Hero Hunter is on Parental Leave C47

Chapter 47

He was happy that the man had accepted Jaehee as his son—but at the same time, his heart felt heavy. Had the man drawn a clear line between Yeongung and the child, treating them as entirely different things? Otherwise, there was no way to explain this distance.

“Won Iheun. When Jaehee was hospitalized, I told you I’d wait for you back then.”

He’d said it while drifting into sleep, but even through his fading vision, he’d seen the man trying to say something.

“I’ll wait—for now. But let’s put a time limit on it.”

Waiting had always been Yeongung’s specialty. Hell, he’d been nursing a one-sided crush for years. Compared to that, this was almost cute.

“Parents need to sort things out quickly for the kid’s sake too. So I’ll make you a proposal.”

He remembered going to find Iheun before disappearing—telling him to take responsibility, shoving a cooperation contract for memory recovery into his hands, demanding answers. Just like then, Yeongung made another high-handed offer.

“Separate rooms—no, separate houses. If you ever feel like being honest, come to Room 303.”

At the suggestion of living apart, Iheun jerked forward as if about to leap up—then slammed his fist down on the armrest instead, sinking back into the sofa. Yeongung looked mournfully at the armrest, now reduced to unrecognizable fragments.

“You lunatic, calm down! Haa… that was Cha’s favorite sofa.”

Iheun’s reaction made it clear he didn’t agree—but even so, he still didn’t open his mouth. It was like some pumpkin-carriage fairy had sewn his lips shut.

“Pissed? Angry? Then come tell me yourself what you’re angry about and why. With your own damn mouth.”

Yeongung declared it flatly and walked out of the reception room. Only then did Won Iheun finally part his tightly sealed lips.

“Kh—!”

The pain he’d endured with monstrous restraint crashed down all at once. Coughing up clotted blood, he wiped his mouth with a Tintinping handkerchief pulled from his pocket—one he always carried for Jaehee, who still drooled a lot.

The handkerchief showed Hero-Ping defeating Villain-Ping. Clutching it tightly, the man smiled brightly.

“Looks like my son’s going to have to help his dad.”

“Sayoung. Didn’t our contract end? I even wired the money.”

“Ah, that—!”

Yeongung glanced back at the blond man behind him with clear annoyance. Sayoung scratched the irezumi on his arm and played dumb.

“Hyung. Things are complicated—can’t you just let it slide? And our contract wasn’t terminated.”

There was a hundred percent chance Won Iheun was involved.

“It’s Won Iheun.”

“….”

Nailed it. Whistling, Sayoung avoided his gaze. Yeongung recalled unlocking the mana he’d sealed when he destroyed the gate that opened inside the hospital elevator. There was always the chance the Association’s hounds would track his unique mana.

And officially, he was still listed as missing. No reason to refuse Sayoung’s guard.

“You booked the tickets?”

Brightened by the unspoken approval, Sayoung pulled up the mobile tickets.

“Who do you think I am? Seats across from you and Jaehee.”

Yeongung looked at him like he was hopeless.

“And you—why wire money through a national bank out of nowhere? You’ll get flagged by the tax office. That’s how you end up an economic criminal.”

“You worried I’d get reported? That’s why I sent extra and told you to file taxes!”

Still fuming, Sayoung thumped his chest and then started fake-sobbing, muttering, “My money, my money.”

Annoyed by the noise, Jaehee—who’d been clinging to Yeongung’s chest—let out a grumpy sound.

“Buu.”

Yeongung patted his child’s bottom soothingly.

“Don’t raise your voice in front of Jaehee.”

“Yesss, yesss.”

Sighing heavily at Sayoung’s childish behavior, Yeongung studied the young face hidden under blond hair, tattoos, and flashy styling. Then he noticed dark roots showing near the scalp.

“Time to redo your roots. Let’s grab bleach on the way.”

As Yeongung lifted the blond hair to check the regrowth, Sayoung grinned.

“Happy to save money? The rich always squeeze more.”

Sayoung already had more money than he could spend in a lifetime—yet he always balked at salon prices and relied on Yeongung instead.

“You said you added extra for taxes. Won Iheun told you to?”

Money, power, and fame—the three things most people wanted. Of the three, Sayoung was obsessively fixated on money. Which made the near-contract-penalty sum he’d transferred all the stranger.

Under their agreement, an Eraser paid massive penalties in only one case: failing to completely erase Yeongung’s unique mana traces.

Not being discovered—failing to erase the traces. Since Won Iheun had tracked Yeongung via pheromones, not mana, Sayoung hadn’t violated the contract. Meaning he technically owed nothing.

Yeongung felt guilty. Sayoung had worked for years and ended up empty-handed. He’d poured all his liquid cash into Sayoung and lived tight—but compared to spoiled food scavenged at the orphanage, convenience-store discards were luxury. And most importantly—Sayoung had done the job perfectly.

The Sayoung he knew was fiercely responsible. He never failed a commission. For Yeongung alone, he’d erased an entire island—Muhaedo. Even though Yeongung hadn’t used skills after arriving pregnant, Sayoung’s pathological perfectionism had wiped all data across the island.

Responsibility, diligence, perfectionism—and an ability no other Eraser could match. That was why he’d struck gold so young.

“Our country’s biggest Scrooge wouldn’t do something that stupid for no reason. Makes no sense.”

Seated now, Yeongung buckled Jaehee into the baby seat and handed Sayoung a smoked egg. Sayoung peeled and ate it quickly, talking with his mouth full.

“Not for nothing.”

“Knew it. There goes my guilt. What kind of deal did you two make?”

“Half-forced. But it wasn’t bad for me either.”

Yeongung handed him a soda, tapping the top a few times.

“What was that for?”

“What. You gonna complain after taking it?”

“No—just now. You tapped the lid like this.”

Ah. He’d unconsciously copied something Iheun taught him. The memory of the man’s red tongue licking cola off his knuckles flashed through his mind. In broad daylight, it was a bit much—Yeongung’s pale nape flushed peach.

“Well—if you tap the mouth before opening a carbonated drink, the bubbles rise and it won’t overflow. If it’s already shaken, waiting and opening slowly works better.”

“Damn. Hyung’s a brainy guy. Elite. Sexy.”

It wasn’t even special knowledge, but Sayoung gushed with sparkling eyes. Then Jaehee—apparently taken with the shiny blond hair—grabbed hard.

“Aaah—Jaehee, uncle’s scalp hurts!”

The blond man yelped. Yeongung knew his child’s grip strength well; just watching made his own scalp tingle.

Amused by his reaction, the baby squinted and smiled—a beautiful smile that reminded him of someone.

Freed at last, Sayoung stared at the laughing child in awe.

“He really looks like him. Every time I see it, it’s wild. Honestly, Guildmaster Won Iheun’s personality is trash, but I’ll admit—his face is top-tier. The kid’s an angel.”

Yeongung slapped the tattooed hand sharply, then flicked Sayoung’s shiny forehead for good measure.

Only he was allowed to call Iheun a bastard. The man was strange and rough around the edges, sure—but trash?

“Watch your mouth about his dad in front of the kid.”

Sayoung shot back, eyes wide.

“As if this baby understands anything. You ran away once—now it’s suddenly ‘we’re a family of three’? Jaehee, uncle’s heartbroken. Your dads used me dry and then teamed up.”

“Adults talking about sides. Grow up.”

“Guess ‘birds of a feather’ really is true.”

Deciding to ignore him, Yeongung handed Jaehee finely chopped banana—his favorite snack. He’d already eaten, but Yeongung wanted him to have a happy train memory, just a little.