My Dad is Too Strong
Chapter 135

Chapter 135

The TV was tuned to a shopping channel promoting various merchandise.

⌜The ceramic-coated exterior makes cleanup after cooking incredibly easy. Plus, there's no need for cooking oil, making various cooking methods—like frying eggs—especially convenient.⌟

A set of branded cookware, including pots, pans, and other kitchen tools, was being promoted. Yoon-Hee rested her chin on one hand, watching the advertised products intently. Her current cookware was a bit old, and the idea of buying a new set sounded appealing.

⌜This entire set can be yours for just 550,000 won.⌟

The problem was the price. It was a premium brand, so it wasn’t surprising how expensive it was, but that amount was overwhelming for her. Technically, she had the money, but her current cookware, while slightly worn, was still usable, which made her hesitant to spend that much.

She still couldn’t stop thinking of it.

“I want it...” she muttered softly.

***

The next day, Byeol found herself in a dilemma.

Last night, Yoon-Hee had casually mentioned wanting the cookware set she saw on the shopping channel. It had been stuck in Byeol’s mind ever since, but the problem was the price.

She opened her chick-patterned coin purse and spilled its contents onto the table.

“Yong-Yong, look.” She held up a hundred-won coin for Yong-Yong to see, explaining, “This is one hundred. I have seven of them.”

“Yep,” Yong-Yong replied.

Next, she held up a five-hundred-won coin—a massive treasure worth five good deeds.

“And these? Two of them.”

“Got it.”

“So, how much do I have?”

“You have seventeen hundred won.”

Hearing Yong-Yong’s answer, Byeol’s face fell. Although she wasn’t great at math, she could tell that 1,700 wasn’t even close to 550,000. She carefully put her coins back into her purse, zipped it shut, and sighed.

***

Yong-Yong and Byeol were out for a walk in the neighborhood, but Byeol wasn’t exactly in a great mood. That’s when she spotted a poster taped to the wall outside the Bangbae 3-dong Community Center.

Byeol walked up to the poster and slowly read the words aloud, “Take pictures of our neighborhood and win amazing pwizes...!”

The prize list was shown alongside some photos.

Her eyes widened when she saw the second-place prize—it was the exact cookware set that Yoon-Hee wanted.

Yong-Yong approached and read the poster over her shoulder, “T-this is...!”

The consolation prize was a kilogram of braised short ribs.

***

Getting a camera wasn’t difficult, since smartphones came with built-in cameras. Although neither Byeol nor Yong-Yong had a smartphone, they decided to use the SpacePad instead.

Yong-Yong explained how the camera function was used. “Watch this. Tap here, and you can take a photo.”

He opened the camera app on the SpacePad and snapped a photo of Do-Jun reading the newspaper.

“Easy, right?”

Byeol marveled at the image displayed on the screen and replied, “Okie.”

Sensing the commotion, Do-Jun looked up from his newspaper and watched the two children fiddling with the SpacePad. Hearing words like “second place,” “cookware,” and “short ribs,” he quickly realized what they were up to as he recalled a poster he had seen on the bulletin board outside the Community Center.

It was a local photo contest hosted by the Resident Autonomy Committee. It couldn’t be anything else, considering that the prize list for the contest included a cookware set for second place and short ribs for the consolation prize.

***

Choi Chil-Hyun, a first-year administrative civil servant, was on duty at the Bangbae 3-dong Community Center. His role was primarily clerical, managing general office tasks and coordinating with the Resident Autonomy Committee and the neighborhood leaders’ group.

The photo contest, “Please capture our neighborhood!” had been suggested at a Resident Autonomy Committee meeting two weeks ago. It aimed to promote the neighborhood’s development, funded by activity subsidies and self-raised funds. The grand prize—a high-end refrigerator worth over two million won—drew a lot of interest.

“Chil-Hyun, someone’s here to submit an entry!” called out one of the front desk staff members, responsible for assisting visitors.

“Thank you.”

The administrative clerks provided the appropriate forms for the visitors.

Choi Chil-Hyun walked over, only to see a little girl who looked no older than three or four.

“Wait, sorry, who’s submitting the entry?” he asked the front desk staff member who called out to him.

“That adorable little lady over there,” the staff member said, pointing to the little girl.

“Sorry?” Rubbing his eyes, Choi Chil-Hyun looked around. No adult was in sight, just the girl and a small dog.

“Hello, little lady, are you here to submit an entry?”

“Yup.”

“Where are your parents?”

“Daddy went to work. Mommy went to school.”

Was it okay for such a young child to wander around alone? Choi Chil-Hyun scratched his head, wondering if she might be a lost child.

Then, he heard another voice. “Mister.”

“Huh?”

Where was it coming from?

“Hurry up and give us the entry form, please.”

Looking down, he realized that it was the dog speaking.

“Man, I even skipped breakfast for this,” the dog muttered in a slightly annoyed tone for some reason.

“Y-you can talk?!” Choi Chil-Hyun asked in shock as he handed over the entry form to Byeol.

The form required basic personal details and a photo submission. Byeol stared blankly at the spaces for name, address, and date of birth.

“Yong-Yong... help me...”

“Can’t even fill out a form? Give it here.”

A few moments later, Yong-Yong returned the completed form to Choi Chil-Hyun. “Here you go.”

“Alright, we’ll be back with our pictures.” With that, Yong-Yong and Byeol walked out through the automatic sliding doors.

Chil-Hyun glanced at the entry form Yong-Yong had submitted.

“Eight thousand years old...?”

He sighed deeply.

***

As Yong-Yong and Byeol walked down the street, a picture was taken every three seconds, only briefly pausing to review their work. Only one photo would be submitted to the contest, so the plan was to take as many as possible and choose the best one later.

Deciding to take a quick snack break, Yong-Yong bought ice cream for Byeol, which she licked happily with a bright smile.

“Byeol, who do you like more, Mommy or Daddy?” Yong-Yong asked.

“I like both!”

“You have to pick just one.”

Byeol froze as if her brain had shut down. She stopped eating her ice cream and thought deeply.

“Daddy,” she finally said.

It was Do-Jun who brought her to Earth. Without him, she wouldn’t have met Yoon-Hee, Yong-Yong, or Karsiel. She wouldn’t have even tasted something as wonderful as taiyaki.

A man nearly two meters tall, with strikingly good looks and wearing a white coat in the middle of summer, caught their attention. As he walked by, heads turned to follow him.

“Hakase.”

Hearing Yong-Yong call, Hakase turned around. In each hand, he held a large plastic bag filled with red bean paste and flour—ingredients for making taiyaki. Every morning, he bought just enough for the day’s sales.

With a click, Yong-Yong captured a photo of Hakase turning to look back.

“Lord Izaas? What are you doing?”

“You look great. Don’t worry about it,” Yong-Yong answered.

“What is that in your hands?” Hakase asked, pointing at the SpacePad.

“Oh, this? It’s braised short rib.”

“Excuse me?”

Hakase tilted his head, not understanding Yong-Yong's cryptic response.

***

The following week, Choi Chil-Hyun reviewed the photos submitted for the contest. Although the contest was limited to residents of Bangbae 3-dong, a few photos stood out for their exceptional quality. Perhaps there were professional photographers among the residents.

He was genuinely impressed by the level of skill on display.

“Wow, this one’s amazing too.”

The photo captured Bangbae Station’s main intersection, bustling with office workers sporting their employee ID badges—likely during lunch hour. However, the focus was on one individual: a striking, foreign-looking young man holding grocery bags in both hands, seemingly just back from the store.

The image contrasted the distinctively Korean street with the foreigner, who seemed perfectly integrated into the Korean urban setting.

“This one was the honorable mention, I see.”

The winners were chosen through a vote by the local community council, the neighborhood chief, and staff.

“Hold on... Ah, that’s a shame.”

Only residents registered in Bangbae 3-dong were eligible for prizes, but the little girl and her dog, who had entered the contest with this picture, hadn’t filled in their personal information properly, nor was there a contact number.

“Nothing I can do—they’re disqualified,” Choi Chil-Hyun said.

But he paused when he moved to the next photo.

“This one’s the second place, huh?”

It was a photo competing for the grand prize against works by professional photographers. Looking at it, Choi Chil-Hyun let out a small laugh.

“That’s pretty funny.”

***

Yoon-Hee was ecstatic.

The cookware set she had seen advertised on the shopping channel a week ago was sitting on the kitchen counter. Even better, the cookware came as a prize for second place in the “Please capture our neighborhood!” photo contest hosted by the Bangbae 3-dong Community Center.

In other words, it was free.

“Seriously, you two are so... so...” Words failed Yoon-Hee as she hugged Yong-Yong and Byeol tightly.

It wasn’t just about winning the cookware. What touched her most was how much effort they had put in for her.

“M-Mommy, I can’t bweathe...”

“Argh! Let go!”

Just then, Do-Jun came home.

Karsiel hurried out to greet him. “Welcome home, Master.”

“Thanks.”

“What’s in your hand...?”

Do-Jun was holding a box of braised short ribs. The aroma hit Yong-Yong, who wriggled out of Yoon-Hee’s arms and dashed toward him.

“Oooooohhhh myyyyy gooooood!”

Yong-Yong wagged his tail excitedly and grinned from ear to ear.

“Huff, huff. Welcome home, Master!”

***

The following day, photos from the “Please capture our neighborhood!” contest were displayed on the Bangbae 3-dong Community Center bulletin board. In addition to the first, second, and honorable mention awards, many other submissions were featured.

As usual, Hakase had gone out to buy taiyaki ingredients for the day’s business. He paused when he saw a crowd around the bulletin board and pushed through to take a look.

“Ugh. That’s me.”

The photo featured him holding black plastic bags in both hands, looking back at someone.

The source of the photo was, of course, Yong-Yong.

“Looks like he didn’t win,” Hakase murmured, recalling Yong-Yong’s cryptic mention of braised short ribs.

Then, his eyes landed on the second-place entry, which made him laugh involuntarily.

The photo showed Yong-Yong holding the SpacePad and taking pictures while Byeol stood next to him.

“When did he even take this?”

The name of the photographer was Lee Do-Jun.