Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 99

In the deep hours of the night, when everyone else was asleep and the entire house was dark, a light was still on in the living room.

Yoon-Hee sat at the dining table as soft light from a desk lamp filled the room. Textbooks issued by the Hunter Academy, including a Monster Compendium and Advanced Mana Techniques, were spread across the table.

“Release, one of the three mana manipulation methods, can be further categorized into three subcategories...”

Perhaps because of the night hour’s quietness, the ticking of the clock could be heard clearly.

Yoon-Hee took a sip from her coffee mug and refocused on her studies. Even though it was well past 2 AM, she didn’t take her eyes off the books.

Midterms were coming up next week, and her goal was to achieve high grades and earn a scholarship. That way, she could ease Do-Jun’s financial burden, even if just a little.

The coffee wasn’t helping much, and even though she had already downed three cups, her eyes kept closing against her will. Balancing schoolwork and housework, along with exams, seemed to have stretched her to her limit.

“Mana... trans... mu...”

Then, gently, her eyes closed as sleep took over.

***

Tweet, tweet.

Yoon-Hee slowly opened her eyes at the sound of a pair of sparrows chirping outside the window and the morning sunlight trickling in. She felt the warm comfort of the blanket wrapped around her.

“Huh...?”

She looked around in confusion. She vaguely remembered studying at the dining table, but when did she come to bed?

Yawning, Yoon-Hee checked the time—and her eyes went wide.

“Why... is the alarm snoozed...?” she cried in panic.

She threw off the blanket and hurriedly got up.

Yong-Yong, Karsiel, and Byeol were still sound asleep in the bed, so deeply they wouldn’t have noticed if they were carried away. Though, for some reason, Do-Jun was nowhere to be seen.

Yoon-Hee opened the door with a bang and dashed into the living room, where she saw Do-Jun in the kitchen bustling about.

She could hear the sizzling sound of sausages and fried eggs cooking in the pan.

Surprised, Yoon-Hee ran over to him, apologizing, “I-I overslept. I’m sorry.”

Do-Jun looked at the shadows under her eyes and her slightly messy hair.

He sighed and said, “It’s fine. Just go wash up first.”

“But...” Her eyes went to the frying pan he was holding.

“I said go wash up,” Do-Jun said in a firm tone.

Feeling guilty, Yoon-Hee nodded slightly. Do-Jun was doing her job.

“I’ll wash up quickly,” she said, heading to the bathroom.

Do-Jun plated the sausages and eggs, setting them on the dining table. Grateful for the early breakfasts that Yoon-Hee always prepared despite her exhaustion, Do-Jun wanted to help her out, at least during this exam period.

He went into the bedroom and saw Yong-Yong sleeping soundly with his belly up, so deep in peace he wouldn’t have known if a bomb dropped.

***

At 10 AM, Yong-Yong stretched and yawned as he woke up like any other day. This morning, though, he felt something on his forehead.

He reached up with his paw and brushed it away. A sticky note fluttered down. Yong-Yong lowered his head and read what was written.

1. Take out the trash.

2. Clean the floor and bathroom.

3. Eat breakfast and do the dishes.

3. I didn’t have time to prepare lunch, so be sure to find something to eat. (Don’t forget to feed Byeol!)

4. I left 100,000 won on the table. Use it for grocery shopping for dinner.

“What is this...?” Yong-Yong muttered as he reread the note carefully.

No matter how he looked at it, this was Do-Jun’s handwriting. Yong-Yong scratched his head as a cold sweat broke out on his back. Then he approached Karsiel, who was still sound asleep.

“K-Karsiel... help me...” he said, poking her awake.

This was an emergency.

***

“What this?” Byeol asked, tilting her head and looking at a plastic straw.

She stood in front of large trash bags separated by paper, plastic, vinyl, and Styrofoam. She was trying to figure out where the straw in her hand should go.

“Byeol, that goes into plastics,” Karsiel answered.

“Oh, okie.”

Standing on her tiptoes, Byeol dropped the straw into the bag for plastics. Karsiel smiled as she sorted the trash while Yong-Yong stuffed each sorted piece into the different bags.

“How come you know this stuff so well?” Byeol asked Karsiel.

“I always come here to take out the trash with Young Master.”

“You’re a diligent one.”

“Thank you, Lord Izaas.”

Growl.

As Byeol helped Yong-Yong with the trash, her stomach rumbled.

“I’m hungry... Wanna go home...”

That’s when Yong-Yong suddenly remembered one of the items on the sticky note.

“Don’t forget to feed Byeol.”

Clink! Clank! Tack!

Suddenly, Yong-Yong sped up his work.

“H-hold on just a couple more minutes! Please don’t tell Master you were hungry!”

***

Yoon-Hee received a text message from Do-Jun informing her that she didn’t need to buy any groceries for dinner that night. She tilted her head in confusion.

The fridge should be almost empty, so why was he asking her not to buy groceries?

As she pondered, her hand went limp, and the pen slipped from her fingers without her noticing.

Could it be...?

Yoon-Hee recalled Do-Jun’s unusually cold demeanor that morning. Usually, he would smile at breakfast, but this morning, he had a stern look as if deep in thought.

She stared at the message, her mind blank.

“Am... I fired...?”

She couldn’t help but think that it was a possibility. Even though she knew Do-Jun wasn’t the kind of person to do such a thing, his sudden change in attitude overnight left her feeling anxious.

I haven’t been keeping up with the housework lately because of the exams... Could it be because of that? she thought anxiously.

Busy with prepping for the exams, she remembered she had only mopped the floor half as often and had left the trash unemptied for days. Also, it had probably been about five days since she last cleaned the bathroom.

“What am I going to do...?”

Technically, the employer had all the right to get upset when the employee didn’t carry out the tasks that were agreed upon, and in this case, it was housework. Maybe she’d grown too comfortable and forgotten her responsibilities because Do-Jun had always been so kind.

Staring at his message again, Yoon-Hee worried over how to ask for forgiveness.

***

Meanwhile, at the local grocery store, Byeol was shopping in the meat corner.

“Gimme some duck meat, pwease.” She spoke up loudly to the butcher at the meat corner.

The butcher looked slightly startled as no parents were in sight.

“Uh, kid, where are your parents?” he asked.

“Mommy’s at school. Daddy’s at work.”

“So... you came here all by yourself?”

“With Yong-Yong and Ciel.”

“Yong-Yong and Ciel?”

“They over there, picking veggies.”

Byeol pointed to the vegetable section, where Yong-Yong and Karsiel were busy putting perilla leaves, lettuce, and chives into their basket. She had heard Yong-Yong mention that they needed duck, and since she wanted to help out, she had come to the meat section on her own.

“Hurry up, pwease,” Byeol urged the butcher.

“Haha, alright. Are you going to grill it or make a stew?”

Byeol suddenly froze, and her mind went blank.

“I-I dunno...”

***

4 PM.

Today, Do-Jun got off work earlier than usual and came home. Yoon-Hee usually arrived home just after five, so he planned to have dinner ready before then.

Tonight’s menu was stir-fried spicy duck. He had memorized the recipe from an online search, and the ingredients had been entrusted to Yong-Yong.

“Daddy!”

As soon as he opened the door and stepped into the living room, Byeol ran up to him, her voice on the verge of tears, and clung to him.

Gently patting her head, Do-Jun asked what had happened.

“Byeol make mistake,” she mumbled.

“Mistake?”

“I-I buy the wrong meat...”

“What do you mean?”

He had assigned the errand to Yong-Yong, so why was Byeol fretting about what meat she bought?

Do-Jun checked the bags on the table. Inside were green onions, onions, garlic, carrots, and last but not least, a pack of chopped fresh duck meat labeled “For stew.”

“My apologies, master... I failed to check properly,” Karsiel said and lowered her head in shame.

Do-Jun looked around the living room for Yong-Yong and spotted him quickly enough. There he was, in a plank position on his head with his paws behind his back, for some reason.

“What are you doing...?” Do-Jun asked him.

Where did he even learn this pose?

With a sigh, Do-Jun picked up the mini-dragon. “Why are you like this? You bought everything that was on the list.”

“R-really?”

Whether it was grilling meat or stewing meat, Do-Jun didn’t particularly mind. He would just have to remove the bones, but that wasn’t difficult.

“Thanks for doing such a good job with the cleaning, too. You did well,” Do-Jun complimented them.

Honestly, he hadn’t expected this much. With a small chuckle, Do-Jun rolled up his sleeves.

Now, it was time to cook.

***

Both of Yoon-Hee’s hands were full of ingredients for dinner side dishes. Even though Do-Jun had told her not to worry about shopping, she figured that helping out this way might undo some of the damage she thought she had done.

“Huh...?”

She noticed Do-Jun’s shoes at the entrance. He was already home. On top of that, a delicious smell was wafting through the house.

“Are you back?” Do-Jun’s voice came from the kitchen.

He was cooking. No, he was nearly finished and was now setting the food on the table. Karsiel was in her human form, helping to set the dishes on the table as Do-Jun handed them to her.

“What is all this...? Did you cook, Father?” Yoon-Hee asked uncertainly.

Do-Jun nodded and replied, “Yeah, and these guys took care of the groceries.”

He chuckled and patted Byeol on the head.

“Happy,” she chirped.

Just then, Yong-Yong tapped Yoon-Hee on the side. With a proud expression, he led her to the bathroom, showing her the perfectly organized supplies and spotless surfaces, free of any water stains. He then cleared his throat to get her attention.

“Did you clean the bathroom, Yong-Yong?”

“Yep. Go on, feel free to be even more joyous.”

Yoon-Hee stared blankly at Do-Jun and asked, “Father... you’re not angry...?”

“Angry? At what?” Do-Jun looked at her, confused.

Why on earth would he be angry?

“Well, it’s just that... this morning, you seemed... serious. And you told me not to buy groceries... I thought I was about to get fired...”

“Fired?” Do-Jun said, letting out a small laugh, finding it absurd. “Just focus on your exams. They’re coming up soon, right?”

At that moment, Yoon-Hee finally realized why she had woken up in bed that morning, why Do-Jun had made breakfast for her before she got up, and why the dragons and a child had taken care of the cleaning and shopping.

“Your face looks weird, Mommy.”

“Young Master, the corners of your mouth are raised.”

Yoon-Hee opened the camera on her phone to check her reflection. She looked unmistakably happy, a smile plastered on her face.

She felt like her emotions were written all over her face, and she blushed, a little embarrassed.

The sunset cast its warm light into the home at Changshin Villa, Unit 301, in Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul.

***

Meanwhile, at the entrance of the second floor of the Core, nine adventurers swallowed nervously.

“What should we do...?”