The Villainous Director Is Raising a Child!

Every time they had to leave the child behind at the front door, it was a sea of tears — and to make matters worse, Choi Jiyeon's body after giving birth wasn't what it used to be.

The day a monster ambushed her — a monster she would have dodged in her sleep in the old days — and she couldn't get out of the way, Yeon Minjun realized: this couldn't go on.

"Jiyeon. Let's take some leave."

She'd fought him on it at first, but after his relentless pushing, Choi Jiyeon finally nodded.

The next day, in the Guild Master's office.

"Guild Master. Yeon Minjun reporting."

"Guild Master. Choi Jiyeon reporting."

"Aigoo, our famous Hunter couple — what brings you here! Sit, sit — make yourselves comfortable."

As Yeon Minjun and Choi Jiyeon stepped inside, Oh Manseok gave them both a warm, benevolent smile.

"We'd like to apply for extended leave."

Choi Jiyeon held out the leave application with a stiff face.

"Hmm.... Leave, is it. Yes, yes. I know as well as anyone that Hunter Choi went right back to work after giving birth without a proper recovery. You've had it rough."

"..."

"But... the timing right now is really awkward. When an A-rank team leader is out, the loss to our combat strength is no small thing. And we've got a lot of Gates on standby...."

He clicked his tongue and dragged the pause out for a while, then, as if something had just come to him, let out a short "Ah!"

"In that case... how about this. It just so happens I've got one job that would suit you perfectly — how about you two take it on?"

"...A job? We came in here to take extended leave."

The moment Yeon Minjun tried to push back, Oh Manseok waved his hand and dropped his voice to a confidential whisper.

"I call it a job, but it's basically a vacation. You've heard of Cheonun Group?"

"Cheonun Group — the number-three conglomerate?"

"That's right. Their youngest son Awakened recently, and they've put in a request for a Gate 'field trip' for him."

Cheonun Group.

There was no way she didn't know it.

In the early days of the Gates, it had seized the monopoly on mana-stone processing and cornered the distribution networks, vaulting to number three in the corporate rankings in a single leap — a legendary, self-made empire.

There was a saying that seventy percent of all mana stones circulating in Korea passed through Cheonun's hands. A heavyweight with the "money pipe" of this whole industry in its grip.

"A field trip?"

Choi Jiyeon shot back sharply.

"You want us to take some spoiled brat from a chaebol family into a place where a single Gate breach could kill tens of thousands? Absolutely not."

"You think I don't know that. But... imagine forging a connection with Cheonun Group. Think how big Bawi Guild could grow after that."

"..."

"And there's nothing to worry about. It'll only be a C-rank Gate, tops."

Oh Manseok looked back and forth between Choi Jiyeon and Yeon Minjun, smiling slyly.

"For you two? Somewhere like that — you could clear it with your eyes shut, even alone, couldn't you?"

At that, Yeon Minjun flinched and asked back:

"Just the two of us? Don't tell me... you're saying you want just us — the two of us as a couple — to go in?"

"That's right."

"Guild Master! Regardless of the Gate's rank, the standing rule is a minimum of five people. And you're telling us to go in as three, with dead weight — a rookie — in tow?!"

"I know, I know. But apparently the young master doesn't want a crowd of people around him."

"Hah! Forget it. I'm not putting my life on the line for a child's playdate. Let's go."

Just as she was grabbing Yeon Minjun's hand and turning to leave the office —

"Three years."

Guild Master Oh Manseok's voice caught them at the ankles.

"Complete this one mission and I'll give you three years — and paired leave, at that. Wouldn't that be enough time to raise the child?"

Three years of paired leave....

Every morning, prying the child off her by force, the way it tore at her chest.

Three years — that meant three years without a single one of those goodbyes.

The offer was almost unbearably tempting, but—

No. Too many variables.

A Gate with a chaebol brat — a walking time bomb — strapped to their side.

One slip, and they might never come home to see the child at all.

Just as she braced herself and was about to turn him down again —

"We'll do it."

The answer, firm.

Jiyeon's eyes went round.

"You!"

"Jiyeon."

His voice came out a little husky.

"I... I want to be next to our Ari. I want to teach her how to walk... I want to hear her call me 'Daddy' with my own ears."

He looked deep into his wife's eyes and added, pleadingly:

"Kids grow up in a flash. I... I don't want to miss any more of those precious moments."

At the naked ache in his voice, Choi Jiyeon couldn't push back anymore.

Because she felt exactly the same.

"...First, let's hear the details."

That evening.

"What'd Oh Manseok say."

"...He said one mission and he'd give us three years' leave."

"Three whole years? ...What mission."

"It's classified. I can't say. You know, Mom — guild regulations."

Choi Jiyeon carefully avoided her mother's sharp gaze and dodged the question.

But you didn't fool the instincts of a woman who'd lived as a Hunter for decades.

"I've got a bad feeling about this. Don't go."

At that, Choi Jiyeon smiled faintly.

The smile carried both exhaustion and a desperate hope.

"Mom. Last time — you know what came out of that man's combat gear?"

"..."

"A sock. One of our Ari's socks."

Jiyeon's eyes went red at the rims.

"One went missing at home and I was wondering where on earth it had gone... and my god — he'd carried it in with him. Into that blood-drenched Gate — a baby sock in his pocket like a good-luck charm. He must have been touching it whenever he missed her — it was all worn and grubby..."

Her voice thickened and shook.

"Minjun and me both... we want to see our Ari grow up. With our own two eyes."

At the sight of her daughter falling apart, Kim Sunja had nothing more to say.

The morning of the departure.

The house was, for once, full of life.

Inside the little bathtub, every time Yeon Minjun's rough but gentle hands touched her, Ari burst into bright, tinkling giggles.

"Our Ari. Do you like Daddy that much?"

Watching them, an easy smile spread across Choi Jiyeon's face too.

But that peace didn't last long.

The moment the two of them peeled off their soft everyday clothes and pulled on cold metal armor, Ari, as if she'd instinctively sensed the parting, burst into wailing sobs.

"Waaaah—!"

"Aigoo, our princess. Daddy's coming right back — why are you crying, hmm?"

Yeon Minjun wiped her tear-soaked cheeks with the yellow-flower handkerchief around her neck, and rocked her for a long while — and in the end, worn out from crying, she fell asleep in her mother's arms with soft little breaths.

At the front door.

Choi Jiyeon carefully handed the deeply sleeping child over to Kim Sunja, who had come out to see them off. The moment the child's weight left her arms, it felt as if a spot in her chest had gone hollow.

"Mom, we'll be back."

"Mother, we'll be back!"

"Yes, go carefully."

As if trying to shift the heavy air, Yeon Minjun put on a deliberate note of cheer.

"Mother! Once we finish this and get back, we've got three whole years off. Start planning right now what you and us are going to do together for all that time."

"That's right, Mom. When we come back, the four of us should take a trip with Ari. You worked your whole life — you never once got to travel properly."

Kim Sunja nodded silently at their hope-filled voices.

Right then, just as Yeon Minjun was about to step out the front door, he snapped his fingers — ah! — and came striding back inside.

Carefully, he slipped one tiny sock off the sleeping Ari's foot.

"...This is my good-luck charm, see."

He tucked the adorable little sock deep into his chest pocket, precious as a jewel, and smiled sheepishly.

Kim Sunja bit back the ache tearing at her chest and forced a smile.

"...All right. Off you go, then. And come back soon."

"Our girl... Mommy and Daddy love you. So much. We'll be back before you know it."

Even at Yeon Minjun's last whisper, Ari, cradled in her grandmother's arms, only breathed on, sound asleep, none the wiser.

They arrived deep in the mountains of Gangwon Province, in front of a C-rank Gate.

Time remaining until Gate breach: only three days.

The site had been left neglected until the eleventh hour — all because the young master of Cheonun Group had petulantly whined, "But that's no thrill!"

Choi Jiyeon spat out every curse in the book, but her objections were brushed off with the blind faith of "you've got two A-rank Hunters going in — what's there to worry about?"

And so, the day they arrived.

Normally the site would have been packed with press and guild members — but because it was a classified mission, there wasn't a soul in sight.

That was when—

Shhhh—.

A convoy of black limousines rolled to a stop in front of them.

Bodyguards in black suits ringed the area, and finally, the door of the middle limousine opened.

Hair slicked back with a heavy load of oil.

A gut bulging over a suit that looked several sizes too tight.

Cheonun Group's youngest son, Cheon Sangcheol.

"You lot are my guides today?"

At the rude tone, Choi Jiyeon knit her brow, but she forced a professional smile.

"Choi Jiyeon, Team Leader of Bawi Guild's Sapphire Team. Pleased to be working with you."

But Cheon Sangcheol didn't so much as glance at the hand she'd extended, and looked her up and down blatantly instead.

"You got a boyfriend?"

"...!"

At the vulgar attitude, Yeon Minjun bristled — but Choi Jiyeon stepped in to hold him back.

"I have a husband. Do us all a favor and take the interest elsewhere."

"Tch. What is this — you're some housewife?"

He turned his head away, and Choi Jiyeon carried on.

"Beginning the pre-entry briefing. Today's Gate is a C-rank forest type, and—"

"Whatever."

Cheon Sangcheol cut her off.

"You know I'm a B-rank Awakened, right?"

"..."

"Just hang back behind me and watch. Don't get in the way."

At Cheon Sangcheol's words, Choi Jiyeon seriously, sincerely, considered it for a moment.

If I killed him inside the dungeon and made it look like an accident, how bad would the fallout be, exactly.

But then she remembered that, however he looked, he was still third-generation chaebol, and she shelved the plan.

Oblivious to what was going on in her head, Cheon Sangcheol opened his suit jacket, pulled out a red-glowing potion, and waved it in her face.

"You know what this is? Cheonun Group's new S-rank product — just developed. This thing can bring back a man who's half dead already. So relax."

"Bringing outside items into a Gate without authorization is a violation of regulations."

At her sharp jab, Cheon Sangcheol snorted — pfft — and burst into a mocking laugh.

"Aigoo, terrifying. Regulations? Lady doesn't seem to know how things work."

He tapped her shoulder — tap, tap — with an oily finger.

"You know what Cheonun means? Clouds in heaven. I'm floating way up there, up in the sky. Don't try to throw ground-level rules at a guy like me."

All right. That's enough patience for one day.

After giving birth to Ari her temper had cooled a lot compared to what it used to be, but not to the point where she'd let some brat like this walk all over her.

Shhhink—!

The instant she drew her spear, the guards had their guns out and closed in around him.

"What do you think you're doing, Hunter?!"

"P-please stop!!"

"Ha. You dare aim a gun at a Hunter?"

At the killing intent in her words, the guards' faces went white.

They knew as well as anyone.

That a mere gun couldn't stop an A-rank Hunter.

That was when—

"Team Leader."

The one who broke the razor-edge tension was Yeon Minjun.

"Let's just finish this fast and go. We've got Ari to get back to."

At the word Ari, Choi Jiyeon reeled in her aura and looked down at the sprawled Cheon Sangcheol with open contempt.

"Don't get it into your head that I can't touch you because you're a Cheonun. If anyone's forgotten, it's you — forgotten who my mother is, maybe?"

At that, Cheon Sangcheol flinched.

Kim Sunja.

The very name his father, Chairman Cheon, had drilled into him over and over before he left.

Cheon Sangcheol bit his lip, humiliated.

"What are you doing?! Move, you bastards!"

He shoved his way past his own men, huffing, and bolted into the Gate first, as if fleeing.

Yeon Minjun glanced at the Gate where he'd disappeared, then turned to his wife with a look that said well handled, ma'am.

"Let's head in too. Faster we finish, faster we're back to Ari."

The two of them looked at each other, gave a small laugh, and stepped into the rippling green rift.

It had already been fifty years since the Gates first appeared, but humanity still knew almost nothing about them.

Some said they were doors to other dimensions; others said they were passages connected to alternate timelines of Earth. Nobody actually knew.

But there were a few laws.

Only killing the Boss monster in the boss room closed a Gate.

If you failed to kill the Boss within the set time limit, a Gate breach occurred — the monsters poured out into the outside world.

And the most important variable here was rank.

Gates were graded by their level of danger, and the higher the rank, the more exponentially stronger the monsters became — and the more sharply the time limit before a Gate breach shrank.

In other words: the higher the rank of the Gate, the more vicious the enemies, and the less time you had to deal with them.

There was also a law about the Gates having a connection to the places they appeared.

In forests, forest-type Gates opened; at the sea, sea-type Gates opened.

As if to prove that law, the inside of the Gate they'd stepped into was all forest.

The reek of rotting leaves, and strange plants with no known names.

They deliberately picked a place where fire-type would shine the most.

She called up Cheon Sangcheol's profile in her head.

[Cheon Sangcheol / Awakening Rank: B / Main Ability: Flame Emission]

She turned her eyes toward Cheon Sangcheol, off in the distance, putting on his showy fire show.

"Kwahaha! Die, all of you! Die!"

On the profile he was a B-rank, but his actual performance was pitiful.

Handling mana like that... if he'd been under me, I'd have half-killed him by now.

But Choi Jiyeon had neither the loyalty nor the affection to bother pointing out his terrible mana control.

She clicked her tongue and turned to Yeon Minjun.

"From here on, I'm running this as a time attack. That brat — just keep him from getting himself hurt."

"Huh? Then... then who's going to guard your back, Team Leader? You'll go alone? That's dangerous!"

Yeon Minjun's eyes went round with worry, and Choi Jiyeon laughed — a small pfft.

"You. You know what my ability is, right?"

"That's... [Absolute Piercing]. The spear that pierces anything."

"Right."

Choi Jiyeon shifted her grip on the shaft of her spear, and a razor-sharp mana rippled around it, as though ready to tear the very air.

"What you've seen since you joined this team — that's not even sixty percent of what I can do."

"...!"

"I'll go ahead and clear the place out. I'll leave the young master's share for you — take your time."

Kraaash—!

The instant she said it, her body became a blue streak and vanished into the forest.

Before the screams of the monsters even reached him, the path was being flattened.

Standing there staring blankly at her overwhelming back, Yeon Minjun's mouth hung wide open.

I really did marry the hell out of my league.

He grinned like a fool, and turned toward Cheon Sangcheol — still shouting "Die, all of you!" — and raised his shield.

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