Chapter 47
"Uncle, I'm hungry."
I was drying Baek Ha-min's hair after he came out of the swimming pool, but let out a hollow laugh. This was a kid who, upon waking up in the morning, had devoured a mountain of omurice made by pouring an entire carton of eggs, plus twenty pieces of tonkatsu fried by Choi Jae-geun. Those didn't seem like words that should come from him. But then again, he's a hunter, I thought, and decided to let it slide.
I looked at Baek Ha-min whining and clinging to my calf, saying he was hungry, then headed to the kitchen.
"Where's Hunter Choi Jae-geun?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him for a while."
After surveying the interior and confirming that Choi Jae-geun, who usually stood in the kitchen like an NPC, was absent, I opened the cupboard to see if there was anything to eat.
Choi Jae-geun was very proud of his cooking skills, which boasted excellent flavor thanks to his skill. However, ever since he discovered that Baek Ha-min barely touched his food but devoured the soy sauce egg rice I mixed for him bowl and all, he would observe with hawk-like eyes what I was making and how I was making it whenever I so much as peeked into the kitchen.
His gaze was so burdensome that I rarely went into the kitchen after that.
I was a bit peckish and wanted to eat something, but I didn't want to make anything elaborate, so I ended up choosing ramen.
Jajang ramen at that.
This too was something I had asked them to buy because I wanted to eat it. The people of this household lived eating only healthy food to the point where the letter 'ㅅ' of fast food couldn't even be mentioned inside the house.
I still couldn't forget the wavering eyes of Baek Eun-seong when I asked him to buy ramen, specifying the exact type at that.
Chuckling as I recalled that moment, I tore open the bag of jajang ramen, and the secretary who was drying Baek Gyeong-min's hair on one side of the living room furrowed her brows. I snorted at the look in her eyes telling me to just try feeding it to their young master, and filled a pot with water.
As if there'd even be enough for Baek Ha-min, who's trying to get at it with chopsticks already.
Let's see, I'll eat two, and Baek Ha-min will eat at least eight, so I should boil ten.
I took out Baek Ha-min's soup bowl that was as big as a basin, then paused and fell into thought.
'Should I... eat more too?'
It had been nearly a year since I possessed this body, but my food intake wasn't much different from before I possessed it. That was only natural since in reality, I was....
Wait, how old was I...?
I stared blankly at the floor, then placed my hand over my roughly beating heart. Calming my thoughts, I traced my memories step by step. I definitely graduated from college, then, ah, no, after graduating from the academy....
"Uncle?"
Startled by Baek Ha-min's call, I looked at the ramen bag in my hand.
"What was I thinking...?"
...about? Standing there blankly, I nodded as the memory came back to me.
I was 24.
Right, until I possessed 'Seong Do-hyun's' body, I had lived as an ordinary person for 24 years. Just because someone suddenly says 'You're a hunter, so eat this much!' doesn't mean I could actually stuff all that in.
At every meal, Baek Ha-min would shove a fork at me saying, "Uncle, eat more," and Baek Eun-seong would look at my modest rice bowl with strange eyes. But having lived my entire life eating only one bowl per meal, eating as much as the hunters here was burdensome for me.
So that's why 'Seong Do-hyun's' body was so scrawny.
Looking at my wrist where the bones jutted out, I took out another pot and put water on to boil. I never know when, where, or how I might have to enter a dungeon, and I should bulk up a bit, so maybe I should try eating a little more.
[Viewing Privilege Used]
While the water was boiling, I opened the skill window and scanned my status screen with my eyes.
[M's Belt Repair Progress ? / ? (■■%)]
A percentage had appeared where there wasn't one before, but it was impossible to know how many percent had progressed. Sighing, I checked the post I had uploaded to the secondhand market. There were many comments, but most of them were useless.
I blocked the guy who had spammed comments saying, 'I don't have a Red Poison Scorpion's tail, but how about a Black Sand Scorpion's tail?' and stared blankly at the status window.
When will I be able to gather all of this?
How will I enter dungeons again to obtain the materials?
How many years will it take before I can return to my original world?
The situation has changed a lot, but will things still flow according to the original story?
As I boiled the ramen while having various thoughts and set it on the table, a savory aroma spread in all directions.
Waving my hand to contain the flow of scent in case Choi Jae-geun complained about what I made, I saw Baek Ha-min holding a fork and two kids drooling.
"What... is this?"
Baek Gyeong-min swallowed his saliva and sat next to Baek Ha-min, and Yang Ji-yul had already run over with chopsticks and a bowl in hand.
"Want some?"
"Young Master, you shouldn't eat just anything."
Ignoring the secretary's firm voice, I scooped some ramen into the bowls and placed them in front of the kids. Baek Ha-min quietly started eating by twirling the noodles around his fork, but unlike him, Baek Gyeong-min and Yang Ji-yul didn't eat and only kept commenting—about how it was curly, how the color was weird, what's this, what's that.
"Ha-min, is it delicious?"
"Yeah! Everything Uncle Do-hyun makes is delicious."
Encouraged by those words, Yang Ji-yul scooped up some ramen and took a bite, then after a moment, held out the bowl to me with only the jajang sauce left.
Baek Gyeong-min stared intently at Yang Ji-yul who was slurping the ramen like he was possessed, then quietly picked up his chopsticks. And before the secretary could rush over, he quickly shoved the ramen into his mouth.
"Young Master!"
Having tasted it, Yang Ji-yul soon buried his head in the pot and started eating the ramen. When the pot that had boiled ten packs of ramen quickly revealed its bottom, the kids looked back at me with disappointed eyes.
"Uncle, is there no more?"
"Please give me a little more."
"Me too...."
* * *
"It was delicious...."
I gave my attention in turn to Baek Gyeong-min, who was patting his stomach with a satisfied expression, Yang Ji-yul, and Baek Ha-min who were lying on the sofa, then looked at the empty cupboard.
I should just ask them to buy it by the box from now on, and I'll eat the meals Choi Jae-geun makes. Making that resolution inwardly, the moment I was about to put on rubber gloves to do the dishes, someone's flow suddenly intruded into my senses.
Immediately taking off the rubber gloves, I stood behind Baek Gyeong-min and Baek Ha-min who were running to the entrance.
"You're back."
"...I'm home."
Baek Eun-seong, who showed a faint smile, only patted the back of Baek Ha-min who was tightly hugging his leg. It seemed he had rolled around in the dungeon to the point where he didn't even have the strength to hold Baek Ha-min.
"Hello, Guild Master."
"Was Ha-min good? It's been a while, Hunter Seong Do-hyun."
Behind Baek Eun-seong, Baek Ji-seong also poked his head out. I cleanly ignored the hand Baek Ji-seong extended and roughly nodded my head, then reached my hand toward Baek Gyeong-min's cheek.
"You've got sauce on your cheek."
"Oh, really?"
Then, handing a tissue to the flustered Baek Gyeong-min, I naturally placed my hand on the child's shoulder. At the same time, blades flew in from all directions at close range.
"Hunter Seong Do-hyun!"
"Ah, Father?"
Looking at the blades hovering around me, I opened the skill window.
[Splish-Splash]
"You should dry your hair properly."
Baek Gyeong-min touched his hair, from which the moisture had vanished in an instant, as if fascinated by it. Watching that sight, I lightly pushed away the blade that had been thrust near my face with the tip of my index finger.
"You should be careful."
As if about to lunge at me at any moment, Baek Ji-seong couldn't contain his anger and flinched. And standing next to him, Baek Eun-seong was looking at me with a confused face. With his eyebrows furrowed as much as possible, he seemed to be screaming inside about what kind of situation this was.
I pulled Baek Gyeong-min a little closer toward me so he wouldn't get hurt by the blade, and met eyes with Baek Ji-seong.
"Put this away, right now."
"Just now, what in the world did you...?"
I looked at Baek Ji-seong who was still trembling, then shifted my gaze to my fingertips.
'Seong Do-hyun,' and I, had lived quietly all this time and had forgotten, but I was someone who could kill a person with just my fingertips.
Wow, saying it like this makes it sound like a black flame dragon lives in my hand, it's so cringey I feel like I'll go crazy, but anyway. I was someone with abilities that powerful. No matter how great a healer they were, they couldn't easily heal wounds I created.
For someone like that to be living quietly, the ones who provoked first were definitely on their side. So I don't understand why they're now taking the attitude of 'I didn't do anything, why are you acting like this?'
"I only dried his hair, was there a problem?"
Baek Ji-seong jumped up, then sat back down while gauging my reaction. Good grief, making such a fuss over just drying a few strands of hair? He'd probably faint if he saw them playing in the swimming pool.
Looking at the pale-faced Baek Ji-seong, I let out a small snort. Good grief, people see what they want to see. Since he was holding Baek Ha-min hostage and threatening me, he must think I'm also holding Baek Gyeong-min to threaten him....
It's a delusion.
...Right. Actually, I did have thoughts about holding Baek Gyeong-min hostage to threaten Baek Ji-seong.
But watching the children who got along so well, guilt rose up and I couldn't bring myself to do it. Adults' affairs should be cleanly resolved among adults.
That said, I didn't have the slightest intention of stopping Baek Ji-seong's misunderstanding. Whether he digs his own grave alone or not. If he doesn't like it, he can kick me out.