CH.89 Stained Rock Pile (1)
The meal at the restaurant was over.
Although I received a ridiculous question from the start, the conversations after overcoming him were ordinary.
Moon Jong-hyuk was less interested in our dating process than expected.
The main topics were ordinary Holder stories, such as stories about the clan, recent trends in the Holder system, and how academy life is.
Whether we’ve been dating for a few days or where we met…
There was no need to memorize such detailed elements.
Instead, he suggested a light drink after dinner.
…Just the two of us.
“Dad! Stop bothering Jae-hyun. What are you trying to do with a 20-year-old?”
Of course, Moon Ga-eun rebelled.
The dining table was already uncomfortable, and without her, anxiety could only double.
By the way, it feels strange that Moon Ga-eun doesn’t say ‘Do Jae-hyun’, but keeps saying ‘Jae-hyun’.
Is this why the first name is important?
“Haha. Don’t be like that. Dad likes Jae-hyun, so that’s why. We’re just going to have a normal conversation like at dinner.”
“Yes, Moon… No, Ga-eun. It’s okay, so go ahead.”
I met eyes with Moon Ga-eun who was anxious.
And I sent a look that it was really okay.
Honestly, if a question like ‘When are you going to get married?’ comes out like before, it’s a bit difficult, but it was once then and even if it comes out, I can somehow mumble it.
First of all, unlike Kang Woo-hyun, Moon Jong-hyuk was friendly to his daughter’s boyfriend, so the conversation itself was not uncomfortable.
Moon Ga-eun looked at Moon Jong-hyuk and me alternately…
Soon she sighed and nodded her head.
“…Okay.”
So after Moon Ga-eun left.
Moon Jong-hyuk and I moved to a high-end wine bar nearby.
The inside was surprisingly ordinary.
Not flashy lighting and simple atmosphere.
Simple decorations filled the store for a wine bar.
But that seemed to give off a more luxurious feel.
“Is this place also…”
“Haha. I don’t like noisy things.”
There were no people around, so I thought maybe it was again.
It seems that he rented out the entire restaurant, following the restaurant.
Moon Jong-hyuk seemed to come to the store quite often.
He sat down and ordered wine skillfully.
I don’t have any particular alcohol preference either, so I left it to his order.
“Do you usually drink often?”
Moon Jong-hyuk asked as he poured alcohol into his glass.
“I drink on special days like today.”
“Haha. I felt earlier, but you seem to have a knack for making people feel good.”
He clinked glasses as if toasting.
“It seems to go well with her temperament. It’s nice to see.”
‘…I’m sorry, sir.’
This is actually a fake love affair.
Words swallowed in my throat prick my conscience.
I felt more sorry because he seemed to really like it.
“I’m sorry for asking you a difficult question earlier.”
“No. I think you can be curious enough.”
The question of when do you want to get married?
Fortunately, I haven’t thought about it yet because I’m still twenty years old, and I don’t consider such things when dating, so the correct answer worked.
Moon Jong-hyuk wasn’t an overbearing father who said ‘Get married with my Ga-eun right away!’
But he asked such questions too.
And drinking separately like this…
There must have been a reason for everything.
“My wife passed away when Ga-eun was three years old. Due to an unexplained heart attack.”
When the atmosphere loosened up as alcohol went in appropriately,
Moon Jong-hyuk cautiously started talking.
It was a story I knew roughly too.
Moon Ga-eun was one of the main characters of the original work in her own way, so naturally her family relationship came out at least roughly.
However, this is the first time I heard about the complex family situation intertwined in between.
“I tried to forget my sorrow by working. There was no room for me to take care of myself or my family. For 15 years, work and work again. While working frantically, I finally grew up my clan… But it was terrible for my daughter as a father.”
Fortunately, Moon Ga-eun grew up properly.
She filled in the gap by spreading love inside herself without receiving love…
She didn’t have anyone coming close to her, but she took courage first and got to know new people.
Her bright and energetic personality more than anyone else’s
It proved miracles over time.
“So you kept introducing her…”
“Haha. That’s right. The father who has no qualifications wanted to find his daughter’s partner late. Even though Ga-eun grew up brightly, I thought she didn’t date because of such a past.”
He seemed to think that the reason Moon Ga-eun kept refusing the introduction was because of her past.
Of course, Moon Ga-eun’s thoughts may be different.
‘…I think it’s just because I hate the real thing in the first place.’
He might be misunderstanding something quite a bit.
But I understood the heart of a father who wanted to take care of his daughter.
He must have wanted to find someone who loves and cherishes her as much as he couldn’t do for her.
That’s probably why he asked about the hasty marriage.
“Anyway, it’s really fortunate that she is dating a good friend like you. It seems that I was worried about nothing. Ga-eun is already washing away her wounds and living well. Haha.”
“…Ga-eun will also know Holder Moon Jong-hyuk’s heart well.”
For some reason, I felt the back of a bitter father, and awkwardly offered comfort.
He smiled silently and drank his glass of alcohol.
Surprisingly, really surprisingly…
The conversation with Moon Jong-hyuk was not boring.
“By the way. Are you working under Kang Woo-hyun in the <Judgment of Fire> now?”
When the heavy story ended for a while, Moon Jong-hyuk asked.
Ah.
I finally remembered when I saw him calling Kang Woo-hyun familiarly.
Moon Jong-hyuk and Kang Woo-hyun.
Looking back, the two Holders were old friends.
Because the two fathers were close friends, Kang Juyeon and Moon Ga-eun became friends from a young age.
‘I think I took good care of it….’
He said he only worked without taking care of his daughter, but when he met his friend, he seemed to have taken her with him.
I nodded my head and answered him.
“Yes. I’m currently working as an intern.”
“Haha. My daughter’s boyfriend is working under my friend… It’s a funny thing. Did you get scouted by Juyeon?”
“Yes. Ga-eun and Holder Kang Juyeon… They all seem to think well of me.”
Moon Jong-hyuk laughed heartily and continued.
“You’re too humble. I’ve heard about your skills. You’re a rare multi-talented Holder, much more capable than your peers. The head of our clan’s scout team even checked your end-of-semester evaluation at Ga-eun’s request. I read that report too.”
“Ah….”
I heard it from Kang Juyeon before.
She asked the head of the clan’s scout team to check my skills for my recruitment.
It seems that he also came to explore with <Royal> at that time.
“Come to <Royal> if you have a chance. I don’t want to burden you with recruitment… But it hurts my pride a bit to just lose you to Kang Woo-hyun. Haha. I’ll let you feel how good <Royal> is.”
Moon Jong-hyuk said with a pleasant smile.
Even if I don’t have eyes to judge people’s sincerity.
At least the heart that I see from Moon Jong-hyuk now, it was the sincerity of a warm senior Holder.
The seat with Moon Jong-hyuk at Moon Ga-eun’s request.
Although my role was fake…
All the stories we shared were sincere.
A father of one person.
And a Holder with pride in his position.
That was my honest impression of Moon Jong-hyuk today.
I laughed along and clinked glasses.
“Yes, it’s an honor.”
For some reason, it was a good day.
* * *
Ippotranslation
***
Kwagagaga-
Lightning struck along with the rain that had been falling for a long time.
It was a very gloomy weather to go outside.
Thanks to that, I was spending a golden Sunday at home.
Fortunately, I wasn’t alone.
My boarding house in Sangdo.
The house, which is spacious for living alone, sometimes feels empty.
There was a familiar face here.
“Seoul, return…!!”
Kim Chae-eun has returned.
After the auction in Daegu, she went straight to Busan…
She’s back almost 2 weeks later.
Kim Chae-eun showed off her return with clothes and lenses I hadn’t seen before, and even held the [Frost Staff] I gave her in her hand.
But I asked while scratching my head.
“Do you have to declare that in my house?”
Kim Chae-eun, who is in ‘Yahoo!’ posture as if she had come from hiking…
Isn’t this usually done in your room?
Then Kim Chae-eun put her hand on her waist and rolled her eyes.
“What’s up with that attitude? Aren’t you glad to see me?”
“No, of course I’m glad. But…”
My gaze went to Kim Chae-eun’s hand.
To be precise, it was directed towards the spatula in her hand.
“It’s because what you are holding in your hand is quite scary.”
“What’s scary about it? I’m making pancakes. On a rainy day, it’s definitely pancakes and makgeolli! Look forward to it. This time I will definitely win you over with my cooking.”
“……”
Look forward to it?
…That’s what scares me.
Kim Chae-eun came over to play at my house as soon as she returned to Seoul, and when it started raining suddenly, she prepared ingredients to make pancakes.
Under the pretext of ‘Return Celebration Party’!
No, since it’s a return celebration party, shouldn’t I be the one who should congratulate and cook?
I tried to argue like that, but there was no way to stop Kim Chae-eun who had already entered cooking mode.
Chiiii-
Slowly pouring batter into the frying pan and starting to cook.
Seeing the visual of pancakes after a long time somehow made me think they might be delicious.
I watched her blankly for a while and then asked.
“So when do you start training again?”
I haven’t seen her face for a while but we’ve been in touch constantly.
So I knew about Kim Chae-eun’s rough situation.
The training she had with Jeong Seon-young was very effective.
And Jeong Seon-young highly valued that point and took her as an exclusive disciple.
Considering Jeong Seon-young’s skill and position without anyone following [Freeze], this was a very well-resolved issue for Kim Chae-eun.
“Probably around August? There are no more classes in July.”
“So you’re resting for two weeks?”
“Yeah! Rest is as important as training, so take a good rest.”
Hearing that story reminded me of the dungeon strategy plan that had been postponed for a while.
‘Stained Rock Pile’.
A medium-high level dungeon where B-grade-Cgrade monsters mainly appear.
A dungeon located near Seoraksan, which is still an undiscovered dungeon that has not yet been exploited.
In the original work, Park Jin-woo finds and exploits this dungeon alone in the latter part.
So I turned the direction to exploit this with Kim Chae-eun.
Of course, I can’t say it outright, and I thought I should do it as if I found it by chance while exploiting the Seoraksan field.
“…Just the two of us?”
“Huh? Oh, of course. We’re not going to go up to a high place where high-level monsters are anyway. Don’t worry.”
I relieved her worries about the lack of party members.
Since I already have experience exploiting dungeons solo, I could exploit ‘Stained Rock Pile’ with Kim Chae-eun.
Kim Chae-eun, who nodded her head, turned her gaze back to the pancake.
I quietly watched her and turned my back to go to the bathroom for a moment.
But…
“…Just two of us, hiking date… opportunity….”
From Kim Chae-eun, who is making pancakes.
I think I heard some strange muttering.
Is it a misunderstanding?
