Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 285

Today’s lunch was instant ramen.

Do-Jun opened the cupboard and looked at the noodle packets, considering how many to cook. Byeol’s appetite was much larger than that of other kids her age, and she could easily devour two packs by herself. So, even though it seemed like too much for one grown man and a child, Do-Jun pulled out three packs and placed them on the dining table.

“Wamen!” Byeol exclaimed happily. She toddled over with a cheerful grin, delighted by the prospect of her dad cooking ramen.

When she was hungry, the ramen her dad made always tasted like the best thing in the world. Byeol stood nearby, curiously watching her dad cook. Everyone had their own way of making ramen, and Do-Jun started by adding the seasoning packet to the water. Once it boiled, the spicy aroma of ramen began to fill the air. Then, he added the noodles and let them cook for about three minutes.

“All right, it’s ready. Eat up.” Do-Jun served Byeol two portions.

She immediately began devouring the ramen, her cheeks puffed out with noodles.

“Yum! It’s so tasty.”

* * *

The next day.

Kiriel walked out of his room, yawning loudly. The food stall was closed for the day, so he had allowed himself to sleep in. By the time he woke up, it was almost lunchtime. He opened the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and took a quick sip while sneaking glances at Hakase in the living room.

“Hey! Kiriel!” Hakase called him.

“Pfft!” Startled, Kiriel nearly choked on the water. He hastily pulled the bottle away from his mouth and hid it behind his back.

Turning to Hakase, he stammered, “I-I waterfalled it, I swear—”

Ignoring Kiriel’s stammering, Hakase said, “The King of Earth gifted us a painting. Should we hang it here?”

“A... painting?”

Thankfully, it seemed Hakase hadn’t noticed him drinking straight from the bottle. Kiriel sighed in relief and went over to Hakase, who was holding an ink wash painting and scanning the walls for a place to hang it.

“Hang it wherever you want. I don’t care.”

“Oh, and...”

Before Hakase could finish his sentence, Kiriel had already wandered back to the refrigerator. Hakase was about to explain the precautions about the painting, but Kiriel seemed altogether uninterested in it. Deciding it probably wouldn’t be an issue, Hakase carefully hung the painting in the center of the wall where it was most visible.

Then, someone knocked on the front door.

“Hello. Anyone home?!”

Hearing the voice, Hakase turned toward the door with a smile.

As soon as he looked away from the painting, a sudden breeze swept through the living room, knocking it off the wall. The painting fluttered through the air and slipped into the small room through a crack in the door.

***

Kiriel was quite loaded.

Even without the 50,000 won daily wage he received from Hakase, his side income from his comic book café brought in a tidy sum, leaving his bank account comfortably padded. But since he wasn’t particularly greedy for money, he often used it to buy cute clothes or toys for Byeol. He even bought a complete collection of children’s storybooks in anticipation of her visits.

“Do you like that book, Byeol?” he asked eagerly.

“Yeah!”

“Heh, there are lots more storybooks where that came from.”

While the three of them were having fun, their stomachs all growled in unison.

Kiriel scratched his head and went to the refrigerator. When he opened it, he saw the shelves were nearly empty, with only some kimchi and eggs inside. He closed the fridge and rummaged through the cupboard instead, discovering five packs of ramen.

“Just ramen, huh...?”

Even though his stomach growled in hunger, Kiriel didn’t feel like eating ramen today. After all, when it was just him and Hakase at home, ramen was their go-to meal so often that they had grown tired of it. Hakase, sprawled out on the living room floor, clicked his tongue in agreement.

Suddenly, he sat up and said, “How about this? Rock-paper-scissors, and the loser goes out to buy side dishes.”

Kiriel narrowed his eyes. “You dare to challenge me?”

“Rock, paper—”

Just as the two were about to settle it, Byeol, who had been watching them quietly, approached.

“Do you guys want me to make you wamen?” she asked with a smile, her eyes sparkling with determination. She had that look in her eyes when she really wanted something.

“I can cook wamen weally well!”

Byeol had never cooked ramen before. However, she had watched her dad carefully the day before and had always wanted to try making it. Now that there were ramen packs in the cupboard, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Kiriel and Hakase exchanged a quick glance. They both knew that saying “no” would mean watching Byeol sulk for the rest of the day.

“Sounds good!” they both said in unison.

What’s another ramen meal?

***

Byeol stood in the kitchen looking very focused.

Since she wasn’t tall enough, she climbed onto a chair and grabbed the five packs of ramen. She carefully poured the correct amount of water into a large pot and added the seasoning packets.

“Did you see that?” she asked Hakase proudly.

He was keeping a close eye to make sure she didn’t get hurt.

“Hm?”

“Did you see me add the seasoning?”

Hakase chuckled and nodded.

The water bubbled to a boil. Byeol tossed in all five packs of noodles, then crouched on the chair to stare intently at the Pororong watch on her wrist.

At that moment, a loud “Whoa!” came from the small room. It was Kiriel’s voice, but Hakase chose to ignore the idiot.

The time was 12:00 PM.

***

Kiriel blinked and looked around the rugged mountain range. There was no sign of life anywhere, indicating he was the only one on this mountain. Wondering how in the world he had ended up here, Kiriel tried to recall what had happened.

He had opened the door to the small room, but as soon as he stepped inside, it was as if the ground vanished beneath him, pulling him downward. When he regained awareness, he found himself in this place.

“That sneaky lizard!” he cursed.

It was obvious. That sneaky reptile must have set up some kind of trap in the small room, probably as payback for drinking straight from the water bottle or recommending that awful Dark of Darkness comic. Whatever the reason, Kiriel resolved to go back and smack the arrogant lizard across the back of his head.

“But... huh.”

How was he supposed to get back?

***

Day 1.

Unable to teleport because he couldn’t determine his exact location, Kiriel decided to fly high into the sky to survey his surroundings. However, all he could see were endless mountain valleys stretching as far as the eye could see. Concluding that moving forward was his best option, Kiriel leaped ahead, covering thousands of kilometers in one bound.

Day 2.

Something was off. No matter how far he traveled, the scenery remained unchanged. He had wandered enough to circle the Earth twice, yet the view never changed.

Realizing that this wasn’t Earth, Kiriel’s face grew pale. “That bastard, isn’t this a bit too far?”

Day 3.

If only he had the Book of Transfer, he could’ve returned home instantly. Unfortunately, he didn’t have it with him. Kiriel gave up wandering completely. Though his stomach growled with hunger, there was nothing edible to be found, so he simply flopped onto the ground.

And so, ten days passed.

***

It was now 12:01 PM.

Bothered by the strange sound that came from the small room earlier, Hakase decided to check it out. What worried him the most was that Kiriel’s presence had also disappeared.

He pushed the partially open door wide, and without a second thought, he stepped inside.

“Huh?” Suddenly, the ground appeared to give way beneath him, and he was pulled downward with a swoosh. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

***

“Ah!” Kiriel’s eyes widened as Hakase appeared before him.

For some reason, tears welled up in his eyes. Of course. The joke had gone on long enough—it was about time it ended. A moment ago, he had hated Hakase enough to want to kill him, but upon seeing his face, all that anger melted away like snow.

Yet, Hakase’s expression was unusually grave.

“Lizard! You came to get me out of here!” Kiriel exclaimed. “Heh. I may have momentarily hated you, but I’ll forgive you. Just don’t pull such boring pranks again, or you’ll die by my hand. Got it?”

Hakase just stayed silent.

“Lizard, say something...”

Hakase slowly closed his eyes. The scream he’d heard earlier, the vast mountain valleys before him, and Kiriel’s presence—everything clicked into place. He finally understood the situation.

“Hey, Kiriel...” he said, opening his eyes.

“Yeah?”

“How long have you been here?”

“I don’t know. But if I had to guess, about ten days.”

Ah. So this cold-hearted lizard had completely forgotten about him until now. Kiriel briefly wondered whether he should give him a good smack, but shook his head and instead muttered a quiet protest.

“Ten whole days. You know? This all stopped being funny a while ago. I’m sorry for drinking out of your water bottle and for recommending Dark of Darkness, okay? Let’s just leave now.”

Why was he apologizing for recommending Dark of Darkness? Hakase actually felt grateful for being introduced to such a masterpiece. Well, there was one unfortunate incident, but it was still worth it.

Anyway, back to their current situation.

“Actually...” Hakase began explaining the artifact responsible for their predicament: the Ink Wash Garden. It wasn’t just a painting; it was a portal to another dimension. Once inside, no one could leave for thirty days. Fortunately, if someone else entered, they would join the countdown of the person who entered before them.

“And according to the King, one minute outside equals ten days in here. If I’d known this would happen, I would’ve explained earlier.”

“So... we have to endure another twenty days here?” Kiriel asked in horror.

Both men’s expressions darkened. It was a world without food or water. Well, water could be conjured through magic, but food was out of the question.

And so, twenty more days passed.

***

The ramen was cooking perfectly in the boiling water. Byeol watched the minute hand of her Pororong clock tick toward the “3.” She had timed it exactly three minutes.

“It’s done!”

She wriggled her hips in excitement, turned off the heat, and took out a container of kimchi from the fridge. After placing it on the table, she set three bowls at each seat, along with chopsticks and spoons.

Just then, two loud thuds came from the small room.

“What was that noise?” She wondered aloud.

A moment later, Hakase and Kiriel emerged from the room. Their faces looked slightly haggard.

Byeol tilted her head quizzically as she looked at the two, then picked up the pot full of ramen and placed it on the table.

“The wamen’s weddy. Eat!”

The two men’s eyes widened.

“R-ramen!” With a swoosh, they darted to the table and sat down.

Byeol used her chopsticks to serve ramen into their bowls, making sure to include plenty of the spicy broth. Steam rose from the piping hot bowls.

As though possessed by hunger demons, the two devoured the ramen in an instant.

Byeol blinked as she watched them. “Is it that good?”

“Yes! It’s the best ramen I’ve ever had!” Kiriel exclaimed, laughing heartily.

“Sniff. I want to eat ramen every single day for the rest of my life,” Hakase added.

They finished the noodles in no time.

Not content to leave even a drop of broth behind, they added cold rice to the remaining soup and scraped their bowls clean.