
“I told you to stay back because it could be dangerous. What if you got hurt, Father!”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“Are you sure?” Yoon-Hee grumbled with a pout.
1. The popular Japanese dish made from fried rice covered with a thin, soft-cooked egg omelet and often topped with ketchup. The name is a combination of the Japanese words for “omelet” and “rice.” Feel free to Google if you want more info on this. ☜
woo's ThoughtsWoo: Plastic wrap? Saran wrap? Cling wrap? What do you guys call it? (there is only one correct answer)
Cosy: cling wrap for me LOL
Woo: Saran wrap…!
Momo: saran wrap is different from cling wrap. I use beeswax wrap (for environmental reasons), so I say anything plastic is the wrong answer. :D
penguin: plastic wrap because this is Japan, the country of plastic wrapped in plastic
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
It seems a bit awkward now but rest assured it doesn't develop in that direction. Yoon-Hee seems to have a small one-sided crush on Do-Jun but there won't be any romantic development between the two whatsoever. So don't be put off by these small things in the early chapters :)
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