Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 111

Do-Jun was near the Gangnam station in front of a towering forty-story, five-star hotel that seemed to reach the sky.

A set of revolving doors opened into a lobby with a modern interior design. The front desk was managed by impeccably dressed female staff, who greeted guests with polite bows and warm smiles.

Do-Jun recalled Ae-Kyung’s earlier words as he followed her to the elevator.

“It’s been a while. Would you like to have dinner together or something...?” freёnovelkiss.com

Do-Jun had always wondered why Ae-Kyung stayed at a hotel instead of an actual residence.

This building, previously called the “Seoho Building,” was acquired by the SG Group, remodeled, and reopened as a hotel. As the granddaughter of SG Group’s chairman, it made sense why Ae-Kyung wouldn’t bother finding a separate residence and instead stayed here long-term.

Ae-Kyung pressed the button for the thirtieth floor. However, when Do-Jun glanced at the elevator directory, he noticed that the thirtieth floor wasn’t a restaurant or a floor with rooms.

While Do-Jun pondered where they were headed, the elevator arrived at the thirtieth floor, and as the doors opened, another reception area came into view. Two female staff members at the desk stood up and bowed to Ae-Kyung, who acknowledged their greeting with a slight nod.

Walking down the long, carpeted hallway, they arrived at a securely locked, towering door over three meters tall. Ae-Kyung placed her thumb on the fingerprint scanner, and the door opened slowly, revealing a luxurious living room straight out of a drama.

I see. The entire floor is Ae-Kyung’s private suite. Not only is she an S-rank Hunter, but a conglomerate’s granddaughter... Do-Jun couldn’t help but be impressed by her status.

In societal terms, she was living a life of ultimate success, someone few would dare cross.

As he wondered if dinner would be served by room service, brought up by staff, Ae-Kyung opened the refrigerator and placed various ingredients on the kitchen counter. Then, she gathered her kitchenware: a cutting board, knife, and scissors.

Watching her, Do-Jun couldn’t help but remark, “Are you cooking?”

Ae-Kyung looked slightly flustered by his reaction and asked, “I-is that a problem?”

“Not at all. I just assumed we’d either eat at the hotel restaurant or order room service.”

“I remember you saying you enjoyed home-cooked meals...”

She remembered his meal preferences from her time staying at his home. Usually, she relied on room service, but tonight, for his sake, she wanted to cook a meal herself.

“Must be nice,” Do-Jun said.

“What?”

“Whoever marries you. They’re going to be very lucky.”

Ae-Kyung smiled as she tied her apron. It was just a simple compliment, but it made her feel unexpectedly happy.

It was a strange, interesting feeling.

***

The next evening, Yoon-Hee washed dishes as usual.

Byeol ran to her and tugged on her apron. “I go to store with Yong-Yong!”

She held a small coin purse filled with one-hundred-won coins in her left hand. She had recently earned a generous allowance for being a good kid.

Yoon-Hee smiled and patted Byeol’s head. “Alright, go on.”

“Ok! Do you want anything to eat, Mommy?”

“No, I’m fine.”

“Then I will pick something good for you!”

Moved by the sweet gesture, Yoon-Hee pulled Byeol into a big hug, rubbing her cheek against Byeol’s. The soft, chubby feel of her skin was delightful.

“Who told you to be this cute, Byeol? You’re staying with me forever, okay?”

“M-mommy, I can’t bweath...”

Yoon-Hee chuckled and let her go.

Just then, Do-Jun came out of the bathroom after showering. Byeol ran to him. Drying his hair with a towel, Do-Jun smiled and knelt down to meet her gaze.

“Are you going to the store, Byeol?” he asked.

“Mhm! What snack do you want, Daddy?”

Although he wasn’t one for snacks, Do-Jun didn’t want to hurt her feelings by saying he didn’t need anything, so he asked her to get him a single candy.

***

A new arcade game had been recently installed at the corner store that Yong-Yong and Byeol frequented. It was technically a gambling machine and was a huge hit among the neighborhood kids.

A few children were gathered around the machine, playing.

[Rock, Paper, Scissors!]

Images of rock, paper, and scissors rotated on the screen, and a boy pressed the fist button, landing on Rock. The lights on the machine’s display, labeled with numbers 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 20, started blinking, eventually stopping on 5.

[You win!]

Clink, clink, clink!

Five one-hundred-won coins spilled out from the machine’s bottom slot.

“Woah! You won so much money!”

“Young-Hoon, give me just one!”

“Me too, me too!”

The boy, Young-Hoon, wiped his nose proudly as he looked at his friends lined up in front of him.

Meanwhile, Yong-Yong was munching on an ice cream as he walked out of the store. He squeezed through the group and stood in front of the arcade machine.

“Is this fun?” he asked the children.

“Hey, Yong-Yong! You should give it a try! You can turn one hundred won into two thousand won!”

Hearing this, Yong-Yong looked at the store owner’s grandmother watching TV inside. Scratching his head, he let out a sigh.

“Grandma has to make a living, too. I’ll pass.”

***

[Rock, Paper, Scissors!]

[You lose :(]

After spending a large sum of three thousand won, he hadn’t won even once.

Yong-Yong was stunned, unable to accept reality.

“Wow...”

“Poor Yong-Yong...”

The kids looked at him with pity.

It just took ten minutes for ten percent of his allowance to disappear. It was utterly unbelievable.

“Yong-Yong, you suck at this,” Byeol said, pouring a bucket of salt on his wounded heart. “I will give it a try.”

***

A loud crash was heard, alerting Hakase that someone had clumsily broken into his nest and was wiggling its way through the machine parts near the entrance.

Had some clueless monster from the Core dared to invade a dragon’s nest?

Hakase decided to give the intruder a good thrashing and gathered his magical power.

Soon, the “intruder” emerged from between the machine parts. When Hakase recognized the intruder’s identity, he quickly reined in his magic, taken aback. Then, he knelt on one knee in a show of respect.

As he bowed, the number “5” engraved on his collarbone became visible.

“T-the fifth dragon humbly pays respect to the lord,” he said.

“Let’s skip the formalities. I have a favor to ask,” Yong-Yong said.

“Speak, my lord.”

“Make me another one of this game machine.”

A hologram appeared in the air, showing a rock-paper-scissors arcade game that Yong-Yong had been playing earlier.

The video showed Yong-Yong playing the game, with the screen repeatedly flashing “You lose.” Whenever Yong-Yong threw scissors, the arcade machine responded with rock; if he played rock, the machine countered with paper.

The losing streak was so severe that it almost seemed like a rigged game. The odds of losing thirty rock-paper-scissors games in a row were nearly zero, practically a miracle in itself.

Hakase stroked his chin as he examined the hologram carefully, his expression slowly growing grim as he watched till the end.

He thought, My goodness. Thirty consecutive losses...

Giving himself a mental shake, Hakase said, “I can build a similar machine, my lord, but...what do you need it for?”

“I’ll use it to practice and repay this humiliation. How dare it make a fool of me!” Yong-Yong said.

“P-practice...?” Hakase stammered.

The rock-paper-scissors game that Yong-Yong had shown wasn’t something where practice could improve one’s win rate. Since each move—rock, paper, or scissors—was a random, independent event with a one-third chance, it was purely a matter of luck, not skill.

Even then, if the lord demanded it, he had no choice but to comply.

“I’ll make it for you right away.”

***

Lately, Yong-Yong was almost nowhere to be seen. He went out constantly and only stayed home during meal times.

While reading the newspaper, Do-Jun thought of Yong-Yong’s odd behavior. Worried that something might have happened, he asked Karsiel, but every time, she parroted the same reply: Lord Izaas is currently training.

Do-Jun wasn’t sure what kind of training Yong-Yong was undergoing, but every time the dragon returned, he mumbled things like “Scissors, scissors, rock...” and the shadows under his eyes grew more pronounced.

Since Yong-Yong was busy, Do-Jun decided to take Byeol to the store himself.

“Byeol. How about we go to the store together?”

Byeol loved going to the store and snacking almost as much as Yong-Yong. She hadn’t had any treats from the store for the past few days. At Do-Jun’s suggestion, she immediately stopped her doodling, threw the crayons in her hand, and jumped up.

She pulled out her cherished coin purse from the drawer and dashed to Do-Jun.

The purse bulged with coins, visibly stuffed to the brim. It looked like it had over five thousand won, which seemed a bit excessive for a child, even considering the fact that she hadn’t been to the store in a few days.

Do-Jun soon understood the reason.

***

Upon arriving at the store, they found a group of kids huddled around an arcade machine.

[Rock, paper, scissors!]

[You win!]

“Yay!”

Clink, clink, clink!

A heap of coins poured out of the machine, and Do-Jun finally understood why Byeol’s coin pouch was so full. After observing for a while, though, he realized it wasn’t a guaranteed win, and the kids often lost as well.

“Yong-Yong lost three thousand,” Byeol told him.

“He lost?”

“Yeah. But I won a lot.”

Do-Jun chuckled, recalling Yong-Yong’s weird murmuring of “rock, paper, scissors” and Karsiel’s talk of “training.”

“Gwemma, this pwease,” Byeol said, placing her chosen snacks and chocolates on the counter for the store owner to ring up.

The elderly shopkeeper was in the middle of a phone call, and from the conversation, it sounded like the rock-paper-scissors machine was getting removed the next day. It turned out that the local residents had complained that it encouraged gambling.

“If I’d known it was illegal, I wouldn’t have set it up in the first place...” the old lady said with a sigh.

An acquaintance had offered her the machine for cheap, and she’d taken it without much thought, but that had been a mistake.

“So, is that machine going away after today?” Do-Jun asked her.

“Yes. The local moms are furious. I’ll let the kids play with it a bit longer, but then I’ll have to get rid of it...”

“I see.”

***

The next day, Yong-Yong returned home, having completed his long “training.” He set out immediately with a bundle on his back, filled with one hundred won coins.

After tens of thousands of rounds on the machine Hakase had made, he had discovered that the arcade machine followed a specific pattern. By figuring out that pattern, he’d managed to raise his win rate to sixty-six percent.

Today, he intended to reclaim his honor and pay back all the shame and humiliation he’d suffered.

“I’ll only take half of my winnings,” he promised to no one in particular.

He felt sorry for the old lady if he took too much.

“Huh? Where did the machine go?”

Yong-Yong set down his bundle, glancing around the store in disbelief. No matter where he looked, the rock-paper-scissors machine was nowhere to be found.

“Granny!” Yong-Yong cried as he entered the store.

“Someone stole the machine!”