Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Dragon Homeschool (2)
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Thud.
Two dragons with strong pride began their confrontation.
The kids looked at me and shouted.
"Dad, prepare the next lesson."
"Father, let's move on to the next class!"
Even if it was called a lesson, I hadn't prepared anything elaborate.
I backed away slightly from their onslaught and said.
"Uh, yeah. Let's take a 10-minute break and jump right into the next lesson."
There still needed to be a break time.
Not for training or super training, but Hwaryeon looked like she needed a rest.
'Zeal for studying is good, but the temperature can't get too high.'
I'm the type who hates studying.
But I wanted the kids to enjoy it moderately.
After the 10-minute break, I tapped my smartphone and opened the calculator app to proceed with the next lesson.
"Alright, let's start class again. This lesson is math. You all know the basics of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, right?"
This was basic of basics, so they should all be able to do it.
The kids nodded as if it was a given.
"You can't be a dragon if you don't know that! That's wyvern level!"
"There's no way I don't know. I've known since I was born."
"I learned it in kindergarten!"
"Mang..."
Mangmung's response was lackluster.
Mangmung apparently still didn't know the four operations.
But reality was cold.
"Mangmung, deduction for lack of preview."
"Maang..."
Attitude in class was important.
Now that I had a rough idea of the kids' levels, I figured it was okay to proceed with the lesson.
"Then, for this session, let's solve problems like a review."
Mix easy and hard ones for a total of 20 problems.
This time, it wasn't a test—just solving while discussing with each other.
The kids showed various reactions to the problems.
"Ugh! Numbers! I hate numbers! Get this away from me!"
Hwaryeon freaked out like someone with number phobia.
"Hmm, too easy compared to my overwhelming skills."
Suryeon sneered at the problems with an arrogant posture.
"A problem given by Father! I'll solve it with care! Poor paper! Nice to meet you!"
Choryeon paid respects to the paper with the problems on it.
"Mang..."
Mangmung, of course, just stuck out its tongue and stared blankly at the paper.
'Still, they're all tackling the problems in their own ways earnestly.'
Scribble scribble—
The only sound echoing through the house was pencils on paper.
Not one of them gave up; they focused on the problems and racked their brains hard.
"Uwaa! I forgot where I was counting in the middle!"
"Quiet, Hwaryeon sis. You're breaking my concentration."
"You're both loud!"
There was a brief spat.
But unlike usual, the kids approached the test seriously.
Maybe because they were dragons with strong pride.
They fundamentally hated losing.
'It's nice seeing them study so diligently.'
Heh—
I smiled watching them furiously work their little heads.
And to make it easier for them to study, I prepared simple snacks and drinks.
"Eat comfortably while you work."
"Snacks! They're all mine!"
"Cola good."
"Thank you, Father!"
Mangmung couldn't eat human snacks.
So I tossed it some simple dog chews.
"Mangmung, you eat while you do it too."
"Mang!"
Mangmung had been assigned the cheering role.
So today, to reflect that sacrifice, I gave it two chews.
Only then did Mangmung smile and munch on the snacks happily.
Scribble scribble—
Crunch crunch—
The sounds of solving problems mixed with the kids eating snacks.
On days the kids didn't go to kindergarten.
The house, once filled only with TV noise and sleep-talking, was now buzzing with life.
'This is what a proper family home should be like.'
Honestly, the results of the studying might not matter much.
I just hoped they experienced a lot in their childhood and spent it happily.
In a stable family home with parents.
***
By the time all the lessons were done, it was exactly dinnertime.
I prepared simple egg drop soup, sausages, and tofu as side dishes.
The kids, drained from studying, ate more rice than usual to recharge their energy.
"Dad, more!"
"Yeah, eat more."
"Kraaang!"
Nom nom—
Hwaryeon added another bowl.
It was amazing how she didn't gain weight eating like that.
'Suryeon and Choryeon are eating well too. After fighting so hard earlier.'
The kids were full of zeal for studying today.
I'd worried they might overheat from competition midway.
But fortunately, without a score-based test, it didn't get out of hand.
'...I nearly died asking about stuff they all already knew.'
There are those kids like that.
The ones who know everything but ask 'Teacher, is this the right answer?' just to show off.
During this lesson, Suryeon and Choryeon kept questioning me with that in mind.
'Next homeschooling... since it's too hard on me, let's quit...'
Whoosh—
I raised my weary teacher body.
And started preparing to head out.
The kids peeked their faces around the bathroom door and asked.
"Dad, where are you going?"
Three pairs of eyes in various colors stared piercingly at me.
After finishing brushing my teeth, I said.
"Going out for a bit. To see Gu Bong-gu. And we had that promise for today, right?"
"Toys!"
"Yeah, I'll buy toys too."
Promises must be kept.
At those words, the dragon kids raised their hands joyfully and shouted.
"Yay! Toys! Dad, get me a Game Ranger toy!"
"I don't need kid toys like they play with in kindergarten, Dad."
"I'll love any gift as long as it's filled with Father's sincerity!"
"Mang mang!"
From what they said, except for Hwaryeon, nothing specific.
I could just pick something good myself.
"Trust Dad's instincts and wait. I'll be right back."
"...Dad's instincts? I trust Dad, but Dad's instincts are hard to trust."
"..."
Did Suryeon not trust my instincts?
She gave me a slightly suspicious look.
'I'll see if she says that after getting my gift.'
I'll make her believe in Dad.
With that thought, I stepped out the door.
And so, on this snowy evening.
I walked toward the hospital where Gu Bong-gu was.
***
Gu Bong-gu lay by the hospital window and waved at me.
"Hey, you here?"
"Yeah, I'm here."
"Come sit. What's that in your hand? Not like you."
"Fruit juice. For when your mouth gets bored."
I placed the box of fruit juice next to Gu Bong-gu.
He happily opened it and chugged one down.
'Is this how someone hospitalized looks?'
Unbelievable.
I sighed and stared silently at Gu Bong-gu's face.
"What? Something wrong with my face?"
"If there's a problem, it's always there."
"Look at this guy's attitude? Still the same even after becoming a dad."
"Of course I watch my mouth around the kids. Anyway."
Gulp—
I downed some orange juice and asked.
"When are you reopening the kindergarten?"
"Soon. I want to open it quick too."
"That white smoke was more toxic than expected."
"Sigh, yeah."
Gu Bong-gu sighed while looking out the window at the falling snow.
Well, he must be the most frustrated.
'He has kids to look after but can't. Must be stifling.'
The white smoke from the kindergarten attack.
It caused issues in Gu Bong-gu's body.
It was foreign mana, and entering another's body causes rejection.
Curiously, it absorbed into the kids' bodies but rejected in adult Gu Bong-gu's.
I stood from my seat, leaving Gu Bong-gu staring out the window.
"Then I'm off."
"Yeah."
"Get better quick and come back. The kids at kindergarten are waiting for you. Granny's working hard making meals instead."
"Yeah, go."
Swish—
Gu Bong-gu waved lazily instead of a proper goodbye.
Then, as I opened the door, he casually added.
"Hey, Lee Ha-jun."
"What."
"The kids are great, but look after Granny a bit."
"Uh, uh... yeah."
Gu Bong-gu asking me for a favor? First time.
With a dazed feeling, I closed the door and left the hospital.
"He only asks when he wants money repaid. Weird."
Granny, huh.
She was at that worrying age.
Remembering Gu Bong-gu's request, I walked through the snowy field.
"Ugh, so cold. Shouldn't have come out..."
Hard concrete blanketed in white snow.
Streetlights flickering intermittently.
In the cold weather, I had no choice but to shove my hands in my pockets.
"Gotta buy toys quick and head back... The kids are waiting..."
If I made them wait too long, they'd go wild for sure.
I quickened my pace a bit through the white snow.
"Oh yeah, Christmas is coming up soon."
Once Christmas passed, this cold winter would end soon too.
"Has it really been that long since I've been with the kids?"
Time flew by so fast it felt like the seasons were marking the time I'd spent with them.
Still, every time I felt seasons passing so quickly, I thought.
"I hope the remaining seasons pass peacefully without any incidents."
Hard since they're dragons.
From a dad's perspective, with such thoughts, I trudged through the snow to buy toys for the kids.