Chapter 37
After another day of working hard as an excellent gate closer, I was called to the Association to report in detail about the K-mart incident.
As a result, they said they'd give me a hefty performance bonus since I resolved the terrorism alone and prevented mass casualties. It really pays to do good deeds.
"Nice."
It’s time to head home.
I left the Association and started my commute. Unfortunately, it overlapped with office workers' rush hour, so the subway was quite crowded.
'Ugh, I can't breathe. Why are there so many people?'
This is killing me. Even after the dimensional gate crisis, the "hell train" remains the same.
Most Koreans abandoned provincial cities to live in Seoul where security is somewhat decent. While that's an understandable outcome, I really didn't like this environment.
'I want to get home quickly.'
Barely breathing in the crowd, I got off the subway and walked home. On the way, I noticed sprouts from trees that Choryeon's friends had planted. They were slowly growing on the asphalt.
"They're managing to grow even on asphalt. Is it because they're from seeds planted by Choryeon's friends?"
Their growth rate is unusual, just like me.
"Well, since Choryeon wanted to grow them... Grow strong and healthy."
It would be troublesome if they withered and died. I gave some words of encouragement to the sprouts and continued walking home.
Just then, I witnessed a scene that's rare these days.
"Oh, there are kids."
There's a small sandbox playground about 3 minutes from our building that’s usually used by drunk adults since there are no children around. But now, there were children who looked about 5 years old playing there.
"Hmm, I’ve never seen these kids before. Where are they from?"
There were five children in total. They were giggling and running around the playground equipment.
"Slow-legged beggar~ Try to catch me!"
...Their language was quite crude for their age. It must be due to their environment.
As I stood watching them quietly, the kids noticed my presence and whispered while looking my way.
"What's with that guy? A pervert? Why is he staring at us? So creepy."
"M-maybe... he's trying to kidnap us...? Adults told us to be careful of strangers... Let's run away..."
The crew-cut kid nervously pulled his friends' clothes, urging them to flee.
I felt wronged. I’m a hero, you know. So I slowly approached them.
"Hey, I'm not a bad person. More importantly, it's almost evening, what are you doing here?"
There aren’t even any adults around.
A bold-looking kid answered my question.
"What's it to you, mister? We can take care of ourselves."
"Ha."
This is ridiculous.
"I'm worried about your safety and this is what I get. Hey, go home holding your parents' hands. Where are your parents?"
"We don't have parents."
"...Ah, I see."
That stops me in my tracks. Still, I felt a connection with these kids.
"I don't have parents, either."
"...Really?"
"Yeah, so hurry and go back to your home or shelter or wherever. It gets really dangerous later."
If they get kidnapped by bad people from downtown, the best case scenario is that they end up as parts in drug manufacturing. Worst case, they’ll face a life too disgusting to describe.
"Anyway, stop playing and go home."
"..."
"If you don't go, I might kidnap you myself. I have a criminal record, you know?"
Once is hard enough. Why would I do it twice?
"...Okay, let's go. The caretaker told us to come back early anyway."
"Y-yeah... let's go back..."
The kids seemed to read the sincerity in my expression and quickly turned to run away. From what they said, it sounds like someone's taking care of them even without their parents.
"They must be from a facility."
I briefly stayed at one too back then. A protection facility I entered young after losing my parents to monsters from dimensional gates. I hated the stuffy, gloomy atmosphere and ran away after three days.
I lived on the streets until I met grandma, then met Gu Bong-gu who lent me money to settle in the villa.
"...Should give them some money if I see them again?"
They remind me of myself, so I'm concerned. I took one last look at the playground where they played and continued on my way.
Soon, I arrived home.
Creeak-
"Dad's home."
Hearing the door open, Choryeon came to greet me.
"Father, you're back? We behaved well and didn't cause any trouble!"
"...You already know what I'm going to say."
"Hehe."
Choryeon grinned broadly.
By the way, they look completely different from before.
"The clothes suit you well."
"Really? Do I look pretty?"
Swish-
Choryeon twirled cheerfully in her white dress.
I can't even remember how shabby she looked before.
"Clean Choryeon, come here!"
"Kyaaa-!"
Up and down-
I lifted Choryeon and played airplane with her. She giggled with joy, thoroughly enjoying the ride. Hwaryeon couldn't stand watching us have fun alone.
"Crash the airplane!"
Bang-!
She suddenly body-slammed into me while I was spinning.
I lost my balance but held Choryeon high as I fell.
Thud-!
Being tough, it didn't hurt at all. However…
"What do you think you're doing, Lee Hwaryeon!"
"Hmph, what did I do!?"
"That's it. You need to face the wall again."
"No! Why should I?!"
"Come here."
Pitter-patter-
Hwaryeon ran away to avoid getting caught.
Maybe because the house is small, these chases always end the same way.
"Let me go-!"
"Stand facing the wall for 30 minutes."
"Graaah-!"
"I was going to cook today, but do what you want if you only want a little rice."
Though Hwaryeon resisted at first, she immediately faced the wall when told she'd get less food.
Of course I had to discipline her for dangerous behavior.
"Good thing Choryeon wasn't hurt..."
"Hmph, worrying about a dragon. Dad really doesn't understand dragons!"
"Aren't you supposed to be quietly facing the wall?"
"..."
Hwaryeon finally fell silent, though she pouted in displeasure.
Anyway.
"I'm glad the clothes suit you all well."
I smiled contentedly at their transformation.
Hearing this, Suryeon, who had been quietly watching us, spoke up.
"Dragon trait. Dragons have excellent aesthetic sense. Of course we wear clothes well, Dad."
"Really? Then how's Dad's fashion, Suryeon?"
Suryeon answered my question without hesitation:
"Not good."
"..."
That's sad. What's wrong with workout clothes? Dad's feelings are hurt.
I secretly wiped tears in the bathroom.
***
I decided to cook dinner myself today. We have ingredients from the mart, and I felt I absolutely had to make this dish.
"If you're born in Korea, you should try kimchi stew at least once."
I opened the internet on my smartphone, and Suryeon's last viewed page appeared.
"SCP Strength Ranking TOP 10..."
What unique taste.
Pretending not to see it to respect her privacy, I searched for kimchi stew recipes. Various recipes appeared. Then, I clicked on a blog called 'Mom's Taste.'
"The ingredients... seem manageable."
It’s a simple kimchi stew recipe, and it seems easy enough for a novice cook like me to follow. I immediately took out the kimchi from the fridge and started chopping.
Chop chop-
Though I wasn't skilled with knives, I cut boldly without worry of injury. Even if I make a mistake, the blade would break before my fingers.
"Kimchi's ready. No onions... Add the leftover pork."
First, brown the pork. Then, stir-fry the oil and kimchi. After that, add water and let it simmer.
Bubble bubble-
Maybe because of the strong smell, Hwaryeon came to the kitchen while sniffing.
"Dad, what's this?!"
"Kimchi stew. Why aren't you facing the wall?"
"Hmph, I've reflected enough!"
That was a very short reflection period, though there wasn't much to argue about.
I checked the cooking process on my smartphone screen.
"Now... add chopped peppers from the rooftop, then tofu, and it's done..."
I better chop the peppers. Maybe because they grew with dragon mana, they were impressively large and bright red like mine.
Snip-!
When I chopped the peppers small, a spicy smell rose sharply.
'...Did dragon mana make the peppers spicier?'
It feels like bigger peppers might be spicier than small ones, but have to follow the recipe.
I added the chopped peppers to the stew. Then add tofu and let it simmer...
"Kids, food's ready. Come eat."
"I'm already here!"
"Okay, Dad."
"Yes!"
Pitter-patter-
All the dragons gathered at the table.
I used disposable rice containers as soup bowls and served them the kimchi stew.
Suryeon frowned and said.
"Dad, what's this red liquid?"
"Kimchi stew."
"...It looks violent like Hwaryeon's color. Is this okay?"
"If you're born in Korea, you should try it at least once. You won't die, it's fine."
"..."
Suryeon looked at the stew suspiciously, but not for long. Curiosity got the better of her and she took a spoonful.
Slurp-
"How is it, Suryeon?"
"..."
Suryeon closed her eyes for a moment to savor the stew. Then, she slowly opened them and gave her review.
"Spicy. My tongue hurts. It burns."
"...And?"
"Delicious. It's spicy but edible."
That's a relief.
I felt reassured watching Suryeon eat rice with the stew. It seems I didn't fail this time.
"How about you, Hwaryeon?"
"Hmph, it's nothing to me! Just delicious!"
Without mentioning spiciness or pain, Hwaryeon just kept stuffing the stew in her mouth.
"Not, not spicy at all!"
"..."
Seems pretty spicy though. She must be saying that out of pride.
I turned to check if Choryeon was eating well, and she was moving the meat from her bowl to Hwaryeon's plate.
"Choryeon, why aren't you eating?"
"There's meat in it! I'm giving it all to Hwaryeon unnie!"
Clatter- clatter-
Choryeon busily forked all the meat to Hwaryeon's plate. Then, she carefully blew on the stew before taking a bite.
"How is it, Choryeon?"
"It's, it's spicy!"
Jump-!
Choryeon started making a fuss, jumping up from her seat from the spiciness. Seeing this, Hwaryeon, with slightly swollen lips, sneered.
"Ha, that's spicy to you? Lee Choryeon is so weak!"
"I, I need water...! Please give me water...!"
I poured water into Choryeon's mouth. Only then did she calm down.
'...Surprising that Suryeon's the normal one.'
Suryeon quietly ate the stew without any reaction. But somehow, the stew in her bowl seems to have increased from before. Watching her carefully, I could see why.
Drip drip-
"Suryeon, you..."
"...Spicy. It’s less spicy if you add water."
"..."
Suryeon was spitting water into her stew to reduce the spiciness.
'This won't do.'
Seeing this, I added more water to the stew and boiled it again.
Only then did they eat the rice and stew happily, finding it less spicy.
'...Next time, I should use more water or less peppers.'
Cooking is really difficult. Still, I learned one cooking lesson today. So it seems better than last time.
It feels like I'm improving day by day.