Chapter 7
What is a dragon?
Most people would answer this question like this:
'Dragons have enough power to annihilate an entire country.'
That's correct.
Everyone knows that dragons have enough strength to bring down a country.
There are even videos about dragons on X-Tube, so people know how amazing dragons are.
But I know dragons much better than they do.
'They're all being fooled by fakes.'
Dragons are far removed from those legendary tales.
Unlike what people expect, dragons are...
"So adorably cute. Our Choryeon!"
"Hiss-!"
Extremely cute.
They might look like slightly larger lizards on the outside, but their actions and the way they express emotions are lovable.
Even after coming back from hard work, I feel full of energy.
I stopped rubbing Choryeon's belly and lifted her up with both hands.
"Hiss~ Hiss~"
Choryeon made happy cries, seemingly in a good mood.
Seeing that, I couldn't help but get excited.
I lifted Choryeon higher and shouted:
"Choryeon's flying!"
"Hiss~"
"Yahoo!"
"Hiss~"
She's so cute I could die.
She's not my real daughter, but I imagine this is how I'd play airplane if I had one.
While I was playing with Choryeon like this, I noticed Suryeon watching us from afar.
"..."
For some reason, she was looking at me with a contemptuous expression.
That gaze brought me back to the reality I had momentarily forgotten.
'Lee Ha-jun. Age 23. Unemployed. Currently playing with Choryeon, mistakenly thinking he's become a child while playing with dragons.'
Argh-
I felt a bit embarrassed about how I was acting just now.
To maintain my status as a father, I tried to explain a bit to Suryeon:
"Ahem, it's okay to do this sometimes if Choryeon likes it. Dad's not a weird person, right?"
"..."
"Well, I can play like a kid sometimes..."
Then suddenly, I looked at myself from a very objective perspective.
'No, why should I explain myself?'
Why should I explain when I've done nothing wrong?
I didn't back down from Suryeon's personality-crushing gaze.
Instead, I decided to be bold.
"Suryeon, did it look fun to you too? Do you want to try? Is that it?"
"..."
"You want to ride the airplane too, right? Come here! Dad will do it for you!"
"...Hiss-"
Suryeon immediately turned and ran far away.
It was the fastest speed I'd seen from her.
It was my victory.
"Heh, I won."
"Hiss..."
Choryeon's pitying gaze attacked me once.
I deliberately ignored the attack and met Choryeon's eyes again.
'She looks exactly like a lizard though.'
The unmistakable form of a lizard.
I couldn't see any peculiarities that seemed like dragon characteristics.
As I stared intently at Choryeon, a sudden question popped into my mind.
Do they need to brush their teeth too?
"Choryeon, let's say 'ah' for a moment. Say 'ah'."
"Hiss Hiss-"
"That's right. Good girl."
Choryeon followed my action and opened her mouth wide.
I carefully brought my nose close to Choryeon's mouth.
Sniff sniff-
"..."
"Hiss-?"
"...I think it would be better to brush your teeth."
I was curious if dragons needed to brush their teeth too.
It seems like they should.
Not wanting to hurt Choryeon's feelings, I held back my words and immediately took her to the bathroom.
Then, I took out a spare toothbrush set.
"Green should be good for Choryeon."
"Hiss-?"
"Let's say 'ah' one more time."
"Hiss Hiss-"
I held Choryeon at my waist and brushed her teeth diligently with a toothbrush loaded with toothpaste.
Brush brush-
Even though she was born not long ago, maybe because she's a dragon, her teeth were quite strong.
Strong enough to make me wonder how much they'd sell for.
'...I'm just saying. I'm not really going to sell them.'
I can just be curious, right?
I explained to myself for having such a wicked thought for a moment.
Being broad-minded, I easily forgave myself.
After brushing Choryeon's teeth diligently for about 3 minutes, it was time to rinse her mouth with water.
I was about to fill a slightly chipped mug on the sink with water.
But.
"Ah crap, the water's been cut off."
This is bad.
It was working fine until yesterday.
The water's suddenly cut off.
In my despair, I looked at Choryeon and myself reflected in the mirror.
"Hiss Hiss-"
Not understanding the situation, Choryeon still had her mouth open.
Her mouth was full of foam.
In a hurry, I brought a bottle of lukewarm water and poured it into Choryeon's mouth.
Splash splash-
"Don't drink it, rinse your mouth! Like me! Got it?"
Gargle gargle-
Ptooey-
After I demonstrated, Choryeon rinsed her mouth and successfully spit out the water.
Checking her breath again, the problem was neatly solved.
I gained new information that dragons need to brush their teeth just like humans.
"Except for needing less help, it's no different from a baby."
"Hiss-?"
"Yes, I'm talking about you, Choryeon."
I put Choryeon down on the floor.
Feeling refreshed, Choryeon ran around the small studio with her mouth open.
Then, I turned my head to find my next target.
"Hiss-!!"
Hwaryeon, the most wary one.
She was openly showing herself.
"..."
Suryeon, the shyest one.
She was hiding under the table.
Their personalities were polar opposites.
Could I really catch them and make them brush their teeth?
'No way.'
I'm as wise a person as I am a dragon's dad.
I cleanly gave up on the idea of making them brush their teeth.
So, I decided to try a different approach.
I squeezed toothpaste onto my finger and approached them.
"Suryeon. You need to eat this if you don't want to smell."
"..."
"You're a dragon, after all. Wouldn't it be terrible if your breath smelled?"
"...Hiss-"
Suryeon quickly licked the toothpaste off my finger.
It was a swift and nimble movement.
Next, I approached the most finicky one, Hwaryeon.
"Now, Hwaryeon. You eat this too."
"Hiss-!"
As expected, she's not an easy opponent.
Hwaryeon refused the toothpaste, snarling at my finger.
I knew exactly how to deal with such a proud creature.
"Are you really not going to eat it, Hwaryeon?"
"Hiss-!"
"The others all ate it, you know? You won't? The others weren't scared. Don't tell me you're afraid?"
"Hi, Hiss-!"
Good.
She's starting to waver.
'This is indeed the perfect approach for someone with strong pride.'
I know this well because I'm a person with strong pride myself.
In my case, I'm just a person with strong pride and nothing else.
Anyway.
Hwaryeon slowly started to respond to the question, "The others all did it, are you not going to?"
She walked towards my finger little by little.
After watching me cautiously for a moment, she finally brought her mouth to the toothpaste.
Instead of a gentle lick...
Chomp-!
With a loud sound.
"Aaah!! You little lizard! You bite dad again without recognizing him?!"
"Hiss-!!"
"I told you I wouldn't let it slide again! You're done for today!"
Just wait till I catch you.
Dragon or not, I'll teach you a lesson if I catch you.
I ran around the house trying to catch Hwaryeon as she dodged here and there.
Being a dragon, she ran away at an unbelievable speed.
'Ah geez, she looks like a lizard, but why is she so fast?'
Chasing Hwaryeon until I was out of breath, I realized one thing about what dragons are.
I think I need to add one more thing besides cute.
Dragons are cute, but they're also beings you want to give a good flick on the head.
"Haa... Just wait... till I catch you..."
"Hiss-!"
Let's see who wins.
Our game of tag continued until the neighbor yelled at us to be quiet.
Due to outside interference, the result was a draw.
"Hiss-! Hiss-!"
Hwaryeon protested the decision, but I didn't listen.
If you don't like it, you should have been born earlier.
It was the privilege of being a dad.
***
"I'm going to work, so don't cause any trouble and stay put, okay?"
"..."
"Suryeon, you rest well too. I'm off!"
Bang-!
Lee Ha-jun set off to work as usual to earn money.
It was always Suryeon's role to see him off.
Suryeon muttered to herself, looking at the firmly closed iron door.
-Why do humans go outside? What is this 'work'?
Humans obtain roles called jobs and perform tasks according to those roles.
Income is generated based on that work, and human status is determined by that income.
More important than work is the job, more important than the job is income, and income is status.
Suryeon viewed the human world in such a cynical way.
She was just judging the news reports she saw with an objective eye.
Still, it's better than doing nothing.
Suryeon sat in front of the TV and looked up at the screen.
-It's the same boring screen today too.
The same woman as yesterday was showing off her clear voice, talking about the world.
As usual, Suryeon was curious about the story at first, but soon lost interest and felt bored.
-It's really just the same story. If I keep watching this, I'll become an idiot.
Something.
I need to do something other than watching TV.
For example.
-Imitating humans. What was it called? Polymorph?
This short body doesn't fit the human world.
It's an inefficient body.
Thinking this, Suryeon tried to imagine.
What she would look like if she were human, and what form would suit her best.
She started to picture her human form in her mind, asking herself questions.
-Am I a man? Or a woman? What form is closest to me? What kind of being am I? What do I want?
Suryeon asked herself these questions, forming a concrete image of herself.
-It's not easy.
Still.
Suryeon thought it wouldn't take too long.
After all, there's nothing dragons can't do.