Chapter 34
Chapter 34
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 34
Chapter Title: Let's Go to the Mart (1)
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A month had passed since I became a hero.
During that time, I took responsibility for the citizens' safety and produced tremendous results in my role as a hero.
As such, the association's evaluation of me wasn't bad either.
"Indeed, closing Dimensional Gates is best left to Hero Lee Ha-jun! You could do this for life!"
"..."
"Lee Ha-jun for Dimensional Gate patrols! It's not just empty words! Ahaha!"
I couldn't say it was good.
But anyway.
It was better than working at the staffing office.
Both in terms of public opinion and financially.
For starters, compared to before, I was earning a lot more money.
"Hey, Gu Bong-gu, you're here?"
"Forget that, the money."
"Of course I have it ready."
I immediately sent the money to Gu Bong-gu right there from my seat.
Gu Bong-gu checked the transaction history and said to me in surprise.
"150...? You sure you're okay?"
"I'm not the old me anymore, Gu Bong-gu. I told you I'd pay it back quick."
"Damn punk, become a hero and now you're raking it in? You weren't even human before. Finally became one."
Heh.
Gu Bong-gu flashed a rotten grin.
He seemed satisfied about something.
I said to such a Gu Bong-gu.
"Gu Bong-gu, you don't need to come find me anymore. I'll just send the money every month."
"It's been 10 years. The time you didn't pay me back. Just in case, I'll drop by next time too."
Gu Bong-gu had waited a long time for me.
Feeling grateful in my heart, I watched him disappear into the distance.
"Ah, right. Gu Bong-gu!"
Almost forgot.
I chased after Gu Bong-gu and handed him the black bag I was holding.
He peered inside the black bag and frowned as he spoke.
"Lettuce? Cherry tomatoes?"
"Yeah, I harvested these myself. Take 'em and eat."
"...Never thought I'd get anything from you besides money and apologies."
Gu Bong-gu made a surprised face and went on his way.
I still had a lot left to pay back, but if I saved up steadily, it'd work out eventually.
Instead of heading straight home, I turned my steps toward Grandma's place.
Knock knock.
"Grandma, it's me."
When I knocked on the door, Grandma came out walking at her usual slow pace.
Her back seemed a bit straighter than the last time I'd seen her.
I showed such a Grandma my smartphone screen.
"The overdue rent. I paid it all. You checked?"
"...Why'd you go and pay it all back? Like some guy about to kick the bucket."
"Grandma, the old me is dead. Now I'm the new Lee Ha-jun."
The F-grade Lee Ha-jun who lived that pitiful life was gone.
Now, only Dad Lee Ha-jun remained.
Grandma looked at me with an incredulous expression and said.
"You've gone completely mad."
"Anyway, all the overdue rent's paid, right? I threw in a bit extra 'cause I felt bad, so check it."
"Yeah, I got it. But how'd you settle up with Gu Bong-gu and the utilities and gas?"
"Yeah, all paid. Electricity too."
"...You really turned over a new leaf."
"For real. Let me know if you need more veggies. See ya."
I gave Grandma a light wave and headed down the stairs.
Once I reached the basement, I unlocked the front door and checked on my daughters.
'Hmm...'
These kids were special to begin with.
Their hair colors were unusual, and they had looks that could be called cute even among humans.
The horns on their heads and their tails were the most distinctive features, though.
'Still, they're filthy.'
The kids were wearing my clothes as-is.
For reference, they weren't even wearing kids' underwear due to lack of money.
My white T-shirt was so discolored now that it was hard to call it white anymore.
Could a parent just stand by and watch that?
I immediately yelled toward the kids.
"Everyone, gather over here!"
"Waaah, it's Daddy!"
Pat pat pat.
Only Chor-yeon listened and came running toward me.
Hwa-ryeon gave a slight glance before turning back to the TV, while Su-ryeon was lost in her smartphone.
'These kids who won't listen.'
I yelled toward the ones ignoring me.
"I was about to head out. If you don't come, oh well."
"Eh, Daddy! Are we going out?"
"Yeah, only Chor-yeon came, so should just Chor-yeon go out with Daddy?"
"Waaah! I like that!"
The moment I grabbed Chor-yeon's hand to head out the door.
I felt a stinging gaze from behind.
When I turned around, Hwa-ryeon and Su-ryeon were there, glaring at me with sullen expressions.
"I wanna go too!"
"...Take me too."
They should've come right away.
"Quick, shrink down. We're going to a big place today."
"A big place?"
"Yeah, we gotta buy you guys clothes."
Large supermarket.
I planned to stop by there with the kids.
***
Hwa-ryeon in the hat.
Su-ryeon in the pocket.
Chor-yeon in the bag.
With the kids evenly hidden away, I took the subway to 05 District.
It was far, but I could buy things cheaply there.
'I heard heroes get a 30% discount.'
Even if the round trip took three hours instead of two.
I couldn't pass up a discount.
-Humans everywhere! But no strong-looking humans! Boring!
-Too many humans. Daddy, when do we get down?
-Waaah, there are so many humans!
Giggle. Giggle.
The kids chattered away, transmitting their words straight to my head.
It felt like my head had turned into the kids' group chat.
So noisy and chaotic I nearly died.
'Was worried about pickpockets, but we arrived without issue.'
I looked up at the massive building in front of me.
"K Mart."
-Big! I wanna see that building break! Hope it breaks! Wonder who'll try to stop it!?
A large supermarket selling all sorts of goods.
I barely remembered coming here since I was a kid.
But here, I could buy everything the kids needed on the cheap.
I looked around and stepped inside, trying not to look suspicious.
Whoosh.
-Ugh, cold! Daddy, it's cold!
The moment we entered, Hwa-ryeon started whining about the cold.
"That's why I said put you in the bag, Hwa-ryeon."
-N-No way! I like the top of your head!
"Sigh. Just wait a sec."
With the AC blasting, it was cold enough to complain.
I headed straight for the carts.
Then I took a bill from my pocket, inserted it into the slot on the cart handle, and pulled out the coin.
'...Used to be coins, or I'd just not pay.'
Maybe because after Dimensional Gates appeared, too many people started stealing them.
That's how this annoying process came about.
I set the bag on the cart and transferred the dragon kids from the hat and pocket into the bag.
"There, not as cold now, right?"
-Hmph, it wasn't even that cold!
"Yeah, yeah. Rest up inside."
I pushed the cart along, wandering the aisles.
Whenever no one was around, the kids would poke their faces out of the bag to look around.
-So many lights, the floor's super shiny.
-Su-ryeon sis, look over there! Humans turned to stone!
-...Humans who committed crimes? Humans are more brutal than I thought.
To think they'd see mannequins that way.
Dragons through and through.
I chuckled and kept pushing through the mart.
Eventually, I entered the underwear section where I'd find what I wanted.
"...Kinda feels weird going in alone."
Ahem.
I cleared my throat and looked around.
Underwear hung everywhere.
The dragons watched the sight and gave their commentary.
-Human underwear! But I heard humans find it shameful to show underwear!
-...If that's true, the owner of this place might be a pervert.
-Th-Then I don't wanna look!
Whoosh.
Chor-yeon fled deep into the bag.
I looked around for the kids' underwear.
Was my behavior coming off as suspicious?
"...Customer?"
"Yes?"
"...Are you looking for something?"
A female clerk approached me with a suspicious look.
...I'm not some weirdo.
I felt a bit wronged.
To clear up the misunderstanding, I asked.
"Ah, I was looking for kids' underwear."
"Ah... kids' underwear...?"
For some reason, her gaze seemed even more wary.
I added one more thing.
"...For my daughters."
"Ah, I see!"
Only then did the misunderstanding clear.
Probably because of how I looked and since I was alone.
"How old is your child?"
"Age-wise... between kindergarten and elementary school? Height about this, and slim build."
"Then this product should work. White and simple, so it's nice."
Honestly, I had no clue what was what.
Just buy whatever the clerk recommended.
But the dragon kids thought differently.
-Get me red!
-I want blue.
-Green for me, please!
"..."
Maybe because they're young, they loved color games.
No helping it, I said to the clerk.
"Uh, I'll just take those character panties over there."
Red, blue, green.
I completed the purchase of underwear sets matching the kids' colors.
'Ah, wanna go home.'
Playing with the kids seemed easier.
Shopping was draining my energy.
'...No choice, though. Gotta play mom too.'
Shall we try again.
I pushed the cart toward the next necessities.
There was still a ton left to buy.
-Daddy, run faster! Run, I said! You're slow! Gotta go faster than that cart! What're you doing!
-Curious about that. Daddy, let's go there.
-This place has air and scents, but it's far from nature. Trees... we need trees...!!
"Quiet down, kids."
Daddy's dying here.
The fact that we still had a long way to go suddenly terrified me.
And it was all stuff kids would love.
This was bad.