I'm Not Your Dad!!
I'm not your dad!! …………… Drowsiness from my nap lingered as my consciousness slowly surfaced. My body felt heavy. No strength in my limbs. I'd fallen into a much deeper sleep than usual. What I sensed was the firm yet cool wooden floor of the porch against my back, the warm afternoon air. And……pressure.
Pressure? I opened my eyes. Kim Bom was straddling me.
What the……? I couldn't process it. I'd clearly been napping on the porch, so why was Kim Bom sitting on my crotch in cowgirl position? A few seconds later, as my vision cleared, her face came into focus. It wasn't her usual bright expression. Her eyes were red and bloodshot, lips bitten raw. She looked on the verge of tears, barely holding them back.
"Bom? What's wrong?"
Her shoulders twitched at my question. Then her hands gripped my shoulders.
"T-Together……stay together."
It was a tiny voice, barely audible.
"Huh?"
"Don't leave, Dad."
Dad? My mind snapped alert. Back at the bus stop when we first met, she'd called me Dad. When I'd asked later, she gave some weird explanation about our souls being alike.
"Don't leave this time."
Her fingers clutching my shoulders twisted into my shirt.
"Stay here. With me."
Her voice grew more fractured. Words stumbling over each other.
"Don't leave me alone. I won't leave you alone. Not again. Never again."
"………."
She's not okay. I didn't know what happened, but anyone could see Kim Bom was in extreme distress. First, I had to calm her down. But her body pinned mine completely, and with Yeoreum's frail strength, escaping was impossible.
"Bom, calm down."
I tried for the most even tone possible.
"I'm right here. Not going anywhere. Just take slow, deep breaths first."
She shook her head. Long straight hair falling messily over her pretty face.
"Liar……you said you're going to Seoul. To make money, succeed……and leave this place."
Ah. I remembered what I'd said when the emoticon went viral last time. That I'd head to Seoul, live in a proper house.
She's freaking out because she thinks I'm leaving for Seoul? It was just idle talk, never thought it'd hit her this hard.
"That was just a future plan. Not leaving right now."
"No, you can't leave in the future either. Dad can't be alone. Can't be away from me."
Despair seeped into her voice. Like some deep wound. Past trauma, probably. That's why she was in full panic mode.
"Bom."
I called her name. She turned to look at me.
"Will you tell me what happened? Take it slow, I'll listen."
Her lips trembled. She seemed about to speak but couldn't get it out.
"It's okay. Take your time."
At my words, she drew a deep breath. Finally, in a shaking voice, she spoke.
"When I was six……."
……………
Kim Bom's story was a total mess, rambling all over. No order, no logic. Repeating words, jumping topics mid-sentence. Still, I listened. Pieced it together in my head as best I could. Enough to grasp the core.
Kim Bom's father had a chronic illness. Heart condition, I guessed. When she was six, he died while she was out playing briefly. She believes she could've prevented it if she'd stayed, so she's convinced she killed him. Carried that guilt for nearly twenty years since.
And finally, she sees Yeoreum as her father's reincarnation. So to her, I'm basically her dad returned. "Proof" like "same soul," "name," "same illness"—all vague, unscientific nonsense.
Hmm……
Tricky. I got her guilt. But the reincarnation bit? Me as her dad reborn? Basically the same person?
This is straight-up ghost-story bullshit.
Forcing an analysis: She's projecting her dead dad onto me. Long guilt and longing creating a hallucination. The soul-seeing thing……I'd heard it before. I'm no shaman, so who knows, but honestly? Suspicious it's trauma-induced delusion.
As I stayed silent, she murmured.
"Don't leave, please……."
"……."
Seeing a woman you're into like this? Packs a punch. My chest tightened too. Nearly twenty years suffering guilt after her dad's death. Chasing his ghost, bearing death's weight alone.
I want to help her.
Spend time slowly healing the wound? Support her through the trauma. Help her recover, get close, date, marry…….
Wait, hold up. Daydreaming grandkids now? Not the time to plan a future with Kim Bom. She's unstable—stabilize first.
My hand went to her shoulder. Slowly, gently patted.
"It's okay, Bom. I'm right here."
I kept patting.
"Don't worry too much. The Seoul plan……I'll put it on hold."
Not full truth, not bold-faced lie. On hold, not forever stuck in the countryside.
Just need to calm her for now. Saying I'd go to Seoul someday would be pouring gas on the fire. No choice.
Her expression brightened a bit. Red eyes clearing slightly. But she stayed straddled on me, not budging.
"So……you'll stay with me forever? Here?"
Question mark, but basically confirmation. Words caught in my throat.
Forever……?
Even if things worked out with her, no way I'd stay in this village forever. Checking Yeoreum's pre-possession memories: She moved here to Huhaeri Village for free rent due to money woes. Never preferred country over city.
My original plan: Head to Seoul, build art career, stabilize finances, confess properly to Kim Bom. If she wanted, live together there—or meet up once or twice a week regularly.
But that's not what she wanted. She craved me staying in Huhaeri, by her side, eternally.
What am I, a separation-anxious puppy?
"Well, see……."
I hesitated; her face darkened again. Flicker of hope snuffed out. Lips quivering.
Aigoo……this won't do. Just calmed her, back to square one. Maybe worse.
"……Yeah. I'll stay with you. Forever."
Slipped out. Instant regret. Too late—words can't be unsaid.
Her eyes widened. Stared blankly, then suddenly hugged me tight.
"Really? You promise?"
"Y-Yeah, of course."
Her arms wrapped my neck. Face buried in breasts bigger than my head.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you……Dad."
Marshmallow-soft flesh, her faint sweet scent overwhelming. Normally thrilling, but not now.
This isn't right.
Even in her embrace, my mind cooled rationally. She was pitiable, sure. Childhood trauma, decades of guilt. Wanted to comfort her, carrying that alone.
But this? Wrong relationship. Seeing me as dead dad, wanting eternal life together in Huhaeri? Not normal.
What I needed—what the trial demanded—was normal, happy love. Hers was……far from normal. Dangerously so.
Even beyond romance, risky. Yeoreum as dad reincarnated? Just guilt and longing delusion. Can't ignore. It'll snowball if left alone.
Instinct screamed danger. This path led to catastrophe.
Draw the line now. No matter how sad, this can't stand.
Comforting her ≠ accepting delusion. Deep breath. Raised hands to her shoulders. Carefully but firmly pushed her back, creating distance.
"Bom, hold on."
She looked puzzled. Didn't want to separate, but relented as I kept pushing. Though the cowgirl straddle stayed.
"Bom. I need to say something."
Soft as possible, but firm.
"I don't fully get your feelings, but I'm trying. But……."
She sensed what came next. Her body stiffened.
"I'm not your dad. Not his reincarnation either. Just Yeoreum, a regular twenty-one-year-old."