My Daughter Is the Final Boss - Chapter 1

Chapter 1

[Regression completed.]

He woke up to the voice of the system. The sunlight filtering through the curtains revealed the dizzying living room.

Clothes sprawled everywhere on chairs, unorganized desks.

It was a nostalgic landscape that was vaguely left in a very old memory of his.

When he woke up with a dazed mind, his head was pounding as if he drank alcohol yesterday.

“Ugh.”

He habitually picked up the phone next to his pillow to understand the situation.

What’s caught was an old smartphone he had used a long time ago. Feeling uncomfortable, he checked the date.

“Ah?”

At first, he thought it was an error.

The date on the phone was pointing to 15 years ago. He grabbed hold of his stinging temple and frowned.

He must have died when the final quest started.

The feeling of being pierced by the swordsman was still vivid.

‘I returned?’

A notification sound popped up.

He hurriedly ran to the bathroom. He turned on the light and checked his face in the mirror.

“Crazy…… What is this?”

In the mirror, there he was, but with a younger face.

Judging from the date, he should be at the age of 26. He turned on the cold water of the sink and washed his face.

He took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

When he pinched his thigh, he felt a definite pain.

‘This isn’t a dream? Really?’

He couldn’t believe it. But this was very obviously reality.

He was back in the past.

He needed to calmly organize his thoughts.

‘How?’

The first question he had to ask was, how did he return to the past?

It’s something you occasionally see in movies. It’s time travel.

Why did this happen to him?

He calmly recalled his memories.

‘Okay. They said it was a unique quest.’

Just before he died, he remembered the voice of the system. Apparently, the hunter Seo-Jun Lee’s unique quest was about to begin.

But at this time, he probably wouldn’t have been a hunter yet.

After a little hesitation, he opened the quest window.

<Unique Quest: Changing the Future>

Stop Seol-ah Lee’s five misfortunes.  (0/5)

He stared blankly at the translucent window.

Quests were kinds of missions the system gave to hunters.

Since it gives useful rewards when completed, they’re like tasks that Hunters are obligated to do.

He too did countless quests as a hunter for over 10 years.

However, it was unheard of that a modification called “unique” was attached to the front of a quest.

‘Five misfortunes?’

Much to his regret, he had no idea what these five misfortunes were. As Seol-ah said, he may have been nothing to her.

There was only one guess.

‘Eun-hye.’

It was the death of Seol-ah’s mother, Yoo Eun-hye.

He checked the date once again. He still remembered the date of her death.

It’s exactly the same date as the disaster.

‘This time, I can stop it.’

Seol-ah’s misbehavior and her mother’s death.

He could change everything he regretted. The past went by like a flash. Eun-hye died, and he raised Seol-ah by himself.

‘No, honestly, I couldn’t even say that I raised her.’

If he had been a decent hunter, he would have had income and leeway, but he wasn’t.

Entering the hunter’s path quite late, he rarely even got home properly.

That’s because he owed a lot of money after signing a wrong contract with a guild that he had readily reached out to.

He thought he had tried his best not to damage Seol-ah.

But now that he looked back, maybe it was just all indifference.

He was the one who neglected Seol-ah with one excuse or another.

‘It’s just as Seol-ah said, I was nothing.’

He regretted it.

A hellish life lived while paying off debts.

But in the end, there was no one left with him.

‘You don’t even know what kind of misfortune Seol-ah went through. Seo-jun Lee, you bastard.’

It was all his fault.

He didn’t want to miss the second opportunity that came to him. This time, everything will be right.

Ding Dong.

Then, the doorbell rang.

‘Ah. Today is the day.’

He remembered the first time Eun-hye came holding Seol-ah’s hand.

He broke up with Eun-hye 6 years ago, that is, when he was 20.

Eun-hye, who came to him without contact, introduced Seol-ah as his daughter. At that time, he couldn’t hide his confusion.

The sudden visit of his ex-girlfriend was also embarrassing.

And a daughter.

‘I went on a rampage asking for a paternity test.’

Looking back, it seemed that he had done something impossible in front of the child.

He asked for paternity confirmation, and he told her that it was someone else’s child.

However, as a result of paternity verification, it was concluded that it was in fact, his child.

Having a child all of a sudden, he didn’t take it easily.

‘I was a real piece of garbage.’

A disappointed laugh came out.

No matter how perplexed he was, Eun-hye and Seol-ah were terrified.

Eun-hye, who gave up all her pride and asked for help, had to go through all sorts of humiliation.

He couldn’t even imagine how much damage Seol-ah must have suffered as a child.

It’s something that can’t be undone anyway, so he should have just accepted it.

“Who is it?”

“Open the door.”

Eun-hye’s voice came behind the door.

He was instantly moved by the voice he had not heard in a long time.

He asked again in a calm voice, trying to control his emotions. He quickly straightened his messy hair.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me. Yoo Eun-hye.”

After hesitating for a while, he decided and grabbed the doorknob.

He paused for a moment, and opened the door.

Yoo Eun-hye was there.

“Hello. Seo-jun.”

“It’s Eun-hye.”

He couldn’t keep up.

It felt like something hot was stuck in his throat.

A dead woman was in front of him.

Again, it felt as if he had truly returned. His mouth was barely pouting like a goldfish, and Eun-hye looked down.

There was a little child holding her hand.

“Seol-ah, say hello to your dad.”

“……Hello, Dad?”

Seol-ah bowed to him. Eyes filled with pure curiosity looked up at him.

Up until then, he was still muttering stupidly. Eun-hye looked at him while he was like that, and cautiously spoke out.

“I know. It’s embarrassing, and it’s hard to accept.”

“Oh, uh.”

“This child, our Seol-ah, really is your daughter, Seo-jun.”

He couldn’t answer, so he squatted in front of Seol-ah. At eye level, he could see his daughter, the prettiest girl in the world.

White skin that resembled her mother, clear eyes, and tiny cherry-like lips.

Even the white cheeks that looked soft like rice cake makes you want to squeeze them. So why didn’t they face each other?

“Daughter?”

“……Yes.”

Seol-ah gave a curious glance, but it seemed like he was a stranger. She stood back and held Eun-hye’s hand tightly.

He spoke to Seol-ah with a serious face.

“I’m your father.”

Seol-ah’s eyes turned round. An awkward silence descended.

He just scratched the back of his head.

“Ah, kids these days don’t know this.”

“Seo-jun, you…….”

“Just come in. How long are you going to stand and talk? My legs hurt.”

Perhaps it was an unexpected reaction, Eun-hye looked at him with flustered eyes.

He knelt down on one knee and held out his hand politely like a knight.

“I’d like to serve you. Princess.”

“……Yes!”

Seol-ah smiled brightly and put her small hand on top of his.

*         *         *

“You’ve….. changed.”

“Huh? What?”

Yoo Eun-hye looked at Seo-joon Lee with a confused face. As soon as they entered the room, he cleaned up the messy house.

He became close to Seol-ah by naturally playing jokes, and they’re now watching children’s cartoons together.

When Seol-ah concentrated on the children’s cartoon played on her smartphone, Seo-jun Lee cautiously went to the kitchen.

After rummaging through the drawer a little, he skillfully pulled out the tea that looked like a gift and gave it out.

It is a sight she could not have imagined.

“It seems like only yesterday you were a child.”

“After six years, everyone changes.”

Sitting across from Yoo Eun-hye, Seo-jun took a sip of tea. When did Seo-jun Lee, who used to drink only sweet lattes for coffee, change like that?

Yoo Eun-hye, who thought it was really unfamiliar, shook her head.

“So, Seol-ah is my daughter?”

“Yes. It’s hard to believe.”

“No. I believe it.”

Eun-hye, who had put her hand in her bag, stopped moving.

She thought he’d ask her to get a paternity check. She was honestly embarrassed to see him so obediently accepting it.

Seo-jun Lee gazed at Yoo Eun-hye.

“Why did you hide it?”

“……We didn’t end well.”

As with most separated lovers, Seo-Jun Lee and You Eun-Hye’s ending was not very good.

Seo-jun enlisted as if he were running away, and it was only after that Yoo Eun-hye found out she was pregnant.

“At first, I wanted to raise her on my own. But, things turned out to be unfavorable.”

“What’s the matter?”

“There was an accident. The house collapsed……  I have nowhere to go right now.”

Seo-jun nodded his head.

Yoo Eun-hye brought out the words she had prepared for him painstakingly.

“I’m not going to tell you to take responsibility. Because she was born with my choice.”

“Then?”

“Let us stay for a while. You can’t put a child to sleep in a motel.”

Yoo Eun-hye had no parents to depend on. She had no close relatives.

It was Seo-jun Lee she found after a lot of research. Still, as a child’s father, she thought he wouldn’t be harsh.

However, as she expected friction, Yoo Eun-hye exhaled a long breath.

No matter what Seo-jun Lee said, she was just going to listen and put it aside for Seol-ah.

“Yes. You can do that.”

“Huh?”

“The house isn’t very spacious, but if I organize things I don’t need, I’ll have some space.”

However, Seo-jun neither doubted nor refused.

As if it was a very natural matter, he accepted it and took in Yoo Eun-hye and Seol-ah.

When Seo-joon Lee appeared to be like this, it was Yoo Eun-hye who was bewildered.

“What about the load?”

“Load? Uh, it’s outside.”

“Wait, I’ll bring it in.”

Seo-jun put down the cup and got up. As he went to the front door, he saw Seol-ah glued to the TV show.

“Seol-ah, are you having fun?”

“Yes!”

“If you watch too much, your eyes will get bad. Do you have to watch only that?”

“……I want to see more.”

“Let’s play with Mom and Dad later instead.”

“Okay!”

Seo-jun Lee, who patted Seol-ah’s head as if she was cute, went outside.

Then he dragged in the carrier that had been standing by the door.

Sitting opposite Yoo Eun-hye again, Seo-jun looked at Seol-ah for a moment. The eyes were somehow full of affection.

“Pretty. Is it because she’s just like you?”

“……What?”

“I think she’s pretty because she looks like you.”

Seo-jun Lee fixed his gaze on Seol-ah and continued speaking calmly.

Finally, Yoo Eun-hye’s confusion reached its peak.

‘Who is this?’

The Seo-jun Lee she knew was not a man who expressed affection in this way.

He was a troublemaker, and the word immature was befitting of him. But somehow, Seo-jun Lee looked gentle.

Even in the words that seemed to have been spit out without thought, she could feel the sincerity.

Yoo Eun-hye took a sip of tea to calm her heart.

“Eun-hye.”

“Huh?”

“Let’s get married.”

Cough.

The tea in Yoo Eun-hye’s mouth returned to the teacup.