Chapter 50
Chapter 50
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Scent of Watermelon
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After passing the C-rank exam.
I got a week's paid vacation from the association.
In the meantime, I decided to spend some healing time playing with the kids.
But before diving into that healing life.
"Kids."
"What, Dad?"
"Those who don't work shouldn't eat. Time to get to work."
Harvest season had arrived.
I led the kids up to the rooftop.
Hwaryun and Suryun made it blatantly obvious how annoyed they were as they climbed the stairs.
"I don't eat veggies! Why do I have to harvest them?!"
"Same here. Just make Choryun do it. This is such a hassle for us too."
They were already trying to slack off and push it on their little sister.
I spoke firmly to the ones grumbling about not wanting to farm in the blazing sun.
"You can eat meat because Choryun harvests the veggies herself. If we don't grow them, that means less meat for you guys too."
After hearing that.
Hwaryun and Suryun seemed to change their minds.
"Fine, if that's the reason!"
"You should've said so sooner."
They were still clicking their tongues, but it looked like they'd accepted Choryun's sacrifice.
Choryun gave me a thumbs-up as a thank-you for stepping in.
"Dad's the best!!"
It felt like my vitamins were getting replenished without even photosynthesizing.
And so, I headed up to the rooftop with the kids.
Maybe because I'd been watering them with dragon water every day.
The crops had grown lush and plentiful before I knew it.
"Makes my mouth water."
Slurp—
How much was all this worth?
I wiped the drool from my mouth and gestured.
"Alright, kids. Let's work hard!"
"Do whatever!"
"..."
"Yeah!"
The kids charged at the fully grown crops.
Radishes, carrots, peppers, lettuce, cherry tomatoes.
All sorts of veggies started filling the black bags.
"You guys are doing great. You could be farmers someday."
"What are you doing over there, Dad?! Get to work! Don't you wanna eat?!"
Such a sharp kid.
I had no choice but to join in the harvesting.
"Whew, Dad's getting old. My back's killing me."
"You said you were young before, Dad. You're exaggerating."
"Ow, my back. Dad's dying here."
Heave-ho—
I clutched my perfectly fine back and diligently harvested crops into the bags.
Under the scorching sun, the kids and I worked hard.
After about an hour, we'd harvested everything from the garden beds.
"Finally done."
"Yay! We're finished!"
"Let's head home now..."
"Veggies everywhere! I'm so happy!"
Woooah—!
We cheered in celebration of the harvest.
I grabbed bags of harvested veggies in both hands and headed for the stairs.
"Dad's hands are full, so you guys carry one each and come down carefully."
Squeeze—
The kids hugged their black bags and followed down the stairs.
Step, step—
We slowly and carefully carried the freshly harvested veggies home.
Today, we'd harvested veggies in abundance once again.
'Such good kids.'
When we got back, I'd hit 'em with the airplane, butt-slap, head-poke combo.
With that thought, I opened the door.
Creak—
As soon as the door opened, the kids rushed inside.
"Whoa, home sweet home!"
"What do we do after going out?"
"Wash our hands!"
"Wash up in order, everyone."
"We know without you telling us!"
Clatter—!
The kids headed to the bathroom to wash their hands.
In an orderly line, without cutting.
While they were washing up, I decided to sort the veggies.
"Hmm, great quality again this time. Set aside what we'll eat here, and this pile for selling."
That about wrapped up the sorting.
I was beat anyway, so time to rest.
That's what I thought as I headed to lie down in the living room.
But then, someone knocked at the front door.
Knock knock—
"...Who's here this late?"
I hadn't hit the deadline to pay back Gu Bong-gu yet.
It could be someone dangerous.
I cautiously peeked through the peephole.
'...What, it's just Granny.'
Why was she here at this hour?
I opened the door and asked her.
"What's up this late, Granny?"
"I heard you coming down from the rooftop. You finish the harvest?"
"All done. I set aside your share separately."
"Hmm, good job."
What was this? Granny praising me?
I don't think I'd ever gotten praise from her before.
'No way... is she mellowing out because she's about to kick the bucket?!'
But apparently not.
Granny immediately snapped at me.
"You rotten punk! If you had kids, you should've told me first! I could've cut your rent!"
"W-Why are you suddenly mad, Granny? The mood was nice."
"It's because you're so dense! Sigh, raising three kids must be tough. Tsk."
Granny clicked her tongue and picked something up from the floor.
Then she shoved it toward me.
"Take it already! My back's gonna give out!"
"What is this, a watermelon? Where'd you get it?"
"Quit yapping and take the damn watermelon to feed the kids!"
Her back looked like it was about to snap.
I quickly took the watermelon from her.
Heave—
Heavier than it looked.
I set the watermelon on the dining table and glanced toward the bathroom.
"Who's out there with Dad?"
"How long do we have to stay here?"
"Can we come out now, Dad?"
Peek—
The horned and tailed kids peeked at me.
I motioned for them to stay put, then turned to Granny.
"Looks delicious. Thanks, Granny. We'll enjoy it."
"Yeah, eat up. You don't eat too much—give it to the kids. And don't skip rent this month."
With that, Granny turned and left.
After that storm had passed.
I cheerfully closed the door.
Slam—!
"Watermelon looks tasty."
How long had it been since I last had some?
I beckoned the kids hiding in the bathroom to come out.
Finally, they burst out and charged toward the watermelon.
"Dad! What's this? It makes a fun sound!?"
Thump thump—
Hwaryun curiously kept flicking the watermelon.
The force was getting stronger, so I grabbed her arm to stop her.
"It's a watermelon. Stop thumping it, Hwaryun—that's bad."
"Why stop me?! What'd I do?!"
"It's gonna break. Enough now."
"Why do you always say no, Dad?! I hate it! Hmph!"
Hwaryun stuck her lip out dramatically.
Making a strong case for 'I'm mad'.
I spoke gently to her.
"I'll cut it up for you soon. It's delicious."
"Okay then!"
"Whew."
Glad her mood improved.
I grabbed a knife from the kitchen and set it on the center of the watermelon.
Then I sliced it clean in half.
Slice—!
Suryun and Choryun clapped together.
"Looks good. Lots of juice—should be tasty."
"Yeah! So many seeds, like a top-tier fruit!"
Different perspectives, but anyway.
They seemed pleased.
But one thing bugged me.
"Hey, Choryun."
"Yeah?"
"You said you can hear what plants say, right?"
"Yeah!"
"Didn't the watermelon say anything when I just split it in two...?"
The watermelon cruelly cleaved in half.
Red juice deliciously spilling out.
I worried Choryun might protest at the sight.
But contrary to my expectations, she showed no reaction.
"Trees are off-limits, but watermelons are okay?"
"Um, well!"
Choryun smiled brightly and explained.
"The plants I eat turn into spirits! They're actually looking forward to being eaten by me!"
"Oh."
"After I eat them and they become spirits! They come back to the world and scatter their seeds!"
"Didn't know there was that secret."
"Yeah!"
I thought it was a huge contradiction.
But apparently, the plants happily let Choryun eat them.
No one knows the truth, but if Choryun says so, I'll go with that.
It's a good cycle either way.
"Time to cut more watermelon."
Slice—!
I cut it into pieces easy for the kids to eat.
Slicing the halves again and again.
Finally, triangular watermelon chunks galore.
I brought them out on plates and set them down in the middle of the living room.
"Dad'll show you how first. Like this—peel off the rind. Just the red part. Seeds are edible too."
Crunch—
I demonstrated how to eat watermelon for the kids.
Hwaryun immediately started chowing down.
"Sweet! This is yummy!"
Nom nom—!
Hwaryun inhaled it since it suited her taste.
But the seeds, maybe not so much.
"These are annoying!"
Rat-tat-tat—!
She machine-gunned the seeds.
Right at Suryun's face.
"...You wanna go, sis?"
"Th-That wasn't on purpose! Accident!"
"...Think I can't?"
Nom nom—
Suryun stuffed watermelon in her mouth for revenge.
And she quickly got the hang of it.
Firing a seed machine gun at Hwaryun.
Pew-pew-pew—!
"Eeeek! You really wanna go?! Fine! I never back down from a fight!"
Hwaryun and Suryun started bouncing around the studio, waging seed-gun war.
"Dragon Breath!"
Pew-pew-pew—!
"I can do that too. Don't show off."
Pew-pew-pew—!
They smeared seeds all over each other's faces, fighting like little kids.
Choryun and I just sat on the floor, watching and chatting.
"They're having fun, huh, Choryun?"
"Yeah, my big sisters always look like they're having a blast! Fun just watching!"
Definitely.
Living with them every day would never be boring.
"Watermelon's delicious."
"Yeah, Dad!"
It was a sweltering summer day.
But today felt especially refreshing.
Crunch—!