Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Beasts Aren't Exclusive to One Breed
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"Daughter. What in the world is this?"
"That's exactly what I want to say."
Under a night sky twinkling with stars, the sound of crashing waves roaring in their ears, a shabby father and daughter sat facing two bowls of ramen bubbling away on a burner, steam rising faintly into the air.
Down below Turtle Rock, with the night breeze now mild enough that the chill had eased, they glared at each other, voices heavy with exhaustion.
Yeah. What was the point of talking? They were both guilty parties anyway, thoroughly scolded and kicked out of the house, making do with ramen for dinner.
"So, when exactly did you get caught?"
"That blowfish place? Turns out it's run by Jeongu's mom's relatives."
"Wow."
Ulleungdo, alright. Scary as hell!
Everyone knew everyone around here. No wonder, with such a tiny island—once you were marked in this scene, you couldn't even sneak a daytime drink without hassle.
"Figured since we were getting chewed out anyway, might as well throw you under the bus a bit to lighten my load."
"?? Wait, why'd you sell me out there?"
"Better to split the heat four ways than take a full hundred from the three of us, right?"
What kind of nonsense was that?!
She wanted to flip the pot of boiling ramen right over and scream her lungs out... but!!
"You sold Dad out plenty to Mom too, Yoon-seok."
"......"
Dad had a point—she'd ratted him out to Mom more than once, so she couldn't even argue back.
So this was karma catching up.
"We can go home tonight, right? ...Oh, the noodles look done."
"Probably. Worst case, Dad sells you out again and we head in. ...Hey! Ouch. Put down the chopsticks, Yoon-seok. Don't you know adults eat first?"
"I'm the royal taste-tester. Royal taste-tester. Isn't it polite for a kid to try a bite first and see if it suits the grown-up's palate? And what do you mean sell me out again? What the hell?"
"Heh heh. What kind of taste-tester swipes half the noodles and shoves 'em in her mouth? Sure, our sturdy Yuna could handle sleeping outside, but Dad here's getting on in years—I'll catch a cold. So sell the daughter, Dad goes home first... Hey! You punk! Don't grab the whole pot!!"
They bickered back and forth.
Chopsticks flying, trading jokes mixed with chatter, they scraped every last drop from the precious ramen bowls Supermarket Grandpa had shared—still not quite full, but enough to soothe their growling stomachs as they rubbed their bellies.
"No wonder they teased Jeongu about being a pig. What'd you do, eat more than half by yourself?"
"Dad, you wanna get tossed in the ocean?"
Their chat was twisted, savage even, but somehow heartwarming—a father and daughter passing the time.
Just a little.
Her birthday had sparked a sudden curiosity.
"Dad, how'd you and Mom meet?"
Perched on a rock ledge, gazing at the silent stars glittering against the black sky and the vast ocean stretching endlessly beyond... she asked her dad, sitting beside her.
Birthdays were the day you were born, after all.
Wasn't it natural to wonder how her parents had crossed paths to bring her into the world?
Plus, she was dying to know how a kind, gorgeous, killer-bodied, busty supermodel like Mom ended up with a quirky fourth-dimensional weirdo like Dad who looked totally average.
"Hmm. Yeah, curious about that, huh? Well... Mom and Dad did have a pretty unique story, different from most folks."
"Yeah. Kinda figured."
What if he'd used hypnosis or something? Nah, no smartphones back then—maybe he'd mastered hypnosis and planted suggestions? Her mind wandered to dark places, given the huge gap in their looks.
"Daughter? That look in your eyes is a bit impure."
"When you think about Mom's looks... it fits."
"Pfft. Fair enough. Even Dad's buddies lost it when they heard we were... dating, not even married yet. 'What dirt you got on her?' Total chaos."
Oh. So she wasn't the only one thinking it.
Mom's beauty was just... beyond normal human levels.
Strangers on the street probably mistook her for a model.
Dad chuckled at her sassy reply, his face nostalgic yet amused as he gazed up at the sky, lost in memories.
"Mom and Dad used to live on the mainland, in Incheon—you know, the place you gotta take a boat to reach."
"Ooh. Really?"
"Yep. We moved to Ulleungdo after marriage, but that's later. Let's see... Dad first met Mom when she started middle school and I was finishing high school, heading to college."
"??"
Wait, what? Hold up. What did I just hear?
Dad was a fresh-faced 20-year-old college kid, prime of his youth after surviving hellish exams... and Mom was a tiny 14-year-old?
Insane. Was this for real?
No way he had blackmail material or something? How does that even...
"Dad, didn't anyone call you trash?"
"Still hear it every time I chat with old classmates."
Whatever went down, Dad had always been her fun, easygoing weirdo of a dad, great for banter... but right now?
Top 0.1% scum in her book.
"At least you didn't end up in jail. Lucky you."
"Haha. Quit with the weird talk and listen to Mom and Dad's story quietly. Hmm. Our family had this rule: at 20, you're on your own. So right after starting college, I grabbed a tutoring gig."
Luckily, back then—and still now—parents were all about sending kids to academies, blowing cash on lessons left and right.
The owner of my regular seolleongtang joint—fancy college or not—asked if I'd tutor his daughter.
"And a few years later, that owner became your grandpa."
"Whoa. Paid him to teach her studies, and he turns out to be a daughter thief."
"Heh. Your grandpa nearly bashed Dad's head in with a soup ladle back then."
I'd do the same.
Buddha himself must've stopped the swing.
A grandpa who'd never even seen my face... how'd he hand his precious girl over to a thief like that?
"But tutoring doesn't mean marriage, right? If dating and marrying your student was the norm... every teacher'd be a player."
"True, but this Dad was a hotshot back in the day."
"......"
"No, really! Heh. Look at you, not buying it."
"...Sure. Yeah."
No way did this guy strut around like an insta-celeb or alpha male back then. Total BS.
Speak sense, man.
Acting like I know nothing about that era, spewing nonsense.
"Mom was super shy and hated being alone back then—still is, really. At first, she'd hide behind Grandma whenever she saw Dad... but with my killer smooth talk, I coaxed her out and we got close quick."
"Hearing a 20-year-old say he 'wooed' a 14-year-old feels kinda off."
"Just how it sounds, kid. Anyway... after about a year of tutoring, we were tight, Mom's grades shot up, Grandma was thrilled. Then bam! Time to lose the cheap room I'd scraped together."
Might've had to drop out, quit tutoring, and slave at a factory for a while.
I laid it all out honestly—said tutoring would be tough going forward... and guess what Mom did?
She grabbed Grandma and Grandpa's pant legs, bawling her eyes out. 'I don't wanna break up with Yubang oppa! Can't Yubang oppa live with us?'
Plenty more drama like that, but skipping ahead.
"While in college, Dad crashed at your grandparents', tutored Mom, helped out at the soup shop on weekends. Lived like that for about two years? Then, right before Dad graduated, Mom confessed."
"?? Mom did? Why?"
Out of nowhere. Why Mom? What'd she see in him?
"Beats me, kid. We were all eating dinner at her place, and she climbs on top of me and confesses—right in front of the whole family. Man, I thought I was done for."
Whoa. Mom was bold. Public confession in front of everyone?
Now I get why Grandpa wanted him dead.
"So you accepted?"
"Hell no? Even Dad had limits with a kid that young. I let her down as gently as possible, bowed to Grandma, thanked her for everything, said I'd enlist and vanish so Suyeon could move on."
Okay, so Dad wasn't total trash after all. Yeah, that tracked.
Weirdo or not, he'd been a real human under that beastly skin—eight years living together proved it.
Still, tough call for him.
He hadn't pursued her on purpose, but took responsibility and sacrificed anyway.
Some might call it running to the army, but no better options there. Right.
"So how'd you end up dating and marrying then?"
"Mom came to visit."
"......Huh?"
"Shows up in her school uniform, grabs my army boots, sobbing that she'd been wrong, she'd wait forever, don't toss her aside."
"Whoa."
Mom... not just quick-to-fall-in-love, but obsessively devoted to a scary degree.
Barging into the base like that? Yeah, I'd cave out of fear too.
"Yuna, want the fun part? Your grandpa used to have a full head of hair. Now? Bald. Know why?"
"??"
"He kicked Dad out—or so Mom thought—and she yanked every last strand."
......Mom. What the hell did you do as a teen?
A real eye-opener: Mom burned brighter as the filial daughter than she ever could.