Chapter 406: The Mother and Daughter's Resolve (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 406: The Mother and Daughter's Resolve (8)
The body of an S-rank Hunter is a healthy one.
This is because the potent mana dwelling within their bodies preemptively blocks any elements that might harm their physical form.
However, there was one thing.
One thing that even mana could not control.
Stress.
“Haa…”
Han Ju-hee’s brow furrowed against a headache brought on by an immense amount of stress in a short period.
“The situation is getting serious.”
She recognized that the circumstances surrounding her were increasingly moving in a direction contrary to her will.
‘What on earth went wrong?’
Kim Do-jin had laid bare all information on Hexagram to the world, declaring war.
And for the first time, her husband, Son Si-woo, had opposed her opinion in front of others.
Thanks to them, the Chinese Black Market was in an absolute uproar.
In the midst of it all, another piece of bad news landed in her hands.
“Here is the list of participants for the operation you requested.”
“Good work.”
What her secretary handed her was the list of participants in the mission to China.
The lineup was quite impressive.
Every single one of them was a well-known figure among A-rank Hunters.
But that was just the beginning.
It was nothing compared to the shock the names that followed would deliver.
Son Si-woo’s name was written right there on the list.
“That man, really…!”
She’d had a strange feeling ever since he’d opposed her, and it seemed he was planning to go and help out himself.
“Why on earth…!”
She simply couldn’t understand.
Wasn’t he the one who had rejected every request for support from China until now?
What kind of change of heart had made him ignore her opinion and decide to help China?
She had already tried to speak with him to gauge his intentions, but even that had failed.
What could she do when he kept making all sorts of excuses to avoid her whenever she tried to start a conversation?
Suppressing her surging emotions, she scanned the rest of the list.
On the next page, another familiar name caught her eye.
“Kim Do-jin…”
It was a name she had expected.
Of course, expecting it didn’t lessen the shock.
More than the participation of any other A-rank Hunter, she feared Kim Do-jin joining the fight.
It was because she couldn’t fathom how his ridiculous talent might turn the tide of the war.
“Hoo.”
Han Ju-hee took a deep breath to calm her boiling emotions.
It was always like this.
Whenever she thought of the name Kim Do-jin, his tone, his expression, her heart would pound unpleasantly.
Looking at him made her feel as if she were being tested.
It was as if he were shoving something she was missing right in her face, asking, ‘Still don’t get it? Still?’
It was unpleasant, yet it made her curious, and she couldn’t let go of her interest in him.
“It would be better to just kill him… No, no.”
She had considered killing him.
Although his magical talent and knowledge were incredibly tempting, she had no doubt.
Now that she knew such a level of mastery existed, she was confident she could reach it somehow, even without Kim Do-jin’s help.
Thus, she had carefully reviewed a plan to eliminate him, an absolute eyesore.
But every time, her instincts screamed intensely.
‘You must not kill him.’
Even for her, a woman who usually made decisions based on reason rather than instinct, this was one cry she could not ignore.
It was that powerful.
It felt as if it went beyond instinct, as if her entire life, her very soul, was stopping her.
At this point, it was just frustrating.
It felt like there was nothing she could do as she pleased.
“…What should I do.”
The Chinese Black Market was a considerably important operational area within the organization.
The moment they lost it entirely, it was only natural that their great undertaking would suffer a setback.
To prevent that, she had intended to hand this entire list over to them.
If you know your enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles.
Just knowing the list of participants would be helpful in formulating some countermeasures.
But the two names, Son Si-woo and Kim Do-jin, stood in her way.
Tap. Tap.
Han Ju-hee tapped her finger on the desk, lost in thought.
Then, her gaze accidentally fell upon another familiar name written there.
“Son… Seo-yeon…?”
Son Seo-yeon.
The name of her one and only daughter.
“Ugh…!”
The moment she saw it, a wave of vertigo so immense it could daze the mind of an S-rank Hunter washed over her.
After that brief but incredibly intense moment passed, she struggled to her feet and immediately left the Magic Tower, her face hardened.
* * *
The training was nearing its end.
Seo-yeon, who had been moving more intensely than anyone and was dripping with sweat, tilted her head, stepped outside for a moment, and then returned to me with a gloomy expression.
“Hey… I’m sorry, but can I head out first?”
It looked like something had come up.
For the girl who, along with Shin Yu-jeong, always stayed the latest to train, to say she was leaving first…
“Is something wrong?”
“Yeah… No, I don’t know yet. My mom just told me to come home early.”
Even she had a look that said she had no idea why her mother was doing this.
“I think I know why.”
When I said that with a bitter smile, Seo-yeon’s eyes widened as she asked back.
“How?”
“Well… I have a hunch.”
Yes.
It was just a hunch, but I was personally certain.
“It’s probably… because of the request we took on this time.”
“That… Chinese Black Market?”
“Yes, that one.”
Not just me, but our entire guild decided to participate in this request.
Except, of course, for our two rookie juniors.
The reason?
Nothing special.
Our members’ skills had improved to the point where they desperately needed real combat experience more than training.
Plus, I remembered what Shin Yu-jeong had said while throwing a fit in the car the other day.
I had brought them along to share the burden because it was too much for me alone, but I couldn’t keep them in the back forever.
It might be a bit dangerous, but it was time for them to face real battle.
Anyway.
The reason Han Ju-hee had summoned her daughter was, nine times out of ten, because of this request.
“For a Hunter like Han Ju-hee, getting the list for this mission wouldn’t be difficult. I think she’s trying to stop you since her daughter is participating in a dangerous mission.”
“Ah…”
The girl nodded with a serious expression, as if she thought it was plausible enough.
“Then… what should I do?”
“……”
What should you do?
Why are you asking me that?
“That’s for you to figure out, Sunbae.”
“For me to figure out…?”
“She’s your mother. Whether you follow your mother’s wishes and stay quietly in Korea, or go to China to carry out a dangerous mission, is entirely your decision to make.”
I added another word to the girl, who wore a complicated expression.
“And the results or responsibilities that follow will also be yours to bear.”
I realized it recently.
That I had been raising my daughter in the wrong way.
I thought I was raising her to be independent, but watching her from the side, I saw that wasn’t the case at all.
She’s proactive in some areas, but very passive in others.
Look at her now.
Does it make any sense for her to be asking me what to do about this?
“Sunbae.”
“Yeah.”
There was some appropriate advice I could give her at a time like this.
“You said you wanted to be like your dad, right?”
“…That’s right.”
“Hunter Son Si-woo started his Hunter career at a much younger age than you, and he made all his decisions and acted on his own will.”
Of course, it wasn’t because he wanted to.
There were no adult-like adults around to tell him how to move forward, so he had only placed restrictions on himself and forced himself to make choices.
The decisions I made with those shallow, immature thoughts became poison that tormented me endlessly.
And because of that, I became that much deeper, that much stronger.
I want my daughter to move forward by choosing only the right answers, without any trial and error, but isn’t that the greatest greed a parent can have?
So, even if it’s now, I must urge her to choose.
So she can make her own choices and take responsibility for the consequences.
Well… if I can help her out a bit during that process without being too obvious, I will.
“Hunter Son Si-woo said that the trial and error of that time played a big role in making him who he is today.”
It’s true.
If I hadn’t gone through that time, I probably wouldn’t have become the person I am today.
“You and Hunter Son Si-woo already have different circumstances, so you can’t go through the exact same process… but if you truly want to follow in your father’s footsteps, I think you need to build up similar experiences… What do you think, Sunbae?”
It was a question that made one think.
Seo-yeon, who had been lost in deep thought, lifted her head after a short while.
What lay in her eyes was a fragile resolve.
It looked quite clear, but it was the kind that could be extinguished at any moment if it met a stronger will.
But for now, it was shining defiantly, as if it would never go out.
“Okay. I’ll talk to Mom.”
As I was feeling proud of my daughter, who had finally been pushed to the starting line of standing on her own two feet, she posed a question.
“But… did my dad ever say something like that…?”
Uh, um.
“It was probably in some magazine…?”
“Really…? That’s weird. I’ve seen everything my dad has ever been in, so why don’t I remember it…”
“…Is that really what’s important right now?”
“Ah, yeah… you’re right.”
“You should get going.”
“Sorry. I’ll head out first. See you tomorrow?”
“Yeah.”
Son Seo-yeon slung a sports bag over her shoulder and left in a hurry.
Phew… Mission accomplished.
As I let out a sigh of relief while watching her back, Shin Yu-jeong suddenly popped up, looking up at me with suspicious eyes.
“What were you two talking about for so long?”
“She said something came up at home and she had to leave early, so I just said I hoped it was nothing serious. Why?”
“Aha.”
“……”
If she was going to be convinced that easily, why was she suspicious in the first place?
“Training’s about to end. Shouldn’t you be heading home too?”
At my question, the girl seemed to ponder something before unnaturally shaking her head.
“Ah… I’m going to train a little more before I go. For about two hours…?”
Her awkward acting was enough to make anyone cringe.
“Just two hours! I feel like my body will be perfectly warmed up if I do a little more. Ahem.”
The clumsiness of her repeating it several times to emphasize the two hours.
“So… you can go first, okay? I’m leaving in two hours.”
I was getting tired of this.
Playing along with her awkward act.
“Alright, then. Two hours for sure, right?”
“Uh, yeah.”
Leaving the girl who insisted on working out for two more hours, I grabbed my bag and headed home.
I stopped by my rooftop room just to drop off my bag and immediately went to the apartment downstairs, where I ran into Jeong-hee, who was just leaving her front door.
“Oh my, Do-jin. I was just on my way to see you.”
She greeted me as if she were happy to see me.
“Really? What a coincidence. I was on my way down to see you too, Jeong-hee.”
“Huhu… were you?”
“Since I’m already down here, let’s hang out here instead of you coming up. Yu-jeong said she’s going to train more before coming home.”
“Let’s do that.”
I easily infiltrated her home.
Both she and I knew.
It was painfully obvious to both of us what was about to happen.
So I approached without hesitation.
“Jeong-hee.”
When I called her name softly, the other her, sleeping within, awakened.
Not the woman who cared for me like a mother, but a woman craving affection.
“Yes… Husband…♥”
I pushed her back gently as she responded with an affectionate tone, and asked, “I want to enjoy ourselves a little differently today.”
“Differently… you mean?”
I took out the item I had prepared before coming down here.
It was none other than a blindfold.
“Shall we start by putting this on?”
“Aah…♥”
Jeong-hee feigned a slight protest but obediently followed my will.
I covered her eyes, which were already gently closed, with the blindfold and led her.
Our destination was her room.
Relying on my arm, she carefully entered, and I immediately lifted her and laid her on the bed.
“Oh my…!”
Flump!
“Honestly, Husband… you startled me.”
I watched her, disheveled on the bed, before approaching and taking out another item I had prepared.
“Stay still.”
After warning her in a low tone, I immediately tied her arms and legs with a rope, securing her to the bed.
Soon, a bewildered voice followed.
“H-Husband… what is this…”
“Didn’t I tell you? I wanted to enjoy this differently.”
I continued speaking as I lightly caressed her stomach and chest, her body tied in an X-shape.
“Jeong-hee.”
“Yes…”
I’ve made up my mind.
I won’t drag this out any longer.
“Aren’t you curious… what kind of face Yu-jeong would make if she saw you like this right now?”
Tonight.
I will take both mother and daughter.