I Want a Normal Family

The phone's vibration reached me, and I knew at once whose it was.

It's my daughter.

I'd talked to her yesterday, too. More precisely, she had called me — around nine at night.

An attack dressed up as a question. Min-ah was making it perfectly clear how she felt about me never calling her.

Min-ah had never been the type to talk like that. She'd sailed through puberty without much fuss, always listening when I spoke... I couldn't understand why she'd suddenly turned so aggressive.

...And so I had promised to call her first.

Except I'd forgotten completely.

"Ah... Arin, just a second!"

"...What?"

But as my face went rigid and I lunged for the phone in the clothes I'd stripped off, Arin could only sit there, stunned. Until a moment ago we had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠been holding each other, confirming what we ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠felt. Now my expression had changed on a dime and I was frantically hunting for my phone — from her side of it, of course it was bewildering.

"S-sunbae, what on earth—"

"Shh!! While I'm on this call you absolutely — absolutely — cannot make a sound!"

The hard, commanding tone seemed to startle her for a beat.

"...Okay."

But she trusted me. She did exactly as I asked, without a fuss.

Absolutely not. She could not, under any circumstances, let on that I was with Arin. Because that was the one thing my daughter would not stand for.

If I dragged this out any longer, the call would drop. And then my daughter's anger would only burn hotter.

I swallowed once, my throat dry, and hit the answer button.

"Uh... hey, sweetheart..."

I started playing the part of a man who'd just been dragged out of a dead sleep.

"Uh... ungh... what time is it...?"

Fortunately, Min-ah's voice was calm.

"Hahh... s-sorry. I was supposed to call you, but... I got sleepy... must've dozed off."

"Remember that nightmare patient I told you about? He came in again today and raised hell... ugh, don't even get me started."

It wasn't a lie. There really was a man who showed up at the hospital ranting that his stitches had been done wrong. He made a scene on a regular cycle, and his last visit had been only a few days ago.

"Says I disrespected him, so he's going to make me pay for it, or something."

"Come on, no need to drag the cops into something like that."

A daughter's worried voice. Not a trace of suspicion in it.

There. I'd fooled her completely.

"Alright. Next time I'll call the police for sure, so don't worry so much, sweetheart."

The tension in her voice eased.

"Alright then. Dad's going to get some more sleep."

"Uh... huh?"

My daughter's voice, suddenly sharp. A question out of nowhere.

"What are you talking about, sweetheart. I'm at home."

Her tone shifted at once. There had been a real edge to it, and honestly, she had every right. This was the first time she'd ever gone somewhere far away from me. On top of that, she had to get used to classmates she'd never met, seniors she'd never met, a whole new system — the stress must have been enormous.

"Sweetheart."

"You know Dad doesn't have anyone but you, right?"

"If it means you'll do well, I'll do anything. Anything at all."

Her voice softened, unmistakably.

"So don't worry, and go to sleep. Alright?"

"Good night, sweetheart."

The call ended.

"Hahh......"

Only then did I let myself breathe. Arin slipped her arms around me, gently.

"Sunbae......"

"Sorry, Arin. My daughter... she hates the idea of me being with another woman."

"Ah....."

She made a strange little face, as if she both understood and didn't. Thinking of her own father, it probably made no sense. Thinking of me, it probably did.

"Min-ah... was it?"

"Yeah. Come to think of it, I never properly told you about my daughter. Sorry......."

"Well — you got divorced and raised her on your own, so I imagine it isn't the easiest thing to bring up. I understand."

We were still naked. Her body had gone cold compared to before, and so had mine.

"...Shall we wash up first?"

"Yes... I think that would be best."

Everything that had been burning had cooled considerably. We should have been moving on to the next step, but neither of us was in any condition for it. I had just been interrogated by my daughter, and Arin had heard every word. The thought had struck me all at once that I was doing something vaguely wrong behind my daughter's back — and she was left with the uneasy feeling that my daughter would never accept her.

And so our lovemaking ended unfinished.

"You go first, Arin."

"Wouldn't it be better if you went first, sunbae?"

"Your body's cold... take a warm shower."

A small smile slipped across her face. Then she leaned in and brushed her lips lightly against my cheek.

"...Thank you, sunbae."

I showered and brushed my teeth, then got dressed. When I stepped out of the bathroom, Arin was already in her everyday clothes, perched on the edge of the bed. I went over and sat down beside her.

"I'm sorry......"

"Don't be, sunbae. I know better than anyone how important your daughter is to you."

"...When you put it that way, we......."

"Shh."

She laid a finger against my lips.

"I know what you're about to say."

"......"

"That if Min-ah... if your daughter doesn't accept me, then this relationship of ours can't go on. That's what you were going to tell me, right?"

It was a complete one-eighty from the Arin who, not long ago, had needed alcohol to say what was in her heart.

"....Yeah."

A short answer. Anything longer would only have sounded like an excuse.

"So......"

"So what I have to do, in the end, is win Min-ah's heart."

"Ah....."

Not the answer I'd expected.

"I'll work hard. So that your daughter will accept me."

I smiled, a little bitterly.

"Y... you will? How?"

Judging by the mood just now, my daughter wanted me to have a woman about as much as she wanted a hole in the head. Ordinary persuasion wasn't going to get us anywhere.

"Hehe. That's a secret."

Arin smiled brightly. Part of it, I suspected, was for my benefit — to put me at ease.

"...Thank you."

Even so, I was grateful. I'd half expected her to come at me with What's the big deal about your daughter? She's an adult now, and throw herself at me anyway. Instead she understood the relationship between my daughter and me, and she respected what I was doing. She had agreed, in the end, that if she wanted to be with me... she would have to mend things with the daughter who was part of my family.

"I've never even met Min-ah, but I'm sure of it. She's your child, sunbae... so she'll take after you. She'll like me."

I smiled, bitter again. Min-ah was not my blood. We'd lived together long enough to pick up each other's ways, yes... but whether she would accept Arin was another question entirely.

"Yeah."

"And if... if your daughter does accept me......"

She took my hand and held it tight.

"Will you accept my proposal?"

A fastball, right down the middle.

"...We're not even dating yet. Give me some time......."

"You like me."

"......."

The sheer certainty in her voice left me briefly speechless.

"I also know that the only thing weighing on your heart is worry for your daughter."

"...Arin, you......"

"Look at me."

I turned my head — and her kiss landed on my mouth, a surprise attack. I didn't pull away. There was no reason to refuse lips that sweet and that warm.

She drew back and looked at me with eyes full of love. Was I imagining it? It felt as if little hearts were floating in her pupils.

"You already like me. That's why you didn't refuse."

"...I can't exactly deny that."

Her small, slender hand closed around mine again.

"Please trust me."

"......"

"The same way I seduced you — I'll seduce your daughter just as splendidly."

My daughter was no easy opponent. And yet... for some reason, I couldn't picture Arin losing. I wanted her to win.

Yes. I wanted a normal family.

A father. A mother. And a daughter. That was a normal family.

A wife who loved me and gave herself to me. A daughter who loved me and looked up to me. I wanted to eat the meals my wife cooked, smiling as I watched the two of them volley banter back and forth. I wanted to live with them, quietly, happily, all together.

I rested my head on her shoulder.

"...Mind if I look forward to it?"

"Of course, sunbae."

She leaned her head against mine ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠in return.

"You too, Dad. Good night."

Snap.

Min-ah closed her old flip phone. A strange, lingering unease had been sitting in her chest, and it had been there since orientation started.

There was something going on with Dad. But Dad said there wasn't. Dad wasn't the type to lie. So why did she keep doubting him?

A video call would have settled it in seconds. But her phone was an old feature phone that could only make voice calls, so that wasn't an option.

I need to get a smartphone, and fast.

The moment orientation ended, she was going to drag Dad to a phone shop. If she could just look around with a video call, there'd be nothing left to suspect.

"So this is where you were."

Tsk.

Kim Tae-min. The College Student Council President. Min-ah had spent the entire orientation dodging him. He'd tried, with impressive persistence, to get himself tangled up with her somehow, but she'd read him from the start and slipped out of every approach.

"I was on the phone with my dad."

"You're an adult now, too. You can't stay tied to your parents forever, you know."

"I don't have a mother."

"....Ah — sorry......"

Tae-min's face tightened slightly. He'd clocked the mistake the instant it left his mouth.

"It's fine. It's cold out — you should go inside. I'll be in shortly."

Min-ah did not let the slip go. Her answer came back as cold as she could make it, and Tae-min looked thoroughly awkward in the face of it.

"R-right, anyway. I came because I had something to talk to you about."

He wasn't the type to fold that easily, either.

"What is it?"

"I was wondering... if you might take on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠role of first-year class president."