Chapter 152
Chapter 152
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 152
Chapter Title: A Slight Happening
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There was a slight happening.
What can I say... It was like a time for a father and daughter to confirm each other's feelings.
Of course, the fact that it involved Ms. Yun and Richard made it a bit special, but in any case.
'Hmm, in the end, it turned out well, didn't it?'
A truly wonderful and heartwarming scene was born, where they fed each other food.
The only thing was, Ms. Yun, who had done the feeding, looked quite troubled.
"I'll never do it again."
"Once is enough."
Richard then brought the remaining food to his mouth and asked,
"So, shall we hear about who it is you want to marry?"
At that, before Ms. Yun could talk about Officer Kim Sucheol, she posed one question.
"It might be someone who doesn't meet your standards as a father."
"Yeah? And what are my standards?"
"I know you want someone from a wealthy family with no flaws."
Who wouldn't?
If Daeun grew up and brought home the man she wanted to marry, I'd inevitably look into his background.
Of course, that wouldn't be a reason to outright oppose it.
That's from my perspective, but from Richard's standpoint, he'd probably oppose it no matter what.
Ms. Yun's words made Richard raise one eyebrow.
"Let's hear it first. Who is this person?"
At that, Ms. Yun began telling him about Officer Kim Sucheol.
From when they first met, to why she came to like him.
And even, during her time in Korea, what she liked about him after meeting him.
She explained in such detail that I wondered if she should be sharing all this.
Ah, of course, she even mentioned Officer Kim Sucheol's job.
"Hmm."
After hearing everything about Officer Kim Sucheol, Richard fell deep into thought.
Then, he glanced up at Ms. Yun and asked a somewhat out-of-left-field question.
"Do you think you could actually marry him?"
"Then why do you think I told you about it?"
"No, I mean realistically."
"Realistically?"
"Yeah, realistically—do you think you two could get married and live well?"
I couldn't quite grasp what he was trying to ask.
After all, wasn't she bringing up Officer Kim because she thought they could live happily together?
But Richard's thinking seemed a bit different.
"Love marriages are great. You can think you'll love each other forever right now. But reality is a little different. No matter how much you like each other now, you can't ignore reality. Especially since you and that man come from different worlds—that's the issue."
Richard laid out reality for Ms. Yun.
"But that's exactly why she thought that way and told me, right?"
"What?"
"My standards for a son-in-law. I don't really have any particular thoughts on it, but she assumed I did."
He wasn't wrong.
Everything had been Ms. Yun's own thoughts and judgments.
At those words, Ms. Yun stared at Richard with a somewhat dazed expression.
His words had probably given her a lot to think about.
"With your personality, even if I opposed it, you wouldn't back down, so meet him. But meet him plenty of times. Confirm whether you can truly stay with this person until the end."
It was incredibly practical advice.
Perhaps the best answer a father with a daughter could give.
But the mood grew solemn at Richard's next words.
This was probably what he'd wanted to say all along.
"Don't live like I did."
Ms. Yun's eyes widened.
The meal wrapped up like that.
"I'll come pick you up tomorrow morning."
Ms. Yun gave a rough rundown of tomorrow's schedule—she had to stop by the company for a morning meeting.
And there, they'd discuss Daeun's painting along with deciding on collaborations with certain products.
"Yes, see you tomorrow then."
Mr. James, standing beside her, chimed in.
"Had fun today. I'll come get you tomorrow."
"Yes, you worked hard too, Mr. James."
Nod.
After that exchange, finally, Richard extended his hand to me for a handshake.
"Nice meeting you today. Take good care of my daughter."
"Ah, I should be the one asking that."
Smile.
He smiled like that, then turned to Daeun and bent one knee.
"Let's meet again next time. Uncle will bring even better, prettier toys."
Beam!
Daeun beamed and replied.
"Yes! Daeun likes toys!"
"Uncle likes giving presents too. I've wanted to give them but haven't been able to do it properly."
"Why?"
"Why, you ask?"
Nod!
As Daeun nodded, Richard smiled and said,
"Because the person receiving the gifts really disliked me."
I wonder if Daeun realized that person was Ms. Yun.
"Even now?"
"Hmm, she dislikes me a little less now, but the problem is she's past the age for receiving gifts."
Glance.
As he said that, Richard snuck a peek at Ms. Yun standing behind him.
She was pretending not to listen, but probably hearing every word.
"Still, thanks to Daeun today, I feel like I received a gift instead, so I'm in a good mood."
"I want presents too!"
"Yeah, who knows—it might turn out to be an incredibly precious gift."
Daeun was overjoyed at that.
She might not have understood exactly what he meant, but the feeling was what mattered.
So Daeun smiled at Richard and said,
"That's great!"
Smile.
"Really."
With greetings to everyone done, Daeun and I made it back to the apartment.
Click.
As we opened the door and went in, Daeun ran to the window like before and gazed down at the New York cityscape that had turned into a night view.
Did she like how different it was from the morning?
Now she was lying right by the window, admiring the night view.
'I was going to wash up.'
I'd planned to wash up and rest after being out, but now I decided to rest a bit first and wash later.
So I went over to Daeun, plopped down beside her, and said,
"Daddy will watch too."
"Gazi."
"Yeah, Daddy wants to see what Daeun's seeing."
What Richard had said before we parted kept lingering in my mind.
He'd wanted to give gifts but couldn't. Now he could, but she was past the age to receive them.
Hearing that made me think of Daeun for some reason.
Right now, since Daeun needs me, she'll follow me no matter what I do.
But if I used being busy as an excuse and didn't spend time with her during this period, would she spend time with me once she grew up?
Of course, the situation with Richard and Ms. Yun was a bit different, but the big picture felt similar.
The idea of 'when the child needs their parents, make even more memories.'
"Daeun."
"Yeah, Daddy!"
"What do you want to be when you grow up next?"
Thinking about it, this was probably the first time I'd asked.
Daeun had said she wanted to paint before, but I'd never actually asked what she wanted to be when she grew up.
"Daeun..."
"Yeah."
As I nodded and looked at her, Daeun pondered for a moment before saying,
"Daeun wants to be a painter."
"Oh, really?"
I'd thought she wouldn't have one yet, so hearing she did made me even more curious.
"Yeah! Yesterday I talked with Mommy about it!"
"Oh yeah? What'd you tell Mommy?"
I'd wondered if maybe she wanted to be a cool writer like me.
That was when Daeun said it.
A dream from Daeun that I never would've guessed if I hadn't asked.
"Daeun wants to be a doctor!"
Ah......
It seems parents inevitably influence their kids' dreams.
The next morning dawned.
"Daddy! Daeun slept super well!"
"Daddy too."
Was it because we were tired from the long flight the day before? Or had we finally adjusted to the time difference?
Just sleeping and waking up felt refreshingly like being back in Korea.
'The lodging really makes a difference.'
Of course, our condition mattered too, but the apartment Ms. Yun had arranged felt so comfortable, which helped a lot.
We got up feeling refreshed, hurriedly got ready, and waited for the two of them.
Slurp-!
"Daeun, you really sure you don't want chocolate milk?"
"Yeah! I promised! Daeun's gonna drink water!"
Then Daeun slurped water from a glass with a straw.
Seeing that made me feel proud for some reason.
Such a young Daeun, not even five yet, trying so hard to keep her word.
"Our Daeun is so great."
Hee-!
As she did that, Daeun hugged the doll Richard had given her yesterday like a treasure.
Seeing that, I suddenly got curious and asked,
"But why aren't you playing with the other toys?"
"Because I like this bear doll!"
"Why?"
"It's cute!"
Hmm, but Daeun, who liked the bear doll more than the bear doll itself, was cuter.
Squeeze!
Well, as long as Daeun was happy.
She hugged the bear doll with all her might, beaming happily.
As I was cutely watching her, the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong.
"They must be here."
"Yeah!"
At the sound, Daeun and I quickly opened the door and went out to meet Ms. Yun, who had come to pick us up.
"Shall we head out then?"
"Yes."
"Yes! Let's go!"
And so, we set off with Ms. Yun toward the clothing company she had invested in.
Vroom-!
It wasn't far from our lodging.
About an hour, roughly.
Of course, an hour isn't exactly close, but this was America.
Screech.
"We're here."
After parking and getting out, a building with a huge clothing logo came into view.
I'd expected a certain scale since it was a world-famous luxury brand.
"It's huge."
The size was bigger than I'd imagined, making me feel a bit intimidated.
But Daeun seemed different.
"Daddy, this place is so big! There are pretty clothes everywhere!"
Saying that, Daeun kept tugging my hand.
I hurriedly tried to hold her back, but...
"Let her be. We're going in anyway. I let them know ahead of time, so they'll understand to some extent."
"Haha, even so."
"Then let's follow her in."
With that, Ms. Yun took Daeun's hand in my place and headed inside.
Whoosh-!
As the automatic doors opened, a pretty free-spirited interior came into view.
People in jeans, t-shirts, and sneakers bustling about with work.
'It's more casual than I thought.'
Was this really a company?
I'd imagined a stiff atmosphere with everyone in suits.
Looks like my thinking was too rigid.
Then, a man with a full beard approached us, waving his hand.
"Hey, Everly!"
Ms. Yun happily chatted in English with the blue-eyed man.
She seemed to be introducing us, as he kept glancing our way, and soon Ms. Yun turned to me and said,
"Say hi. This is David, who leads the design team."
Uh, um. What should I say?
Since it's America, English greeting, right?
Thinking that, I smiled and said,
"Hello."
It was a bit awkward English, but David seemed to understand, greeting me back, then saying something to Ms. Yun before gesturing for us to follow as he walked ahead.
"He's going to show us around inside. Shall we go?"
"Ah, yes."
It was a bit awkward, but with Ms. Yun there, it felt okay somehow.
"Alright, let's go."
Nod.
As Ms. Yun took the lead, that's when...
Tug.
Daeun, who was behind me, grabbed my sleeve.
Startled by her sudden action, I widened my eyes and asked,
"Daeun, what's up? Do you need something?"
At my question, Daeun looked toward David, who was walking ahead, and said,
"Daddy."
"Yeah?"
With a very determined look in her eyes.
"Daeun wants to touch the uncle's beard."
......Touch what?