LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 22 - Decided to Raise It Secretly
Chapter 22 Decided to Raise It Secretly
Once they figured out the way through the map, the complicated sewer system turned out to be an advantage for them. If they had moved above ground, they would have been pursued to the end, but being underground made it difficult for anyone to follow.
By the time the hunters figured out which path they took, they had already passed through that sewer line.
Thus, they safely escaped from Yeongdeungpo and finally arrived in front of the house.
“Phew…”
Yes, this was good so far.
They had both escaped safely, and the hunters they encountered only ended up with minor (?) injuries.
In reality, just not getting caught was a victory for them. However, the real problem started now.
“Grooowl…”
‘No one’s home… right?’
Luckily, Uncle Seok-gyu, Aunt Rolling, and Sophia were not at home. If they had been, something terrible might have happened.
Taking advantage of this moment, he quickly headed to his room on the second floor with the baby monster he had carried on his back.
So, was the problem solved now? Not at all.
‘I need to undo the monster transformation…’
For now, he was still in his monster form.
The baby monster seemed to follow him because he was a much stronger monster.
This meant that in this hierarchical relationship, if he returned to being human Han Shin-woo, the worst-case scenario would be that the baby monster might attack him again.
“Phew…”
“…?”
He quietly looked down at the baby monster. After taking a deep breath to prepare, he exhaled black smoke from his entire body.
“…! Chan, ged?”
He returned to his original form.
As expected, the baby monster seemed astonished by the fact that he was actually human.
Now, how would it react?
He stood still, ready to roar and transform again if needed, watching the baby monster. Suddenly, it ran to him and buried its face near his navel.
‘Is it planning to tear out my intestines?!’
As expected… a monster is just a monster. It was foolish of him to feel any attachment, even for a moment. He was about to transform into a monster again to kill the baby monster immediately.
But then.
“Don’t, go…”
“?!”
“Whether, human or monster, doesn’t, matter. Please, don’t, abandon, me.”
The baby monster’s speech was awkward, likely because it was newly born, but he clearly heard it.
The baby monster, with its face against his abdomen, cautiously lifted its head, looking at him with tearful ruby eyes, pleading not to be abandoned.
Please don’t leave me. It doesn’t matter what species we are, just stay with me.
“…Hey, you… don’t you feel anything about me being human?”
“Do you, feel anything?”
“Yeah. Like you want to kill me or eat me or something like that.”
The baby monster shook its head vigorously and wrapped its arms tightly around his waist.
“No, nothing like that.”
“…Really?”
“Yeah. If eating humans is bad, I won’t do it anymore.”
Just because it says it won’t do it doesn’t mean it can stop.
According to the settings, monsters attacking humans was a completely natural instinct. But this baby monster right below him—did it really have such instincts?
‘Is it because it’s just been born and hasn’t developed those instincts yet? Or is it for some other reason?’
At least for now, he didn’t sense any hostility.
Instead, as he kept looking at it, he felt a strange sense of pity.
Even he, who knew this world so well, couldn’t be certain of anything in this situation. But there was one thing he was sure of.
“…Okay, don’t attack humans and just behave well. Then I won’t abandon you. Understand?”
“…! Yes!”
He couldn’t bring himself to kill this baby that acted so much like a person.
***
The Monster of Jamsil.
Ten years ago and now, every time it appeared, it always kept the Hunter Association and the military busy.
There’s a saying that if you’re famous, you get applause even for taking a dump, and as a national disaster-level monster, everything it did was given significance.
Lee Seok-gyu, the Chief of Staff of the Korean Army, and Rolling, the Deputy Director of the Korean Hunter Association, were called to the Monster Countermeasures Committee.
The two had just finished a very useless discussion on “why the Jamsil Monster appeared in the second stall from the right in the restroom on the 5th floor of the Korean branch of the Hunter Association” late into the evening.
“What does it matter what a monster does in the toilet…”
“Exactly…”
They arrived home, extremely tired. In front of the fingerprint-recognized door lock, they saw their equally exhausted-looking daughter, who had been working in the field.
“Sophia, you’re back…?”
“Mom… Dad…”
“You look tired…”
“Yes… We couldn’t find the baby that escaped from the research building… and the Jamsil Monster that appeared with it… we couldn’t find either of them…”
“Yeah, you did well… Let’s just have dinner together…”
“Okay…”
The three of them, half-dead, trudged into the house.
Their bodies ached and they were so exhausted that they felt like they could fall asleep immediately if they lay down. But even so, they held on.
Because it was almost the only time our family, always busy with daily life, could gather together, even on weekends.
That time was now, during dinner.
In a house with two Beast Hunters, it was an especially rare—no, an entirely nonexistent sight.
However, the couple, who had overcome their aversion with genuine love, created a daughter and an adopted son with whom they felt no repulsion at all.
The three of them were happiest when they gathered together for a meal.
Especially for Uncle Seok-gyu and Sophia, both Beast Hunters who felt drained whenever they went outside, this was the best time to relax.
Particularly, Sophia felt a sense of peace and stability just by watching Shin-woo eat…
From Sophia’s perspective, a national disaster-level incident occurred suddenly that evening.
“Shin-woo?”
“What are you doing not sitting down?”
Usually, Shin-woo would help set the table while his mother cooked. He would take care of placing the bowls and serving the soup, just like always. But now, it was time for the family to sit down and eat together.
Shin-woo, however, stood awkwardly a distance from the table, hesitating.
When his family asked what was wrong, he responded.
“Um… Auntie, Uncle, today I’ll just eat in my room.”
“…?”
“Huh?”
“?!!?!?!?!?!??!”
Recently, Korea was no longer a drug-free country, but had someone fed him drugs?
This had never happened before. Following their parents, Sophia was dumbfounded.
“Why… why all of a sudden…?”
Thinking they should at least hear the reason, Sophia asked.
But.
“Uh… just because?”
What on earth was that about?
He was clearly avoiding their gaze, which meant there was something, but he didn’t explain further.
This only made them more anxious.
“Okay. Then go ahead and take your meal to your room.”
“Dad?”
Sophia was confused about who to be upset with when her father readily allowed it.
“Thank you, Uncle.”
And so, Shin-woo really took his food…?
‘Did he always eat that much?’
Anyway, Shin-woo scooped a heaping bowl of rice and quickly went up to the second floor. With their adopted son gone, the cozy family dinner was disrupted.
“Dad?! Why did you let him go!”
As soon as she confirmed Shin-woo’s footsteps had faded, Sophia immediately began to criticize her father.
What was going on, why was he acting like this, and if he insisted on eating alone, she was even willing to join him for a private dinner in his room!
Furious, Sophia glared at her father.
But despite his daughter’s angry look and cold sweat, Lee Seok-gyu continued to side with his adopted son. Because as a man, he knew that sometimes, these things happen.
‘At times like these, as long as it’s not illegal, you should just let him be.’
Having gone through that phase himself, he empathized with his son.
Back in his day, there were many who would protest, throw Molotov cocktails, and fight until the death with their powers, whether against hunters or soldiers, so this was quite mild in comparison.
Of course, he felt a bit sad and worried that his son, who had been quiet even during his adolescence, was now entering this solitary wolf phase.
“All men go through this phase~.”
“Absolutely.”
Thanks to his wife siding with him, Lee Seok-gyu nodded in agreement. Consequently, Sophia, supposedly understanding, quietly continued her meal.
‘What do you mean, I don’t understand!’
As soon as she finished eating and went up to her room, she had always vowed not to do such things out of respect for privacy since she was a child.
However, since Shin-woo (?) had provoked her first, she considered this justified self-defense.
Swoosh.
Sophia immediately pressed her ear against the wall adjoining Shin-woo’s room and started eavesdropping.
‘There must be something! Definitely!’
Just this morning, they had eaten together on top of a monster’s corpse.
Yet now, in the evening, he was awkwardly avoiding the dining table?
There must be something.
No matter what it was, she was ready to accept any change in Shin-woo. So, what was it that was driving a wedge between them?
Pressing her ear so hard against the wall that it almost left an indentation, she listened intently.
“Delicious…?”
“Yes…! It…is!”
The well-built standalone house had no structural flaws, making perfect eavesdropping impossible. But she could faintly hear Shin-woo’s voice and another voice… a female voice?!
‘No way… is there really someone else in Shin-woo’s room right now?!’
The idea of a man and a woman eating together in one room seemed scandalous.
Before she could dwell on the impropriety, she felt a surge of anger at the thought of Shin-woo having a secret meal with another woman, abandoning her.
“I was planning to wait until you confessed directly…”
She felt a chill she had never experienced even in front of a monster.
The feeling of losing something she thought was hers to someone else was incredibly unpleasant. It made her more furious than being in a crowded place.
She was so angry she decided to mark her territory immediately. She stormed out of her room, ready to burst into Shin-woo’s.
“…Wait a minute, but is it really true that he brought a girl?”
Regaining her composure like a professional hunter, Sophia returned to her room and pressed her ear against the wall again.
She could still hear the conversation, but considering it might be an online interaction, she decided to hold back.
Of course, even such interactions were unacceptable.
Regardless of the type of contact, it was confirmed that ‘Shin-woo’ was meeting a ‘girl.’
‘I’ll inspect Shin-woo’s room first thing in the morning.’
If she barged in now, she’d be admitting to eavesdropping. She didn’t want to be remembered as such a woman in Shin-woo’s eyes.
Crack.
While Shin-woo was feeding the baby monster in his room, Sophia decided she would stay up all night, eyes wide open, ready to confront whatever happened, ensuring they wouldn’t do anything while she was awake.