Stalking (1)
Having given up on the stalking early, I drove the car I'd parked near the station and headed home.
It was to have dinner with the girl who would be waiting for me so eagerly.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
When I arrived home and punched in the front door password, I heard the sound of rapid little footsteps racing toward me from inside.
"Dad!"
Sure enough. She greeted me with a bright, sunny smile, looking delighted to see me.
"You're home early today?"
Her thick black hair, lightly waved, was tied back in a casual style. She had a face no bigger than a fist and big, sparkling eyes that made her look just like a cute little rabbit.
My proud daughter, Han Nakyeong.
"…Work wrapped up a little early."
I couldn't exactly admit I'd taken half a day off to tail one of her classmates, so I avoided her gaze and pretended to be tired.
"You worked hard. But what's that?"
Nakyeong took my bag from me naturally and eyed the white paper bag in my other hand.
"A present."
"A present…?"
Inside was a convenience-store dessert that had been all the rage lately.
"Oh! I've been dying to try this…!"
"I figured. That's why I remembered and bought it just for you."
"Wow!"
Overjoyed, Nakyeong pressed a quick kiss to my lips, snatched the bag, and scampered off into the house.
Seeing how much she liked it, I was glad I'd bothered stopping at the convenience store. It even helped ease a little of the guilt.
"Come eat!"
"Huh. What? You already set everything out?"
After I finished showering and stepped into the living room, a table laden with so much food it looked ready to collapse greeted me.
While I'd been washing up, my thoughtful daughter had set the entire dinner table by herself.
"I hurried so I could help you."
"Hehe. I knew you would, so I finished even faster."
Nakyeong smiled in satisfaction and set a glass of cold water at my place.
I swear, no daughter in this world is more wonderful than my Nakyeong.
I really did raise one hell of a daughter.
Nakyeong, who attended the Academy—a specialized training institution—had been shopping and cooking dinner for me every single day for years now.
When she was little I'd cooked for her, so now she insisted she wanted to take care of me instead.
I'd felt bad putting that burden on a kid and suggested we just order in, but…
"No way! Why would we order food when I'm right here?"
With that strange logic—that she had to cook my meals herself—she'd completely monopolized the kitchen.
Anyone watching would have thought she was my wife.
"Thanks for the food."
"Eat lots!"
Just like always, we sat across from each other at the small table and ate.
We shared what had happened that day and traded little bits of happiness.
"I went to a client's house this afternoon. Turns out their daughter goes to the Academy too."
"Huh? Really?"
Of course I left out everything about the afternoon.
"Apparently she's a second-year. She bragged that she ranked nineteenth when she enrolled."
"Ah. Second year."
"So I almost bragged that my daughter was first, but I held it in."
"Aww, you should've just said it!"
"What if she got jealous and filed a complaint?"
"Hmm. Yeah, that makes sense."
Afterward we cleared the table together, then sat side by side on the small sofa and ate the dessert I'd bought.
"Dad. Aah."
"Mmm."
"How is it?"
"Better than I expected?"
"Then feed me now."
"You're the one holding the fork."
"Come on, feed me! I fed you!"
"Are you a baby?"
"Yep!"
"Ugh. Only when it suits you."
"Hehe."
Nakyeong had always loved clinging to me ever since she was little, and whenever we were home she stuck to me like glue.
She acted so grown-up the rest of the time, talking about supporting me and playing housewife, but moments like this made her look like nothing more than a little kid.
What a luxurious life.
Looking back, I really do think I've been living a life overflowing with blessings.
Even if getting here wasn't easy.
The year I turned seventeen, I was summoned to another world.
A world where dragons soared through the sky and elves and dwarves actually existed.
Summoned alongside a handful of other kids my age, I was given the grand title of Hero and tasked with defeating the Demon King.
Even with a goddess's blessing, facing the Demon King right away was impossible.
So we set out on an adventure to grow strong enough to challenge him…
But a bunch of hot-blooded teenagers traveling together naturally led to all sorts of problems.
At some point, I locked eyes with one of the girls.
More accurately, Kim Yubin seduced me.
Anyway. Once we became lovers, we spent years adventuring and grew even closer.
"I'm pregnant."
"What."
Maybe we'd been a little too enthusiastic, because a child was conceived right in the middle of our journey.
That child was Nakyeong.
"What am I gonna do? I already feel like I'm going to be a total girl-dad. She's so cute."
"You're not gonna cry at the wedding later, are you?"
"Nope. She's never allowed to marry anyone weaker than me."
"Whoa. You're already a girl-dad."
Once we became parents, we threw ourselves into the fight against the Demon King with everything we had.
And then…
"Yu… Yubin!!"
"You… must never forget me, okay?"
"Don't say that!! Heal her first…!"
"I love… you…."
"Yubin!!!"
I lost my wife.
Fortunately I succeeded in bringing down the Demon King. I abandoned every other reward and returned to my original world with Nakyeong.
Right back to the exact moment I'd first been dragged to the other world.
An orphan about to start high school suddenly had a child to raise.
"Daddy's going to work."
"Okay! Bye-bye!"
Becoming a parent so young, I gave up on school and started earning money right away.
Luckily, the experience I'd gained surviving in the other world helped me find my footing faster than expected.
I lived in a blur, and before I knew it twelve years had flown by, bringing me to now.
In that time I'd managed to get a rundown rental apartment on the outskirts of Seoul and a job that paid enough to get by.
And I'd raised a daughter so pretty she could have been her mother's twin.
Honestly, by most standards it was a pretty successful life.
But without my wife, my life still felt incomplete.
She had been everything to a man who had nothing.
…And yet.
As if the heavens had recognized that devoted heart of mine, they offered me an unexpected chance.
"Hero Han Dohyeon."
Last weekend morning. Nakyeong had just stepped out to buy groceries.
Sensing a presence in the living room, I came out to find a mysterious woman floating there, haloed in soft light.
I recognized her instantly as the same type of being as the Goddess of Fortune I'd met in the other world long ago.
"I need your help."
She introduced herself as the Goddess of Prosperity and said to me,
"Please guide the Hero who will stop the Demon King's resurrection."
As a former Hero, she wanted me to become the new Hero's teacher.
"Sorry. I'll pass."
Of course I had no intention of accepting.
I hadn't thrown away the sword I'd swung for ten years while being praised as the Black Knight just so I could become an artifact repairman who fixed air conditioners for a living.
I didn't want to fight anymore.
I wanted to clock in at nine, clock out at six, and enjoy quiet happiness eating dinner with my beloved daughter.
So I tried to send the goddess away…
"Look, my kid's going to be back soon. Sorry, but could you just…"
"Don't you want to see your beloved wife again?"
"…What?"
The goddess began to work her silver tongue.
"Hero Han Dohyeon. Do you still love Hero Kim Yubin?"
Why do goddesses always dig so cleverly into a person's heart?
It had been the same in the other world.
The Goddess of Fortune had dangled candy in front of a kid about to be kicked out of the orphanage and made him fight the Demon King.
This time was no different.
"The newly reincarnated Hero Kim Yubin has been chosen as the next Hero."
The answer had been decided from the start.
"If you refuse, the opportunity will go to someone else."
All I had to do was answer.
"What will you do?"
There was only one possible answer.
It was after my meeting with the Goddess of Prosperity.
"Dohyeon, where are you going?"
"Oh. Just a second."
After a quick breakfast of the pasta Nakyeong had made herself, I hurriedly got ready to go out.
I was heading out to find the reincarnation of my wife that the goddess had told me about…
"Hmm…"
Nakyeong watched me carefully as I prepared to leave, then narrowed her eyes and suddenly interrogated me.
"You're going to meet Aunt Yeonjeong, aren't you?"
"Huh?"
I flinched without meaning to.
"See? I knew it."
She clicked her tongue like a wife who'd just caught her husband sneaking out to play.
"My dad isn't the type to suddenly start fixing his hair just to go somewhere."
I felt oddly cowed.
"…I've just got some business to take care of."
"Well of course you do!"
She added that there was no reason to meet her if there wasn't business, then grilled me about when I'd be back.
She still seemed to dislike Yeonjeong.
I keep telling her we're just friends.
Choi Yeonjeong, one of my comrades from the other world, was one of the few people I still kept in touch with.
How should I put it? In modern terms, a female friend?
We'd seen each other at our absolute worst since we were kids, so now she felt as comfortable as any male friend.
That's why I think the idea that men and women can't just be friends is wrong.
Though from Nakyeong's perspective, it clearly wasn't that simple.
"I'm heading out."
"Don't you dare drink! I'll come after you!"
Fleeing from Nakyeong's fiery warning, I stepped into the old elevator and pulled out my phone.
I scrolled through my sparse contacts and sent her a message.
As an S-rank explorer, she was the busiest of all my comrades from the other world.
A studio somewhere in Gangnam, Seoul.
After fighting through the miserable traffic to reach the meeting place, I ran into an unexpected obstacle.
"Excuse me, do you have a pass?"
"Uh… no?"
"I'm sorry, but without a pass you can't enter."
I couldn't even get past the lobby, let alone meet Choi Yeonjeong.
"So, the thing is, I actually…"
I was fumbling for my phone to prove I had business inside the studio when—
"Dohyeon!"
A welcome voice rang out from deeper in the lobby.
"Hey!"
Beautifully styled long brown hair and an elegant face that radiated quiet strength.
A body with proportions so unreal they outshone even the luxury brands draped over her.
My one and only female friend, and one of the few S-rank explorers in the country—Choi Yeonjeong.
"Yeonjeong! Over here!"
"!?"
The security guard looked flustered as I waved cheerfully, then started glancing around for cues.
She strode over with a faint smile and shot the guards a sidelong look.
"…My apologies."
The security guards instantly backed down and politely cleared the way.
This is why you need good friends.
"Traffic was bad, huh?"
"You have no idea. There was even an accident in the middle of it. Ugh."
"Sorry. This shoot was booked ages ago."
"Don't apologize. I'm the one who showed up out of nowhere."
As we stepped into the elevator, Choi Yeonjeong apologized for making me come all this way and offered to buy dinner.
Whatever she treated me to would definitely be expensive food I rarely got to eat, but…
"Nah. I've got to eat with my kid at home. She said she was making kimchi stew and told me to just come back."
Unfortunately, I already had someone waiting for me.
"Right. A girl-dad never changes."
She chuckled softly, then suddenly narrowed her eyes and asked,
"So, what's going on all of a sudden?"
Why had I contacted her first for once?
"It's not like you called because you missed me… Need something?"
Her intuition really was maxed out.
"Yeah. I need a favor."
"A favor…?"
She looked puzzled as she repeated it.
The reason I'd come to see her in such a hurry was none other than…
"I need help finding someone."
I needed to find my wife's reincarnation.