Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: My Daughter Is a Genius Painter
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Jungeun asked.
"Where'd Daeun go?"
I answered in a flat tone, without changing my voice.
"I told her to go see Director Go and come up with a name for the starfish together."
But Jungeun still looked uneasy and asked again.
"What if Daeun finds out the rockfish is gone?"
What's unavoidable is unavoidable. You can't release a fish just because you feel sorry for it.
"I'll explain when the time comes. There's that saying—it's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission."
"You're brave. I could never do something like that. I'd be too scared of Daeun hating me."
That's why it's me doing it.
If it were anyone else, they wouldn't even dare try.
Shing.
We were talking about the courage it took to risk being hated when Painter Oh spoke up.
"Alright, let's get started."
With a reverent expression, he picked up the sashimi knife.
Painter Oh laid the rockfish on the cutting board and struck its head with the flat of the blade. Thwack!
The thrashing rockfish went limp.
Slice! Swish!
Painter Oh's dazzling knife work made Jungeun and me widen our eyes in amazement.
"Whoa!"
"Wow, it feels like we're at a sashimi restaurant."
"Where'd you learn to handle a knife like that? It's incredible!"
It wasn't just knife skills. He precisely split the bones and separated the flesh.
One wrong move and you'd lose the meat clinging to the bones, but he sliced it perfectly clean.
When I asked about his skill, which clearly wasn't from one or two tries, Painter Oh laughed heartily.
"Haha! The guy who taught me fishing also ran a sashimi place. He said real anglers have to know how to slice sashimi, so I learned the hard way, banging my head against the wall."
"Wow, still, that's seriously impressive. Top-notch work!"
Just then, Painter Oh glanced back and asked.
"Daeun hasn't come yet, right?"
I peeked behind me too as I replied.
"Yeah, seems okay for now. If we work fast and finish all the fish, it should be fine."
"Got it. Let's hustle then..."
Right on cue, Daeun came running up, shouting loudly.
"Daddy! Daeuni named the starfish Vulgaris!"
"Not starfish, it's Vulgaris."
"No! Its name is Vulgaris!"
"Huh?"
Oh, so it wasn't a slip-up. The director really named it Vulgaris... What was she thinking?
Well, Daeun's memory is sharp, so she wouldn't mess up a name.
"V-Vulgaris?"
"Yeah! Pretty, right? Director Go picked it!"
"Haha."
Should I say it's nice, or just way too random?
"Y-Yeah, it's pretty."
Daeun shook the bucket with Vulgaris in it happily.
Then she headed toward the bucket that held the fish.
"Vulgaris, Daeuni introduce fwiend. It's a fishy! Super big!"
Gulp!
We all tensed up—me, Jungeun, even Painter Oh—as Daeun stepped closer.
'Is it okay to let this happen?'
She'll find out eventually.
But it didn't have to be right now.
At least not until after we'd all eaten.
Whoosh!
In the end, I had to step in front of her.
"Daeun! You have to introduce Vulgaris to Daddy too."
"Daddy, its name is Vulgaris!"
"Oh, right, Vulgaris. Introduce me to Vulgaris."
Daeun pouted and tilted her head.
"Vulgaris, Daddy named it."
Oh... right, that's what happened.
But I didn't flinch at her pointed question.
"S-Still, you named it too, right? So introduce it again."
"Oh, wight. Daeuni messed up."
Then Daeun showed me the starfish.
"Vulgaris, say hi! You named by Daddy, but name changed, so say hi again. This Daeuni's daddy."
I waved at the wriggling starfish in the bucket like it was a person.
"V-Vulgaris, h-hi. I'm Daeun's daddy. Let's be friends."
Hee!
Daeun seemed thrilled with my antics.
Her wide grin wouldn't fade.
But...
'Oh no, what now?'
The real problem was starting.
I'd only distracted her because we were moving houses soon.
If the greetings ended here, the rockfish was next for sure.
In this pinch, I scrambled for another topic.
Something besides the name to steal her attention... That's when someone helped me out.
"Oh! Right, Daeun! Uncle only took pics with the fish earlier. But we didn't get one with the starfish..."
"Vulgaris!"
"Uh, with Vulgaris, right?"
"Huh?"
Daeun blinked, thinking back. Realizing we hadn't, she yelled.
"Oh wight! Gotta pic with Vulgaris! Daeuni almost forgot!"
With that, she grabbed the Vulgaris bucket and pointed to the room where Jungeun was staying.
"Uncle, quick! Vulgaris might get sad!"
"Y-Yeah, coming."
Swish.
As he said it, Jungeun shot me a meaningful look.
I got the message.
Nod.
'Got it.'
Jungeun eyed me: He'd keep Daeun occupied, so slice the sashimi and clean up fast.
Nod.
I nodded back and told Daeun.
"Daddy has to help Painter Oh. You can go with Uncle, right?"
"Yeah! Of course! Daeuni pic with Uncle and Vulgaris!"
Daeun grabbed Jungeun's hand and headed out of the minbak toward the crashing waves.
"Whew."
It felt like a storm had just passed.
Shing.
Despite the commotion, Painter Oh sheathed his knife.
"Done."
"Already?"
Painter Oh's face was a bit stiff as he said something meaningful.
"Not really already—we finished fast thanks to the time you and Reporter Park bought us, Kanghyeok."
"Then..."
He pulled out the hidden results.
Gulp.
I stared at the plate piled high with glistening fresh sashimi.
Clack.
Dinner set out in the yard.
Honestly, I'd thought it'd be sparse compared to eating out.
We'd only caught fish, no other ingredients.
But that was my huge mistake.
"Whoa... This table's gonna break under all this."
"R-Really. Why's there so much?"
We'd borrowed a big tray from the owner, but it was packed full, so we added a small one too.
The star of the show, of course, was the sashimi, taking up the most space.
"But why so much sashimi? Is it always this much, or did you buy extra?"
Painter Oh chuckled at Jungeun's question.
"What're you talking about? This is just from what we caught—a few fish."
Director Go, Painter Oh, and Daeun had caught three decent ones.
Jungeun and Erina's smaller catches weren't included.
They were too small, and Painter Oh said there wasn't much edible, so we released them.
Even so, the sashimi was abundant—way more than at a restaurant.
And that wasn't all.
"Director Go, you cook this well normally? This is pro level."
Director Go's cooking was top-notch too.
Simple seasoned seaweed, easy side dishes.
But the real star was the clear fish soup on the last tray, made with the fish heads.
It should've been spicy stew, but this was Director Go's consideration.
Daeun was still too young for spice, so a mild broth simmered with radish, green onions, and fish bones.
"Mmm! Your fish soup hits different after so long. No idea about anything else, but I've been craving this."
How good was it to rave like that?
Gulp.
As we all swallowed hard at the feast, Director Go said.
"Don't pray to the food forever—eat before it gets cold."
Like they'd been waiting, everyone grabbed chopsticks and dug in the second she gave the go-ahead.
Me and Daeun too, of course.
"Daeun, try this."
I dipped a piece of sashimi in plain soy sauce—no wasabi—and held it to her mouth.
"What's this?"
Never having tried it, Daeun was wary, naturally.
I smiled and explained.
"It's sashimi. Super chewy and delicious. Try it, Daeun."
I pushed the chopsticks closer, and after a moment's hesitation, she asked.
"Is it hot?"
"Nope, it's cold."
"Cold?"
"Yeah, so give it a bite."
Daeun eyed the sashimi and me back and forth.
'Kids can eat sashimi, right?'
I'd checked online before eating—just in case. It said kids could, as long as not too young.
At five, Daeun was fine.
"O-Okay, Daeuni eat."
I smiled reassuringly and fed her the piece.
Nom nom.
Her tiny lips moved cutely, then her eyes lit up.
"Daddy! It melt!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! Melty! Like that!"
Struggling for words, huh?
Director Go helped out.
"It melts."
"Yeah! Melt in mouth!"
Daeun grabbed a piece with her fork, dipped it in soy sauce like I did, and popped it in.
Crunch!
"Wow! Daeuni wuv sashimi! So melty!"
"Whoa, didn't know our Daeun would love sashimi this much."
"Yeah, thought the texture would turn her off."
Director Go and Painter Oh watched her in wonder, while Erina and Jungeun smiled at her happy grin.
Smiling at her too, I asked.
"Tasty?"
"Yeah! Daddy twy too, super melty!"
Sharing the good stuff.
Propping my chin, I gazed at joyful Daeun.
"You take after your mom a ton."
Whoosh!
Everyone's eyes turned to us at the sudden mention of Hyorin.
Not trying to bring down such a great day on purpose.
It was a happy day like this.
"Mommy wuv sashimi too."
"She'd eat it all up. And she'd save the tasty stuff for Daddy after trying it—just like you."
"Weally? Daeuni just wike mommy?"
Nod.
Not just talk—she really was identical.
"Yeah, exactly alike."
Hee!
Daeun beamed, her little butt wiggling in excitement.
She wanted to express her joy but didn't know how.
Then she vented it in the most unexpected way.
"Oh wight! Vulgaris!"
She fetched the forgotten Vulgaris bucket from behind.
"Vulgaris! Daeuni ate this and super melty! Mommy wuv this too! So cool, wight?"
What was that even mean?
Her rambling made it hard to follow.
"Oh, and Vulgaris, Daeuni intwoduce new fwiend."
She brought the bucket close to the fish soup pot.
"Say hi! This super tasty fishy!"
Flinch!
Everyone eating froze at her words, realizing a beat late.
"Tasty fishy, hi!"
Tasty fish...? Looked like Daeun...
'Haha, no way she knew... the whole time?'
She'd known everything.
Not missing a single thing.