# 030. The King’s Arrival (1)
“Jaehee, how are you feeling? Are you sure you don’t need to go to the hospital?”
“Yes, I’m fine. But when should I pick up Yeong-i?”
“They said they’ll bring her home from daycare today. I’m really sorry for asking you to look after Yeong-i when you’re not feeling well.”
“It’s no problem.”
His stepmother believed Jaehee’s injuries were real. Because of this, she had prepared all sorts of nutritious foods and was taking care of him in various ways. Later, he felt too embarrassed to admit that he had feigned illness to avoid troublesome tasks. So whenever he saw his stepmother’s worried face, his conscience pricked him.
But today, his stepmother had asked him to look after Yeong-i. She carefully asked if he could watch her while she attended a gathering with friends. Since Jaehee felt guilty toward his stepmother and had also been looking for an opportunity to be alone with Yeong-i, he agreed to watch her for the day.
“My body is fine now. Shouldn’t you be leaving? Don’t worry about Yeong-i. I’ll take good care of her.”
“Haah, no matter how I think about it, there’s no suitable place to leave Yeong-i… She follows her oppa well, so she won’t be too much trouble. I’m so fortunate that Yeong-i has such a reliable oppa. Anyway, I’ll be back quickly, so please take care of her. If you think of anything you want to eat, text me. Thank you so much.”
His stepmother was a sensitive person who had hardly slept properly since the monsters appeared. However, since Jaehee became an Awakened One, she had become much more stable. Especially after hearing that Jaehee and Jeongwoo had conquered an A-rank dungeon, she had come to rely on Jaehee a lot.
The people from groups A and B who had entered the practice dungeon had risen to stardom after their return. The sudden change of the dungeon from D-rank to A-rank with no casualties or major injuries was called a miracle.
Moreover, as it became known that Jeongwoo and Jaehee had led the dungeon conquest, the two were receiving fervent attention from the Management Bureau and the media. Jaehee consistently responded to all questions by saying he had been injured and couldn’t remember.
“Jaehee, I’m really leaving now. Yeong-i’s snacks are on the table, so just give her those, and if anything happens, call me. Even if Yeong-i is troublesome, please just watch her for today. I’m counting on you.”
“Yes, don’t worry and have a good time.”
“Oh, Jaehee.”
“Yes?”
His stepmother, who was just opening the front door to leave, suddenly turned back to look at Jaehee. Dressed up and wearing makeup for the first time in a while, she looked quite pretty and radiant.
“Thank you for being so patient with me despite my shortcomings. I haven’t said it before, but I’m very grateful that you’ve been taking good care of Yeong-i. When other people talk about having teenage sons, they often complain, but I’ve never found you difficult, Jaehee. I may not be the most reliable mother, but I’ll do my best. S-so, I’m going now!”
Having said all that, his stepmother seemed to feel embarrassed and hurried out. Jaehee awkwardly scratched his head. His heart felt ticklish, and it was as if something was stuck in his throat. He was confused whether this feeling was uncomfortable or simply ticklish.
Suddenly, he thought of his mother. Over the image of his brightly adorned stepmother, he saw his gloomy, depressed mother. After that, his chest felt tight, and Jaehee consciously tried to forget it.
* * *
“Oppa!”
Dressed in forsythia-yellow clothes, Yeong-i toddled toward him. When Jaehee smiled and spread his arms, she ran faster and threw herself into his embrace.
“Did Yeong-i have a good day at daycare? You know we’ll be alone today, right?”
“Yeah!”
“Should Yeong-i have a snack? Let’s wash our hands first and then have a snack!”
“Okay!”
Jeongwoo had been away since they left the dungeon.
Taking the child’s soft hand, his cluttered mind surprisingly cleared. As he took out the snacks his stepmother had prepared for Yeong-i, Jaehee wondered how to start the conversation with her.
King.
In truth, there had been plenty of opportunities to ask Yeong-i about it before. He had several chances but couldn’t speak because he hadn’t decided whether to accept Yeong-i as his subject or not. At first, he thought he might just accept Yeong-i alone as his subject and pretend not to know about anything else. But recalling the visions he’d seen in the dungeon, he couldn’t take the title of King lightly.
It was clear that this planet needed a King.
But Jaehee wasn’t sure if he should be the one to become King.
Who was he to assume such a position? Would it be something he could handle?
“Oppa! Give me cookies!”
“Yeong-i, come here. Let’s sit down and eat.”
The chain of thoughts was broken by Yeong-i, who was stretching out her tiny hands. Jaehee sat her in his chair and offered the snacks and Yeong-i’s fork that his stepmother had prepared. Excited to see her favorite snack, Yeong-i frantically swung her feet back and forth.
“Yeong-i, oppa has something to ask you.”
“Yeah! This, this is delicious! I like it!”
When Yeong-i had eaten about half her snack, Jaehee carefully opened his mouth. Yeong-i briefly looked up at Jaehee, then nodded enthusiastically. With her face covered in snacks and singing a song, she didn’t seem to be listening properly.
“Um, Yeong-i, just a moment. This is a very important conversation.”
“Yeah! Yeah! Tell me! Yeong-i likes oppa too!”
“Haah, so Yeong-i, you called oppa a King before. Do you remember?”
“Yeah. Oppa is a King, right?”
Jaehee was left speechless by Yeong-i’s matter-of-fact response. Looking into her clear, dark eyes, his mouth went dry.
“Um, yes. But how did Yeong-i know oppa is a King? It’s a secret. No one knows.”
“Ah… The other oppa taught me.”
“The other oppa? Jeongwoo?”
“No? Not Jeongwoo oppa. Another oppa. Ah!”
With cheeks puffed full of snacks, Yeong-i suddenly covered her mouth with her hand. Then she looked at Jaehee with round eyes, checking his reaction.
“Hmm? Why? Yeong-i, why are you doing that?”
“Umm… I’m not supposed to tell…”
Jaehee gently coaxed Yeong-i, who was chewing her food while glancing around nervously.
“You know, there’s this pretty oppa, this pretty oppa, and the pretty oppa went ‘shh’…”
“Another oppa besides me and Jeongwoo?”
“Yeah! Jeongwoo oppa went home. His house.”
Jaehee felt increasingly confused by Yeong-i’s words. Jeongwoo had been away since they left the dungeon, saying he needed to visit his home. Yeong-i’s accurate knowledge of this made Jaehee even more curious about who she was referring to as the “pretty oppa.” Yeong-i seemed excited again, swinging her legs and waving her fork around as she continued to speak.
“The pretty oppa told me. He said oppa is a King. He said if I stay with oppa, scary things can’t come, that’s what he said.”
“What?”
Jaehee suddenly felt strange. At first glance, it seemed like the child was just saying random things, but somehow it didn’t feel that way, so he looked at Yeong-i again.
“Yeong-i… You…”
“Oppa will protect everything! Oppa will win everything!”
Suddenly, at the edge of Jaehee’s vision, he saw a flashing notification window.
[Minor Sovereign. Shin Yeong-i has chosen you as King. Will you accept Shin Yeong-i as your subject?]
He looked back and forth between the flashing red text and Yeong-i. Now he couldn’t say that Yeong-i’s choice was a mistake or a coincidence. Though Yeong-i’s expressions were simple, it was clear that she had made a deliberate choice based on some knowledge. Jaehee’s head throbbed.
Just then, his phone rang loudly. It was Section Chief Lim Yong-tae from the Awakened Management Bureau.
“Yeong-i, just a moment. Hello?”
– Hello, Jaehee-ssi. This is Section Chief Lim Yong-tae.
“Yes, hello, Section Chief.”
– Jaehee-ssi, have you been well? This isn’t about anything else, but you need to submit your practice dungeon conquest report today. Could you come to the Management Bureau today? Everyone else has finished theirs, and only yours is left.
Ah…! That’s right. The conquest report! He remembered that Jeongwoo had asked him to go together before, but he had put it off, saying he would do it later when he visited the Management Bureau, finding it bothersome.
– Jaehee-ssi, this really needs to be completed today. I’ve been trying to contact you. Have you been very busy?
Jaehee looked at Yeong-i, who was swinging her pigtails in her yellow dress, and sighed. But there was no choice.
“Um, Section Chief. I’m currently looking after my little sister, so would it be okay if I bring a child with me?”
Realizing they were talking about her, Yeong-i suddenly raised her head and looked at Jaehee.
