Moon’s Labyrinths - Chapter 313

 

The time was past afternoon, reaching the point where one could call it night . The smell of fragrant food filled the house . Properly cooked white rice and boiling pollack stew lay in the middle of the table, with side dishes neatly placed around the table . Just the sight of the food could make one’s mouth water .

 

It had been a while since Sungyoon’s family sat around the picturesque spread of food on the table . The sight of Sungyoon, Jimin, and Shinhae sitting next to each other presented a warm and gentle atmosphere .

 

“What about Mothers-in-law and Brothers-in-law? Aren’t they going to eat?”

 

The threat to his family hadn’t gone away, so everyone still resided inside Hweeyoung and Aiin’s house .

 

Jimin picked up a scrumptious piece of fish and placed it on Shinhae’s dish as she spoke .

 

“My brothers are on a mission, and my mothers already ate . They are full . ”

 

“They are very considerate of us . ”

 

“I think so too . ”

 

Sungyoon was as busy as he could be, so he spent very little time with his family . Moreover, his schedule would continue to be busy . Therefore, Hweeyoung and Aiin made sure he enjoyed quality time with his family during dinner .

 

After a long time, Sungyoon could finally have a delightful meal with his family .

 

Usually, he ate in the dark and dangerous labyrinths . Since he had the storage Gem, he could eat tasty foods, but this didn’t mean he enjoyed the experience . It couldn’t be compared to eating a comfortable meal with his family .

 

“How long will you be home for, Dad?”

 

Shinhae asked Sungyoon .

 

Sungyoon wanted to say, ‘I’ll be here every day!’, but reality was a harsh mistress .

 

“I won’t be able to stay long . I have to head out soon . ”

 

“Heeng! I want to play with Dad!”

 

Sungyoon really wanted to do that too .

 

‘I can’t because of that bastard, Grenoid!’

 

Sungyoon hated Grenoid for being the enemy of humanity, but his desire to kill it went through the roof at that moment . Because of Grenoid, the time that he could spend with Shinhae had drastically gone down . No, it was more than a drastic cut . He could barely see his daughter these days .

 

“Then when will you finish your busy work, Dad?”

 

“I’m not sure . I have no idea . ”

 

A sad expression appeared on Shinhae’s face, and Sungyoon’s desire to kill Grenoid skyrocketed further .

 

“Your dad does admirable work . He helps other people, and that’s why he’s short on time . You can bear this, right? Shinhae is a good girl . ”

 

Not too much time had passed since Jimin married Sungyoon and become a mother to Shinhae . Yet, she had settled into the role of a mother quite well as if she had been a mother for over a decade .

 

“When he has time, he’ll make it up by taking you to fun places that you want to go to . Where do you want to go, Shinhae?”

 

Jimin discreetly changed the topic . Shinhae became serious as she agonized over her choices . The little girl’s sad figure was nowhere to be seen now . Seeing this, Jimin winked at Sungyoon .

 

Sungyoon chuckled at the sight of Jimin redirecting Shinhae’s thought process .

 

Shinhae had even stopped eating to think about the choices . Jimin carefully took away the spoon in Shinhae’s hand, scooped the rice, and placed a piece of fish on it . Then, she immediately guided the spoon to Shinhae’s mouth .

 

“Nyam!”

 

The scene looked as though a mother bird were feeding a baby bird .

 

Jimin repeated this process several times before she handed the spoon back to Shinhae . Shinhae once again started to eat her rice with her spoon . Jimin continued to place fish on her rice, but she could see that Shinhae’s mind was elsewhere .

 

“Ah!”

 

Shinhae opened her mouth to speak and let out a sound, but she then realized her mouth still contained food . Since she had been taught to not speak with a full mouth, she chewed on her food first .

 

She wanted to speak, so she did her best to swallow the food as soon as possible .

 

Sungyoon and Jimin could see what she was doing, and they did their best to hold back their laughter .

 

Shinhae was unaware of this . Her mind was elsewhere, and she didn’t have the processing power to pay attention to her surroundings right now . She wanted to tell her mom and dad about the places she had thought of .

 

Gulp!

 

She finally swallowed the food in her mouth . A grain of rice remained stuck to her bottom lips, and it only added to her cuteness .

 

“There’s a place I want to go to!”

 

“Where?”

 

“Europe!”

 

Shinhae pointed to the table with her hands . However, she quickly put her hands down when Jimin scolded her .

 

“My friend Hanna went there last time with her mother and father!”

 

“Really? Europe isn’t just one place . Which country did they visit?”

 

Shinhae was so excited that her arms and legs moved every which way . However, she froze when she heard the question . She started to think again, and this time, she clutched at her head .

 

“Mmm… That’s… It sounded like a bug’s name in Korean . . . . ”

 

“Paris?”

 

“Yes! Paris! That’s it! It was named after an annoying bug!”

 

‘I thought the same when I was young . ’

 

Sungyoon watched his wife and daughter have a fun time with each other .

 

Paris was a city known for its fashion and elegance . However, if the name was translated into Korean, it sounded like the name of a dirty bug that annoyed people in the summer .

 

Therefore, it was normal for Shinhae to make such an association with the two names .

 

“Then! There is . . . uh . . . Lan, Lan, Lan . . . ”

 

It seemed Shinhae remembered another place, but she couldn’t quite recall its name .

 

‘… Lan?’

 

This time Sungyoon had no idea what Shinhae was trying to say . Shinhae continued to work her brain to find the answer that she wanted .

 

“Lan… duh? No . Lan? Lon?”

 

“London?”

 

“Yes! That one!”

 

Shinhae was delighted .

 

However, Sungyoon was surprised, and he stared at Jimin with a dumb expression .

 

Jimin laughed as she continued to listen to the excited Shinhae . She turned to look at Sungyoon and let out a sigh when she saw him .

 

“Don’t be jealous of your wife because of your daughter . ”

 

Jimin had immediately deciphered Shinhae’s words, which he couldn’t understand . This had given him a great deal of shock . As Jimin said, he had felt jealousy flood his heart, as if she had stolen his daughter .

 

“I’ll have to end this as soon as possible . ”

 

He had to spend more time with Shinhae .

 

“I agree with your assessment, but my feelings are complicated since I’m feeling jealous of my wife . ”

 

Jimin was struck dumb .

 

His daughter was important, but his wife was important too . Thankfully, Jimin didn’t take his words the wrong way . Still, he had to make it up to her . He felt the need to spend the night with her to pay extra attention to her needs . It had been a while since the two of them had been together .

 

These damned monsters always got in the way when he wanted to spend quality time with his family .

 

Sungyoon’s phone rang . He frowned, while Jimin’s face froze . Shinhae didn’t know what was going on, so she continued to enjoy her meal .

 

“Hello?”

 

Sungyoon answered the phone with a sour expression .

 

There was a very small chance that this call was about nothing . However, the voice on the other end smashed his faint hope into pieces .

 

“… Yes . Understood . I’ll be there right now . ”

 

Sungyoon ended the call . When Jimin saw his expression, she didn’t say anything as she stood up .

 

“Where are you going, Dad?”

 

Shinhae still held her spoon, and her eyes had turned round . Sungyoon walked up next to her and gave her a tight hug .

 

“Dad is being called to work . I have to go right now . ”

 

“Again?”

 

Again .

 

When he saw his teary-eyed daughter, Sungyoon felt like a piece-of-shit workaholic, who ignored his family .

 

“You just came back . ”

 

“Yes . Dad wants to stay with Shinhae, but a lot of people are in trouble . Dad has to go help them . ”

 

“Shinhae . Your dad’s going out to do good deeds . He’ll help the good people and punish the bad people . Let’s let him leave . ”

 

Shinhae looked downcast as she squeezed her father’s hand once more . Then she let him go .

 

“Ok . You can go . Instead, you have to play with me next time . Ok?”

 

“Of course! We’ll do as you suggested! We’ll go to Europe! We’ll go to Paris, London, Rome, and Berlin!”

 

Sungyoon stroked Shinhae’s head as he looked into Jimin’s eyes .

 

“I’ll leave Shinhae to you, Jimin . ”

 

“Don’t worry . She’s my daughter . ”

 

Jimin placed a hand on Shinhae’s shoulder .

 

Sungyoon quickly exited through the front door .

 

“Huh? Where is Son-in-law Woo going?”

 

Sungyoon encountered Aiin, who exited her room at that moment . Hweeyoung was behind her .

 

“I received an emergency call . It seems the monsters have appeared again . ”

 

The expressions on the two women’s faces darkened .

 

“Again?”

 

Hweeyoung said the same thing as Shinhae, with a frown on her face .

 

“It seems you’re going through a lot . ”

 

Aiin consoled Sungyoon with a sympathetic expression .

 

Shinhae and Jimin exited from the kitchen . Hweeyoung and Aiin felt pity when they saw the two of them, who looked to be in a bad mood .

 

“I’ll be back . ”

 

He said goodbye to his mothers-in-law, then looked at Shinhae and Jimin .

 

“I’ll be back as soon as possible . ”

 

Sungyoon opened the door under the gazes of four people, who had come out to see him off .

 

***

 

Kwah-jeek!

 

A monster’s head was crushed in its entirety .

 

Boom!

 

An explosion erupted afterward .

 

Blood and flesh splashed onto the asphalt and the pavement as the headless monster fell to the ground .

 

Earth didn’t have a magical-energy-rich environment like the Moon, so monsters couldn’t replenish any of the magical energy they spent here . It also meant that their corpses didn’t vanish and turn into a moonstone .

 

However, Sungyoon didn’t care why such a thing happened . He ignored the corpses . He just felt a burning rage toward the monsters who had interrupted his family time .

 

‘Next!’

 

He threw his halberd at a monster roaring in the distance . ;The halberd pierced through the monster’s mouth and exited out of the head . Sungyoon had physically made the monster shut up, and he looked for his next prey .

 

‘Next!’

 

Kwah-jeek!

 

A monster resembling a leech emerged from the surface below him . It tried to bite Sungyoon with its sharp teeth .

 

Puh-uhk!

 

He just swung his ax into the side of its face . The monster retreated back into the ground in surprise . Sungyoon didn’t chase after it . He just looked at the hole where the monster had run away to .

 

Keeeeeeeeee!

 

Soon, a scream came out from that hole . The ground shifted as the monster moved underground .

 

Puh-uhng!

 

Its tail shot out from the ground . The poison was decaying it, so its body emanated a foul smell .

 

Boom!

 

Its tail flopped to the ground . After trembling for a moment, it became motionless forever .

 

‘Next… There are none . ’

 

It seemed while he was rampaging, all the monsters had died . The people dispatched to clean up the place rushed forward to pick up the corpses . They started washing away the blood .

 

While watching the clean-up crew, Sungyoon kept his guard up . He made sure he hadn’t missed any monsters .

 

At that moment, he received a call . The screen displayed the Mayor’s number .

 

Was it another mission?

 

He really wanted to get back home, so he scrunched up his face . However, he couldn’t ignore the call .

 

“What is it, Mayor?”

 

– The day we’ll recapture Armstrong city has been set!

 

Finally, they were going to reclaim Armstrong city, so the Mayor sounded elated . His voice was very bright .

 

Sungyoon was speechless for a brief moment, but then, he remembered his own reality where he had to stop his dinner with his family to come here .

 

Ggah-doohk!

 

His phone let out an ominous sound due to the pressure being put on it .

 

“Mayor . ”

 

– What is it?

 

It seemed the Mayor realized Sungyoon was in a bad mood, so he became subdued .

 

Unlike him, Sungyoon’s voice became stronger and full of killing intent .

 

“I’ll make sure we’ll kill all those sons of bitches on the Moon!”