Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 103

Yong-Yong was sprawled on the sofa watching the TV.

⌜The midday temperature in Seoul today is expected to reach 27°C, similar to temperatures in mid-June or July. However, since it’s not humid, you should feel fairly comfortable...⌟

“Nice weather,” he muttered.

Today marked the four-month anniversary since he started living in this apartment.

At first, he found it hard to adjust and felt uncomfortable living among humans. However, after being introduced to TV, he picked up some daily habits and customs, and once he tasted dishes like braised short ribs and chicken, he felt completely content and decided to stay at Do-Jun’s apartment.

Initially, when he had been held “hostage” by Do-Jun, he decided to call him “Master,” all while looking for chances to escape. Yet, now, he had completely abandoned that idea.

“But I still can’t figure it out.”

Yong-Yong recalled his first encounter with Do-Jun. At first, he thought Do-Jun was just another reckless human intruding into the nest of the Dragon Lord. However, he felt a shiver run through him when Do-Jun blocked his dragon breath without breaking a sweat. Then, he was left in utter shock when Do-Jun fired his mana gun, obliterating the mountain behind the nest.

“How can a human be that strong?” Muttering to himself, Yong-Yong chomped on a Pepero stick he had bought from the supermarket down the street.

Karsiel and Byeol were out for a walk around the neighborhood, so there was no risk of them snatching these from him.

Nothing beat a little secret Pepero while watching TV.

⌜And now for the next story. Recently...⌟

Suddenly, with a crackling sound, the TV screen went black, and a heavy static noise replaced the audio. The screen hadn’t turned off; it still displayed the channel number in white letters.

Scratching his head, Yong-Yong examined the TV, looking it over from all angles.

“How am I supposed to live without my TV...?”

Just then, a memory flashed through his mind. He recalled the time before Byeol came when he and Karsiel were eating kimbap at a street food vendor near the house. The old TV at the vendor had shown the exact same problem, but the owner had come out and given it a few hard knocks, and it went back to normal.

Thinking of giving it a try, Yong-Yong climbed onto the TV stand. Recalling where the owner had hit the TV, he raised his paw to that spot.

The other TV looked slightly different, but a TV was a TV.

He intended to hit it with just a tiny, really tiny amount of force. But just then, he felt a sudden tickling sensation near his nose.

“A-choo!”

With a loud smash, half of the TV shattered and flew across the room.

***

Cheol-Soo gazed over Seoul from the City Hall rooftop after talking to someone on the phone.

“All I ask for is one quiet day...” he muttered to himself with a sigh as he walked back into the office.

Seeing Cheol-Soo’s troubled figure, Hyuk-Soo turned his chair toward his desk and asked, “Something wrong, Chief?”

Cheol-Soo was leaning back in his chair, staring blankly ahead. Something was definitely wrong.

“Young-Min got into trouble at school again,” Cheol-Soo said, deflated.

“Didn’t he get in trouble last month too?” Hyuk-Soo asked him.

“Yep. And the month before that.”

Young-Min was Cheol-Soo’s ten-year-old son. At least once a month, he’d receive a call from his teacher.

Today, too, the teacher had called, and he’d gone up to the roof for some privacy while taking the call. Apparently, this time, Young-Min had broken three windows at school while playing tag with his friends.

“Having a troublemaker at home is truly exhausting,” Cheol-Soo said.

Listening to this conversation while typing on his keyboard, Do-Jun thought about how glad he was that he had no troublemakers at home.

***

“Holy shit.”

Yong-Yong stared blankly at the half-shattered TV. The floor of the living room was littered with broken pieces and parts.

“R-recovery!” As Yong-Yong shouted a spell, a glow enveloped the TV for a moment, but nothing happened.

He tried various magic spells using Dragon Speech, but the broken TV stubbornly refused to return to its original state.

Yong-Yong’s legs shook as he nervously bit his claws. A cold sweat trickled down his back, and he came to a single, dreadful conclusion.

“I’m dead.”

No matter how he looked at it, there was no other outcome.

***

When Karsiel and Byeol returned home from their walk, Karsiel froze in place as she entered the living room.

For some unknown reason, the TV was in pieces.

“S-Sie, the TV is bwoken,” Byeol stammered.

“Yes, it seems so...”

Then, Karsiel noticed Yong-Yong crouched on the balcony. She walked over and opened the balcony door. A one-liter milk carton sat in front of Yong-Yong.

“Lord Izaas...?” she called out cautiously.

Yong-Yong’s shoulders jolted as he nervously turned his head. Then, he let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, it’s you.”

“Yes, but I... uh... noticed that the TV is broken...”

She looked down at the one-liter milk carton in front of him. A foul, sour smell, like spoiled cheese, wafted up from it.

“L-lord Izaas, this milk is expired.”

The milk was a week past its expiration date. To make matters worse, it was lukewarm, and when shaken, the contents clumped and sloshed around.

“Yong-Yong can’t dwink this,” Byeol said, holding her nose.

“He’s not going to... right, Lord Izaas?”

Yong-Yong gulped as the overwhelming stench made his nose tingle. The smell was terrible, and he really didn’t want to drink it, but he had to.

“If I get sick, maybe I won’t get in too big of trouble,” he muttered.

Karsiel finally understood what was going on.

“Lord Izaas, could you watch over Byeol for a moment?”

Before Yong-Yong could say anything, Karsiel vanished along with the shattered TV.

***

As Karsiel walked further into a space filled with machine parts, a man in a crisp white lab coat came into view.

She walked over to him and called out, “Hakase.”

The man named Hakase turned around. He was over two meters tall with a striking appearance. Upon recognizing Karsiel, he opened his eyes wide and, with a big smile, ran through the piles of machine parts to embrace her tightly.

“Karsiel! It’s been so long!”

With a flash, he lifted Karsiel into the air, swinging her around like an airplane. He treated her like a child, making Karsiel blush and frown.

“W-what are you doing? Put me down!” she complained.

“Hahaha! Has it really been two thousand years since a good ol’ airplane ride?” Hakase said, laughing heartily.

To Hakase, “airplane ride” meant lifting and swinging her around. He had always found Karsiel, even in her polymorphed form, absolutely adorable, though she found his airplane rides embarrassingly unbearable.

“Anyway, what brings you here?” Hakase asked.

“I need a favor.”

“A favor?”

Karsiel nodded and snapped her fingers. Suddenly, the broken TV appeared on the floor, split in half.

Hakase seemed somewhat intrigued by the TV she had brought.

“A TV, huh,” he said, recognizing the item from Earth.

“You know this thing?” Karsiel asked, surprised that he knew what it was.

“Of course. If it’s a machine, I know it. This is used on Earth, right?”

“Yes, you really do know your stuff. So, can you fix this for me?”

Hakase chuckled and replied, “Well, you are asking, so how can I not? But you’ll have to tell me what’s going on. Why do you have something from Earth? And why does it need my fixing?”

“Just put me down first!” Karsiel grumbled.

“Alright, alright.” Hakase laughed, setting Karsiel back on the ground.

“I’ll get straight to the point. If this isn’t fixed in two hours, Lord Izaas will die.”

Hakase scratched his head, looking confused.

Izaas—the lord of all dragons—was a being that embodied both terror and reverence. Why in the world would he die over a mere TV?

“Do you mind elaborating? Did you really meet Lord Izaas?” Hakase asked her.

“We’re living together now,” Karsiel answered casually.

“What!? Where?”

“At unit 301, Changshin Villa.”

“And where is that...?”

“In Korea, on Earth... It’s our new nest.”

“You’re sharing a nest? With Lord Izaas, no less?”

“Yes.”

“My goodness.”

Hakase, the fifth dragon, tried hard to process these incomprehensible revelations, pressing his temples as if to calm a headache.

“Alright, let’s say what you’re telling me is true. You and Lord Izaas left your nests and decided to live on Earth, out of all planets, specifically at unit 301, Changshin Villa. Honestly, just that alone would knock any other dragon flat in shock, but...”

After pondering briefly, Hakase asked, “And what do you mean that if I don’t fix this TV in two hours, Lord Izaas will die?”

This was the Dragon Lord Izaas. Not a lord of any creature, but of dragons—creatures that reigned supreme over all others.

Who could kill such a being?

“This TV doesn’t belong to Lord Izaas or me. It’s our master’s,” Karsiel explained.

“M-master?”

“And he’s coming home from work in two hours.”

“W-wait a minute. What are you talking about? Master? Are you saying you’re serving someone other than Lord Izaas? That’s unacceptable, even if it’s you, Karsiel.”

Hakase growled lowly, but Karsiel let out a sigh and said, “Lord Izaas also calls him Master.”

“Now, what kind of...”

What kind of nonsense was this?

***

“Goodbye... dear old nest.”

Yong-Yong placed a sheet of paper on the table. With a sad expression, he looked at Byeol, who was fast asleep on the sofa, and walked to the entrance.

Jumping up, he opened the front door.

Coincidently, Karsiel materialized in the apartment at that precise moment.

“Lord Izaas. Where are you going?” she asked, bewildered.

“Sorry... I gotta do what I can to survive... huh?”

Yong-Yong’s eyes widened. There, on the living room floor, was the TV, fully repaired.

He dropped his bundle and rushed over to the TV to examine it. It was indeed the same TV that had been broken in half.

“H-how?”

“I asked Hakase to fix it. He was happy to do it.”

A tear welled up in Yong-Yong’s eye. “Sniff... The truth is, I wanted to stay in this home a bit longer. Thanks, Karsiel! I’ll have to thank Hakase later, too.”

“Hakase asked that you visit the nest sometime.”

“Of course, that’s the least I could do.”

***

Do-Jun walked home with a pack of frozen braised ribs he’d bought from the supermarket. Since Yoon-Hee had an exam today, it was his turn to prepare dinner, and not being much of a cook, he opted for a frozen meal that only required heating.

I’m a bit late.

He’d left work an hour later than usual, and it was already pitch dark outside. He hoped that the rest had already started eating.

He unlocked the front door and entered.

Unlike usual, no one came to greet him, but he soon understood why when he saw all three of them asleep on the sofa, with the TV still running.

⌜Welcome to Gourmet Patrol! Today, we’re visiting a famous blood sausage stew restaurant in Noryangjin...⌟

To avoid disturbing the sleeping children, Do-Jun picked up the remote and turned off the TV. They must have dozed off while watching it.

He set the frozen braised ribs on the dining table, where he noticed a piece of paper. He picked it up. It looked like a letter written in pencil with clumsy handwriting.

Helo

This is Yong-Yong

Im sorry for braking the TB

Thank u for all the good times

Please dont look for me

Do-Jun alternated between looking at the paper and Yong-Yong, fast asleep on the sofa. novelbuddy.cσ๓

“I guess maybe he ran away... no, went out for a bit,” he muttered to himself and began preparing dinner.