Chapter 1555 Nurturing (5)

Tilt.

Tilt?

Flinch.

Flinch?

Kang Jin-Ho blinked his eyes while staring at a tiny lifeform on the foyer of his family residence, because it was adorably imitating his movements for some reason.

Why? Why was there such a small and bizarre creature waltzing around in his home?

“Oppa! You’re home~!”

“Stop right there.”

Kang Jin-Ho ably stopped his little sister, Kang Eun-Yeong, trotting toward him, then pointed at the tiny lifeform with lots of fluffy fur while demanding an explanation.

“What is that?”

“Eh? Oh, you mean Dong-Dong?”

“...? Dong-Dong?”

“Yeah. This puppy.”

Kang Eun-Yeong reached down and carefully picked up the fidgety little puppy. A creature small enough to get picked up by her hand revealed its pink-hued belly and began panting cutely away.

“Dad brought it home,” said Kang Eun-Yeong while petting the puppy.

Kang Jin-Ho’s brows climbed higher. “Father did? Not you?”

“Yup.”

As if he had been waiting for that exact moment, the main bedroom’s door swung open, and Kang Yu-Hwan strutted outside with a proud smile etched on his face.

“Indeed, my son! I have brought that puppy home.”

“...?”

“A happy home should have at least one dog since time immemorial.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s facial muscles twitched ever so slightly. “W-why only now? And do we have to?”

“It’s not ‘do we have to’ but more like ‘it’s about damn time’, son.”

“I don’t understand?”

Kang Yu-Hwan tutted theatrically away. “I’ve dedicated my entire life to raising my kids, but now that you’re all grown up, you don’t even bother to stay at home.”

Kang Eun-Yeong immediately protested. “Dad?! But I am home all the time!”

“Wrong! Rather than staying at home, you’re staying at the couch! Even when I come home from work, you don’t even spare me a glance! Your smartphone matters more to you than me!”

“...I’m sorry.”

When Kang Eun-Yeong sheepishly clamped her mouth shut, Kang Yu-Hwan stared contemplatively at the puppy.

“It has been said since ancient times that the only family that will greet you at home when you get older is your dog. That’s why I brought one home.”

“...!” Kang Jin-Ho’s brows began twitching weirdly just then. “But why this dog, father?”

“What do you mean? Is there a problem with this puppy?”

“Rather than a problem... Mm...”

It wasn’t as if Kang Jin-Ho disliked dogs in general. In fact, he didn’t have any particular preferences when it came to the species of potential pets. His issue was more to do with how small and frail this creature was. This puppy simply didn’t meet his criteria.

“Father, dogs are meant to guard one’s home and family. Rather than a small creature like this, how about getting something much larger and dependable, like...”

Kang Yu-Hwan cocked an eyebrow. “What are you on about, son? Why would a puppy guard this house? That’s the job of the police.”

Kang Eun-Yeong helpfully chimed in. “And the door locks!”

“...”

Kang Yu-Hwan spoke confidently. “In any case! We’ve decided to raise this puppy as our new family member, so Jin-Ho, you should also familiarize yourself with what you must do.”

Kang Jin-Ho grimaced slightly. “Familiarize... with what I must do?”

Kang Eun-Yeong grinned bashfully. “You know, feeding the puppy, cleaning up its poop, and playing with it.”

Kang Jin-Ho’s grimace deepened.

Everyone... My dearly beloved family members...

Yes, I understand that it’s overly selfish for me to expect you to see my point of view when I haven’t said anything to you yet. Even so!

I’m the Assembly Master of the Korean Martial Assembly that rules over all South Korean martial artists, the leader of the Demon Cult that has been reborn in this country, and the chairman of the law-abiding mid-tier corporation called MK.

But now, you want me to dispose of literal dog sh*t, too...?

“Haa...” Kang Jin-Ho groaned softly. “Is everyone on board with this, father?”

Kang Yu-Hwan proudly nodded. “That goes without saying.”

That was when this happened.

“Hell no!”

The main bedroom door was shoved open again, and this time, the Kang family’s matriarch, Baek Hyeon-Jeong, emerged from the room with her eyes ablaze.

“I’m against it!”

She resolutely stomped her foot down!

“You always, always do this to me! You’re the one who causes all the mess, but you expect me to do all the clean-up! Every single time! All of you will yap on and on about how you’ll take responsibility for this and that, but I'll give it one month! One month! By then, I’ll be the one who's feeding and even bathing the dog!”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong’s serial killer-like glare locked on her husband, the volume of her voice getting louder and louder.

“I want you to return the dog right now! Right now!”

Kang Yu-Hwan groaned deeply. “You see now, son? This is why I feel the need to raise a puppy. My wife openly disrespects me, my kids don’t even acknowledge me...”

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression fell. “B-but we would never do that to you, father...?”

“Say what?” Kang Yu-Hwan suddenly glared at his son. “Have you heard the rumor of an unfilial son living in this neighborhood? One who pushed his one and only father into working in his factory like a slave?! Do you know who that is, so-o-on?!”

“...”

Uhm... Yes, father. I’ve also heard that rumor before. How unfortunate it is to know that someone so unfilial is living among us.

Kang Yu-Hwan’s brows arched higher when his son nervously fidgeted.

“Other dads with successful kids boast about how busy and fun their lives are with things like traveling abroad and stuff! But how come you...”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong couldn’t take it anymore and yelled loudly. “That’s enough nonsense from you!”

Kang Yu-Hwan hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.

“If you want to travel overseas, travel overseas! Why bring home a puppy and then complain about not traveling anywhere?!”

“N-no, hang on. Honey, I was simply...”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong glared sharply. “This is why! Why did you do something you can’t even handle without talking to us first?! And why did you have to get a white puppy, too?! Who’s going to deal with all the fur it’s going to shed?! And what will you do when it pees all over the place?!”

That was when Kang Eun-Yeong cautiously put the puppy down. The puppy, which now went by the unofficial name of Dong-Dong, waddled toward Baek Hyeon-Jeong before rubbing its cute little face against her ankles.

“W-what’s gotten into this puppy all of a sudden?” Baek Hyeon-Jeong panicked slightly and stared at the puppy rubbing against her.

The sensation of something small, fluffy-white, and warm tickling her feet was definitely unfamiliar, yet it... It...

“G-go away.”

Despite saying that, Baek Hyeon-Jeong found herself unable to push the puppy away. And the opinions of the others watching this scene were...

Yup, that thing’s one crafty little pup.

That has to be a fox cub, right?

The puppy must’ve instinctively figured out whom to ingratiate itself with!

Kang Eun-Yeong quickly provided reinforcement. “Mom, mom!”

“Yeah?”

“Have you petted Dong-Dong’s belly yet?”

“E-eh? I’m not interested.”

“Don’t say that, mom! Dong-Dong’s really cute, you know? Look!”

Kang Eun-Yeong smartly picked the puppy up before placing the animal in Baek Hyeon-Jeong’s embrace. The latter inadvertently accepted the creature, and her stern expression instantly melted down in warmth.

She just couldn’t scowl her face in anger with this warm, cuddly feeling coming from her arms.

She still tried to resist, though. “B-but, its fur will get everywhere...”

Kang Eun-Yeong grinned. “Don’t worry, mom! I’ll vacuum the house three times a day!”

“Fur will stick to clothes, too...”

“Eiii~, that won’t be a problem at all, mom! None of us here cares much about what we wear, anyway. Look at oppa, for instance. He always waltzes around in the same clothes every day, right? That means everything will be fine as long as I pay attention to myself.”

“But you never go outside, anyway!”

“Well... That’s true.”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong groaned softly. She didn’t hate the feeling of a warm creature wiggling softly in her arms. Actually, if she was being honest with herself, this sensation was more like...

She carefully hugged the puppy closer while shooting a side-eye at her husband. “In any case! You need to reflect on yourself!”

“...”

“How could you be so irresponsible and bring home a puppy! Who’s going to look after it now?!”

Kang Eun-Yeong raised her hand. “Mom, I will...”

“You stay out of this and go get some food for this puppy! Can’t you hear its stomach grumbling?”

“Yes, ma’am!”

When Kang Eun-Yeong rushed to the kitchen to soften the dog food with warm water, Baek Hyeon-Jeong shifted her murderous glare at her husband again.

“From now on, it’s your job to take the puppy out for walks, okay! And you bathe it, too! Do you understand?”

Kang Yu-Hwan stammered ungainly. “Y-yes, honey. I’m telling you, I will do it. Don’t forget that I’ve raised two kids already. A puppy is nothing compared to them.”

“Aigoo~? A man who wakes up before sunrise to open his cafe, and even spends most of his day in a coffee factory will have enough time to raise a puppy, too? Don’t make me laugh, honey.”

“I’ll do it at night after I come home, okay? I promise!”

“Hmph! In any case!” Baek Hyeon-Jeong glared at her husband in dissatisfaction, before shifting her gaze to the puppy, her expression instantly getting softer. “Who named this puppy Dong-Dong, anyway? That’s so dorky!”

Kang Yu-Hwan stammered again. “T-then, how about you name the puppy, honey?”

“Me? Then... How about Choco?”

Kang Yu-Hwan’s expression crumpled slightly. “Choco is a bit...”

“What are you saying? Do you think Choco is worse than Dong-Dong?”

“N-no, that’s not...”

Cold sweat began soaking Kang Yu-Hwan’s back just then.

Whether he liked it or not, the true boss of this family was undoubtedly Baek Hyeon-Jeong. And she’d also spend the most time with the puppy out of everyone in this family. In that case, it made sense for her to decide how the puppy would be raised.

But that also meant Kang Yu-Hwan had to grovel at her feet!

“Choco or Dong-Dong doesn’t matter right now,” said Baek Hyeon-Jeong. “You shouldn’t even do this if you are all going to stop caring for the puppy later.”

“Does that mean you’re okay with us raising the puppy?”

“What choice do we have! The puppy is here already, after all!”

Kang Yu-Hwan nodded while looking relieved. “Yes, that’s right. It’s not like we can ask for refunds, anyway.”

“What are you even talking about? Refunds?! You think a living creature is some kind of home appliance?!”

“...”

Kang Yu-Hwan quickly realized that he should keep his trap shut for the time being and fake-coughed. He then sneakily turned around while resting his hands behind his back.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong turned her attention to her son next. “Jin-Ho, you too!”

“Mother?”

“You will be in charge of taking the puppy out for walks!”

“I’m sorry? Me?” Kang Jin-Ho pointed to himself. Why was he being dragged into this all of a sudden? “M-mother, I didn’t even agree to keep the dog...”

“Oh? What’s the alternative, then?” Baek Hyeon-Jeong’s eyes burned fiercely. “Just because you didn’t agree, you think that gives you the right to stay out of your own family’s affairs?”

“No, mother! I’m not saying that at all.”

Kang Jin-Ho knew he must tread carefully here. One slip of his tongue, and everything he had done until now would get thrown in his face in an unstoppable barrage as actions of an unfilial son! To ensure his survival, he should kowtow on the floor and beg for mercy.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong looked at the puppy. “By the way, did this puppy get all the vaccination shots yet?”

Kang Yu-Hwan blinked his eyes. “Huh? Were we supposed to do that?”

She glared at her husband like a serial killer again. “And I’m supposed to trust you? When you’re like this?”

“H-how did we get there from this?”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong groaned deeply, then put the puppy down on the floor. “Honey, do you honestly think it’s easy to raise a living creature? If you brought this puppy home as some sort of toy to distract yourself, you need to return it right now.”

“Look, I’m telling you! That’s not it. I’m serious about this. I’ll take the, uh, Choco to the vet tomorrow. T-that’s right, Jin-Ho! You come with me, too.”

Kang Jin-Ho pointed to himself again. Me? Again? Why me? And father, why did you have to drag me into this?

Baek Hyeon-Jeong shot a probing glare at her son. “Jin-Ho, you go with your dad, okay?”

“...Understood.”

“Geez! Seriously, the men in this family can be so... Urgh!”

Baek Hyeon-Jeong got ready to spin on her heels and leave, only to kneel slightly and pet the puppy playing on the floor. She seemed ready to leave after a few seconds of petting... only to remain kneeling and petting the puppy some more!

Kang Jin-Ho’s expression cramped into a grimacing smile. She could’ve just admitted that she likes the dog, though.

The evidence was right in front of their eyes, after all.

Baek Hyeon-Jeong shouted in the kitchen’s direction. “Eun-Yeong! Where’s Choco’s food?”

“They haven’t softened enough yet!”

Kang Jin-Ho stared at his mother heading to the kitchen and his content-looking father looking at the puppy. Eventually, his gaze drifted toward the wiggling Dong-Dong/Choco on the floor as a groan left his lips.

Looks like my family just got bigger, then?

***

Kang Jin-Ho finished washing up and entered his room. He sat on the bed in the lotus position before entering a meditative state.

He reopened his eyes in the middle of early dawn. His expression grew a little gloomier as he looked through the window.

I... feel tired.

He had far too many things on his mind lately. Starting from the relationship with the Three Kings and other countries, to the overall harmony and the continued improvement of the Assembly’s combat forces...

Things he needed to do were increasing in number and scope, while the severity of the dangers was ballooning gradually, too.

He knew it was his duty to handle them all. Still, he couldn’t help but feel the fatigue creeping into his heart sometimes. This workload was bad enough for a powerful expert like him to get tired, so most ordinary people in his shoes would’ve keeled over from stress and ended up hospitalized by now.

He sometimes had to ask himself a question. Why was he doing all this?

Whether it was him or the Assembly, they were all getting stronger. However, was there an “end” to this path of getting stronger?

Just as his thoughts drifted to that point...

“...? Mm?”

His sharp hearing caught a strange noise coming from outside his door. Was that... a whimper?

Indeed, the noise sounded like a quiet whimpering, a constant moaning of some kind.

Kang Jin-Ho got up and left his room. The noise was coming from somewhere in the living room. He traced the origin of that noise and headed to the couch, only to spot the puppy curled up on the floor, whimpering weakly away.

Hmm? I don’t think it’s sick, though...?

In that case, the reason for the puppy’s whimpering had to be one of the two. Either it was cold or it must’ve been lonely. Things might have been better had the puppy stayed in its crate, but it still crawled outside to whimper away. Was it too dumb to realize that? Or maybe...

Kang Jin-Ho carefully picked up the puppy. The small creature cracked its eyes open a sliver, then while making a still sleepy face, began licking Kang Jin-Ho’s hand.

Without saying anything, Kang Jin-Ho returned to his room and put the puppy down on the bed before lying down next to it.

Hmm... It’s Dong-Dong, right? No, wait. Is it Choco now?

Whatever its current name was, the puppy still pressed itself tightly against Kang Jin-Ho’s side and curled up into a ball. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

“...”

The puppy was so small that he got worried about inadvertently crushing it with his body during his sleep. He continued to stare at the small creature before resting his head on his pillow, a subtle grin etched on his face.

Right. I forgot.

The start was simple enough: he wanted to protect everyone.

However, after living an eventful life, it seemed his original resolution had gotten a little more diluted than before.

I must never forget.

He must never forget where he was heading to.

Kang Jin-Ho closed his eyes. The warmth of a puppy burrowing into his side helped him get some restful sleep, something he hadn’t had in a while.