Chapter 55
Chapter 55
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 55
Chapter Title: Dragon's Dad
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Before I knew it,
six months had passed since the dragon kids were born.
In that time, the little dragons had grown more than I expected.
‘If they were human, they'd still be crawling on the floor. Dragons really are dragons, huh.’
Their growth rate was lightning-fast compared to humans.
No wonder they were called dragons.
“But you still don't get it, do you?”
So what exactly is a dragon?
I gazed at my self-proclaimed dragon offspring.
“Ugh! Don't just throw your fist like that! Fake it out first!”
Crunch- crunch-
Hwaryeon was lying on the floor, watching TV and munching on snacks.
Crumbs rained down endlessly onto the floor.
I watched her silently and let out a sigh.
“Fine, physical growth aside. When the hell does their mind catch up? How many times have I told her?”
Sigh-
With no other choice, I walked over to Hwaryeon and blocked the TV with my body.
She freaked out and yelled.
“Aaack-! What are you doing, Dad! This is a super important moment!”
“Hwaryeon. I told you to eat snacks at the table. Cleaning's a pain.”
“Hmph, I'll clean up after! What's the problem!”
“You never do. That's the problem. I end up cleaning every time.”
“I'll clean it!”
Snap-!
Hwaryeon shot up, puffing out her cheeks.
She looked like a venomous blowfish.
“Broom! Dustpan!”
“Here.”
“Hmph, I can do it myself!”
Hwaryeon snatched the broom from me and started sweeping the floor.
Swish-swoosh-
Sweeping with the broom, then with her tail—a double-team effort.
Once the snack crumbs were gone, she shrugged smugly.
“There! See? I can do it!”
“Nice job. So why haven't you done it till now?”
“Too lazy!”
“...Something to brag about.”
I patted the head of my proudly standing daughter.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
“Okay, stop petting!”
Smack-!
The moment time was up, she swatted my hand away like a blade.
Looks like the three-second rule applies to head pats.
I'd learned one more thing about Hwaryeon today.
“Raising them is tough. Six months in, and I still don't get it.”
Not human.
Personalities all over the place.
And they just kept getting harder to handle.
“I need backup.”
I stepped over Choryeon, who was diligently drawing trees on the floor,
and sat next to Suryeon, fiddling with her smartphone in the corner.
“Dragon expert Suryeon.”
“What, Dad.”
“What exactly is a dragon?”
What is a dragon, anyway?
Suryeon answered simply.
“A dragon is a dragon.”
“So what does that mean?”
She scrunched up her face.
“Fine, I'll flip it on you. Dad, what’s a human?”
“Humans are... humans?”
“Same thing. Dragons have common traits. But you can't pin them down to one definition. Hate to admit it, but they're like humans in that way.”
Suryeon the Dragon GPT, as expected.
Her explanations were top-notch.
I nodded deeply at her words.
“As expected, you're the smartest, Suryeon.”
“Obviously. Who else could I say that about?”
“But Suryeon, I know you're smart and all.”
I pointed at the floor.
Just like with Hwaryeon, snack crumbs were scattered there.
“Shouldn't you eat at the table so crumbs don't fall, or clean up after?”
Lately, the kids were obsessed with snacks.
To the point where I worried they were eating too much.
“Suryeon. Clean up after eating, right?”
“...”
Suryeon glanced at the crumbs and pointed a finger.
Then.
“Water Laser Beam.”
Whiiiir-!
Water shot from her finger, washing away the crumbs.
I was so dumbfounded I smacked my forehead.
“Should I call this creative? Or lazy? I don't know.”
“Say smart, Dad.”
They say smart kids are lazy.
Was there truth to that?
Both Hwaryeon and Suryeon seemed pretty lazy.
Suryeon added to my thoughts.
“Dragon trait: laziness. Sloth is a curse dragons can't escape, Dad.”
“Not just rationalizing being too lazy to do it?”
“...”
It was just plain laziness.
Suryeon clamped her mouth shut, out of arguments.
From her reaction, one truth dawned on me.
‘Dragons. They're definitely lazier than humans.’
Especially.
The laziest dragon of all was someone else.
I turned to the dragon who slept the most.
Choryeon.
She sensed my gaze, turned her head, and waved at me.
“Father, wanna see my drawing?”
Choryeon stopped waving and showed me her artwork.
Ta-da-
“How is it, Father! My masterpiece! Pretty good, right?”
“Hmm...”
What do I even say to this?
Choryeon's drawing left me brain-dead.
What was the intent behind this?
I leaned in for a closer look.
“The trees are growing nicely.”
“Yeah, right!”
“So lush and green. But, Choryeon.”
“Yes?”
“Why do the trees have human faces?”
Fully grown trees with human faces stuck on them.
Choryeon's hands had birthed something grotesque.
She peeked nervously for a bit, then confidently explained.
“It's called plant-human!”
“Plant-human...?”
“Yeah! Plant-human! I saw it on TV! If you keep someone who's about to die alive too long, they turn into a plant-human! Cool, right, Father?”
Not quite the plant-human I knew.
Oblivious, Choryeon beamed innocently, awaiting my reaction.
“How is it, Father!?”
If I said it sucked, her horns and tail would droop sadly.
No choice.
“Uh... yeah... it's good, Choryeon. You've got artistic talent.”
“Really!?”
“Yeah, you're the best.”
You're the best, eat that.
I gave Choryeon a thumbs-up.
She smiled brightly and said,
“So glad you like it, Father! If you ever end up in bad shape... I'll turn you into a plant-human!”
“N-no need for that...”
“No need to hold back! Trust me, Father!”
She puffed out her chest proudly.
I thought to myself,
‘...Choryeon's so pure. Too pure, that's the problem.’
Choryeon showed me her drawing, burned through her artistic soul, and, exhausted, spread out her blanket and lay down.
Soon, her sleep-talk drifted over.
“Hmmnya... Father can't die... live with us forever... even as a plant-human... live forever...”
“...”
I don't know much about dragons.
But Choryeon's words didn't feel like idle chatter.
A chilling hunch that she might actually do it someday.
***
Before sleep.
Lying in the dark room, staring at the ceiling, I pondered.
What exactly are dragons?
“What are dragons, Hwaryeon?”
“Yawwwn- hmmnya-”
“Thanks for the answer, Hwaryeon.”
“Hmmnya...”
Hwaryeon kindly replied in her sleep-talk.
Not very helpful, but she answered.
“Just makes my head spin more.”
Frustrated, I scratched my head.
Ever since kindergarten started, my mind had been a mess.
“They have to live among humans. But no matter how I think about it, these kids lack social skills.”
Could I teach them social skills?
No way.
Raised without parents, my own social skills weren't great either.
“Like Hwaryeon's favorite headbutting dinosaur. Should I just keep charging ahead? What do you think, Hwaryeon?”
“Yawwwn...”
Of course, no clue what she meant.
What the hell was I doing?
Reality hit; I closed my eyes and muttered.
“Humans... dragons... six months... coexistence... kindergarten... ugh, just thinking about it hurts my head.”
Sigh.
Whatever.
Parenting fried my brain.
But I decided to keep it simple.
“Just raise them my way. What's the worst that can happen?”
Human, dragon.
No more overcomplicating it.
I couldn't let myself get boxed in.
“Not as dragons. As my daughters.”
Before being dragons,
they were my kids.
With that thought, I quietly closed my eyes.