The Return Visit
—Tick. —Tick. —Tick.
The silence that had settled over the house only made the sound of the analog clock stand out more sharply.
"..."
I must have been standing in the room for over five minutes, clinging to the idiotic hope that Yoona was still in the bathroom. Then I heard a soft groan from behind me— "Euh, ah—"
Shit.
One look at Yoona's face told me everything. She had heard our entire conversation. Even if she had only just graduated kindergarten, she wasn't stupid.
"..."
She must have pieced together that I wasn't her real father. Still, there was a chance, right? Maybe she had just come back from the bathroom and was simply scared because we had left her waiting.
"Yoona, Dad and I—"
"...Get out, Mister."
No. She had heard everything. She understood exactly what was going on.
Kids these days really are sharp.
I swallowed a deep sigh and turned to look at Yoona's mom.
"...!"
Her face had gone deathly pale.
"Y-Yoona, what are you saying to Dad—"
"...This mister isn't our dad."
Yoona's mom tried desperately to salvage the situation, but—
"...I heard everything. I-I hate this."
Yoona was no longer looking at me the way a daughter looks at her beloved father.
—...!
—...
Yoona's mom said something after that, but I couldn't remember what. A wave of nausea hit me so hard that I found myself bolting out of the house before I even realized it.
* * *
The moment I got home, I cracked open a bottle of soju and drank like a man possessed. When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on the bathroom floor. Apparently I had passed out drunk in the toilet.
"Ugh, urgh..."
The reason I had started drinking in the first place was simple. It was because of the Father Surrogate job I had done yesterday. More precisely, I wanted to forget the disgusting thing I had done to Yoona.
Pretending to be a father to a child who had grown up without one—and then getting caught in the act.
"Shit."
Yoona's expression and reaction kept flashing through my mind, forcing the curse out of my mouth.
"Haa..."
Because of me, Yoona now had a memory she would never be able to forget. I had always worried something like this might happen while working this job, but I never imagined it would occur on only my third assignment.
Damn it... I drank last night specifically to avoid sinking into this kind of depression. I let out a long sigh as I stared at the gloomy window where the sun had yet to rise properly.
Maybe I should have just kept the act going. She was only eight years old, after all. If I had played it right, she might have believed me.
"What the hell am I thinking?"
It was a rotten thought. Just treat it like stepping in dog shit, I told myself. Even if I had lost the money, wasted my time, and gained a terrible memory... what the hell, seriously. I had only taken losses from start to finish.
—Ring ring ring!
Just as I was dragging my hand down my face hard enough to pull the skin off, my smartphone started vibrating violently.
Was it another surrogate request this early in the morning? Or maybe Yoona's mom had finally decided to call back.
"Hello?"
Surprisingly, only silence answered.
"...Hello?"
I checked the screen, wondering if the call had dropped, but the line was still connected.
"What the—"
A prank call? I was about to hang up when a voice finally came through.
[...Yoona's dad.]
"Ah."
It was Yoona's mom. A hollow laugh escaped me at the way she still called me that.
"What do you want? If it's about money—"
[Please do me one favor.]
What was this all of a sudden?
"A favor?"
Her voice was unexpectedly clear and resolute, which caught me off guard.
[Yes. It might be a difficult request...]
I could faintly hear the sound of cars and wind in the background. I waited in silence for her to continue.
[Please take care of Yoona.]
"What did you just say?"
This isn't right, damn it. The thought was about to burst out of my mouth when she spoke again.
[Just for one week. That's all I'm asking.]
Yoona's mom added more details over the phone.
[Every day after Yoona finishes elementary school, come pick her up and pretend to be her father for a week.]
But no matter how clearly she explained it—
"No, hold on a second."
Even if she gave me the most reasonable, detailed explanation in the world—
"Yoona already found out who I really am."
I was nothing more than a stranger who had pretended to be her father for a single day.
[...]
"..."
When I didn't get a response, only the sound of fierce wind came through the receiver. Why wasn't she answering? Had she really called without thinking of any alternatives?
[...I already explained it to Yoona.]
So that wasn't it.
"What did you tell her?"
[I told her that Mom and Dad were just practicing an act for Yoona's sake...]
"Hah."
As if she'd believe that. I snorted without meaning to.
"And you think Yoona will buy that story? That she'll run into my arms calling me 'Dad' again the moment she sees me?"
[...If you just say the right things, Yoona's dad.]
"Hah..."
Where the hell did I even start with this mess?
[Take as much money as you want. All of my savings are in a box inside the closet at home.]
"...What? Excuse me?"
[...Just take care of her for one week starting today. The door code is 5200, and Yoona's school is...]
What the hell was this woman saying? All her savings were in there? Take as much as I wanted? Before I could even respond, she started rattling off every piece of information she could think of—the school's location, dismissal time, even the fact that Yoona still remembered going to the arboretum with her dad when she was little.
"No, wait—hey, listen—"
[...Yes?]
A bad feeling crept over me, so I cut her off.
"If someone overheard this, they'd think I already agreed."
[...]
"And why only one week this time? Are you going on a trip or something?"
If she was traveling, she should have just hired a housekeeper. When I added that, there was another stretch of wind noise.
Whoosh... It was a strong wind.
[...Next Tuesday is the parent observation day at school.]
"What?"
[Ugh, I'm sorry. I can't—I can't do this anymore...]
"What? No, what do you mean—hello?"
The already fierce wind suddenly grew louder, swallowing up Yoona's mom's voice as it turned desperate. Then came a terrifying sound, followed by a loud splash—
[Zzzzzzt—...]
Only static remained. I realized her phone must have fallen into water.
"What the hell just happened?"
They say the human mind goes blank when faced with something incomprehensible. That was exactly my state right now. A storm of insanity had suddenly crashed down on me, and I had no idea what to do.
"Huu..."
In times like this, staying calm was the only option. I took a deep breath and tried to sort through the situation.
So that crazy woman had just asked me to take care of her daughter for a week? To pretend to be her father? After I had already been exposed as a stranger and run away?
"Hah..."
Go to hell. I wasn't an idiot. And I definitely wasn't enough of an idiot to accept a job without even knowing how much I'd get paid.
"She didn't even explain anything properly..."
And now she wanted me to deceive Yoona again for a whole week? A few hours of this had already been eating at me. If I did it for seven days, I might actually need to see a psychiatrist.
"I'm not doing it. Fuck that, I'm not doing it."
I tossed my phone onto the bed and flopped down. There was no reason for anyone to blame me for refusing. If anyone was at fault, the world should blame Yoona's mom. It wasn't like she was the only parent raising a child without a father.
Today, I was just going to drink all day.
* * *
Before I knew it, it was six in the evening. I had spent nearly twelve hours drinking soju. Most of that time had actually been spent passed out after drinking, but still. By the time my splitting headache finally calmed down enough for me to check the clock, it was already seven.
Suddenly, one thing came to mind.
'Please take care of Yoona.'
Yoona's mom's request from this morning. Even now, it still sounded completely absurd.
"...She'll figure something out."
What was Yoona doing right now?
"..."
The moment the thought crossed my mind, I shook my head. What did it matter to me? Yoona's mom would handle it. I wasn't her guardian. I wasn't a relative. I was just some stranger who had pretended to be her father for a day and gotten caught. There was no reason for me to worry.
Since I had already refused the request, I was now a complete outsider.
"..."
No matter how hard I tried to convince myself, something kept nagging at the back of my mind. Why had that woman called me in the first place? Why had she given me her door code? Why had she told me to take all her savings?
"What if..."
What if... she really hadn't gone home after calling me? Then Yoona would be alone right now? Until seven in the evening?
Uneasy, I finally picked up my phone and dialed the number at the top of my call history.
—Ring ring ring.
—Ring ring ring.
It rang for about ten seconds before cutting off. I tried again, but the same thing happened. Well, the last call had ended with the sound of a phone falling into water, so of course she wasn't answering.
"Haa..."
She was even more irresponsible than I had thought. No matter what her reason was, leaving her daughter with a complete stranger and disappearing? She didn't even know if that stranger would actually take care of her, or what he might do to her.
"Might as well clear my head with a drink..."
Gripping my throbbing head, I started getting ready to go out. I would just check if she was okay and come back. It would also help with the hangover.
* * *
When I arrived at Yoona's neighborhood, I got out of the taxi. As I walked, the owner of a small chicken shop called out to me. He said he was closing down and offered me a box, so I took it without thinking.
"Gonna demolish this the second I get home."
A few months ago, I had been running my own chicken shop. Back then, I had eaten so much chicken that I got sick of it. Of course, after a monster's corpse destroyed my shop, chicken had become a pretty precious food to me.
"I'm here."
While lost in memories, I eventually found myself standing in front of the familiar villa. To think I would come back here again. Of course, my mind was more focused on getting home to eat chicken and drink beer, but still. That wasn't a joke. The fact that I had come all the way here meant I was already playing the part of a somewhat decent human being, wasn't it?
I just needed to check if Yoona was okay, then go home with the chicken. With my head still foggy from alcohol, I made that pathetic calculation and stepped into the villa.
"5200..."
Yoona's mom's door code suddenly came to mind. Knowing someone else's door code felt strangely unpleasant. Especially when that someone was a single mom raising a young daughter.
"Haa..."
Eventually, I stood in front of the door. The house was eerily quiet for seven in the evening in a home with a young child. I swallowed nervously, feeling like I was about to do something wrong.
What if Yoona's mom wasn't inside? If she was there, I could go home relieved. But if she wasn't... would I still be able to leave without worrying?
—Knock knock.
Along with those thoughts, I knocked on the door.
"..."
There was no sound from inside. I wondered if I had the wrong place, but that wasn't it. I tried the doorbell too, but got the same result.
"Shit..."
Maybe I should just leave. But my feet wouldn't move. It was probably because of some flimsy sense of justice. Yoona's mom had said some ominous things, after all...
—Click.
I lifted the faded door lock handle.
"Is this really okay?"
The moment I actually tried to open the door and go inside, the thought that this might be a crime crossed my mind again.
Ah, screw it. I didn't know anymore. Yoona's mom had given me the code and told me to go in, so what was the problem with entering?
"5, 2, 0, 0..."
—Beep.
I accidentally entered 5201. Damn it...
—Tap tap tap tap...
When I lowered and raised the lever again to re-enter the code, I heard small footsteps from inside. It was easy to guess who it was.
"5, 2, 0, 0..."
—Beep beep beep!
Thank god. Yoona was inside. I pushed the door open, and a cold, stale smell hit me in the face.
And then—
"Mommy, why..."
What greeted me next was—
"...Ah, uh."
—Yoona, clutching a small pillow to her chest with a face full of fear.
"...Hic."
Yoona, whose expression made it clear she didn't see me as her father at all.