175 - She Loves Her Dad So Much (2)
TL/Editor: looloo
Status: ongoing
Illustrations: posted in discord
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Weekend family outings. I always welcome our little excursions, but honestly, I'm running out of ideas.
Heena and Sarang both love spending time with me, so we try to go somewhere at least once a week.
We've been everywhere and done everything. Sarang wants to go to the playground, but that seems underwhelming for a family outing.
After some deliberation, we ended up at...
"How about a room cafe?"
"Sounds good. Right, Sarang?""Yeah! I like it! Mom, I want waffles!"
"Alright, waffles and bagels... Pick a drink too. Honey?"
"I'll have a latte."
"I want chocolate!"
It was a room cafe near our house. We considered a PC bang, but gaming felt out of place for an outing. Plus, this cafe had rooms with TVs and was cleaner.
After ordering and paying, we got our food and headed to our room.
As we entered, nostalgia washed over me.
"Heena, remember? We used to come here sometimes."
"Of course I do~"
"It's impressive they're still thriving. So many places around here have gone under."
It had been so long since our last visit that my memory was hazy, but the interior seemed to have changed significantly.
I remember it used to have lots of cute knick-knacks, but now it had a clean, modern aesthetic.
"Me! Me waffle!"
"Daddy will cut it for you~ Wait, don't sit on my lap while I'm holding the knife."
"Okay~"
"Is the chocolate latte good?"
"Yeah! It's delicious! Super sweet!"
"Let mommy have a sip~"
"Here!"
While they shared the drink, I cut the bagel and waffle into bite-sized pieces. The cross-sections were impeccable - truly a master's knife work. Years of cutting food for Sarang had honed my skills to perfection.
Silently praising my handiwork, I pushed the plate to the center. Then, as I was about to taste it myself...
"Ah~"
"Ah~"
"......"
Heena and Sarang immediately opened their mouths like baby birds, side by side. They didn't even consider picking up their own forks.
Their behavior was uncannily alike.
Abandoning hope of eating myself, I directed the fork towards Sarang.
"Aah!"
The bigger baby bird squawked in protest. So I turned the fork the other way.
"Aah~!"
Now the smaller baby bird was making a fuss. Faced with mother and daughter competing to show me their mouths, I could only sigh.
This wasn't the first time. Experience had taught me a simple solution.
I quickly grabbed another fork, speared another piece of waffle, and fed them both simultaneously.
They looked a bit unsatisfied, but choosing between them was impossible. I couldn't handle the aftermath.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah! Daddy~ More! Give me more!"
"Honey, me too."
"Alright. Both of you, open wide."
"Ah~"
"Ah~"
Right. What does it matter if I eat? The most important thing is Sarang and Heena enjoying their food.
After feeding them and finishing the desserts, we sat side by side on the low sofa to watch TV. The TV was just background noise; they both cuddled up to me, savoring the moment.
It might seem no different from being at home, but doing this outside had a special charm. Plus, the food was delicious.
---Raei Translations---
After our leisurely time at the room cafe, we planned to go to the park. The idea was to take a slow stroll and see where we felt like going next. But on the way, I suddenly thought of Yoonsung, still grinding away at the tteokbokki shop.
His title was still floor manager, but Yoonsung was practically the owner now. The auntie had handed over most of the management to him and now only helped in the kitchen occasionally or took time off.
Consequently, Yoonsung had gotten even busier, and I hadn't seen him in a while. That's why we'd been pestering him in the group chat to hang out. So I decided to head that way to see his face and kill two birds with one stone.
Just in case he was busy, I called before going.
"Yo! Long time no see!"
[What. If you're gonna talk shit, I'm hanging up.]
"I'm thinking of bringing Heena and Sarang over. Are you busy? If so, we can meet another time."
[You little sh... I'm not busy! Come over! You better come! It's been ages since I've seen Sarang's face!]
"Oh, have some delicious tteokbokki ready~ We'll be there in about 30 minutes."
[Hurry up!]
"Alright~"
The enthusiastic welcome meant we had nothing to worry about.
"Sarang, do you remember Uncle Yoonsung?"
"Tteokbokki uncle?"
"That's right. Let's go eat tteokbokki at his place, and then we'll get ice cream after."
"Let's go! I want tteokbokki and ice cream!"
"Heena, is that okay?"
"Sure~ One day won't hurt."
I belatedly checked with Sarang and Heena if it was alright. Not that they'd ever refuse if I wanted to go somewhere.
I also got Heena's permission for today's snacking. If I fed Sarang too many snacks or junk food without telling her, I'd get an earful from Heena. That hadn't changed from the old days.
I still occasionally got scolded by Heena for that issue...
We hailed a taxi and headed to the tteokbokki shop. After about 20 minutes, we arrived at the shop that looked exactly the same as before.
Come to think of it, this place held a lot of memories too. We'd brought Sarang here when she was younger, I'd worked part-time here in high school, and Heena had secretly come to watch me work when we'd just started dating.
It's all memories now, just memories.
*Ding-a-ling!*
"Welcome... Hey, you're here!"
As we entered, Yoonsung's face greeted us, clearly happy to see us but trying not to show it too much.
"We're here. But there really aren't many customers, huh?"
"It was busy during lunch. Anyway... Wow~ Sarang's grown so much!"
"Hello, Tteokbokki Uncle!"
"Hi~ Tell me everything you want to eat! Uncle will bring it all!"
"Really?!"
"Of course~ Oh, Heena, long time no see."
"Yeah, it's been a while~ Oh right. We'll pay today. We've always just eaten for free."
"Ah! No need! Why would I take money from you guys? Just treat me to a meal sometime."
Yoonsung waved his hand dismissively as Heena was about to take out her card. But I was starting to feel guilty about never paying here.
Still, seeing his reaction, it didn't seem like he'd accept the card even if we offered.
"Hey, thanks. Let us know when you have a day off. If it's a weekday, we'll treat you to a full-course dinner."
"Thanks, Yoonsung."
"It's nothing. By the way... Sarang, want to take a picture with Uncle?"
"Yes!"
"Alright! Look this way and say cheese~"
"Kimchi~"
Sarang naturally struck a pose and looked at the phone camera, despite the sudden request for a photo.
Heena loved taking pictures, and everyone - family, relatives, friends - had taken loads of photos with Sarang. As a result, she was very used to this.
But if he took a picture with Sarang, doesn't that mean he's paid for all the tteokbokki? He's probably taking it to show off in the group chat. Today's chat is going to be noisy as hell.
After taking the photo, Yoonsung grinned at his phone for a moment before heading towards the kitchen. Come to think of it, why was the kitchen auntie coming out occasionally to help with the dining area?
Seeing no other part-timers besides the kitchen aunties, it must be either their day off or they've ditched. Weekends are usually better than weekdays, so it's probably their day off.
"Honey, I'm taking Sarang to the bathroom."
"Okay. You remember where it is, right?"
"Of course~ I even remember the password."
Heena took Sarang's hand and went to the back of the shop. She was probably going to wash Sarang's hands and touch up her own makeup.
While they were gone, Yoonsung brought tteokbokki and fried food to our table.
Wait, how is it so fast?
"What's this? How is the tteokbokki ready so quickly?"
"We always have tteokbokki ready, you idiot. I prepared the fried stuff as soon as I got your call."
"Oh~"
"Enjoy. Let me know if you want anything else."
"Thanks. Sit with us for a bit. There are no customers right now anyway."
"Sure."
At my words, he pulled up a chair and sat next to me.
"How have you been lately? Is work bearable?"
"How do you think? Same as always."
"Well, that's good. But seriously, Sarang is looking more and more like Heena every day."
"She got her eyes from me, you know."
"Haha. If you say so."
"You wanna die?"
We exchanged some meaningless, silly banter for a while. Really, we hadn't changed at all from before.
In middle and high school, we used to play basketball and games together almost every day. Now, we're approaching our 30s.
Maybe because we don't see each other often, talking face-to-face like this always made me feel a bit nostalgic.
"Does Sarang still follow you around everywhere?"
"Well, yeah."
"Is it because she's really Heena's daughter... It's about time she became more independent."
"Ah, don't talk nonsense. Sarang will stick with me forever."
"What are you saying? Soon she'll be like 'Dad, you're annoying! Don't come into my room!'"
"I'll kill her."
"I'll kill her~"
"Sigh..."
This bastard was making faces that made me want to punch him. I seriously considered 'accidentally' spilling the tteokbokki on the floor. So annoying.
He teases me with the same repertoire every time we meet, and it pisses me off every time. There's no way our Sarang would ever do that.
After chuckling for a while, Yoonsung spoke again.
"Doesn't Sarang say things like wanting to marry you?"
"No, she doesn't. Honestly, aren't those questions just fishing for predetermined answers? When they're super young."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah."
"Hmm..."
At my words, Yoonsung fell into thought for a moment. I was wondering why he suddenly got like that when Heena and Sarang returned to the table.
"Oh, it's already here? I'll dig in~"
"Yeah, enjoy."
"Uncle! Thank you for the meal!"
"Sarang, enjoy~ By the way, Sarang."
"Yes?"
As Yoonsung was getting up from his seat with a satisfied smile at Sarang's polite response, he suddenly called out to her.
Sarang, who was about to dig into the tteokbokki with her fork, turned her head to look at Yoonsung.
"Sarang, who do you want to marry when you grow up?"
"Hey, stop it."
I immediately tried to stop this idiot from asking such a ridiculous question. If Sarang were to mention a celebrity or a classmate's name, saying she wanted to marry them, my heart would shatter.
But Sarang, without a moment's hesitation, answered Yoonsung's unnecessary question with a bright smile.
"I'm going to marry Daddy when I grow up!"
Wait, marry Daddy?!
No way! Is that true, Sarang?! This changes everything!
"Really?! Han Sarang. Daddy will remember this exactly. Don't you dare say anything different when you grow u..."
"Hmm..."
"......"
Oops.
---
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