Good intentions do not always lead to good outcomes.

Sometimes, a contract signed with goodwill can become someone else’s despair.

In the end, it was a matter of perspective.

Therefore, there was no reason to flinch at the complaints of parents suffering from malicious sales tactics, but the human heart doesn’t work that way.

‘I’m sorry…!’

Jung-woo quickly left the toy corner. He felt like an unscrupulous merchant who bewitched children to drain their parents’ blood.

He dodged the complaints, but the commotion was far from over.

“Uh, e-excuse me, S-S-Sir Shin…!”

“Whoa, it’s really him. Should we go get his autograph?”

“Isn’t he on vacation? It might be better not to bother him…”

He realized anew just how far his fame had risen. Many people recognized him before, but most would just pass by thinking, ‘Nah, it can’t be him.’

But now, even that ‘nah’ was gone.

His face had been appearing on the media so often, and thanks to the monumental achievement of reclaiming North Korea, his public profile had become incomparable to the past.

People occasionally came up to talk to him.

Even if they didn’t, there were always people whispering.

Even for thick-skinned Jung-woo, the sheer volume of it made him increasingly self-conscious.

Of course, there was someone feeling an entirely different emotion.

“Daddy is totally a celebrity…!”

Se-gi, sitting in the shopping cart, sparkled with excitement in her eyes.

She might just be at the age where having a famous father was the greatest thing in the world.

Looking at her, a realization dawned on him.

“Is Daddy cool?”

“Yeah! Super cool and I super love you!”

In this life, he wanted to avoid getting buried in externally proud deeds just to be a good father.

But behold, in a child’s world, everything is a joy.

As long as he was fulfilling his fundamental duties, being a proud father and being a good father might not be so different after all.

Only then could he take another step forward.

A father the child is proud of, a good father—such distinctions were for his own sake.

If it was truly for the child and not parental greed, there was something else he needed to look at.

“I’m glad everyone likes Daddy. Right?”

“Yeah!”

“Since they’re all cheering for us like this. Daddy can be a hero, and Se-gi can be a princess.”

“Yeah! Right!”

“Then we should be nice to other people, shouldn’t we?”

“Se-gi is super nice!”

“That’s a good girl.”

For a child who has yet to fully learn moral discernment, a parent ought to teach her how to handle that pride rather than how great they are.

Only after receiving a second chance did he realize how immature a father he had been, learning these obvious truths one by one.

It was truly embarrassing, but he was glad to know it even now.

“S-S-Sir Shin Jung-woo, hunter, just one autograph…! And your daughter too…!”

At one housewife’s request, Jung-woo smiled brightly and gave his autograph.

When he handed the pen to Se-gi, she used the cart handle as a desk, concentrating so hard her eyebrows furrowed as she drew a picture of a smiling flower.

It was a quaint and adorable drawing.

“Thank you!”

“Thank you tooo!”

Ttiring!

【”I’m a celebrity too now! I’m going to be an autograph master!” The child has received admiration from others! She wants to be a wonderful daughter worthy of her wonderful father! Today, the child’s dream is to be an elegant young lady! [Great Caregiver (4/10)] *Collect stickers to unlock skills!*】

A chuckle escaped him.

With such unexpected rewards tagging along, Jung-woo felt his motivation surging.

The grocery shopping ended amidst such commotion.

It included the child’s supplies for a day in the rural village, as well as snacks and food to go with drinks.

After finishing their preparations, they headed up to Cheorwon.

Passing a distance that took well over an hour by car, they reached the start of the mountain trail, where they walked along a path dyed red with autumn leaves under perfect weather.

“It’s so pwetty…!”

She especially loved the color yellow, and seeing her toddle along wearing her favorite yellow jumper with the hood up was inexplicably endearing.

Watching her pick up the largest, prettiest maple leaf on the trail and clutching it tightly in her hand was equally adorable.

Savoring the moment as they hiked up the mountain, they soon reached the village entrance.

Standing at the entrance of Seolyang Village was the Wooden Doll.

[My goodness, you’re already here.]

Bark formed into gentle wrinkles, making her a truly beautiful old woman.

The wooden elder of the village, painted with bright yellow ginkgo leaves signaling autumn. The old woman hesitated to approach, fearing the child might be scared of her, but the little girl—who found everything in the world wondrous and beautiful—ran right up to her.

“Tree Grandma!!!”

She ran over with boundless excitement, dododo.

“Hello! I’m Se-gi! I’m Daddy’s daughter!”

She gave a deep bow, then wiggled her little bottom with a poljjak. Se-gi slipped right into Soon-ae’s embrace.

Only then did Soon-ae smile comfortably. She carefully embraced the child, treating her like something incredibly precious.

[Oh my, our little puppy. How can you be so pretty…]

“Grandma is prettier! You’re totally totally yellow! Yeah!”

[Is that so? Grandma is pretty?]

“Yeah! This is a present for Grandma!”

Se-gi gave Soon-ae the pretty maple leaf she had picked up at the entrance.

Soon-ae’s eyes welled up with tears.

[My child, your heart is so beautiful too.]

“Hehe…!”

Jung-woo drew a smile on his lips, one that escaped from deep within him at the heartwarming sight.

Ttiring!

【”A colorful rural mountain village!” It’s the child’s first hike in her life! Standing in the middle of a landscape full of seasonal spirit is truly a special thing! [Great Caregiver (5/10)] *Collect stickers to unlock skills!*】

He was grateful for the accompanying praise.

It was a meeting he had planned since he first came to know Soon-ae.

He wanted to tell the old woman, who had become a loner after losing everything she loved in her life, that none of it was her fault and that she was entirely worthy of cherishing and loving something.

He also wanted to let Se-gi meet a good adult as she grew up.

Just as he had hoped, the sight of them welcoming each other was heartwarming in itself.

It continued that way afterward.

“Miss Shin Se-gi! So nice to meet you! I’m Uncle Baek Geun-ho, Jung-woo Ham’s junior!”

“Whoa! You’re so big…!”

“Se-gi, this is the uncle who gifted you the shark doll!”

“Gasp! King Shark Uncle!”

“Hahaha! That’s right, Uncle is King Shark Uncle! Um, keureureung? Wait, Ham! How does a shark cry?”

“…Right?”

Geun-ho, who had asked to be invited to such occasions, arrived right on time.

Following him was Hae-seo, who had said she couldn’t promise anything due to her schedule.

“So you’re Se-gi? Nice to meet you.”

“Gasp! You’re the person on TV!”

“Se-gi knows me too?”

“Super pretty person!”

“Such good manners.”

She was a very sociable child.

The two visitors quickly found themselves charmed by Se-gi’s liveliness and became her playmates.

Geun-ho and Hae-seo growled at each other, but whenever Se-gi looked their way, they put on strained smiles, perhaps mindful of the child.

There could be no moment more fitting of the word ‘vacation’ than this.

For the child, the experience of running around a rural mountain village in autumn was incredibly special.

Thus, around sunset, perhaps finding the blazing sunset so beautiful, Se-gi sat on the porch and stared endlessly at the sight.

The sight of the child’s round back of the head, her mouth agape, imprinted itself deeply onto Jung-woo’s retinas.

Chalkak!

He took a picture.

To stack them up in an album, promising to look back at them together when the child was all grown up.

“Ham! Time for dinner!”

“Yes, Se-gi. Let’s go.”

They would light a bonfire in the yard and eat.

It was Geun-ho’s plan, who had camping knowledge.

Just as he picked Se-gi up and headed to the yard.

Jung-woo was startled.

“Mr. Chairman?”

“Oh, Mr. Jung-woo, enjoying your vacation?”

“What brings you here?”

“Heard you were drinking, so I came.”

He didn’t seem like the type to enjoy drinking or company dinners that much.

Despite his thoughts, a surge of joy welled up inside him.

Se-gi seemed to feel the same way.

“Friend Uncle!”

“Nice to see you too, Se-gi. It’s been a while.”

“Yeah!”

Seeing a familiar face seemed to excite her all over again.

Besides, Ho-jong was naturally good with children.

“Did Friend Uncle walk up the mountain too?”

“No, Uncle’s knees hurt, so I flew here on a jet.”

“Gasp! Where’s the jet!”

“It’s an invisible jet, so kids can’t see it.”

“Show it to Se-gi too!!!”

“It’s a state secret, so I can’t.”

He quickly dived into a strange story.

Even so, his hands steadily poured soju into the glasses, golgol.

“Sorry to interrupt you young folks having fun. But since the grandmother is here too, I should balance things out.”

[You say that after not showing your face for over ten years?]

“Cut me some slack. I’m here now, aren’t I?”

It was a candid conversation, true to his personality.

Letting out a breath of a laugh at that, Jung-woo went to the bonfire.

“Wait just a moment, Ham. I’ll grill this so amazingly for you.”

“Is there anything I can help with?”

“Hehehe! I don’t compromise when it comes to grilling meat. It’s my pride!”

Saying that, he began grilling the meat to a perfect golden brown, chiek, chiek.

Jung-woo roasted marshmallows with Se-gi sitting on his lap.

The outside of the white treat became charred, and the moment he peeled it, the stretchy sight made Se-gi scream with joy.

It was a moment like that.

Whether intentionally or not, they didn’t talk much about North Korea.

Thanks to that, the atmosphere resembled a workshop retreat, and Se-gi savored her joy in front of more attention than ever.

The sun completely set.

Around that time, a specialness only revealed in this remote mountain village was etched across the sky.

“The stars are totally twinkling!”

“Right?”

“Yeah! They look like star candies!”

Even as she spoke, her knowledge showing off continued without fail.

“You know what stars are~ They’re rocks floating in space, you know~”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah! They orbit around the sun~”

When he gently stroked her head, Se-gi just giggled.

Lying on the porch and looking at the sky like that, it seemed Se-gi’s excitement was overflowing from her basket of emotions.

“Se-gi wants to be a spaceman!”

“An astronaut?”

“Yeah! I’m going to live in space!”

She was a child with so many things she wanted to do.

Every time she encountered something new, her dreams grew one by one; a child who stacked happiness in the still-empty storehouse of her memories.

For such a child, the world of space was cast over her.

It was a moment when the faintly shining starlight embedded itself into her eyes.

Ttiring!

Perhaps that was the right answer, as an alarm popped up.

【”The season of clear autumn skies! You’ve participated in a festival of countless star clusters embroidering the high sky!” The word ‘spaceman’ has been etched into the child’s dream box! [Great Caregiver (6/10)] *Collect stickers to unlock skills!*】

Every time she did something new, she got one.

It meant that this moment was just that special to Se-gi.

But it didn’t end there.

Ttiring!

Jung-woo’s eyes widened.

【Please show more of the world to this little treasure who can only explore it through you! So that the child’s imagination can bloom more colorfully!】

【Se-gi’s World (2/?)】

A special quest.

And, a reward.

【1st Branch point reached!】

【A skill will be unlocked!】

Just as he thought, it was a quest that granted rewards upon reaching certain milestones.

‘A new skill?’

It was clearly a skill other than summoning.

Thus, Jung-woo’s upper body straightened.

But the surprise soon turned into bewilderment.

【Skill: [■■■■] is being registered!】

Jung-woo’s brow furrowed.

The night in Seolyang Village was quiet and beautiful.

Ho-jong added one more expression to that.

“It’s still the same. This place.”

Filling two glasses with soju on the bench in the village square, he was gulping down one of them.

“Looks like you managed it well, Grandma.”

[Jung-woo helped a lot. Coming to visit this old woman and spending time with me. There’s no filial son quite like him.]

“He nags me so much, but I guess he treats you well.”

[How sturdy and reliable Jung-woo is. Yes indeed.]

“He is sturdy, of course.”

Ho-jong’s demeanor was calm.

They had a brief chat, and soon drank their soju in silence, using it as their side dish.

When the moment had fully ripened.

[You didn’t just come for a visit, did you?]

“…I’m sorry. I’m a fool who only comes when there’s business.”

Ho-jong’s gaze sank.

A deep bitterness wrapped around the space.

Soon-ae felt the same.

[Did you get the report? The wound on the Three-legged Crow’s belly.]

“Yes.”

[What do you think?]

Ho-jong silently swallowed his drink.

His gaze remained fixed on the night sky.

“Well…”

The following words quickly scattered in the night breeze.

“…It’s fucking terrible. That’s all.”

The night insects cried.