Chapter 51
Chapter 51
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: Crayons in One Hand
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Between the center and the outskirts of Seoul-09 District, where I live, there was a small stationery store.
That store had been holding its ground from before I was born until now.
I’d never been inside even once, since studying was far from my world.
“Gu Bong-gu, you got the money? Put in a good amount this time too.”
“At this rate, he might pay it off in a year. Finally turning into a person, huh? I checked it, so get lost. I’m busy.”
Gu Bong-gu waved him off coolly and left.
Unlike usual, he had a complicated expression, but it didn’t seem like he’d tell me about it.
“While I’m out, maybe I should check out the stationery store.”
Just in case I find some toys the kids might enjoy.
Better to take a look around.
I headed toward the stationery store I’d only ever glanced at before.
“This is it.”
It was closer to home than I thought.
I stood in front of the store and checked out the exterior.
In front of the store sat a dusty gacha machine and a small arcade game.
The building itself looked old and shabby, like it could collapse any minute.
“But it’s survived this long. Guess it’s tougher than it looks.”
Following the “Pull” sign, I pulled open the glass door.
Ding-a-ling—
The bell rang, and the musty smell unique to stationery stores wafted into my nose.
It was a scent that pulled me into brief childhood memories.
I made eye contact with the store owner, who approached while fanning himself from inside.
He was a white-haired old man in his seventies, his face covered in deep wrinkles.
“Hello.”
I gave a slight bow in greeting.
The old man looked at me gruffly and said,
“What do you need?”
“Just curious what you have here.”
“Stationery in a stationery store. What else would there be?”
It was that prickly way of speaking unique to the old folks in this district.
Reminded me of Grandma.
I checked out the stationery on display.
“Hmm, when were these colored pencils made?”
“Before the dimensional gates appeared. Factories all shut down after that.”
“How much for these?”
“Not for sale.”
“Huh?”
“For display only.”
What kind of nonsense is that?
Displaying stuff but not selling it.
Is this a stationery store or a museum?
Ridiculous.
I set down the colored pencils and asked the owner,
“Hey, if you’re not selling, why run a store?”
“That’s up to the owner.”
“Then if everything’s just for display, what do you even sell here, Grandpa?”
“Grown-up toys.”
No sooner had the old man finished speaking—
Ding-a-ling—
The bell rang again as two men entered the store.
They were very familiar faces.
“What the— it’s Tubby and Skinny.”
“Hey, why’s big bro here? You looking to get one too?”
Skinny approached with his usual fawning tone.
Not getting what he meant, I asked lightly,
“Get one of what? And why are you guys at a stationery store? Doesn’t fit your vibe.”
“Come on, we gotta live too. Weaklings like us have to protect ourselves.”
Whoosh—
Skinny showed off the tattoos covering his arm.
Guess that was his way of protecting himself.
While I was talking with Skinny, the old man came out from the back with a box.
“Here’s the stuff you ordered.”
Whoosh—
The old man handed the box to Tubby and Skinny.
They immediately opened it.
I peeked inside from the side to see what was in there.
“What the hell, it’s a pistol. .45 caliber. I’ve been hit by one before. Why sell guns at a stationery store?”
The old man answered my fundamental question.
“In a world with no kids and only adults multiplying. The store’s adapting to the times. Not a kids’ stationery store anymore— it’s for grown-ups.”
Tsk-tsk—
The old man gave a somewhat wistful smile.
Tubby and Skinny paid up, picked up the box, bowed at a perfect ninety degrees, and headed out.
“We’ll put it to good use, sir!”
“Sure thing.”
The old man waved them off.
“You know those guys, Grandpa?”
“Know of ’em, more like. They look rough, but they’re polite. They won’t use that gun to kill anyone.”
Guess he’s got some trust around here.
Anyway, this stationery store deals in grown-up stationery.
Feeling a bit disappointed, I headed for the exit.
“If you’re not selling, I’m out. Take care.”
“Yeah, speak up if you need something.”
“Too bad. Lots of stuff the kids would’ve liked.”
Smack my lips.
I put my hand on the door to leave.
But suddenly, the old man grabbed my arm.
“What? What’s up, Grandpa?”
“You got kids?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“Then you should’ve said so! Buy whatever stationery you want!”
What the hell.
The old man switched attitudes in an instant.
Surprised by the change, I asked,
“What’s with the sudden switch? Dementia?”
“Bit of dementia, sure. But forget that. Changes things if you’ve got kids. I’ll sell if it’s for them to use.”
He sells grown-up stuff to grown-ups, kid stuff to kids.
That’s what he seemed to be saying.
‘Hmm, so what should I get?’
What would the dragon kids like?
After much deliberation, I bought two items.
“The kids’ll love these, right?”
The old man just nodded silently.
Well, yeah— stuff no kid could hate.
***
I came home with a gentle look on my face, crayons in one hand.
Creak—
The kids came rushing forward, voicing their complaints.
“What the heck! You said you’d be right back! Why so late!”
“Liar.”
“I thought you were dead!”
People don’t die that easily.
I brushed past the nagging kids and went to the living room floor.
Then, I confidently spread out what I’d bought from the store.
“Kids, what’s this?”
“Th-this is…”
Tremble tremble—
Choryeon shouted loudly, her hand shaking.
“This is paper! It’s so cruel!”
“No, it’s not paper— it’s a sketchbook. And that next to it is crayons.”
Sketchbook and crayons.
Perfect for developing kids’ creativity.
“You cruel humans! I can’t stand it, Father!”
Tremble tremble—
Ignoring Choryeon, who looked ready to start an environmental protest, I opened the crayons and showed them to Hwaryeon and Suryeon.
“Here’s how you use them. Draw with red like this…”
Slice—
And it becomes a red lizard Hwaryeon.
“Blue for Suryeon, green for Choryeon. How’s Daddy’s drawing?”
Scrunched up—
Hwaryeon and Suryeon grimaced in protest.
“How is that me?! Daddy can’t draw at all!”
“I don’t look like that. No way.”
They didn’t like Daddy’s drawing skills.
I quietly wiped away a tear and said to the kids,
“If I can’t draw, you do it yourselves! Here, draw!”
I tore pages from the sketchbook and handed one to each of Hwaryeon and Suryeon.
They grabbed crayons and started drawing whatever they wanted.
“Ha, no matter how I look, I drew mine perfectly!”
“A bit thinner here. Gotta make it perfect.”
Scribble scribble—
Hwaryeon lay on her stomach, filling the sketchbook page red.
The pastel tones of the crayons filled it up.
“…Hmm, looks fun.”
Maybe because Hwaryeon was so focused.
Choryeon sneaked closer to the sketchbook.
I handed a page to the hesitant Choryeon.
“If you wanna, go ahead, Choryeon.”
“B-but it’s still paper…!”
“They’d probably like it if you joined in.”
“U-uuugh…”
Choryeon agonized over reaching for the sketchbook in front of her.
Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and reached out.
“F-Father! I wanna draw too!”
“Good choice, Choryeon.”
Environmentalism always involves big contradictions.
Choryeon grabbed a green crayon and started drawing eagerly on her sketchbook.
In the meantime, Hwaryeon proudly showed me her finished drawing.
“Daddy! Look! It’s a super mega-strong dinosaur! Name’s Hwarong! That’s me, the dragon!”
“Strong-looking, but you just smashed a bunch of tough words together for the name. Not bad, though— better than I expected.”
“Right?!”
A red dragon roaring Krawr— against a volcanic backdrop.
Messy, but for a first try, really well done.
I turned to Suryeon’s drawing.
“Let’s see, Suryeon’s…”
“…Don’t look.”
Suryeon hid it with her body, embarrassed.
Wondering what she drew.
Looked like some octopus-like monster.
And next to it, a ton of setting text.
“This monster lives in the deep sea, waiting 1000 years 9999 meters below where humans can’t reach, to destroy Earth… When humans start messing with it, it destroys the world right away…”
“D-don’t read it…!!”
Rustle rustle—!
Embarrassed, maybe.
Suryeon hugged the sketchbook and fled to the bathroom.
At her age, fleshing out a monster setting? Imagination must be off the charts.
“And finally, Choryeon…”
“I’m drawing the World Tree to mourn this paper!”
“World Tree?”
“Yeah!”
Slice—!
Choryeon flipped open her sketchbook, showing a massive tree sprouting from a round Earth.
“This is the World Tree! A super huge tree! Maybe we’ll see one soon!”
“Saying scary stuff like we’ll see one soon, Choryeon.”
Heh heh.
No way that thing’ll actually grow.
That size would smash the planet.
“…Nah, Choryeon?”
“What, Father?”
“Nothing, dear.”
I decided it was just a kid’s exaggeration.
Probably just drew a big oak tree.
Kids draw their dreams in sketchbooks, after all.
Still, seeing them enjoy drawing on the sketchbooks.
I couldn’t help but smile naturally.
‘They’re all good at drawing. Must be the artistic talent of dragons.’
Kids sprawled on the floor, drawing in sketchbooks.
Pastel crayon colors.
The combination looked great to me.