Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Dragon's Possessiveness
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After meeting the Yellow Dragon through an introduction from the Association President and returning home.
The kids who came out to greet me were in a strange state.
Very strange.
"That smell! Whose dragon is it! I'm gonna kill it!"
Grrrrowl—!
Hwaryeon clenched her fists, grinding her teeth in fury.
I blocked Hwaryeon as she tried to charge at me and said.
"Hwaryeon, what's wrong all of a sudden? Did something happen?"
"Hah, Dad! You call that talking?! Die, Dad! Dragon Headbutt!"
Whoosh—!
Hwaryeon's head flew at me in an instant.
I quickly twisted my body to dodge.
Crack—!!
"Th-this crazy..."
Hwaryeon's red horn embedded in the steel door.
If that headbutt had hit me, my body would've ended up with a hole like that steel door.
Hwaryeon spewed fire from her mouth to pry her horn out of the door and shouted.
"Raaargh! I won't forgive you!! Who the hell touched Dad!! I'll kill you!! Dragon!!"
"Is it really that big a deal...? What the hell did that Yellow Dragon do to me...?"
"Raaaarrgh!!"
Hwaryeon rampaged around like she was totally worked up.
I tried my best to calm her down, but it only backfired.
It seemed the Red Dragon's berserk instinct had awakened.
"For now... Hwaryeon can't move with her horn stuck... Suryeon...!"
"..."
"Could you splash some water on her to help her snap out of it?"
Suryeon didn't answer me and just stared blankly.
Now that I looked, her lake-like blue eyes felt darkened like the deep sea.
Suryeon stared at me with those dark eyes and said flatly.
"No."
"You're acting weird too, Suryeon!"
"You're the one who betrayed us first, Dad. No reason for me to help you."
Rumble—!!
With those words, lightning struck outside accompanied by the sound of rain.
Suryeon spoke with the pouring rain as background music.
"I believed you were the one human who wasn't trash, Dad. Turns out humans are just trash after all. If Earth's only full of rotten humans, it might as well perish."
"S-Su-Suryeon...?"
"Heh, heh heh... I'm gonna destroy this rotten world. Listen up, Dad. This rain is the Requiem heralding Earth's end."
Heh heh heh...
Suryeon let out that chuunibyou laugh.
I was certain from that sight.
'Damn, Suryeon's no better. Should've controlled her smartphone access. She's only picked up the weird stuff.'
Where the hell did she learn that speech and those words?
Curiosity hit me for a second, but I shook my head quick.
This wasn't the time.
'The smell. That Yellow Dragon rubbed her scent on me. That's why the dragon kids are freaking out like this.'
Now I got why she headbutted my lips and told me to experience it firsthand.
I turned to the last hope in my dragon family.
"Choryeon, you might not believe Dad, but—"
"No, Father. I'm fine."
Her smile bloomed like a sunflower.
'As expected, Choryeon understands me!'
I was moved, covering my mouth.
But contrary to my thoughts, Choryeon's words were utterly desolate.
"Just throw the trash on Earth. So I'm fine, Father."
"...Choryeon?"
"We protect the environment for the future. But if the future's uncertain, no need to protect it."
Step step—
Choryeon walked toward the trash can in the living room.
She picked it up and flipped it upside down.
"Earth can go to hell now."
Rustle—
Trash spilled all over the living room floor.
Choryeon watched it all with a bright smile.
"No need for the environment without you, Father."
"My last hope... turned out like this too..."
Choryeon smiled at me like nothing happened.
But behind that smile, dark emotions lurked.
The dragon kids had all lost their reason.
"No hope."
Crack—!
Meanwhile, Hwaryeon yanked her horn from the steel door and strode toward me.
I sat on the floor, closed my eyes, and accepted my death.
"Kids. The truth is..."
"..."
"Dad kissed another dragon. That's why the smell's gone, I guess. Sorry."
With that.
"Die, Dad!"
"...Traitor."
"You'll be a vegetable, Father."
Thud thud thud—!
The dragon kids charged at me.
I took in their figures one last time and thought.
'Sorry I couldn't raise you longer...'
That scene was the last thing I remembered.
Boom—!
***
"Familiar ceiling..."
When I opened my eyes again.
Quite some time had passed.
"Ugh, my head... Ow, why does my head hurt so much...?"
Why was I lying on the floor?
More importantly, what happened today?
I racked my brain, thinking hard.
It didn't take long to recover all my memories.
"I met the Yellow Dragon, and the dragon kids beat the crap out of me."
At least the out-of-control dragon kids didn't kill me.
Still, I fully grasped the danger of possessiveness the Yellow Dragon warned about.
"This time."
Ow, my head.
I clutched my pounding head and got up from the floor.
Then, I spotted the dragon kids huddled right next to me.
For some reason, they were plastered to my body.
"Wh-what? Not like you're snakes coiled up. Why are you all stuck to me?"
I panicked and shook their closed-eyed bodies.
"Kids, what're you doing? It's uncomfortable."
Then the dragon kids started opening their eyes one by one.
"Dad, you're awake!"
"You're finally up, Dad..."
"I thought you really became a vegetable."
They sat up and looked at me.
It triggered a bit of PTSD, but their eyes looked normal.
They stared at me quietly, exchanged glances, then pounced.
And.
"Sniff sniff—"
"Hmm..."
"Hmm, this area's lacking scent!"
They started sniffing my body, then declared spots lacking scent and rubbed against them.
Then, they squeezed my hands hard and shouted.
"Other dragon smell! Begone!"
"Begone."
"Begone!"
Squeeze squeeze—
They were kneading my hands to erase the scent.
That explained why they'd stuck to me.
'...Is this cute? Or terrifying?'
Anyway.
My head hurt today.
But I learned about dragons the hard way.
'Never underestimate a dragon's possessiveness. Good thing they're not grown yet. If they were, I might've really died.'
And.
I have to avoid contact with other dragons as much as possible.
The dragon kids are sensitive to smells.
I nodded, reflecting on today's lesson.
Just then, the kids finished their scent-overwriting plan and looked at me.
"All done, kids?"
"Yeah, done! Dad!"
"Good it was quick."
I rubbed my sore head and stood.
The kids hurriedly stood too and said.
"Dad, where you going?"
"...Bathroom."
"I'll go with. You're a traitor, Dad. Gotta follow you."
Suryeon eyed me suspiciously.
She still seemed to hold a grudge.
"Look, that Yellow Dragon and I aren't anything. Not followers or whatever. Association President just introduced us."
"Then the smell?"
"That Yellow Dragon was pranking. You know as Dragon GPT, right, Suryeon?"
"Yellow Dragon trait. Loves stirring shit."
"You know your stuff."
Nod—
Suryeon nodded, saying she knew.
Guess Suryeon explained to the others.
That's probably why I'm still alive.
"Yellow Dragon loves pranks. Enjoys amusement in the weirdest ways more than any dragon."
"...You know a lot, Suryeon."
"Of course. I'm a smart Blue Dragon."
"Blue Dragons don't enjoy amusement weirdly, right?"
I hoped she wasn't like that Yellow Dragon.
Suryeon scowled unpleasantly at my question and said.
"Of course not. I'm a Blue Dragon. Not a Yellow Dragon, Dad."
"Good then..."
Phew—
I sighed in relief.
But right after, the dragon kids looked at me seriously and said.
"Dad, no next time. Won't let it slide."
"...Be careful. Only letting it go this once. 'Cause it's the Yellow Dragon."
"I nearly died erasing the smell, Father. Remember that!"
"..."
They seemed to understand this time.
That Yellow Dragon had exercised max patience.
'...Get involved with another dragon next time, and I'm really dead.'
To keep my daughters from killing me.
To avoid the ending the Yellow Dragon described, I'd be careful.
And I painfully realized I was the object of their possessiveness.
Parents and children obsess over each other.
No escaping the dragon kids' obsession, no matter what.
I'd be their present and their memory.
That's what parents are to kids.