Chapter 77
Children's innocence can be both a medicine and a poison. Because they view the world with untainted eyes, they often boldly reveal uncomfortable truths.
'Father might have abandoned us...?'
Tremble, tremble-
Choryeon's legs shook with anxiety. The words those children had said kept echoing in her head.
'No, that can't be. Father wouldn't do that! He'll definitely come back! He said he'd come pick me up!'
Shake, shake-
Choryeon shook her head side to side to dispel her anxiety. Nevertheless, the uneasy feeling still remained in her heart.
'Come to think of it, Father and I aren't related by blood, and we've caused trouble recently. From Father's perspective, he might want to abandon us...'
Sob, sob-
Choryeon buried her face in her desk and started crying.
"Sniff, Father... I'll eat meat well and won't be picky... Please come back..."
"What's going on, why is she suddenly like this?!"
Hwaryeon, sitting next to her, was startled and shook Choryeon's body vigorously.
"Snap out of it, Lee Choryeon! What are you suddenly doing! Why are you crying!"
"Father, I'm sorry... I'm reflecting... Please come back..."
"Ch-Choryeon has wilted!"
Choryeon moved her body limply, like overcooked spinach. What on earth had happened to Choryeon? Hwaryeon asked Suryeon, who was sitting next to her.
"Hey, Lee Suryeon. Why is she suddenly acting like this?"
"Hmm."
Suryeon answered in an uninterested tone.
"She must have eaten something bad."
"We didn't eat anything today though?"
"Then, maybe she's like this because she didn't eat anything."
"Hmph, I'm a fool for expecting help from you! You're no help!"
Sigh-
Hwaryeon let out a deep sigh in frustration. And she grumbled, recalling what Dad had said.
'What's so great about being the oldest! Why do I have to be responsible for them! It's so annoying!'
Hwaryeon pouted and spoke to Choryeon, who was lying limply on the desk.
"Hey, Lee Choryeon!"
"Yes, unnie..."
"I don't know why you're like this, but! Tell me after class is over!"
Still, being the oldest, even if it's annoying, she should ask when her younger sister is crying. Hwaryeon tried to show some semblance of being the oldest, as Ha-jun had said.
"Okay..."
"Geez, even her way of speaking has become strange!"
After hearing Choryeon's limp response, Hwaryeon and Suryeon attended class with their new friends. Still,
"It's more fun than just watching TV at home!"
"Yeah, it's not boring because there's a taste of observation."
They rather liked the place called kindergarten. Except for Choryeon, who missed her dad.
"Father, please come back..."
Sob, sob-
Choryeon cried alone, desperately calling for her dad.
***
After all classes ended, the 6 kindergarteners with parents went home on Gu Bong-gu's bus.
As a result, 8 children remained at Happy Kindergarten.
"Hey, Lee Choryeon!"
"Yes...?"
"Why are you wilting! What's the reason!"
Hwaryeon asked confidently, arms crossed, trying to act like an older sister. At that question, Choryeon clutched her head.
"Ugh, my head...!"
It was an unpleasant memory to recall, but Hwaryeon's fiery gaze forced her to open her mouth.
"Well, what happened was..."
Whisper, whisper-
Whisper, whisper-
Choryeon explained what had happened in the bathroom. Then, Hwaryeon slammed a nearby desk and shouted loudly.
"Who are they?! How could Dad abandon us! That's nonsense! This is insulting Dad!!"
Growl-!
Hwaryeon glared around like a hunting dog, turning her head. Mingu's group happened to be standing nearby. Hwaryeon immediately ran over and shouted at them.
"Was it you!"
"W-What?"
"You bullied Choryeon! Do you want to die?!"
"W-We don't know what you're talking about, but it wasn't us! We're actually grateful to you!"
Mingu's group bowed their heads and explained.
"Actually, we don't have parents, so we were teased every day by kids with parents. We felt great when you hit Hyun-soo today, thank you."
Bow-
Mingu's group sincerely thanked Hwaryeon. At their gratitude, Hwaryeon raised her chin and said.
"I didn't do it to be thanked by you! I hit him because I wanted to! And if they teased you, you should have fought back! Why did you just listen?!"
"If we hit them, their parents would come. But we don't have parents, right? No matter how much Teacher Bong-gu protects us, in the end, we who don't have parents can only lose."
The children, centered around Mingu, smiled bitterly. Seeing this, Hwaryeon learned something she didn't know before.
'In the human world, if you don't have parents, you can't be protected, huh. Dragons are completely strong, so they don't need parents' help anyway!'
Hwaryeon's conclusion was 'As expected, dragons are the best!'
Anyway, Hwaryeon roughly sorted out this situation perfectly.
"So in the end, Choryeon just imagined it herself!"
Suryeon, standing nearby, chimed in.
"Stupid. Idiot. Dumb dog. Choryeon just imagined it herself. As if Dad would abandon us. It shows how much faith she has in Dad."
Snicker-
What a fool. Suryeon sneered, covering one eye in the corner. To this, Choryeon muttered quietly in an aggrieved tone.
"It's not imagination... It could really happen..."
"It's the Imagination Dragon! The Imagination Dragon has appeared! Aaah! Everyone run away!"
"Falling for human words. You're not a dragon from today. Don't lower the honor of dragons and resign immediately."
And so, Hwaryeon and Suryeon decided this incident was Choryeon's imagination and overreaction, and teased the sniffling Choryeon, laughing.
But as the clock kept ticking and time passed, they too slowly started to feel anxious.
"Why... isn't Dad coming...?"
Tap, tap, tap-
Perhaps due to anxiety, Hwaryeon's feet tapped the floor like a woodpecker.
"Yeah, it should be time for him to come..."
Glance, glance-
Suryeon kept looking out the window, waiting for Dad to come. Still, there was no sign of Ha-jun.
Perhaps because of this,
"...When will Dad come?"
"...Yeah. Was Dad just a mere human after all?"
"...I guess we've been abandoned. We should think about where to stay tonight."
Something was about to start in the kindergarten. Mingu's group hugged each other in fear, watching the dragon group about to start something.
'W-Whatever it is... S-Save us...!'
They began to feel a threat to their lives, not knowing why.
***
"Phew, it's finally over. I almost died because the core was so far away."
It's finally over.
I stretched my body as I came out of the dimensional gate. The sun was already about to set.
"If I knew it would be this late, I should have told the elves."
Today was the first day of kindergarten. I wanted to pick up the children myself, but work took longer than expected.
"I should go before it gets even later. I'm leaving now. Good work, everyone!"
Hurriedly-
I said goodbye to the Association staff and quickly headed to the subway station. With a tired body from the commute, I rode the packed train and arrived in District 09.
"They'll have been waiting for an hour after classes ended. Tsk, I need to hurry."
I wonder how the kids did today. It would be nice if they made friends. It might not be easy at first, but they'll adapt to the human world slowly.
Thinking this, I sprinted towards the kindergarten with all my might.
"Huff... Huff..."
With my enhanced body, I arrived at the kindergarten in no time. I opened the kindergarten door, went in, and shouted.
"Gu Bong-gu, I'm here! Did the kids do well today?"
"..."
"Why is there no answer?"
I took off my shoes, went in, and looked at the principal's office.
"He's not here. Maybe he went to the bathroom."
He probably just stepped out for a moment. As I thought that,
Bang-!!
"W-What the hell."
Suddenly, I heard a thumping sound from upstairs. Startled, I hurried to the classroom upstairs.
At that moment, I witnessed a shocking scene.
"Dad's not coming!! He abandoned us!! Waaah!!"
"Aah! Lee Hwaryeon! Stop biting my hand and let go!"
"Waaah!!"
An enraged Hwaryeon was biting Gu Bong-gu's hand. Gu Bong-gu tried to shake off Hwaryeon, but she clung on and wouldn't let go.
"...What on earth made her so angry?"
And, Suryeon was sitting in a corner, hugging her knees and muttering something quietly.
"Hehe, as expected, Dad was just another human... He was trash... This world really is garbage... Hehehe..."
"..."
I don't know what happened, but she was in full chuunibyou mode. My head throbbed at this chaotic situation.
"What on earth happened on the first day of kindergarten? Can someone explain to me?"
"...Father."
"Choryeon! Choryeon, what's going on here?"
Choryeon would explain it to me kindly, right? With that hope, I smiled brightly and asked Choryeon.
However, Choryeon gripped my arm tightly, looked up at me with cold eyes, and murmured.
"...Why are you here so late, Father? I was waiting for you to come."
"Ah, work ran late. I'm a bit late, sorry."
"...Is that so? You didn't decide to abandon us and then come back, did you?"
"Abandon? What are you talking about?"
Choryeon is saying strange things. Did she eat some bad vegetables today?
But Choryeon didn't let go of my arm and spoke to me with a serious face. This was the first time I'd seen Choryeon like this, and it was a bit scary.
"Father."
"Y-Yes, Choryeon..."
"Were you really not trying to abandon us? Were you not trying to leave us at kindergarten and run away?"
"I don't understand what you're saying... Why would I abandon you, Choryeon? If I wanted to abandon you, I would have done it long ago."
Why is she suddenly saying these things? I'm just confused because I don't know the flow of the story.
Choryeon listened to my answer, stared at my face for a minute, then let go of my arm and smiled brightly, saying.
"Then that's fine, Father. I think I misunderstood for a moment."
"Misunderstood?"
"Yes, someone seems to have slandered you. I'll pay them back later. Let's go home quickly, Father."
Grip-
Choryeon grabbed my hand with a quick explanation. I was dumbfounded by how quickly it all happened.
'No, this isn't the time for this.'
I shook my head to clear my mind and approached Hwaryeon.
"Hey, Lee Hwaryeon! What are you doing to Gu Bong-gu! Let go, it's tough!"
"Waaah!"
I intervened in the fight between Hwaryeon and Gu Bong-gu. While stopping Hwaryeon's reckless behavior, I thought to myself.
'What happened at kindergarten today?'
For now, stopping that fight is the priority.
I thought it would be better to listen to their story later.
***
The incident was roughly settled.
"You guys go home quickly... I need to clean the kindergarten... Get out now!!"
It seems Gu Bong-gu was exhausted and kicked us out.
Anyway, we left the kindergarten and set off on our way home. The red sunset was just setting.
"What's all this about? Causing trouble on the first day of kindergarten..."
Sigh-
These troublemaking dragons. I sighed and looked at them.
"Hmph, it's Dad's fault for being late!"
"...Agreed."
"It's not Father's fault, but the situation wasn't good!"
I don't know what they're so happy about. They all had unnecessarily energetic faces.
'These stupid dragon kids.'
Suryeon and Choryeon were holding my hands, while Hwaryeon walking leisurely in front of me, looking back. I asked them lightly.
"How was kindergarten for everyone today? Was it fun?"
At my question, Hwaryeon answered while walking backwards to make eye contact with me.
"Yeah, it was fun! Kindergarten is fun to conquer! I'm going to make everyone my subordinate!"
"Didn't you say being the boss was annoying before?"
"A group needs a leader, Dad! If not me, who else! I'm definitely the boss!"
"Being the boss is good. It's good to have big dreams. Let's aim for president next, Hwaryeon."
"Yeah!"
Hwaryeon answered with a bright smile. Setting aside her plan to conquer kindergarten, it seems she had a pretty fun time at kindergarten.
'...It's good to have big dreams when you're young.'
Because when you grow up, dreams become infinitely smaller. Having big dreams can be seen as a privilege of children.
'Hwaryeon seems like she'll adapt well.'
I asked Suryeon, who was holding my left hand tightly.
"How about you, Suryeon? Was it fun?"
"It was okay. There wasn't much fun in learning, but it was interesting to explore the surroundings. Like, so this is what humans are like. That kind of feeling."
Surprisingly, Suryeon seemed to like kindergarten too.
"So what kind of beings do you think humans are?"
"Garbage filled with pure malice. All humans except Dad are trash. Hehe, this premise doesn't change."
"I see..."
I hope it changes as she meets various humans. There are many trashy humans, but also many who aren't.
I thought Suryeon would change as she directly experiences the outside world. Then, I looked at Choryeon holding my right hand and asked.
"Choryeon, how was kindergarten for you?"
"I... I felt bad because I heard some strange things... But I think I need to go to kindergarten more to know... Still, I think everyone might be able to become friends..."
Of course,
"Except for the humans who insulted Father."
"..."
Seems Choryeon got burned. A child's innocence can be scary at times like this.
'They probably told her she was abandoned by her parents. It's obvious.'
Children don't know that this is behavior they shouldn't do. They just do it because teasing is fun. I know this well because I survived in the hood called District 09 from a young age.
"Choryeon."
"Yes, Father."
"If they do that again next time, scold them a lot. Make sure they never say such things again."
"Yes! I'll turn them all into vegetables!"
"No, I meant scold them moderately..."
"Yes!"
Anyway, although there were some incidents, the dragon kids seemed pretty satisfied with kindergarten.
It definitely seemed better for them to be at kindergarten than watching TV at home all day.
"From now on, if I'm late, the elves will come pick you up. Remember that."
"I don't like elves! They're dragon discriminators! Dad, come pick us up!"
"But if I'm too late, you'll have to stay at kindergarten for a long time?"
"That's fine! Dad, come pick us up!"
And so, the kids and I finished kindergarten and headed home together.
Under the setting sun, our family walked happily down the street, talking about what happened today.
'We have more to talk about with each other now.'
And, that joyful conversation continued until we all went to dreamland. Maybe because they're still young children, they had so much to say.
They're my daughters, but they're so lovable.