Dining Out

They say a tower built with care doesn't crumble easily.

Clatter.

Well, it did.

This was already the fourth time.

Every time we got close to finishing, Yuna would knock the puzzle over as if by accident.

Or she would give it a careless kick, scattering the pieces everywhere.

"Daddy, why... why aren't you putting it together?"

At first, I thought it was an accident. The second time, I let it slide.

But after the third and fourth time, irritation was starting to bubble up.

"Yuna."

"Yeah?"

Yuna looked up at me with an innocent, clueless expression.

What on earth was she thinking, doing this over and over?

Knocking over a nearly finished puzzle just to start all over again.

There were a swarm of tiny pieces, and doing it repeatedly was making my back ache and my head throb.

"You're not doing this on purpose, are you?"

"N-No, I'm not."

Of course, it could just be a mischievous prank typical of kids her age.

I used to play pranks like that when I was little, too.

Maybe playing around like this with a dad was something Yuna had always wished for.

"...Alright. Let's do it again."

Swallowing a sigh, I grabbed another handful of pieces.

I quickly started assembling the shape of the Magical Girl looking up at the sky in the corner...

"Daddy, you're too fast..."

Yuna painstakingly pried apart the pieces I had put together in an instant.

Then, gathering all the pieces to her side, she began handing them to me one by one.

It felt like at least an hour had already flown by.

Still, it wasn't like I could get angry at her...

"...Daddy, can we leave it like this and finish it after dinner...?"

As I was trying to focus again, Yuna spoke up.

"I'm hungry... Let's, let's eat..."

In the end, all I got out of this was a rising temper and a sore back.

When I tried to move the puzzle to the master bedroom for the time being,

Yuna insisted on doing it herself. She gathered the puzzle pieces and began busily tidying them up on her own.

The pieces were already tiny and numerous, and after putting them together from scratch multiple times,

I was completely exhausted. I just slumped onto the sofa.

"Ugh..."

My eyes ached.

Was raising a daughter really this exhausting?

Then how on earth do people raise sons?

Suddenly, I felt a deep wave of respect for my own parents.

"All done."

As I lay stretched out on the sofa with my eyes closed, Yuna, who had finished cleaning up, tugged at my collar.

She was a smart kid, at least. It was just that she was hard to understand sometimes.

She was fidgeting, shifting from foot to foot and constantly reading my expression, which felt a bit unsettling.

"...L-Let's go eat now."

I figured she was just really hungry.

Well, kids do get hit with sudden, intense hunger pangs.

I got up and headed to the refrigerator.

Inside, there were ordinary side dishes, just like yesterday.

"..."

But why was everything so underwhelming?

Braised potatoes, seaweed soup, stir-fried fish cakes...

None of them really felt like a main dish.

I turned my head to look at Yuna.

She was watching me with anxious eyes. Was she really that hungry?

While we were doing the puzzle, I was nothing but irritated, but seeing her like this made her look incredibly cute again.

"Yuna."

"Y-Yes?!"

Why did I even feel annoyed at such a cute kid?

"Should we eat out today?"

Hearing my words, Yuna's eyes went wide as saucers.

Then, letting out a cute cheer, she threw her arms around my leg.

Yuna and I stepped outside.

Dressed in a cheap pink padded jacket, Yuna held my hand tightly, wearing a silly grin as if she was on top of the world.

Her mom could've at least bought her some decent clothes.

"Is there anything you want to eat?"

I asked quietly, looking up at the sky as it faded from light blue to deep navy.

What do kids like these days? Malatang? Or maybe hot pot?

I'd never eaten stuff like that before...

A sudden wave of dread washed over me at the thought of having to eat something like that for dinner.

"Over there!"

After pondering for a long moment, Yuna pointed her finger.

Fortunately, it wasn't malatang or hot pot.

"I want to go there."

Yuna was pointing at a shabby snack bar across the street.

It had a faded sign painted with pictures of gimbap and tteokbokki—the kind of place that made its living off students stopping by after school.

"You want to go there?"

"Yeah!"

We could afford to go somewhere a bit more expensive.

When I asked her why, Yuna replied:

"Um... whenever Mommy and I ate out, we always went there..."

"I don't really know any other places..."

Yuna added softly.

Another memory of her mother.

What kind of mother only takes her kid to a cheap snack bar when they eat out?

I patted Yuna's head as she looked up at me sheepishly.

"Yuna, do you like meat?"

"M-Meat?"

"Yeah. Do you know what charcoal-grilled galbi is?"

Yuna stared at me blankly for a moment, then nodded.

"I like it, but..."

"Then let's go eat that."

Forget the snack bar.

Over the last two days, all I'd fed her was fried chicken and black bean sauce rice.

I wanted to treat her to a proper meat dinner at least once while I was playing the role of her dad.

Besides, when I was a kid, eating out with my dad usually meant charcoal-grilled galbi.

"But..."

Hmm?

"M-Mommy said we would go eat meat together once she made a lot of money..."

What did she mean by that?

I thought about it for a second.

Ah, was she worried about my wallet?

"Daddy has plenty of money."

I had made a decent amount from the Guest Proxy gig ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠today, after all.

Yuna blinked at my words, looking dazed.

Then, she buried her face in my side.

The place I took Yuna to was a typical Charcoal Galbi Restaurant, thick with the scent of burning charcoal.

Grills were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠set into every table, and exhaust pipes hung in clusters from the ceiling.

"Whoa..."

Yuna gasped in awe, clutching my hand tightly.

Had her mother really ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠never taken her out to a restaurant like this?

No matter how tight money was, this seemed a bit much...

Though, I suppose I wasn't one to talk, since I'd only brought her to a run-of-the-mill meat joint.

"We'll have one serving of the fresh ribs and one of the marinated, please."

As soon as we sat down, a server approached, and I placed our order right away.

Since it was her first time in a place like this, Yuna looked around the restaurant with wide, curious eyes.

"What's this?"

"When the meat comes out, we'll put it on here and grill it ourselves."

A moment later, glowing red charcoal was placed in the grill, followed by bright red fresh galbi.

I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠picked up the tongs and laid the meat onto the grate.

Sizzle.

The fat splattered with a mouth-watering sound.

It looked delicious as hell.

Yuna swallowed hard, staring at the meat as if hypnotized.

Suddenly, she reached out to touch the hot coals, and I pulled her back in a panic.

Yuna giggled.

She nearly gave me a heart attack.

"Looks like it's all cooked."

I snipped the golden-brown meat with scissors and placed a piece on Yuna's plate.

"Blow on it first. It's hot."

"...Okay!"

Yuna was terrible with chopsticks.

It took her a while just to pinch a single piece of meat, but once she finally popped it into her mouth...

"...!"

She kept huffing and puffing because of the heat, but she couldn't stop smiling.

She looked so happy eating it.

Seeing her stuff her cheeks until they were about to burst, I cut up some more meat and put it on her plate.

She's really packing it away.

I was stuck grilling and barely got to eat a bite myself.

But well, as long as she was eating well, that was enough.

Dammit...

We were out having a nice meal, so why did these dark thoughts keep creeping in?

What if her mother never came back?

Seeing Yuna look so blissfully happy only made those worries grow.

"You eat too, Daddy."

While I was lost in thought, Yuna clumsily pinched a piece of meat with her chopsticks.

She placed it on my plate.

Her tiny arm trembled because the plate was a bit far, but she managed it.

"Ha."

Yeah, there was no reason to ruin a good moment with bad thoughts.

With nothing but the hope that this would be a happy memory for Yuna,

I went back to cutting up meat for her.

We only left the restaurant after we had eaten our fill.

"Was it good?"

"Yeah!"

Yuna patted her tummy and gave me a bright smile.

I let out a chuckle at the sight of her round little belly.

The night air was quite chilly.

The temperature had dropped noticeably since we went inside, so I zipped Yuna's pink jacket all the way up to her chin.

It was about a ten-minute walk back home.

Holding Yuna's hand, I started walking down the alleyway dotted with sparse streetlights.

"..."

But after only a few steps, Yuna suddenly came to a halt.

"What's wrong?"

Did she leave something behind? Or did she need to use the bathroom?

I looked back and saw Yuna staring up at me.

Her lips twitched as if she had something to say.

"...C-Carry me."

She mumbled in a tiny voice.

"My legs hurt..."

Yeah, right.

We had barely walked at all from the snack bar to the restaurant.

She had been walking perfectly fine just a second ago.

I knew it was just a classic excuse from a kid who didn't want to walk.

"..."

But who on earth could say no to those eyes?

I crouched down and offered my back, and Yuna hopped right on as if she'd been waiting for it.

Her small arms wrapped around my neck.

"...Hehe."

A soft giggle tickled my ear.

Yuna clung tightly to me, rustling against my back.

"Daddy."

"Yeah?"

"...Your back is warm, Daddy."

I felt her small cheek nuzzling against my back.

"..."

What was I supposed to say to that?

I tried to think of a proper, fatherly response, but nothing came to mind.

So, I just hoisted her up a bit higher and kept walking.

The navy sky had turned pitch black before I knew it.

My shadow stretched out long under the streetlights.

To anyone passing by, we probably looked just like a real father and daughter.

"Daddy, look over there!"

"Hmm?"

"Look at the stars! The stars!"

In the sky Yuna was pointing to...

"...I don't see anything."

There wasn't a single star in sight.

They had long since been swallowed up by the city lights.

"Right there! There's one...!"

"Uh..."

"Right over there."

I stared up at the spot Yuna was pointing to from my back for a long time.

But in the end, I couldn't see a thing.

"Ah, I see it."

But if I kept denying it, she might get grumpy, or we'd end up stargazing in the dark forever.

So, I told a white lie.

Yuna seemed satisfied at last.

"...Hehe."

She buried her face in my back.

Hearing her soft breathing slow down,

it seemed the warm back and full belly were finally putting her to sleep.

What kind of star had Yuna seen just now?

I looked up at the sky again, but still, no stars appeared.

By the time we reached the house, Yuna was already fast asleep.

She was breathing softly against my back.

A tiny bit of drool had even pooled at the corner of her mouth.

5, 2, 0, 0.

I pressed the now-familiar passcode and went inside, gently laying Yuna down on the bed in the master bedroom.

I slipped off her pink jacket and pulled the blanket up to her chin.

"...Mmh..."

Yuna tossed and turned in her sleep, smacking her lips.

Then she went back to breathing softly.

It made sense she was tired after eating so much and getting a piggyback ride all the way home.

I used to pass out in my dad's car every time we went out to eat, too.

"..."

I brushed her messy bangs aside for no particular reason and was about to quietly slip out of the room when...

Ring! Ring!

"...!"

Fearing Yuna might wake up, I quickly switched the phone to silent.

Fortunately, Yuna didn't wake up and remained fast asleep.

Who is it at this hour?

An unfamiliar number was displayed on the screen.

Calls at this hour were usually inquiries for proxy services.

People in a pinch often reached out in the middle of the night.

I took one last look at the sleeping Yuna and quietly slipped out to the front door.

I didn't want to risk waking her up.

"No, it's fine. Go ahead," I replied.

"Ah, tomorrow."

I quickly did the math in my head. Tomorrow... Yuna's school let out at one-thirty, and weddings were usually around lunchtime. It would be tight, but if I went early in the morning, it was doable.

"Yes, tomorrow is fine. What time is the ceremony?"

"Then I'll be there by ten-thirty."

We exchanged a few more words, sorting out the location and the fee. Since I could handle this kind of thing with my eyes closed, I wrapped up the call smoothly.

"Yes, see you tomorrow."

I slipped the phone back into my pocket as the call ended.

Still, it was a relief that the work kept coming.

My body was exhausted after a long day, so I figured I should head back inside and get some sleep.

"Ugh, it's freezing..."

Just as I was rubbing my hands together and turning to go back into the villa,

Patter, patter, patter...

I heard the sound of someone running out of the building entrance in a hurry.

When I turned my head to look,

"Daddy! Daddy...!"

With eyes that looked ready to burst into tears at the slightest touch,

Yuna came running out, her face pale with sheer terror.

"Ugh... waaaah!"

The moment our eyes met, she lunged at me, hugging me so hard she almost knocked me over.

It was the most sorrowful crying I had ever seen from her.

Why?