Chapter 12

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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Papa's Little Princess
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Meanwhile, around the time the drinking party was in full swing.

The great demon Marbas, who had been unceremoniously turned into an adorable Doberman, was monopolizing the attention and affection of the passersby.

“Oh my god, seriously! So cute.”

“I know, right?”

“Hey there, little guy. Where's your owner?”

At the young woman’s question, Marbas whipped his head away.

‘Hmph, how insolent! Do you have any idea who I am, to dare treat me like a mere puppy?’

The young woman then tentatively asked her friend.

“It should be okay if I pet him, right?”

“But Dobermans can be aggressive...”

“Nah, he looks super gentle.”

The young woman immediately crouched in front of Marbas and began to gently stroke his whole body.

“Wow, his fur is so soft.”

Unable to resist, Marbas began to let out a soft, cute rumble. “Grrr...”

‘The shame...’

If not for the Immortal’s order to ‘put him down’ the moment he showed any hostility toward a human...

‘You would have been a dead woman!’

But for some reason, her touch felt surprisingly pleasant.

“Grrr, rrrr...”

Just then, as the young woman was petting every inch of Marbas, she seemed to remember something and muttered, “Ah, right!”

She suddenly reached into her handbag, fumbled around for a moment, and pulled out a dog chew.

“I bought this for my puppy, but I’ll share one with you.”

Then, after one last pat, she said, “I have to go,” and left, looking disappointed.

For a moment, Marbas stared down at the ‘dog chew’ before him, his chin held high with an air of arrogance.

After a quick glance to his left and right, he immediately lowered his snout...

He began to tear at the dog chew with all his might.

‘This is... fun.’

It was nothing more than a bone-shaped piece of leather with no flavor whatsoever.

But why did chewing and playing with it feel so entertaining?

Marbas was so engrossed in the dog chew that he lost all track of time.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

At the voice from above, Marbas slowly raised his head...

“Th-that is...”

His eyes met with the ‘Immortal,’ who was looking down at him with an undisguised smirk.

“No, no, just keep doing what you were doing.”

With that short reply, Kang-jun picked his teeth with a green toothpick and glanced back inside the restaurant.

“Tsk, why’d he drink so much when he can’t even hold his liquor...?”

Kim Bong-gu was so drunk he couldn’t even stand, so Crabslie was practically carrying him on his back as they came out.

“Jugun, shall I kill him?”

To that, Kang-jun retorted, “Cut it out,” and added.

“Let’s take him home.”

Crabslie licked his lower lip and asked again.

“Hmm, I’m quite sure Her Highness Subin will not be pleased...”

“We can’t just leave him on the street, can we?”

With that, Kang-jun picked up Marbas and hailed a taxi that was driving down the road.

“Where to?”

Kang-jun replied, “Here,” and handed over the memo his sister had written the address on before they left.

The taxi began to speed through the city...

Kang-jun’s gaze shifted to the seat right next to him.

Kim Bong-gu was completely passed out.

“The punk is completely out.”

But was he having a terrible nightmare?

“Hngh, ugh...”

He kept groaning, his brow furrowed.

“Man, you’re a handful.”

Kang-jun reached out and gently placed his hand on Kim Bong-gu’s forehead...

He slowly began to condense a minuscule amount of mana into his palm.

Dream Weaving.

It was a dark magic he had learned directly from oneiric demons like succubi and incubi, allowing him to freely manipulate a target’s ‘dream.’

Although he had only learned it out of simple curiosity, barely scratching the surface, and his proficiency was too low to control the dream’s content in detail...

‘Still, showing him his happiest memory should be simple enough...’

A faint smile began to spread across the lips of Kim Bong-gu, who had been letting out pained groans.

“If reality is such a shithole, you should at least have good dreams.”

Muttering softly, Kang-jun leaned back comfortably and murmured again as he looked out the window.

“Have a good night.”

Just then, the taxi was passing through the bustling area near Sillim Intersection Station.

“Huh?”

A brightly lit sign caught Kang-jun’s eye.

[ 24-Hour Comic Book Cafe. ]

Come to think of it, he used to love reading comics and novels.

Maybe he should stop by sometime soon to get a real feel for being back on Earth.

The brow of the soundly sleeping Kim Bong-gu began to twitch slightly.

It was because...

A voice he had missed with every fiber of his being was echoing in his ears.

‘Bong-gu.’

It was his father.

Kim Bong-gu’s tightly shut eyes fluttered open.

Was he eight years old?

No, that wasn't it.

Was he nine?

Though he couldn’t remember exactly, there was a time when the whole family went camping by a lake.

The young Kim Bong-gu in the dream seemed to be wandering through a moment from that day.

‘Bong-gu, try it again like Dad showed you.’

The young Kim Bong-gu in the dream, with his tiny hands, threw the flat stone he was clutching tightly toward the surface of the lake...

Splash, splash, splash-!

The stone skipped three times across the water’s surface before finally sinking.

‘That’s it, you did great!’

His father ruffled his hair.

‘Wow, if you practice just a little more, you might get even better than Dad.’

He had a mountain of things he wanted to say...

But for some reason, his voice wouldn't come out.

The father in the dream looked down at the young Bong-gu.

‘Bong-gu.’

The low, gentle voice mercilessly tore at his heart.

‘Our Bong-gu has gotten so big.’

His father's hand, which looked as large and sturdy as a cauldron lid, gently stroked young Bong-gu’s hair.

‘Bong-gu, if Dad isn’t around, you’re the man of the house.’

*Then why can’t you just stay, Dad?*

‘When that time comes, our Bong-gu can be a big boy and protect his mom and sister, right?’

*Dad, I don’t think I can.*

*I’m sorry.*

*It’s too hard.*

‘Dad is counting on our Bong-gu.’

Young Bong-gu’s small hand clutched his father’s sleeve tightly.

*Dad, don’t go.*

*When we go to the bathhouse together, I won’t rush you to go home early.*

*When we go fishing, I won’t act bored...*

*When we go hiking, I won't whine and ask for a piggyback ride.*

Just then, his mother’s voice called from a distance.

‘Dinner’s ready! Everyone, come and eat!’

Young Kim Bong-gu paused and stared blankly at the scene.

‘Honey, doesn’t this look delicious?’

First, his mother, looking so healthy, a stark contrast to her current state lying unconscious in bed...

‘Mom, Dad, so I was saying...’

Beside her, his younger sister, Seung-hui, chattering away with a bright, beaming smile...

‘You want a beer, too?’

And finally, his father, who had already sat down and was sipping a can of beer...

‘Ah, this is the life. We should make time to come out like this more often.’

‘I know. The kids seem to love it, too.’

His father then waved with a smile.

‘Bong-gu, what are you doing? Come on over!’

Young Kim Bong-gu started running with all his might toward where his family was gathered.

As he ran until he thought his heart would burst, tears suddenly began to stream down his cheeks.

He was twenty-three this year.

He was perhaps far too young to spend every day just enduring, pretending he was okay.

But Kim Bong-gu had to endure.

He believed he was his family’s only hope.

He felt that if he broke down, everyone would fall apart with him.

He had always forced a smile, gritting his teeth to get through each day.

Finally, the young Kim Bong-gu in the dream burst into tears.

‘Bong-gu, why are you crying?’

His mother asked, her tone filled with concern.

Only then could young Kim Bong-gu answer out loud.

“No, it’s just, the food...”

‘The food?’

“It’s just so good...”

And then, just as he always did, he forced a smile and wiped away his tears.

He was filled with regret.

He regretted only calling them ‘memories’ and longing for them after the things he took for granted were no longer there...

He regretted it with all his heart.

Kim Bong-gu, suppressing the overwhelming emotions, continued speaking in a steady voice.

“Mom, Dad, Seung-hui.”

The form of the Kim Bong-gu in the dream began to grow larger...

“Don’t any of you worry about a thing. Just trust me.”

The moment he lifted his head.

“I’m the man of the house now, right?”

The faces of his family, smiling brightly at him, came into view one by one.

“I can do this.”

As he finished speaking, the figures of his family began to grow faint...

“Let’s be happy again.”

In the end, only the grown-up Kim Bong-gu was left before the campfire.

As the crackling of the fire echoed endlessly, oblivious to his feelings.

- Hey, Bong-chang.

*My name is Bong-gu.*

- Bong-chang, wake up.

*I told you, it’s Bong-gu.*

- Your sister made some dried pollock soup.

A somehow trustworthy voice began to ring in his ears like an echo.

- Jugun, should I just kill him? Let him sleep forever, just as he wishes...

- Why are you so eager to kill him? Let’s just wait for him to wake up and eat together.

Kim Bong-gu, who had been sitting before the campfire, dusted himself off and began to walk slowly toward the source of the unknown voices.

But why?

Something akin to hope was stirring inside him, gently tickling his chest.

Amidst it all, a random question popped into his head.

How long had it been since he’d had such a pleasant dream?

***

Kim Bong-gu forced his heavy eyes open.

‘Ugh, my head...’

His stomach was churning from the alcohol, and his head was throbbing as if it would split open. He was stuck, unable to do anything due to the terrible hangover.

“Did my pwincess eat her foodie?”

“Yup, I ate.”

“Did my pwincess enjoy her foodie?”

“Uh-huh, it was yummy.”

An unbelievable sight was unfolding before his eyes.

Kang-jun, who had been nothing but manly until now...

Was having a conversation in ‘baby talk’ with a little girl who looked about three or four years old.

‘Wh-what is this?’

His mind was filled with question marks.

*Am I still dreaming?*

*Where am I?*

*Is this Kang-jun’s house?*

*Then who is that child?*

As these questions spiraled one after another, Kang-jun continued with his ‘baby talk.’

“Peekaboo! Who does my pwincess take after to be so cute?”

“Papa!”

“That's wight, oochie-coochie-coo! Yesh, my pwincess is cute because she wooks just like her papa!”

Just then, sensing a presence, Kang-jun startled and whipped his head around to look at Kim Bong-gu.

An intense silence hung in the air for a moment.

“Hey, you’re awake?”

“Yes...”

“Hey, you saw that, right?”

“Yes...”

An incredibly awkward atmosphere filled the room for a moment.

“From what point did you see?”

“Uh, from ‘my pwincess’...”

“To what point did you see?”

“Until ‘wooks just like her papa’...”

Kang-jun let out a long sigh, “Hoo,” then nodded as if he had made a decision and muttered.

“Regrettable, but it seems I’ll have to kill you to keep you quiet.”

Kim Bong-gu’s face instantly turned pale.

He had a pretty good idea why Kang-jun wanted to kill him.

Embarrassment.

Of course, he wondered, ‘Is this really a valid reason to kill someone?’

But on the other hand, he had a strong feeling that Kang-jun was more than capable of doing it.

*Creeak—.*

Just then, the firmly closed door opened, and Kang-jun’s sister, Lee Su-bin, appeared.

Pinching her nose with one hand, she muttered, “Ugh, it reeks of alcohol...” She looked down at Kim Bong-gu and continued.

“The sun is high in the sky, and you’re just waking up? You must be feeling awful. I made some dried pollock soup, so come out and eat.”

To Kim Bong-gu, Lee Su-bin looked as beautiful and magnificent as an ‘angel.’

“Th-thank you so much...”

*For saving me from the brink of death.*