Chapter 15
We planted lettuce in the garden last night. They say it takes about 30 days to harvest lettuce. That means it'll be a long time before Choryeon can eat vegetables again.
"I made ramen. Why won't you eat it, Choryeon?"
"Hiss!"
Lee Choryeon, the vegetarian, is strongly protesting against ramen. Even when I try to put it in her mouth, she keeps turning her face away. I'm at a loss for what to do with her.
"It's good that you're not causing trouble, but why are you suddenly picky about food?"
"Hiss!"
Choryeon stuck out her tongue at the ramen, showing her determination not to eat it.
"Even if I can't provide all the nutrients, I'm trying to feed you. Why won't you eat? Dad is sad, Choryeon."
I pretended to wipe away tears.
"Hiss!"
"You're not falling for it."
Choryeon scolded me for lying. Seeing this, Hwaryeon, twirling noodles with a disposable plastic fork, said:
"Just leave her alone! She'll eat when she's hungry!"
"I'm doing this because I don't think she'll eat on her own. Aren't you worried about your sister?"
"Ha, don't make me laugh. Why would a dragon worry about another dragon?"
"Choryeon was worried about you."
"Don't argue with a dragon! A dragon's words are absolute truth!"
"That's just forcing it."
Sigh. I filled Hwaryeon's bowl with more ramen.
"You just eat more ramen."
"Yay! More! More!"
The simple-minded Hwaryeon closed her fierce mouth and started eating ramen again. Looking over, I saw Suryeon eating well on her own using a fork.
'She seems to have almost mastered using a fork.'
She's skillful. Dragons certainly learn and adapt quickly. They've easily adjusted to human bodies since transforming.
As if they were originally human. In fact, they've spent more days in human form than in dragon form. Only Choryeon, who remains in dragon form...
"Choryeon."
"Hiss?"
"You don't have to change into human form, but please eat something."
"Hiss!"
Lee Choryeon, the extreme vegetarian, once again firmly refuses ramen. It's still a long time until the lettuce grows, so when does she plan to eat? I was seriously worried about Choryeon's health as she wasn't eating…
***
...That worry disappeared the moment I went up to the rooftop to water the lettuce.
"What's this? Why is it already growing?"
I'm sure we planted it yesterday. Why are there already sprouts?
I checked the green shoots sticking up between the soil.
"Why has it grown so quickly..."
How is this possible? Sprouts appearing from plants in just one day. This shouldn't be possible. And it's something that shouldn't be discovered by anyone else.
"It must be because of the breath Choryeon blew on it yesterday. If those drug-growing bastards find out about this..."
Choryeon might become an underworld cultivation king, breathing life into drugs under bright LED lights. Such a future must not come to pass, nor should it even be imagined.
"...I'll have to hide and protect this well."
It's a heavy responsibility. I sprinkled the water I brought in a bottle over the planter.
Swoosh-
"Grow well and strong."
Whether it takes a short time or a long time, as long as it grows healthy and strong, that's what matters. Watering the lettuce under the moonlight, such thoughts crossed my mind that night.
***
The lettuce grew noticeably day by day. If it keeps growing like this, it won't be long before Choryeon can eat lettuce. Until then, I had to feed her vegetables like carrots bought from the supermarket.
"We've saved money by not paying water and gas bills, but food expenses are still the biggest..."
I calculated on my phone. Working 6 days a week, I earn 250 a month. In the past, there was a minimum wage system that paid more, but after the dimensional gates appeared, such systems were the first to disappear. The upper class removed the ladder for the lower class to climb up to solidify their own position.
'For someone from the lower class to climb higher, becoming a hero is the only way.'
Either get involved in illegal activities or become a hero. Those are the only two ways to move up.
"Anyway, if I pay rent and debts with the money left after food expenses... at most 20, at least 10?"
It's too tight. Is there any way to improve this?
'Should I try to reduce food expenses even more?'
I asked Hwaryeon, who was lying on the floor engrossed in TV:
"Hwaryeon, how would you feel if suddenly your food portions were reduced?"
"Just thinking about it makes me angry! Don't ask such things!"
"I see."
Hmm. Let's not touch the food expenses. But we bought seeds this time, and once we start growing lettuce, we'll save a lot more on food. Next month should be a bit better.
"Things are improving, so we'll climb up slowly."
Alright, let's go. As I was gathering my resolve, Suryeon, sitting in the corner, spoke up:
"Homeowner. I'm watching TV. Your muttering is noisy."
"Gas and water bills. We'll deal with those later."
"...Don't use such terms. Call me by my name."
"I will if you call me Dad first."
"..."
Suryeon closed her mouth. I wonder when she'll finally call me Dad. I scratched Choryeon's belly as she lay on her back next to me.
"Right, Choryeon? You want to call me Dad too, don't you?"
"Hiss!"
Someday, Choryeon will also call me Dad in human form. It's all a matter of time. Everything depends on time.
Bang bang!!
And problems arrive right on schedule. We all turned our attention to the door at the sudden knocking. A large middle-aged man's voice came from behind the door.
"Lee Ha-jun, I know you're in there!! Open the door!!"
It's the loan shark, Gu Bong-gu. Just as the old lady said, he's come looking for me. He always shows up like a ghost when I have money. I carefully spoke to the startled dragons:
"Shh- Everyone stay quiet. I'll be back soon."
"What's going on? What's happening?!"
"It's nothing. Just stay still and it'll be over."
"R-really?!"
Hwaryeon was flustered but seemed to accept my serious demeanor. However, Suryeon looked like she had something to say.
"Homeowner, will you be okay?"
"..."
"Wouldn't it be better to just stay put?"
"..."
Suryeon seemed to know what was going on. What would happen if I went out, and what had happened between Gu Bong-gu and me.
'She was just an egg then, but it seems she heard everything.'
Damn. This was one of the things I didn't want to show them. But even if they found out, I can't just stay put.
"I know you're in there!! Open up!!"
Bang bang!!
Gu Bong-gu kept pounding on the door. The dragons, experiencing this for the first time, were trying not to show it but were clearly anxious and afraid. In this situation, if I could just stay still, I felt I wouldn't be fit to be a parent.
"I'm here, so stop. I'll be out in a moment."
"...If you're there, you should have said so earlier."
I'll pay back some money, and for what I can't pay, I'll take it on my body as usual. With that thought, I headed to the entrance.
Before going out, I said the familiar words to them:
"Don't cause trouble and stay quiet."
It was my way of saying I'd be back soon.
***
Gu Bong-gu has an uncanny sense for money. He shows up at my house right when I've come into some money. He looks like a rockfish, but he's quite smart in his own way.
"Hey, Ha-jun. You were just cursing me in your mind, weren't you?"
"...No, I wasn't?"
"Don't lie. I've known you for 10 years. I can see right through you."
"Has it been 10 years already? This relationship has lasted a long time."
"That's why you should pay back the money quickly and end this tenacious connection."
Gu Bong-gu clicked his tongue and spat in the hallway. I seized the moment to say:
"Oh, the old lady won't like that."
"...Don't tell her I did it."
"I'll think about it if you reduce the debt."
"...How much?"
"20."
"Let's make it 10."
Nice. No matter how cunning Gu Bong-gu is, he's cautious when the old lady is mentioned. The reason is simple: the old lady raised Gu Bong-gu, who's not even her blood relative.
'She raised him to be a loan shark, though.'
But at least she didn't raise him to be a heartless psychopath. He lent money to me when I had nothing 10 years ago, and even though I haven't paid back for 10 years, he only resorts to beating me. From my perspective, he's like a grim reaper, but from a third-party view, he could be seen as a bad guy with a good side.
Anyway, Gu Bong-gu is just Gu Bong-gu. He punched some numbers into an analog calculator and showed it to me.
"I'll take off 10, add what you couldn't pay last month, and make it a clean 150."
"Isn't 150 too much? How about 100?"
"150. You know what happens if you don't pay, right?"
He means he'll take something else instead of money. Gu Bong-gu always gets back what he lends, one way or another. I sighed and pointed to the stairs.
"The hallway's not good. Let's do this outside."
"Other people might see. Are you okay with that?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
I don't mind if others see. I'd rather those kids didn't see. Gu Bong-gu and I headed outside up the stairs. There, I prepared myself to be beaten.
"Just 50,000 won worth."
"Sigh, you're driving me crazy. No more, no less. I'll hit you and be done with it."
Gu Bong-gu loosened up his fist with an exasperated look. He prepared, clenched his fist, and threw a punch at my body.
'Hup!'
As the fist struck my body, I inhaled. It's a method to lessen the pain. But...
'...What? Why doesn't it hurt?'
Was it because of the pain-reducing method? I didn't feel any pain at all. Instead, the one in pain was Gu Bong-gu.
"Argh-! You bastard-! What did you put in your body?!"
"M-me? I didn't do anything?"
"Don't bullshit me-! What hard thing did you put in your body?!"
"No, really, I didn't do anything."
Gu Bong-gu was clutching his fist in pain. Is he aiming for compensation? I wondered if he was exaggerating to squeeze more money out of me.
'What's wrong with my body?'
I poked the area he hit with my finger to check.
"There's nothing wrong?"
"You're really bullshitting now."
Gu Bong-gu shook out his fist and came over to poke my body with his finger. However, his finger couldn't penetrate my body, as if hitting a wall. This was news to me as well.
"What the..."
If something this strange happened to me, it must have been when the dragons did something to my body. What have I done recently?
'I've just been working hard, eating, playing with the kids, watering the garden, and washing when I sweat.'
...Could it be?
I thought of the lettuce growing rapidly day by day. The lettuce that received Choryeon's breath and drank Suryeon's water. It was growing at an impossible speed, becoming more monstrous as time passed.
If... It's just a guess, but for about a month, I've been drinking Suryeon's water, showering with it, and cooking food with Hwaryeon's fire.
'If the lettuce changed, couldn't my body have changed too?'
As I watched Gu Bong-gu poking my body with his finger, I realized. I hadn't noticed because I was always working, but my body had become much harder than I thought.
‘...Looks like I really did bring home a treasure.’
The dream of becoming a hero, which seemed impossible no matter how much I trained my body. That dream seemed like it might bloom again, thanks to those I picked up from the dragon's nest.
"Gu Bong-gu."
"Huh?"
"The remaining debt. I'll pay it back quickly."
A future full of hope began to appear, all because of the eggs I brought from the dragon's nest.