Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Things That Don't Change
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We moved the nest.
Seoul-04.
The surrounding environment is good, and it's a district where kids can live well.
Unlike 09 District, which is classified as a slum, this is downtown, so the infrastructure is top-notch.
Even the dragons, who place great importance on territory, seemed pretty satisfied.
'Looks like moving was the right decision.'
To finally achieve the dream of owning my own home, which had felt so distant and dark.
Even reflecting on it now, it feels like I'm living in a dream.
"I wish my loan was part of the dream too."
I wondered how much was left.
I opened my smartphone and checked the loan details.
"Hundred... thousand... ten million... billion..."
It felt so unreal that I rubbed my eyes.
No such luck.
The amount I had to repay hadn't budged.
"Is this for real?"
I'd paid off my debts.
But now, a loan had appeared.
I'd thought escaping 09 District would lead to a leisurely life.
Instead, things had gotten even busier.
'Is this the weight of being a parent?'
It's heavy.
But I can handle it.
My beautiful daughters are growing every day—
"Dragon Punch!"
Whoosh—
Hwarun's fist suddenly flew toward me.
I leaped off the sofa and swiftly dodged it.
"What the—! Hwarun! What was that out of nowhere?! Dad almost got hurt!"
"Hmph! It's a surprise attack! This counts as training!"
Hwarun pulled back her fist and declared it proudly as training.
It sure didn't look like it.
"You didn't just throw a punch 'cause you were bored?"
"Ah, no way!"
Hwarun startled, clearly guilty.
Yeah, she'd punched me just because she was bored.
'A daughter attempting patricide. Revoking my "pretty daughter" status.'
After fighting the Dragon Slayer,
I'd come to know myself very well.
I might look tough on the outside, but like that flimsy apartment that crumbled easily, there's no rebar holding me together.
My physical abilities are great, but without technique, it's meaningless.
That's why I'm learning martial arts from Hwarun.
Even in her growth spurt, when her power still falls short, her skills are exceptional.
'As much as I hate to admit it, being a Red Dragon gives her incredible athleticism.'
Playing around with exercise together seems to put her in a good mood too.
Anyway, I gave Hwarun a flick on the forehead for her sneak attack.
Snap—
"Ow! Why'd you hit me!"
"Penalty for the sneak attack."
"I'll punish you too, Dad! You're getting hit now!"
She wasn't one to just take it lying down.
Hwarun charged at me to get revenge for the flick.
Of course, I had no intention of standing there and taking it.
I got to my feet before her fist could land.
"Hit me if you can!"
"Dragon Punch! Dragon Punch!"
Crash!
Thud thud thud—!
Suryun and I dashed wildly around the spacious, furniture-free living room.
One perk of the new place, I guess.
'The old house was so cramped it was hard to run. Perfect for teasing the kids and making a getaway.'
Hwarun desperately tried to get her revenge on me.
And I couldn't lose to my own daughter, so I fled with everything I had to avoid her hits.
"Hmm."
Suryun sat quietly on the sofa, staring at her A-Pad.
She watched us blankly for a moment, let out a sigh, and said,
"Sigh, grown adults acting like this. Why are they so immature?"
She shook her head.
After calling us immature, Suryun turned her attention back to the A-Pad screen.
She maneuvered her character, using a pickaxe to mine blocks.
"Today's task: Mine some diamonds and put them on display in my house."
Pot, meet kettle.
It was pretty hilarious.
"Dad, over there! You're dead if I catch you! Raaargh!"
"Ah, right."
Gotta focus.
I ran for all I was worth to avoid getting caught by my daughter.
Dads don't lose to their daughters.
***
A week after the move.
Finally, all the furniture I'd been waiting for arrived.
The delivery was so delayed I wondered if it'd gotten sucked into a dimensional gate somewhere.
It was just a little late, though, and it made it home safely.
I hauled the boxes into the living room.
"Time to assemble them?"
"Assemble?"
"Yeah. The furniture's inside these boxes. We put it together."
"Hmmm..."
Choryun eyed the cardboard box curiously.
She seemed unable to believe that a big piece of furniture could fit inside it.
Best to demonstrate.
I opened one box and pulled out the contents.
It wasn't solid wood—it was a metal assembly desk.
I read the instructions and told Choryun,
"Dad's about to assemble some Lego."
"It's huge Lego?"
"You got it. Watch Dad work his magic."
Time to show off some proper dad skills.
I started assembling the desk according to the instructions.
I slotted in the rods and tightened the screws.
"Like this..."
Click—
Complete!
I proudly showed off my handiwork.
"How about it, Choryun? Dad-assembled desk! All those little parts turned into this!"
"Wow!"
Choryun's eyes sparkled like emeralds as she looked at me.
"It became a desk so fast, Father! As expected of you! Incredible!"
"Ahem, this much? I'm Dad. It's only natural."
"Mangmung, check this out! Impressive, right? Pretty cool, huh?"
"Mang mang—!"
Mangmung nodded along, clearly impressed with me.
It was nothing—just following the manual—
but having them look at me like I was amazing felt great.
"Alright, shall we keep going? Hwarun! Suryun!"
"What, Dad?"
"Why, Dad?"
"You two come help! Treat it like Lego!"
Hwarun, who had been watching TV, and Suryun, fiddling with her A-Pad,
grumbled but shuffled over.
They opened boxes and started assembling furniture together.
"This goes here! In you go! Hya!"
"...Hwarun unnie. That's not the spot."
"Yeah? Then here! Hya!"
"...That's not it either. Wait—not there either— ...Can you just stay still for a sec?"
Hwarun's aversion to complicated stuff was making Suryun suffer a bit.
Meanwhile, Choryun teamed up with Mangmung to assemble.
"Mangmung! Fetch me the A3 part!"
"Mang mang—!"
"You did great, Mangmung!"
Pat pat—
Mangmung seemed more helpful than Hwarun, honestly.
Still, the kids all pitched in, helping each other assemble diligently.
I personally carried the finished pieces to their spots.
And the end result:
"Whew, finally done."
"Rooms complete!"
"Not bad."
"Wow! Mangmung has a house too! I got a room! Even if sharing with Suryun unnie! Wow!"
I'd finished turning the two leftover small rooms into the kids' bedrooms.
As the eldest, Hwarun got her own room, while Suryun and Choryun would share.
Space was tight, so they got bunk beds.
"Desks, shelves, wardrobes—all set. Anything else we need, kids?"
"Dad, me."
Suryun raised her hand, face blank.
"I need a computer."
"Why?"
"...To study the human world."
"You can do that on the A-Pad."
"...The advanced stuff is computer-only."
Suryun said that and turned her head away slightly.
It was an obvious lie to anyone watching.
'She just wants to play games.'
Back in the day,
I'd pulled the exact same line to get a new computer.
Said the internet was too slow for studying.
Mom and Dad just smiled and upgraded it for me.
Only now do I realize they probably knew it was for gaming.
'...So this is what it feels like.'
I smiled faintly and replied.
"I'll think about it."
"...Really?"
"You're not at the age where you need one yet. Might get it a bit later."
"Age again? But you will later?"
"Yeah."
"Fine then."
The corner of Suryun's mouth twitched upward ever so slightly.
Seemed happy about the eventual computer.
I promised it for later and turned to Hwarun.
"Then, Hwarun gets this room to herself."
"Yay! This is my room! Come in without permission and you're dead!"
Boing—!
Hwarun, thrilled at her private room, dove onto the bed.
I left her to enjoy it and headed to the other room.
"This is Suryun and Choryun's room. Bunk beds—who wants the top?"
The two dragons eyed each other warily.
Then they spoke at the same time.
"Me, top."
"I'll take the top!"
Dragons, huh.
They both wanted the highest spot.
No helping it—I had to decide.
"Hwarun the eldest got her own room, so Suryun picks the bunk."
"Heh."
Suryun shot Choryun a triumphant look.
Choryun looked a little miffed.
"Suryun on top, Choryun on bottom. Got it?"
"Sweet."
"Yes... Father's decision, so okay..."
Choryun seemed a tad disappointed.
Couldn't be helped.
To become Confucian dragons who could adapt to the human world, they needed this kind of hierarchy.
"From tonight, everyone sleeps in their own bed comfortably. Keep 'em clean, or Dad's gonna get mad!"
"Yeah!"
"Gotcha."
"Yes!"
They answered well enough.
And so, I gave each of my daughters her own bed.
Now I could finally sleep alone in comfort.
"I thought I'd die under their feet every night. Time to stretch out properly."
Ahh, bliss.
Convinced I'd spend the night solo, I lay down.
But late that evening, the firmly shut master bedroom door swung open.
Bang—!
"Dad! I'm sleeping here!"
"Huh?"
"Dragon dive!"
Clutching her pillow, Hwarun dove straight at me as I lay on the bed.
"Hngh—!"
"Dive success!"
"Success... ouch, that hurt..."
"Hehe—"
Hwarun climbed on top of me and giggled.
They say you can't spit on a smiling face.
Guess it's true.
"Anyway. Why not sleep in your room and come to Dad's?"
"Sleeping alone's no fun! Boring!"
"Not 'cause you're scared?"
"Hmph! I'm Red Dragon Hwarun! As if anything scares me!"
"Veggies?"
"Ve-vegetables are just... stuff I hate!"
From what I gathered,
she just wasn't used to sleeping alone.
I lifted Hwarun off me and laid her down beside me.
"Alright. Sleep here then."
"Got it!"
Hwarun plopped down the pillow she'd brought.
Good thing the bed was king-sized.
Might get cramped if more piled on.
'No way the others will come too, right?'
That was the moment.
Creak—
"Dad, can I sleep he—wait, Hwarun unnie's here?"
"Come on in, Suryun! Wanna lie next to me?"
Suryun glanced at the spot beside me and tossed her pillow there.
"That's my spot."
"...You're sleeping here too, Suryun?"
"Yeah. Why? Problem?"
"No, not really..."
"Then no issue."
Hop—
Suryun hopped in beside me, lay straight, closed her eyes, and went right to sleep.
And before the Suryun storm had even settled, the master bedroom door opened again.
Creak—
"Father, are you asleep? It's Choryun and Mangmung. I wanted to sleep with Fath—Father?"
Chill—
Choryun froze at the sight of the packed bed.
She set Mangmung down on the floor and said,
"Mangmung, take a quick break. I need to talk to Father."
"Ma... mang..."
Mangmung slunk away with its tail between its legs, hiding at the bed's edge.
Choryun glared at the sleeping Hwarun and Suryun beside me.
For some reason, it felt like dark clouds were gathering behind her.
"Father, what is the meaning of this? Leaving only me out."
"I-I don't know. They just said they wanted to sleep in Dad's bed all of a sudden."
"I should've noticed when Suryun unnie's bed was empty... I'm too late."
"S-seems like it?"
They say the people who never get mad are the scariest when they do.
Looks like that's true.
Choryun's aura felt seriously off.
She stared at the bed intently for a moment, then closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and said,
"But there's still space for me. Father didn't leave me out completely! I can just whoosh—this right past!"
Whew—
Back to the usual Choryun. Thank goodness.
She clambered onto the bed and lay down on my stomach.
"My bed's right here—Father! I can hear your heartbeat! Best spot ever! I'm so lucky! Right?"
"Y-yeah, seems so."
Luckily, she'd switched to positive mode.
Choryun used me as her bed and drifted off.
'Is this how it's supposed to be?'
We had new rooms, new beds.
But they still wanted to sleep with me, just like always.
'They like Dad too much. What's the point of buying beds then?'
Should I return them now?
The thought crossed my mind, but I held off.
Once they grew up, they'd leave my bed.
'If I leave them be, they'll use them eventually. No way independent dragons keep sleeping here forever.'
Someday they'd sleep in their own.
Clinging to that belief, I lay down with them as usual and closed my eyes.
"Mmmnya... mmm..."
"..."
"Hehe, such a fluffy bed..."
It was a bit cramped.
But I could feel the family's tight-knit warmth.
Maybe a little too tight-knit, though.