Chapter 102
Currently, the kindergarten has temporarily suspended operations. They decided to take a break due to the recent incident.
It's out of consideration for the mental health of the kidnapped children.
Although most of the children didn't even realize they had been kidnapped.
Anyway.
Because of this unfortunate series of events, the dragon kids ended up lounging around at home all day instead of going to kindergarten.
Watching the dragon kids staying at home instead of going to kindergarten, I couldn't help but fall into a dilemma.
'It's right for children to grow up while playing. But is it okay to just leave them like this?'
Not going to kindergarten makes them seem too free-spirited. They look less like kindergarteners and more like unemployed adults who've given up job hunting.
It feels like I'm seeing my past self overlapping with them. I looked at Hwaryeon lying in front of the TV, munching on snacks.
"Hahaha-! All the villains are defeated! As expected of Power Rangers! They're so strong, they win every day!"
Crunch-!
Hwaryeon watched TV while stuffing potato chips into her mouth. I spoke sharply to the back of Hwaryeon's head.
"Hwaryeon. If you watch TV too closely, your eyesight will get worse. And don't spill snacks on the floor, sit up and eat."
Glance-
Hwaryeon turned around to look at me for a moment, then turned her gaze back to the TV.
"Hmph, Red Dragons don't get bad eyesight! I'm going to keep eating snacks!"
"..."
"Mmm, delicious!"
She's completely ignoring her dad. I felt like giving a little flick to Hwaryeon's small head.
"Sigh, let's be patient. This is just normal Hwaryeon, right? I'm the adult, I should understand."
I'm the adult and the dad, after all.
Forgiving Hwaryeon despite wanting to flick her head, I looked at the next unemployed dragon. The target was Suryeon, who was staring at her smartphone with tired eyes.
I opened my mouth towards Suryeon, who was intensely staring at her smartphone.
"Suryeon."
"..."
"Suryeon?"
"..."
"Lee Suryeon!"
Huff-
Only when I called her full name did Suryeon finally recognize my existence. Suryeon looked at me with tired eyes and answered in a weak voice.
"What, Dad..."
"What have you been doing on your smartphone all day?"
"I was just playing a game...?"
"Show me what game it is."
Hesitate-
Suryeon seemed to think for a moment, but then nodded and handed me her smartphone. On the smartphone screen, a blocky world was spread out.
"What's this now?"
"Don't touch it carelessly... If my house breaks, I'll break you too..."
"You've been on your phone since yesterday. So this is the game you've been playing?"
"..."
Nod-
Suryeon nodded silently. Then she grabbed her smartphone again and started focusing on the game.
"I'm going to reinforce my house more to make a fortress... So the zombies can't attack my house..."
Damn. Not going to kindergarten means she's on her smartphone all day.
Seeing Suryeon's tired and exhausted eyes, she seemed to have already fallen into a state of game addiction.
I couldn't bring myself to take away the smartphone, so I withdrew my hand and left the spot.
"What kind of dragon is this... They're just unemployed..."
Even if dragons are said to be lazy, this seems too much. Even looking at the relatively quiet Choryeon.
"Mmm... Hmm..."
"Woof... Woof..."
How long do they plan to sleep?
Choryeon was lying on the floor with Mangmung, deep in sleep. They sleep at night and sleep again at lunchtime.
"Even if they're not going to kindergarten... I can't leave them like this... This isn't right...!!"
This won't do.
I got up with determination. And shouted at the three unemployed dragons.
"Everyone, stop what you're doing!!"
Boom-
At my loud voice, Hwaryeon looked at me while eating snacks and watching TV, and said.
"What! Dad, I couldn't hear the TV!"
Suryeon took her eyes off her smartphone and said.
"Dad, don't interrupt my game."
Choryeon, who had just woken up, wiped her drool and said.
"Mmm... What's the matter, Father...?"
Mangmung looked at me with sleepy eyes and said.
"Woof...?"
The kids who were lounging around like unemployed adults all started looking at me. To them, I confidently declared.
"Since there's no kindergarten class, it can't be helped. Today, I'll personally hold a class for you."
Dad's confident declaration. To this, the children frowned and showed different reactions.
"Dad's class is less fun than Power Rangers!"
"...Do we have to?"
"I want to sleep more... But if Father insists... I guess we have no choice..."
They have no enthusiasm for studying. I simply said to the kids who lacked passion.
"By the way, if you pay attention in class, I might buy you toys."
Flash-!
At this, the eyes of the kids who had no learning enthusiasm changed. As expected, appropriate rewards were necessary to make children study.
"Then let's start the class! Everyone, set up your desks!"
***
Everyone took their seats at the dining table. It was to study with one mind.
"Woof-!"
"Yes, Mangmung, you should sit up here too, for courtesy's sake."
It wouldn't be right to leave only Mangmung on the floor. I sat Mangmung on a dining chair too.
Then, to study properly, I spoke to them. Using the tone of a teacher I remembered, despite my limited education.
"Now, before we start the lesson. I'll explain what we'll be studying today. Are there any questions from the dragons or Mangmung?"
To that question, Hwaryeon confidently shouted.
"I have a question! Dad!"
"It's not Dad, it's Teacher. And next time, raise your hand before speaking."
"Hmph, how annoying!"
Hwaryeon, as if rebelling against me, raised both hands high and asked.
"If we pay attention in class, we'll really get toys, right!?"
"Of course. If you study hard, I'll buy each of you one toy you want."
"Then I want a full set of Power Ranger robots-"
"...Nothing too expensive."
I'll buy something within a reasonable price range.
When I said that, she clicked her tongue with a 'tch-', but it seemed there were no other complaints.
"Ahem, then assuming there are no more questions, I'll proceed with the lesson."
I handed out papers to the kids sitting quietly at the table and said.
"First, I'll check if you know Korean properly. First period is Korean. And we'll start with a test. The content of the test is..."
Dictation.
Could this announcement have been a shock to some? The dragons' reactions were mixed.
"Aagh! Why dictation! I hate it!"
"Ha, a mere test. It's a piece of cake for me."
"Finally, it's time to show Father my skills! I'm so excited! I'll get a good score so the paper won't be wasted!"
"Woof..."
Hwaryeon and Mangmung seem weak at dictation. I gently patted Mangmung's head and said softly.
"Even so, there's no special treatment, Mangmung."
"Woof..."
The test is fair for everyone. Seeing that everyone was ready for the test, I spoke the test questions out loud.
"First question. Hwaryeon lit the fire. Second question..."
I spoke the questions. The children wrote them down accurately.
I gave a total of 10 questions that felt somewhat ambiguous.
"Ten questions done! Everyone stop!"
Let's see.
I started collecting the children's papers for accurate grading.
"Lee Hwaryeon, time's up."
"Aagh, wait! I'm just going to fix this one!"
Scribble scribble-
Hwaryeon used the last moment to frantically correct her answer.
"You were correcting the first question. 'Hwaryeon stepped on the red'..."
She seemed to have struggled with 'lit' and 'stepped on'. She changed it to 'stepped on' and got it wrong. I couldn't help but chuckle at that answer.
"What's so funny! What's funny about me! Dad, do you want to fight!?"
"No, it's nothing."
"Aaargh! I hate tests!"
Hwaryeon burst into a bit of anger, but it was her usual behavior, so I calmly started grading.
On some test papers it rained, on others it snowed. After controlling the weather on all the test papers, I started handing the results back to the children.
"First, Mangmung gets 0 points."
"Woof..."
"Try harder next time."
And next.
"Lee Hwaryeon."
"What!"
"It wasn't as bad as I thought."
"Really!?"
"No, it's 50 points. Your spelling and spacing were off."
"Aargh!"
You should study Korean more. Hwaryeon, not liking her 50 points, immediately tore up her heavily rained-on test paper.
"There's no way I got 50 points!!"
"The paper... is a waste, Hwaryeon..."
"Aargh! Shut up!"
She's going wild.
I told Hwaryeon to clean the floor and started handing out the rest of the test papers.
"Lee Suryeon."
"Yeah."
"You look quite confident?"
"The result is obvious. Give it to me quickly."
Well. There's no need to waste time unnecessarily.
"Lee Suryeon. 100 points. Perfect." "It's me, Dad. Of course it is."
Suryeon said this and coolly took her test paper. She might not realize it herself, but the corners of Suryeon's mouth were trembling slightly.
Unlike her words, she didn't look like she was taking it for granted.
'She's happy inside.'
Smile-
I smiled seeing Suryeon's reaction. Then, I handed the last test paper to Choryeon.
"Lee Choryeon."
"Y-Yes! Father!"
"It's a shame."
"W-What do you mean...?!"
"90 points. You forgot to space the last question."
"Ah..."
Dejected-
Choryeon looked at the red line drawn at the bottom and lowered her head. Her horns seemed to droop.
Still, I patted Choryeon's head to comfort her.
"You still did well. It's just one question."
"What a shame... I feel sorry for the paper I sacrificed for nothing..."
Slump-
Choryeon seemed quite heartbroken. Anyone would want to comfort Choryeon seeing her like this, but Suryeon didn't seem to have any intention of comforting her.
"Dad, why are you praising Choryeon?"
"Huh?"
Grab-
Suryeon snatched my hand and put it on her own head. Then, holding my hand in place, she said sharply.
"Shouldn't the winner get Dad's hand? I got a perfect score. Choryeon got one wrong."
"That's true, but..."
"I'm right, aren't I, Dad?"
As if not allowing even a moment's touch elsewhere, Suryeon glared coldly at Choryeon.
"..."
"..."
Spark spark-
A strange current flowed between the two dragons, and an ominous atmosphere began to form.
Perhaps because of this, they both looked at me and shouted at the same time.
"Dad, next period right now."
"Father! I won't lose next time! Give us another test!"
The learning passion seems a bit overheated, is this okay…? I was worried for a moment, but I thought competition in studying might be good.
"I hate studying...!"
Only Hwaryeon, picking up the test paper she had torn herself, was crying at the two dragons' studying fervor.