Vacation Prep (4)
"Hahh... I really almost passed out..."
Hanbyul staggered back into Mo-nyeo Deopbap, barely staying upright with one hand braced against the wall. Waiting for his exhausted return was—
"Where the hell have you been?!"
Jia, horns out and furious. And she had every right to be. He'd said he was going to the bathroom and then vanished for over forty minutes.
No matter how much she loved her dad, a girl who'd been left to run both the floor and the kitchen by herself was not about to let this one slide.
"Ghk—!"
She drove her head into his chest like a ram, filial devotion and all, and knocked the air clean out of him.
"Cough... cough..."
"You jerk! You're the worst! The worst!"
Tiny fists clenched, Jia laid into her father where he'd crumpled to the floor. True to her nature as a firebrand of a daughter, there was nothing half-hearted about the beating.
"I'm sorry, Jia! Daddy's sorry—!"
Fortunately, the dinner rush had already swept through and gone, and the restaurant had finally found a little breathing room.
"Alright, shall we eat too?"
Iseul's mother poked her face out from behind the blue kitchen curtain, apparently ready to show off her skills. That, at least, was the idea.
What actually came through the curtain were a pair of breasts too large for any clothes to contain, sloshing heavily as she stepped out. She'd taken off her apron, and through the skin-tight fabric the dark contours of her areolae stood out in stark, unfiltered relief.
Whether the three people in the restaurant noticed that dairy-cow figure or not, they were too busy laughing and enjoying themselves to care.
"Oh~ I'll be looking forward to Mom's cooking!"
Iseul had slipped out at some point, white hair swaying as she came over to join them.
"I'll look forward to it too!"
Jia snapped her head up and piled on. Everyone was in such high spirits that Hanbyul couldn't very well sit it out.
"M-me too! J-Jiwoo..."
He knew she wasn't his wife, and calling her by name anyway left a strange taste in his mouth.
"Ah... y-yes. Just a moment, please. Wait right there."
The whole scene felt like a real family gathered around the table, and it was doing a fine job of putting a noisy, chaotic day to bed.
The food would take a little while, so they sat and waited. The two girls huddled over a phone, giggling at whatever was on the screen.
"What are you looking at that's so funny? Show Daddy too~"
Nine times out of ten, that kind of pouty little whine worked. Not this time.
"No. Absolutely not. Not this time."
Jia shut him down cold.
Iseul, either losing interest or finished with whatever she'd been looking at, set her phone on the table. She gazed at Jia with open fondness, then lifted her eyes and locked them with Hanbyul's.
"Heheh~♡"
Jia was a beautiful daughter. But sitting there, Hanbyul found himself thinking that if he'd had a girl like Iseul too, Jia might have been a little less lonely growing up.
Not that he wasn't more than satisfied as things were. Still, a noisy little what-if lingered — what if I'd tried a bit harder...?
Iseul must have caught the shift in his face. A faint cloud drifted across her expression.
Crap. What am I doing thinking that right in front of her...
He tilted his head as if he hadn't a clue and offered her a warm, easy smile.
"Nh...!"
"Hm? What is it? What's wrong?"
"I-it's nothing..."
He'd been staring too hard, and the flustered reaction that earned him was electric. Hooked on that cuteness, he stared even more deliberately.
"Th-that's..."
"Hm? What?"
He planted his chin in his hand and dropped all pretense, gazing at her outright.
Thud!
"Aaagh!"
Jia, still on her phone, kicked him square in the shin under the table.
"Dad! Why are you only looking at Iseul?!"
"S-sorry... our Iseul is just so pretty, that's all~"
"What?!"
Jia's fists started trembling. She turned and glared daggers at the girl sitting beside her.
"Eek...! Papa!!! Save me~!"
Iseul seized her moment, lunging at Hanbyul and burrowing straight into his arms.
"Hey! Get out of there!"
"Don't wanna~ Don't wanna~ Blehhh."
"Baek Iseul!"
"J-Jia, what's gotten into you..."
"Dad, don't just sit there holding her! Push her off!"
The restaurant dissolved into complete chaos. Iseul used Hanbyul as a human shield to keep Jia at bay, and Jia couldn't quite bring herself to charge in with him in the way.
The one who put an end to the mess in a single stroke was—
"Aigoo!!! What's with you women, brawling over one man?!"
—Jiwoo, emerging from the kitchen with both hands full of food.
"Thanks for the meal!"
The four of them clustered around the table and dug into the full spread she'd laid out.
"Wow... this is insanely good."
"Right? Amazing, right? My mom doesn't look it, but she's an incredible cook~"
Judging by Jia's face, it really was that good.
"Um... Jia's father. Is it to your taste?"
"Ah—yes! One second."
Hanbyul hurriedly picked up his chopsticks and tried the braised short ribs.
"Wow..."
He wasn't exaggerating. The meat melted on his tongue, and every chew flooded his mouth with juice. The sauce walked a perfect line — just sweet enough, with a quiet, lingering depth that was nothing short of art.
"This is incredible. It's really delicious..."
Running a restaurant clearly wasn't something just anyone could do.
"Heheh~ Thank you."
They ate for a good while before a question occurred to him. He put it to Jiwoo as carefully as he could.
"Um... Jiwoo."
"Y-yes?"
"When does your husband usually get home...?"
"Ah..."
He'd tried to keep his voice down, but Jia and Iseul had clearly heard. The two girls, who'd been poking at each other and laughing over their food, went still. Iseul lowered her head.
"That's..."
Jiwoo hesitated, glancing at her daughter.
"They got divorced."
Iseul said it outright, no warning at all.
"He cheated with another woman and they got divorced. A rich woman..."
"Ah..."
The warmth drained out of the table as if it had never been there. The air went heavy and stiff.
"I... I'm sorry, Iseul. You too, Jiwoo..."
"..."
"It's alright. I was going to tell you eventually anyway..."
Jia must have heard all this from Iseul already. She kept her face carefully blank and picked at her rice.
"It's okay..."
Iseul lifted her head. The tears welling in her eyes and the tremor in her voice said more than enough about how much it still hurt.
"It's already in the past."
Watching her try so hard to sound like it didn't matter, Hanbyul knew he shouldn't — and reached for her anyway.
Pat...
He was shorter than she was, so his hand landed on her bangs rather than the top of her head. Close enough.
"Iseul. If you're alright with it..."
Those unsteady eyes were too pitiful to ignore. The fact that she'd tried to say it like it was nothing meant she'd been carrying that pain alone.
"You can treat me like your dad."
Anyone watching would have called it meddling — crossing a line. He said it anyway, because he wanted to gather up a girl who felt like a daughter and hold that wound until it eased.
He was the one who'd dragged a hidden secret into the open. Taking responsibility for that felt like the least he could do.
"R-really...?"
"Of course! I'd actually be happier having a daughter like Iseul. Think you can handle a dad like me?"
"Mmhm~ I love it! Daddy~!"
He hadn't said it drunk, and he hadn't said anything he couldn't stand behind. He was sure of that. And he believed that certainty had reached her.
"Th-thank you..."
Off to the side, Jiwoo wiped her eyes and offered her own quiet thanks. As a parent himself, Hanbyul figured he already had all the gratitude he needed — he would have done the same in her place.
"Ah, then I'll give you my number. It's alright to get in touch, right?"
"Of course~! Obviously."
Wait—Jia!
He checked her face a beat too late. Luckily, she just smirked, the look on her face saying I'll let it slide this once~
Where she'd gotten a heart that kind, he had no idea. Whatever man ended up marrying Jia was going to be so blessed he'd barely survive it.
"Mom! Mom, you exchange numbers too!"
"Huh?"
Jiwoo startled so hard she flinched, and even that small movement set her chest swaying.
"W-would that be alright...?"
"Of course! We're going on a trip together anyway, so we needed to swap numbers, right? Heheh~"
"Ah... yes..."
The warm family atmosphere settled back over the table. They finished the meal in high spirits and went their separate ways.
Jia said she wanted to hang out with Iseul a little longer, so Hanbyul started the walk home alone.
"Hmm... I feel like I'm forgetting something. Just my imagination, right...?"
He was sure there'd been one more thing he was supposed to do after closing up the restaurant. It sat right on the tip of his mind and refused to come forward.
He figured it would surface on the walk. Instead, the closer he got to home, the fainter it became.
Past this playground and he'd be there. He was turning it over, cutting across the sand, when—
Creeeak... creeeak...
Rusted metal dragged against itself, wringing out a sound that crawled straight up his spine.
He followed the noise. Something that looked like a person was sitting on the swing, watching him.
It was too dark to make out a face, but the angle of the neck and the slight twist of the body were enough. Whoever it was, they were looking right at him.
As if it had been waiting for their eyes to meet, a ringtone chirped from his pocket.
Jiwoo, maybe...?
He pulled the phone out fast, expecting her name — and checked the screen.
Not Jiwoo. Yerim.
He looked up again—