Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: I Boiled Some Ramen, But Why Won't You Eat It?
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I planted lettuce in the flower bed last night.
They say it'll be ready to harvest in about 30 days.
That means it's going to take a long time before Chorun can go back to eating veggies.
"I boiled some ramen. Why won't you eat it, Chorun?"
"Shaaah-!"
The vegetarian Chorun.
Putting up a fierce protest against the ramen.
Even when I try to feed it to her, she keeps turning her face away.
I'm racking my brain over what to do with this kid.
"It's good that you're not causing trouble, but why are you suddenly being picky about side dishes..."
"Shaaaaah-"
Chorun stuck her tongue out at the ramen.
A clear show of her resolve to absolutely not eat it.
"I might not be great at balancing nutrients, but I was trying to at least make sure you eat. Why won't you eat? Daddy's sad, Chorun."
Sob sob-
Tears blurred my vision, so I wiped the flowing tears.
"Shaaah-!"
"Not fooling anyone."
Chorun scolded me as if telling me not to lie.
Seeing that, Hwarun spoke up while rolling noodles around a disposable plastic fork.
"Just leave her alone! She'll eat when she's hungry!"
"That's why I'm doing this—she won't eat on her own. Don't you care about your little sister?"
"Ha, that's ridiculous. Why would a dragon worry about another dragon!"
"Chorun was worried about you."
"Don't argue with a dragon! What a dragon says is the truth!"
"That's just stubborn."
Sigh.
I filled Hwarun's bowl with more ramen.
"You just eat more ramen."
"Yay! More! More!"
The simple Hwarun shut her noisy mouth and started eating the ramen again.
I turned my head and saw Surun eating on her own with a fork, doing just fine.
'Looks like she's almost mastered the fork now.'
So skilled.
Dragons really do learn and adapt quickly.
After transforming into human form, they adapted to human bodies effortlessly.
As if they'd always had human bodies.
They'd spent more days in human form than as dragons anyway.
The only one still living in dragon form was Chorun...
"Chorun."
"Saaah-?"
"You don't have to transform into human form. Just please eat something."
"Shaaah-!"
The extreme vegetarian Chorun.
Once again, totally against the ramen.
There were still so many days left until the lettuce grew. When did she plan to eat?
I was seriously worried about Chorun's health since she wasn't eating...
***
...But that worry vanished the moment I went up to the rooftop to water the lettuce.
"What the heck. Why is it already growing?"
It was definitely planted just yesterday.
Why were there already sprouts?
I checked the green sprouts standing tall amid the soil.
"Why is it growing this fast..."
Could this be happening?
Sprouts from a plant in just one day.
This was impossible.
And no one else could find out about it.
"It seems like it's because Chorun breathed on it yesterday. If those drug growers find out..."
Chorun would become the underworld's cultivation king, breathing on drugs under stark white LED lights.
That future mustn't come to pass, not even in imagination.
"...Guess I'll just have to hide it and protect it myself."
What a heavy burden.
I poured the water from Surun's bottle onto the flower bed.
Whoosh-
"Grow big and strong."
Whether it takes a short time or a long one.
As long as it grows healthy and tall.
It was one of those nights, watering the lettuce under the moonlight, when such thoughts crossed my mind.
***
The lettuce grew noticeably bigger with each passing day.
At this rate, Chorun would be eating lettuce soon.
Until then, I'd have to feed her veggies like the carrots I bought from the mart.
"Not paying utilities saved some money, but food costs are still the biggest expense."
I tapped on my phone to do some calculations.
I work 6 days a week and get 250 a month.
Back in the day, with minimum wage laws, I'd have made more, but those disappeared first after the dimensional gates appeared.
The top class kicked away the ladder for the lower class to solidify their position.
'The only way for lower class folks to climb up is to become a hero.'
Or get into illegal stuff.
Those are the only two paths to the top.
"Anyway, after subtracting food costs and paying rent and debt... max 20, min 10."
Way too tight.
Isn't there some way?
'Might have to cut food costs even more.'
I asked Hwarun, who was lying on the floor engrossed in the TV.
"Hwarun. How would you feel if our portions suddenly got smaller?"
"Just thinking about it makes me mad! Don't ask stupid questions!"
"I see."
Hmm.
Better not mess with food costs.
We bought seeds this time, too, and once the lettuce starts producing, food expenses will drop a lot.
Next month should be a bit better.
"It's getting better, so I can climb slowly."
Good.
Let's go.
As I was steeling my resolve.
Surun, sitting in the corner, spoke up.
"Landlord. You're watching TV. Your muttering is annoying."
"Utilities. We'll settle that later, you lot."
"...Don't call me that nickname. Use my name."
"You call me Daddy first."
"..."
Surun shut her mouth.
Someday that mouth would say "Daddy."
I scratched the belly of Chorun, who was lying next to me with her stomach exposed.
"Right, Chorun? You want to call me Daddy too, don't you?"
"Shaaah-!"
Someday Chorun would call me Daddy in human form too.
It was all a matter of time.
Everything hinged on time.
Bang bang-!!
And then.
Problems arrive right on time.
We all turned our eyes to the door at the sudden knocking.
A loud middle-aged man's voice came from behind the door.
—Lee Ha-jun, you're in there!! Open the door!!
Loan shark Gu Bong-gu.
Just as Granny said, he'd come looking for me.
The ghost who always shows up when I have money.
I cautiously spoke to the startled dragons.
"Shh- Everyone stay quiet and still. I'll be right back."
"What's going on? What is it?!"
"Nothing. Just stay put and it'll be over."
"R-Really?!"
Hwarun panicked but accepted it at my serious look.
But Surun looked like she had something to say.
"Landlord. You okay?"
"..."
"Isn't it better to just stay quiet?"
"..."
Surun seemed to know everything.
What would happen if I went out.
And what had happened between me and Gu Bong-gu.
'It was eggs back then. She must've heard everything.'
Damn.
One of the sides of me I didn't want them to see.
But I couldn't just stay put now that it was out.
—I know you're in there!! Open up!!
Bang bang-!!
Gu Bong-gu kept pounding on the door, and the dragons, experiencing this for the first time, didn't show it outwardly.
But inwardly, they were anxious and scared.
If I could stay still in that situation, I wouldn't deserve to be in the parent's position.
"I'm in here, so stop. I'll come out soon."
—...If you were, you'd have said so earlier.
Pay some of the money.
And make up the rest with my body like always.
That's what I thought as I headed to the entrance.
And before leaving.
I gave the kids the usual words.
"Don't cause trouble and behave."
My way of saying I'd be back soon.
***
Gu Bong-gu has a nose for money like a ghost.
He shows up right when I have cash, perfectly timed.
He looks like a mackerel, but he's pretty smart.
"Hey, Lee Ha-jun. You just cursed me in your head."
"...No?"
"Don't lie. We've known each other 10 years. I can see it in your eyes."
"Already 10 years? Time sure flies."
"So pay up quick and end this nagging connection."
Tsk-
Gu Bong-gu clicked his tongue and spat on the hallway floor.
I didn't miss the moment.
"Hey, Granny wouldn't like that."
"...Don't tell her it was me."
"I'll think about it if you cut into the settlement."
"...How much."
"20."
"10."
Nice.
No matter how bold Gu Bong-gu is.
Mention Granny, and he backs off.
Simple reason.
Granny practically raised him, blood relation or not.
'Though she raised him into a loan shark.'
Still, not into a heartless psychopath.
10 years ago, lent money to broke me, and even after 10 years without payback, it ends with beatings.
From my view, he's no different from a slayer, but to a third party, he's a decent bad guy with a good side.
Anyway.
Gu Bong-gu is just Gu Bong-gu.
He tapped on an analog calculator, showed it to me, and said.
"Cut 100k, plus last month's unpaid, clean 1.5 mil."
"1.5 is too much, no? 1 mil."
"1.5. Or you know what."
Meaning he'll take something else instead of money.
Gu Bong-gu always gets back what was borrowed, one way or another.
I sighed and pointed to the stairs.
"Hallway's iffy. Let's do it outside."
"People might see? You cool with that?"
"Yeah, fine."
Doesn't matter if others see.
I just hope the kids don't.
Me and Gu Bong-gu went up the stairs and out.
There, I braced for the beating.
"Exactly 500k worth."
"Sigh, you're driving me crazy. No more, no less. Just this and done."
Gu Bong-gu looked exasperated as he loosened his fists.
Once ready, he clenched and swung at my body.
'Hup!'
As the fist hit, I sucked in my breath.
Way to take the hit with less pain.
But.
'...What? Why doesn't it hurt?'
Because of the technique?
It didn't hurt at all.
If anything, Gu Bong-gu was the one hurting.
"Aaagh-! You bastard-! What'd you put in your body-!"
"M-Me? I didn't do anything?"
"Bullshit-! What hard thing did you shove in there-!"
"No, really, nothing."
Gu Bong-gu clutched his fist, howling in pain.
Is he faking for a settlement?
Overacting to squeeze more out of me?
'What the hell's wrong with my body?'
To check, I poked the hit spot with my finger.
"No problem here?"
"Bullshit for real."
Gu Bong-gu shook off his fist, came close, and poked my body with his finger.
But his finger wouldn't penetrate, like hitting a wall.
Even I didn't know about this.
"What is this."
If something supernatural happened to me.
Must be when the dragons did something to my body.
What have I been up to lately?
'Just working hard, eating, playing with the kids, watering the flower bed, washing when sweaty.'
...No way?
I thought of the lettuce growing insanely fast day by day.
Lettuce breathed on by Chorun and watered by Surun.
Growing at an absurd rate, turning into a monster lettuce as time passed.
If.
Just a guess.
For about a month.
I've been drinking Surun's water and showering with it.
And cooking food with Hwarun's fire.
'If the lettuce changed, maybe my body did too?'
Watching Gu Bong-gu poke my body, I realized.
Too busy with work every day to notice.
My body had become way tougher than I thought.
"...Looks like I really did pick up treasure."
The hero dream that seemed impossible no matter how much I trained.
That dream seemed like it might bloom again thanks to the ones from the dragon's nest.
"Gu Bong-gu."
"Yeah?"
"I'll pay off the rest of the debt soon."
A hopeful future was starting to come into view.
Thanks to the eggs picked up from the dragon's nest.