Chapter 5
Translator: Roshi
Before going home, Do-yoon used Shadow to move to the department store.
“A blanket is essential.”
He planned to make the furniture himself, but a blanket was definitely necessary.
He also bought clothes and some basic groceries.
He focused on purchasing only the essentials for now.
Thanks to that, he spent all the compensation money he received, but he managed to buy everything he needed.
Deciding to buy any other necessary items later, he hurriedly headed to the hospital.
“Ajosshi!”
Hanuri, who had been waiting for him on his bed, ran to him and hugged him.
“Hehe.”
Hanuri had almost no luggage.
They could leave just like this.
“Shall we go?”
“Yep!”
Do-yoon took Hanuri's small hand.
Then he looked ahead.
“Hanuri, if you want to see your unnie, you can come anytime, okay?”
“Okay! Hehe.”
“Hanuri, don’t forget you said you’d marry the my son, alright?”
“Uh-huh, Doctor-nim. Hold it right there! Our Hanuri is already claimed as my daughter-in-law. Isn’t that right, Hanuri?”
“Who said you could decide that! Hanuri, see the hair on my head? It’s still going strong at this age. My son too...."
As the farewell celebration for Hanuri's discharge in the small hospital room began to get slightly out of hand, Do-yoon moved his Shadow.
Swoosh!
In an instant, they disappeared from the hospital room.
“They’re gone.”
“They really left.”
“The hospital’s going to feel empty.”
“But what kind of Hunter disappears just like that?”
“Who knows.”
“Why bother? As long as he’s capable of taking good care of the child, that’s what matters.”
Leaving behind the murmurs of those who would miss them, Do-yoon and Hanuri arrived at their home in Chuncheon.
“Play here for a moment.”
“Okay!”
He left Hanuri in the yard and went inside the house.
It was empty without any furniture.
The exterior looked flashy, but the inside was bare.
Now, he needed to fill it up.
After roughly estimating what he needed, he went back outside and headed toward the forest.
After the Dungeon Storm, the terrain had been influenced by the dungeon, creating forests that wouldn’t typically exist in Korea.
He looked for tall, thick trees among them.
‘They have these here, too.’
And then he found one.
A thick and long tree that could be hollowed out and turned into a house right away.
It was called Elf Wood.
It seemed to be a young tree without any spiritual essence yet.
In that case, it was in the perfect condition to be used as material.
If it had spiritual essence, the whole tree could transform into a house through communion with elves, but he didn’t have that ability.
‘I need a bed, sofa, table… and a cabin.’
The inside of the house was empty, but the yard, which he had cleared, was also barren.
It was spacious enough for Hanuri to run around, but he found it a bit dull.
‘Looks like I’ll need about two trees for that.’
There was only one Elf Wood tree.
He decided to make the furniture first and use any remaining wood to build a cabin.
Swish!
A large black sword he pulled from thin air slashed at the base of the tree.
A black line appeared, severing the tree cleanly, but it didn’t fall immediately due to the precise cut.
Thud!
Boom!!
He gave it a light kick, and only then did the massive tree come crashing down.
The young Elf Wood had a perfect combination of flexibility and strength, making it ideal for furniture.
Though it was challenging to work with, he carved the wood smoothly as if slicing through tofu.
Using his perfected swordsmanship, he handled the wood with ease.
The first thing he crafted was the bed frame.
Then he made a sofa and various tables.
‘Not bad at all.’
He tried copying things he had only seen with his eyes, and he managed to create somewhat antique-looking furniture.
Each grain of the wood was alive with detail.
Adding some personal touches, he carved little Ddugi and Chuchu figures into the corners of the furniture.
Hanuri would love it.
However, after crafting these pieces, he’d used up most of the wood, leaving him with only a small amount—not enough to make the cabin.
‘Well, that can wait until later.’
He cut the remaining wood into convenient sizes and stored them in the black space for future use.
Then he placed the completed furniture in the black space and returned to the house.
The once-empty interior was gradually being filled, piece by piece.
It finally felt like a real home.
“Ajosshi……”
Just as Do-yoon was finishing up the cleaning, Hanuri called out to him.
"What?"
"I'm hungry..."
The child clutched her rumbling stomach, looking at him with big, sparkling eyes.
How could he let something this cute go hungry?
Looking outside, it seemed like the sun would be setting soon.
"We should have dinner."
"Yeah!"
"For dinner, hmm... should we get jjajangmyeon?"
"Woaaa! Jjajangmyeon! I love it!"
Moving day called for jjajangmyeon. It wasn’t because he was feeling lazy. Not at all. And besides, Hanuri liked it too.
"Wait here a moment."
He returned to the city and found a Chinese restaurant near the hospital. He got two orders of jjajangmyeon and some tangsuyuk for takeout.
Though his slow, laid-back life seemed to be going a bit off track from the start, once he laid down some newspapers on the floor of the porch and set out the jjajangmyeon and tangsuyuk, it actually felt pretty nice.
When would they get to enjoy takeout like this again, with such fresh air and scenery?
He started by mixing Hanuri's jjajangmyeon and handed it to her.
The glossy, sauce-coated noodles looked delicious.
Slurp! Slurp!
"So yummy!"
"How yummy?"
"As much as Hanuri!"
Hanuri slurped up the jjajangmyeon he had mixed for her.
He hadn’t noticed it before because he hadn’t paid much attention, but when the child wanted to express that something was really great, she always included her own name.
And she did it with her arms, cheeks, and eyes stretched as wide as possible!
That’s why he kept asking her. Because it was so cute every time.
Hehe!
But today, that cuteness seemed to have doubled.
She was grinning, her face smeared with jjajang sauce like a little mustache.
With a small chuckle, he popped a piece of yellow pickled radish into her mouth.
As she giggled and started eating her jjajangmyeon again, he mixed his own bowl.
The sauce, which had turned from black to a glossy brown, coated the noodles enticingly.
It had gotten a bit soggy since he mixed Hanuri's noodles first, but it wasn’t bad. In fact, it might have absorbed the flavors better.
He sprinkled a bit of red pepper powder on top. A small touch, but it would add a different layer of flavor.
Slurrrrp!!
He gathered a chopstick-full of well-mixed noodles with red pepper powder and sucked them up in one big mouthful.
The sweet sauce filled his mouth.
The savory, stir-fried chunjang flavor added depth, and though slightly soggy, the noodles had their own charm when chewed.
He couldn’t taste any of wok's smoky char.
But it had that exact taste that makes you quickly tired of eating a whole bowl, yet crave it again later.
He enjoyed the faint spiciness from the red pepper powder at the end and refreshed his palate with a piece of yellow pickled radish.
Then he picked up a piece of tangsuyuk and dipped it generously in the sauce.
You could dip it in soy sauce with a pinch of salt or red pepper powder for a different taste, but for now, he stuck with this.
Crunch!
It was a good Chinese restaurant.
The batter was still crispy, and the pork was tender.
There wasn’t a hint of an off smell, just clean, mild flavors.
The sauce was well-balanced with vegetables and mushrooms, offering a sweetness that didn’t become cloying. 'This is good.'
This place, he'd probably visit again when craving jjajangmyeon and tangsuyuk again.
After a few more bites, his jjajangmyeon was all gone.
He wanted to mix some rice with the remaining jjajang sauce, along with the sweet onions and pork bits, but… he’d have to cook rice for that.
He regretted only buying raw rice in a fit of confidence about cooking, instead of getting some instant rice, too.
In the end, he just finished off the sauce.
“Ahhhh… Hanuri's stuffed. Hanuri can’t eat anymore.”
As he was finishing up, Hanuri was already lying down on the porch, her belly full and round.
It was clearly a satisfying meal.
The jjajang sauce smeared all around her mouth was proof of that.
'Well, that's one meal taken care of.'
He pushed the dishes aside, patted his own stomach, and lay down beside Hanuri.
From now on, he’d have to think about what to eat every day, but for now, he just wanted to savor this feeling.
*
The next morning.
The morning in the countryside, with nothing around, was peaceful.
He checked on the child, who was still sound asleep, then stepped outside.
The warm sunlight was gently heating up their house, which stood alone in the wide-open field.
He sat down on the porch, basking in the sunlight.
‘What should I do today?’
Then he started to think of the things he needed to get done.
There was plenty to do.
He needed to cook, and there was still a lot of furniture missing.
The yard was also quite empty.
But since none of these tasks were urgent, he decided to take his time and prioritize them leisurely.
It was a kind of freedom he couldn’t have even dreamed of in the battlefields where survival was the only priority.
‘I’d like to start by building the cabin.’
He felt a bit regretful about not being able to build the cabin yesterday.
It would be perfect to have one between the river and the house…
“I should take a look around the area.”
Since he had found Elf Wood nearby, there were likely to be more good trees around.
Today, he decided to explore deeper into the forest.
If Hanuri got bored, he could bring her along too.
‘Maybe I should get breakfast started.’
He had gotten enough sunlight, set his priorities, and decided it was time to start moving.
He went out into the yard and prepared a small fire pit.
‘A pot.’
He opened up his Shadow and searched for materials that could be used to make a pot.
Sword, axe, spear, hook, scythe… he pulled out everything that looked even remotely like metal.
But he frowned, seemingly unsatisfied.
'They're all bloodstained.'
There wasn’t a single item without bloodstains.
He didn’t want to make a pot out of these and then feed a child food cooked in it.
He started wondering if he should just go buy a pot or pan after all.
“Hm? What’s this?”
As he was rummaging through his Shadow Pocket, he picked up something unusually white among all the dull objects.
It was a piece of armor.
“Uuum… Ajosshi, whatcha doing?”
Hanuri had come outside, probably woken up by the noise he was making.
The child, her eyes barely open and hair a mess, walked over to him and hugged him right away.
“What’s all this?”
With her eyes only half open, she glanced at the armor in his hand and asked.
“A pot.”
“Huh? A pot?”
“What do you want to eat for breakfast?”
Luckily, she only noticed the unusually white piece of armor, not the other weapons scattered around.
He quickly put everything else back before she could see and asked her.
“Sausage!”
Such consistent taste.
Did she really like sausage that much?
“I’ll make sausage stir-fried with vegetables.”
“Heeng, but I don’t like vegetables…”
“All right, go wash your face first. Breakfast will be ready soon.”
“Okaay… Oh! Ddugi, Chuchu, did you sleep well?”
As soon as he set the whining Hanuri down, she immediately went over to check on Ddugi and Chuchu.
‘Glad she’s still in a good mood.’
He glanced over at the child, then turned his gaze back to the armor.
Thanks to her morning greeting with Chuchu and Ddugi, Hanuri seemed to be in high spirits, which was a relief.
He wanted to do something nice for her, but all he could do was hope she would grow up well.
For now…
Crack!
A black smoke rose from his hand and began to crush the armor, shaping it like a lump of dough.
He kneaded the armor around, molding it into the shape of a pot.
Since it was armor made from the same material, there were no foreign substances mixed in.
“All done?”
He made a lid to go with it and, after comparing it to the fire pit, smiled in satisfaction.
It was just right.
Woooong!!
The former armor vibrated, as if protesting that it had been turned into something as lowly as a pot, but he ignored it.
It was a spiritual item that had lost its owner, after all.
Being put to use out in the real world was better than nothing.
He washed some rice, put it in the pot, and placed it on the fire pit.
Now, he just had to wait for it to cook…
“Ajosshi~.”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“I’m boooored…”
Hanuri, who had done a quick wash, came out and called to him as he prepared the sausage stir-fry with vegetables.
“Play in the yard.”
“I’m bored~ I’m bored~.”
Had she already gotten tired of running around in the yard?
"Hanuri wants to see Porong!"
“Porong?”
It seemed that Hanuri wasn’t tired of playing in the yard but had something specific in mind.
Not knowing what Hanuri meant by Porong, he tilted his head in confusion.
“You don’t know Porong?”
“What kind of character is it?”
“It loves to play the most.”
What was this riddle-like statement?
The child’s words required some interpretation.
“What does it look like?”
He paused his cooking, focusing on Hanuri to figure out who or what this Porong or Purong was supposed to be.
After some questioning, he finally understood.
“So, it’s a dinosaur, right?”
“Yep! That’s right! Porong is a baby dinosaur!”
At last, he figured out Porong’s identity.
‘But where would she have seen a dinosaur?’
There was no way she saw one at the hospital, so maybe it was something she saw on TV?
At that moment, a memory of a news report he’d heard at the hospital came to mind.
-The dungeon that recently appeared in Yeouido is estimated to be A-rank, with sightings of dragon-type monsters. This makes it the sixth dungeon with dragon-type monsters discovered, following the U.S., China, Japan, Germany, and Canada…
A dragon-type monster.
Could that be similar to the Porong Hanuri was talking about?
After all, both were dinosaurs in a sense.
It seemed likely that Hanuri had seen it and decided to name it, just like she did with Ddugi and Chuchu.
“Let’s eat breakfast and then go see it.”
“Huh? Really? We’re really going to see Porong?”
He nodded at Hanuri, whose eyes had grown wide with excitement.
*****
Translator's Note:
Hello, I'm Roshi, and I will be translating this novel from now on. I plan to release around 3 chapters each week, so feel free to let me know if you find any errors or issues here in comments or on Discord. Thanks!