Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 83

“I heard you are here today because of the physical enhancements of the Hunters under your care,” Young-Chul said.

Do-Jun had somewhat expected this to happen, but he didn’t expect the Hunter’s Bureau to be so blatant about it.

Surely, they already knew he wouldn’t like such a performance.

The fact that they were putting on this grand show regardless of Do-Jun’s taste was their way of expressing their stance: Stop hiding and come out already.

Their vague comment during Behemoth Guild’s press conference a few days ago, which mentioned the efficient collaboration with Seoul City Hall’s Fissure Management Division as one of the factors of the Bureau’s success, was also one of their silent messages to Do-Jun.

I see what you people are trying to do, Do-Jun thought, but he didn’t necessarily dislike it.

When he thought about how desperate they must have been to go through with this, even at the risk of being disliked, he found it kind of endearing.

Besides, he had entered through the front gate with the contracted Hunters to put a little pressure on them, knowing full well that the prominent Bureau officials were stationed there. After all, staff like Cheol-Soo and Hyuk-Soo from the Fissure Management Division found their Hunters too intimidating, and sometimes their behavior crossed the line.

“Well, yes. My senior had other work today, so I’m filling in. But... are the people next to you all employees? I don’t think I’ve met them before,” Do-Jun said.

“Yes, they are our executive directors. This is Mr. Lee Choon-Goo, who is in charge of audits, and Mr. Park Jung-Ryul, who is in charge of planning...” Young-Chul stepped forward and introduced the executives.

The people introduced cautiously approached Do-Jun, revealing their names and positions, bowing deeply as they extended their hands for a handshake.

Do-Jun naturally accepted their handshake without showing any fluster or hesitation in reciprocation. Acting subservient was never in his mind, as he knew they would have wanted that.

However, Do-Jun decided to give a small warning of his own to prevent the Bureau from pulling such stunts again in the future.

After shaking hands with the executives, Do-Jun was again standing in front of Young-Chul to shake his hand. During the handshake, Do-Jun applied a little pressure—just a tiny bit.

Crack!

“Keugh.” Young-Chul grimaced, letting out a groan of discomfort.

“Thank you so much for this... this warm welcome today, Chief Jung.”

“H-haha, n-no need for such words...”

“I know you’re a wise man, Chief. I trust you won’t make any self-sabotaging moves next time,” Do-Jun said with a smile.

Though Do-Jun was smiling, sweat was pouring down Young-Chul’s back.

***

The physical enhancements for all the contracted Hunters were completed in around two hours.

The Hunters stood rigidly in the enhancement waiting room, not chatting at all, and remained silent while Do-Jun reviewed the reports each Hunter had submitted and recorded their data individually in the Physical Enhancement Result Sheet.

“Hunter Ahn Young-Kook,” Do-Jun called out a Hunter.

“Y-yes!” The E-rank Hunter, Ahn Young-Kook, jumped to his feet and walked toward Do-Jun.

His stride was like that of a recruit during military training, and his expression was tense as he stood in front of Do-Jun at attention.

“Your mana absorption rate has improved since last month. Congratulations.”

This month, Ahn Young-Kook’s mana absorption increased from 5 to 7 using the same C-rank mana stone provided by the Fissure Management Division for physical enhancement.

Considering that absorption amounts rarely changed, it was definitely something to be congratulated for.

“T-thank you!”

Do-Jun chuckled as he observed Ahn Young-Kook, who stood rigidly, like a nervous private in front of a general.

Since the incident in the central hall on the first floor two hours ago, the attitudes of the contracted Hunters had completely changed. That was undoubtedly thanks to Behemoth Guild’s Jun-Yeol.

As Do-Jun headed up to the Chief’s office, he had asked the Spear King, Jun-Yeol, to guide the contracted Hunters, and Jun-Yeol gladly accepted his request.

Jun-Yeol escorted the Hunters to the enhancement room. Then, recalling the time Do-Jun taught him a lesson, he left the Hunters with a parting remark full of pity before departing.

“Know your levels. Don’t act up and regret it later like someone... You’d better treat him with utmost care and sincerity. He could literally delete hundreds of small fries like you in the blink of an eye with just a snap of his fingers.”

Once Do-Jun had finished recording the physical enhancement data for each Hunter, he packed the document folder into his briefcase and addressed the Hunters.

“If I recall correctly, you told me that taking the subway was a pain for most of you. So, I’d like to offer to cover your taxi fare. Is anyone interested? By the way, this will be out of my own pocket.”

Who would dare raise their hand?

Moreover, he offered to pay from his own pocket, not the public budget. Anyone with half a brain would understand that Do-Jun’s message was loud and clear.

“No one? Then let’s take the subway back.”

He was telling them to shut their mouths and just take the subway.

***

A day at the Hunter Academy came to an end at around 4 PM.

The Academy students were split into two groups: those who lived on campus and those who did not.

From the first to third year, the Hunter Academy system divided students into six classes—A to F—based on their grades.

Generally, once a student reached the upper ranks, like Class B, getting into the dorms was almost a given, and as would be expected, most Class B students lived in the dorms.

However, Yoon-Hee commuted from home instead of applying for a room on campus.

“Is it just me, or does Yoon-Hee seem to be in a really good mood whenever 4 o'clock comes around?” Jin-Soo murmured as he watched Yoon-Hee hum a tune while packing her things.

Hye-Jung, who sat next to him, shrugged as if it were obvious and replied, “Of course, she’s in a good mood. School’s done, and she’s going home. Are you an idiot?”

“Woah, I know that! But, like, she seems extra happy. And every time we ask her to hang out with us, she says she has to get home quickly.”

Jin-Soo and Hye-Jung both lived in the dorm, which, unlike college or high school dorms, didn’t have a curfew.

The city area, with its great restaurants, theaters, and entertainment, was only fifteen minutes away by foot, and the academy grounds even provided plenty of facilities for training and studying.

With all these amenities, it would be strange for any student to turn down an opportunity to live on campus.

“It must be tiring to commute two hours every day,” Jin-Soo said.

“Yeah, waking up early must be tough,” Hye-Jung replied half-heartedly.

Overlooking the careless response, Jin-Soo added with a sigh, “How nice would it be if Yoon-Hee lived in the dorms too?”

“Hmm.”

Hye-Jung knew well that Jin-Soo liked Yoon-Hee. In fact, not only he but most of the boys in Class B secretly admired her. However, because Jin-Soo from the GI Group made it the most obvious, most of them kept their feelings to themselves.

“Should we go over to Yoon-Hee’s house today?” Hye-Jung stood up and suggested.

Jin-Soo jumped up in surprise and tried to stop her, worried that they might be rejected or become a burden, but Hye-Jung paid no attention.

“I’m just going to ask, dumbass.”

***

Should I try making king oyster mushroom rice for dinner tonight? Yoon-Hee pondered as she packed her things to leave school. She was looking at the 100 Best Housewife Recipes book she had bought from the local bookstore a week ago.

Although she changed side dishes every day, she always served plain rice, so she thought it was time to add some variety.

What caught her eye was king oyster mushroom rice. King oyster mushrooms were less expensive than pine mushrooms, so she could make the dish without any financial burden.

“Yoon-Hee.”

Hearing a voice, she turned her head and saw her classmate, Hye-Jung, smiling at her, with Jin-Soo standing awkwardly by her side.

“Hmm?” Yoon-Hee responded.

“Can we come over today? To your place?”

“H-huh? Why?” Yoon-Hee asked back with a confused expression.

Although Do-Jun’s apartment has had many visitors, they were all either spontaneous visits or invited by Do-Jun in the first place.

Yoon-Hee herself had never invited anyone over.

“Well... if I had to give a reason, we live in the dorms, and you live at home, so we’re kind of curious about your place. Plus, you always rush home after school without hanging out with us, so we’ve been curious about it.”

Looking troubled, Yoon-Hee brought her hand to her mouth as she pondered. “Hmm...”

Watching her, Jin-Soo wondered how on earth a person could be this adorable. He had seen countless celebrities who were hailed as absolute beauties, but Yoon-Hee was in a league of her own. She gave off the vibe of an innocent, angelic being, untouched by the world.

She’s so cu... Keugh!

While Jin-Soo was grinning with his mouth agape, Hye-Jung elbowed him in the ribs.

“I’m not sure if my father would be okay with that... but I’ll ask him,” Yoon-Hee said.

“Well, if he’s not, then it can’t be helped. That’s totally understandable. But could you at least ask him once?” Hye-Jung said with determination.

“Okay...” Yoon-Hee secretly hoped Do-Jun would say no.

***

Meanwhile, at the Seoul City Hall Fissure Management Division.

“That concludes the report on the physical enhancement results,” Do-Jun reported to Cheol-Soo, who was scratching his forehead with the back of the pen as he looked over the document folder handed to him.

To be honest, the report didn’t really catch his attention. He glanced ahead at the other thing taking up all of his attention.

The Hunters were standing in a perfectly straight line with their hands clasped in front of them.

Cheol-Soo gestured for Do-Jun to come closer, and when Do-Jun leaned in toward him, he whispered, “Do-Jun, what’s up with them?”

The contracted Hunters usually carried themselves with an air of superiority.

That made sense, considering they were indispensable to the Fissure Management Division and were always treated with the utmost care and respect. However, today, for some reason, they were polite, spoke respectfully, and observed proper manners.

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“I don’t really know, but it’s working out well for us,” Do-Jun whispered back.

“Y-yeah, I guess... but it’s so sudden...” Cheol-Soo swallowed hard, then peeked over the partition to take a quick look at the Hunters before clearing his throat. “Anyway, thanks for covering for Hyuk-Soo and going to the Bureau today. Make sure to share the report with him as well.”

“Yes, understood.”

After finishing the report, Do-Jun walked over to the Hunters.

“You’ve all worked hard today. You are free to go,” Do-Jun said with a smile.

“Thank you for your hard work, sir!” the Hunters responded loudly, bowed to Do-Jun, and left the office one by one.

The Fissure Management Division staff exchanged baffled glances between the Hunters and Do-Jun.

After the Hunters left, Do-Jun sat at his desk and opened the Excel sheet to input the physical enhancement results so Hyuk-Soo could review them when he returned to work the next day.

Due to the unexpected task, he had a backlog of work to catch up on, but this was nothing compared to how often Hyuk-Soo had helped him.

His smartphone buzzed, displaying his daughter’s name on the screen. Do-Jun answered immediately.

“What’s up, Yoon-Hee?”

—Hi, Father... um...

“Go on.”

—So, um... would it be okay if two of my friends came over to hang out today?

Yoon-Hee’s hesitant and uncertain voice came through the phone.

But why would Do-Jun say no? In fact, he welcomed the idea as the thought of his daughter getting along with her friends made him happy as a father.

“Sure, that’s fine.”

Then, he was met with a brief silence.

“Yoon-Hee?” he asked to check if she was still on the line.

—W-why are you okay with it?

Her surprised voice echoed through the phone.