Hero Hunter is on Parental Leave C22

Chapter 22

Muhaedo — the island at the southernmost tip of the Korean peninsula.

As its name Island of Harmlessness suggests, the place was composed only of peaceful, gentle things.

Despite being a technologically advanced nation, even this remote island at the end of the peninsula had cell service—

though nowhere near the speed of the cities.

The residents lived slow, unhurried lives.

Before settling down with his son Jaehee, Yeongung had established several criteria for where they would live.

First, the population must be small.

Second, the frequency of Gate occurrences or related accidents must be extremely low.

Third, the number of hunters moving in and out must be minimal.

His reasoning was simple.

He had deliberately turned himself into a mana-cripple to prevent tracking, and he wanted to settle somewhere that would remain safe even without his abilities.

During pregnancy and after childbirth, Jaehee’s safety had been the highest priority.

The more one interacted with awakened individuals, the greater the risk of mana exposure.

Thus, Yeongung wished to avoid contact with awakened people altogether.

Muhaedo was the only place that met all three criteria.

Amazingly, the island did not simply have few Gate incidents—

it had none.

To think that in the awakening era, a region untouched by the System still existed.

Yeongung himself only learned this while researching potential residences.

Life on Muhaedo, which passed his strict standards, was comfortable.

He worried at first that even if he lived under a different face, he might slip up in conversation—

but hunters were not even a subject of interest to the locals.

Why should they be?

They had never once experienced the life-threatening terror of monsters.

Since coming to Muhaedo, Yeongung had almost forgotten that monsters existed.

Sometimes he even felt as though he had returned to a time before Gates and Systems ever appeared.

“Kyaang—!”

Jaehee kicked down the sandcastle and tugged at his father’s clothes.

Still wearing diapers and yet unbelievably strong—just like his other father.

He wiggled his bottom, waiting for praise.

My one and only treasure.

“Yes, yes—our Jaehee stomped on the sandcastle Daddy made! Let me give you a Champion’s Kiss Stamp.”

Smack, smack, smack.

The kiss-stamping game was one of Jaehee’s favorites.

Yeongung pressed his lips to Jaehee’s plump belly and blew a raspberry.

It was Jaehee’s second favorite thing after kiss stamps.

“Karruru—!”

As expected, the child rolled across the picnic mat, laughing.

Yeongung lay on the mat and lifted him to sit on his stomach.

Watching Jaehee play with his small hands, clenching and unclenching them, reminded him of what Sayeong had said earlier.

“Master Won Iheun publicly announced he found you!”

He had spent nearly all his money erasing his unique mana, and he had taken specialized drugs to refine his abilities and obtain a fake face.

Sayeong had warned him that long-term use could cause many side effects—

unexpectedly, the man had a sense of ethics and conscience.

Even then, Yeongung insisted on taking them.

Because he knew—one day, Won Iheun might find him.

A man synonymous with persistence.

He needed Plans B and C to feel secure.

Back before childbirth—when he staggered home from Club Python on trembling legs and prepared his escape—the emotion he had felt was fear.

If Iheun discovered the pregnancy, he would drag him to a hospital and force him to abort.

But after Jaehee was born, as time passed, that fear slowly diminished.

There were reasons for this.

Even if Iheun despised blood ties, he could not bring himself to destroy a child who had already been born.

And if he ever saw Jaehee with his own eyes…

The child, who had been playing alone, beamed when his father looked at him.

His chubby cheeks lifted, and his smile could rival that of a wingless little angel.

Not out of parental bias—Jaehee simply radiated a kind of affection that made people love him unconditionally.

No adult could resist the smile of such a heavenly child.

If Jaehee was this lovable, wouldn’t he melt even Iheun’s heart?

Yet Yeongung wasn’t naïve enough to indulge in optimistic fantasies alone.

Perhaps Iheun wouldn’t harm the child—

but he could take him away.

Had Lee Rubin lied about carrying Iheun’s child because he wanted to secure his place as Iheun’s partner?

Surely he hadn’t wanted to join their family…

A middle-aged Omega similar to Rubin came to mind—someone who resembled Won Iheun’s biological mother.

It was ridiculous, thinking about this when Iheun himself must’ve had zero interest.

But Yeongung was no different.

He and Rubin were separated only by circumstances—

“I’ve known Iheun since he was younger,”

“We worked at the same place.”

That was all.

He had only been closer to Iheun because he was an Absolute—because he was Deputy Guild Master.

A future where Iheun, Jaehee, and he lived together—

was nothing more than a fairy tale.

“How laughable… Am I really waiting for Won Iheun?”

Self-mocking, he hugged his son tighter.

“Byah…?”

“Jaehee… Daddy only needs you. Nothing else matters.”

His voice sounded like a spell cast on himself.

He was happier than he had ever been.

He had his soft, beloved son—Jaehee.

He finally understood the idiom “I wouldn’t mind putting you in my eye” after becoming a parent.

Yet even as he brimmed with happiness holding that fragile little being who clutched his thumb while sleeping,

some days, a corner of his heart felt unbearably lonely.

So Yeongung worked hard—not primarily for money,

but to chase away thoughts of Iheun and the loneliness.

“That damned thief Sayeong. He shows up for the first time in ages, mentions Won Iheun, and now my head’s full of him again.”

Behind Jaehee’s cuddly face, the sun sank past the horizon.

“Come on, son. Let’s go home.”

Weary, Yeongung opened the front door and asked the apartment security guard:

“Mister, what brings you by this late?”

The man had helped him many times over the years, so he opened the door without suspicion.

But after returning home, bathing, feeding, and fighting a small war with his child,

the unexpected nighttime visitor was hardly welcome.

The guard spoke hesitantly to the grumpy Yeongung.

“Aigo… this gentleman keeps begging me. Says he needs to see Mr. Joon.”

On Muhaedo, people knew him as Yeong-jun.

“Pardon? What…?”

“Sorry, really. He shoved a government-sealed document at me—what power do I have to refuse?”

Behind the apologetic guard, a familiar silhouette stepped into view.

“Well… whatever your circumstances are, looks like you’ve got a lot to talk about. Good luck.”

After the guard left, silence fell.

It was Yeongung who broke it.

Even if his face was different—so what?

He chose to pretend not to know the man.

Scowling like someone sick of door-to-door salesmen, he said:

“Who are you? Whatever you’re selling, I’m not buying.”

Treating the man as an unwelcome intruder, he attempted to shut the door—

but the man moved faster.

Squeezing into the narrowing gap, he was met with another cold warning.

“Leave.”

Then Won Iheun spoke his name.

“Hunter Yeongung.”

“…Shit.”

How did he know?

Even with a different face, even at a glance—

Iheun called his name without doubt.

There wasn’t the slightest hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

…He knows everything.

The fact that he came all the way to the end of the land meant he had already uncovered everything about him.

And naturally, Yeongung assumed Iheun had come because of the newly appeared Rift.

Half-resigned, he turned around—

and beneath the porch light, that beautiful face—his exact type—came into view.

The sight alone made curses spill from his lips.

He had always been weak to that face, that pretty, enchanting visage.

“I’m not going back. Not even a little. So give up and get lost.”

He barely steadied his heart when little Jaehee crawled out from the room, searching for him.

“Abubyu…!”

“Jaehee—!”

He tried to hide the child, but it was too late.

Iheun’s gaze had already fallen on Jaehee.

No one could deny it—

they were identical.

Like father, like son.

“Blood will tell,” as the saying goes.

Iheun looked at them—

and with the crescent-moon smile Yeongung had once loved so fiercely, he said brightly:

“I believe we need to have a very deep conversation.”

…He was utterly screwed.