Chapter 90
Tamagotchi. A small, egg-shaped game device about the size of a palm.
As I remember, it's a game where you raise an egg shown on the screen, feeding it and cleaning up its poop.
"I don't know much about it either, but it seems she's enjoying it."
Unlike usual, Suryeon wasn't looking at her smartphone. She was holding the Tamagotchi I bought her, intently focusing on the screen. I wonder what fun she's finding in the Tamagotchi.
I sat down next to Suryeon in the corner and spoke to her.
"Suryeon. How is it? Is the Tamagotchi fun?"
Suryeon glanced at me and answered in an emotionless tone.
"It's okay."
"Are you raising the egg well?"
"Of course. I'm Lee Suryeon, Dad. Of course the egg the great me is raising is well."
Suryeon seemed quite confident about raising the egg. I wonder what fate awaits Suryeon's egg.
With such expectations, I decided to watch Suryeon for a while.
***
Tamagotchi Day 3.
"Suryeon, what happened to the egg?"
"...It died."
Suryeon's egg apparently died without even hatching. How on earth did this happen?
I decided to investigate the truth behind this death.
"First, the suspect Lee Suryeon?"
"Why am I the suspect, Dad?"
"Why did you let the Tamagotchi die?"
Glare-
Suryeon frowned at my question. It seems I hit the nail on the head.
"Answer quickly! Egg murderer Lee Suryeon!"
"...This is ridiculous."
Suryeon fidgeted with her lips, seemingly feeling wronged, but finally opened her mouth and confessed.
"...I bothered the egg too much."
"Huh?"
"There's a button to touch the egg. I pressed it too many times. So the egg died from stress."
It seems she gave it too much attention. That concludes the murderer's testimony.
I patted Suryeon's head, who looked a bit dejected, and said.
"You'll be able to raise it well next time, Suryeon. Let's shed the stigma of egg murderer."
"...There was no stigma to begin with, Dad made it up. Are you teasing me now?"
She finally realized. I quickly ran away before Suryeon could get angrier.
I wonder how the next egg Suryeon raises will turn out.
As a father, I became curious about the next outcome.
***
Tamagotchi Day 7.
Although Suryeon cracked another egg in between, she finally hatched a new egg.
"Dad, look at this. I hatched an egg."
Ta-da!
Suryeon held the Tamagotchi screen up to my face. Inside, a black furball was bouncing around wildly.
"Now I can feed it too. I plan to raise it to be a great creature befitting a dragon."
Puff-
Suryeon's shoulders were raised high, looking full of confidence. It's good to see my daughter confident, but somehow I felt a bit strange.
'This isn't what I wanted.'
I wanted to see Suryeon crying with tears dripping after failing to hatch the egg again. Unfortunately, Suryeon successfully hatched the egg.
"This isn't the Suryeon I wanted to see!"
"What are you saying, Dad? Be quiet. I need to raise Mold."
It seems she named it Mold. I retreated with slumped shoulders, feeling disappointed. Choryeon, holding Mangmung in her arms, comforted me while watching this.
"Father, cheer up! You have us!"
"Woof-! Woof-!"
"Suryeon will fail again anyway! Just wait quietly!"
"Woof-! Woof-!"
Those two get along well. Choryeon and Mangmung seemed to have become best friends. And perhaps overhearing Choryeon's words,
"...What did you just say, Lee Choryeon?"
Suryeon narrowed her eyes and pointed her index finger at Choryeon, chanting.
"Water Laser Beam."
"Waaah!"
Whoosh-!
Choryeon fell to the floor after getting hit in the face by the water stream from the finger. Mangmung was just licking the water off Choryeon's face beside her.
Seeing this, I thought to myself.
'Those two get along so well.'
It's good that the sisters have such a deep bond. I felt it was really fortunate.
***
Tamagotchi Day 12.
While Suryeon was quietly sitting in the corner pressing the Tamagotchi buttons,
"Raaah! I'm bored!"
Suddenly, Hwaryeon got up from her seat while watching TV and started shouting.
Jump-!
'...What is she planning to do this time?'
I started focusing intently on Hwaryeon. Whenever Hwaryeon shouts that she's bored, some incident always occurs.
"Hmph, I'm dying of boredom!"
Hwaryeon turned her head and started scanning her surroundings, eyes like a predator looking for prey in the safari. The first thing caught on Hwaryeon's radar was the Choryeon and Mangmung party.
"Hey, Lee Choryeon!"
"Yes, Hwaryeon?"
"That Mangmung! Give it to me!"
Swish-
Hwaryeon extended her hand, demanding Mangmung be handed over. At this, Mangmung naturally lowered his tail and started whimpering.
"Whine... Whine..."
"M-Mangmung is scared! Hwaryeon! Don't bully Mangmung!"
Choryeon hid Mangmung behind her body. Seeing this, Hwaryeon smiled with a 'got you' look in her eyes.
"Hmph, when did I bully him! Quickly hand him over! If you don't, I'll eat him!"
Roar-!
Hwaryeon threatened to eat him.
"Uh, uuh... W-What should I do...!"
Fidget, fidget-
Choryeon stomped her feet, expressing her anxiety. But no matter how much she thought, she couldn't find an answer.
Finally, Choryeon ran to me and asked for help.
"Father! Please help me! Hwaryeon is trying to eat our Mangmung!"
"Do you need Dad's strength, Choryeon?"
"Yes!"
"I guess I have no choice."
When my daughter says she needs Dad's strength, I can't not help.
I got up to normalize Hwaryeon and approached her as she was threatening Mangmung.
"Lee Hwaryeon."
"What, Dad!"
"Stop bothering Mangmung. Go play somewhere else. We haven't even found an owner for Mangmung yet. It's pitiful."
Maybe because where we live isn't very well-off, no suitable people to raise a pet have appeared.
Sometimes there were people who said they'd take him, but they were all trying to use Mangmung as food.
"Anyway, stop bothering Mangmung."
"Hmph, Choryeon just relies on Dad! That's not dragon-like! It's totally lame!"
Bleh-
Hwaryeon stuck out her tongue at Choryeon and let go of Mangmung. Freed from the pressure, Mangmung immediately ran towards Choryeon.
"Woof woof-!!"
"Mangmung!"
It looked like a reunion of separated families.
'It seems the house has become more lively with Mangmung around.'
Although he sometimes poops in strange places, he seems basically smart.
I felt like I was getting quite attached to him.
'...I should find a new owner before I get more attached.'
The house is too small to live with Mangmung. Thinking this, I took my eyes off Mangmung and turned my head to look at where the troublemaker Hwaryeon was. She was picking a fight with Suryeon for no reason.
"Hey, is that a cocoon?"
"It's a Tamagotchi."
"Right! Give that to me! I'm bored and want to play with it!"
Swish-
Hwaryeon held out her hand, demanding the Tamagotchi be handed over.
Suryeon stared at that small hand for a moment, then lost interest and turned her gaze back to the screen.
"I'm raising Mold #3. I can't give it to you, Hwaryeon."
Maybe because she cut her off so bluntly, Hwaryeon's face turned red as she shouted.
"I'll just take a look! Give it to me! I'm curious what it is!"
"No. This is my Tamagotchi. I'm raising it."
"Hmph, how can that be! I'm your older sister! Hand it over!"
Snatch-!
Hwaryeon reached out to snatch the Tamagotchi. However, Suryeon quickly hid the Tamagotchi in her arms.
"..."
"..."
Their gazes crossed. The two glared at each other, continuing their battle of nerves. It seemed like a fight would break out immediately if one of them made up their mind.
"These kids fighting over a game! I guess Dad has to step in to normalize the situation!"
You have to stop a fight before it starts. I stepped between the two, stopping their battle of nerves.
Then, I grabbed the troublemaker Hwaryeon and scolded her sternly.
"Hey, Lee Hwaryeon!"
"What, Dad!"
"How can you try to take your younger sister's game! What are you doing as the older sister!"
"Hmph, I was just trying to take a look! I really wasn't going to take it! I was just... just bored...!!"
Sniffle-
Hwaryeon's emotions seemed to have risen a bit, her eyes welling up with tears.
'...I can't scold her more if she's like this.'
My heart is getting soft for no reason, but at least I know Hwaryeon didn't have bad intentions.
I decided not to scold Hwaryeon properly.
"Next time, don't say 'hand it over!' Ask to borrow it. Or ask to play together."
"...Okay."
Shrink-
Hwaryeon's shoulders drooped completely. I turned my head and scolded Suryeon, who had a smile on her lips.
"Lee Suryeon, you too!"
"...Why me?"
"Next time Hwaryeon asks to play together, do it. That game wasn't bought just for you to play alone."
"...But it's my Mold."
Suryeon made a face like she didn't like it. Still, the game device should be used by everyone together. These self-centered dragon kids need to learn how to share things too.
Even if they're dragons with strong possessive instincts, to adapt to the human world, they had to learn human ways.
***
Tamagotchi Day 15.
Today, Hwaryeon and Suryeon were sitting together in the corner, looking at the Tamagotchi screen. Hwaryeon pointed at the screen and said.
"You need to feed it now! Quickly feed it!"
To this, Suryeon reacted with disgust.
"...It hasn't been long since it ate, Hwaryeon. It needs to eat a little later."
"Then, can I press the poop cleaning button!?"
"Go ahead."
Although Hwaryeon and Suryeon were bickering, they were enjoying the Tamagotchi together, talking to each other.
As expected, seeing the family playing games together looked better than playing alone.
Seeing them look like a family naturally brought a smile to my face.