Invitation (3)
I was slightly flustered by Min Soyeon's casual invitation to come inside the house. Had she not noticed where my gaze had been lingering?
“…”
She stared at me with that same expressionless face, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. Her eyes seemed to ask why I was still standing there instead of coming in. Seeing her like that made me feel like I was the one overreacting.
“…Excuse me, then.”
In the end, I gave up and followed her inside, pretending to be completely calm as I cautiously stepped into the entryway. While I slowly took off my shoes, carefully watching her reaction, Soyeon naturally left me behind and walked straight into the house. Her footsteps were heading toward the living room.
Did she want to talk in the living room?
I quietly followed after her, and she guided me to sit on the living room sofa. But…
…Isn’t this way too close?
Soyeon had positioned herself so deliberately close that anyone would notice. The distance was just barely enough that we weren’t touching. Feeling strangely nervous, I slowly lifted my hips and scooted a little to the side.
However…
Slide—
Slide—
Min Soyeon refused to let me get away. She immediately followed, pushing me all the way to the edge of the sofa.
“…”
A suffocating silence filled the air.
…Stay calm…
Slightly thrown off by her successive unexpected actions, I desperately tried to act natural and opened my mouth.
“…I’m sorry I came so late.”
At that, Min Soyeon, who was sitting right beside me, slowly turned her head to look at me. Her sharp gaze poured over my face. It felt like she was scolding me, as if to say, Is that all you have to say?
“…I’m sorry.”
I offered a quiet apology and carefully turned my head, meeting her eyes. Those captivating red irises. For some reason, they carried an inexplicable pressure that reminded me of facing my wife when she was young.
“…I’m sorry for running away back then. I shouldn’t have done that… I’m truly sorry. I apologize with all my heart.”
I could have added excuses, but I didn’t. I had come here to apologize, not to make excuses.
After receiving my apology, Min Soyeon simply stared at me in silence. Without blinking once, without giving any response, she just kept gazing into my eyes. How much time had passed like that?
“…And?”
Min Soyeon finally spoke. She brushed past my apology and asked for my answer regarding her feelings.
I had mentally prepared myself on the way here, but now that I was facing her, the words wouldn’t come easily. Still…
I had to say it.
“…I’m sorry.”
I cannot accept her heart.
No matter how much my body had changed and become someone else, Soyeon was still my precious daughter. Even if only the two of us were left in this world, I would never see her as a woman.
…I must not.
“…”
Having conveyed my rejection with great effort, I quietly waited for her response. She probably needed time to sort out her feelings too.
And a moment later.
Min Soyeon, who had been quietly watching me, carefully opened her mouth.
“…You came all the way here just to say that?”
Her eyes seemed to ask why I had bothered to come all this way just to trample on her heart. With nothing left to say, I quietly averted my gaze and turned my head. At that moment, she let out a short sigh and slowly spoke again.
“…I was wrong back then too. I’m sorry.”
…Huh?
Instead of beating me up like she should have, Soyeon was the one apologizing. I was caught off guard by her reaction. Of course, she had made a huge mistake. But the root cause had been entirely me. She had only gone off the rails because of what I did.
And yet here she was, acknowledging her own fault and even apologizing… Had she come to some realization on her own?
“…But it was because of you, wasn’t it?”
…Or not?
With nothing to say, I pressed my lips tightly shut and looked away. Then Soyeon pressed me further, as if interrogating me.
“…Why did you do that? If you weren’t going to accept me, why did you make me so confused?”
…Ugh.
Her question caught me completely off guard. To me, devoting myself to her was only natural. I was her father, after all. Wasn’t it perfectly normal for a parent to take care of their child?
But I couldn’t say that outright. I needed to give her some kind of answer that she could accept.
Enduring her piercing gaze, I desperately racked my brain and came up with a fairly plausible idea. I carefully opened my mouth.
“…It reminded me of my little sister…”
“…What?”
It must have been an answer she hadn’t expected, because Soyeon looked momentarily flustered. I quickly spun a story about a younger sister I had cared for back at the facility. She had passed away far too early, and the regret had stayed with me ever since.
After wrapping up the believable tale, I waited for her reaction, carefully watching her expression.
Min Soyeon stared blankly into space for a moment, as if lost in thought, then let out a short sigh and slowly nodded.
“…That’s really unfortunate about your sister.”
…Did she understand?
“…But it’s still true that you made me confused.”
Apparently not…
I pressed my lips shut again. Then Soyeon scooted her shoulder closer to mine and spoke in a low voice, as if pressing charges.
“…So what are you going to do now?”
She was asking what I planned to do going forward. The relationship between Soyeon and me had already become twisted. What I wanted was to remain friends and slowly rebuild our bond, but that was purely my opinion, not hers. Honestly, suggesting we stay friends at this point would be incredibly shameless…
“…Are you not going to come to our house anymore?”
She cut in before I could even answer.
“…If you don’t want to come, you don’t have to.”
“Soyeon…”
“…It’s true. Now I can smoke as much as I want, drink every day, and call my friends over whenever.”
…This girl…!
It was practically a threat.
“Min Soyeon. That’s not fair.”
When I scolded her in shock at her blatant threat, Soyeon looked at me with expectant eyes.
“…So you’ll keep coming?”
Of course I planned to keep coming. While it was right to keep some distance and slowly restore our relationship, I wanted to stay by her side and watch over her until she could stand on her own. It definitely wasn’t because of her threats.
“Soyeon. You’re still precious to me. How could I possibly abandon you? I could never do that.”
Then Soyeon’s eyes sparkled with satisfaction as she spoke.
“…Then I’m going to keep being confused about you.”
…What?
I froze for a moment at her words. Soyeon didn’t give me any room to respond.
“…You don’t like that?”
“Ah, no, that’s not—”
“…Why are you so selfish?”
“Huh?”
“…Why do you only ever do what’s convenient for you?”
Like mother, like daughter. As she fired off those blunt accusations with a completely expressionless face, I saw an overlap with my wife during her most intense phase. The way she had relentlessly torn into me for two straight hours back then.
Faced with that version of Soyeon, I reflexively apologized.
“S-Sorry… I was wrong…”
“…Is sorry all you have to say?”
The second round had begun.
“…You saw my entire body. So why are you trying to take zero responsibility? It’s not like I asked you to marry me.”
“…I’m sorry…”
At times like this, I almost wished she would just hit me instead.
I kept my head bowed, enduring her anger, when she suddenly said,
“…If you’re that sorry, then hug me and comfort me.”
“…What?”
Soyeon was slyly attempting skinship.
“Soyeon…”
I opened my mouth to tell her that wasn’t appropriate, but—
“…I guess I should go call my friends over.”
She had read my intentions perfectly. Without hesitation, she stood up as if she was really about to do it.
No, not the friends…!
Startled, I quickly grabbed her and pulled her into my arms.
Whoosh—!
She immediately melted into my embrace as if she had been waiting for it.
…I’m screwed…
In the end, I had been completely played by Soyeon.
Taste Test Reward: Hypnosis Spray (5 minutes)
I took a deep breath while wrapped in Yu Jihwan’s arms, burying my face in his chest. His scent filled my nose. Beneath the sweet fragrance, a deep, unknown stench was layered in. I could tell exactly who that stench belonged to—the thieving bitch who had stolen Jihwan from me.
…That damn whore…
Squeeze—
Feeling a bit heated, I pressed even closer to his body, as if marking him with my own scent.
“W-Wait…!”
I felt his body flinch hard. The heartbeat against my ear was racing.
Thump—thump—thump—
It wasn’t pounding like it would explode, but it was definitely beating faster than usual. We had hugged many times before, but his heart had never raced like this.
“…Hehe…”
Feeling pleased, I hugged him even tighter in delight.
Squeeze—
“S-Soyeon… Isn’t that enough now…?”
Jihwan tried to pull me off, but I pretended not to hear anything and simply enjoyed being in his arms.
And at that exact moment…
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