Chapter 51
There's a small stationery store between the center and outskirts of the Seoul-09 district where I live.
That stationery store has been there since before I was born, maintaining its place until now. I was never much for studying, so I had never visited it even once.
"Gu Bong-gu, you received the money? I put in a lot this time too."
"At this rate, you might pay it all back in a year. Have you finally become a person? I've confirmed it, so go. I'm busy."
Gu Bong-gu coolly waved his hand and left. Unlike usual, he had a somewhat complicated expression, but he didn't seem likely to tell me about it.
"Since I'm out, maybe I'll stop by the stationery store."
I might find some toys the kids could play with. It would be good to take a look around. I walked towards the stationery store I had only ever seen from the outside.
"Is this the place?"
It was closer to home than I thought. I stood in front of the stationery store and checked its exterior.
In front of the store were dusty vending machines and a small arcade game. The building itself looked old, shabby, and like it might collapse at any moment.
"But the fact that it's survived until now means it must be sturdier than it looks."
I pulled the glass door as the sign said "Pull".
Ding-a-ling—
As the bell rang, the unique musty smell of a stationery store filled my nose. It was a smell that brought back brief childhood memories. I made eye contact with the store owner approaching from inside, fanning himself. He was an old man who looked to be in his 70s, with white hair and wrinkled skin.
"Hello."
I bowed my head slightly in greeting. The old man looked at me and spoke gruffly.
"What do you need?"
"I just came to see what you have here."
"A stationery store has stationery. What else would there be?"
It was the typical grumpy tone of the old people in this district. Feeling like it was similar to Grandma, I checked the displayed stationery.
"Hmm, when were these colored pencils made?"
"Probably before the dimensional gates appeared. All the factories closed after that."
"Then how much are these?"
"Not for sale."
"Excuse me?"
"They're for display only."
What on earth does that mean? Displaying items but not selling them… is this a museum rather than a stationery store?
It's absurd. I put down the colored pencils and asked the store owner.
"If you're not selling, why are you running a business?"
"That's up to the store owner."
"Then if these are all for display, what do you actually sell here?"
"I sell toys for adults."
Just as the old man finished speaking,
Ding-a-ling—
The bell rang as two men entered the stationery store. They had quite familiar faces.
"Oh, it's Fatty and Weakling."
"Oh, big bro, why are you here? Are you thinking of getting one too?"
Weakling approached me politely. Not knowing what he meant, I asked casually.
"Get what? And why are you guys at a stationery store? It doesn't suit your appearance."
"Come on, we need to live too. Weak people like us need to protect ourselves."
Swish—
Weakling showed his arm covered in tattoos. I guess that's his way of protecting himself. While I was talking with Weakling, the old man came out from the back with a box.
"Here are the items you asked me to prepare."
Swish—
The old man handed the box to Fatty and Weakling. They immediately opened the box, while I checked the contents of the box from the side.
"What's this? It's a pistol. A .45 caliber. I've been shot by one of these before. Why are you selling this in a stationery store?"
The old man answered my fundamental question.
"In a world where there are no children and only adults are increasing, even stationery stores adapt to the changes. It's changing from a stationery store for children to one for adults."
Sigh—
The old man smiled, looking somewhat sad. Fatty and Weakling paid the old man, took the box, bowed deeply, and left.
"We'll use it well, sir!"
"Alright."
The old man waved to them.
"Are you close with those guys, old man?"
"Not so much close as acquainted. They may look like that, but they're polite. They won't use that gun just to kill people."
He seems to have some trust in this area.
Anyway, this stationery store seems to deal in stationery for adults. I headed towards the exit with a feeling of disappointment.
"If you're not selling, I'll be going. Take care."
"Alright, let me know if you need anything."
"It's a shame. There were many things the kids would have liked."
Tsk—
I put my hand on the door to leave the store. But suddenly, the old man jumped out and grabbed my arm.
"What is it, old man?"
"You have kids?"
"Yes, I do."
"Then you should have said so! Buy some stationery if you need it!"
What's with the sudden change? The old man suddenly switched gears. Surprised by this change, I asked.
"Why the sudden change, old man? Are you senile?"
"I might be a bit senile, but never mind that. If you have children, that changes things. If a child will use it directly, I'm willing to sell."
It seemed the old man was saying he sells appropriate items for adults to adults, and appropriate items for children to children.
'Hmm, then what should I buy?'
What items would the dragon kids like? I wandered around the stationery store, pondering. After much deliberation, I ended up buying two stationery items.
"The kids will like these, right?"
The old man silently nodded in response.
Well, they were items children couldn't dislike.
***
I entered the house with a kind expression, holding the stationery in one hand.
Creeak—
The children jumped out, expressing their complaints.
"What's this?! You said you'd be back soon! Why are you so late?!"
"Liar."
"We thought you were dead!"
I keep telling you, people don't die that easily.
Ignoring the kids clinging to me, I headed to the living room floor. Then, I confidently spread out the items I bought from the stationery store.
"Kids, guess what this is?"
"Th-This is..."
Tremble—
Choryeon shouted loudly, her hands shaking.
"This is paper! It's so cruel!"
"No, it's not just paper, it's a sketchbook. And next to it are crayons."
A sketchbook and crayons, items very good for developing children's creativity.
"You cruel humans! I can't stand this, Father!"
Tremble—
Leaving Choryeon, who was about to start an environmental protection protest, I opened the crayons and showed them to Hwaryeon and Suryeon.
"This is how you use them. If you draw with red like this..."
Ta-da—
It becomes a red lizard Hwaryeon.
"Blue becomes Suryeon, and green becomes Choryeon. How's Dad's drawing skill?"
Frown—
Hwaryeon and Suryeon frowned and rebelled.
"How is that supposed to be me! Dad, you're terrible at drawing!"
"I don't look like that. No way."
It seems they're not impressed with Dad's drawing skills. Quietly wiping away a tear, I said to the children.
"If I'm no good, why don't you try it yourselves! Here, draw!"
I tore out a page from the sketchbook and handed one to Hwaryeon and Suryeon. They took the crayons and started drawing as they pleased.
"Ha, I'm definitely drawing really well!"
"Here, it should be a bit thinner. I'm drawing it perfectly."
Scribble scribble—
Hwaryeon lay on her stomach, coloring the sketchbook red.
The pastel colors of the crayons filled the sketchbook.
"...Hmm, it looks fun."
Perhaps because she was bothered by how focused Hwaryeon was, Choryeon also slowly approached the sketchbook. I handed a page to the hesitating Choryeon.
"If you want to do it, go ahead, Choryeon."
"B-But this is paper...!"
"The trees would probably prefer you to use it."
"Uh, uhhh..."
Choryeon deeply pondered whether to reach for the sketchbook in front of her. Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and reached out.
"F-Father! I want to draw too!"
"Good, you made the right choice, Choryeon."
As expected, environmental activism has to deal with big contradictions.
Choryeon took a green crayon and started drawing earnestly on the sketchbook. Meanwhile, Hwaryeon showed me her completed drawing and proudly exclaimed.
"Dad! Look at this! It's a super strong dinosaur! Its name is Fire Dragon! It's me, a dragon!"
"You've given it a name that combines all powerful things. But, you drew better than I expected?"
"Right?!"
A Red Dragon was roaring against a volcano background. The drawing was messy, but it was very well done for a first attempt.
I turned my head to look at Suryeon's drawing.
"Let's see, Suryeon..."
"...Don't look as you please."
Suryeon seemed embarrassed and covered her sketchbook with her body.
I wondered what she drew.
From what I could see, it looked like she had drawn a monster that resembled an octopus.
And next to it was text that looked like a description.
"This monster lives in the deep sea, waiting for 1000 years to destroy the Earth from 9999m below the sea where humans can't reach... When humans start to interfere, it will immediately destroy the world..."
"D-Don't read it...!!"
Pitter-patter—!
Perhaps out of embarrassment, Suryeon hugged her sketchbook and ran to the bathroom. Considering she's coming up with monster settings at this age, her imagination must be quite high.
"Lastly, Choryeon..."
"To mourn this paper, I'm drawing the World Tree!"
"World Tree?"
"Yes!"
Ta-da—!
Choryeon opened her sketchbook to show a giant tree rising from a round Earth.
"This is called the World Tree! It's an enormous tree! I think we might be able to see it soon!"
"Saying we'll see it soon is a bit scary, Choryeon."
Haha. Surely that won't actually grow. At that size, it would be more than enough to destroy the Earth.
"...Right, Choryeon?"
"What is it, Father?"
"No, it's nothing."
I decided to think of it as a child's exaggeration. She probably just drew a big oak tree. Children do draw their dreams in sketchbooks after all.
Still, seeing the kids enjoying drawing in the sketchbooks, I naturally smiled too.
'They all draw well. I wonder if it's because they're dragons with artistic sense.'
The sight of the children lying on the floor, drawing in their sketchbooks, and the pastel colors of the crayons.
The combination of these looked very pleasing to my eyes.