Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 95

A black luxury sedan, adorned with a three-pointed star, cruised down the road. It paused briefly as the light turned red, and Ae-Kyung, seated in the driver’s seat, glanced at Do-Jun in the rearview mirror.

She sighed, recalling her father’s words. “Come visit anytime. And... it’d be wonderful to have Byeol as my granddaughter.”

Do-Jun’s daughter was returning from her school trip today. Though Do-Jun said she didn’t need to, Ae-Kyung insisted that she drive him to the academy after lunch.

“My father seems to have taken a real liking to Byeol,” Ae-Kyung remarked.

“Yes, I think so too. I’ll be sure to bring her by occasionally. If you are free, you’re always welcome to visit us, Hunter Ae-Kyung. I’m sure Byeol would love that.”

Unconsciously, Ae-Kyung clenched the steering wheel, only loosening her hold when the leather cover sank under her grip. She knew Do-Jun felt no special emotion for her, yet after spending four days together, she couldn’t help feeling a pang of disappointment.

“It might have been better if I’d never met you,” Ae-Kyung muttered with a slight, bitter smile across her face.

***

Returning home, Yoon-Hee felt a wave of curiosity.

The house was spotlessly clean, and there were no dirty dishes in the sink. The refrigerator was also fully stocked. To top it off, items for young children were neatly arranged in a corner of the apartment.

“What is this...?” she muttered.

Just then, something white sticking out from under the sofa caught her eye. Reaching out to pull it, she found a small, white silk pair of underwear with a tiny red ribbon. She froze, staring at it.

There was no doubt it was a woman’s underwear—and it definitely wasn’t hers.

There was no way it belonged to Do-Jun.

With vacant eyes, Yoon-Hee approached Do-Jun, who was about to open the bedroom door, and held up the underwear.

“Father, what is this...?”

Do-Jun took the underwear from her, looked it over, and finally recalled how it got there. On her first night over, Ae-Kyung had taken it off in her sleep. He had searched for it everywhere in the apartment to return it to her but couldn’t find it at the time.

“Ah, that’s where it was. I’ll return it to her when she visits next,” Do-Jun said with a straight face.

He then carefully folded the underwear and placed it inside a small gift box, then opened a drawer under the TV and stowed it away in the corner.

A flood of thoughts raced through Yoon-Hee’s mind, and she suddenly understood why the house had been so clean.

—Oh my...

—Wow...

Yong-Yong and Karsiel exchanged glances as they exclaimed telepathically, then discreetly slipped into the bedroom. They didn’t want to get caught in the crossfire.

***

Yong-Yong jumped up, turned on the light, and said, “Let’s hide here for a while.”

“Yes, that seems wise, Lord Izaas.”

“Anyway, there really is no place like ho...” He trailed off, rubbing his eyes with his paw, wondering if he was hallucinating.

There was a child sound asleep on the bed. Awakened by the light, she sat up, eyes sparkling with curiosity as they spotted Yong-Yong and Karsiel, then crawled toward them.

“Puppies!” she said.

“Lord Izaas, this child... is no ordinary child...”

Yong-Yong nodded.

Outwardly, the child looked about three or four years old, but the mana she emitted was enormous—almost dragon-like in scale. Her mana also carried a sense of kinship.

“This one... must have come from the Core,” Yong-Yong commented.

“Yeah! Byeol moved!” she said with a giggle. With a broad smile, she reached out and grabbed Yong-Yong’s cheeks. “Fun!”

Yong-Yong closed his eyes, thinking that life was about to get even rougher.

***

Do-Jun explained the situation to Yoon-Hee. He recounted how he had run into Ae-Kyung on his way home from work, invited her over, and then traveled with her to the Core, ultimately bringing Byeol home.

Byeol lived with them for four days, seeing Ae-Kyung as her mother and Do-Jun as her father. He omitted the detail about sharing the bed.

“Hmm... is that so? That must’ve been nice for you,” Yoon-Hee murmured, staring into space as she stirred her tea.

Ae-Kyung was more popular than most celebrities. Her strength, beauty, and figure were flawless, so much so that she was described as a divine masterpiece. Though her personality was famously cold, that only seemed to captivate men more.

It was hard for Yoon-Hee to believe such a woman spent four days living with Do-Jun.

“She was a big help. She took care of the house while you were away,” Do-Jun recalled.

“So all she did was housework...?” Yoon-Hee asked with an accusing look.

“And she looked after Byeol, too.”

At that moment, Yoon-Hee’s eyes met Byeol’s. Byeol stared at her, gathering her thoughts, and finally spoke after some internal calculations. “Mommy.”

Yoon-Hee’s face flushed with surprise while Do-Jun chuckled quietly. “It seems like she’s decided you’re her mom.”

“Out of nowhere? Just like that?” Yoon-Hee asked, flustered.

Watching from the side, Yong-Yong snickered while Karsiel addressed Byeol. “Byeol, you already have a mother, don’t you?”

“Nope.”

“Huh?”

“The twee said so.”

“The tree?”

“Mm.”

Byeol remembered the words of the Tree of Wisdom, which had told her that any woman close to her father was her mother. So Byeol had seen Ae-Kyung as her mother when she met her and Do-Jun in the Core. Now, living with Do-Jun and Yoon-Hee, she considered Yoon-Hee her mother as well.

“Anyone close to Daddy is Mommy,” Byeol stated firmly.

At those words, Yong-Yong folded his toes one by one. “Then how many Mommies do we have? Let’s see, one, two...”

***

After dinner, Karsiel transformed into her human form and joined Yoon-Hee in washing the dishes. Meanwhile, Do-Jun was catching up on some backlogged work in the bedroom.

Though he couldn’t use the city hall’s network from home, he managed all the Fissure data through Excel, so the only thing he couldn’t do was submit official documents; otherwise, he didn’t find it too inconvenient.

Yong-Yong was pawing at a picture book that Ae-Kyung had bought. He covered the word “butterfly” under a large illustration of one and asked, “What’s this?”

Byeol recalled the names she had learned while wandering around the Core.

“Weyga,” she answered.

Reyga was a venomous insect found on the first floor of the Core, resembling Earth’s butterflies.

Yong-Yong lifted his paw and muttered, “Reyga...? No, the answer is ‘butterfly.’”

“Okay.”

“Haha. Maybe it’ll also take you three months to get to my level.”

“Really?”

“Of course.”

“You’re amazing, Yong-Yong. You’re the best.”

Slightly embarrassed, Yong-Yong scratched his head with his paw. Honestly, no one else in the house ever praised him like this. Sure, Karsiel respected him, but that was only because of his strength, not because she admired his knowledge.

This rookie, however, was different.

“You... you’re such a good kid!”

“Yeah,” Byeol replied, remembering what Do-Jun had told her—to give Yong-Yong lots of praise.

She was faithfully following that advice.

“Alright, I’m in a good mood. Come with me,” Yong-Yong said and bounded toward the front door.

Byeol watched him go, then toddled over to Yoon-Hee, who was washing dishes in the kitchen.

“Mommy,” she called to Yoon-Hee.

“Hmm?”

“I go out with Yong-Yong.”

“Just the two of you?” Yoon-Hee asked with a bit of concern in her voice.

Though Yong-Yong often roamed around on his own, Byeol was still just a small child who hadn’t even learned to talk properly yet. Letting the two of them go out alone seemed risky.

“Yeah.”

“But... what if you get kidnapped...?”

There were cases of children being abducted for ransom, and she worried that something like that might happen to Byeol.

Sensing Yoon-Hee’s concern, Karsiel reassured her, “Byeol’s is as powerful as a mid-level dragon, so it’s unlikely anything will happen.”

“Okay then. Yong-Yong, make sure to be careful, alright?”

“Yeah, we’re just going to the grocery store.”

With that, Yong-Yong jumped up to open the door, and he and Byeol left the house.

***

Yong-Yong jumped up to press the elevator button, and the elevator descended from the eleventh floor.

“Come on.”

Byeol followed Yong-Yong into the elevator. He pressed the button for the ground floor, and the elevator started descending. Once they stepped out, the security lights outside illuminated the dark evening streets.

After about a minute’s walk, they arrived at a small store with a sign that read, “Changshin Mart.” A woman in her seventies ran the store by herself. Yong-Yong was one of her regulars at the store.

“Hello, Yong-Yong,” the woman greeted the mini-dragon.

Yong-Yong pulled two ten-thousand-won bills out of the wallet hanging around his neck and held them in his mouth. He then hopped up onto the counter and set down the crumpled bills.

“This is for my tab, Grammy!”

“Ah, you got an allowance, didn’t you? Hoho.”

“Yes! I earned it by cleaning.”

“Such a good boy.”

Yong-Yong hopped down from the counter and looked over at Byeol. he said, “Pick something. It’s my treat.”

“What’s a tweat?” Byeol asked with curious eyes.

“It means I’ll buy you something to eat.”

“But I already ate food.”

Byeol tilted her head as if she couldn’t grasp this new concept. She wasn’t hungry after Yoon-Hee fed her vegetable porridge and didn’t understand why she would eat again so soon.

“I ate too. Well, since you don’t know what to get, I’ll pick something out for you,” Yong-Yong said and looked around the store.

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Byeol’s teeth were stronger than those of other children, but Yong-Yong decided to be careful just in case. Nothing too intense right away, and nothing too filling either. The perfect post-meal snack, he thought, should lightly satisfy that lingering hint of hunger after dinner.

“This is the one.”

Yong-Yong opened the freezer door, slipped inside, and grabbed a chocolate ice cream with his mouth. He then closed the freezer door and placed the ice cream on the counter.

“Grammy, how much do I have left after the tab?”

“You’ve got seven thousand left.”

“How much is the ice cream?”

“This one is eight hundred.”

“Throw the rest into my account, please. Let’s go, Byeol.”

Leaving the store, Yong-Yong unwrapped the ice cream, held the stick with both front paws, and split it in half. However, the split wasn’t quite even. He thought for a moment, then grunted and took the smaller half for himself, handing the larger piece to Byeol.

“Let’s head home.”

Yong-Yong popped his half of the ice cream into his mouth, sucking on it as he got on the elevator.

“Why aren’t you eating it?” Yong-Yong asked, seeing Byeol just holding the stick in her hand.

“I’m gonna.”

Once Yong-Yong and Byeol returned home, Byeol immediately ran to Yoon-Hee and held out the ice cream.

“Mommy, cut this into four, pwease.”

“Hm? Where’d you get this?” Yoon-Hee asked.

“Store.”

“Ah, right. Yong-Yong did say you guys were going to the store.”

Yoon-Hee cut the ice cream into four pieces on a plate as Byeol requested.

“One for Mommy and one for Sie,” Byeol said before taking the plate.

“Are you sure you want Mommy to eat it?” Yoon-Hee asked, slightly surprised.

“Yeah.”

“Thank you, Byeol.”

Byeol took the plate and dashed into the bedroom.

***

“Daddy, eat,” Byeol said to Do-Jun, who was still working away at his desk.

Do-Jun looked at the plate with two pieces of ice cream, then to Byeol’s expectant face.

“Only one, though,” Byeol added.

Do-Jun chuckled and replied, “Alright.”