Chapter 80
Chapter 80
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 80
Chapter Title: The Hero Association Chairman's Hobby (1)
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Boil, boil—
The water in the pot bubbled up.
It seemed like it had reached the right temperature.
"This should be good enough. Hwa-ryeon, you can stop with the breath now."
"Got it!"
Hwa-ryeon clamped her wide-open mouth shut.
I quickly tore open the ramen packet and dumped the noodles and seasoning into the pot.
Splash—
"Hwa-ryeon, go wait over there."
"Make it quick! I'm hungry!"
"Yeah, yeah."
Such a whiner.
I stirred the bubbling ramen with chopsticks.
I might not know much about cooking, but ramen? I'm confident in that.
"Add an egg, chop some green onions and toss them in…"
Done.
I moved the steaming pot to the table.
Steam rose gently, revealing the beautiful sight of the finished ramen.
"Ramen's ready! Come eat!"
"Ramen! It's ramen!"
Clatter clatter—
The kids must have smelled the finished ramen because they rushed over and took their seats.
I ladled the ramen into their bowls.
"Looks delicious!"
"Dad's cooking is always tasty!"
Heh heh—
The kids blew on the hot ramen to cool it down before eating.
In the middle of it all, Soo-ryun said casually as she ate.
"Dad's ramen is always so good. You could open a shop with this."
"That good, huh?"
"Yeah, it's delicious. My taste buds approve."
Slurp—
Soo-ryun savored the flavor calmly, slurping up the noodles.
Seeing her enjoy it so much made me think about actually starting a business.
"I've eaten ramen for years. I know how to nail it."
"As expected of Dad! You're amazing!"
Nom nom—
Cho-ryeon was munching away happily beside her.
We all polished off the noodles cleanly, then scooped rice into the broth and emptied the pot.
"Ugh, so full."
"Totally! We ate too much!"
"Ugh, I overate."
"It's because Dad's ramen is too good…"
Thud—
Our family flopped down in the living room right after eating.
Everyone's bellies were bulging upward.
Hwa-ryeon, curious about her swollen belly, came over to me and said.
"Dad, your belly's huge!"
Thump—
Hwa-ryeon slapped my belly with her palm, making a cheerful sound.
Soo-ryun, intrigued, came over and poked mine too.
Thump thump—
"Dad, you've turned into a drum."
"Don't hit too hard, kids. Dad's belly might burst."
"It won't burst from that, Dad."
Soo-ryun's cold.
Soo-ryun mercilessly drummed on my belly without a shred of pity.
She was controlling her strength just right, though, so it didn't hurt.
"Urgh…"
Maybe Cho-ryeon didn't like the sight of it.
She slowly scooted over and started drumming on my belly too.
Thump thump—
Cho-ryeon made a crisp sound on my belly, then grinned and said.
"Hmm, my sound is prettier! As expected, the one who knows Dad's body best is me, Cho-ryeon!"
Shrug—
Cho-ryeon puffed up her shoulders with a smug look of superiority.
Maybe because of that.
"Hmm, is it, though…"
Soo-ryun, feeling challenged, trembled and drummed harder on my belly.
Thump thump—
Soo-ryun grinned, satisfied with the sound.
"Now that's a good one. That's what knowing Dad sounds like. Don't pretend."
"No, it's not. Soo-ryun sis. Your sound sucks. Mine's better."
Thump—
Cho-ryeon drummed again.
Then Soo-ryun followed.
They kept going back and forth in this pointless competition.
'How long are they gonna keep this up?'
At this rate, Dad's gonna fully digest everything?
Just as Soo-ryun and Cho-ryeon's drumming got more intense and red marks started appearing on my belly.
Ring ring—!
"Oh, call from the Association. Move aside, everyone."
"Ugh…"
"Kyaang!"
I shoved Soo-ryun and Cho-ryeon out of the way and reached for my vibrating smartphone.
I opened the screen and checked the message.
"Hmm…"
It was more serious than I expected.
And pretty sudden.
Had I grown this much already?
"Should I be happy about this… or not? Not sure…"
Ambiguous.
As I made a troubled face, the kids—who had just faceplanted on the floor—rubbed their heads and came over asking.
"Dad, what's up?"
"What happened, Dad?"
How do I explain this to the kids?
I put it in the simplest terms they could understand.
"My boss wants to see me. The top guy."
The Hero Association Chairman.
That guy had summoned me.
No idea if it's good or bad.
But one thing was clear.
"Kids."
"Yeah."
"Yes?"
"Looks like Dad's a bigger deal than I thought."
Guess that means I'm a superstar now.
I petted their heads with a mix of strange anticipation.
I felt good thinking I was a dad they could be proud of—and that I might make more money.
'Gotta move to a better place soon.'
For my kids.
***
Because of the Chairman's summons.
I headed to the Hero Association dressed as nicely as I could.
'It's just tracksuit. But it's the best I got.'
Time to buy real clothes for real.
No time to shop lately.
But showing up to meet the Chairman in a tracksuit.
It really hit home that I needed new clothes.
"Still, it's my cleanest tracksuit. He'll see it in a good light."
Hoo—
I walked the corridor, tense.
At the end of the Hero Association hallway, by the elevator, a familiar face waited.
"Lee Ha-jun."
"Han Ji-soo sunbae. Long time no see."
Wave—
I waved hello to Han Ji-soo.
She looked me up and down and sighed.
"Lee Ha-jun. That outfit again? How long are you gonna wear tracksuits?"
"No money, no time to shop. But it's not bad, right?"
"…Not even a little."
Shake shake—
Han Ji-soo shook her head and pressed the elevator button.
"Get in. The Chairman's waiting."
"Got it."
I followed Han Ji-soo into the elevator.
We went almost to the top floor, but it didn't take long.
She led me inside and stopped before a door that looked heavy.
"The Chairman's in there. Just go in."
"I can just open the door and walk in?"
"Yeah, honestly, I don't know exactly why he called you. But it's probably something good. Your record's impressive."
"Hmm, even I think so."
My record's insane, even to me.
I clear every dimensional gate solo without a scratch.
Doesn't take much manpower, super efficient.
'The downside is it takes a bit of time. But the cost-performance is nuts.'
As expected of Dragon Dad Lee Ha-jun.
I praised myself inwardly.
"Heh, heh heh…"
"…Gross."
Han Ji-soo gave me a look of disdain.
But I decided not to care.
She and I couldn't pursue that romance business anyway.
"…Suddenly feeling sad. Anyway, just go in, right?"
"Yeah."
"Thanks for showing me the way, sunbae."
I gave a thankful wave and placed my hand on the door.
Creak—
The heavy door swung open, revealing the interior.
Old-fashioned wooden interior.
The space reeked of history.
At the far end sat an elderly man in a leather chair.
'…He looks super well-maintained.'
White hair, some age.
But few wrinkles, body looked sturdy.
What stood out most was the sharp, keen gaze despite his age.
'This is the Hero Association Chairman. Total alpha male.'
Gulp—
Tense, I swallowed dryly and approached.
The Chairman watched me come, then stood from his leather chair.
As I got close, he extended his hand and said.
"Hero Lee Ha-jun. Heard about you, but nice to meet in person."
"Y-Yes… Nice to meet you…"
I awkwardly shook his hand.
After a moment.
The Chairman suddenly yanked my hand, pulling me toward him.
'Wh-What…!'
Then he brought his face to my neck.
"Sniff—"
"F-Fuck! What the hell! You crazy old geezer!"
He buried his nose in my neck and started sniffing.
What the hell was this?
Was this summons to target my purity?
Did I have to offer myself to the Chairman?
Was this what it took to become an S-Rank Hero?
'S-Sorry, my daughters… Dad's about to marry some weirdo… Might make bank, though…'
Creepy old man.
I quickly pulled away and glared at him.
The Chairman stared back like a psychopath, as if nothing happened.
After a moment, he looked at me seriously and said quietly.
"Lee Ha-jun."
"Wh-What, you age-eaten old fart."
And then.
The Chairman dropped a bombshell.
"Is there a dragon near you?"
"Wh-What?"
"I'll ask again. Is there a dragon near you?"
His eyes were dead serious as he said it.
No clue what was up.
But the Chairman seemed to know about the dragon.
Though it might not be good.