Chapter 6

Part-time Worker Raising a Half-Elf - Chapter 6 (6/245)

06

"Half... Elf?"

A half-elf. A half-breed race commonly found in fantasy settings, born from the union of an elf and a human. They are as beautiful as elves but lack the pointed ears characteristic of elves, and while they live shorter lives than elves, they can still live for several hundred years. This is the typical setting for a half-elf.

"Half-elf?"

Lee Han-sung, upon learning that the baby in front of him was a half-elf, looked at the wrinkled, unattractive face of the baby and exclaimed in disbelief.

How could this ugly creature be a half-elf? If it were a goblin or a dwarf, it might make sense, but the baby's appearance gave no indication of elven blood. Filled with doubt, Lee Han-sung used his skill again.

"Strange... There's no way this kid could be a half-elf."

Is it because of the human blood that it looks so ugly?

Babies are naturally wrinkled and hairless, making them look unattractive. However, like a frog that doesn't recognize its tadpole stage, Lee Han-sung had forgotten that he too had once been through such an unattractive phase.

'Anyway, let's assume this kid is really a half-elf. Then, where are the parents who supposedly gave birth to him?'

Unless half-elves are delivered by storks, this child must have parents. And it's clear that those parents are not Lee Han-sung.

'Abandoned...?'

After all, there are plenty of parents who abandon their children. Even in a world where life has become easier, orphans still overflow. It seems that elves are not much different from humans. With this thought, Lee Han-sung looked at the sleeping baby with sympathy and muttered to himself.

'Pitiful, but... just to that extent.'

No matter how pitiful the situation, he didn't feel enough affection to go beyond sympathy. If he were a kind and good person, he might have taken the child in, but Lee Han-sung was not that kind of saint.

"Hey! You f**king a**hole, aren't you going to drive the bus?!"

"?"

While Lee Han-sung was lost in thought, a loud and annoying voice echoed through the bus.

"Are you ignoring me? Huh? My wife left me for another man, and you think that's funny?!"

The source of the noise was the front of the bus, near the driver's seat.

Startled by the sudden noise, Lee Han-sung turned his head to the front. There, he saw a middle-aged man with a red, drunk face and a bus driver who looked very uncomfortable, trying to calm the man down.

"Sir, I never said that...! Please calm down..."

"Who are you to tell me to calm down?! You f**king a**hole, do I look funny to you? Ang?!"

What's this situation?

It was clearly a scene of a drunk passenger causing trouble for the driver. A scene that often appears on SNS or in the news, Lee Han-sung watched as the drunk passenger's voice grew louder, worrying that the baby might wake up.

'Is it really my unlucky day? Why do these things keep happening one after another?'

A problematic customer, a baby of unknown origin, and now a drunk passenger on the bus. Even with his limited mathematical knowledge, Lee Han-sung was sure that the probability of experiencing all these events in one day was lower than the chance of getting hit by bird droppings while walking.

"Doesn't anyone want to stop this?"

One of the passengers, who had been watching the situation, muttered.

In dramas or movies, the protagonist would step in and handle the drunk passenger, earning the audience's admiration. However, in reality, especially in South Korea, expecting such a thing to happen is very naive.

A security guard who rushed into a burning building to save people was severely injured and fired without any compensation, and a brave citizen who caught a murderer was arrested for assault, while the criminals, using alcohol as an excuse, claimed diminished responsibility and received reduced sentences. This is the reality of the country.

To expect someone to help you in such a country is like waiting for rain in the desert.

"You have really bad luck."

If you were going to be abandoned by your parents, why not in a welfare-rich country like Europe or North America, rather than in this difficult country?

Lee Han-sung, looking at the baby who was sleeping without a care, said with a mix of sympathy. Of course, there was no response.

"?"

The message window, which had been quiet for a while, suddenly appeared in front of Lee Han-sung.

"???"

What the hell is this?

Realizing that this was a different and urgent quest from the two he had previously completed, Lee Han-sung was taken aback by the countdown that had started on its own.

'Forget the reward, what does it mean that the baby will let out an uncomfortable roar if I fail?'

Crying is one thing, but calling it an "uncomfortable roar" is a bit much. Of course, if the baby cries, it will draw attention, but it won't be as bad as the drunk man shouting at the front.

Feeling no particular urge to complete the quest, Lee Han-sung decided to ignore it and tried to close the message window.

"The baby will just cry if I fail. Why are you making it sound like something big will happen?"

Ignoring the system's warning, Lee Han-sung replied. In response, the system displayed an explanation.

"What?"

Steel... what?

Lee Han-sung, doubting his own eyes, experienced a 5-second brain freeze at the absurd explanation.

But even as he was in shock, the timer continued to count down.

"AAAAHHH!!!!"

57 seconds. No, 56 seconds. If he didn't complete the quest in that time, he would die without a trace, like a slime exploding. With that thought, Lee Han-sung screamed and jumped up, running to the front of the bus at a speed he had never experienced before.

"Drive the bus, you f**king a**hole! Do you want to lose your head?!"

The drunk passenger grabbed the driver's collar. Fortunately, the bus was stopped at a red light, but the drunk, unable to distinguish between soy sauce and feces, was about to punch the driver.

However, the drunk's punch never reached the driver.

Lee Han-sung had grabbed the drunk's arm.

"What, what?! You're not letting go?! You insolent brat-"

"Shut up and get off!! Do you want to kill everyone here?!"

Lee Han-sung's excited voice cut off the drunk's words. The other passengers, who had been whispering and tilting their heads, began to murmur.

"The bus is stopped, isn't it?"

"Maybe he's worried about the bus starting again."

"Ah, right. It would be dangerous if he did that after the bus starts."

Misunderstanding. Lee Han-sung was excited not because of a potential accident, but because of the ticking time bomb.

But the passengers, unaware of this, began to misunderstand his actions and started recording the situation on their phones.

"Driver, now! Open the door quickly!"

"Uh, but..."

"Come on, hurry!! Only 15 seconds left!!"

"Uh, okay."

What was it that only had 20 seconds left? The bus driver, unable to understand Lee Han-sung's words, was overwhelmed by his urgency and opened the door.

As soon as the door opened, Lee Han-sung almost threw the drunk passenger out of the bus.

"Hey, you @@@@@!!"

The drunk, who had been kicked out of the bus, shouted a very emotional word at Lee Han-sung. But Lee Han-sung just flipped him off, and the door closed as the bus started moving again.

"Phew... I thought I was going to die."

Ignoring the drunk's voice from outside the closed door, Lee Han-sung let out a sigh of relief, like a bomb disposal expert who had defused a bomb at the last second. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, having stopped the timer with just 7 seconds to spare.

"?"

Suddenly, applause broke out throughout the bus.

The applause was directed at Lee Han-sung. Realizing this, he was a bit embarrassed and returned to his seat with a sheepish smile, checking to make sure the baby hadn't woken up.

'The baby is still sleeping.'

Fortunately, with only a few passengers on the bus, the applause wasn't loud enough to wake the baby.

Thinking that as long as the baby didn't wake up, everything was fine, Lee Han-sung ignored the somewhat uncomfortable gazes of the other passengers and sat down, exhausted.

'I need to get home and sleep...'

To get to the daycare center on time tomorrow, he needed to lie down on the sofa as soon as he got home. Even without that, Lee Han-sung was already exhausted and hoped to arrive home as soon as possible, fighting off sleep.

However, he didn't know then.

What sleeping with a one-month-old baby would mean.