A Little Secret Hunter
The restaurant grew quiet once the customers left.
But this peaceful lull was merely preparation for the busy times ahead.
Jungwoo hadn't overheard the conversation between the two guests who had just left. That was because he'd been on the phone at the time.
The call had been from the management office at the Hunter Shopping District, letting him know that the stall was fully prepared.
The person in charge had even offered to promote it for him, but Jungwoo politely declined. He wasn't lacking in confidence. On the contrary, it was precisely because he was so confident in his food that he turned down excessive promotion.
Besides, although the preparations were solid, this would be his first time selling lunchboxes from a street stall. There were bound to be shortcomings, things he hadn't thought of yet. If too many customers showed up in that state, he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it properly.
“Seia.”
“……”
He called her name, but to his surprise, there was no answer. That had never happened before—not even once.
Well, except when she was asleep.
Wondering what she was up to, he found her clutching the magic stone in her tiny hand, staring at it with fierce concentration.
Leaving Seia in that state of perfect focus, Jungwoo moved carefully, stepping as silently as the cat she loved so much. Little by little. But with clear purpose, he circled around until he was standing directly behind her.
Oblivious to her father watching from above, Seia never once looked away from the sparkling magic stone. She squeezed it tightly, closed her eyes, and seemed to be trying something.
“Lee Seia!”
He called her full name and placed both hands firmly on her shoulders. Seia's startled reaction was utterly adorable.
“H-hyung!”
“Haha. You were really focused, huh?”
“I'm gonna show Daddy my magic!”
Seia hadn't said anything earlier, but he'd already guessed. She probably couldn't produce anything as flashy or perfect as what Yuhyeon had demonstrated. She hadn't realized that right away, though. She'd only come to understand it a short while ago, while he was processing the card payment.
The very important truth that doing something for the first time is always difficult.
I have to show Daddy something pretty!
That was Seia's firm resolution.
She wanted to recreate exactly what Yuhyeon had shown them.
“But Seia.”
“Yesss?”
“From now on, we'll have to do some work outside the restaurant too.”
“Outside… work?”
Seia's expression darkened in an instant.
Although Jungwoo had taken her along to the shopping district last time, she didn't know the details of what he was planning. The explanations had been too difficult for her to understand, and not very interesting for a child. So she had no idea about the stall business, which made this sudden news to her.
“Yeah. We'll go out for a little while, about twice a day.”
“Then… what about Seia…?”
“Hm?”
Her eyes were already beginning to sparkle more than usual. He'd wondered why her mood had suddenly plummeted so dramatically. It seemed Seia had assumed he was going to leave her behind at home or in the restaurant.
She's so cute…
A memory from the past suddenly surfaced.
Seia was still little now, but when she'd been even smaller, whenever Jungwoo left the house for even a moment, she would burst into tears immediately. These days they weren't apart for even an hour out of twenty-four, so seeing her like this was quite rare.
Maybe because her eyes were so big, they seemed to sparkle even more brightly.
“What's wrong, Seia?”
Perhaps because of that, a mischievous impulse suddenly rose in him. That strange urge that comes when you see something adorable—the urge to squeeze it, to break something, that impulsive feeling. Research had proven it was a real psychological response. The desire to pinch the cheeks of babies, kittens, or puppies. It was called cute aggression.
In truth, he felt that way every time he looked at Seia. The urge to pinch her cheeks, to hug her tight. He never acted on it, of course, because it would hurt her. It was simply his way of releasing that aggression.
Looking at Seia like this, on the verge of tears.
“Seia… Seia wants…”
What was she trying to say?
The eyes he'd thought were sparkling more than usual had grown misty. If this continued, those sparkles would soon spill over.
“Do you want to stay with Daddy?”
Correct.
But he was a little late in saying it. Having already convinced herself she wouldn't be allowed to go with him, a few of those sparkles had already slid down Seia's cheeks.
Still, she didn't ignore her father's question. Determined not to cry, her tightly pressed lips seemed to be holding back the sobs threatening to burst out. Instead of speaking, she answered by nodding her head.
Jungwoo gently stroked her hair and said, “Of course you're coming with me. Did you think Daddy didn't want to take you?”
“Nooo! Not at all!”
“Right? Even if you said you didn't want to go, Daddy would take you anyway.”
“Hehe. I like it all!”
Even with misty eyes, Seia broke into a bright, bashful smile. Jungwoo tenderly wiped her eyes and gave her a simple explanation of what they would be doing.
“We'll be selling lunchboxes.”
“Is it today's menu?”
“You remembered? That's right. But instead of selling them at the restaurant, we'll be selling them somewhere else.”
“Where?”
“Want to guess? The answer is a place we've been to before.”
“The place Daddy and Seia went to?”
“Yep. Think about the most recent place we visited. That should give you the answer.”
“Umm…”
Seia fell into deep thought.
It was true that since opening the restaurant, they'd been going out much more than before. Previously, their world had been limited to the convenience store or supermarket right in front of their house. Now they visited bustling streets and the Hunter Shopping District.
“Cake workshop!”
“What's the answer?!”
“Cake workshop?!”
Was she talking about the workshop where they'd made the cake? The way her eyes lit up, she seemed quite confident it was the right answer.
“Why?”
“Because cake is for eating!”
“Oh, that's true. And then?”
It was a small mistake that could have been overlooked. But whether or not there was a reason behind it made a big difference. It didn't matter if the reason was absurd. What mattered was that there was a reason at all.
Even in these small moments, Jungwoo hoped Seia was learning something.
“Why do you think that, Seia?”
“Cake is yummy. And Daddy's food is yummy too.”
“Oho…”
“So we can eat cake and Daddy's lunchbox together!”
Looking at her hopeful expression, it seemed her answer carried quite a lot of her own wishes. But that was fine. If you interpreted her words carefully, she'd connected the idea that they'd sold delicious cake at the cake workshop, so selling delicious food must be the common point. It was actually a reasonable guess.
…That's solid!
He hadn't been expecting the answer “stall” from the question. As long as she gave a response with a proper reason like this, he would be more than satisfied. And her very first answer had been incredibly pleasing.
That made him curious about her next guess too.
“Unfortunately, that's not it.”
“Hiiing…”
“But we can't just stop because it's wrong, right?”
“Then… bank!”
The answer came much faster than he'd expected. That meant there had to be a reason to follow it.
“Shall we hear your reason?”
“The bank has lots of money! So they can buy this many of Daddy's lunchboxes!”
He was genuinely impressed.
It had been quite a while since they'd visited the bank. It was the day right after Seong Ye-eun first came to the restaurant. They hadn't gone back since, and there hadn't been any need to.
He'd originally planned to go as soon as cash came in, but more people than expected were still paying with cash these days. Since this wasn't a franchise but a small independent business, he'd decided to collect everything at the end of the month and go then.
Our Seia… is she actually a genius?
It meant she didn't see the restaurant as simply a place that gave out food. She understood that they received fair compensation in return.
“You thought the bank has a lot of money so they'd buy lots of lunchboxes?”
“Yesss. Was that right?”
This time, Seia looked a little less confident than before. Seeing those earnest eyes, he wanted to shout the correct answer right away, but he couldn't.
“Unfortunately… wrong!”
He put extra emphasis on the word “wrong.” It gave him a strange sense of satisfaction, for some reason.
“Hmph. None of them were right!”
He'd seen Seia on the verge of tears many times, but this was his first time seeing her sulk like this. Her puffed-out cheeks were actively broadcasting, “I'm mad!”
“Haha. But Seia, your reasoning was really good. Daddy was genuinely surprised.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. Just because it wasn't the answer doesn't mean your thinking was wrong, Seia.”
“Not the answer but not wrong?”
It seemed she still found the concept difficult to understand.
“You'll understand someday. Now, what's your next guess? I'm getting even more curious.”
At that, Seia put on her sulky face again. Suppressing a chuckle that threatened to escape, Jungwoo waited patiently for her answer.
“Hmph! I don't know!”
He had never teased her like this before. So this reaction from Seia was new to him too.
This could become addictive if he wasn't careful.
It was an adorably smile-inducing sight, but it had one fatal flaw: Seia had to be thoroughly sulking first. She'd already whipped her head around, and even from behind, her cheeks were clearly visible. Because they were so puffed up, they looked even more prominent. He barely managed to stop himself from reaching out to poke those plump cheeks. If he did, she'd probably get even more upset.
“Then should Daddy give you a hint?”
“A hint…?”
She hadn't turned back yet, but her puffed cheeks had deflated just a little.
“Yeah. Where did we see the circus?”
“Umm… what was it again…”
She seemed to remember the place but not the name. The words “Hunter Shopping District” probably wouldn't come easily to her.
“Some kind of street!”
“Oh, that's right. It's the Hunter Shopping District street.”
“Hunter?”
“Yes. The people Seia calls wizards are called hunters.”
“What are hunters?”
“People who use all kinds of magic.”
“Huh? Then is Seia one too?”
Her earlier sulk seemed to have completely melted away. Seia turned back to look at him, her eyes full of anticipation. It looked like she thought that since she could use magic, she must be a hunter too.
“Seia is a secret hunter for now.”
“Secret… hunter?”
“A hunter that other people aren't allowed to know about. The uncle from earlier told you that too, right?”
“That's right. The uncle said that too.”
“It's a secret from other people, okay?”
“…Yesss! Seia is a secret wizard!”
That was enough. Hopefully no one else would find out about it in the future.
“Our Seia isn't sulking anymore, right?”
“…I don't know!”
Maybe she thought it had been resolved too easily? Seia whipped her head around again. Still, her cheeks weren't puffed up anymore, so she didn't really look angry.
I should probably comfort her anyway.
Seia was Jungwoo's daughter, after all. He knew exactly what she liked.
“Hmm, then I guess we'll have to eat a little later.”
“…Rice…?”
“Yeah. Rice.”
At the single word “rice,” Seia immediately broke into a bright smile.
“Hehe. Yummy rice.”
“Haha. That's right. Let's eat something delicious.”