Chapter 264
Chapter 264
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 264
Chapter Title: 87. The Reason for the Smile (2)
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Of course, this was a joke.
But then her friends, calling it gross, actually handed over a thousand won. There was no way she could refuse it. As Winter fumbled with her wallet to return the five hundred won change, an exasperated "Agh!" slipped out.
"No need for change—just hurry!"
Under the barrage of stares.
Winter thought it over carefully before opening her mouth.
"...Um, what do you wanna know?"
"Her dad. Like, does he have a great bod?"
Winter nodded confidently. Then she pointed to her own small shoulders and gestured widely with her arms. "Whoa...!" "No way...." With that, the kids' fantasies grew even more vivid.
"What about his personality? What's he like?"
"How do you guys spend time at home? Do you get along with your dad?"
"Any fun stories? What do you play together?"
Questions came flooding in.
"......"
Winter paused to think.
Yoo Ji-tae's personality?
She recalled his voice from back when she was just shedding her skin, full of worry. That awkward joke. The finger he'd extended. And the word chain game that followed.... Winter embellished the memory a little and explained it.
"No way.... He sounds super caring...."
"Wow, that just feels so nice...."
"How do you spend time at home?"
At home?
Nothing special. They just played together. Games or movies. Sometimes they'd go fishing to catch fish for the tank in Winter's room.
Winter explained it all in her slow drawl. There wasn't anything particularly impressive about it this time. Just a close dad and daughter hanging out. But picturing that blue-haired, handsome-as-hell mister playing like that with Winter? It felt like a scene straight out of a comic.
On the other hand, something else caught their attention.
"Whoa, look at her face."
"Winter's smiling like that...."
Winter's expression was like a masterpiece painting. She was always so impassive. Gloomy. Mildly unhappy. But now her bright blue eyes curved in a way that made even onlookers feel warm and fuzzy.
Stories followed: going sledding together, shopping trips, the time they sold umbrellas and got busted by the teacher. Her slow speech dragged on a bit, bordering on boring, but Winter's sheer joy made it impossible to interrupt.
Then they realized something huge.
"Huh?!"
"Yeah? What?"
"Tomorrow's that thing. Parent participation class...!"
"Huh? No way! For real?!"
The kids turned to Winter.
But most elementary parents worked weekdays. And with participation classes happening once a month, attendance rates weren't high.
"Is your dad coming?"
"...Um."
"Coming? Coming?"
Winter gave an awkward smile and shook her head.
"Aw, no way...."
"Bummer...."
"Hope he makes it sometime."
The kids sounded genuinely disappointed.
Winter felt a weird mix of emotions.
She wanted to show him off like a trophy.
But actually doing it felt off somehow.
"......"
Anyway, she couldn't show him off now.
She'd deliberately not mentioned the participation class to him.
Winter knew how busy Yoo Ji-tae was. Especially lately.
Even daytime dinners together were rare, and Bom handled all her homework help.
Nights? She hardly saw him. Sometimes she'd rub her eyes and knock on his door, but no one answered.
Can't disturb him if he's busy. Some nights she debated sending a message because she missed him so much, then gave up. At least he'd be there in the morning.
Mornings always had Yoo Ji-tae.
It was like an unbreakable truth. The times he wasn't there mornings could be counted on one hand.
So when he said that night, "See you at school tomorrow," Winter was shocked.
She had no idea home-school notices went out via messenger.
The next morning, Winter dropped a bombshell at school.
"Gasp? He's coming today?"
"...Yeah."
"For real? Yesterday you said no."
Winter slyly shook her head and let out a mischievous giggle. Realizing it wasn't a joke, the kids clapped and cheered wildly.
"Whoa, I'm so curious...!"
"Me too! I even dreamed of you and your dad last night!"
As they burst into laughter, eyes turned toward Winter from the other kids.
More precisely, toward Winter from among the kids.
Dragons have a presence.
Anyone with a significantly lower presence can't harbor excessive emotions toward a dragon, whatever form those emotions take.
If the dragon's mood sours, mere humans struggle to even meet its eyes. With a big enough gap in presence, breathing gets hard. They might even drop dead on the spot.
That's why plenty of kids admired Winter from afar, hearts aflutter—but not a single one dared cross that line to approach her.
As such,
what happened a few minutes later was pretty rare.
A boy strode into the classroom holding what looked like a bouquet.
Fourth grade. The age when girls are usually taller than boys. But this boy was taller than even the girls his age. And he had a delicately handsome face.
"Isn't that the piano prodigy from Class 3?"
"Gasp, yeah.... Why's he here?"
"Huh? He's heading for Winter...."
Some kids recognized him.
The boy stopped awkwardly exactly five meters from Winter. His face screamed nerves. The made-up look. The carefully chosen outfit. The bouquet in his hands. Everyone knew what was coming next.
...Or not.
Hey, what is that? Not flowers? Folded paper?
Paper...? Hey, looks like money?
Money folded into flowers? Whoa....
But the target was Winter, lover of cash.
Winter's friends blocked her path. The boy had wanted a one-on-one talk, but he shrank back.
"Lemme talk to Winter real quick."
"Why?"
"Got a confession."
He bulldozed forward like a bulldozer. Ignoring the "What?" "Confession?!" questions, he pushed through with sheer body mass.
But then another filter snagged his ankle: the blue dragon's presence. Getting too close made his limbs tremble uncontrollably. His mouth wouldn't cooperate. Fine. That's what the prep was for. He held out the flowers and a note.
"Th-th-this......"
The friends checked Winter's reaction.
Was she gonna take it?
Winter with a boyfriend? Unthinkable. But to reject...? The money denomination folded into those flowers was seriously high....
Winter looked utterly indifferent.
"...What?"
"G-gift."
"...Don't, need it."
"J-just... f-for you."
Still blank-faced. Her mouth hung in its usual downturned shape. As Winter turned her head away, the boy blurted, "I'll wait for your call," plopped the money bouquet on her desk, and bolted.
Winter stared at the money bouquet on her desk, then frowned. Like she'd seen something gross....
Her friends were shocked all over again.
Why not like it? Do you know how much that is...?
A quick tally: one million won. Lair had rich parents aplenty, so kids getting allowances like that weren't rare. But Winter's daily vending earnings topped out at a few thousand won.
"Why? Winter, you mad?"
"But you love money...?"
The kid who said it caught side-eyes from the others. Oops, too blunt. But Winter just shook her head.
"...Not money earned through effort."
"Huh?"
"...Not my money."
With that, Winter nudged the flowers aside.
Her expression stayed impassive.
Pondering Winter's odd logic brought another question to mind.
The one thing Winter truly seemed to like was money. Yet she didn't crack even a smile at this huge sum.
It was nothing like how she'd beamed talking about her dad yesterday.
How amazingly cool and awesome must her dad be to make such a huge difference?
The kids' doubts wouldn't last long.
3 p.m. Parent participation class time had arrived.
"Alright, quiet down."
The first session was PE. Before heading out to play, the homeroom teacher announced,
"Parents, please come on in."
Winter's friends craned their necks toward the back door. A few adults filed in one by one. Various moms and dads.
They shot Winter glances. No blue hair among the entering parents.
Then, when one man walked in, Winter's face lit up dramatically.
Who was that!?
The kids stared daggers at him.
Tall, just like she'd said. Body proportions that looked insanely perfect at a glance. A face handsomer than any celebrity's....
His face...?
"Gasp...!"
"Ah...?"
Shocked kids whipped their heads around.
The glasses-wearing one nearly screamed from sheer focus.
"Wh-what......"
"Uh-uh...?"
As the kids freaked out, Winter beamed ear-to-ear and bolted straight backward. Unlike the other kids sitting primly in their seats.
No way. It couldn't be. That terrifying guy...? No....
But Winter raced right up like she'd been waiting and flung her arms out.
He scooped her up with familiar ease. Not just her friends—all eyes locked on the pair.
"Having a good class?"
"...Yes."
His face looked like he'd chuck her if she wasn't, so the kids fretted for Winter.
"Good girl."
"...Yes."
"Time to get down."
It felt like "...unless you wanna die." But Winter just grinned from ear to ear at his words.
Finally, he pried her off forcibly, and Winter returned to her seat.
Meanwhile, her friends whispered furiously.
"I didn't imagine it, right...?"
"Nah...? He's terrifying...."
"Same. Looks just like that wanted poster outside the police station...."
"Hey, how? You were going on about genes and stuff...."
They both glared at the glasses kid. She was just as baffled.
"How should I know...?"
Yoo Ji-tae in the flesh was pure shock value.
No kid had ever seen anyone that scary-looking.
"Parents, please take seats next to your prepared students."
At the teacher's words, Yoo Ji-tae ambled over and sat beside Winter. A few kids glared at him, met his eyes, and whipped their heads away in fright. Then they spotted Winter, still beaming at the guy next to her.
"Just why is she smiling like that......?"
Winter thought for a second, then offered him the money flower.
This was shocking in its own right.
No matter how little she cared about money, it was money—and hers. Handing it over to someone else so casually? Astonishing to her friends.
"...Here. A gift."
"What's this?"
"...Bouquet made of money."
"Yours?"
"...Yeah."
"Big bucks. Where'd it come from?"
"...Someone left it and ran."
"Why?"
"...Dunno."
"Don't know? Then return it. Especially with this much."
"...Yeah?"
He handed the flowers back. Winter accepted them blankly with both hands, looking genuinely bummed she couldn't give them away—but still nodding and smiling in agreement.
Why agree...?
More than that, why is she smiling right now...?
They stole glances. Her friends' confusion deepened.
"Our first parent participation session is PE. Shall we all head out together?"
The first class began.