Hero Hunter is on Parental Leave C52

Chapter 52

“Huheeeng… hng… waaah—!”

Yeongung kicked the Alpha straddling him and rushed to Jaehee.

“Baby…! Daddy’s here.”

He scooped up the crying child, rocking and soothing him, but strangely, the moment Jaehee saw Yeongung’s face, he hiccupped and started crying even harder—irritated, as if demanding his real dad back.

“What kind of dream did my prince have, crying the moment he woke up?”

Jaehee pushed Yeongung’s approaching face away with his soft little fists—an unmistakably firm rejection.

“Why is he like this…?”

Yeongung panicked, worried the child might be sick again like last time. It never occurred to him that his clingy son could be rejecting him. He grabbed the thermometer and checked Jaehee’s temperature.

“It’s normal.”

Even so, the child continued to reject Yeongung fiercely, wailing at full volume. Yeongung carefully observed Jaehee’s eyes, expression, and movements.

“Ah…!”

It was the reaction Jaehee showed the first time he encountered an adult man other than Yeongung.

But I’m his dad.

Unaware that the drug’s effect had worn off and his fake face was gone, Yeongung spiraled—until Won Iheun suddenly held out his phone. The front-facing camera reflected Yeongung’s face.

At first, Yeongung thought Iheun had pulled up a photo from his album. Then he frowned—and the person on the screen frowned too.

“My face is back?!”

At Yeongung’s shock, the man smiled in satisfaction. Pressuring Sayoung had been worth it. It had taken longer than expected, but after waiting two years, another month was nothing. Won Iheun decided to hand over the remaining shares of the mining gate he’d promised Sayoung.

The mines were packed with special herbs and plants that only grew in the harsh environment of gates, along with rare minerals—materials refiners using purification techniques could never legally obtain. Won Iheun privately owned several such mines—paradise, really, for refiners.

Most refiners were obsessive about research, and Iheun knew Sayoung wouldn’t refuse a mine. In the end, Sayoung returned several times the contract deposit to Yeongung and agreed to carry out a few requests—one of which was swapping the fake-face medication.

Hidden guilds and information guilds were merchants at heart. Yeongung might have worried about Sayoung, but the value of a mining gate dwarfed what he’d paid.

“So this was you two, wasn’t it.”

Iheun snapped back to reality at the icy voice.

“No wonder. Asking if I was taking my meds, saying the refinement changed, asking if my face ever came back.”

As Yeongung scoffed at the belated realization, the child still hadn’t stopped crying. From Jaehee’s perspective, he’d woken up to darkness—and a stranger holding him, with his dad nowhere in sight.

Won Iheun was about to release his extreme-dominant pheromones to bridge the bond when Yeongung softly called the child’s name.

“Yeong Jaehee.”

He released what little pheromone he had, wrapping it around the child like a swaddle—so Jaehee could feel what it had been like when he’d grown inside Yeongung. The effort worked. The child’s earth-shattering cries hitched into hiccups and then stopped. Wide-eyed, startled, he called out—

“Ba…?”

Only then did Yeongung relax, smiling as he held the child to his chest.

“Yeah. Daddy. Prince Yeong Jaehee’s daddy—Yeongung.”

Jaehee stared at the unfamiliar face with curiosity, studying Yeongung’s eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. Yeongung waited patiently, giving him time to learn his real face. When Jaehee reached out with his tiny hand, Yeongung leaned closer. Gentle fingers explored every feature—careful, tender, nothing like his usual brute strength.

“Byaa…!”

Having fully recognized his dad, Jaehee clung to Yeongung. Won Iheun stepped closer to the touching scene.

“…”

Watching his Omega and son together like a painting stirred something indescribable in him. He couldn’t define it—but one thing was certain.

He wanted to be part of it.

The towering Alpha wrapped them both in his arms, his pheromones forming a fence around the three of them.

Then, shattering the soft mood, he said,

“We should start looking for a babysitter.”

“A babysitter? We’re both on childcare leave—why would we need one?”

Iheun poked Yeongung’s cheek dimple. Yeongung had become a capable homemaker during his time away—raising his nonexistent life skills into the positives. It was admirable and cute. But regardless—

“If we don’t, we won’t be able to sleep.”

“We sleep just fine—”

“Not that kind of sleep.”

He’d clearly softened the wording because Jaehee was awake.

“Hah. So that sleep is so important? I can’t say anything harsh with the kid here, but Won Iheun—you—!”

Yeongung glared at the shameless beauty pressing his lower body against him, swallowing the curses climbing his throat.

“Jiji.”

Sensing Iheun was making Yeongung uncomfortable, the child summoned “jiji” again.

“Mr. Jiji will be sleeping in the living room tonight. Got it?”

With a smug tone, Yeongung locked the door and vanished into the bedroom. The old door was no real barrier—but he trusted Iheun not to do what he hated.

As Yeongung lay down with the child on the queen-size bed, the Alpha’s voice drifted from outside like a wolf circling prey.

“Your scheming ends today.”

Such trivial banter kept making him smile. They’d shared so much over the years—but dating was new.

“So this is what dating feels like.”

His heart tickled.

“Baby. Next time, call Iheun ‘Dad’ too. Not jiji.”

“Jiji?”

Yeongung shook his head firmly.

“Dad.”

“Ba-ba.”

“That’s right! My smart baby.”

Jaehee burst into giggles under the barrage of kisses. Father and son fell into deep sleep to each other’s laughter—a long, exhausting day behind them.

Later, after a thorough cleaning and folding warm laundry from the dryer—

“Dad.”

“Jiji.”

“Dad.”

“Ji—ji…!”

The Alpha father and child had been locked in a standoff for hours. Upset at being forced to say “Dad,” Jaehee hurled a plushie.

Trying to out-stubborn an eighteen-month-old, the shameless adult commented,

“Look at that temper. Definitely takes after Hunter Yeongung.”

Yeongung had tried mediating at first, but quickly gave up. Jaehee had inherited his Alpha father’s stubbornness. The two faced off like mirror images.

They say when you have a son, you get two sons. Not wrong.

“Uh… Iheun. There’s something called mirror therapy.”

Neither of them listened.

“They’ll be here this afternoon.”

“They?”

“Shanghui and Hamgyeol. I’m thinking of using them as babysitters for a while.”

Using two core members of the Tako Guild as babysitters—only Rank #1 Guild Masters thought like that.

“Were you serious about what you said yesterday?”

At that moment, noise erupted in the apartment hallway—rolling suitcase wheels.

“Hyung! Little bro’s here!”

“Vice Guild Master…! I missed you!”

Ignoring the perfectly functional doorbell, the idiot duo banged on Apartment 303’s door. Hopefully the neighbors didn’t call the cops.

Yeongung sprinted over and opened it. Familiar faces greeted him. Hamgyeol, who’d suffered most without a leader, looked ready to hug him on the spot—until Won Iheun shot a murderous glare.

“Freeze.”

Then he warned them firmly before they even stepped inside.

“I’ll say this once. Don’t touch a sold-out married man’s body—and don’t flirt.”

“Huh? Master, I’m flirting?”

“Especially you, Hamgyeol. Saying you miss him all the time—that’s a habit.”

Shoving aside the flustered Hamgyeol, Shanghui demanded,

“Wait—did Hyung Yeongung get married? Did you hide away to secretly marry a civilian?”

Judging by their reactions, they’d been summoned to Muhaedo without hearing a thing. Loud as they were, they followed orders to the letter when it mattered.