Chapter 108
Chapter 108
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 108
Chapter Title: Moving the Nest
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After Grandma passed away.
We moved into the house she left behind.
We escaped from the basement—not even a semi-basement—and got to live in a place with windows.
"Until the kids graduate kindergarten, we'll impose on you. Grandma. We'll keep it clean."
Bow.
I bowed to the empty air and stepped into Grandma's house, still bearing traces of her life.
She must have cleaned diligently even with her hunched back, because the interior was remarkably tidy.
"There's lots of furniture, and the house is spacious. This is great."
The solid wood furniture was in good shape.
No need to replace anything; we could just keep using it.
And so we unpacked our meager belongings.
"My sandbag goes right here!"
"I'll put the castle I built with Legos in this display case."
"Mangmung's house goes next to the sofa!"
The dragon kids each placed their things in spots they liked.
We didn't have much luggage anyway, so the move didn't take all that long.
"Phew, annoying as it was, we're finally done."
Even with little stuff, moving is still a hassle.
In any case, after this straightforward relocation, I felt like our living situation had improved dramatically.
"Dad! There's a bed here! It's super hard, like a rock!"
"Hey, Hwa-ryeon! Don't jump on the bed!"
At least we now had a bed.
A rock-solid one at that, perfect for the back like a stone bed.
I couldn't say if it was five-star quality, but just having a bed was pretty welcome news.
And then.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"The TV here's huge. Bigger than the one back home."
"Sitting on the sofa to watch will be perfect."
We got a leather sofa, and the TV got bigger.
Su-ryeon seemed thrilled about it, buzzing with excitement.
'Come to think of it, there's a kimchi fridge over there too.'
Checking inside, it was packed full.
It looked brand new, like she'd prepared it just for us.
"...Even with her health failing. She should've looked after herself first."
I'd heard that after losing her two sons to the dimensional gate incident and her husband to illness.
Grandma started helping out folks around the neighborhood.
Gu Bong-gu and I had gotten her help too, and apparently plenty of others had as well.
There'd been so many people at the funeral you couldn't even count them.
I shut the kimchi fridge and addressed the kids, who were hyped up now that the house was bigger.
"From today on, no kimchi left behind or you'll get in trouble! Eat it all with gratitude!"
Hwa-ryeon and Cho-ryeon beamed and shouted.
"I love kimchi!"
"Me too!"
Su-ryeon was the only one wrinkling her nose a bit.
Once the move was wrapped up, I pulled out my smartphone and checked the delivery app.
Seeing that, Hwa-ryeon latched onto my back and said.
"What're we getting! I want pizza! Buy me pizza!"
"No, Hwa-ryeon. Pizza's not for a day like today."
"Tch, what kinda nonsense is that! I want pizza! Gimme pizza!"
"Quiet. Today we're having something even tastier than pizza."
On moving day, you order from the Chinese place.
I went with black bean noodles for everyone, plus some sweet and sour pork.
"If it's not tastier than pizza, I'm gonna get mad!"
"Eat it first, then tell me."
"Hmph!"
Hwa-ryeon looked a little sulky for not getting her way.
Her stomach growled too.
After waiting desperately for the food to arrive.
Knock knock.
"Delivery!"
"Food's here!"
The delivery showed up.
I grabbed Hwa-ryeon's head as she tried to bolt out excitedly and headed to the door to get the food.
Creak.
There stood a very familiar face.
"You again."
"Bro!"
"Skinny."
He spotted me and jumped in surprise, yanking off his helmet.
"Bro, what're you doing here? Didn't you live downstairs?"
"Yeah, moved up to this floor."
"You made it big!? Congrats, bro! As expected of a hero!"
Bow.
Skinny bowed a full ninety degrees in congratulations.
Feeling awkward, I grabbed his bony shoulders and pulled him upright.
"Don't overdo it, man. It's embarrassing."
"Hehe, good things are good things! How's that puppy doing?"
"Yeah, doing great. Real glad about that."
I exchanged some small talk with the guy I hadn't seen in a while.
Subtly bragging about how clever Mangmung was, asking how he'd been lately, inquiring about the neighborhood situation.
But you can't chat forever.
"Ah, bro. Noodles are gonna get soggy. Gotta run—another delivery!"
"Yeah, keep at it. Take care."
"Yes, bro!"
Vroom!
Skinny hurriedly took off, leaving behind four orders of black bean noodles, one sweet and sour pork, and some complimentary fried dumplings.
To eat, I spread out newspaper on the floor.
The kids tilted their heads at the black bean noodles.
"Smells good! Looks tasty!"
Hwa-ryeon was already smacking her lips.
"What's this? Looks burnt. Dad, you expect us to eat this?"
Su-ryeon eyed the black bean noodles suspiciously.
"They say burnt food causes cancer, Dad! You can't eat this!"
Cho-ryeon fretted over me.
'I get the rest, but why worry about me? I'm still fit as ever.'
Cho-ryeon was treating me like some ancient fish.
For these clueless kids, I opened the black bean noodle containers and chopsticks.
Then, I decided to demonstrate for them.
"Black bean noodles, you mix 'em up nice like this, then grab with chopsticks like so."
Slurp.
"Eat 'em like ramen. Got it?"
"I got it!"
Growl.
Hwa-ryeon, looking the hungriest, licked her lips as she mixed her noodles.
Then she inhaled them just like ramen.
"Spicy!"
"Told ya it's tastier than pizza. Moving day means black bean noodles."
"Hmph, that's just some human rule! I don't wanna follow it!"
"Want me to take your black bean noodles back then?"
"N-No!"
Swoosh.
Hwa-ryeon whisked her black bean noodles behind her back like buried treasure.
Looked like she absolutely refused to let them go.
"Sigh, that glutton. She's gonna turn into a pig at this rate. What about you two, Su-ryeon, Cho-ryeon?"
Su-ryeon bit off reasonable lengths of noodle without a sound and said.
"It's decent. This sweet and sour pork too. Dipping in the sauce makes the flavors balance nicely. I like it."
"Glad it suits your taste."
I wondered how Cho-ryeon was doing.
Turning to look, she was picking out the meat from her black bean noodles and feeding it to Mangmung.
"I'll eat the noodles, so Mangmung, enjoy the meat!"
"Mang mang!"
Both adorable.
Sharing the black bean noodles like that was a heartwarming sight.
"No onions for Mangmung, Cho-ryeon. Just the meat."
"Got it, I'll eat the onions, Dad!"
"Okay."
I gave a simple reply and quietly took in the scene.
Dragons eating black bean noodles on nest-moving day.
The peaceful vibe brought a natural smile to my face.
"Do we really have to dip it in sauce?"
As long as the world wasn't ending or anything.
"Dipping's a hassle!"
Flash.
Hwa-ryeon hoisted up the sweet and sour pork sauce.
"N-No way..."
And then she committed an unspeakable atrocity.
"If I pour the sauce on, no need to dip!"
Splash.
Sticky sweet and sour pork sauce poured over the fried pork.
Oblivious to her crime, Hwa-ryeon grinned proudly.
"Haha, I'm a genius!"
"..."
This I couldn't stand.
I picked up a piece of uncontaminated sweet and sour pork and fixed Hwa-ryeon with a stare.
"Hwa-ryeon."
"Yeah, Dad?"
"You just broke one of our house rules."
"Rule? What rule?"
"Pouring sauce on sweet and sour pork. Bu-meok is forbidden in this house."
Glare.
I shot a piercing look at Hwa-ryeon the bu-meok offender.
She flinched and backed away a little.
"I-I didn't know!"
"It's fine, Hwa-ryeon. You'll learn now."
What fate awaits bu-meok perpetrators.
I stood up to administer punishment to Hwa-ryeon.
Sensing something off, she hopped to her feet too.
"Wh-What's wrong with pouring sauce on sweet and sour pork!"
"It's a huge problem. Get over here!!"
Disrespecting jib-meok.
I chased after the fiendish bu-meok factionist Hwa-ryeon.
She was so quick it wasn't easy to catch her.
"If I catch you now, it's five minutes of cheek-pinching! Later, and it's ten!"
"Hmph, if you don't catch me, it's zero! Dad's dumb!"
Bleh.
Even mid-run, Hwa-ryeon stuck out her tongue and blew a raspberry at me.
'No mercy. Kid or not.'
Bu-meok was bad enough, but a raspberry too?
Unforgivable.
"Yi Hwa-ryeon! Stop running and get over here!!"
"Waaah! Get away!"
Su-ryeon and Cho-ryeon sighed, probably thinking we were pathetic.
"Noisy, but maybe eat the black bean noodles. They'll get soggy over time."
"Let's do that, Su-ryeon sis. We finally agree on something."
"Only 'cause those two are such idiots. Making a fuss over one little sauce. Pathetic."
Su-ryeon gave us a pitiful look and picked up a saucy piece of sweet and sour pork.
She chewed thoughtfully, then spoke carefully.
"...Too sweet. Batter's gone soggy. Not great culinarily. Now I get why Dad's flipping out."
At least Su-ryeon got it somewhat.
"Bu-meok is a sin."
That's my girl.
She spoke nothing but facts.
Buoyed by the support, I finally apprehended Hwa-ryeon.
And then.
"Your cheeks are mine for ten minutes."
"U-Ugh! Let gooo! Don't touch my cheeks!"
"Struggling's pointless! Get over here!"
Squish squish.
I kneaded Hwa-ryeon's cheeks as I carried out the punishment.
From that day on, our family gained an unwritten rule.
'Pour sauce on sweet and sour pork, and you're in big trouble!'
Only then could our family function properly.
Because bu-meok had to be eradicated.