Hero Returns as a Rookie Dad

Her dad’s name is Kang Haon, her mom’s name is Han Binna, and her name is Kang Narae.

How many people in South Korea would have a family like this?

It may not be many, but it’s not nonexistent either.

However, Kang Haon was certain.

The little girl in front of him, about five years old, was the daughter of him and his wife, Han Binna.

The evidence was from the memory that has resurfaced in his mind.

He had seen a childhood photo of Binna before, and she looked exactly like Narae.

That’s why she felt familiar.

There was other evidence as well.
The magic he used on the hair was some kind of gene-tracking spell.

It finds the most genetically similar genes in the hair in the current world, and Han Binna’s hair points towards Narae.

Nevertheless, he never thought he would have a daughter…

He was a little surprised, but he was especially happy.

The two of them, who were orphans during their childhood, wanted to start a family and have children as soon as possible.

That’s why they got married at the young age of 22.

(T/n: 21 in international age, 1 year after highschool graduation.)

“…”

Yet he wasn’t completely happy. Soon, he realized that something was wrong.

It’s like there’s a big hole in the middle of his chest that formed right after his realization.

His wife, Han Binna, wasn’t here; Narae was here. The possible reason was that Han Binna was no longer in this world.

In addition, his daughter was in an orphanage.

Just from this, he could roughly guess what kind of situation Han Binna was in.

“Uncle…” Narae was looking at him with a worried face.

Kang Haon looked down at the small hand that he could feel at his fingertips.

“Narae… is there anything wrong?”

“Um, are you sad, uncle?”

“…”
Kang Haon hesitated. Narae had read his mind exactly.

As Narae said, he was sad.
His wife, who had been his source of hope in the other world for 50 years, was gone.

“No, why did you think that way?”

However, he couldn’t tell the truth.
It was a habit that he had formed over the past 50 years, hiding his innermost feelings from others in order to survive.

“Because you’re crying, uncle.” Narae hesitated and glanced at his face.

“Me?” He was Gea’s hero.

After he went to a new world and a year passed, he had no memories of ever shedding tears. He had been wondering if he had forgotten how to cry.

He didn’t shed any tears even when his comrades, who had fought with him for decades, died.

However, he just shed tears?

He couldn’t believe it.

But this just happened.

“Why is this happening?”

Tears were dripping from his eyes.

He hurriedly raised his arms to wipe them away, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

He thought he had kept his emotions in check, but it seemed like his body thought otherwise.

“Uncle, when you’re sad, you have to cry! Otherwise, you’ll get sick. This is what my mom always says”

Narae, who was in front of him, spoke with a serious expression, spreading her arms widely.

At that moment, Kang Haon felt that behind Narae there was the shadow of Han Binna.

“When having a hard time, cry. Why won’t you borrow this big sister’s broad shoulders for just today?”

Like Narae, the first time he met Han Binna was when he was on the school rooftop. That time when he has given up on everything.

“…”

And like that day, he was now crying in Narae’s embrace.

Kang Haon sobbed on the arms of the young Narae, feeling sorrowful.

That day, a new world opened up for him.

In Narae’s embrace, Kang Haon felt as if the hole in his heart was being filled. And his momentarily shocked mind cleared up as well.

“Han Binna must be alive.”

Kang Haon didn’t think that Han Binna was dead.

He didn’t know why Han Binna wasn’t on Earth right now, but his intuition told him that she was still alive.

“Let’s investigate it further,” he thought to himself.

He wanted to know right away, but Narae was the only person he could ask.

He couldn’t just ask Narae directly where Han Binna had gone.

“Sob sob…”

At that moment, Kang Haon turned his head quickly as Narae started to sob.

“Narae, what’s wrong?”

“My clothes, ruined…”

Narae pointed to her left shoulder, trying to hold back her tears that seemed to burst forth at any moment.

Narae’s shoulder was covered with Kang Haon’s tears and snot.

“Phew…” Kang Haon breathed a sigh of relief when it wasn’t a big deal.

Seeing Narae, who looked mature for her age, cry because her clothes were dirty made him think that maybe she hadn’t grown up very maturely yet.

“You’re cute, haha.” Kang Haon’s cheeks puffed up as he saw Narae sobbing. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

He could finally understand why dads became fools for their daughters.

“Uncle, my-my clo-clothes, ruined… What should I do?”

At that moment, she spoke in short breaths. She couldn’t speak for long because she was trying to hold back her tears.

“W-why are you l-laughing when you ruined my clothes? C-come to think of it, you-you’re a really bad guy.”

Kang Haon understood Narae’s words perfectly well. However, he couldn’t stop laughing because Narae currently looked too cute.

“Why a-re you-you still laughing? Waaah!”

As Kang Haon continued to laugh, Narae finally burst into tears, unable to hold them back any longer.

“Oh no…”

Kang Haon felt the seriousness of the situation only after seeing Narae’s burst of crying.

“What should I do?”

Kang Haon, who had become the Hero of Gea, had learned everything necessary for battle, but childcare was not one of them.

He couldn’t think of a way to stop Narae’s crying by using his strength alone.

If it had been an ordinary situation, he would have found a solution through quick thinking, but seeing Narae’s cry made his mind go blank.

“First, let’s think calmly, Kang Haon.”

In such a dire situation, he had to think calmly.

Kang Haon calmed his breathing and thought of a solution.

“Oh! Something she likes!”

A memory of when he went on a date with Han Binna came to mind.

At that time, they found a child crying in distress because they had lost their way, but Han Binna quickly stopped the child’s crying by showing them pictures of dinosaurs, which, fortunately, was what the child liked.

But then a problem arose.

“What does Narae like?”

Kang Haon had only met Narae for less than thirty minutes. He didn’t know what she liked.

“Oh, candy!”

In an instant, he remembered a moment earlier when Narae enjoyed eating candy.

“Narae, do you want to eat candy? I have very delicious candy here.”

Kang Haon kneeled in front of Narae and looked into her eyes as he spoke.

“Candy…?”

As if his thoughts had hit the mark, Narae briefly stopped crying and looked at Kang Haon with her cat-like eyes.

“No, it won’t do. I can’t afford to laugh here again.”

Although Kang Haon almost couldn’t suppress his smile when he saw Narae’s cat-like gaze as she suppressed her tears, he restrained his instinct.

“Here, Narae, a candy. Here you go!”
And with concern that Narae might burst into tears again, he hastily took out candy from his pocket.

“Sniff, is it okay for Narae to eat this?”

“Of course.”

“Thank you.”

After receiving the candy from Kang Haon, Narae did not immediately put it in her mouth. She started by thanking him.

“Okay, enjoy your candy.”

When Kang Haon acknowledged her gratitude, Narae finally put the candy in her mouth and smacked her lips.

“She even has good manners.”
Seeing Narae like this, Kang Haon smiled with satisfaction.

“Are you crying again?”

“No, no! I’m not crying.”

Kang Haon nervously raised his hand in defense as he looked at Narae with a sharp gaze.

He felt a chill run down his spine, as if he were about to face the wrath of Han Binna.

“Anyway, I did something wrong.”
Kang Haon looked at Narae’s shoulder as she enjoyed eating candy and admitted his mistake.

Tears and mucus were smeared messily over her clothes. If someone had done such a thing to him, he would have slit their throat without hesitation. He thought he should clean Narae’s clothes first.

“Narae.”

“What?”

Narae still seemed upset, as her eyes were slightly red.

“I need to resolve this quickly,” Kang Haon thought. He had now realized, for the second time, how frightening it was to be hated by someone, with his wife Han Binna being the obvious first example.

“Narae, can I clean your clothes?”

“My clothes? Will you really clean them with your ability?”

“Clean them? Do you mean, can I clean them properly? Of course I can.”

Kang Haon vigorously nodded his head at Narae’s reaction, not minding her latter words.

If he could resolve this, he could alleviate her irritation.

“Umm ”

‘Why is she acting like that? Did I do something wrong?’ Kang Haon was confused when Narae hesitated, even though he thought he understood her.

“Narae, can you tell me why?”

He decided to use the correct approach as he didn’t want to make any more mistakes that might cause Narae to hate him.

“Answer me, and I’ll give you more candy.” He brought out his secret weapon, and it worked.

Well, the candy he gave wasn’t just any ordinary candy. It was candy made by a craftsman who only made candy for the emperor.

Winkie had frozen the finest honey and meticulously woven it into a honeycomb-like candy.

“Sorry, I’m just slightly embarrassed.” Narae said, blushing. “I hate having to take off my clothes in front of a stranger.”

It was then that Kang Haon realized his mistake.

“I’m sorry, Narae. I didn’t think of your feelings. But you don’t have to worry,” said the man.

“Huh?” Narae tilted her head, not understanding what Kang Haon was saying.

‘How can she be so cute?’ He thought.

Seeing Narae’s confused expression, Kang Haon held back his smile. He wanted to start laughing, but first, he had to make Narae’s clothes clean.

“Ta-da! Narae, your clothes are clean!” Kang Haon exclaimed, exaggerating his movements as he flicked his finger.

Shhhlaack!

A spell activated from his hand, and all the dirt on Narae’s clothes disappeared. Not only that, her clothes transformed into completely new ones.

“Wow, clean and new clothes! Thank you, uncle!” Narae was surprised by her new clothes and bowed to Kang Haon. “Uncle, are you really an awakened hunter?”

Kang Haon didn’t know what Narae was saying, but seeing her happy made him feel good. “Ta-da! You don’t have to worry anymore, Narae!”

“Thank you!” Narae bowed to Kang Haon once again, holding her hands together.

‘It was a good thing I learned auxiliary magic, even though it’s not related to combat,’ Kang Haon thought to himself.

“But who are you, uncle? I was told that no strangers were allowed to come in here,” Narae asked, worried that Kang Haon might be a bad guy.

“Don’t worry about it,” Kang Haon replied, smiling at Narae. “I’m not just anyone.”

Narae felt relieved to hear that, but still she remembered her mother’s warning about strangers.

“Then who are you?” Narae asked.

“Hmm, who am I?” Kang Haon paused for a moment, wondering if it was okay to tell Narae that he was her father.

But his hesitation didn’t last long…

“I am your dad.”