Chapter 124
Chapter 124
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Let's Eliminate the Interfloor Noise! (1)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
A human on the verge of losing her title as a woman in her early twenties.
Yi Na-kyeong.
Recently, she had developed a massive problem.
Thud thud—
"Fuck! Let me sleep! Why the hell are you making noise in the morning too?!"
It was the noise from upstairs.
She'd put up with it on moving day and even when it was occasional.
But now it was happening in the morning too, and she could no longer tolerate it.
On top of that, at lunchtime, she even had to listen to that dog's weird laughing bark, "Mang-hang-hang—"
"Aaah!! If I fail this exam too, I'll have to retake it again!! Why is this happening to me during such an important time?!"
Yi Na-kyeong hadn't gotten into the university she wanted during her school days.
So, she was trying to get in by retaking the exam.
'My scores were just a bit short. If I retake it, I'll definitely get in next time.'
First retake.
But contrary to her expectations, Yi Na-kyeong's retake life dragged on.
'Ah, damn. I messed up the math.'
Second retake.
'My stomach hurts... It shouldn't be that time... Why is this happening...? The side dishes yesterday tasted a bit off...'
Third retake.
'The guy in front of me is shaking his leg like crazy. And why is he balding? Is he a monk?'
Fourth retake.
And now, her fifth.
The fifth-time retaker Yi Na-kyeong was on the verge of losing her fresh early-twenties glow.
She couldn't accept starting college in her mid-twenties.
'If I fail this time, it'll be my sixth. I absolutely won't do a sixth. I'd rather do internet streams and boil some chicken instead. Honestly, it's just because I haven't been taking care of myself while studying. If I dolled up, I'd look pretty decent, right?'
Swish—
Thinking that, Yi Na-kyeong picked up the hand mirror on her desk.
Inside it was a woman with glasses, looking haggard from long hours of studying.
The image of a human whose youth was fading away.
"Fuck this! I'm definitely passing this time!! No way I'm doing a sixth!!"
Springing up—
Yi Na-kyeong jumped out of bed and headed to her desk.
Then, she wrote on a Post-it note, pouring in all the fifth-time retaker's frustration.
[Please stop jumping around. It's so noisy I'm gonna die. I'm gonna fail my exam again. Fuck.]
She wouldn't hold back anymore for the sake of focusing on her studies.
Bang—!
"Please leave me alone to study in peace!!"
The fifth-time retaker Yi Na-kyeong shouted that as she stuck the Post-it on the upstairs door.
'No matter how much they beg for understanding. I'm not gonna let it slide.'
She had to ace this exam no matter what.
Yi Na-kyeong had no intention of backing down.
***
I stared intently at the Post-it and muttered to myself.
"Interfloor noise, huh."
Hm.
It was a problem I'd never really thought about.
Because I'd lived in a semi-basement for a long time, and at Grandma's house, the floor below was empty.
"Now that I think about it, my kids are a bit noisy."
Especially.
Hwaryun, who's watching TV over there, is the noisy one.
"Game Ranger kick!"
Thud—!
Hwaryun was imitating Game Ranger's moves while watching TV.
It looked like I needed to take some measures against the interfloor noise.
"Kids. Dad's gonna step out for a bit."
"Where are you going, Dad? I wanna come too!"
"I'll be right back. Just wait a little."
I left the kids behind and headed outside.
"I should show some sincerity with an apology... Maybe hit the convenience store."
I had no idea what to buy.
So, I grabbed some snacks like chocolate and jelly.
Then, I went right downstairs and carefully knocked on the door.
Knock knock—
"Excuse me, is anyone home?"
Not long after.
A young woman's voice came from behind the door.
—Yes, who is it?
"I'm from upstairs, actually."
—Oh, that dog sh—no, you're from upstairs. Wait just a moment.
"?"
I swear I heard a curse.
It felt a bit off.
But the downstairs neighbor opened the door.
'Oh, she's younger than I thought.'
She wore glasses and had a plain look.
Still, just knowing she was the downstairs neighbor made me feel like my dating prospects were kicking off.
"Ahem."
I cleared my throat deeply and said.
"Uh, yeah. I saw the Post-it. Didn't realize we were being that noisy. Sorry about that."
"Oh, yeah. Good that you saw it. Like I wrote, I'm prepping for an exam."
Zap—
Pretty sharp glare full of dissatisfaction.
'They say long-term students have a different vibe. Guess it's true.'
Eyes like she'd chew you up if you failed an exam.
I gave an awkward smile and handed over the bag of snacks.
"Brought some snacks as an apology. Here, have them."
"Yes, thank you. I was in a bad mood, but snacks might cheer me up."
"We'll be more careful from now on. Keep the noise down. We're neighbors, so let's get along, yeah?"
Wink—
A wink with a bit of flirting.
But for some reason, the long-term student recoiled in disgust.
Feeling awkwardly embarrassed, I turned to leave.
"Well, see you."
"Yes, please be careful with the noise."
Looks like she's not that desperate for romance yet.
Well, a long-term student probably has no time for dating.
I consoled myself with that and went back home.
Then, the kids, having read the Post-it on the table, came over and asked.
"Dad! What's interfloor noise?"
"It's because we're noisy. The downstairs neighbor says it hurts."
"Hmph, we can be noisy sometimes! Ridiculous!"
Hwaryun, apparently not liking the downstairs neighbor, stomped her feet on the floor 'thud thud—!'.
I rushed to stop Hwaryun.
"What are you doing, Hwa-ryun! Get over here!"
"Uwaaah—! Let gooo—!"
I caught the main culprit of the interfloor noise.
Holding the wriggling Hwaryun up, I announced to the kids.
"Anyway, the downstairs neighbor is suffering from the noise, so no one make a racket. Be quiet, got it?"
"No way! This is my house! I'll do what I want!"
"Hmm, I don't see why I should listen to some stranger I've never even seen."
"I'm different from my sisters! I'll listen to Dad!"
"Mang-mang—!"
There was some backlash from Hwaryun and Suryun.
But Choryun and Mangmung said they'd comply.
'Tsk, no reason to have bad relations with the neighbors.'
Was there a good way to resolve this interfloor noise?
I decided to think about it.
'First things first, gotta buy some slippers.'
***
After the interfloor noise issue erupted.
Lee Ha-jun worked hard to solve it.
"Kids! From today, we're wearing indoor slippers at home!"
"Shaaa—!!"
"No."
Of course, there was backlash.
Especially from Hwaryun and Suryun, who started a no-indoor-slippers campaign.
"Why do we have to wear indoor slippers! I hate it!"
"Don't take away my right to do as I please in my own home."
Maybe because they loved freedom as dragons.
It was hard to persuade them easily.
Perhaps because of that.
The interfloor noise problem wasn't resolved at all.
[Excuse me. You said you'd be quiet. Do you really want to see me fail my exam? If I fail this time, I'm really in deep shit?]
Suryun checked the Post-it and said coldly.
"It's her own lack of skill, blaming others. She's obviously gonna fail anyway."
"Suryun, that's too harsh!"
"Hmm, is it? I was just stating facts."
Suryun was cold.
It seemed Suryun had no desire to get friendly with the downstairs neighbor.
And the downstairs seemed the same.
[I'll understand mornings and evenings. But why so noisy at lunch? I really can't study.]
"Lunch? No one's home at lunch?"
There was no reason for lunch to be noisy.
Weird.
Lee Ha-jun turned to look at Suryun.
"What, Dad."
"Suryun, you're not skipping out and slacking, right?"
"...Doubting your daughter. You're the worst, Dad."
"Ah, no, that's not what I—"
Of course, as a result.
Lee Ha-jun had to pay a price to soothe Suryun's anger.
"I'm sorry, Dad!"
"I wanna listen to music, Dad. I'm as mad as if you took away a smartphone."
"...Smartphone's a bit much. How about an MP3 instead?"
"I'm over it now."
In the end, after paying with one MP3.
Lee Ha-jun managed to calm Suryun.
"Sigh, more money down the drain. So who's making noise at lunch?"
"Only Mangmung's home at lunch..."
"Mangmung?"
Swish—
Lee Ha-jun turned to look at Mangmung.
Mangmung was sitting on the sofa, watching TV with Hwaryun.
And every time a funny scene came on.
"Hahaha—! That's hilarious!"
"Mang-hang-hang—!!"
They'd laugh out loud.
'More than that, Mangmung understands people and even gets TV content?'
Mangmung's growth was frightening.
Anyway, the lunchtime interfloor noise culprit turned out to be Mangmung.
Lee Ha-jun approached the suspect Mangmung and said.
"Mangmung."
"Mang—!"
"No laughing."
"Ma, mang-mang—!!"
This is unfair!
Mangmung rebelled against the unjust oppression.
But it was powerless before the supreme authority, Lee Ha-jun.
"Sorry, Mangmung. Apartments are shared spaces."
"Ma, mang..."
"I'll find another way. Just hold on a bit."
And so Mangmung's laughter was suppressed.
Unable to help it, Mangmung joined Hwaryun and Suryun's protest.
"No no indoor slippers!"
"Don't oppress the dragons' freedom with some human's inconvenience, Dad."
"Mang-mang—!!"
In the end, the momentum shifted.
The kids didn't stop at protests; they started acting.
"I can't take it anymore! How long do I have to tiptoe around?!"
"Agreed."
"Mang-mang—!"
"Let's settle this today. I have a plan."
Whisper whisper—
The kids gathered the like-minded and started plotting.
And then.
On the night when everyone was asleep.
Rustle—
The kids got up to execute the plan.
Hwaryun yawned as she came out to the living room.
Suryun, relatively more composed, headed to the balcony and said.
"Everyone knows the plan for today, right? We're eliminating the interfloor noise today."
"Of course!"
"Mang-mang—!"
"Explain the plan."
Prove you know it.
At those words, Hwaryun and Mangmung avoided Suryun's deep ocean-like eyes.
"Uh, I know the plan! I do! Just wait!"
"Mang-mang-mang..."
"...I'm the idiot for trying to do this with you guys."
Smack—
Suryun smacked her forehead at her comrades' pathetic state.
Anyway, better to proceed as planned.
"Let's go down. To downstairs."
Slide—
She opened the balcony window and looked down.
High up, the wind whistled by, making Suryun's long hair sway.
"The window's open as expected. Who's going down first?"
"Me first!"
Whoosh—!
Hwaryun shot her hand up and shouted.
Suryun motioned for her to go down.
"Just open the front door. We'll wait below."
"Okay!"
Carefully—
Hwaryun perched on the railing.
The high-floor wind whipped her hair, and everything below looked tiny.
"Heh, I'm the best! I'm number one!"
Wheee—
Hwaryun enjoyed the situation, reveling in the feeling of being on top.
But.
"How do I get down?"
It didn't look easy to reach the downstairs window.
"If I mess up, I'll fall."
Still, should she try?
It'd be fun.
The challenging difficulty sparked her spirit, and Hwaryun carefully hung onto the railing.
"Ugh, the wind's cold!"
Dangling—
Hwaryun dangled from the railing, swaying in the wind.
To reach the downstairs window, she stretched her leg down.
But.
"Sh-short!"
Unfortunately, her leg didn't reach.
Stuck, unable to go up or down.
The wind kept swaying her body.
"U, uwaaah—! B-big trouble!"
Hwaryun dangled precariously from the railing.
Her strength was giving out; it was only a matter of time.
Scared of falling, she yelled.
"D-Dad!"
Danger.
She'd plummet soon.
She'd greet the ground.
'At this height, even I'd get hurt!?'
As fear welled up in Hwaryun's ruby eyes.
"Grab this!"
Whoosh—
A long vine dropped down beside Hwaryun.
Hwaryun grabbed it immediately.
"What's this?!"
"Hang on and come down, Hwaryun sis!"
"Choryun?! Why are you helping me? Weren't you on Dad's side?"
Hwaryun was dumbfounded by Choryun's help.
But she understood after Choryun's next words.
"Dad's asleep right now. Honestly, I don't like the indoor slippers either!"
"Choryun, you get along with humans, but you're a dragon through and through!"
"Hehe."
And so Hwaryun safely descended via Choryun's vine and landed downstairs.
"Heh, success!"
Safely downstairs, Hwaryun immediately opened the front door.
Suryun and Mangmung then entered comfortably.
Suryun looked at Hwaryun and said in a cold tone.
"Shall we get rid of the interfloor noise now, Hwaryun sis?"
"Let's go!"
"Mang-mang—!"
The way to eliminate interfloor noise.
It was simple.
"The human seems to be in the master bedroom."
"We just avoid that spot!"
"Yeah, burn everything except the human."
Eliminate the source of the problem, and the problem vanishes.
Destroy downstairs, and all issues are solved.
Suryun covered one eye with her hand, scanning the downstairs living room, and muttered.
"Heh heh, I'm a genius after all. Coming up with this idea. I'm an unstoppable genius dragon."
She was deep in her chuunibyou phase.
"I'll 'eliminate' this bothersome world. Heh heh heh."