I Got Kidnapped (3)
"Honey~ Sweetheart~ I'm home~"
The head of the household's homecoming greeting.
I carefully slipped into the house, hiding behind the Yu Haseong's back. Having other people come over to my place was awkward enough, but going to someone else's house was pretty uncomfortable in its own right. Escaping a human trafficking ring's kidnapping only to get snatched by Korea's strongest hunter next...
That smell of home cooking...
I sniffed the air, and the Yu Haseong burst out laughing. Of course — the strongest ability user alive. He'd even heard me sniffing.
"Honey, you're back? Come on in. You must've had a long day again."
"Nothing too rough. But I've got a bit of a special guest today."
"A guest?"
As he said it, the Yu Haseong glanced back over his shoulder. Time for introductions, then.
"Ah — hello..."
"Oh my, is that Eunha! Come in, come in! It's been so long since I've seen you!"
"Ahaha..."
I only knew the Yu Haseong's wife by face, really. Back then, plenty of people had been targeting his family, so we'd had to be careful about all sorts of things. Even now, there probably weren't many people who knew much about them.
"Are you still working with my husband?"
"Ah — no... I'm just taking it easy right now."
"Good for you. Hunter work is far too dangerous. Better to get out of it sooner rather than later."
She said it while looking straight at the Yu Haseong, her gaze full of the quiet worry of a woman wondering when on earth this man of hers was going to quit the dangerous stuff.
"I'm still going strong, honey. Figure I can keep at it another ten years easy."
"You should quit while you're still going strong, so the family can actually go on trips together. Honestly."
"I'm less busy than I used to be, though, aren't I?"
"Well, that's true... Anyway, come on in, dear."
"Th-thank you..."
We hadn't met more than a handful of times, and yet the welcome was overwhelming. It almost felt like I was looking at a younger version of the Yu Haseong. They say people who love each other start to look alike — whether she'd come to resemble him or he'd come to resemble her, I couldn't say, but they made a remarkably well-matched pair.
"Oh, right — you haven't met Eunseo yet, have you?"
"Ah."
I had, actually. Not in person, of course — only online.
"Sweetheart~ Daddy's home, so come out for a second~"
At the Yu Haseong's wife's call, a drawn-out "Coming~" floated back from somewhere deeper in the house. The voice was a little different from the one I'd heard in her videos. The thought of seeing a famous hunter-influencer in the flesh made my heart skip, just a little.
"Dad, you're earlier than I expected?"
"Wrapped things up quick. Your dad may not look it, but he's Korea's strongest hunter."
He laughed and ruffled Yu Eunseo's hair. Even while he did, he kept shooting little glances my way — clearly itching to introduce me to his daughter.
"Ah, and this is Dad's colleague."
"Ah — hello..."
"Hi— wait, if you're Dad's colleague, you're older than me, right? Then... hello."
I bowed, and Hunter Yu Eunseo bowed right back. I'd figured she had a slightly eccentric side, but I hadn't expected her to give me a full formal bow. Especially when a certain someone I knew had treated me with zero manners whatsoever.
"I-I'm a fan. Good luck with your hunter work."
"Thank you. I'll do my best."
Oh my god. I said it. I told the real Yu Eunseo "good luck." And she even said thank you back...!
"You seem happier to meet my daughter than me, Eunha."
"Of course. Meeting a girl is better than meeting a guy."
"What, so you see Eunseo as a girl? Well, if it's you, Eunha, you've got my full blessing."
"Th-that's not what I meant!"
What on earth was this man saying?! His sudden jab made my face burn. This was purely a fan's feelings toward an idol. I was just happy to meet my bias in person, that was all.
"Still, you've never met our girl before, Eunha?"
"No, never."
Back then, Hunter Yu Eunseo had still been in elementary school. I'd been twenty-three ten years ago, so that would have made her...
Eleven years old...
Looking at it that way, the age gap was considerable. The irony that our appearances made the difference run the other way around was not lost on me.
"Alright, let's wash our hands first. You must be hungry — time for dinner."
"Okay..."
"Eunseo, show Eunha to the bathroom, would you?"
"Okay~"
I mean, the Yu Haseong could have just shown me himself. But before I could even say so, he and his wife had already headed for the kitchen. That left only me and Hunter Yu Eunseo.
"Come on. The bathroom's this way."
"O-okay..."
I trailed after her as she set off at an easy pace. The house was big enough that it took a little while just to reach the bathroom.
"Pretty huge for a bathroom, right? You could sleep in here. I've dozed off mid-shower a few times myself."
"Y-yeah, it is."
Anyway, the sink — ah, there it was. I headed over, already thinking about washing my hands and getting out of there as fast as possible. And that was when I discovered the problem.
It's too high.
The sink was way too tall for my height. Way, way too tall.
"Urgh..."
I tried every which way to turn on the water, but my hands wouldn't reach. Without the step stool I used at home, even washing my hands was a struggle.
"Want some help?"
"Y-yes, please..."
There was no way my flustered self could have refused the offer of help from behind me. I nodded on reflex, and Hunter Yu Eunseo bent down slightly — then scooped me right up.
"Hwah?!"
"There. You can reach now, right?"
"..."
I could reach, sure... but this was mortifying. My face in the mirror had gone completely red. Having to be lifted by someone else just to wash my hands. And with her hands under my armpits, no less!
Whoooosh—
"I-I'm done..."
The sight of myself in the mirror was so violent I washed as fast as humanly possible. Technically, it was the sight of me with Hunter Yu Eunseo that was violent, but still.
If I took a picture of this and posted it to the community, it'd be a featured post for sure.
No — forget featured. This would go super-featured without a doubt. Losing my phone had never felt more tragic.
"You wash your hands very thoroughly."
"Th-thank you."
I finished washing under that baffling bit of praise. Even after my feet were back on the floor, the heat in my face refused to fade. Embarrassing. This had nothing to do with my bias's touch or any of that.
At my age, getting lifted up by someone else just to wash my hands...
And my armpits were still warm. Hunter Yu Eunseo's hands ran remarkably hot.
"Alright, alright, come sit down."
"O-okay."
Heading into the living room, I found the air thick with delicious smells — sweet and savory all at once. My mouth watered on pure reflex.
"The chair's going to be too high for Eunha. Up we go."
"Wah..."
First the daughter, now the father. In the exact same fashion as Yu Eunseo, the Yu Haseong lifted me up and carefully set me down on the dining chair.
"What do you mean, 'up we go'? You're strong enough that you don't need the theatrics."
"It's a natural little power yell, honey."
"Still. What if you hurt Eunha's feelings?"
My feelings had been hurt, actually. Specifically by the part where someone else had to lift me into a chair.
I really shouldn't leave the house.
Even the most ordinary actions required other people's help. Yeah. Absolutely no going outside for the foreseeable future. The resolve I'd made when I met Kim Ye-eun hardened even further.
"Here, Auntie will pull the meat off the bone for you. Eat up."
"I-I can do it myself..."
"Auntie wants to. Don't be shy — just eat. Here, say ah~"
"A-aaaah..."
The Yu Haseong's wife picked the meat clean off the galbi and fed it to me. Across the table, the Yu Haseong was fighting for his life trying not to laugh. Knowing I was thirty-three probably made it even funnier for him.
Just you wait, Yu Haseong. We'll settle this later.
I put that meaning into my stare, and he just quirked one corner of his mouth up like I was adorable. He'd caught so many thugs over the years that he could pull off their expressions perfectly. If he ever quit hunting, he'd do great in that line of work.
"Honey, do you even know how old Eunha is?"
"Of course I do. She's twelve years older than our Eunseo, right?"
"Eunha's an adult. She might not like being fed like that."
It wasn't that I disliked it so much as that it was embarrassing. This kind of care was meant for children.
"Eunseo loves being fed like this. Don't you, Eunseo?"
"Yep, I love it."
"Our Eunseo should have some galbi too. Say ah~"
"Ahh—"
The Yu Haseong watched the two of them with a look of pure resignation. With Yu Eunseo chiming in like that, he clearly couldn't bring himself to push the point any further. Truly a daughter-and-wife man through and through.
"Dad, I've got a question."
"Hm? What's up?"
"Is your colleague really thirty-three?"
Hunter Yu Eunseo's chopsticks stopped. Her eyes were genuinely curious. The Yu Haseong caught that look and passed it straight along to me — you answer this one.
"Yes, I'm thirty-three."
"You look so young. I'm jealous."
"Y-you look really young too, Hunter Yu Eunseo..."
We traded a compliment each, and the Yu Haseong and his wife both started snickering.
"Eunha, Eunseo doesn't look young — she just is young."
"...Ugh."
"And Eunseo, you don't ask people that right in front of them."
Oh — a word of wisdom from the head of the household. I gave the Yu Haseong a silent round of applause for that fatherly moment.
"But asking later, after she's gone home, would be even ruder."
"Not giving an inch, are you, my girl."
"You're the one who told me never to lose to anyone, Dad."
For reasons I couldn't begin to understand, sparks flew between the two of them. Where exactly had this competitive streak come from? I looked back and forth between the Yu Haseong and Hunter Yu Eunseo, who seemed ready to launch into a full hundred-minute debate, when the Yu Haseong's wife leaned over and whispered beside me.
"Those two are like this every single day."
Ah. That explained it. They'd looked far too practiced at this.