She Came Anyway
"Sorry. I've got plans with my daughter after this."
The moment the word daughter left his mouth, she looked startled.
"Oh, really? Didn't you say your daughter lives pretty far away?"
"Yeah, she does. Looks like she showed up out of nowhere again, same as last time."
"My goodness, you must be thrilled. She's still at that age when most kids are deep in their rebellious phase, and she already adores her dad like that."
"I mean, it is nice, but... she doesn't listen. This time she didn't even call. She just showed up."
"Oh, come on. That's the kind of worry people envy. There must be plenty of dads in this country who'd give anything just to have one real conversation with their daughters."
I couldn't exactly say she was wrong. Jia had come all this way because she was thinking of me, after all.
Then the phone rang again. I checked the screen. Jia, of course.
"Sorry. It's my daughter."
"It's fine. I don't mind waiting, so go ahead and take it."
I answered, and Jia's voice came through.
"Dad, where are you?"
"The movie just ended. I'm in the department store with the theater. You timed that call perfectly."
"Of course I checked the runtime, Dad. Anyway, I'm already at the department store. What floor are you on? I'll come to you."
"Wait—you came here?"
"Yes. You told me the address earlier."
"I told you not to come..."
"Oh, please. You knew I would. Did you really think I'd ask for the address and then not show up? I had nothing to do at home, so I left right on time to meet you."
Sure enough, the bad feeling I'd had wasn't wrong. Not that I should have called it a bad feeling. Still, I'd come to the movie with someone else, and I'd at least wanted to stay with her until we headed home. It looked like I was going to have to leave Miyeong behind and go on ahead.
"Miyeong, what floor is this?"
"The third."
"Third floor, Jia. I'll be waiting in front of the escalator."
"...You didn't go alone?"
"Yeah. Well. Someone from work asked me to see it with her."
"Mm... okay. I'll head over, Dad."
I thought I heard her tone shift. I already had a feeling I knew what she'd say once she got here.
...It felt like I'd made a very large mistake.
"Your daughter's coming this way?"
"Looks that way."
"She must really adore you. Must be nice."
It was nice. It was. The problem was how recklessly she barged in. I truly hadn't thought she'd track me down like this. Or maybe that wasn't fair. Miyeong was right—Jia came because she liked me, and it wasn't right to keep framing it the way I had.
It wasn't long before I spotted her. I waved, and her face lit up as she waved back. But the moment she noticed the woman standing beside me, something odd crossed her expression.
"It's been a while, Dad."
"Not that long. We saw each other last time."
"It's long enough. Up until last year, seeing you every day was just normal."
"That's true, but... anyway, I'm glad you came, Jia. The trip must've been rough."
"I'm fine. I came to see you. What's there to complain about?"
It was a sweet thing to say. Having a daughter who liked me this much really was something to be glad about. Showing up without a word, always out of nowhere, was a flaw—but if I thought about it, treating that as a flaw was a pretty luxurious complaint.
"Dad, it's been forever. Hug me."
"Huh?"
"Hurry. Hurry."
She said it without a shred of embarrassment, right there in public. For a second I was conscious of the eyes around us—a man embracing a girl young enough to be his daughter, out in the open. It probably didn't matter. She might have been young enough to be someone's daughter, but she was mine. I'd been too cold with her last time. This time I pulled her in without another word.
The moment I had her in my arms, it felt different from before. Back then, hugging her had only ever felt like hugging my little girl. Now, even as I held her, the unmistakable curves of her body made it plain she had become a woman. The faint scent of cosmetics only sharpened it. It felt like holding a grown woman. The way it felt to hold Yuna.
"Whoa, what's gotten into you? I ask for a hug and you actually give me the whole thing."
"I think I was too cold last time."
"What are you talking about? When have you ever been cold to me?"
"If that's how you see it, then I'm glad."
Guilt had me laying the affection on a little thick when a laugh drifted in from beside us. Right. Miyeong was still standing there. What was I doing, carrying on like this with someone right next to me?
"You two really are close~"
She was watching us, smiling as if she were enjoying the show. Heat crept into my face, and I pulled my arms back in a hurry.
"We're not that close."
"Oh, please. This isn't some foreign country, and you went straight for a hug the second you saw each other. That's extremely close."
"Exactly, Dad. What are you saying? We're not close? I rode the subway all the way from out there just to see your face."
"Right, right. Your daughter went to all that trouble to come see you. You can't say things like that, Assistant Manager."
They'd only just met, and already the two of them had joined forces against me.
"Fine, fine. We're close. Sorry. Slip of the tongue."
"If you're sorry, give me a kiss."
"Don't say weird things."
Anyone overhearing that was going to get the wrong idea. The last time I'd kissed my daughter, I was pretty sure she'd still been in middle school.
"But Dad. Who's this unnie?"
There it was. Finally. I'd wondered how to explain, then decided anything longer would only breed more misunderstanding, so I kept it short.
"A coworker from Dad's company."
"Heeh... on the weekend? You came to see a movie together?"
"It just sort of happened."
"Hmm..."
When Jia looked at her, Miyeong beamed and spoke first.
"Hi. You're Jia, right? I've heard a lot about you from your dad."
"Hello."
Jia gave a small bow. But there was something unsettled in her eyes. Which was only natural. Last time, sharing a single meal had been enough for her to spin all kinds of strange stories, and this situation was even easier to misread than that one. This was why I'd hoped she wouldn't come. And honestly, that wasn't even the whole of it. Once, I might have been simply happy. Now it felt like laying bare the tangled situation at home, and I couldn't be glad about it without reservation.
"I'll head out first, Assistant Manager. Enjoy your time with your daughter."
"Already? At least have a coffee with us before you go."
"I'm good. I drank way too much cola during the movie. Coffee doesn't sound appealing."
Thankfully, Miyeong slipped away and left the two of us. It felt a little like I'd driven her off, which made the whole thing look strange, but I was more relieved than anything. When I got to the office on Monday, I'd buy her a coffee.
"See you next time, Jia."
"Goodbye."
And just like that, Miyeong was gone. A strange quiet settled over Jia and me.
"She left awfully fast."
"She did."
"I feel a little bad. I came because I wanted to tease you, but it seems like she left because of me."
"We were going to split up after the movie anyway. Nothing much would've changed. You don't need to feel sorry, Jia."
Contrary to what I'd expected, she looked a little guilty.
"Anyway, thanks for making the trip. What do you want for dinner? There are a ton of restaurants around here. You can have whatever you feel like."
"Nothing in particular? I don't think it matters."
"Come on, there has to be something you want."
"Then how about malatang?"
At that, I felt my expression lock up.
"...Do you actually want malatang?"
"No, I'm kidding. You hate malatang."
"I wouldn't say I hate it..."
"You do. You'll eat anything except malatang."
"Well... that's true."
So it was a joke. For a second I'd genuinely worried I was going to have to eat it. Thank God.
"But really, anything's fine. I haven't been craving anything lately."
"Then want to just hit a snack shop and get ramyeon?"
"Sure. Let's do that."
"I was joking, Jia. If you react like that, what kind of dad does that make me?"
"The kind who can only buy his daughter a bowl of ramyeon the first time he's seen her in ages?"
"...Which is why you need to pick something. Quickly."
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I really wouldn't mind if you bought me ramyeon."
"That is not a joke. If I actually bought you ramyeon, you'd hold it over me for months."
I'd tried to tease her back. Unfortunately, it hadn't landed.
"Or we could just buy groceries and cook something at your place. You're good at cooking."
"It's a studio. The kitchen's in rough shape. About all I can manage is a fried egg, or boiling ramyeon like I said."
"That's a shame."
"If eating out really doesn't appeal, want to just go home and order delivery?"
"That wouldn't be bad. Hmm..."
We weren't getting anywhere. Neither of us was the type to live for food, but that didn't mean we weren't picky. If we'd been near home, fewer options might have made the choice faster. Around here there were restaurants of every kind, but they were all unfamiliar places, and I had no idea which ones were actually good. Choosing was anything but easy.
"Or, Dad. Since things turned out like this anyway... want to go to a bar?"
"Huh?"
Her eyes were suddenly bright.
"We're near a university, so there should be all kinds of bars around. What do you say, Dad?"