Seo-an smiled awkwardly and got up from the bed. While filling the bathtub with hot water, he searched for his phone and left a message to Hae-won.
“Where did you say you were going?”
He heard that he had an appointment from the morning, but he couldn’t remember well what it was. Thinking that Hae-won would have surely babbled about his own story, a ‘read’ notification appeared immediately on the message he sent.
“Hae-won-ah”
“This hyung is really strange”
He could hear his voice in the message that came back. He could also see the expression of flamboyantly twitching both eyebrows. Seo-an, who burst out a shallow laugh, entered a reply again.
“What’s strange”
He didn’t say anything else besides that.
He said it might not be a misunderstanding. That was enough to clearly express his intention, and he thought Hae-won wouldn’t be unaware of that either.
Nevertheless, he didn’t give a detailed explanation. Because the confusion hadn’t completely disappeared.
Right now, he rationalized and said he would act as his instincts led for now, but putting a hold on the future was an unavoidable habit. A kind of self-defense, perhaps.
He knew that acting ambiguously like this wasn’t polite to the other person, but… this wasn’t something that could be fixed just by being conscious of it. Changing a life attitude that had already been solidified for close to 30 years overnight was that difficult.
“Hae-won-ah”
“How would I know what hyung doesn’t know”
At the blunt text message that followed, Seo-an just smiled leisurely.
“So where are you going”
“What time are you coming later?”
“Hae-won-ah”
“Going to the main house briefly”
“It’s father’s birthday”
“I’ll go to the theater by 3 o’clock”
Ding-ding-ding, Seo-an, who confirmed the messages ringing in succession, immediately called him. The signal continued a bit longer than usual. As if he wasn’t looking at his phone after replying to the message, after some time passed, the voice that came back saying ‘hello’ was out of breath.
“No, but it’s your father’s birthday, is it okay to just come?”
Though he didn’t know for sure, usually looking at friends, it seemed like they spent the whole day with their parents on their parents’ birthdays.
No matter how much they didn’t spend time close with their parents normally, on their parents’ birthdays, they were friends who didn’t leave their parents’ side as if it were a day where they could pour out filial piety all at once, once a year.
He was like that too. Though it wasn’t his parents, while he didn’t hang out with hyung normally using the excuse of being busy, when it was hyung’s birthday, he definitely spent the day by hyung’s side. Even if they just spent time at home.
But he’s just coming in the afternoon…? Is that okay?
Seo-an made a worried voice, thinking he might be overdoing it because of him. But what came back was a light answer.
—Hyung, when have you seen me stay at the main house for more than three hours?
“Ah… that’s right.”
—Well. Now that I’ve made up my mind, are you saying let’s get to know each other all over again from the beginning? If that’s it, I welcome it.
Anyway, there’s no one who can match Yeon Hae-won’s shamelessness.
Seo-an didn’t hide the laughter that burst out.
Come to think of it, even when he was young, Hae-won grumbled about having to go to the main house saying it was his parents’ birthday. It wasn’t that he had a bad relationship with his parents, but still, being an only child, did he say the nagging he heard was burdensome?
At the old memory that suddenly came to mind, Seo-an awkwardly stroked the back of his head. That’s right, they really were close enough to know everything. Realizing that obvious fact anew, his ears tickled again.
Well, now that he hasn’t gotten a job and is just stuck at home, his parents’ nagging must have gotten even worse. Thinking that trying to come out early wasn’t entirely because of him, apart from his burning ears, his heart naturally became comfortable.
“What more is there to get to know? You already know everything.”
—What do I know, there’s still a mountain of things I haven’t heard.
“What are you so curious about?”
—There are many other things, but for now… why did hyung bother to call me from the bathroom?
It seemed he deduced the location from the echoing sound. It was a voice that clearly had room to interpret with whatever intention, but Seo-an answered firmly as if telling him not to even dream.
“I came to fill water because I’m going to bathe Ji-yu. What are you thinking?”
—If the kid gets dragged in here, I really have nothing to say. Don’t keep making a person into trash like that.
“What do you mean ‘keep’?”
Seo-an burst out a low laugh. Who made who into trash? When he misunderstood on his own about the echoing sound. Blaming others was also innate.
But if he stopped here, it wouldn’t be Yeon Hae-won.
—If you’re sorry, call me next time when you’re showering.
“Why would I?”
—Just because? Since I became trash, I’ll just act like trash.
Even while saying that, the smile permeating Hae-won’s voice didn’t disappear. Accordingly, the smile that spread on Seo-an’s lips also gradually deepened.
“Daddy? Is it samchon?”
Turning around at the sound heard from behind, there was the child who had already gotten down from the bed. Seeing the child standing in long underwear with her belly sticking out while tilting her head, his lips curved up even more.
“Yeah, does Ji-yu want to talk with samchon?”
—Wow, passing it to the kid like this.
He could hear an absurd sound, but instead of answering each time, Seo-an handed the phone to Ji-yu.
Because it’s too big to hold with one hand, she clumsily grips it with both hands. And rather than bringing her hands to her face, as if it’s more comfortable to bend her head and bring it to the phone, the child who moved her head soon made a cute sound saying ‘samchoon?’
Meanwhile, Seo-an checked the bathwater again. After confirming the temperature was appropriate, he dissolved the bath tablet the child liked, and floated one blue duck and one yellow duck that had to be there when bathing.
The child making a call while babbling was just making a voice that seemed like she would fly away from happiness.
That they must watch the musical together later, that she would sit in the middle so daddy and samchon should sit next to her. Ji-yu, who gave various instructions with a rather solemn voice, then burst out a cute laugh saying “hehe!” and hung up the phone.
It seemed it was time to depart from that side too.
***
Seo-an, who arrived at the theater on time, opened his eyes wide seeing children around Ji-yu’s age filling the lobby. Not because there were many audience members, but because the flashy outfits showing off that damn Bbabang-i were bewildering.
Ji-yu herself tried to bring three Bbabang-i toys but barely held one in her hand due to Seo-an’s dissuasion, but starting with headbands, T-shirts or pants, shoes of course, and holding toys one in each hand was basic.
It was natural for Ji-yu’s red lips to protrude several feet. At the child’s gaze looking up at him with strength in her brow as if to say look at this, Seo-an’s eyes naturally rolled to the opposite side.
“No… daddy didn’t know friends would bring this many.”
Did I dress her too neatly?
Still, because the cold hadn’t completely gone away, he dressed her in a thick hoodie T-shirt with cute jeans, and even put on famous brand sneakers, but is this something to glare about?
Even in the midst of that, the child buried in a palm-sized padding was just pretty, so Seo-an smiled slightly and touched the child’s bangs.
“I’m sorry, daddy really didn’t know. Next time, let’s bring three for Ji-yu too.”
“Really, it’s a promise. Promise, can’t forget!”
It must mean that promises can’t be forgotten.
Seo-an said “yeah” and smiled while holding the child’s soft cheek so it wouldn’t hurt and shaking it gently.
“Who told a four-year-old you to speak so well?”
“Yeah!”
What ‘yeah’. The answer that didn’t match the situation was just funny, but instead of correcting, Seo-an wiped the child’s small nose with his hand.
No matter how well she spoke, she was only four years old. With clumsy pronunciation to no end, wearing a size that shrunk adult clothes like a miniature, no matter how much strength she put in her eyes, she was just cute.
“But, daddy. Daddy.”
“Yeah, Ji-yu.”
“Why isn’t samchon coming?”
As if tired of waiting, Ji-yu finally started to whine. Seo-an picked up Ji-yu, who was spinning around clinging to his legs and finally putting her face on his thigh and throwing a tantrum. After kissing her soft cheek with all his might, he mumbled playfully just like that and said.
“Should Ji-yu call samchon and ask where he is?”
“Yeah!”
While answering energetically, the child squished her cheek on Seo-an’s shoulder and buried her face in his neck, rubbing. Even that brief waiting time was exhausting.
Seo-an stroked the pitiful child’s back and settled in a quiet waiting chair. If there’s an appointment, he’s the type not to be late, so he’ll come on time, but still…
“Ji-yu is bored.”
The problem was that kids this age found waiting itself to be torture.
Seo-an sat Ji-yu on his lap. Since she was a child who liked skinship, when he kissed her round, protruding forehead, the child made a cute sound going “hehe.”
“Why is Ji-yu’s nose so round? Can daddy take a bite?”
