Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 17: Dad’s Secret

“Ti-Ti, Tyrel-nim!”

A bizarre-looking dwarf goblin shouted in a shrill voice and knelt. Goblins were originally a small race, but the one kneeling now was so small that it could be called deformed.

However, as if it had some talent, it was wearing quite luxurious silk ornaments.

“What is it?”

A husky female voice came from inside the veil that blocked one side of the room.

The goblin bowed its head once more and reported in a flattering manner.

“I-I have finished the in-interrogation as you com-commanded!”

“And so……?”

“Th-That is……”

“Get to the point. I’m busy.”

A drop of sweat trickled down the goblin’s grotesquely contorted forehead.

The goblin cleared its throat and made its voice as sly as possible.

“That human from another world said he saw a man in armor and a sword in that world!”

“……Is that all?”

“Th-That is……! He said that in that world, people rarely……no, no one walks around dressed like that!”

“Hmm……”

“So……He must be the, the……the human we are looking for……!”

“……That could be.”

Suddenly, the veil was pulled back. The dwarf goblin involuntarily opened its mouth and stared at the figure that emerged from behind the veil.

A tall and slender dark elf woman revealed herself.

Her smooth, dark blue skin was bare, adorned only with simple gold ornaments in her snow-white hair.

Tyrel, who seemed to have just finished a meal, wiped the blood from her lips with a soft velvet cloth and met the eyes of the dwarf goblin staring at her.

“What are you looking at?”

“Ah, gasp! I-I’m so-sorry……!”

The goblin slammed its head on the floor as if trying to break it.

Tyrel looked down at the dwarf goblin with contempt and opened her mouth.

“Foolish creature……!”

“I-I’m sorry! Eek……!”

Tyrel looked down at the trembling dwarf goblin for a moment and then continued.

“Then, does that mean that all the subordinates I sent haven’t returned because of that guy……?”

“Th-That must be it……! The weapons of the soldiers of that world didn’t work on the Bugbears……but……he said that the armored guy dealt with them very easily……!”

“Indeed……Was he a knight……?”

Tyrel licked her lips and muttered to herself for a moment.

“Yes……That would explain it……Good, call Ashkar!”

“M-Master Ashkar……?”

“Is there another Ashkar?”

“Ah, ah, no. I-I’ll call him!”

The dwarf goblin, who had been lying flat on its stomach, staggered to its feet and exited the room with a servile bow.

Tyrel clicked her tongue lightly, lifted the veil, and entered the room.

Crossing the room, lavishly decorated with blood-red silk and gold, with quick steps, Tyrel stood in front of a table placed in a corner.

Several tightly rolled magic scrolls were lined up on the table.

“Only 6 left……”

After checking the number of scrolls, Tyrel bit her nails and walked towards the heavy dining table in the middle of the room. It was quite a different appearance from the relaxed and arrogant one she had just a moment ago.

“If even Ashkar fails……I only have two chances left……”

Muttering with her lips bitten, Tyrel picked up a piece of meat placed on the dining table.

It was a human thigh, dripping with fresh blood.

“……Perhaps……I’ll have to go myself……”

Tyrel bit into the meat with a nervous attitude. Even redder blood trickled down from between her red lips.

******

Red liquid dripped onto the plate.

Juicy roast beef, roasted vegetables, and mashed potatoes.

The food on Jin Beom-Min’s plate was practically soul food to him.

Although he had settled in South Korea for nearly 30 years, this kind of food suited his palate better than rice and kimchi jjigae.

The taste buds formed in childhood last a lifetime.

On the other hand, Su-Yeon and Seong-Gyun, who were Korean from birth, were eating their fill of fried rice, tangsuyuk, and chicken, foods that any Korean would love.

“But Dad, is something going on these days?”

“What do you mean something’s going on……Why?”

“Well, you don’t usually come to places like this because they’re expensive.”

Seong-Gyun said, swirling his fork around to indicate their surroundings.

The upscale buffet located in the department store food court was bustling with people for lunchtime. Most of them were families like them.

“It’s not that expensive……Hey, Dad makes good money.”

“And you even bought us clothes like this. It’s not like you.”

Large shopping bags were piled high on the empty seat of the four-person table they were sitting at.

They were clothes purchased at the department store before entering the restaurant.

Among them were some quite well-known brand products, so all together, they would be worth one or two million won.

He did spend more money than usual, but it was a drop in the bucket compared to the money he had recently earned.

The daily wage he received from the Somalia operation alone was over 2 billion won. He would have to spend a lot more than this to save on taxes.

Jin Beom-Min shrugged and replied.

“I went on a long business trip recently. That job paid well.”

“Hmm……Well, we’re happy about it……”

It wasn’t time to tell the children the truth yet. Even if he told them the truth, they probably wouldn’t believe him, just like last time.

Indeed, even for his own children, it would be hard to believe that their dad, who used to install tiles at construction sites, was now a special agent designated by the National Intelligence Service and the most important person sought after by intelligence agencies worldwide.

Furthermore, his identity was now a top-secret national secret. Just revealing it to an unqualified person could result in legal punishment.

So, he had no choice but to vaguely gloss over it until the inevitable moment arrived.

“Hey, you shouldn’t worry about what Dad’s doing and just focus on your own things.”

Su-Yeon, who had been picking at her food with a sullen expression, suddenly criticized Seong-Gyun.

Seong-Gyun retorted, flustered.

“What did I do?”

“You said you’d clean while Dad was away. But how many times did you actually clean?”

“Ah, why do I have to clean every day? Once a week is enough.”

“Ugh, you dirty pig.”

Jin Beom-Min, who had been watching them, decided to change the subject for fear that the fight would escalate again.

“Oh, by the way, Su-Yeon, how’s your preparation for the National Sports Festival going?”

“Just, you know……”

“You need to eat well to train hard, so why are you picking at your food like that?”

“Because she’s a pig.”

Seong-Gyun chimed in sarcastically, but when Jin Beom-Min and Jin Su-Yeon both glared at him with sharp eyes, he lowered his gaze back to his plate.

Su-Yeon sighed and replied in a weak voice.

“It’s because my weight hasn’t been going down.”

“Didn’t you say there are no weight classes in fencing?”

When Jin Beom-Min asked back, Su-Yeon shook her head and replied.

“No, we still have to record and submit our weight.”

Perhaps because she inherited the genes of Jin Beom-Min, who weighed much more than Earthlings, Su-Yeon and Seong-Gyun also weighed more than they looked.

Just by looking at her physique, Su-Yeon seemed like she would weigh around 40-50kg, but her actual weight was over 70kg.

It wasn’t a weight that a high school girl could easily reveal to others.

Feeling a bit guilty, Jin Beom-Min offered words of comfort.

“It’s okay. It’s not because you’re fat. It’s just your……physique……”

“Ugh, I know. I know……But it’s still embarrassing……”

Su-Yeon rummaged through her plate, which was mostly filled with salad, and then put down her fork. It seemed like the talk about weight had ruined her appetite.

Jin Beom-Min tried to change the mood by bringing up a new topic in a bright voice.

“Hurry up and eat. Let’s go look at some electronics while we’re out.”

“Electronics?”

Seong-Gyun asked back in a bright voice. Jin Beom-Min nodded and added generously.

“Yeah, let’s get a bigger TV……and a robot vacuum cleaner. Then you won’t have to clean as much.”

“Me, me! I want a Playstation!”

“What’s that?”

“Ah, a game console! You don’t even know that?”

Then Su-Yeon interjected.

“Hey, you’re always playing games, why do you need another game console?”

“Ugh, are PC games and console games the same? You don’t know anything.”

“I know you’re a game addict.”

“Ah, what addict? Where can you find a diligent student like me? Don’t you know I got a perfect score on the mock exam this time?”

“What good is it if you’re only good at studying? You need to be a decent human being.”

Yes, it was better for them to fight than to be depressed. Jin Beom-Min shook his head and put food in his mouth.

Just then, Jin Beom-Min’s phone rang. Caller ID restricted. It must be Lee Sang-Jun.

“Just a moment.”

Jin Beom-Min got up from his seat, pressing the answer button.

“Hello.”

[Monsters have appeared again. Please come to headquarters immediately.]

Lee Sang-Jun went straight to the point. It was something he had expected to some extent, but Jin Beom-Min couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

It had been quite a while since he had spent time with his children.

“Ha, these guys don’t even take weekends off……”

[Of course, your pay will be calculated as holiday work.]

Those words caught Jin Beom-Min’s attention.

It was a shame that he had to cut short his time with his children, but enough money could make up for that regret.

“Where is it this time……?”

[France.]

“France……?”

Even by plane, it would take more than 10 hours to get to France.

That meant a guaranteed round trip of at least 200 million won just for the flight time.

Jin Beom-Min cheered internally but clicked his tongue as if he couldn’t help it.

“Tsk……Alright.”

[This time, the French side officially requested our help. It should be easier to operate than last time.]

“They officially requested it……? How did they know about us……?”

[It seems there was someone among the hostages rescued in Somalia who had connections with the French government.]

“Ah……”

[I heard he was someone who had served as the Vice Minister of Health in the past. Anyway, it seems he strongly insisted to the French government that they should ‘request help from Korea, who resolved the Somalia incident.’]

This meant that the ‘mystery marketing’ strategy Lee Sang-Jun had instructed had worked perfectly.

‘Officially,’ Korea had not intervened in the Somalia incident, but the countries involved, especially the Western powers, were well aware of who had resolved the situation.

It was a clever plan to reap national benefits while preventing the identities of Ghost Squad and Jin Beom-Min from being revealed to the public.

Jin Beom-Min was inwardly impressed by Lee Sang-Jun’s arrangements and replied.

“Alright. I’ll be there as soon as possible.”

He hung up the phone and returned to the table, addressing Su-Yeon and Seong-Gyun.

“Kids, I’m sorry, but something urgent came up.”

“Right now?”

“Yes. I have to go right now. It might take a few days.”

It wouldn’t take just a few hours to travel to faraway Europe.

Jin Beom-Min felt sorry even as he hurried. It had been quite a while since they had a family meal out.

Then Seong-Gyun replied in a disappointed voice.

“Then what about the Playstation……?”

“Hey, when did Dad say he’d buy you one?”

Jin Beom-Min took out several 100,000 won checks from his wallet and handed them to his bickering children.

“Buy your Playstation or whatever with this, and split the rest between yourselves. Su-Yeon, you can buy something you want too.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yes! Score!”

Jin Beom-Min hurriedly shoved the remaining food into his mouth and got up from his seat.

“I’m going. I have a lot of luggage, so take a taxi!”

“Don’t worry! Nuna is strong!”

“Hey, carry your own stuff.”

“Dad’s going!”

As Jin Beom-Min hurriedly left the restaurant, Seong-Gyun opened his mouth in a meaningful tone.

“Hmm……He must have a girlfriend.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Look, he’s always out of the house for days, and his face has been all smiles lately……”

“He said it was a business trip!”

“What business trip on a weekend? Have you ever seen construction work on a weekend?”

“Uh……Is that so?”

“See! He must be seeing some rich lady.”

Seong-Gyun said, counting the checks Jin Beom-Min had given him.

Su-Yeon, who had been speculating that he might be involved in something related to the armor and sword he had shown them before, was confused by Seong-Gyun’s rather convincing words.

“Still, he’s providing for us……He’s probably dating some rich and ugly pig lady and getting money from her……Something like that.”

“Ugh, your imagination is amazing, isn’t it?”

“Maybe that lady made him wear that armor and do knight cosplay? Ugh, that’s disgusting.”

“Hey, aren’t you going too far?”

“I bet I’m right.”

“Ugh, you have a dirty mind.”

Su-Yeon shook her head and grabbed Seong-Gyun’s hand as he tried to slip the checks into his pocket. She then snatched half of the checks and said.

“Dad must be doing something important. He’ll tell us when the time is right.”

“What is it?”

“How would I know? Anyway, just eat your food. We need to go shopping.”

“Oh, right! I need to buy a Playstation!”

While Seong-Gyun eagerly stuffed the remaining food into his mouth, Su-Yeon sighed and looked at the exit where Jin Beom-Min had left. There was a lonely look in her eyes.