Daddy is too Strong-Chapter 309

Deep in the slopes of Umyeonsan Mountain, two men appeared by a lake that exuded a refreshing, crisp atmosphere.

“You are such an arrogant lizard. How dare you challenge my pro-level fishing skills?” Kiriel taunted, pulling out his fishing rod.

Hakase narrowed his eyes, twitching in anticipation. “Oh, so you really wanna do this, huh?”

Their eyes locked in a fiery stare, brimming with competitive spirit.

“You’re on, dumbass,” Kiriel said.

“Who are you calling dumbass, idiot?”

With a huff, they turned and stomped off in opposite directions.

***

It was a fierce competition.

Ripples spread across the lake as the two fishing lines hit the water. Now, all that was left was to wait patiently for a bite, an essential skill for any professional angler.

Determined to crush that insolent lizard’s pride, Kiriel clenched his jaw. After all, the winner would be decided by who caught the most fish.

But no bites came. Kiriel scratched his head, considering whether to move to a different spot, but then shook his head. Instead, he decided to kill time by pulling out a comic book. About thirty minutes later, the fishing rod twitched slightly. A bite, finally.

Kiriel quickly set down his comic and grabbed the rod. It was impossibly heavy. It felt as if he had hooked a boulder.

“Huh? What the...?”

Suddenly, the rod began to pull forward, dragging Kiriel toward the lake.

“Whoa—whoaaa!”

Panicked, he held on with all his strength, but the rod wouldn’t budge. In the end, it was Kiriel who was yanked into the lake with a loud splash.

***

Maybe fishing wasn’t his calling. Despite three hours of waiting, Hakase hadn’t caught a single fish. Although the lake was teeming with fish, none of them seemed interested in his bait. In the end, he had no choice but to pack up and head back empty-handed.

Arriving at the spot where Kiriel had been fishing, Hakase found no sign of him. Only a folding chair and a bucket of bait remained.

“Where’d he go?” Hakase looked around in confusion. “Hmm... He was definitely here.”

Just as he was starting to worry, bubbles surfaced on the lake. Then, with a splash, an elderly man with long white hair and a beard emerged from the water. It was the mountain spirit of Umyeonsan, an old sage who lived in seclusion deep inside the mountain. He looked at Hakase before diving back into the lake.

A second later, he resurfaced—not alone, but with two familiar-looking men.

“Is the polite and well-mannered Kiriel the one you dropped? Or was it the diligent and kind Kiriel you dropped?” he asked Hakase.

Both were undeniably Kiriel, yet something about them felt different than the original Kiriel. Their faces had gentle, benevolent smiles, completely unlike the Kiriel Hakase knew.

Hakase blinked in disbelief.

***

“And that’s what happened.”

Listening to Hakase’s story, Do-Jun took a sip of his cola. The two men sat on a bench outside Changshin Supermarket, each holding a can of cola that Kiriel had bought for them.

“Here you go, kids. One for each of you,” the new Kiriel said, handing out snacks to the neighborhood kids with a bright, refreshing smile.

“Wow! Thank you, Mr. Taiyaki!”

“Hahaha! No problem, no problem.”

The sight felt incredibly awkward to Hakase. Normally, Kiriel wouldn’t mind buying snacks for the children, but he would grumble and complain about how the kids were acting innocent while taking advantage of him.

“Oh! Sir, let me do that for you,” Kiriel said.

“Huh?” The security guard looked confused when Kiriel offered to sweep on his behalf.

“You must be tired from working so early in the morning. I’ll take care of the sweeping, so please, go take a break. Hahaha!”

Kiriel began sweeping the ground with what seemed like genuine joy.

Goosebumps rose all over Hakase’s skin.

***

As the sun set, the food stall buzzed with customers looking to unwind with a drink. Known as one of the best spots in the area, it attracted everyone from young couples to middle-aged office workers. Tables were often packed, and once someone visited, they would usually return with friends. Those friends, in turn, would bring more friends, creating a growing circle of regulars.

“The owner here is fantastic, you know? He’s kinda blunt, but somehow it doesn’t feel rude.”

“Yeah, and he’s so generous with the food. They have this warm, homey vibe that other places don’t have.”

“Yeah, exactly!”

With lighthearted chatter, people approached the food stall, their steps full of anticipation.

“Welcome! Is it a party of three?” Kiriel greeted the customers.

“Huh...? Y-yes,” the customer answered with a confused look.

“Please have a seat here. I’ll bring you the menu shortly.”

“Uh... okay. Thank you...?”

Perplexed by the unusually polite greeting, the customers exchanged uncertain glances.

“Here’s the menu. Feel free to order whenever you’re ready.” Kiriel bowed slightly.

It felt... odd. He wasn’t supposed to act like this. Judging by the puzzled looks on the other customers’ faces, they could tell that something was off. Even Hakase, the stall owner himself, looked visibly uncomfortable.

“Hakase, we’re out of soju. I’ll run to the store and get some,” Kiriel called out.

“Ah... uh, sure, go ahead.”

“I’ll be right back.” With that, Kiriel stepped out of the stall.

No sooner had he left than the customers leaned toward Hakase.

“Hey, boss, what’s going on? The other bossman is acting a bit... weird.”

“He... uh... went fishing and hit his head. Luckily, it didn’t hurt him too much, but, well... as you can see, he’s been a bit off ever since.”

“Oh no...”

Sympathetic sighs echoed through the food stall.

***

A few days passed, and sales at the food stall began to drop. Hakase was starting to worry. It wasn’t just a sales problem, either. Something about the whole neighborhood felt off, as if the lively atmosphere was slowly sinking.

“Come on, kids! Here, have a taiyaki each,” Kiriel offered happily.

“Uh, no thanks, Mister. We should get going.”

“Why not? It’s free, come on, take them!”

“M-maybe next time!”

The children quickly scurried away from the stall. Even Byeol, who normally couldn’t resist free food, hesitated with a sense of unease. She put down the chicken feet she had been eating and climbed off her chair, leaving her plate half-finished.

“You’re not eating much today, Byeol,” Kiriel commented. “Oh, right! Should I read you a storybook? I bought a new one at the bookstore yesterday. I think you’ll like it.”

“N-no, thank you.” Byeol backed away and dashed out of the food stall.

“Ah, wait...”

Kiriel’s hand, which had been reaching toward the child, fell limply to his side. With a crestfallen expression, he began clearing away Byeol’s unfinished plate of chicken feet.

Do-Jun, watching from the sidelines, lightly tapped his fingers on the table. After observing the situation, he seemed to make up his mind.

Enough is enough.

Rising from his seat, he approached Kiriel.

***

Do-Jun set the unconscious Kiriel on the ground, looking at the lake deep within Umyeonsan Mountain, the dwelling place of the Mountain Spirit. As if sensing his presence, ripples appeared on the lake’s surface. The water parted, and the Mountain Spirit emerged, walking across the surface until he stood before Do-Jun, bowing slightly.

“How have you been?” Do-Jun greeted the spirit.

“Thanks to you, I’ve been well.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Well, I’m here today because of this guy.”

The Mountain Spirit’s gaze fell upon Kiriel, lying unconscious on the ground. This was the same man who occasionally came by to fish at the lake and had fallen into the lake just a few days ago.

“Ah, you must mean the polite, well-mannered, diligent, and kind Kiriel?” the Mountain Spirit asked.

“Yes. I need him back in his original state.”

This was a first. The Mountain Spirit tilted his head slightly in surprise. Reversing changes wasn’t difficult, but why would anyone want to undo such a positive transformation? Still, the Mountain Spirit offered no objections.

“Understood. If that’s the case, please place him into the lake.”

Nodding, Do-Jun hoisted Kiriel and threw him into the center of the lake with a splash.

***

The next day, at 4 PM, the neighborhood children gathered outside the supermarket, as usual. Today was the day for their game of Kick the Can[1]. They waited, chatting excitedly until all the players had arrived.

“Hey, look! It’s Mr. Taiyaki,” one child said.

“Yeah, but he’s been acting weird lately.”

“Yeah... I don’t really like it.”

“Me neither... What if he comes over and talks to us?”

The children exchanged uneasy glances. At first, they liked how Kiriel treated them to snacks and acted friendly. But lately, his overly grown-up demeanor felt strange and unfamiliar. He was too much like an actual adult, which was borderline unsettling.

But this time, Kiriel didn’t approach them. Instead, he entered the supermarket, bought a can of cola, and drank it right there.

The children blinked in surprise and looked at one another. Something felt different, completely different from the past few days. Could it be that he’d gone back to his old self?

One kid decided to test the waters. “Hey, mister! Why are you drinking that all by yourself? Buy us some, too!”

“What?”

“Yeah! We’re thirsty!”

“You think I’m your piggy bank or something? Buy it with your own allowance!” Kiriel snapped.

Instantly, the kids’ faces lit up with delight. That familiar tone—this was definitely the Kiriel they knew!

“Mister! Mister!”

“What now?”

“Wanna play Kick the Can with us? If you lose, you have to buy us snacks!”

Kiriel scoffed and glanced at the empty cola can in his hand. Perfect timing. He strode into the open lot, placed the can in the center of the playing field, and smirked.

“I’ll make sure you brats never even think about challenging me again.”

***

As the sun dipped toward the horizon and dinnertime approached, Byeol returned home. Her small hands clutched two plastic bags filled to the brim with snacks.

“Mommy! Look at this! Sooo many snacks!”

“Oh my, where did you get all that money?” Yoon-Hee asked, surprised.

“Kirieh bought them! We beat him at Kick the Can!”

Just then, children’s voices rang out from beyond the balcony. Curious, Yoon-Hee stepped outside and looked down toward the supermarket.

A group of children surrounded Kiriel, chattering excitedly.

“Mister! Can we really pick this much?”

“He said yes! Come on, guys! Grab as much as you can!”

“Pfft.” Yoon-Hee couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. “He had been acting a bit strange lately, but I guess he’s back to normal now.”

“Yeah.” Do-Jun smiled as he picked up the newspaper.

That day, after losing at Kick the Can, Kiriel ended up buying 10,000 won worth of snacks for each of the ten children—spending a total of 100,000 won. However, the food stall’s sales had tripled compared to usual. Feeling generous, Hakase rewarded Kiriel with a 300,000 won bonus, leaving Kiriel with a net profit of 200,000 won for the day.

1. Kick the Can is a variation and combination of tag, hide and seek, and capture the flag. ☜