Chapter 201
Chapter 201
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 201
Chapter Title: My Daughter Is a Genius Painter
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"And the melody, it sounds like a carnival~!"
Melody Man's song echoed through the studio.
It was a tune I'd listened to every day while painting back in the day.
I'd thought of it after a long time and put it on, and damn, it was still a masterpiece.
As I hummed along to the melody flowing from the speakers, Daeun toddled over and said,
"Daddy!"
"Yeah?"
"Daeun sing too!"
"Yeah, Daeun can listen to songs too."
"Yeah! Daeun likes this song!"
"Alright, what song should I play for you?"
As I picked up my phone, Daeun said,
"Daeun wants Teletubbies song!"
"Teletubbies?"
Honestly, I had no clue, so I just searched it up and hit play on the top result.
Then a cute, bubbly tune poured out of the speaker.
"Ti-ti-ti-ri-ping~!"
The moment the song started, Daeun beamed from ear to ear.
"Wow! Teletubbies song!"
She bobbed her head along and sang it perfectly.
"Ti-ti-ti-ri-ping! Na-na-na-ring!"
It was amazing how a kid her age nailed the rhythm and pitch.
Maybe it was her killer memory, but she got it almost spot-on.
Her pronunciation was a bit off, which only made it cuter.
'She's got pipes.'
While Daeun was belting out the Teletubbies song with gusto,
Bzzz-!
My phone vibrated in my hand with a new text.
I glanced over to check it.
'Yeah.'
I shifted in my seat and read it properly.
Sender: none other than Jungeun.
Looked like his proposal from yesterday had gone off without a hitch.
A photo of him with a bashful Minji.
Heh.
'Looks like it wrapped up nicely.'
There'd been a few bumps, but they both looked over the moon.
I showed the pic to Daeun, who was humming and singing along.
"Daeun, check this out. It's Uncle and Auntie."
"Really?"
I handed her the phone, and she lit up with a huge grin.
"Wow! That's Daeun's picture!"
"Yeah, Daeun's picture."
I'd missed it while looking at them, but sure enough, down at the bottom of the banner was the drawing Daeun had done in the studio back then.
Guess Minji had brought it along since Daeun gave it to her.
"You're right, Daeun's picture is there."
"Yeah! Daeun drew it!"
"Yeah, you did great. Our Daeun's the best."
We spent quite a while chatting about the photo together.
As we basked in the afterglow of the day, swapping stories,
Daeun asked,
"But Daddy."
"Yeah?"
"Daeun has question."
"What's your question?"
"Daeun grow up, gotta marry too?"
"Yeah."
Out of nowhere, she was talking marriage.
Not that I hadn't thought about it at all.
"Hmm, when Daeun finds someone she wants to spend her whole life with, she'll get married... yeah."
Daeun scrunched up her face at that.
Then she shook her head vigorously and looked at me.
"Then Daeun marry Daddy!"
"Huh? M-me?"
"Yeah! Daeun likes Daddy!"
That made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
It meant she loved me that much.
I grinned back at her.
"But what to do? Daddy's already married to Mommy, so he can't marry Daeun."
Thud!
Daeun's face turned dead serious.
"Then Daeun no marry?"
Nod.
"Yeah, Daddy's super duper sad too, but since he's married to Mommy, he can't marry Daeun. Sorry."
She looked utterly shocked at the idea of no marriage.
But I couldn't turn a no into a yes.
Then something totally unexpected happened.
"Daddy sorry..."
"...Y-yeah?"
"Daddy sorry!"
Whoosh!
Daeun whipped her head away and stomped off.
I was frozen, caught off guard by her sudden mood swing.
I just sat there dumbly.
'D-Daeun...'
Staring at the back of her head.
But I had no idea.
Her pout was gonna last way longer than I thought...
***
Daeun was sulking.
Kids get huffy all the time; I figured it'd blow over quick.
'Hmm...'
But a whole day later, the icy glare she shot me was still chilling.
Last night before bed, I'd tried to smooth things over.
She was so mad, she didn't even listen—just rolled over and crashed.
The long day dragged on, and the next morning...
"Daeun, wanna go out for jjajangmyeon today? You love jjajangmyeon!"
"Daeun just eat rice."
"Oh! If jjajangmyeon tastes bad, Daddy can order tangsuyuk too."
"No want. Daeun eat just rice."
"Why? Daddy wants jjajangmyeon."
Swish.
Ugh, it wasn't even winter, but goosebumps prickled all over.
As I grinned awkwardly under her stare,
"Daeun eat rice."
"Y-yeah. R-rice it is."
I couldn't win against Daeun to save my life.
We scarfed down a kinda bland breakfast from whatever was in the house, then headed to the studio to paint for the exhibition, like always...
"Daeun no paint today."
"Okay, no painting today?"
"Yeah, rest today."
She grabbed a picture book from the shelf and plopped at the desk to read.
Normally she'd be begging to paint.
She was totally giving me the cold shoulder.
I was in a real bind.
'Hmm, this is bad.'
If she took after me—once pissed, she shuts down—no amount of coaxing would get her painting today.
And it'd take forever for her to cool off...
'...Why'd Hyorin like me?'
Prickly, sensitive, and a total grudge-holder.
It only hit me now why Hyorin was my first love.
Swish.
Thinking of her sparked an idea.
'What would Hyorin do?'
I was the same way—once mad, it lingered.
But weirdly, with Hyorin, it never lasted past a day.
Part love, sure.
But she had this special touch.
She always cheered me up in the most amazing way.
As I pondered her secret method,
'Aha! That's it!'
One foolproof trick she used popped into my head.
That'd definitely thaw Daeun out.
"Daeun!"
Whoosh!
Normally she'd yell back "Yeah!" full of energy.
She just gave me the icy side-eye.
But I smiled and said,
"Wanna go see a show?"
Daeun's eyes went wide.
***
I hopped online and found the soonest kid-friendly show.
Lucky it was Saturday morning—plenty of options.
Popular ones were sold out, no tickets.
But the heavens smiled; one was still open.
'Cinderella'—less hype than big animations, so seats galore.
Vroom-!
I snagged tickets quick and got us to the venue.
"Daeun! This is gonna be so fun!"
She huffed and turned away.
She'd normally be thrilled.
I missed that Daeun, but we were here to cheer her up.
"Let's head in!"
I took her hand and entered the theater.
Buzz buzz-!
Not quiet, even if tickets were available.
Entrance swarmed with kids hyped for Cinderella.
Daeun seemed excited too.
Not saying it outright, but her grip on my hand tightened.
"Might get lost in the crowd, so hold Daddy's hand tight, okay?"
Nod.
No huff-and-turn this time.
Crowds made her tense, probably.
We headed to the ticket booth, and a staffer smiled.
"Tickets booked?"
"Yeah."
"Phone number, please?"
I gave the number from booking; she nodded.
"One adult, one child, right?"
"Yeah, that's us."
"Here are your tickets. Entry starts 30 minutes before showtime—just show these."
I took them with a grin.
"Thanks."
Tickets in hand, I checked the time heading to the entrance.
'Ten minutes to go.'
Good thing we weren't late.
Assigned seats, so no biggie, but early for her mood boost was smart.
"Daeun, let's wait over there."
Nod.
She nodded—that was progress—so we lined up behind the crowd...
Squeeze.
'Huh?'
I felt her grip tighten.
Like she'd spotted something; she tugged my arm.
I stopped, wondering if she needed the bathroom.
Swish.
One look where she stared, and it clicked.
The merch stand piled with balloons and toys.
Loaded with Cinderella goodies for the show.
I chuckled and asked,
"Daeun, see anything you want?"
Shake shake.
She shook her head no, vigorously.
She never asked for stuff anyway—especially not now.
But we were here to melt that grudge, so I'd focus on what caught her eye.
I tugged her hand.
"Wanna browse a sec?"
She trailed along half-heartedly.
Guess she did wanna look.
No words, but it felt like a yes, so I headed over pumped—
'Huh?'
Her hand went slack for a sec.
Up till now, I'd been dragging her.
Now she was pulling me.
Then,
Whoosh!
She looked up, pouting but eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Daeun come 'cause Daddy say go. Got it?"