My Tamed Beast Returned with a Dragon Chapter 3 - Where Did This Baby Come From?

“Hwangsae, what are you holding in your beak?”

Kkak?

Hwangsae tilted its head. It seemed unaware of what it had done.

In the Hwangsae’s beak was a cloth bundle. No matter how she looked at it, it wasn’t Eunsae’s.

Eunsae felt a headache coming on. It didn’t steal this from a house, did it? No, if it had taken it by force, that would be even worse.

Whatever the case, she decided to return the item to its owner in the morning. But first, she needed to teach the stork a lesson. She raised her voice—education was important.

“Hey! No! I told you not to pick up random things!”

Kkaak?

Waaah!

Along with the Hwangsae’s cry, the sound of a baby crying came from somewhere. Eunsae quickly looked around.

Huung.

A whimpering sound came from inside the bundle the stork was holding. Eunsae hurriedly stepped closer.

 

“W-What is this?”

It was a baby. A human baby.

The baby looked up at Eunsae with a sorrowful expression. Its tiny mouth trembled, then burst into tears.

“Waaaah!”

“H-Hwangsae, did you kidnap a child? Did you abduct it? Oh my god.”

Eunsae refused to believe what was happening. But despite her denial, her hands instinctively picked up the cloth bundle.

“B-Baby, don’t cry. You’re okay~ Peek-a-boo?”

Eunsae had never comforted a baby before, nor had she ever taken care of a younger sibling. This situation was completely foreign to her.

Her mind was racing with thoughts: What do I do? This is bad. Am I going to get arrested?

The baby’s crying grew louder.

“Please don’t cry, little one. I feel like I’m going to cry too.”

As if the baby’s wails had some kind of mystical power, Eunsae started to feel overwhelmed with emotion. Tears welled up in her eyes as she clutched the bundle tightly, letting her own tears fall.

“Don’t cryyy….”

“Hwaaeng. Hwaaeng.”

It was a full-blown crying party. The magical beasts circled around them in confusion.

Just then, her phone rang.

With tear-filled eyes, she checked the caller ID and quickly answered. She needed help—immediately.

“Mirinae….”

– Eunsae? I just felt like it would be a shame to part ways so soon… Wait, are you crying?

– What? Yoo Eunsae is crying?

– Who’s crying?

It sounded like multiple people were with Mirinae. Hearing their voices gave Eunsae a sense of relief.

She slowly explained the situation.

“I… I have a baby. And it won’t stop crying. What do I do?”

– What…? Hold on, wait a second. Say that again. You have what?

“A baby….”

– …Whose baby?

– Did something happen to Yoo Eunsae? A baby?!

– Where are you?!

There was a loud crash, followed by what sounded like furniture breaking. Then, the call suddenly disconnected.

“W-Why would they hang up?!”

Eunsae cried even harder. She decided to focus on calming the baby down first. The poor thing must have been exhausted from all the crying.

“Okay, okay, let’s stop crying, little one. If you keep crying, your throat will start to hurt.”

“Hic… hwaaeng.”

Eunsae recalled a scene from a drama she had seen and held the baby close to her chest so it could hear her heartbeat. She patted its back rhythmically.

Whether it was her desperate sincerity or sheer luck, the baby finally stopped crying. It sucked on its thumb anxiously.

Its uneasy golden eyes stared up at her. Oh, its eyes were a beautiful shade of gold, like a flounder’s.

“You must be so tired from all that crying. Should I get you some water?”

Just as Eunsae stood up to head to the kitchen—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

“Open the door, Yoo Eunsae!”

“Eunsae! What’s going on? Open up, we’re here!”

“Hey, just break it down! We’ll pay for the repairs later!”

It was Woori, Mirinae, and Sol.

Eunsae instinctively glanced at the clock. It was past 9 PM.

They had parted ways around 6 PM, so why were they here now?

The next moment, there was a loud cracking sound.

“Don’t break it! I’ll open it! I’m coming!”

Knowing all too well that these people were more than capable of smashing down the door, Eunsae quickly set the baby down and ran to the entrance.

Luckily, she managed to save the door.

Standing outside were Woori, Sol, Mirinae, Inchan, and Yuha—all of them.

“How did you guys even get here?”

“We were on our way with some drinks and snacks. Now move aside.”

Woori, with her S-class hearing, picked up on something unsettling. Her expression hardened as she strode into the house.

“…Is that a baby?”

It really was the sound of a baby crying. The little one, now lying on the floor, whimpered uncomfortably.

Woori shot Eunsae a sharp look.

“Whose baby is this? Who’s the bastard responsible?”

“I don’t know either. The stork brought it in a bundle.”

“Eunsae… are you seriously saying a stork carried a baby to you?”

“Yeah.”

Eunsae blinked her tear-streaked eyelashes.

Realization dawned on them—Eunsae had a magical beast named ‘Hwangsae’ (stork). They all let out a collective sigh of relief.

For a second, they had imagined something far worse.

“So just to confirm, this isn’t your baby?”

“Of course not! When would I even have time to have a baby?”

“Good point… Never mind. Let’s sit down first.”

The group gathered in the living room. Mirinae, who had experience volunteering at orphanages, gently held and soothed the baby.

Meanwhile, the expensive drinks and snacks they had brought were getting lukewarm. Woori took charge of organizing the situation.

“So, you came home and found a baby wrapped in a cloth bundle in Hwangsae’s beak?”

“That’s exactly what happened.”

“That’s insane. Where could it have come from?”

This was a remote village deep in the mountains of Gangwon-do, far from any residential areas.

Eunsae’s magical beasts were trained not to leave a certain range.

If a baby had gone missing nearby, the whole area would have been in chaos. But there hadn’t been any commotion.

“This doesn’t make sense… Babies don’t just fall from the sky.”

“But doesn’t this baby seem kind of unusual?”

The group huddled around the now-sleeping infant. The baby’s soft, wavy hair was a striking shade of sky blue.

“And earlier, I saw its eyes—they were golden.”

“With the era of upheaval, babies with unusual appearances have been born more frequently, so maybe this isn’t that strange?”

“That’s true, but…”

They all looked puzzled. Even with the changes in recent times, this baby’s features were unlike anything they had ever seen.

“By the way, the baby is really cute.”

Sol grinned widely and reached out to poke the baby’s cheek, only to be met with a sharp glare from Mirinae.

Woori spoke up.

“Eunsae, what do you want to do? Should we let the guild take care of the baby and find its parents?”

“Would they really do that?”

“Of course.”

Eunsae hesitated. She looked down at the peacefully sleeping baby.

“No… Hwangsae caused this mess, so I think it’s only right that I take responsibility and take care of the baby myself.”

“But you’ve never taken care of a baby before.”

“That’s true, but… how hard could it be?”

Everyone turned to Mirinae. She shook her head.

“It’s hard.”

“Ugh… Then what if we go on a broadcast and try to find the baby’s parents that way?”

“No way. People with bad intentions might try to approach you. Besides, given the current situation, stepping into the spotlight isn’t a good idea. It’ll attract too much attention.”

“But I already get a lot of attention anyway…”

Her teammates were firm in their stance. Eunsae wasn’t stubborn enough to push forward with an idea they all opposed, so she abandoned the broadcasting plan.

“Ugh, whatever. First things first—when the baby wakes up, what should I feed it?”

“Do you have formula? You don’t, right? Then we’ll need to order that along with diapers.”

Mirinae started tapping on her phone, and the others chimed in.

“What about baby clothes? Won’t we need some?”

“We should get some toys, too. We don’t know how long the baby will be staying.”

“A stroller, a bottle sterilizer, a crib… What else do we need?”

Eunsae was speechless.

“You guys look way too excited.”

“What are you talking about? We’re completely serious.”

“Honestly, it’s better if we handle this than leaving it to you. You’re not exactly self-sufficient.”

“What do you mean I’m not self-sufficient?!”

Eunsae flared up. Her teammates exchanged awkward smiles.

Woori stood up, phone in hand.

“I’ll have someone look into missing child reports. The baby has distinct features, so it shouldn’t take long.”

“Okay. Thanks, everyone.”

“Should we get baby mittens, too? And let’s order plenty of handkerchiefs.”

“Look at these tiny baby shoes. So cute.”

“The baby can’t even walk yet, though?”

“It’s about the vibe! Just buy everything. Look at this hat—it’s adorable!”

As successful hunters, they had more money than they knew what to do with, and they spared no expense in preparing for the mysterious baby’s stay.

That night, they all stayed over at Eunsae’s house.

When the baby woke up crying in the middle of the night, their heightened senses meant that every single one of them woke up as well. They all scrambled to soothe the baby.

“It’s obviously hungry!”

“Okay, but what do we do? We don’t have anything it can eat.”

“Can we give it fruit juice?”

“Are you insane? That stuff comes from dungeons!”

“Hey! Yoo Eunsae! Do you even cook for yourself?! There’s nothing in your fridge except giant slabs of meat!”

It was a chaotic night.

Before they even realized it, morning had arrived.

“The Korean delivery system is truly amazing.”

The baby supplies they had ordered the night before were now stacked in front of Eunsae’s house. They had bought so much that it took ages just to open all the packages.

Eunsae stared at the mountain of toys and picture books with a look of pure resignation.

“Hahaha… Yeah, they’re definitely enjoying this.”

And so, this was the day a mysterious baby entered Eunsae’s life.

 

 

****

 

 

 

“Hwaaeng.”

The sound of a baby crying pulled Eunsae from her sleep.

A deep sleeper by nature, she could barely open her eyes as she stumbled toward the crib and lifted the baby into her arms.

“There, there. Are you hungry? Or do you need a diaper change?”

Thanks to Mirinae’s crash course, Eunsae had learned the absolute basics of baby care. She gently rocked the baby while checking its diaper.

“Oh dear, you peed. Good job, good job.”

Still half-asleep, Eunsae grabbed a fresh diaper and some wet wipes. The baby whimpered but accepted her touch without much fuss.

“Hmm… I think I’m getting used to this life.”

It had already been a week since the baby arrived.

Contrary to their initial expectations that the parents would be found quickly, the baby was still at Eun-sae’s house.

Even with the Dochun Guild’s intelligence division involved, no one had reported a missing child with sky-blue hair and golden eyes.

Woori assured her that they were expanding the search area and would have results soon, so all Eunsae could do was wait and trust them.

“Where did you come from, little one?”

“Agoo.”

Eunsae playfully tapped the baby’s nose.

With a clean diaper and a fresh feeling, the baby broke into a bright, toothless smile.