Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 163

Dinner tonight was fried rice. Diced carrots, onions, and shrimp were stir-fried together in olive oil. There weren’t any special meat dishes, but the seasoning was perfect, and thanks to Yoon-Hee’s exceptional cooking skills, Yong-Yong was already on his third bowl.

However, Byeol only ate about half of her usual portion. After setting her kid’s spoon down on the table, she closed her eyes, clasped her hands together, bowed slightly, and said, “Thank you for the meal,” before getting up. This was her way of signaling that she was finished with her meal.

Looking at Byeol’s half-eaten bowl, Yoon-Hee asked softly, “Did you not like it?”

“I did! It was yummy,” Byeol replied with a smile.

“Then why did you leave so much?”

“Because today’s the day I go to the store.”

It was Wednesday. Today’s date was circled on Byeol’s personal calendar, which featured a cute illustration of a chick. Finally, Yoon-Hee understood why Byeol had eaten less than usual and smiled faintly.

Byeol opened the second drawer beneath the TV stand. Inside were two wallets she cherished dearly—one with a chick print and the other with a bear. After pondering for a moment about which wallet to take, she eventually chose the one with the chick print.

“Are you going to buy chocolate bread?” Do-Jun asked her.

Byeol shook her head and replied, “I’m going to eat worm. Do you know worm, Daddy?”

She likely wasn’t talking about worms crawling on the ground. Do-Jun tilted his head in confusion while Byeol grinned, recalling the commercial she had seen earlier on TV. It was for colorful gummy worms that wiggled in your mouth and were so sweet they could send you to heaven.

“If you eat it, you go to heaven,” Byeol explained.

Do-Jun chuckled. “Sounds interesting.”

***

Byeol left the house on her own with eight hundred won in hand. Not long ago, the thought of her going out alone would have seemed absurd. However, she had now grown familiar enough with their neighborhood that, even at night, Yoon-Hee no longer worried too much about her going to the store alone.

“Huh?” Byeol tilted her head in confusion upon seeing that the store's lights, which always illuminated the night street, were dark today. The sliding doors, which should have been wide open, were firmly shut.

Byeol circled the store, inspecting it. “Gwanny not here today?”

However, Byeol wasn’t discouraged. The store would still be there tomorrow, after all.

***

The next day, after dinner, Byeol and Yong-Yong stopped by the store again. Just like the previous day, they found the doors tightly shut, and the store was dark.

“What’s going on?” Byeol stared blankly, disbelief evident on her face.

The chick wallet in her hand trembled. The store had never missed a single day of operation, not Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or any other day of the week. Yet now, it hadn’t opened for two days straight!

“Am I dreaming?” Byeol muttered.

“A dream? Aha!” Yong-Yong pinched his cheek with his paw. It didn’t hurt much, but there was a slight twinge of pain.

Yong-Yong let out a disappointed laugh, then knocked firmly on the sliding door of the store, shouting, “Hey, Granny, isn’t this prank going a bit too far?”

After about a minute of knocking, Yong-Yong realized there was no response from inside. The smile he had been forcing gradually faded, and he stopped knocking.

“G-Grandma?”

***

“Huh?” Yoon-Hee looked up from the dishes in the sink to see Yong-Yong and Byeol as they returned home.

Usually, when they came back from the store, they would be holding something to eat, laughing, and running into the living room. Yet, today, their hands were empty, and their expressions were grim.

“Didn’t you go to the store?” Yoon-Hee asked, tilting her head.

“We did...” Byeol answered.

“Then why do you look so down?”

“The store wasn’t open today. It wasn’t open yesterday, either...”

“That’s strange. She usually opens every day,” Yoon-Hee commented.

Byeol seemed deeply disappointed, especially since she had been looking forward to trying the new gummy worms she had seen in the commercial. Sensing this, Yoon-Hee knelt down slightly to stroke Byeol’s head, trying to comfort her.

“Want me to go to the convenience store and get some gummy worms for you?”

Byeol didn’t respond. In truth, she was less concerned about the gummy worms and more worried that the store might never reopen. She didn’t want to lose the kind grandmother who always greeted her warmly at this time of day.

Sitting at the dining table with a book, Do-Jun observed the dejected expressions on Yong-Yong and Byeol’s faces. As Yoon-Hee said, it was unusual for the store to skip even one day, let alone two.

***

The next day, Do-Jun left home an hour earlier than usual. He headed to the security office at the entrance of the villa complex. He knocked on the door, and the elderly security guard inside, who was listening to the radio, stood up at the sound and opened the door.

“Yes, how can I help you?”

“Good morning. I have a question. The Changshin Supermarket hasn’t opened recently—do you happen to know why?”

“Ah, you didn’t hear what happened to Mrs. Kim? She was taken to the hospital a few days ago. I think she’s still there. When I went to visit, the doctor told me that things aren’t looking too good.”

“Does she have a serious illness?” Do-Jun asked.

“I don’t know the specifics. The thing is, she lives alone, with no family to support her. I don’t know how she’s going to manage the hospital bills.”

“I see... Do you know which hospital she’s at?”

“The St. Mary’s Hospital in Banpo-dong. But why do you ask...?”

Do-Jun gave a slight nod and thanked the guard.

***

Do-Jun decided to take a day off work to visit Kim Ok-Soon, the owner of Changshin Supermarket, at St. Mary’s Hospital. When he visited her room, he saw her lying in the hospital bed.

The doctor explained her condition. “She’s quite elderly, and her health wasn’t great to begin with. While modern medical science could normally restore someone in her condition, the issue here is that Mrs. Kim suffers from complications due to Status Window maladaptation. If this had been caught earlier, it wouldn’t have deteriorated to this extent... but it’s quite late now.”

Ten years ago, when Fissures first appeared, Status Windows manifested worldwide. For most, the Status Window was seen as a blessing, but for some, whose bodies rejected it, it became a curse. It drained physical abilities, caused nerve degeneration and chronic pain, and, if left untreated, could ultimately lead to death.

This was called Status Window maladaptation.

In fact, it was already a miracle that Kim Ok-Soon had endured this long.

“She must’ve been in great pain. Why didn’t she come earlier...?” The doctor clicked his tongue regretfully.

Do-Jun looked down at the frail figure of Kim Ok-Soon, who had become noticeably thinner in just a few days. According to the security guard, Mrs. Kim lived alone, with no family. She had tirelessly run her neighborhood store every day for the sake of the local residents and children. Her hands, which once gave out free snacks to children who couldn’t afford them, were now withered and emaciated.

“Is there no way to help? A healer, or perhaps mana stone-based treatments?” Do-Jun asked the doctor.

“We’ve considered those options, but... her complications are too severe. The chances of recovery are almost nonexistent unless you have an Elixir. Of course, that’s assuming it even exists.”

The Elixir was a legendary medicine said to revive even the dead. It existed only in myths, and no one could verify its existence.

According to legends, it could be found in an S-rank Great Fissure at the peak of Seoraksan Mountain. However, countless Hunters who sought the Elixir never returned. Even two years ago, when S-rank Hunters—including Behemoth—formed an expedition team to explore the Fissure, they couldn’t make it past the initial entry zone and had to withdraw.

Since the S-rank Great Fissure at Seoraksan Mountain didn’t trigger any Breakout events where monsters spilled into the outside world, the Hunter’s Bureau simply declared it a restricted area and prohibited access. Whether the Elixir truly existed there or was just a myth remained unknown.

“Thank you. I’ll be back soon,” Do-Jun said and left.

The automatic door of the single-patient ICU room slid open. The doctor adjusted his glasses as he watched Do-Jun leave. Initially, Kim Ok-Soon had been admitted to the cheapest ICU, which was shared by six patients. Even that had accrued unpaid bills.

“He said they’re just neighbors...” the doctor muttered, curious.

At least, that’s what this man, Lee Do-Jun, had said. Yet, he had not only cleared all her overdue hospital bills but also requested that she be moved to a private room, all expenses paid by him.

***

As Do-Jun exited the taxi that had stopped at Seoraksan Mountain National Park, he looked up toward Daechongbong Peak.

The taxi driver glanced at Do-Jun’s typical office attire through the window and let out a bemused chuckle. Who hikes without the right gear? Furthermore, the black leather briefcase Do-Jun carried, reminiscent of James Bond's, caught the driver’s attention.

With a nod of understanding, the driver muttered to himself, “Ah, a Hunter.”

It wasn’t uncommon for Hunters to visit. Occasionally, those seeking the legendary Elixir at the S-rank Great Fissure atop Daechongbong would try their luck, hoping to strike it rich.

***

Do-Jun’s figure vanished. With a single leap, he reached the peak of Daechongbong using Heavenly Demon’s Steps. Standing at the summit, he looked impassively at the vast Fissure that stretched toward the sky, surrounded by a transparent barrier.

As he moved closer, a holographic warning message appeared in front of him, accompanied by a beeping alert.

[Restricted Area]

Do-Jun pulled out his civil servant ID from his suit pocket but hesitated. Instead, he retrieved his Hunter ID card.

[Hunter Kim Hyun-Woo confirmed.]

[Warning! The difficulty of the Fissure is too high for your Hunter rank. If you still wish to enter, please tap your card once more.]

***

“Hah... What’s this guy doing?”

In the operations room of the Hunter’s Bureau, an employee monitoring a screen frowned as a notification appeared, indicating that someone had entered the S-rank Great Fissure at Daechongbong.

[Kim Hyun-Woo, Hunter, F-rank]

“An F-rank... People come up with such creative ways to die,” the employee lamented.

“What’s going on?” A senior employee rolled their chair over.

“An F-rank just entered the unexplored Great Fissure at Daechongbong.”

“Whatever. What’s their name?”

“Kim Hyun-Woo.”

The senior sighed. “If he wants to walk to his death, let him... Wait a second.”

The name Kim Hyun-Woo sounded familiar. After a moment of thought, the senior remembered where they had heard it. A few months ago, in the A-rank Great Fissure known as the Dark Ogre’s Swamp, this same F-rank Hunter had survived. According to reports, he had been saved by members of the Mejai Guild.

Even then, the logs confirmed that Kim Hyun-Woo had entered the Fissure alone before the others.

“You know...,” the senior muttered.

“Yes, sir?”

“Do you think this guy’s really an F-rank...?”

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