Persuading a Dragon
Flare's been sleeping for way too long. We've had nothing to eat since yesterday, so we had to get by on delivery. I need to go grocery shopping, so I'd better grab my car keys. Is she still asleep?
Hyun opened the bedroom door and looked around for the car keys he had tossed onto the bed, only to spot them clutched in Flare's hand as she slept.
Flare? Are you actually asleep? Why is she holding onto that? Just as the thought crossed his mind, Flare slowly sat up, her hair a messy, bedheaded nest.
"Hehe~ I'm wide awake now! By the way, I'm starving. Is there anything to eat?"
"Before we talk about food, how about you hand over the car keys in your hand?"
"We are completely out of groceries. Do you have any idea how much delivery I had to order while you were asleep because someone cleaned out the entire fridge?"
"Go wash up and get ready. We need to stock that fridge to the brim."
The moment the words left his mouth, Flare bolted, her bright red hair tossing wildly behind her.
"What? No food? That's unacceptable! I'll wash up and get ready right this second!"
As Flare rushed into the bathroom, Hyun retrieved his car keys from the bed and muttered to himself.
So she's sensitive about food, huh? Looks like I might actually be able to keep her in line with this.
Flare finished washing up and came out, slipping into the T-shirt, cotton pants, and hoodie Hyun had laid out for her before striking up a conversation.
"Hey, you said we're going to buy food, right? What are we getting?"
"I'm just asking because I'm curious, okay?"
Hyun reached out and pinched her cheek. Flare winced in pain and immediately protested.
"Ow! That hurts! Why did you pinch me all of a sudden?!"
"Think about what you've done since you got here. How could I not pinch you?"
"I had to order delivery, which I almost never do, all because of you. Aren't you being a bit too shameless?"
Flare rolled her eyes, quickly trying to change the subject.
"Anyway, that thing I was holding in bed earlier was a car key, right? I learned about those! The giant metal lumps humans drive around!"
Hyun sighed as he watched her eyes dart around in a blatant attempt to deflect.
"Sigh... Yes, it is. But do you mind not changing the subject?"
"Miss Flare, the Lazy Dragon? You're coming with me today, so you'd better hide your horns and tail properly. That's the only way you'll get to buy the things you want to eat."
Flare hastily concealed her horns and tail, unable to hide her sheer excitement.
"Hehe~ We're really going? Yay! This is going to be so much fun! I can pick out whatever I want to eat, right?"
Hyun nodded and asked,
"Before we head out, how about we set some ground rules, Miss Flare, the Lazy Dragon?"
Startled, Flare looked at him.
"Rules? What... what kind of rules?"
Hyun replied with a smirk.
"First, you can sleep, but you must go to bed at night and wake up by lunchtime the next day."
"Second, you must wash up at least once a day after waking up."
"And third, since you've staked your dragon honor on this, you must actually keep these rules."
"Surely you can manage these three simple things, right, Flare?"
When Flare rolled her eyes and tried to look away, Hyun grabbed her, sat her down on the sofa, and looked her dead in the eye.
"Flare? You do realize what your situation is right now, don't you? I'm the one feeding you and giving you a place to sleep. You'd better stop rolling your eyes and answer me."
Unable to find a flaw in his logic, Flare finally spoke up.
"Well... you're not wrong, but waking up by lunch and washing every day is really hard for me..."
Hyun sighed at her pathetic excuse.
"Sigh... You know that's not 'hard,' it's just you being lazy and slothful, right?"
"I know you're smart enough to understand. If you just follow these three rules, you can stay and play here as much as you want. Flare, do you really want to go back to living on the streets, all dirty and miserable? Honestly?"
Flare imagined her life on the streets before Hyun took her in and shook her head violently.
"No way! I love it here! Are you really saying I can stay if I just do those things? Then I'll definitely do it! I promise!"
Hyun eyed her skeptically and pressed further.
"Are you really going to keep it? Can I actually trust you?"
"If you keep these rules from now until next Sunday, I'll clear out the spare room and set up a bed for you. Got it? So make sure you keep your word."
At his promise, Flare's eyes lit up, and she nodded vigorously.
"Yes, yes! I'll definitely keep it! I'm a dragon of my word!"
"You're definitely giving me a bed, right? Don't you dare forget!"
Hyun had a strong premonition that this promise would be broken in no time, but he brushed it aside and stood up, telling her it was time to go.
"Get up, Flare. Let's go get those groceries. We're going to a massive wholesale mart today, so we're taking the car."
Hearing that they were driving, Flare's eyes sparkled, and she began to urge him to hurry.
"Let's go, quick! I'm going to wait outside first!"
Watching her dash toward the door barefoot, Hyun caught her, calmed her down, and made sure she put on her slippers before they finally stepped out of the apartment.
"Hehe~ Since you're treating me so well, I suppose I can't just keep calling you 'human.' I'll call you Hyun, okay?"
"Sure, go ahead. I've been calling you Flare from the start, and you're only just acknowledging me now?"
"Well, I mean... it's true. I thought you were just a lowly human, but you're surprisingly smart and capable. I'll admit it! You're a human worthy of being addressed by me!"
"I suppose being acknowledged by a lazy dragon isn't something to be embarrassed about."
"What?! You'd be shocked if you knew who I really am! Once you experience firsthand that I am the great Dragon Lo— the... the great dragon, you'll end up worshiping me! I'll definitely show you one day! Anyway, we're in the parking lot now, so unlock the car! Let's get moving!"
"Alright, we're off. Buckle up and sit tight."
As Hyun started the ignition, the heavy rumble of the engine roared to life. Flare's eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Hyun, hurry up and drive! Hehe, this is going to be so fun!"
"Alright, here we go. Should I roll down the windows? The breeze will feel nice."
"Open them! I love that!"
Hyun rolled down the windows and stepped on the gas. Flare grinned, basking in the rushing wind.
"Don't stick your head out too much, Flare. We'll be there in no time. It's only a ten-minute drive."
"Hehe~ Isn't that too close? It feels so good!"
"We'll be there in five minutes, so just sit still. We have to buy food and look at some other things too."
"What else are we buying? Isn't food enough?"
"Of course not. You need a lot of things. Do you think a guy living alone would have women's items in his house? Even the clothes you're wearing right now are mine. Once we arrive, we're going to buy you some basic underwear and clothes."
Her face flushed bright red as her mind wandered to who-knows-where, and she shrieked.
"What?! Underwear?! Dragons don't wear things like that! But... since you're the one buying it, Hyun, I suppose I'll wear it! Just so you know!"
"Why is your face so red? What on earth are you imagining? You didn't think I'd be the one looking at your body, did you? I can just ask the store clerk to help you."
Flare covered her burning cheeks and snapped her head away from him.
"Hmph! I wasn't thinking about that at all! You're the one with the dirty mind!"
"I've never even thought of such a thing!"
Hyun chuckled at her shouting as he pulled into a parking spot right next to an underwear shop adjacent to the wholesale mart.
"Sure, sure. Let's go with that. Let's get your underwear first."
Once Hyun parked and got out, Flare opened her door and followed him as he confidently walked into the lingerie shop.
"Welcome! Are you here with your girlfriend?" the clerk greeted them as they walked in. Leaving Flare to frantically deny the assumption with a bright red face, Hyun approached the clerk and explained that he wanted to buy some underwear for Flare, asking if they could measure her size and recommend some simple, comfortable options.
"It might be nicer for your girlfriend if you picked them out yourself," the clerk suggested with a warm smile, but Hyun politely clarified.
"She's not my girlfriend. Please just measure her size first and help her find some underwear."
"Of course, sir. Just a moment, please~"
Pouting, Flare let herself be led away by the clerk and disappeared into the fitting room.
"Oh my, you have a very full figure! You're easily a D-cup."
"I'll go find some options for you to try on first, so please wait here."
Flare tried to cool down her burning face as she tried on the underwear the clerk handed her.
This isn't bad at all. It stopped everything from bouncing around... even though it's my first time wearing one.
"Hehe~ It's actually quite nice, so I'll let it slide. Now I just need to get some clothes and we can go."
Meanwhile, Hyun stood at the counter to pay. "I'll pay in full, please."
"Yes, sir. I've taken your card."
"Would you like a receipt?"
"No, that's fine. You can throw it away."
By the time the transaction was complete, Flare walked out wearing her new underwear under her clothes. Hyun teased her, reminding her that they weren't done yet.
"You look like you're in a great mood, Flare."
"But we haven't bought your clothes yet. Here, the car is unlocked, so go put this shopping bag inside."
With a bright, cheerful expression, Flare said,
"I'll go put it away, but we're getting me some really nice clothes, okay?"
"Sure, sure. Hurry back."
After stowing the bag in the car, Flare rushed back and dragged Hyun into a women's clothing store.
Two hours flew by. Flare emerged from the store with her hands full of shopping bags, her face beaming as she urged Hyun to finally go get food.
"Let's go buy food now! It's already three in the afternoon, and we haven't even had lunch yet! Hurry~!"
Hyun loaded the shopping bags into the car and led Flare into the wholesale grocery mart.
After buying all the groceries, they returned home. Flare utilized her superhuman dragon strength to carry the heavy grocery boxes, leaving the lighter clothing bags to Hyun, and they made it back inside.
"We're home! I can rest now, right?"
Hyun chuckled and said,
"We haven't even put anything away yet."
Flare broke into a cold sweat as she looked down at her grabbed wrist, her eyes darting around as she tried to make an excuse.
"Well... I don't suppose you could just do it all for me?"
Hyun stared at her with a deadpan expression and made her organize her new clothes.
It was summer.