Chapter 23: A Searching Dragon (3)

Again. Suryeon caused trouble again. She ended up summoning Gu Bong-gu, who would have been quietly lying at home.

'It's also funny that he came at this hour just because of one phone call.'

How diligent of him. I sighed, looking at the front door where thumping sounds were coming from.

"Sigh, this is a mess."

"...I'm sorry. I pressed it by mistake."

Suryeon looked down at the floor with a gloomy expression. She seemed to be reflecting on her actions. I probably don't need to make her face the wall.

"It's enough that you know what you did wrong. Just don't do it again. But is a mistaken phone call really something to get that angry about?"

"Lee Ha-jun! I know you're in there! Are you not going to open the door?!"

"To be that angry, he must be going through menopause."

It was just a mistaken phone call. It doesn't seem like something to get that angry about.

"You didn't say anything strange, did you, Suryeon?"

"I didn't say anything strange."

"But you did say something?"

"..."

"I thought so."

Gu Bong-gu wouldn't get that angry without her saying something. Although Gu Bong-gu looks like a rockfish, he's a fairly reasonable person. I left Suryeon, who was just staring at the floor, and headed to the front door.

"I'll go talk for a bit. Don't cause any more trouble and stay quiet."

I grabbed the doorknob and opened the front door. Then, I heard the dragon kids sounding like they were about to tear into one of their own.

"You always act so smart! Serves you right!"

"It's okay, Suryeon unnie. Even someone as smart as you can make a mistake once in a while!"

"Choryeon, speak properly! It's not once, it's twice!"

"Oh, is that so?!"

"..."

Suryeon clenched her fists at the attack from the two. For some reason, her small back seemed to be saying she felt frustrated.

***

Gu Bong-gu came to find me late at night. The reason was a newly born dragon misdialing a phone. I thought this was only possible because he's still single at over 40.

"You bastard Ha-jun. You're cursing me in your mind, aren't you?"

"What? That's not-"

"I can see it all over your face, you punk."

"..."

He's quite sharp. Before his fist could fly, I headed towards the villa entrance stairs and said:

"Let's talk outside first. Others might hear."

"You're not usually this mannerly... And who was that voice that spoke to me earlier? Did you get some neighborhood kid to make fun of me?"

"That... I'll explain later."

For now, we should talk while walking around. Gu Bong-gu is quite heated right now. He needs some fresh air to listen to my story. I started talking with Gu Bong-gu while walking around a less dangerous area near the villa.

"Gu Bong-gu."

"What, you bastard."

"Why are you so angry?"

"Ha- It's so ridiculous that the punk who made a prank call is asking that, I can't help but laugh."

Gu Bong-gu put a cigarette in his mouth. Unable to resist something free, I held out my finger.

"This is really ridiculous. Ridiculous."

Gu Bong-gu handed me a cigarette with a bitter laugh. But his expression was still fierce as his anger hadn't subsided. Well, he always had a fierce look.

"Hey, Ha-jun."

"What?"

"How did your hero exam go?"

"Well, I passed."

"Really?"

Whoosh-

Gu Bong-gu blew out cigarette smoke. Then, after seeming to ponder for a moment, he said to me:

"Then pay back the money."

"Why should I? I paid you this month."

"You made a prank call to me, you bastard. I came all the way here because of that. Shouldn't I at least take some money back?"

Gu Bong-gu seems to think he needs to take something from me to feel better.

"If not money, then get on your knees and beg. Will you pay the money or get on your knees and beg?"

Should I give up money or pride? Gu Bong-gu was presenting a deadly dilemma. In response, I sprawled out on the asphalt ground and shouted.

"To hell with it, just hit me."

"That would only hurt my hand, you punk. I don't want to."

I guess that won't work either. As a dad to dragons, I can't easily get on my knees. I reluctantly decided to send money.

"How much should I send?"

"Send 50."

"You're taking a lot, you dirty bastard. What do you do with all the money you save?"

"...You don't need to know. Now get lost. If you make another prank call, I'll take double. Be careful."

Gu Bong-gu said this and turned to leave. Although I've known him for a long time, I don't know what he does with the money he saves.

"Ah, right. And who was that voice?"

"...Voice?"

"Yeah, it sounded like a kid's voice. What, did you give your smartphone to some neighborhood kid and make them do it? Or do you have some hidden child?"

"Umm..."

I do have hidden children, but it's probably better to keep them hidden in case something happens.

"I was in a good mood after passing the hero exam. So I handed it to a nearby kid and tried a prank."

"...Is that so? I didn't know there was a kid I didn't know living around here."

"Well, there could be."

"It's rare to see kids these days... Alright, I understand. I'm going."

This time, Gu Bong-gu really went home. Although something felt suspicious at the end, this incident seemed to be well resolved.

'...But it cost me a lot of money.'

Damn it. Come to think of it, I forgot to ask what Suryeon said to Gu Bong-gu. I can ask Suryeon directly about that part. I quickly opened the door and returned home.

Creak-

"Dad's home. Nothing happened, right?"

As I returned home, Hwaryeon and Choryeon came running.

"Something did happen!"

"That's right, Father! Something did happen!"

"What now? Come to think of it, where's Suryeon gone again?"

The house is small enough to see everything at a glance normally. But no matter how much I looked around, I couldn't see Suryeon. Hwaryeon and Choryeon shouted simultaneously, as if in harmony.

"She's over there! Hidden in the blanket!"

"She's hiding in that blanket over there!"

I immediately fixed my gaze on the blanket. The blanket spread out in the living room was bulging out. Suryeon seemed to be hiding under that blanket.

‘Sigh, no matter how smart a dragon's brain is, a child is still a child.’

Suryeon was wrapped in the blanket, not moving at all. I approached her and poked the blanket with my finger.

"Suryeon. Come out of there."

"..."

"I won't scold you, so you can come out."

"..."

As I poked the blanket with my finger, there was a slight reaction. Suryeon seemed to be ticklish, squirming a bit. From the outside, she looked completely like a caterpillar wrapped in a blanket. To understand the cause of this situation, I asked Hwaryeon and Choryeon.

"Hwaryeon, Choryeon. Did you say something to Suryeon while I was gone?"

"Hmph, I didn't say anything! If anything, Choryeon made Suryeon like that!"

"Choryeon did?"

It's hard to believe that Choryeon made the smart Suryeon into that blanket caterpillar.

"What exactly did you say, Choryeon?"

"Well, dad..."

Choryeon answered with a smile that seemed troubled.

"I just said, 'Suryeon unnie made a mistake, so she can do better next time! Unnie has talent, so she can do it! Fighting!' That's all I said... but she ended up like that..."

Sometimes, innocence can overcome solid reason. It seems Suryeon was knocked out by Choryeon's words and fell into a groggy state. As expected, Choryeon was clearly a scarier child than I thought.

"...It's not your fault, so don't worry too much. I'll handle Suryeon."

"Yes, dad!"

Hearing that, Choryeon returned to the TV.

"Today is Dinosaur Adventure day!"

It seems there's a TV program she has to watch. Hwaryeon also sat next to her, looking at the TV expectantly. Now, my job is to hatch this blanket caterpillar. I opened my mouth while tapping Suryeon with my finger:

"Suryeon."

"..."

"I know you made a mistake today."

"..."

"But this is what I think."

Everyone can make a mistake once. I made many mistakes in the past too.

"But if you know exactly what mistake you made, you won't make it again next time."

"..."

"You're smart, so you know well. What mistake you made. Kids grow by making mistakes."

"..."

"So, just don't do it next time. Dragons don't make the same mistake twice, right?"

Squirm-

As if my words reached her heart, Suryeon moved slightly. She probably understands what I meant by saying this. I patted Suryeon's blanket one last time and stood up.

"We'll eat soon. If you feel better by then, come and eat."

"..."

Suryeon remained silent until the end. But as time passes, her mood will naturally improve. Children's emotions are usually up and down.

"Food's ready, come and eat. There's a lot of protein today."

I grilled the chicken breast and boneless mackerel received from the Hero Association and put them on the table. By the way, I grilled them directly using the fire from Hwaryeon's mouth. And I put instant rice and lettuce for Choryeon on the table.

'At first, there were many empty spaces because we had nothing to eat.'

Day by day, the table feels like it's getting fuller.

"Food's here!"

"It's time to eat!"

Hwaryeon and Choryeon sat on chairs and started eating. Hwaryeon focused on meat and rice. Choryeon focused on vegetables. They ate the side dishes diligently, munching away. When they were about halfway through their meal...

Slide-

The blanket caterpillar lying in the living room shed its skin and stood up. Had she been crying a little? Suryeon, with slightly puffy eyes, slowly walked over and sat on a chair.

Plop-

Then she started eating, nibbling with her fork.

"...This fish is delicious."

"I thought it might be."

"..."

Nom-

As Suryeon continued eating, she suddenly mumbled in a small voice:

"...Sorry, Dad. I won't make mistakes next time."

"Okay, don't make mistakes next time."

"I'm a perfect dragon. I absolutely won't make mistakes next time."

Sniff-

Suryeon made a firm resolution and put the tear-soaked grilled mackerel in her mouth. Watching this, I thought to myself:

'...I think she'll make mistakes again?'

My trust in dragons had already fallen. Dragons, what dragons? They were no different from just slightly smart children. There's no doubt about the abilities they possess, but even I didn't know exactly what abilities they had.

'I'm curious. What can they do now, and how far can they go?'

I felt like I should properly find out about their abilities.