Dad, Are You Going to Remarry?
"Dad! I got us a slushie! Same flavor as last time!"
A yellow pineapple slush. Here they called it Snow Ice — a unique flavor sold only at this amusement park. I'd only tasted it once, but it was the kind of flavor that never left you.
Most slushies had coarse, chunky ice. This one was impossibly smooth, like someone had frozen a cloud of foam. Combined with that sweet-and-tart pineapple syrup, it delivered a taste you simply could not forget.
"It was good for you too, right, Dad? I remember it being so good! Good enough to make me forget everything!!"
My daughter held out the Snow Ice she'd bought.
"Here! You go first, Dad!"
It was a gesture from my daughter. Refusing it was not an option.
"Thanks, sweetheart. I'll enjoy it."
"Mhm!"
The moment I took the cup, a wave of cold washed through my hands. It was February — still winter — but the indoor amusement park was well-heated, almost too warm. Or maybe it was all the thrill rides we'd been on back-to-back, sending my blood racing. A transparent straw stuck out of the yellow Snow Ice, its texture like packed snow.
"Dad, let's make a bet."
"What kind of bet?"
"Whoever can suck down the most Snow Ice in one go! What do you say, Dad?"
She clearly wanted something from me. Well then — I ought to play along.
"Alright. Let's give it a go."
"There's a condition, though."
Min-ah snatched the cup right out of my hands.
"What is it?"
"No going easy on me."
"Huh?"
"I already caught that pitying look in your eyes, Dad! You're definitely planning to let me win!"
...
How did she know?
My daughter was sharp. Far too sharp.
"It's a bet! It's a game! If someone lets you win, that's no fun at all!"
"W-well, yeah."
"Would you enjoy a game if someone went easy on you, Dad?"
"No, I wouldn't."
"Same here."
"So give it everything you've got, Dad. Make it fun for me!"
Light sparkled in my daughter's eyes, as if there were stars inside them. Oh, for crying out loud. Now I can't just go easy on her and call it a day.
"Alright, sweetheart. So what are we betting?"
"Hehe... that's a secret."
"Then the bet's no fun, is it?"
"If you win, I'll give you a massage! But if I win... that's a secret!"
Min-ah winked and wagged her index finger.
"Doesn't that make it more thrilling?"
A reasonably convincing argument, I had to admit. But even so — a father's heart wanted to give his daughter what she wanted. How do I lose without making it obvious?
"If you go easy on me, Dad... I'll cry."
"...What?"
"I'll burst into tears and run out of here! I'll make sure everyone knows you made me cry!"
A little... extreme. Something felt off. There was something awkward about the way she looked just then. I studied her face. Expectation and tension flickered across it in equal measure. Was a contest over who could drink more slush in one gulp really something that warranted all this?
Well. Whatever the reason. Whether I understood it or not. What I needed to do right now was give my daughter what she wanted. She said she didn't want me going easy on her. Then I should honor that. And from where I was sitting, a massage from my daughter was pretty tempting.
"Alright, sweetheart. I'll give it everything I've got. So please don't do that."
Only then did her face bloom into a smile. The tension that had been lingering there melted away at once. She handed the cup back.
"Okay! You first, Dad! If I go first, you might still go easy on me, so no!"
I took the slush. Thanks to our unintended war of nerves, it had melted a little. The color was a shade deeper than the one I'd had all those years ago. Time had passed, after all — maybe they'd changed the food coloring, or maybe the syrup was just richer now.
"Alright~~! Contestants, please place the straw in your mouths!"
Following her instructions, I put the straw between my lips. The faintly sharp cut of the straw's tip felt like it might slice my tongue, and there was a strange salty taste I couldn't place.
"I told you I'd get mad if you went easy on me. No — I said I'd cry and leave! Absolutely not!"
"Don't you trust your dad?"
I started emptying the residual air from my lungs. I'd expel as much as I could, then suck the slush down in one continuous pull — so that no one watching would think I was holding back. Like a gangster giving it his all in a fight against an elementary schooler.
"Ready...! Go!"
Sluuuurp!
Yellow liquid shot through the transparent straw and flooded into my mouth in an instant. This contest absolutely could not allow the slush to sit in my mouth. Whatever I sucked up had to go straight down my throat. Otherwise, I'd lose.
Sluuurp! Gulp! Gulp!
The ice-cold slush started sliding down my throat before I could even taste it. Eating something that cold all at once meant the flavor barely registered.
"Go, Dad! Go!"
Sluuurp!
The slush in the cup was disappearing fast.
"Whoa, Dad! You might actually finish the whole thing in one go!"
That was the plan. At this pace, I could definitely drain it all at once.
Slurp... sluuuurp......
Just a little more... just a little more!
"Ohh... Dad...! Just a bit more!! You can finish it!"
Huuurp!
My eyes confirmed it — the cup was empty.
"Ahhh...!"
It felt like I'd downed a beer in one shot. A coolness spread through my stomach, and I felt a faint urge to gag, but I held it down.
"Yes! Dad finished it all!"
Min-ah was overjoyed at the sight of me.
"Hah... hah... I didn't go easy on you, did I?"
"You did great, Dad! I love it!"
My daughter's smile had the effect of a painkiller. The queasy, aching feeling in my stomach vanished in an instant.
"Anyway, now what? You drank the whole thing, so I'll go buy another one!"
...That did not sound like a good idea.
I was holding it together thanks to her smile, but if she overdid it and got sick, we'd have a real problem.
"Sweetheart... if you eat as much as I did, your stomach's going to hurt... Are you sure? At this point, I think we can just say I won......"
"Hmm. That's no fun, though."
Min-ah pressed a finger to her lips and started thinking. My daughter was a good kid who listened to everything I said — but every now and then, when something got stuck in her head, she'd throw a spectacular tantrum. I needed to offer a compromise before that happened. One person with a stomachache was enough.
"Sweetheart. Even if I won, I can still give you what you wanted."
"...Really?"
"Of course."
"...Okay. If you're going to put it that way, Dad!"
She crossed her arms. For a second, the slush nearly came back up my throat.
"Dad, I'm hungry! Let's go eat!"
"W-wait, sweetheart!!"
I had no choice but to let myself be dragged along as she yanked on my arm.
We entered a steakhouse in an open space next to the amusement park. The view of the park from there meant the food was priced accordingly. Of course, we only went in because my daughter wanted to eat there.
"Dad, I want steak! Buy me steak!"
"Sure, sure. What kind do you want? Tenderloin? Sirloin?"
"Sirloin! Beef has to be sirloin! Rare!"
"Okay."
So I ordered tenderloin for myself and sirloin for her. Both rare.
"Let's share a drink. No need to order two expensive ones, right?"
A daughter thoughtful enough to consider my wallet. I was grateful.
"Thanks, sweetheart. My wallet's going to be a little fatter thanks to you."
Min-ah smiled at me.
"Is your stomach feeling any better, Dad?"
She'd been checking my face this whole time. If I hadn't been doing well, she probably would have dragged me to a pharmacy first. But as we'd walked, I'd felt the slush that had been sitting in my stomach gradually making its way down into my intestines. That was a relief. If I'd gotten an upset stomach... the amusement park would have been over.
"I'm better now, thanks to my daughter worrying about me."
"Hehe. That's good."
She tore off a piece of the bread that had come before the meal, spread butter on it, and held it to my mouth.
"It's nice, coming out to play like this with you, Dad."
I took a bite. The bread she'd given me was delicious. The warmth of it and the rich, sweet flavor of the butter were a perfect match.
"Thank you, sweetheart."
"Hm? For what?"
"For letting your dad live it up like this."
Min-ah gazed at me steadily. A gentle smile spread across her face, soft and luminous, like watching the aurora drift across the sky.
"I'm the one who should be thanking you, Dad."
She took my hand.
"For raising someone as ordinary as me all the way to adulthood."
"...That's because you're my daughter."
Min-ah's face suddenly darkened. The mood dropped in an instant.
"...Still. Thank you."
Why is she acting like this all of a sudden?
"Your steaks are ready."
"Alright, sweetheart, let's eat. Come on, eating will make you feel better."
Even though it was amusement-park steak, the price was high enough that they'd clearly put some real effort into it. As long as it tasted good, that was all that mattered. I cut a piece of her steak first, speared it with a fork, and held it out.
"Here, eat up."
"...Okay, Dad."
She took a bite. A thick chunk of steak disappeared between Min-ah's small, plump lips. With every chew, her cheeks puffed out and sank back, like a sheet of paper being crumpled and smoothed. The smile that had frozen on her face began to spread again.
"Wow! It's so good! You try some too, Dad!"
"Alright, alright."
I cut into my own steak and tried a bite. She was right — it was pretty good. Quite upscale for amusement-park food.
By now it was fully dark. Darkness pressed down through the transparent glass ceiling. And the more it did, the brighter the indoor park attractions glowed — as if they were trying to resist the night itself.
"Dad."
"Yeah?"
"I'm an adult now."
"That's right."
Pfft!
The question was so unexpected that I spat out the meat I'd been chewing.