“Yong-sik, say ‘Dad.’ Co on, ‘Dad!’”
“Aw, hyung, that’s not fair. I was teaching him first.”
Do-gyul grumbled, shooting a sideways glare, but I ignored him and kept my eyes on Yong-sik. Yong-sik, who had been watching Do-gyul, looked up at the mont I ca closer.
“Da…”
“That’s it! Just like that! Da~d!”
“Da…d?”
“Say it faster!”
“Dad!”
“Ohhhhh!”
Overco with emotion, I hugged Yong-sik tightly. He looked a little confused at first, but when he saw how happy I was, a wide smile broke across his face. Then, with his clumsy pronunciation, he began repeating “Dad” over and over again.
“Yong-sik-ah, try saying ‘hyung’ too, yeah?”
Do-gyul didn’t give up, sticking close to Yong-sik the whole ti. He’d always thought Yong-sik was adorable in his original form, but now that he’d taken human form, Do-gyul was overjoyed—like he’d gained a little brother. Watching the two of them, I found myself quietly touched.
“Um… would it be okay if I took a look at Yong-sik too?”
“Oh—right.”
Hae Song-ha raised his hand, looking a bit awkward. I was the one who’d asked him to co, yet I’d ended up ignoring him. Feeling a bit guilty, I quickly stepped aside to let him through.
“I’m sorry. Please, take a look at Yong-sik.”
“Sure.”
Hae Song-ha gave a small nod and stepped closer. He examined Yong-sik in silence.
“Hmm…”
“…?”
Yong-sik tilted his head as he watched Hae Song-ha quietly ponder, then leaned in and gave him a sniff. A mont later, his expression relaxed—he must’ve recognized Hae Song-ha by his scent.
“This is… this is sothing.”
“What is it?”
Hae Song-ha turned to with a troubled look on his face.
What’s wrong? Is sothing the matter with Yong-sik?
Worried, I asked with a tense expression. In response, Hae Song-ha just shrugged.
“He’s really turned into a perfect human.”
“Well… isn’t that kind of obvious just by looking at him?”
“What I an is, there are no visible summoned beast traits in Yong-sik at the mont.”
“…What?”
Summoned beast traits?
That hadn’t even crossed my mind. I’d been so focused on the fact that Yong-sik had turned into a human. Seeing my wide eyes, Hae Song-ha spoke in a calm tone.
“I have a skill that lets roughly check a summoned beast's stats. But Yong-sik’s rank is higher than mine, so I couldn’t see much before. But now…”
Hae Song-ha turned to Yong-sik, frowning as he stared at him for a mont. Then he shook his head slowly and went on.
“I can’t see anything. It’s like he’s completely turned into a human.”
“…”
Yong-sik didn’t have any summoned beast traits. He had originally been by my side as my summon. But if that was no longer the case… It looked like Hae Song-ha was thinking the sa thing I was. He turned to and asked:
“Is Yong-sik still registered as your summon, by any chance?”
“Oh, just a mont.”
I opened the status window nervously and went to the summon list. The blue screen displayed the list of all my contracted summons. I searched for the nas I was hoping to see. My eyes widened. I looked at Hae Song-ha and said:
“Yong-sik is still on my summon list…”
“Really?”
Phew, I sighed in relief. I had been worried about what I’d do if Yong-sik wasn’t on my summon list anymore. If Yong-sik stopped being my summon in the system, I’d lose the justification to protect him. And if he keeps growing like this, he might even decide to move out on his own…
For a mont, I imagined Yong-sik as an adult, giving a displeased look and turning away—going through puberty or that awkward pre-teen phase. Maybe I’m thinking too far ahead.
On second thought, if Yong-sik is recognized as a hunter instead of a summon, we could register him at the Awakening Center with help from the Odin Guild and even give him an identity.
Maybe that would actually be better for Yong-sik. While I was lost in these thoughts, Hae Song-ha also fell into deep thought and stared intently at Yong-sik. Then, without turning to look at , he asked a question.
"Can Yong-sik go back to his original form?"
"Hmm, I haven’t made him try yet. But I think he probably can once he gets used to it."
"I see."
I answered while thinking of Fafnir. He seed able to freely transform between human and dragon form. Yong-sik would definitely be able to do the sa. For now, he still wasn’t quite used to being in a human body—but that would change with ti.
"Well, he's like a child who's just started talking. He’ll probably be able to do it with ti."
"That’s right. Yong-sik is smart, after all."
I nodded with a satisfied smile. Yong-sik was now wearing the clothes Park Yoon-sung had prepared for him. Since he was in human form now, my room was scheduled to be remodeled so he could live there comfortably.
Park Yoon-sung had suggested giving him a separate room—there were plenty available—but Yong-sik sohow understood and threw a tantrum, so that idea was quickly dropped.
He was dressed in comfortable children’s clothes. Although it was nearly winter outside, the subspace we lived in was always as warm as spring. Thanks to that, Yong-sik was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and shorts without a problem.
Yong-sik’s black hair was quite long, probably because it had never been cut before. I wasn’t sure how to take care of long hair, so I just combed it and tied it back in a single bundle.
Still, I figured I’d need to call soone soon to give him a proper haircut. Unless soone in the accommodation knew how to style long hair—but with only guys around, that seed unlikely.
"By the way, Yong-sik’s really good-looking."
"He is, right?"
I quickly nodded in agreent with Hae Song-ha's words. It wasn’t just being biased or overly proud—objectively speaking, Yong-sik, now in human form, was incredibly good-looking. He was still young, with baby fat on his cheeks, but his striking features already stood out.
His skin was pale, and his face was sharp and well-defined, almost Western-looking. His purple eyes had vertical pupils like a reptile’s, but even that only added to his mysterious charm. He looked like a young noble from a historical painting. He’d definitely grow up to be stunning.
I smiled to myself, feeling proud. Hae Song-ha reached out and gently stroked Yong-sik’s hair, then stood up and looked back at .
“Actually, I don’t think there’s much more I can help with.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Yong-sik is still technically registered as a summoned beast, but according to my skill, he’s completely human now. Instead of training him like a summoned creature, I think it’d be better to start teaching him how to live as a person.”
“Oh…”
Hearing that, it finally sank in—Yong-sik had truly beco human. From now on, I’d need to guide him more carefully and help him adjust to life as a person. With that in mind, I gave a small nod.
"I understand. Thank you, Hunter Hae Song-ha."
"I didn’t really do much."
Hae Song-ha shook his head with a shy smile, then looked at Yong-sik with a warm gaze and said—
"I’ll still drop by from ti to ti to check on Yong-sik. Of course, only if that’s okay with you, Hunter Han Yi-jin."
"Yes, of course. I’d really appreciate that."
"…"
"Hunter Hae Song-ha?"
"But, that…"
"Yes?"
Hae Song-ha suddenly trailed off, lost in thought. He looked as if he were pondering sothing seriously. I tilted my head in confusion at how serious he looked. After a mont, Hae Song-ha glanced at , then finally spoke.
"Um… are you planning to keep calling him Yong-sik?"
"Yes?"
"No, I an… It was a cute na when he was a little dragon, but now it feels a bit…"
"Oh…!"
That’s when I finally understood what Hae Song-ha ant. I’d gotten so used to calling him Yong-sik that I said it without thinking, but now that Hae Song-ha pointed it out, the na didn’t seem to fit anymore.
"Hmm."
“…?”
I frowned and let out a low groan, causing Yong-sik to tilt his head in that irresistibly cute way that made my heart skip a beat. With such an adorable, handso face, calling him “Yong-sik” in public would surely make us the laughingstock.
Maybe now that he’s beco human, we should register him at the Awakening Center… but the thought of writing “Yong-sik” as his official na felt almost cruel.
Once again, I pictured an adult Yong-sik glaring at with disdain. I had no clue what he’d look like when he grew up, yet sohow, the image was crystal clear in my mind. Perhaps my imagination was just running wild.
"Hmm, what should I do? Can I change a summon’s na?"
"Usually, it’s not possible, but if the system allows it, maybe it could work?"
"Oh…"
A na. A na that would suit the current Yong-sik. Should I give him a Korean na? It might be best to use the sa surna as mine—Han. Or maybe, with his looks, an English na would fit him better?
Unfortunately, I didn’t have much of a knack for naming, so I found myself stuck. I figured I should ask others for their thoughts, even if they might not be much help.
So I quickly turned around—and at that mont, sothing grabbed the back of my clothes.
“Oh… Yong-sik-ah?”
“…”
Yong-sik looked up at with his innocent eyes.
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