Chapter 182
Chapter 182
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 182
Chapter Title: Double Cavities
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"Ah, you've got one by the molar here, and you can feel it—there's another cavity right there too."
"Ah, ahhh (Oh, is it really bad?)"
"It's not terribly severe, but you'll need to get it treated quickly. It spreads fast like this. Oh, and I think we should do some scaling while we're at it."
"Ahh, ahhhh (So, are we doing it right now?)"
"No, we can't do it right away—I've got appointments backed up. If you book now, we can probably fit you in two days from now."
Who would've thought I'd have cavities.
I never even imagined it.
Then again, I spent so long in the hospital without proper care.
It was entirely possible.
Still, it was a bit of a shock.
"Daddy has cavities too, like Daeun!"
She was thrilled that even having cavities was something we shared.
It was a little heartbreaking, but seeing Daeun so happy made it okay.
The dentist smiled at Daeun's reaction and said,
"Daddy having cavities is good? Cavities hurt a lot—you should be sad about it."
Daeun's face froze in shock at those words.
"Cav, cavities hurt?"
"Yeah, they hurt if you leave them. A lot."
"No way! Daddy can't hurt!"
She started babbling on, on the verge of tears.
"Daeun will take care of Daddy's ouchies! Daddy can't hurt!"
She was overreacting a bit to the pain talk.
Which made sense—I'd been in the hospital, and she'd heard nonstop that I was hurting.
The dentist removed the cloth from my face, and finally I could see Daeun's expression.
She looked ready to burst into a flood of tears any second. I smiled and reassured her.
"Daddy's fine. So don't worry so much."
"Really really fine?"
"Yeah, Daddy promised, remember? I'll always be by Daeun's side."
It was pitiful seeing her like that, but at the same time, my heart felt warm.
I could feel how much she truly cared.
The dentist smiled at our exchange and said to Daeun,
"But Teacher will make sure it doesn't hurt, so no need to worry too much. Got it?"
"Yes! Make it not hurt at all, please! Daeun loves Daddy suuuper duper much!"
Somehow the roles felt reversed.
The dentist chuckled fondly at her and said,
"Alright then, shall we check Daeun now?"
Her expression darkened a little at that, but not as much as before.
Instead, she nodded with a determined look, like she was steeling herself.
"Yes! Daeun can handle it!"
She climbed onto the chair where I'd been lying.
Then she opened her mouth wide.
"Ahhhh! (Daeun can handle it!)"
"Okay, okay. Let's take a look. Teacher will make sure it doesn't hurt."
Daeun's checkup finally began.
Hang on—there was something I'd been wondering since earlier.
'But how does she understand every single word?'
The question lingered, but it didn't seem like I'd get an answer anytime soon.
The cloth covered her face, so I couldn't see Daeun's expression, but honestly, that was a relief.
'Her face looks bad.'
If she saw the dentist's expression during the checkup, she'd be terrified.
The dentist beckoned me over with a flick of her hand.
I leaned in close and peered at Daeun's open mouth.
She pointed to the molar with a sharp tool.
A black-stained cavity.
It was the exact one I'd spotted before.
But sadly, that wasn't the only one.
She pointed to another molar.
'Two...'
Not one, but two.
They weren't visible from outside, but the round mirror showed the back clearly stained black.
A total of two.
If it were just one side, maybe, but both sides would make treatment tough.
The dentist smiled at Daeun and said,
"Daeun, sweetie, why don't you hang out with Nurse Sis for a bit? Teacher needs to step out for a minute."
"Ah! (Yes!)"
"Okay, I'll be right back."
She stood and slipped into the back room.
I followed, and she explained,
"Hmm, looks like we can't treat both today."
"I figured as much."
"Yeah, since they're on both sides, we'll do one today and the other next time."
"No choice, then. Treating both would make eating impossible. Ah, so we can come back together next time. I'll get mine treated too."
"Sounds good?"
Best to knock it out at once, but no other options now.
The dentist glanced at Daeun in the chair and smiled.
"She's impressive, though. Not easy for a kid to be that brave."
"R-Really?"
"It means she trusts and follows her daddy that much."
"Yeah."
Trusts and follows me.
"Even parents can't override a kid's instincts to be scared—it's hard to hold still. But she managed it so well. She must love her daddy a ton."
Her words filled me with gratitude.
It had only been a few months.
So much had happened since meeting Daeun, but she'd come to trust and follow me more.
Enough for the dentist to say this.
I glanced over at Daeun lying in the chair.
She was so admirable, so proud.
Gazing at her, I said,
"I'm the lucky one."
For loving her imperfect daddy.
We returned to our spots.
While I'd been talking with the dentist, Daeun had been chatting with the nurse—and it sounded fun.
Her giggles hadn't stopped.
"Bet you were telling some fun stories."
Daeun beamed and said,
"Nurse Sis said if Daeun's good for treatment, she gets chocolate!"
"Ooh, Daeun loves chocolate."
"Yes! Loves it suuuper duper!"
"Ah, so Daeun likes chocolate, huh."
The dentist smiled, but something about it sent a chill down my spine.
Daeun seemed to sense it too.
"Ahaha, hahaha."
All she could do was give an awkward smile at the dentist.
"But hey, did you know? Teacher likes chocolate too."
Daeun's tense expression relaxed.
"Really?"
"Yeah. That's why Teacher went to the dentist a lot as a kid. My teeth got really bad."
A dentist whose teeth rotted as a kid and frequented the dentist.
It felt ironic, but the dentist turned it into an advantage.
"So Teacher made a promise back then."
"What?"
"That when I grew up to be a dentist, I'd make treatments not hurt."
"So it doesn't hurt?"
Pain or no pain—that was the question.
But she didn't lie.
"It does hurt. Just not a ton. That's what I can promise."
"Really?"
"Yeah. So today we'll do the left side, and the right side in a week."
Wow, what?
She'd casually dropped the two-cavity bombshell on Daeun.
"And Daeun gets to do it with Daddy, right? Fun!"
"Uh... yes! Daeun loves doing stuff with Daddy!"
She even got a firm yes out of her. Impressive.
"Alright, Teacher'll make it not hurt, so lie back down?"
Daeun nodded and settled in.
"Okay, treatment starting. If it hurts, raise your hand."
"If hurts, raise hand."
"Yeah, I'll stop right away. Got it?"
"Yes! Daeun got it!"
"Good. Let's get started."
Treatment finally began.
The dentist signaled with her eyes—just in case Daeun squirmed, hold her.
I nodded and gently took Daeun's hand.
And then.
Whiiiiiir—!
The terrifying sound started, and Daeun's grip tightened on my hand.
'You got this, Daeun!'
Just as I was cheering her on silently.
"Daddy! Daeun needs to raise hand! Gimme!"
Ah...
I sheepishly let go.
"Uh, yeah. O-Okay."
Whiiiir! Shoooo!
Grinding out the cavity, sucking it up with the suction.
The treatment that felt endless finally wrapped up.
Daeun sat there dazedly staring at the TV, cotton wad in her mouth as instructed.
Jungeun, waiting outside oblivious, asked at her reaction,
"Did it hurt a lot, Daeun?"
"......"
With the cotton, she couldn't reply, so I answered for her.
"Daeun was super brave and held still great."
"Really? For real?"
Nod.
Daeun nodded, and Jungeun nodded back in relief.
"Our Daeun's so awesome. You did great. All done now?"
"Nope, one side left."
"One more?"
"Yeah. Turns out I have a cavity too, so we're coming back together next week."
"For real, Daeun?"
Nod.
Daeun nodded, and Jungeun looked at me.
"So when can she eat? Not today?"
"Nah, take the cotton out soon, but no chewing till tomorrow."
"So the other side's fine to chew on?"
"Yeah."
"Awesome. I was gonna treat Daeun to something yummy if she did well."
"Yummy stuff?"
Wonder what.
"Yeah, meeting Minji for dinner tonight. If it's cool, join us?"
Minji's name made Daeun mumble around her cotton.
"Eo (Auntie)"
"Yeah, Minji Auntie finished work early, so dinner together. Daeun can eat with Minji Auntie, okay?"
Daeun nodded vigorously.
"Eoorae! (Wanna!)"
I asked Jungeun,
"But isn't Minji busy? Her graduation exhibit's soon."
"Yeah, that's why she'll have even less time soon. She got off early to hang out after forever."
"Then just you two. Don't let us crash your date."
"Crash what? Why'd you think I went to Daeun's studio today?"
"No way, to ask?"
"Yeah. Things are good with Minji now, but I haven't treated you and Daeun to a nice meal yet. So dinner tonight. Plus, she misses Daeun."
Ah, never guessed that reason.
Still, his help made things easier.
"So what're you buying?"
Jungeun grinned at Daeun.
"Gonna get Daeun the food her mommy loves most."
Mommy's favorite food—Daeun's eyes went wide.
Hyorin's favorite.
"No way..."
"Yeah, that. Shabu-shabu."
Whoosh!
Daeun yanked out her cotton and yelled,
"Daeun wants that too!"
Heh.
Just like that, dinner with Minji was set in an instant.