Chapter 46: Even the Absolute Being Is a First-Time Dad
Absolute One's First Time Being a Dad - Episode 46
Despite being the top-grossing movie for weeks, the film's content struck me as rather mediocre.
'Just a typical cartoon kids would like...'
Kang-jun stifled a yawn and glanced sideways at Seol, who sat beside him.
"Wow..."
Unlike him, Seol was completely engrossed, her tiny fists clenched and eyes sparkling as she stared at the screen. She was so absorbed that her little bottom barely clung to the edge of the seat.
'Is it really that entertaining?'
He poked her cheek lightly and whispered, "Seol, are you having fun?"
After a soft "Daddy...," she looked around, pressed a finger to her lips, and added, "Gotta be quiet..."
Kang-jun stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and nodded in response.
"Seol, fun..." she answered cautiously before turning back to the screen, eyes wide.
'She said today was her first time at a movie theater...'
Just as he had coincidentally become the first person to watch a movie with her, he wanted to be there for every "first" in her life as she grew.
'She's probably never seen cherry blossoms properly. Never been to the beach either...'
He hoped that whenever she thought of the word "first," his face would be the first to come to mind.
'Firsts...'
His thoughts drifted to the distant future—her first day at kindergarten, her towering height when she'd enter elementary school...
His heart fluttered strangely.
The present was good, but...
He found himself curious about the happier days to come.
[Princess, take my hand!]
[Prince!]
[I'll protect you—don't worry!]
As an intense scene unfolded on screen, Seol suddenly grabbed Kang-jun's hand tightly.
Gulp.
He swallowed dryly and stared at her, still fixated on the movie. Sensing his gaze, she whipped her head around, and their eyes met midair.
"Daddy..." she whispered, beaming.
Her smile was as fresh as spring grass.
"Daddy and prince same."
"Huh?"
"Seol, marry Daddy."
Thump, thump, thump.
His heart raced.
'So... I'm her first love.'
"Sure."
Suddenly, a fragment of his past words to Aldebaran flashed through his mind.
'Pathetically, I've started wanting to live.'
Paradoxically, for his daughter's sake, he'd die a thousand times over.
Conversely, if anyone dared harm her—he'd kill them without hesitation.
Even...
If it were a god.
After the movie, as they exited the theater, Kang-jun yawned and asked, "Seol, did you like Winter Princess?"
"Mm!"
"Should we head home now?"
She pouted, tapping her index fingers together, and mumbled, "Seol wanna play more..."
Then, in a tiny voice, she added, "Pwease..."
Kang-jun groaned. "W-well, just a little longer..."
"Yay!"
"But what should we do...?"
Then, as if remembering something, he muttered, "Ah, right..." and pulled out his phone.
"Seol, have you ever been to a kids' cafe with Auntie? It's like a huge indoor playground..."
She grinned. "Seol love playland!"
Clearly, she'd never been to one before.
"Then Daddy will find one nearby real quick, okay? Just wait a sec."
She nodded vigorously. "Yay, excited!"
Kang-jun focused intently, pecking at his phone's touchscreen like an eagle hunting prey.
"Huh?"
Still clumsy with smartphones, he accidentally hit search after typing only half the query.
"Oops?" he muttered.
Seol looked up at him with anxious eyes. "Daddy, no playland?"
"No, we can go..."
"Seol wanna go now!"
Her impatient whining only made him more flustered.
'This is bad...'
Just as sweat began forming on his usually unshakable hands—
Tap, tap.
A young man passed by, speaking softly to his phone.
"Hey, Siri."
Kang-jun glanced at him just as a young woman's voice responded from the device.
"Yes, Master!"
The man continued flatly, "Find me a good restaurant nearby."
"Sorry, I didn't catch that."
"Near. By. Good. Food. Search."
A moment later—
"Here's what I found!"
Though it was just a standard voice assistant, Kang-jun was impressed.
"Oh, so that's how?"
He immediately started tapping his own phone again.
"Huh, this world isn't so bad..."
No matter how advanced Anux Continent's magic engineering was, it couldn't match modern technology.
Take smartphones—with just this tiny device, nothing seemed impossible.
After a while, Kang-jun hesitantly brought his phone to his lips.
"Hey, Bong-gu."
"Hello?"
"Hey, Bong-gu?"
From the other end, Bong-gu kept repeating, "Hello?" in confusion.
"Find a kids' cafe nearby."
"Huh?"
"Near. By. Kids. Cafe."
A reply came instantly.
"One moment..."
"No, no."
"What do you mean 'no'?"
Clearly, he'd misunderstood how voice assistants worked—badly.
"Come. Here. Now."
"...What?"
"In. Person. Now."
Silence.
"...Sigh. Be right there."
"Wow..."
Seol's eyes widened as she stepped into the kids' cafe for the first time.
"Daddy, Pororo and friends!"
She pointed at the large cartoon character statues guarding the entrance.
Bong-gu, dressed in a shabby tracksuit with messy bedhead, said, "Seol, Uncle will take your picture. Stand next to them."
She shyly posed beside the statues.
"Good, pretty."
As Bong-gu snapped photos, Kang-jun sidled up and muttered, "Why do you look so rough?"
"You called me out of nowhere while I was resting..."
"At least wash your hair before going out."
"You said you'd kill me if I wasn't here in three minutes."
Kang-jun shook his head. "That was just a figure of speech."
Just then, Seol suddenly cheered, "Yay, so fun!" and dashed inside.
Bong-gu nervously smoothed his tangled hair. "By the way, what exactly happened?"
"Hm?"
"The news is going wild about the Anti-Management Union..."
He hesitated before asking cautiously, "How'd you do it?"
Kang-jun watched Seol climbing the slide's stairs and answered flatly, "Killed them all."
Before returning home after wiping out the Union, Kang-jun had given Crabsley one order:
"I'll write a letter in my own hand. Deliver it to the Seoul branch's Director's Office."
A brief letter announcing the Union's dissolution—and letting the Management Bureau take full credit.
(He'd also sent along a few severed heads of high-ranking members for authenticity.)
"They were useless in the world my daughter will live in, so I got rid of them."
Bong-gu alternated staring at Kang-jun and Seol.
'Maybe this kid will change the world...'
Her father certainly had the power to reshape this chaotic reality.
'Honestly... I'm jealous.'
Bong-gu had seen Kang-jun's wealth firsthand.
(Gifting an entire commercial building for Christmas spoke for itself.)
'Diamond spoon, insane power...'
And despite pretending otherwise, Kang-jun was undeniably a doting father.
'He grumbles but still does everything she asks.'
The way he constantly studied that thick Parenting Encyclopedia said it all.
'Really, who'd dare mess with Seol?'
If anyone so much as touched a hair on her head—
'Their entire family would be in danger...'
Suddenly, Bong-gu's eyes bulged.
"Huh?!"
A boy had rushed in and shoved Seol hard, knocking her down.
"Hey, move!"
"Why...?"
"I'm going first!"
Bong-gu paled.
Kang-jun, however, remained calm.
"Kids fighting at this age is normal."
He walked toward Seol, adding proudly, "Read it in a book."
Then he approached the boy and spoke gently.
"Friends should play nicely."
The boy's lips trembled, on the verge of tears.
"Now, let's make up—"
Just as Kang-jun continued, the boy burst into loud sobs.
Then—
A burly man stomped over from the cafe area, glowering.
"What's your problem?"
He grabbed Kang-jun's collar and snarled, "Why'd you make my son cry?"
"Your son was the one who—"
"I said why'd you make him cry?!"
Bong-gu rushed over in panic.
'If we handle this carefully, he might survive...'
Clutching that slim hope, he approached—
"You little shit, know who I am?"
"Well—"
"I'm a Hunter—I protect trash like you!"
He shook Kang-jun violently, sneering.
"Now that life's getting better, all kinds of garbage are crawling out..."
Kang-jun's brow twitched.
"Did you just call us garbage?"
Bong-gu clamped a hand over his mouth. "Oh no, no, please stop..."
"Yeah, filthy trash who don't know their place—"
Then Seol burst into tears.
"Waaah! Seol and Daddy not trash!"
Bong-gu shook his head grimly.
"Now it's unstoppable..."