I'm Not a Kid Anymore!!

"Ahh, I'm stuffed!"

Min-ah had demolished that entire massive sirloin steak. I was the one who'd left food on the plate, actually — even though mine had been the smaller tenderloin. And then she went and finished my leftovers too. Still growing, I guess.

"Dad, how can you eat so little? Now my stomach's about to burst because of you."

"That's a good thing. Our girl's too skinny — she needs to eat more."

"Hmph...! You're so mean, Dad!"

My daughter grabbed my hand and shoved it straight up under her top.

"Look at this! You made me get a belly."

Her soft stomach pressed against my fingers and palm. Set against my own hands — wrecked by age and alcohol — it felt even softer by contrast.

The problem was...

the way this looked right now. It did not look good.

A middle-aged man with his hand shoved up a young woman's shirt...

The muttering from the tables around us carried all the way over. Whether Min-ah could hear it or not, she just kept smiling, my hand still trapped in hers.

"Right here — it's poking out. At this rate it's gonna stick out more than my chest."

My daughter's face was all puffed up in a pout. Meanwhile, sweat was starting to bead on my forehead.

"Min-ah, let go of my hand."

"No."

"What?"

"What's wrong with a dad touching his daughter's stomach?"

"Th-that's... people are staring. So..."

"I don't wanna. I'm not letting go."

She had no intention of releasing my hand. I had no choice.

I yanked it free.

"Kyah!"

I'd pulled it out the way you'd snatch a tablecloth out from under a full set of dishes — so fast she jumped.

"Dad... what the hell."

"Sorry, sweetheart."

Min-ah's face went completely still. She stared at me without a word, then turned on her heel and started walking away.

"M-Min-ah, where are you going?"

I called after her. No answer.

A reaction I'd almost never seen from Min-ah. My ex-wife, on the other hand — I'd seen it plenty of times. Just thinking about my wife made irritation flare up first. But this was the first time from my daughter.

Right. She'd grown up so well despite having a father like me. I could take this much... couldn't I?

She moved fast, and I followed at a slight distance, turning the last few minutes over in my head. I couldn't figure out why she'd gotten that angry. Pulling my hand off her stomach wasn't something to blow up over.

People had been whispering. We'd been drawing attention — and not the good kind. I didn't care about myself. But her reputation was another matter. What if one of her friends was here? Or someone who'd be starting at the same university? What if they'd seen her acting like that with me? Rumors would start spreading at school for sure. That could not happen.

But Min-ah didn't seem to understand any of that. Things hadn't gone her way, so she'd sulked — just like a little kid.

The last thing I should do right now was treat her like a child. I knew the feelings she held for me. She liked me. This whole "I hate you" act was just that — an act. She wanted me to come after her. But if I approached her like she was a little kid, it would only backfire. All I had to do was follow until she got tired and asked me for what she actually wanted.

The amusement park was split into indoor and outdoor sections. Min-ah started heading for the outdoor side. She stopped at the threshold and looked back at me. I stopped where I was and looked at her, apology written on my face, and said nothing.

"............iot."

She was too far. I couldn't make it out. I just stood there staring, with no idea what I was supposed to do, and she sighed.

"....diot."

She whipped around again and headed out toward the outdoor park.

"She's going to be cold..."

February. The traditional start of spring had already come and gone, so the worst of the cold snaps had broken... but going outside in nothing but that school-uniform costume was still going to be freezing. And earlier the wind had been strong enough to rock the car.

A weekday evening. Almost no one around. And with the weather this cold, not a soul was heading for the outdoor park.

Min-ah set her hand on the door leading outside.

"Dad's going to have no choice but to..."

"...What?"

She started pushing the door open. And then—

The instant it cracked, the cold air surged inward, spinning up a little vortex as it rushed to fill the warmth—

A gust came up from below and flipped her skirt straight up in a single instant.

Her skirt lifted, and her backside unfolded right in front of my eyes.

Twenty years old. An adult — every last bit of growing, done. My daughter's ass had filled out into exactly the size and shape the modern world wanted most. Skin so fine and powder-dry it looked like someone had dusted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it with baby powder. Like a perfectly ripe peach.

......

...Why?

Why was my daughter's ass right in front of my eyes, in the middle of an amusement park?

"Wh... wha??"

This was a daughter who'd only ever worn modest underwear. Even her panties had always been the decent kind that covered everything. But... the ones in front of me right now were nothing like anything I'd ever ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠known her to wear. They left her entire backside exposed... black T-back panties with an ornate pattern.

"...M-Min-ah!!!!"

I stripped off my jacket. Thankfully the borrowed uniform had been a pretty generous size, so I'd worn a T-shirt underneath — small mercies. I used the jacket to cover her hiked-up backside.

"You...!! Why are you wearing underwear like this?!! Where did you even get these, huh?"

"...It's only natural to want to look pretty."

"What?"

"I'm a woman too... I want to look pretty!! But I held back! Because of you, Dad... I held back because of you!"

"...What did you just say??"

"Because you wanted me to look modest!!"

......

It hit me like a slap. Me? When?

I'd never cared about how she dressed. More precisely, I'd tried not to interfere. The bad paths — tattoos, that kind of thing — those I would have drawn a line at. Anything else, I'd been prepared to allow. It was just a phase anyway. Kids dressed like that because they wanted to be different from everyone else. I'd figured the best approach was to let her try it quickly, then realize she didn't actually need to.

But she never did. Her clothes were always modest. Even at home. Her pajamas, all four seasons, were always those thick microfiber pants. Her uniform skirt was long, and her everyday clothes were usually modest trousers. So I'd assumed she just wasn't into showing skin.

Yeah. The second she starts wearing skirts, everyone's going to lose their minds.

I'd been relieved about that, honestly. My daughter... was genuinely beautiful. To a dad she just looked cute, but to other men... they'd lose their heads. Oversized boxy tees and straight-leg jeans. Even her uniform was a size too big. She'd done ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everything she could not to show off that beautiful figure. And she didn't even wear makeup.

By high school... no, even middle school, kids these days went all out with how they dressed up. The few times I'd been to her school, the way the girls styled themselves was over the top. To put it harshly, I'd seen plenty of them dressed like they were heading to a bar. Compared to that, our daughter was a modest model student. And I'd been so glad about that.

But that had been a delusion. She'd only dressed that way... because of me.

But wait. Hold on a second.

"...Did I... ever actually tell her... to do that?"

That's right. I'd never once forced her to dress modestly. I'd handed her the household finances early on — a credit card in the family name. She used it for household essentials and as her allowance. I was a man. I didn't know anything about women's clothes.

So I'd told her to buy and wear whatever she wanted. Every piece of clothing had been her own choice. I'd never forced anything.

"You said it when you came to school! You said something about a friend who was dressed pretty!!"

Ah...... Right. That's right.....

Back then... middle school...... There had been exactly one time. Anyone could see it was too much. She'd shortened her skirt until her panties showed and undone the front buttons of her blouse to show her ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠cleavage. And not a single person had said a word to her about it.

...That was all I'd said. A criticism that barely even counted as one. Because of that... she'd been wrapping herself up tight this whole time?

"That girl was in the theater club. She had to dress like that. But I couldn't say anything. I didn't want to talk back to you."

"H-hey... Min-ah... wait a second......"

"I'm not a student anymore. I'm an adult. And since I'm an adult, I want to be pretty too!! So!!"

She snatched the jacket I'd covered her with and threw it aside.

"Don't cover me up like this!!"

"M-Min-ah."

Min-ah was crying.

.....

Yeah. Her desires had been suppressed this whole time. She'd wanted to be a good daughter for me. But that had been the exact opposite of what she actually wanted. She'd gone from a child to an adult. She'd even gotten into the best university in the country. She'd done everything she could possibly do for her parent.

It was compensation, probably. Now she wanted the person who'd been holding her back to acknowledge who she really was.

I looked at Min-ah. She was beautiful. She looked like a celebrity. No — more beautiful than a celebrity. If she'd told me sooner, I wouldn't have stopped her from wearing anything. But... her heart had been too mature for that. She hadn't been able to.

I walked toward her.

"Don't come any closer, Dad! I'm not covering up! Don't! Don—"

I pulled her into my arms.

"I'm sorry... sweetheart."

"Ah...?"

"Dad's too dense... I didn't know what you wanted."

"......"

"My daughter. More beautiful than anyone. My pretty girl."

I stroked her hair. It was soft. Like silk. It wasn't the dry, frizzy hair she usually had. How long had it taken her to get this dressed up?

This was my fault. Which meant I had to apologize.

"Dad's... sorry. I'm so sorry I didn't know what you wanted."

My chest. The spot where her face was buried started to grow damp, little by little.

"Whatever you want... you can do it all. As long as I have you, Dad doesn't need anything else. I don't want a thing."

Before I knew it, both of her arms had locked tight around my waist.