School's Cancelled
Although it was pitch-black outside, I wasn't scared at all once I was in Mister's arms.
Mister patted my back for a long time as I cried, then carried me back inside the house.
Being held by Mister, my cold hands and feet thawed out in no time.
"..."
Because I threw a tantrum, Mister didn't put me down.
I wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.
Every time I sniffled to hold back my tears, I caught his scent.
To be precise, he smelled like meat. It was a strangely comforting smell.
I stayed buried in his arms like that for a long time.
Suddenly, I looked up at Mister's face.
His eyes were fixed on the clock.
"..."
Anxiety washed over me. Was he thinking about when he had to leave?
I tried to say something, but I couldn't find the right words.
If I just stayed quiet like this, I would end up all alone again.
Rustle.
I went to the master bedroom and brought out the puzzle again.
I won't let Mister leave, no matter what.
But that plan of mine...
"Do you know what Daddy found?"
...was completely shattered by this silly Mister, who had to go and be needlessly observant.
"Daddy found this in the bathtub."
It was utterly ruined.
Leaving me aside, Mister started putting the puzzle together on his own.
Just as he was about to fit the very last piece in...
I stood up, stepped right onto the puzzle board, and crawled closer to him.
"...I-I don't like this game. So..."
Let's do something else.
Don't go home. Just stay with me a little longer...
I laid bare my honest, unfiltered feelings.
Mom still had so long before she came back. If Mister left too...
What was I supposed to do?
I couldn't even eat my favorite curry by myself, and I couldn't brush or tie my own hair...
Swallowing my tears, I ran into the master bedroom.
Mom had bought me plenty of toys. I just had to use them to drag out the time as much as possible.
Until Mister fell asleep.
Until then...
"Yuna."
Mister called out to me.
I was scared. Did he figure out what I was doing? Was he going to scold me?
But Mister just said he wanted to finish the puzzle.
"Daddy really wants to finish this puzzle."
No. If you do, you're going to go home.
I forced myself up again, trying to grab something else.
But Mister gently caught my arm.
His hand was cool and rough.
"We can finish this and then do something else."
I didn't quite understand what he meant at first.
And then, Mister added:
"Even if we don't finish, we can just do it when we wake up tomorrow."
With those words, he gathered the puzzle pieces, split them in half, and handed one pile to me.
...Oh.
So that's what it was.
We could do the puzzle together, read books...
Watch movies, go for walks...
"...Hehe."
I guess I had misunderstood him a little.
There was no way my daddy—no, Mister—would ever leave me.
A smile spread across my face, one I wouldn't even remember making.
Eleven o'clock at night.
Yuna had fallen asleep.
After that whole ordeal, Yuna brought over a mountain of things she wanted to do.
Most of them were board games.
"Whew..."
After quietly carrying Yuna to her bed, I sat down on the living room sofa.
Judging by her energy earlier, I thought we'd be up until dawn.
"..."
Well, a lot had happened today.
Honestly, I felt like I was going to die of exhaustion myself.
I sank into the sofa and stared up at the ceiling.
It was quiet.
Only the steady, rhythmic ticking of the analog clock broke the silence.
"..."
Just as I was about to close my eyes, something I'd forgotten flashed through my mind.
The wedding guest proxy gig scheduled for eleven tomorrow morning.
"Ah."
I turned on my phone to check the time.
I needed to arrive at the wedding hall by ten-thirty.
If I just filled a seat for about an hour and left, I'd have plenty of time before Yuna's school let out.
It seemed like a perfect plan.
"Are you awake?"
"Mmh."
"Get ready for school. For breakfast..."
"Huh?"
The next morning, I woke up with a stiff neck.
"Isn't today a no-school day?"
...At least, until Yuna hit me with those words.
"...No school?"
"Yeah. We have a few days off."
Yuna nodded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why?"
"Because... well... a monster showed up yesterday."
"Teacher said if a monster comes to school, we shouldn't come."
Yuna let out a wide yawn as she spoke.
"...Is that so?"
Come to think of it, after the chaos yesterday...
...there was no way the school could run normally.
We never had stuff like this when I was a kid. Damn it...
"..."
Wait a minute.
My brain scrambled to put the pieces together.
I felt like I had a plan that hinged entirely on sending Yuna to school first.
"..."
Oh, right.
The wedding guest proxy gig.
The plan I'd mapped out before bed hit me like a freight train.
"...So you're going to be home all day today, Yuna?"
"Yeah."
I'm screwed.
What do I do now?
Seeing my expression, Yuna looked a little frightened.
"Why...?"
Shoot.
I quickly smoothed over my expression and ruffled her hair.
"It's nothing. It's just that Daddy has to go out for a bit this morning."
"...Go out?"
The color drained from her face, her wide, sleepy eyes suddenly losing their warmth.
"Yeah. Just for a little bit. I'll be back before lunch."
I spoke as casually as possible, trying to make it sound like no big deal.
Yuna bit her lip, letting out a small, worried hum.
How could I have not thought of this?
A monster had literally trashed part of the school. What kind of crazy school would accept kids under those conditions?
Especially when there was still a chance another monster might pop up.
"Yuna, go wash up first and wake yourself up."
Yuna nodded, her face a mix of pouting and anxiety.
The moment she headed toward the bathroom...
Ring, ring.
I hurried out to the veranda and dialed the client who had booked me.
I couldn't just cancel on them. I needed the money, and besides, most people who hired guest proxies did so out of desperate circumstances.
So...
"Hello?"
"Ah, sorry for calling so early. I'm the person you contacted for the guest proxy service."
"Ah, yes. That's right."
"Would it be alright if I brought a child with me?"
I decided to try and kill two birds with one stone.
It was a shameless request.
Asking if I could bring a kid to a wedding.
Sure, children at weddings were common, but it must be a bit uncomfortable for the client when the hired guest brings one along.
"Uh... I suppose it should be fine, but if the child makes a scene..."
"She's very quiet. She's about a first grader in elementary school..."
But fortunately...
"Thank you. I'll make sure she stays quiet so we don't cause any trouble."
"Alright, see you later then."
After a brief conversation, I managed to get a positive response.
I hung up and leaned against the veranda railing for a moment.
Under the circumstances where I couldn't leave Yuna alone and couldn't cancel the gig, this was the best move I could make.
If I could catch both rabbits this way, so be it.
When I stepped back inside from the chilly veranda, Yuna was coming out of the master bedroom, fully dressed in her indoor clothes.
I must have been on the phone longer than I thought.
"Daddy, I'm all washed up."
Her hair was damp, and she wore a slightly gloomy expression.
I dried her hair with a towel and asked,
"Yuna, do you hate it when Daddy goes out alone?"
"..."
What? Why the silence?
Did she actually prefer being left alone?
"...I-I hate it."
Thank goodness.
Yuna muttered, wiggling her damp toes.
A chuckle escaped me.
She was probably worrying about being left all by herself in a little while.
"Why do you ask...?"
I bent my knees slightly to meet Yuna's eyes.
She couldn't look me straight in the eye.
Is it because I haven't shaved?
"Do you want to come with me?"
"...H-huh? Where?!"
"To where Daddy works. I called them earlier, and they said it's okay if I bring you along."
The color instantly rushed back into Yuna's gloomy face.
Her eyes grew as wide as saucers, and her pouting lips pulled back into a neutral line.
Of course, it weighed on my conscience a bit to give Yuna the memory of her dad working as a guest proxy.
But what does a kid that young know?
"Really? For real?"
"Yes. But you have to be quiet while we're there."
"Of course! I'm super good at being quiet...!"
Yuna added quickly.
Well, she was a remarkably mature kid.
I'd heard most kids drain their parents' energy by crying and throwing tantrums, but I'd never really felt that way with Yuna.
Was it because her mother raised her well?
Yuna hopped up and down with excitement, her damp feet pattering on the floor.
Did she really like being with her dad that much?
I wasn't sure if this was a good choice.
After putting her in the neatest dress she owned and tying her hair into a single ponytail...
...Yuna looked presentable enough to be shown off anywhere.
"Daddy, how do I look?"
"Beautiful. You look like a princess."
"...Hehe."
She definitely inherited her mother's good genes.
Yesterday, when she was sniffling with swollen eyes, she was just a little kid, but seeing her like this...
Actually, she just looked like a cute young lady.
Maybe it was because I lacked paternal love.
"We should head out soon."
"Hehe, okay."
Even right up to the moment we left, Yuna was bursting with excitement.
Was going out with her dad really that wonderful to her?
I should take her out more often.
We hailed a taxi and headed to the wedding hall.
Yuna clung tightly to my arm, staring out the window.
"Like I said earlier, you absolutely cannot make a fuss. Got it?"
"Mmh."
"And don't wander around. Stay right next to Daddy."
"Okay, I will."
The taxi driver chuckled warmly at the sight of us.
He was an elderly man.
"My, your daughter looks just like her—"
Our eyes met in the rearview mirror.
"...She must take after her mother. She's very pretty."
Well, look at that.
Though he wasn't wrong.
Yuna looked at my face for a moment, then nuzzled her cheek against my arm with a silly grin.
Yes, Yuna must be truly happy right now.
I smiled warmly and looked out the window.
We were in the middle of the city, surrounded by towering skyscrapers.
My eyes drifted toward an alleyway between the buildings.
"...?"
I locked eyes with something pitch-black and utterly alien.
I brushed it off, thinking I was just seeing things because of my lack of sleep.