My Daughter Has a Papa Complex!?
"That's unfortunate that you didn't learn your lesson after getting beat like that. But if you deserved it, you had to take it."
Han Sol let out a puff of laughter.
Phew.
Fortunately, I'd somehow managed to pull my daughter out of the menhera swamp. If it had been Han Kang—decent guy but with communication skills near zero—he probably would've just sat there helplessly while some menhera girl hovered nearby.
A brief silence settled in as the mood softened.
Then Han Sol's lips twitched slightly, like she'd made up her mind about something.
"Dad."
"Yeah."
"Would you... maybe want to live with me?"
"...Huh?"
She'd up and left her father the moment she turned adult to live independently, and now this? 'Dad, let's move in together'? It was completely out of left field.
"Seoul rent getting to you, huh?"
"No, that's not it! It's not because of me!"
"Then?"
"It's better than you living all lonely by yourself. Living with me would be nicer, right?"
Living together? With my daughter?
What's gotten into her? Could finding out Han Kang wasn't her biological dad have flipped some switch in her?
"Why all of a sudden?"
"I'll make the money. It's not like I want you freeloading or anything."
Han Sol said quickly.
"I live in a Gangnam officetel. It has three rooms."
Gangnam officetel... with three rooms!? No way!
That kind of place had to cost double the full-time minimum wage in monthly rent, right? A twenty-three-year-old—college student or not—living alone in a three-room officetel in Gangnam?
"Y-you make that much money?"
"Yeah. Pretty good, actually."
Han Sol nodded.
"It's complicated to explain... but it's a kind of internet broadcast."
"Internet broadcast?"
Most internet broadcasts were gaming streams, like seven out of ten. But if it wasn't gaming... no way—
A horribly ominous thought hit me. So bad I almost forgot I was Han Kang for a second.
Internet broadcast. Makes good money. Twenty-three-year-old girl who's objectively pretty, even without dad goggles. Gangnam officetel.
What if. Just what if.
Impossible, but...
No... no way! Absolutely not!
Emotions surged up. Overwhelming, intense ones. These weren't mine—they were Han Kang's. Paternal instinct, I guess you'd call it.
I couldn't hold back. No way in hell. Not some Polar Bear Extinction Rub-Till-It-Hurts TV bullshit.
"Sol-ah. You... you're not doing anything... lewd on stream, right? Tell me you're not."
Han Sol's eyes went wide.
"Whaaaat!?"
"I mean..."
"No! Absolutely not!"
Her face turned beet red as she waved her hands frantically.
"Nothing like that! It's totally wholesome!"
"...Really?"
"Yes! I swear! Why would I ever do something like that!?"
She nodded vigorously.
Yeah, makes sense.
I snapped out of it. Logically, of course not. What kind of dad raises a daughter who'd do that... wait, no.
If it really was something shady she couldn't tell anyone about, she wouldn't have brought up the stream first. Or suggested moving in together.
...I jumped the gun. Uncle thinking, huh?
Pretty embarrassing.
This was all because Han Kang was such an old guy.
"Ahem, sorry. I jumped to weird conclusions..."
"It's okay."
Han Sol averted her eyes, face still red.
"It was a little weird... but you were just worried about me, right?"
"Yeah."
"Anyway, so... let's live together. Come to my place."
"Hmm..."
I appreciated it. Even knowing she wasn't my biological daughter, for her to care like this, call me dad, and invite me to live together—it was touching. Han Kang had raised a good kid.
But—
Too late for living with my daughter now.
Two reasons. First, living with a daughter makes dating someone impossible. I had to overcome trials. That meant dating. But an uncle living with his daughter? Tough to bring a girl home. Overnight stays? Awkward as hell.
[Heading to work. Coming home late tonight.]
[Dad's meeting a woman?]
[Uh, yeah. Someone from the local burger joint...]
[...I see.]
Ughhh... so cringey! Just imagining it was nightmare fuel. Sure, a good daughter would respect it, but still.
Second, emotional issue.
'Freeloading at my daughter's place.'
The idea of a parent sponging off their kid felt off. Pride? Face? Hard to pin down, but probably Han Kang's feelings. A forty-something guy crashing at his twenty-three-year-old daughter's? No thanks.
[Hey, sunbae, you moved?]
[Yeah. Gangnam officetel.]
[What?! Did you win the lottery on those weekly tickets?!]
[Nah, my daughter invited me to live with her.]
[Oh... getting supported by your kid. Lucky guy.]
Stop! Han Kang's dignity is already zero!
Anyway, conclusion: Cohabitation's a no-go.
"Thanks, but... that'd be tough."
I tried to let her down easy.
"I'm used to living alone now."
Her face fell the instant I answered.
"...You really don't want to live with me that bad?"
"It's not that I don't want to—"
"It's fine."
Han Sol bowed her head.
"Suggesting it out of the blue must feel burdensome."
"Hmm..."
Hard to explain. Even as an adult, a daughter's a daughter.
'Dad needs to date, so we can't live together!' Can't say that.
Still, her offer was sweet. I'd just accept the sentiment.
"So what're you gonna do from now on, Dad?"
Han Sol asked.
"Huh?"
"Living alone like this. Forever."
She glanced around the one-room: bed, desk, chair. Han Kang's whole world.
"You know about solitary death? Middle-aged guys living alone are the riskiest. Especially drinkers like you—could meet the King of Hell any day. Without me, you'd end up a mummy someday."
"Hmm..."
This kid's got a sharp tongue. Must've inherited it from the ex-wife.
"And loneliness is brutal mentally. Worse than smoking, studies say."
Han Sol said seriously.
"So you need family to live with. Don't you think?"
"Yeah."
No idea if she googled that or heard it somewhere, but here I was, the pitiful lonely uncle. And Han Sol was working hard to save me. Such a good kid.
Just like her dad—kind-hearted.
"Thanks, but I'm good. Used to this."
I brushed it off.
But it didn't sit right with her. Her eyes changed.
"...Really?"
Her voice dropped two octaves. Eyebrows shot up, face hardened. Someone came to mind.
Just like the ex-wife.
That venomous look when she'd curse me over nothing.
Spitting image.
Why? Saying I was fine alone pissed her off that much?
Han Sol tilted her head slightly.
"Dad, you don't... have a girlfriend or anything, right?"
Her tone had an edge.
Something's off.
She was definitely upset. No clue why, but I just knew.
If I said 'Yeah, I do,' it'd make it worse.
Not Han Kang's intuition—he was dense as hell. Mine. Honed over four worlds.
But why? Why would a daughter get mad about her dad's dating life?
No way... Electra complex?
Electra complex. Psychological term for a daughter's unconscious attachment and obsession with her father. Female Oedipus.
Usually a childhood thing that fades with growth.
But manifesting at twenty-three?
...No chance.
Ridiculous. She's an adult. Kept her distance from Han Kang till now. No way she'd suddenly go Electra on him.
Just... daughter worrying dad might get duped by some weirdo woman, probably.
"A guy like me? No girlfriend."
Honest answer.
Sad but true.
Mid-forties divorced dude. Domestic violence record—deserved or not, it happened. No money... ex took most. Gruff personality, solo in a rundown one-room, daily drinker.
Those specs? Girlfriend? Near impossible.
Hell, even I'd hesitate if I were a single mom with a kid eyeing Han Kang.
"...Yeah, guess not."
Han Sol replied. Looked relieved. Obviously.
......
Harsh! True, but hearing her agree made it sadder. My daughter convinced 'Dad can't get a girlfriend. Obviously.'
Not wrong, but ouch.
"Then I'll visit a lot."
Han Sol said.
"My officetel's not far. Right next neighborhood."
"Really?"
"Yeah. So I'll come often. Can't leave you alone."
She smiled. A weird smile. Happy, somehow.
No way she was thrilled dad had no girlfriend.
As I puzzled over it, Han Sol leaned toward me. Her shoulder touched mine. Soft weight.
"...Sol-ah?"
"Yeah?"
"What're you doing."
"Just... leaning."
She closed her eyes. Relaxed expression.
What's with this kid.
Honestly, kinda flustered. Today's Han Sol didn't match Han Kang's memories. Touchy-feely, psychological distance gone.
Oh, got it.
Sudden realization. Learning she wasn't his bio daughter made her crave fatherly love more.
'I'm not Dad's real daughter.' That insecurity. So she's confirming with skinship. If he still sees her as his girl.
Modern kids' hearts are tricky.
Original Han Kang wouldn't have figured it. But living as him now, I felt distant from twenties girls like Han Sol or Lee Jin-ah. Thinking of them as 'girls' or 'kids these days.'
Not good.
Next world, end up a grandpa?
No, wait. Already defeatist? Can't let that mindset creep in.
Still, her being affectionate wasn't bad. Felt warm... like family back.