My Daughter Is the Final Boss - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The reaction was more dramatic than expected. He didn’t mean to surprise her this much.

Yoo Eun-hye asked as if she had heard it wrong.

“Wh, what?”

“Huh? Let’s get married.”

“Wait a minute….. Are you drunk?”

“No. I’m perfectly sober.”

Eun-hye felt unsettled that he was so gracious.

Seol-ah had been neglected by him, who had become the only person she could rely on. He figured that he must take responsibility.

But on the other hand, Eun-hye was too much of a precious person for someone like him.

To be honest, he didn’t even have the heart to say this, but he thought he would regret it if he didn’t say it now.

“Why didn’t you talk to me in the first place?”

“When we broke up….. I promised not to contact you.”

“But, you came back?”

“……Now, Seol-ah takes precedence over my pride.”

Eun-hye is 26 years old, just like him.

However, she was beyond thoughtful in comparison with him at that time.

After much consideration, she probably decided to give birth to Seol-ah and raise her alone.

After hesitating, Eun-hye spit out.

“I came to you because things were not going well. I have no feelings for you left.”

“Yeah, well, I was immature back then. It would be weird if you still had feelings about me.

“But, to be honest, it’s embarrassing to be getting married all of the sudden.”

“……That’s right. Yeah.”

He couldn’t stand the words coming from the bottom of her heart. He proposed to her suddenly, but from Eun hye’s perspective, she was embarrassed.

Of course, they broke up in the first place, so Eun-hye wouldn’t feel much for him.

It was different for him, who later felt the void of Yoo Eun-hye and regretted it for years.

“Sorry.”

“No. It’s okay.”

“Still, Seol-ah, she’s our child.”

“Yes.”

“I think a child needs a father.”

He began to persuade Eun-hye with his theory. She nodded her head as if she agreed.

Seol-ah is now five years old.

It was a time when a child needed their parents’ attention and love.

All the more so, knowing the terrible future.

“That’s true, though.”

“She’s your child, but also my child. I think it is right to take responsibility.”

“Seo-jun. First of all, thank you for letting me stay. We can talk about that later.”

“Great. Let’s do that.”

He readily agreed.

If he opposed words like that, he wouldn’t be able to reach Eun-hye. A happy family has a good effect on a child.

In order for Seol-ah to grow up properly, the relationship between him and Eun-hye must  improve first.

At least he had to get away from the immature ex-boyfriend image.

Time was just approaching noon. They had to take care of lunch.

“Eun-hye, did you eat?”

“Huh? No?”

“Then do you want to go eat something delicious?”

“Something delicious?”

Seol-ah, who was concentrating on her smartphone, responded quietly.

He met Seol-ah’s sparkling eyes. How could such a pretty girl be his daughter? It had to be inherited from Eun-hye’s genes.

“Seol-ah. Shall we go?”

“Yes!”

*         *         *

“What does Seol-ah like?”

“Anything is fine!”

“Really? There must be something you like the most.”

“Ice cream!”

He was wondering what to eat, so he asked, and the ice cream was the answer.

No matter how hard it was to say no, they couldn’t have ice cream for lunch. He promised to buy it for her later and headed to a nearby restaurant.

‘I didn’t even know what Seol-ah liked……’

He was blaming himself inwardly, and noticed Seol-ah hesitating from below.

She was contemplating whether or not to hold his hand with her tiny hand, but she compromised and grabbed the hem of his trousers.

“Cough.”

“Are you bored?”

“No.”

A perfectly straight answer. There are no words able to describe how cute she is.

She held his pant leg almost barely visible, and looked at him.

Still, it seems that she has a very friendly personality and wants to get to know him better.

The kid didn’t have any boundaries.

“Seol-ah, it’s dangerous. Shall we hold hands?”

“……Yes!”

Seol-ah took his hand without hesitation.

One hand was holding Eun-hye’s hand and the other was holding his hand, while she had a very excited expression.

Her gaze alternated between him and Eun-hye, she smiled, thinking this feels good.

Did she really try to destroy the world? He honestly couldn’t believe it.

Even if everything before the return was a dream, it seemed too real.

“It’s here.”

He stopped in front of the food court. Eun-hye blinked and looked at him.

“You don’t like street food.”

“You’re right, I don’t like it.”

“Then why did you bring us here?”

“Because you like it.”

Eun-hye especially liked tteokbokki.

On the other hand, he hated snacking, so there were times when they had small fights while dating because of it.

Though, it was something he remembered with regret after she died. He questioned himself why he didn’t eat tteokbokki with her.

Eun-hye looked at him with suspicious eyes.

“Are you really Lee Seo-Jun?”

“That’s right. Can Seol-ah eat tteokbokki?”

“I can eat it!”

“Oh really?”

“But mom always washes it in water…….”

They went inside the store. It wasn’t a high-end tteokbokki restaurant with a high price.

It was a tteokbokki restaurant located in front of an old school.

But as far as he knows, years later, this tteokbokki restaurant will be a widely famous gourmet restaurant and hit a jackpot.

Even though the owner of the restaurant was kicked out because the rent was raised.

When he ordered, an old woman brought them tteokbokki not long after.

“Wow, it looks delicious!”

“Oh. It really is.”

“I’m drooling. Ha.”

Seol-ah seemed to like tteokbokki just as much as her mother. Eun-hye, of course, was salivating too.

He honestly didn’t like it. As Eun-hye said, it wasn’t his favorite food.

But that wasn’t the point.

Because he was just content with seeing the two of them sitting in front of him.

“Where do I put the plate?”

After setting the plate and tableware, they started eating.

First, Eun-hye and he dipped tteokbokki with a fork and put it in their mouths at the same time.

And he realized it too late.

“Spicy!”

This is a restaurant famous for its spicy taste.

He couldn’t help but open his mouth at the spiciness of Korea, which made his tongue tingle.

On the other hand, Eun-hye’s mouth was smiling softly.

“This place is really good!”

“Y, yeah.”

It really was delicious. But it’s spicy.

“Mom, give some to Seol-ah, too.”

“Let’s water it down for Seol-ah.”

“Hnng. No, I don’t want that. Just give it to me.”

“It would be too spicy for you.”

“It’s okay!”

At Seol-ah’s bold insistence, Eun-hye gently wiped the sauce off the tteokbokki on the edge of the plate.

It would still be more spicy than washing it in water, but it will still be edible since the sauce is considerably reduced.

Seol-ah, who took the tteokbokki on the plate in front of her with a fork, opened her tiny mouth as wide as possible.

She cut a third of the tteokbokki and ate it, chewing like a hamster. Seol-ah, who was chewing tteokbokki wildly, opened her mouth.

“Oh my gosh.”

“Seol-ah inherited my spicy gene.”

“Who’s the worst at spicy food? Ah, it’s too spicy.”

*         *         *

In the end, the rest of the tteokbokki was washed in water for Seol-ah to eat.

In the meantime, he had a conversation with Eun-hye. She calmly explained her plan.

“I’m going to join a guild.”

“A guild?”

“Yeah. I became an adaptor.”

[P/N: They was saying that human that adapted to mana become an adaptor n they’ll naturally be a hunter later on.]

25 years ago.

Hence, 10 years ago from now.

Natural disasters of unprecedented scale had occurred. There have been simultaneous cracks  all over the world.

All kinds of monsters that came out from it caused great casualties.

This was all the more so due to the fact that the existing firearms and weapons did not work well.

‘At that time, I really thought humanity was coming to an end.’

But mankind did not perish.

That was thanks to the people who adapted to the mana leaking from the rift, and gained special powers.

They easily slashed down monsters that could not be stopped even if the army was mobilized.

They called themselves ‘hunters’.

‘Eun-hye was a hunter like me.’

Although they were both hunters, Eun-hye’s talent was not comparable to his. He was a student who failed the license exam one after another.

On the other hand, Eun-hye became a hunter as a super rookie who joined the front line soon after. It was no exaggeration to say that the level of talent was greatly different.

At the same time, an interview with a hunter was currently airing on TV.

-Hello. This is Seong Soo-hyun.

Along with the interview from a handsome man, the image of cutting down a monster was also broadcasted.

Seong Soo-hyun was a hunter who gained a lot of popularity for his handsome face and outstanding skills.

His recognition now would be higher than any singer or actor of this era.

As a front-line hunter, he belonged to the same guild as Eun-hye before Seo-jun returned.

“Hunters. They make a lot of money.”

The salary was astronomical.

It’s because they risk their lives to fight monsters. Killing a monster makes more money than you would think.

A core, the heart of a monster, was called an innovation in alternative energy and was traded at a high price.

In the case of strong monsters, by-products and materials from them are also sold at ridiculous prices.

The materials from a monster are also processed into hunter’s equipment.

“But it’s dangerous.”

“So I’m going to ask for Seol-ah.”

[T/N: Maybe it means that she’s asking for him to look after Seol-ah?]

“Uh?”

This was an unprecedented development. Did something change in that brief moment?

It was unknown.

“I got a contract from the guild.”

“Wait. Have you signed it?”

“Not yet, but I’m thinking of doing so.”

“Did you read it carefully?”

“Yes. They said they’d help me get a license and take care of the deposit more than average.”

He knew the guild who had a contract with her. And he was well aware of the techniques the guild used often.

Part of the down payment is paying first, then you’ll be bound to them.

It may not be a big sum for people who were already hunters, but it was for those who still lack financial power like Eun-hye.

After that, they used their Hunters almost like consumables and cleared their debt.

‘By selling the equipment, and arranging the router at an unreasonable price to collect the commission.’

There were still many loopholes in the laws related to hunters.

Aiming for that, there were many cases of trapping up-and-coming hunters who were in a swamp of debt.

It happened to him, and it happened to Eun-hye as well. But she proved herself by showing her skills quickly, unlike him, and she quickly got out of debt.

She died in an accident right after that.

‘The death of Eun-hye could be one of Seol-ah’s misfortunes.’

The five misfortunes Seol-ah had experienced.

Perhaps that included the death of Eun-hye, the only mother she could rely on. Even if it wasn’t for that, he couldn’t just wait and see such a future repeat itself.

She was a hunter with considerable talent.

However, due to the suppression of the guild, she died without being able to properly spread her wings.

“Eun-hye, I…”

Who even is he?

He’s the hunter who failed the license test seven times. The license exam has ended.

Not only that, but he knows what will happen in the future.

If he uses this well, he will definitely be able to provide a better environment than the guild.

“I will raise her.”