The Idol Obsessed Over by Her Uncle Fan Wants to Escape (5)
The restaurant was decent enough, just as I'd expected.
It wasn't one of those ultra-trendy spots flooding Instagram, but the kind of refined place where people who actually ran businesses would gather for a meal. So this was the conclusion the old man had reached after putting some thought into it.
It wasn't a hundred percent my taste… but he'd made the effort. And the menu seemed chosen with my preferences in mind.
"Shall we go in?"
"Yeah! Papa."
We handed the car off to the valet, and the two of us stepped inside. He walked a pace ahead. I followed behind him. There was still a faint distance between us.
Maybe I should push it a little further… try to make this feel like a real father and daughter.
I lightly took hold of the arm of the man in front of me.
"…S-Sarang?"
"What? Papa."
I didn't fully link arms with him. I didn't just grab his sleeve either. I simply closed my hand around the upper part of his wrist.
Surprisingly firm. Must be from working out. That part of him didn't feel like an old man at all. Hogu oppa was on the skinny side by comparison.
"Th-that… h-holding on like that…"
"Hmm? It's fine~. I'm your daughter. What's the big deal?"
"I… I s-suppose…?"
He was ridiculously flustered. This guy. He wasn't a kid, and this was nothing.
I kept hold of his arm all the way through being seated. The restaurant was quiet, every table in its own private room, the whole place thick with that exclusive feel. Once we stepped into our room, a waiter set the places.
Seats facing each other. We sat down, but the table was large enough that the distance still felt awkward.
"Papa. Can I scoot over a little?"
I slid the place setting and silverware over beside him.
"S-Sarang?"
"Hmm~. This seat's better."
"I… is it?"
Side seat secured. This way we'd look more like a close father and daughter, wouldn't we? Sitting across from each other felt like some kind of blind date.
See? Sitting side by side made it easier to look at the menu together, too.
"What do you want to eat, Papa?"
"Whatever Sarang wants… anything. Ah. Don't worry about the price."
"Then……"
I called the waiter over and ordered a set of dishes with peculiar names. Two tiers down from the most expensive option. He'd said not to worry about cost, but this felt like a comfortable amount to accept without guilt.
"…So. What should we do this afternoon?"
"Wherever Sarang wants to go."
…He was spouting lines straight out of a drama. Even if an old man said something like that, I wasn't about to melt for it.
Hmm. Still, if it was something he could enjoy too…
"Mmm~. Papa. How about this? Since we've got a car I've been dying to ride in, we could take a long drive out somewhere…"
"Sounds good."
"And… ah. One of the things I wanted to do on a day off was go to the beach. Want to hit the seaside?"
"That works."
"Once we're there… well. Not swimming, necessarily. But we could grab something delicious."
For a man in his fifties, this kind of plan was probably ideal, right?
"Ah! Let's do karaoke too. I can blow off some stress. I'll even take song requests."
"F-for real?"
"Yep! Special service for Papa."
It was a bit of a slapdash plan, but it was a date itinerary he could be reasonably happy with. Hang out, eat, head back late in the evening. That should do it.
"Th-then I'll cancel the other reservations…"
He pulled out his phone and started tapping around.
"Papa. Your wallpaper is a picture of me too?"
"Hmm? Ah. Y-yeah."
"Thanks~. For always cheering me on."
Half of that was genuine. Hearing him say he liked me this much gave me a strange, hard-to-name sense of satisfaction.
While we waited for the food, he fussed with his phone for a long stretch, then scratched his head.
"Umm……. How do I cancel this reservation?"
"Cancel? Let me see."
I leaned my face in close to his phone. Naturally, the distance between us closed.
Mmm. Nice cologne. No weird smells. A little… middle-aged, maybe, but it was a masculine scent. Different from the cool fragrance Hogu oppa wore — deeper, more mature.
"Ah. Here. Press this button. Yeah, yeah. There."
"Ah~. Like this?"
Doing this really did feel like a father and daughter. Come to think of it, I'd been an idol since trainee days, barely able to go home… I'd never done anything like this with my actual dad.
I felt like I understood a tiny bit of what this man was feeling.
Just a little more. Act more like a daughter. Keep it natural.
I casually laid my hand over his as he tapped the screen.
"……S-Sarang?"
"Papa. Not that button. This one. You have to check this box first."
I guided his hand and pressed a few buttons on the screen.
Refund request has been completed.
"…Ahem. Th-thank you. Sarang."
"Hmm? It's nothing. Of course I'd help — I'm your daughter~."
"Daughter……"
"Today… I'm Papa's daughter. Okay?"
I rested my cheek lightly against his shoulder. Sturdier than I'd expected. Not bad. For an older guy, he was actually alright. Maybe it was just that I'd spent so long looking at nothing but potbellied uncles.
"R-right…. Sarang…."
Slowly, his arm came up around my back. His hand settled on the shoulder I was leaning against.
Mmm……
Normally, you weren't supposed to do this with an idol. But I'd leaned on him first, and this was more natural than leaving his hand hanging awkwardly in the air. If he tried anything weird with the skinship, I'd shut it down — but this was closer to a gentle pat than groping.
A dad patting his daughter's shoulder… that was a normal thing, right?
Service stops right here. I'm cutting him some slack.
We stayed like that until the waiter came in and set down the food. The presentation was far better than I'd expected. Worth the price, at least.
He cut the steak into small pieces and arranged them on my plate. Glancing sideways, I saw him still focused entirely on his knife work.
This kind of kindness… wasn't bad. Someone ought to learn from it. Especially Hogu oppa.
Though with Harin unnie… he'd probably do it for her, wouldn't he?
Ah. There went that little flare of irritation again.
I speared a piece of meat with my fork.
"Papa."
"Yeah?"
"Ahh~."
I held the bite of meat up toward his face. His face went red in an instant. I'd figured a man in his fifties would have done this plenty of times and barely react — but he was acting like a little kid.
"Ah. Aaa…"
When he parted his lips slightly, I pushed the piece of meat inside.
"Oh? Sauce on you. Hold on. I'll wipe it."
I pulled out a napkin and dabbed the sauce near his lips.
"Hmm. Well? Your daughter's pretty good at filial piety, huh?"
"Y-yeah."
That should be enough of a return on his kindness, right? It would leave him with a decent memory, too. If I had to do this anyway, better that both of us spent the time in a good mood.
Yeah. That was the way to go.
After that, we went for a drive. It was a convertible, so I got to enjoy the feeling of racing along with the wind in my face for the first time. At the beach we walked around a bit, played in the sand, took some photos.
At the karaoke place, I sang without any stress for the first time in ages. Singing without a vocal coach watching over me — I hadn't realized how free that could feel. I ran through every Sepia song they had, plus a few of the ones he'd requested.
Not bad. This part, either.
Dinner was… a raw fish place, tilted a little toward his tastes. By then it felt natural to pick up pieces of sashimi with chopsticks, tap them together in place of a toast. I'd loosened up enough from all the hanging out that I bantered with him easily, laughing as we talked. His expression was far more natural than when we'd first met. The way he over-accommodated me for the sake of the "date" was nice in its own way, but…
He must have needed this kind of healing too. Nothing special. Just these little things. Watching him laugh so freely made me feel like I'd done a solid job today, and I was proud of myself for it.
After eating a piece of sashimi loaded with chojang, he said with a touch of regret:
"Khh…. Sashimi like this really needs soju to hit right."
"…? Papa. Should I order some, then?"
"No. We have to drive back up to Seoul tonight."
"Ah. Right. Of course."
No drinking and driving. And I couldn't drive.
Once we finished this and headed back to Seoul… we'd probably reach the dorm around ten.
And when we got to the dorm……
When we got there——
Ah.
———It would just be Hogu oppa and Harin unnie.
Time seemed to freeze for a second. I'd completely forgotten.
Eunchae unnie had gone to the provinces, so she definitely wouldn't be back until tomorrow. Se-a was hanging out with friends, which meant she was definitely staying out overnight. And right now, the dorm would have only Harin unnie and Hogu oppa in it……
Ah. What the hell.
If I walked in now, I'd be the most clueless person alive. They'd clearly be thinking no one else was coming home. If I showed up……
I didn't want to do something stupid and make them hate me.
No — more than that.
…I didn't want to see the two of them together.
What is wrong with me.
———I have nowhere to go tonight?
Misery wrapped itself around my body. No. I was going to cry.
"S-Sarang…? What's wrong. Your face……"
I looked up to find Papa watching me with worried eyes.
Ah. Seriously. Don't look at me with those real-dad-worrying eyes. I'm barely holding back from throwing myself into your arms and sobbing right now, okay?
"Papa."
"Huh? Yeah…"
"Can I drink too?"
"Huh?"
"Excuse me! Two bottles of Fresh over here!"
"…Sarang?"
I ignored his opinion and ordered straight out. Alcohol…. I wasn't good at it. I'd snuck some at the dorm before and it hadn't even tasted good. But somehow, tonight, I felt like I wouldn't make it through without drinking something.
And Papa wanted to drink…. I should match him on that too, right?
Two bottles of soju and two glasses arrived at the table. I opened one and poured him a glass. One for myself. We clinked and drank. Another glass each.
It tasted… better than I expected. I'd never understood people saying alcohol tasted sweet, but today I kind of got it.
Another glass each. Clink. Another glass. This time a love shot. People nearby kept glancing over. Let them look. One more glass. Already running low. Ordered another bottle. One more glass. One more. One……
By the time we left the restaurant, the sun had gone down. He tried to get behind the wheel, and I stopped him. No drinking and driving, I said.
Instead.
"…Let's rest a bit first, Papa."
I had nowhere to go tonight anyway. I needed a place to stay for the night.
"……Sarang. …Are you serious?"
"………Yeah."
No. We were father and daughter. Spending one night together was fine, wasn't it? As long as we didn't cross the line. Just the line.
I sank into Papa's arms as he naturally wrapped them around my shoulders. I needed to hide my face, and my body felt heavy… so I buried it against his chest. We walked a short way like that, heading for a shabby motel nearby.