Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: Normalizing the Household
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Shedding.
My body now was completely different from before.
I'd cast off my old shell and gained a new one.
"The sensation of moving my body is entirely different."
Whoosh-!
I threw punches into the air, shadowboxing.
The sound slicing through the air and the spring in my limbs were unbelievable.
"To think this is my body..."
Was it because my skeleton had changed through the shedding?
Even the frame of my body had become beautifully proportioned, unlike before.
And even...
"My skin's improved, and my face looks handsome now...?"
At this rate, I could probably make it as an outdoor influencer.
I snapped a photo of my reflection in the bathroom mirror with my smartphone.
Click-! Click-!
"This'll work great as a profile picture."
Heh heh heh-
I admired my new body and let out a laugh.
The dragon kids peeked their faces through the doorway, saw me, and recoiled in disgust.
"Dad, stop showing off!"
"Dumb dad. Gross."
"Father, you could stand to be a bit more humble."
"...But Dad got handsome."
Unfair.
Suryeon let out a sigh toward me and said,
"Looks aren't that important, Dad. Substance always matters. Adults have this bad habit of judging by appearances."
"You sound like some wise sage. You barely ate or slept properly without me."
Flinch-
Had my words hit home?
Suryeon blushed and shouted,
"...That had nothing to do with you being gone! I was just in a bad mood! You're not the reason...!"
"Yeah, yeah, sure."
"Tch...!"
Anyway.
Thanks to the shedding, my body had undergone quite a dynamic change.
My skeleton itself was different, and my face had become quite handsome.
In wuxia terms, it was like I'd undergone a bone exchange and marrow seizure.
'That aside...'
While I was gone.
What on earth had happened?
I stepped out of the bathroom and checked the state of the house.
"The recycling's not sorted properly... trash all over the floor... why are there so many disposable utensils...?"
"Woof woof-! Woof woof woof-!"
"What? You did your best, Mangmung?"
"Woof woof-!"
Mangmung yipped cutely, making some excuse.
It looked like it'd lost quite a bit of weight, so it must have tried hard in its own way.
"Yeah, got it. You did well while I was gone, Mangmung. Leave the rest to me now."
Pat-
I stroked Mangmung's head and rolled up my sleeves.
"It's okay now. Dad's back."
Household normalization: ON.
I started cleaning up the house, which had gotten seriously messy in my absence.
'The kids are in bad shape too. I need to take care of them.'
Glance-
I turned my gaze to check beside me.
"Hurry up and clean, Dad."
"Yeah, Father. We'll stick with you after we're done cleaning!"
Whether I was running the vacuum or scrubbing the bathroom.
Suryeon and Choryeon stuck right by my side, refusing to leave.
It seemed like these clingy kids needed some reassuring.
***
"Dad made this food! Graaah!"
Nom nom-
Haryeon was eating the meal I'd made for the first time in ages.
She shed a few tears as she savored it deliciously.
'Did they miss my cooking that much?'
We ate while chatting about what had happened while I was gone.
"So hard... Father... Without you... our home didn't feel like home... It was awful..."
"...I see."
From the details.
It sounded like the kids had worried a lot and struggled while waiting for me.
Like family waiting outside the operating room, maybe.
'I can kind of see why they're like this.'
I looked at the two heads right in front of my face.
Suryeon and Choryeon were using my knees as chairs while they ate.
They felt noticeably lighter than before.
"Eat up, Suryeon, Choryeon."
At my words.
They quickly set their spoons down on the table.
"...Too much hassle."
"I have no energy, Father..."
Tremble tremble-
Choryeon shook her hands, putting on a method acting performance.
"Sigh."
I had no choice but to play along with their act.
"Here, Suryeon, mackerel on top. Ahh-"
"...Ahh."
Suryeon timidly opened her mouth and took the bite.
Seeing that, Choryeon puffed her cheeks and said to me,
"Father, me too...!"
"Got it, Choryeon. Ahh-"
"Ahh- yes."
On Choryeon's spoon, I piled some seasoned bean sprouts.
I fed the tasty rice into Choryeon's little mouth.
"Hehe, Father-made food is the best!"
"Glad it still tastes good even after so long."
It was like feeding baby birds.
I got worried about Haryeon, who was eating on her own, and asked,
"You okay, Haryeon?"
Haryeon answered matter-of-factly,
"Hmph, I'm not a kid!"
"You are a kid."
"Am not! And you feeding me slows me down! I wanna eat fast! So give me another bowl!"
Chew chew-
Haryeon shoved her bowl at me without even finishing chewing.
Even with delivery food, my cooking was apparently the best.
'Seeing them eat so well makes cooking worth it.'
I smiled fondly at Haryeon and refilled her bowl.
My shedding had thrown the household into a bit of chaos.
But we were slowly regaining our daily routine.
***
Evening.
I said to the kids gathered in the living room watching TV,
"Kids, bedtime now. Let's get ready to sleep."
"Okay!"
"Got it."
"Yes!"
The kids answered and headed to the bathroom.
They brushed their teeth properly, despite claiming they hadn't without me, then put on pajamas and lay in bed.
They were still sleeping in my room.
"Buying you each your own beds was pointless like this. When you grow bigger, you gotta sleep in your own rooms?"
They were small now, so it worked.
Later, they'd be too big, and the bed wouldn't fit everyone.
Someone was bound to roll off due to lack of space.
Suryeon nodded at my words and said,
"Got it, so lie down already, Dad."
"Okay."
She'd said she couldn't sleep without me.
Suryeon had deep dark circles under her eyes.
I lay in bed and touched her dark circles with my finger.
"...What're you doing, Dad?"
"Seeing if they wipe off."
"...Like that'll work, dumb Dad."
Yawn-
Suryeon answered sleepily and let out a yawn.
I gently stroked her head and said,
"Now that Dad's here, sleep easy. No need to stay up all night."
"...Like I said, it wasn't 'cause you were gone."
"Okay, okay."
"It was... 'cause I had stuff to worry about..."
"I got it, Suryeon."
"..."
Drift-
Suryeon slowly closed her eyes and began breathing steadily in deep sleep.
Maybe because she hadn't slept much.
She seemed to plunge straight into a profound slumber.
"Just sleep when you're sleepy. Why stay up stubbornly like an idiot."
The real idiot was clearly Suryeon.
After settling Suryeon, I turned my head.
"G-Gasp...!"
"Hehe..."
There was Choryeon, staring right at me.
I stroked Mangmung sleeping next to Choryeon and asked,
"Not sleeping, Choryeon?"
"I've slept a ton next to Father. Not sleepy at all!"
"Still, bedtime now. That's how you grow tall."
Choryeon puffed her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
"But I wanna talk more with Father!"
"There's tomorrow. It's late now."
We had tomorrows.
But was Choryeon anxious?
She stuck right to my side, acting cute.
"Can't we talk just a little more? I wanna hear Father's voice more."
"...Fine, okay."
No helping it.
I decided to chat a bit more with her, as requested.
It wasn't anything important.
We just exchanged simple words.
"Yawn... Getting sleepy now, Father..."
Time passed, and sleepiness hit her, it seemed.
"Father..."
"Yeah?"
"Don't... ever be gone from me that long again... It was really hard this time... So Father... this won't happen again... right...?"
Grip-
Choryeon clutched my arm desperately as she spoke.
She must have worried a lot during the shedding period.
To reassure her, I caressed her cheek with my finger and said,
"Of course not. Won't happen again."
"Really...?"
"Yeah, so be good and sleep. Dad's getting sleepy too."
"Okay... Goodnight... Father too..."
Drift-
With those final words, Choryeon fell into deep sleep.
A happy expression on her face.
"Finally all asleep."
Phew-
Now I could relax and sleep.
Everyone had looked in rough shape.
"Ugh, gonna grab some cool water before bed."
I carefully got up so as not to wake the kids.
I poured myself cool water from the kitchen purifier and drank.
"Whew, bedtime."
And.
As I headed back to the bedroom to lie down.
"..."
"W-What?!"
I came face-to-face with a strange, wriggling shape in the darkness.
'Did the transformation let me see ghosts now?!'
Just as I wondered if I was starting to see spirits.
The shape in the dark spoke to me.
"...Dad!"
"W-What. It's Haryeon."
I'd thought it was a ghost.
Haryeon, suddenly getting out of bed and approaching me.
Step step-
She walked straight to me without a word, then abruptly thrust her horns and head at me.
"?"
And confidently declared,
"Praise me quick! You have no idea how hard it was without you! As the eldest daughter! It was super tough!"
Tears-
Haryeon seemed truly exhausted.
She held back tears and shoved her head at me.
'I knew from the stories that Haryeon struggled a lot too.'
But to this extent emotionally.
Without me, she had to take responsibility for the other kids as the eldest.
Even for Haryeon, that role must have been quite tough.
I tightly hugged the head-thrusting Haryeon and stroked her head with praise and comfort.
"You had it rough without Dad, huh?"
"... "
"You did great, Haryeon."
"..."
For a good while like that.
Haryeon silently clung tightly to my back.
It was the dead of night, with all the other kids asleep.