Everyone is Young Except for Me - Chapter 143

Chapter 143
In a bustling house in the early morning...

This was the small apartment where Choi Jeonghyun lived with his daughter Seohui. Seohui’s toys and dolls were scattered around and Choi Jeonghyun was having a hectic morning trying to send Seohui to a daycare center.

“Seohui, there are some vegetables left. Shouldn’t you finish it?”

“Don’t wanna! Disgusting!”

“Eat more and become stronger. Ah~”

“Seohui is strong! I won’t eat this.”

Choi Jeonghyun forcibly pushed the spoonful of vegetables into Seohui’s mouth. Seohui’s cheeks puffed up as she gulped them down. The corners of Jeonghyun’s mouth rose naturally.

“Now it is time to go to the daycare center?”

“Yep! Let’s go~”

They held hands and walked to the side of the road where the children’s daycare center bus would arrive. He could see the yellow bus coming this way. The Sun Kids Daycare Center. It was the name of Seohui’s daycare center.

“Hello, Seohui’s father.” 

“Yes, hello.”

“Hi, Seohui! Have you been well?

“Yep! Fish-nim, have you been well?”

“It’s Teacher-nim, not Fish-nim. Hoho.” (Fish and Teacher use the same characters but reversed. So Fish is saengseon and Teacher is seonsaeng)

Seohui still had a difficult time saying ‘Teacher-nim.’ She had been sent to kindergarten since she was 4 years old but he sometimes felt sorry since he missed the important time to teach her Hangul. She was now five years old, almost six. From now on, she would be taught at the daycare center. Then it would be better...

He always felt sorry for Seohui. Filling her mother’s vacancy wasn’t easy.

“Daddy, bye!”

Seohui waved her hand and Jeonghyun smiled and waved back. The bus moved away and he returned home. Then he buried his face into the couch and started thinking.

‘I did a good job today in the battle to get Seohui ready.’

“It is tiring to be a father. Sigh.”

He cleaned up the taekwondo field that had been in use the past weekend. In fact, it was shameful to say it was ‘in use.’ There were only four children. The facilities were poor and the seats were in a corner, so there was no business. At first, it went well but it had cooled off a year later.

“Sigh. Why is it like this?”

He was lying down on the sofa and making all types of complaints when there was the ringing of a door. 

“Who is it?”

He pressed the intercom to check and saw a familiar logo. It was the logo of Union, who had developed the popular Arkstar game.

“Ah, that’s right. I told them to come in the morning.”

Jeonghyun had the most free time in the morning so he told them to come in the morning. However, the panting installation technicians seemed a bit uncomfortable.

“Phew. Have strength. It seems I’m not the only one who is having it hard. It is hard for everyone.”

Choi Jeonghyun opened the front door.

* * *

The moment the capsule was installed, Choi Jeonghyun connected to Arkstar. He had already done a preliminary investigation so he was able to clear the tutorial quickly. In fact, he used to like games so he scoured fan sites throughout the day to find information.

[Your heavenly star is Monarch of Kind Patience.]

[Your fitness stat has increased by 2.]

“Hrmm. Monarch of Kind Patience. Obviously, this is a heavenly star that fits close-range classes. Still, fitness is something that is inseparable from me.”

The advantages were clear. Fitness. The sturdy body inherited from his father meant he mastered many types of martial arts—taekwondo, aikido, judo, jiu-jitsu, etc. Of course, he wasn’t the same now as he used to be. He had stopped exercising for a while after falling into a gambling debt.

As a child, his father actively cheered him on when Jeonghyun said he would take the road of sports but his mother had been opposed to it. His other siblings disapproved but they supported him like their father. Choi Jeonghyun hadn’t forgotten his gratitude for that time.

“Hah. Father is right. This type of place...”

His father had definitely told him to choose the Orca Kingdom. He didn’t say where to go after that but Jeonghyun decided to give it a try. He sent a message to his father via Katok that he was in the Orca Kingdom but his father hadn’t replied yet. Perhaps his father was busy.

[The tutorial has ended.]

[Going to the beginning village of ‘Mulan.’]

[Welcome to the virtual reality world of Arkstar.]

[I wish ‘Seohui’s Papa’ all the best.]

In this world, his name was Seohui’s Papa. If he was asked why he took this name, it was because he was Seohui’s father. This reason was enough. The world brightened and he heard a sound. It felt real when he saw people of so many races. In fact, he had felt it in the tutorial but he really thought it was a masterpiece.

“This is a level that can be called a whole new Earth.”

He waved his fists and kicked the air. 

“Kukuk, look at that person. I guess he’s a rookie who just started.”

“Hey, don’t you remember the old days? You did the same thing.”

“Ah, when did I do that?”

“Don’t you remember?”

“This jerk.”

Some people laughed at him but Choi Jeonghyun didn’t care. In fact, he had been accustomed to such ridiculing gazes for a long time. He wasn’t that smart and he was a gambling addict who got a divorce.

‘Damn. If only it wasn’t for gambling.’

Gambling made him lose many things. A peaceful home, his job, money, peace of mind, etc. However, he also obtained many things. Blame, contempt, attention from the people around him, and most importantly—

“Phew. I have to pay off the debts quickly. I don’t have time for this.”

To this day, he had been living without the help of his family. This was Choi Jeonghyun’s last shred of pride. The only thing left was his determination to start from scratch and raise Seohui. Of course, he only recently changed the method to a racetrack.

“Cough. I was told that if I went to someone called Philos, I can get a quest and rent a weapon.”

Choi Jeonghyun stepped toward the garrison’s barracks. Suddenly, a voice was heard from behind him.

“Aren’t you Jeonghyun?”

He turned his head to see a familiar face. He was so surprised that he sucked in a breath.

“Uncle Muyeol? No, why are you here?”

“That is what I want to say.”

* * *

Today, they headed to the place where Mulan’s guard captain was located. It felt good to see the group growing. Park Muyeol walked with Choi Jeonghyun and told his story. It turned out he was also going to see Philos.

“Yes. Has Seohui grown bigger?”

"Of course. She is five years old now, she grew up a lot. Haha.”

“Hahaha. She is really cute. I suddenly want to see her.”

The last time was when she was four years old. Seohui would cry whenever she saw Park Muyeol’s face. It was because he looked scary. In any case, he couldn’t even hug her more than a few times back then. He didn’t know if it would be the case now.

“I will send you a photo through Katok.”

“Ka... what is that?”

Seongchan sighed from next to him. “Grandfather, use your smartphone. Are you still only comfortable using a 2G phone?”

“Cough. I originally used this type of phone.”

“Ah, really.”

Park Seongchan shrugged and Park Muyeol walked proudly. Choi Jeonghyun smiled from next to them.

“You can send photos messages as well, I will teach you.”

“Yes, yes.”

They arrived at Philos’ barracks while smiling and chatting. They stepped inside and saw a man in armor sitting down. He stood up and greeted them, “Huh? Aren’t you two Tarmo and Momori?”

The two named people smiled and replied.

“Hello, Philos. It has been a while.”

“We’ve been discharged. We’re going to travel. I’m here to get some work.”

“Oh~ really? That’s great, haha. I can trust you guys. I have the perfect mission for you. By the way, who is the leader here?”

Park Muyeol stepped forward.

“It is me.”

“Um?”

Philos had a perplexed look on his face. No, Park Muyeol didn’t look that scary. Why was this person so surprised?

“Cough. Do I look so scary?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. It is just... are you Park Muyeol?”

Huh? How did this person know him? It was obviously the first time they met but this person obviously knew him. Park Muyeol was bewildered and couldn’t understand the reason.

“Yes, do you know me?”

“Of course! Any soldier of Mulan would know you. I heard rumors about how you killed that werewolf in the Wolves’ Ruins with a wooden sword! You have a great presence and an appearance worthy of your reputation!”

“Cough. Well, thank you.”

“I can’t believe it. You beat a werewolf with a wooden sword. Ahh. This is an honor.”

Philos grasped Park Muyeol’s hand with both his hands and shook them up and down. How nice was this? It didn’t feel too bad. Unlike Chuntaek, he enjoyed this popularity.

“No, Uncle. Did you come out of the training camp?” Choi Jeonghyun asked from next to him with a puzzled expression.

Park Muyeol nodded. “Yes, it gives a weapon.”

“Oh my god. I heard this method was completely inefficient. It is better to rent a weapon here.”

“Eh? This place gives weapons as well?”

“Yes.”

“That fucker.”

Philos coughed dryly at the sudden rude remark.

“Still, if you were discharged from the army then you must’ve received many bonus points. It isn’t bad to spend some time there.”

“Cough. Really?”

In any case, he had earned bonus stats. There were many strange events but Park Muyeol was able to meet these people due to it. He could only regard it as a good thing.

“Cough. It is a long story. Let me give you a mission.”

We listened to Philos’ story.

* * *

[The requirements for the quest ‘Destroy the Dungeon!’ have been met.]

The skull of the dungeon boss, Lava Skull, was broken. Their group had been assigned to one of the three dungeons that suddenly appeared to the north of Mulan. Based on what they heard, it was a dungeon created by a recent volcanic eruption. Choi Jeonghyun discovered through a preliminary investigation that it was quite popular. There was even a video.

‘The battle between the black wolf and the giant bull was really the best.’

There was still a lot of disagreement about the identity of the black wolf. Currently, the A.S.L community only knew this person was called ‘Dark Wolf.’ Choi Jeonghyun could make a fortune if he became such a star player but he was currently the father of a child who had to worry about his livelihood.

Using his healthy body, he intended to be a mercenary who fought monsters. He could earn money if he earned good rewards and acquired good items to be sold. He heard that a really expensive item could be sold for the price of an apartment. If he could hit the jackpot then he wouldn’t have to worry about living for a while. By the way...

“Too weak. Isn’t that right, Seongchan?” 

“Yes, this doesn’t even warm up my body.”

“I should’ve asked for a stronger dungeon.”

“I like that these guys don’t have any hair.”

“Heh. They can’t beat my two daggers.”

“This is just chewing gum for our Mukjeba Brothers. Isn’t that right, Jekyll?” 

“When did we get that name? It is childish. Isn’t that right, Baroque?”

“...Baroque is a good brother.”

As he looked at the scene in front of him, Jeonghyun thought he should get rid of the idea of being a mercenary. He didn’t have the confidence to survive among them. His level might be low but he was still level 12. Jeonghyun was confident in his bare-handed combat so he chose a class called a fighter, but he was like a newbie in front of them. No matter how much his skills have rusted, he hadn’t expected there to be such a big difference.

‘Hah. Somehow, I got on the bus. Well, it isn’t bad.’

At this time, Park Muyeol walked toward him.

“Jeonghyun, take this.”

“Huh? Why are you giving this to me?”

Park Muyeol was currently holding a pair of gauntlets and some products from clearing the dungeon. Jeonghyun might need the gauntlets but there was no reason to receive the various gems or monster materials. Moreover, he took a bus. Park Muyeol was silent for a moment. “I heard you’ve been having a hard time these days. You’re having trouble raising Seohui.”

“No, that...”

“Just take it. We all need weapons and armor.”

Choi Jeonghyun looked at Park Muyeol’s full hands and felt a lump in his chest.

“...It is bitter. Still, life is worth living.”

He had this thought, ‘It is hard enough to die. It is difficult to live.’

It was only for a moment but he had bad thoughts during the tough times. Now he thought it was good to be alive. He wondered if things would become the opposite with these people. He thought it could be more difficult to die than to live.

“Kuek.”

Choi Jeonghyun rubbed his sore nose and walked toward them. One of the party members smiled and waved at him. It was so bright that it almost brought tears to Jeonghyun’s eyes.

“Hey, Brother! Let’s go quickly! Haha.”

Everyone had their own haven. Maybe they would be his new haven. Well, just wait and he would see.

“I’m coming~”

He felt renewed.