Actually, Dad Was a Hero

Chapter 8: Because We’re Family

The driver’s seat of the old 1-ton truck, which he had been driving for almost 10 years, comfortably embraced his body.

Jin Beom-Min sat blankly for a moment with his hands on the steering wheel.

He felt a lack of reality in the impulsive decision he had just made. But he didn’t regret it.

Tile installation wasn’t a bad job, but it was time-consuming.

Sometimes he suffered unfair treatment from the building owners, and sometimes he was even cheated out of his payment.

There were times when he had no work and had to stay in the countryside for days, or even weeks, away from his children.

Nevertheless, the reason he couldn’t quit his job was his immediate livelihood and his two children who depended solely on him.

If only the money problem could be solved, he wanted to choose a job that would allow him to spend more time with his family.

Moreover, defeating monsters and protecting people was something he had considered his mission since he was young.

He was finally able to fulfill that mission.

In addition, he could earn a considerable amount of money……no, quite a lot of money.

Jin Beom-Min took out his smartphone and launched the banking app. And he confirmed that the text message he had just received wasn’t a dream.

A faint smile spread across his lips.

He thought the daily wage would be quite substantial, considering the flight time to and from Vietnam and the fact that he returned to Korea late at night.

But 250 million won even after taxes……It was much more than he expected.

Furthermore, the actual combat time was only a few minutes.

Even when he was sitting blankly on the plane or waiting boredly at the airport, even when he was enjoying himself drinking on the return flight, his daily wage was steadily accumulating.

“Wow……This is a real sweet deal……”

Now that the situation had turned out this way, the past days he had spent diligently and silently working on tile installation felt somewhat empty.

This is how easily human perception and meaning can change.

Jin Beom-Min, who had been savoring the numbers displayed on his smartphone screen several times, let out a sigh.

“Ha……So what do I do now……?”

Now that he had quit the job he had been doing as naturally as breathing, he had no idea what to do next.

He felt uneasy about going home and resting, and he couldn’t think of what to say to his children.

It’s not like monsters are going to attack right away……

“Ah, right.”

Jin Beom-Min rummaged through his wallet and found a business card. Then he dialed the number on the card.

[Yes, this is Inbiz Trading.]

“May I speak to Mr. Lee Sang-Jun?”

[Who should I say is calling?]

“This is Jin Beom-Min.”

[Yes, please hold.]

After a brief hold music with poor sound quality, there was a crackling noise. And then a strange voice came through.

[Secure line connected. Connecting you to Director Lee Sang-Jun.]

“Ah, yes.”

He felt like he was the protagonist of a spy movie.

In fact, he was actually a special designated agent of the National Intelligence Service, so it wasn’t wrong.

After a while, Lee Sang-Jun’s voice came from the receiver.

[Ah, Mr. Jin Beom-Min. What’s the matter?]

“Ah, yes. I received the payment you sent.”

[Ah, yes. You confirmed the amount, right? Including the total flight time, the total working hours are 11 hours, with 3 hours of nighttime overtime work and a 1.5 times overseas business trip allowance, making it 262.5 million won. After deducting the 3.3% income tax withholding, it should be around 250 million won……]

“Ah, yes. I think that’s correct.”

[Haha, yes.]

“It’s not about that……I called you because I have another favor to ask.”

[A favor?]

“Yes. That is……Could you possibly help me with some training?”

[Training……?]

Jin Beom-Min touched his chest and shoulders while sitting.

He was still in good shape, but there was a clear difference from his old body, the perfect body he had 28 years ago.

For now, there was no problem because the monsters he was dealing with were so weak, but stronger monsters might appear in the future.

If so, he needed to train his body more, even now.

It would be difficult to go back to his teens and twenties, but he thought it would be good to do as much as he could.

He had plenty of time now, anyway.

“Yes, since I’m a bit different from others, I can’t just go to a regular gym and work out, can I?”

[Yes……Well, that’s true.]

“I would like a facility with proper equipment and a professional trainer. If necessary, you can deduct the necessary expenses from my future payments.”

[Hmm, but would you have the time? Training while working……]

“Haha, I quit my job.”

******

Lee Sang-Jun clenched his fist and silently made a victory gesture.

The large agent who was monitoring the call across from him rummaged through his pockets with a disappointed expression and found a 10,000 won bill, handing it to Lee Sang-Jun. Lee Sang-Jun triumphantly waved the bill and continued the conversation.

“Alright. I’ll see if I can find a suitable training facility. Anything else? Yes, yes. I understand. Then.”

As Lee Sang-Jun hung up the phone, the large agent said in a grumpy voice.

“But how did you know? That Mr. Jin Beom-Min would quit his job right away?”

“You didn’t see Mr. Jin Beom-Min’s face in Vietnam. He had a completely elated expression. Would such a person go back to an ordinary job? Nah, there’s no way.”

“Well, that’s true. He’s made quite a bit of money……”

“Right. Why would he bother with a tough job when there’s something more exciting and lucrative?”

Then the large agent asked as if he had just remembered something.

“But aren’t we paying him too much? The amount we just paid might be a problem if we get audited later……”

“No.”

Lee Sang-Jun shook his head firmly and continued.

“We have to give him enough to make him think it’s too much. Otherwise, we’ll lose him.”

“Lose him?”

Lee Sang-Jun sighed and glared at the agent with a look of disdain. Then he opened his mouth again.

“Sigh, you read the report too, didn’t you? That the activities of foreign agents residing in our country have increased by 47% since the Vietnam operation. What do you think they’re looking for?”

“Uh……”

“Do you think foreign intelligence agencies are blind and completely unaware of what happened in Vietnam? No. They would have investigated it in their own way. Of course, they wouldn’t have found out everything, but wouldn’t they have figured out that we were involved in the incident in Vietnam?”

“Hmm, I guess so.”

“In the end, it’s only a matter of time before Ghost Squad or Mr. Jin Beom-Min are exposed. Especially if monsters keep appearing.”

“……But what does that have to do with money……?”

Lee Sang-Jun sighed once again and said in an agitated voice.

“Use your brain, you idiot! What do you think will happen if foreign intelligence agencies find out about Mr. Jin Beom-Min? They’ve found the only person who can respond to monsters, and you think they’ll just leave him alone?”

“Uh……They’ll try to recruit him?”

“Of course, dummy! They’ll try to recruit him by offering hundreds of millions, billions of won, wouldn’t they?”

“Ah……I see……”

“That’s why we have to build trust by generously bribing him from now on. Got it? Otherwise, we’ll end up wasting our efforts. Understand?”

“Ah, yes. I understand. As expected of the Director……!”

As the large agent gave a thumbs-up with a flattering expression, Lee Sang-Jun shook his head.

“You’ll never get promoted in this field, man.”

“Hey, isn’t this how we all learn?”

“Shut up and find a suitable place. Preferably spacious, inconspicuous, and close to Seongnam Airport.”

“Yes, sir.”

******

Beep beep beep – Ding!

The digital door lock opened with a cheerful sound effect.

Jin Beom-Min, who was sprawled comfortably on the sofa, was startled and quickly found the remote to turn off the TV and straightened his posture.

He hadn’t done anything wrong, but he felt guilty for relaxing comfortably at home on a weekday afternoon.

Su-Yeon, who was taking off her shoes and entering the house with an indifferent expression, asked in surprise.

“Dad?”

“Oh, you’re back?”

“What are you doing home at this hour?”

Construction site work wasn’t always available every day. Sometimes there were days with no work, and the scheduled work would change due to weather or site conditions.

However, as a single parent raising two children, he couldn’t just play around when there was no work.

Therefore, he usually went to temporary employment agencies even on days without work, looking for daily wage jobs. So it was natural for Su-Yeon to be surprised when she came home from school.

“Oh, I’m just taking a break for the first time in a while.”

“On a weekday?”

“There have to be days like this. Haha.”

Jin Beom-Min awkwardly laughed and scratched his head.

It wasn’t strange to take a day or two off after working hard, but he felt like he wasn’t setting a good example as a parent, resting in front of his child.

“Did you have lunch? You should have told me if you were home, I would have bought something.”

“Hey, I can take care of my own meals.”

Su-Yeon nodded and went to her room, busily changing clothes and packing her things.

“Where’s Seong-Gyun?”

When Jin Beom-Min asked, Su-Yeon answered nonchalantly.

“He’s probably at the PC room. He practically lives there on weekdays.”

“Ah, I see.”

Seong-Gyun was completely obsessed with games these days.

He played games on the computer whenever he had free time at home, and on weekends, he would sit in front of the computer all day long.

However, neither Jin Beom-Min nor Jin Su-Yeon were too worried.

Despite being half-crazy about games, his grades were always at the top.

And honestly, it was better for him to be absorbed in games than to be hanging out with bad company.

However, Jin Beom-Min had heard that Seong-Gyun’s gaming skills weren’t very good.

Considering the amount of time he spent, he should be a pro gamer by now, but he was actually stuck in the below-average tier and couldn’t climb any higher.

He kept saying it was because of bad team luck, but……having bad team luck every time actually meant that he was the problem.

Jin Beom-Min asked his daughter, who was busy getting ready to go out.

“Is the preparation for the National Sports Festival going well?”

“It’s going alright, I guess. It’s the high school division anyway.”

Su-Yeon replied while changing into her training clothes and packing her underwear and towel.

If Seong-Gyun was talented in academics, Su-Yeon was talented in sports.

She had become increasingly interested in fencing, which she started two years ago, and now her skills had improved so much that they could expect a gold medal at the National Sports Festival.

Jin Beom-Min was quite proud of his eldest daughter, who had always been good at sports, from running and soccer to Taekwondo.

As someone who had lived in Jindar, where they were constantly threatened by monsters, he felt more reassured that his child was good at sports rather than academics.

Even though it had been almost 30 years since he came to Earth, the notions ingrained in him from childhood didn’t change easily.

“Should I give you a ride to the gym?”

Jin Beom-Min asked casually and then regretted it.

He thought it might not be appropriate to give his daughter, a high school sophomore in her sensitive years, a ride in his old truck.

However, Su-Yeon smiled slightly and nodded immediately.

“Of course! I’d love that!”

“Oh, okay. Let’s go then.”

Jin Beom-Min picked up the car keys from the table and headed for the front door.

It felt good that his children seemed to be well-educated, even though it had been three years since his wife passed away.

“But Dad, is everything okay?”

Su-Yeon asked in a serious tone as he drove the truck onto the road in front of their house.

Jin Beom-Min shrugged and tried to answer nonchalantly.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, you know. You suddenly bought me a smartphone, which you never used to buy. And you’re suddenly resting at home on a weekday afternoon. It’s not like you.”

“Hey, you’re complaining even after I bought it for you.”

“And that too.”

“That?”

Jin Su-Yeon pointed her chin towards the object placed in the back of the truck seat.

In the remaining space behind the seat, armor and a sword were carelessly placed along with some construction tools.

“Ah……That……”

He had put the sword and armor in the back of the seat because he didn’t have anywhere else to store them, but he had completely forgotten about them.

Jin Beom-Min felt cold sweat running down his back as he thought.

‘Should I tell her that I quit my job and that monster hunting is my new job……?’

But Su-Yeon was the one who didn’t believe him when he said he was a hero.

If he said that now, she would probably think he was delusional.

Besides, he didn’t want to tell her that he had quit his job. He didn’t want to make his children feel insecure.

While Jin Beom-Min was contemplating, Su-Yeon asked in an even more serious tone.

“Is it……related to that incident in the past?”

“That incident?”

“Those strange……religious group people, I mean.”

Screech!

Jin Beom-Min suddenly slammed on the brakes. The car following behind came to an abrupt stop and honked repeatedly in anger.

“……You, you remember that?”

“Vaguely.”

Jin Beom-Min was speechless for a long time, his face filled with bewilderment at Su-Yeon’s answer.

Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk! Honk!

The car behind them honked loudly again, as if enraged. The sound brought Jin Beom-Min back to his senses, and he started driving again.

But he still had a dazed expression on his face.

“……You thought I wouldn’t remember?”

“……I was only five years old then……But why didn’t you tell me until now?”

Su-Yeon hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“I had completely forgotten about it too. But I started remembering bits and pieces from some point on. Those people back then……And Dad’s scary expression……”

“Yes……”

Jin Beom-Min answered with a complicated expression, took a deep breath, and then spoke in a brighter voice.

“Anyway, it’s not related to that. So don’t worry.”

“……Okay. But you have to tell me if anything happens, okay?”

“Of course.”

“Because we’re family.”

Su-Yeon’s added words pierced Jin Beom-Min’s heart sharply.

‘Because we’re family.’

Those were the words his deceased wife, Lee Soo-Jin, always used to say.

A warm sense of relief and a heavy sense of responsibility. And a single phrase that gave a solid sense of stability.

With that heavy phrase, he could do anything, and with that warm phrase, he couldn’t hide anything.

He learned a skill, got a job, and became a father despite his fears.

He didn’t even create a small emergency fund, even when he received holiday bonuses, and he never looked at another woman.

That’s how it was back then. When she was still alive.

But now……something had changed. Forever.

“Yes……Because we’re family……”

Jin Beom-Min uttered those words with difficulty, with bitterness, unlike before.