The Perfect End to a Perfect Day
The bus stop had been quiet when they first arrived, but the return trip was an entirely different story.
People heading home from work, along with those enjoying after-work dinners in the city, had gathered in droves.
“Daddy.”
“Hmm?”
“There are so many people.”
“It’s rush hour, that’s why.”
“Rush hour?”
“That’s right. You know how our restaurant stays busy until closing time? This is when everyone else finishes their work and heads home too.”
“So we’re in rush hour as well?”
“Well… yeah, I suppose we are.”
“Rush hour—rush hour—”
Maybe it was because she had eaten something delicious and enjoyed so many fun things, but Seona was more excited than ever.
This wasn’t exactly good news.
When she got this worked up, it usually meant she would stay up later than usual.
Ah, it should be fine.
They had the slide, after all.
Seona had been able to play safely and joyfully, and they could head to the restaurant a little later than normal.
While waiting for their bus, the busy rumble of car engines blended with the murmur of conversations. These sounds might have felt like noise to anyone else, but with Seona beside him, they somehow brought a sense of comfort.
Wrapped in that white noise, feeling the cool evening breeze brush against their skin, waiting for the bus felt like waiting for an old friend.
Just as Seona’s legs, which had been swinging in steady rhythm, began to move more erratically, the bus they had been waiting for finally pulled up.
The journey home after a long day was flawless in every way.
The plans Jeong-woo had set for today had unfolded even more perfectly than he had imagined.
But it wasn’t quite over yet.
There was still one more perfect touch left to cap off this perfect day.
Jeong-woo boarded the bus with the cake he had made that day cradled carefully in his arms.
The bus was packed. Trying to hold the cake in one hand while keeping hold of Seona’s with the other was more than a little awkward.
“Come on, let’s show some consideration. There’s a child here.”
It was the driver’s gentle rebuke. At those words, the passengers who had been jostling each other began to settle into some semblance of order.
They couldn’t get seats, but at least they could lean against the window side of the bus wall together.
The cake was precious, of course, but it couldn’t compare to Seona. If its shape got a little damaged, so what? They still had every bit of evidence that she had helped make it.
So the cake took second place. Jeong-woo held Seona close first and let the rattling bus carry them home.
Seona seemed quite concerned about the cake. Her eyes clearly showed her worry that it might get ruined.
“Seona, there are a lot of people, so Daddy will press the stop button. Okay?”
“Daddy. Shh.”
“Haha. Right, shh.”
Following her lead, Jeong-woo pressed a finger to his lips with a smile, then reached over and pressed the button.
He gave a small bow of thanks to the passengers who made space for them and stepped off the bus. By then the air had grown noticeably colder, brushing cool against their skin.
“Not cold, Seona?”
“Nope. It feels refreshing.”
The pleasantly crisp breeze made Seona’s hair flutter gently. Her face carried a faint rosy glow from the sunset, and seeing it lifted Jeong-woo’s spirits even higher.
“…This is nice.”
He wanted to fall asleep just like this.
By the time they reached home and lay in bed, that sunset would have turned to moonlight. He wanted to drift off while gazing straight at it.
Thanks to the pleasant breeze, they arrived home in no time.
“Alright, let’s wash up quickly, Seona.”
“Okay!”
He hadn’t noticed it when leaving the restaurant, but the realization that they were climbing the stairs on the way home instead of descending filled him with unexpected joy.
They passed the sturdily built slide and stepped inside. The house was dark, yet the sunset light streaming through the windows painted a rather lovely scene.
Now all that remained was making kimchi.
He couldn’t forget about that. Because he had played so energetically at the game center, he felt completely drained.
Still, they didn’t need to make many heads. These days people didn’t eat as much kimchi, so even a small batch would turn into perfectly aged kimchi on its own.
Making kimchi was never as simple as it sounded. It took a lot of hands-on work, and every ingredient required careful handling.
He took out the kimchi seasoning he had stored in the freezer. Since it had thawed completely in the fridge, all he needed to do was prepare it properly.
Jeong-woo’s kimchi wasn’t anything fancy. It was simply the taste that came to mind when someone said the word “kimchi.”
“Before I mix the seasoning…”
There was actually one more reason he didn’t make large batches at once. Pairing freshly made geotjeori with boiled pork created a magnificent meal unlike anything else.
The cut Jeong-woo had chosen was pork neck—a part known for its wonderfully tender texture. The quality of the meat meant there was hardly any gamey smell, but he intended to be extra careful anyway.
All he needed to do was boil it with ingredients like the bay leaves he had bought before, which effectively removed any unpleasant odors. First he would soak the meat to draw out the blood, then boil it for about an hour. All in all, it would take around an hour and a half.
In that time, he could finish the kimchi. And wash Seona properly too.
“Daddy! Seona changed all her clothes!”
“Really?”
When he went to check, she had indeed changed. Or rather, she had taken everything off.
Seona had neatly removed the coat she had worn outside and hung it on the hanger. She looked up at Jeong-woo with a proud little smile that clearly said, I did well, didn’t I?
“You even organized the clothes? That’s my girl.”
“Yep!”
“Then shall we wash up? Get nice and clean, then you can watch TV while Daddy makes something delicious.”
“Yay!”
Today called for a particularly thorough wash. They had been out, met many people, and visited many places. On top of that, the refreshing breeze on the way home might have felt a little chilly to her.
After washing Seona carefully from head to toe, he came out to find it was time to take the meat out of its soak.
“Daddy.”
“Yes?”
“Can Seona watch?”
“Of course. But why all of a sudden? You didn’t want to last time.”
“Hehe. I just want to see it this time.”
“Then watch as much as you like.”
With Seona in front of him, Jeong-woo began making the kimchi. The key was spreading the seasoning evenly between every layer of cabbage leaves. If you got it wrong, some parts would turn out too salty while others stayed bland.
Seona watched with eyes full of curiosity. Sometimes she smacked her lips, other times she wore a strangely complex expression.
While observing her varied and vivid reactions, Jeong-woo finished both the kimchi and the boiled pork.
Fresh geotjeori and steaming slices of pork. Seona already knew exactly how they would taste, so she waited with obvious anticipation, making little slurping sounds.
He cut the meat into easy-to-eat pieces, tore off some of the freshly made kimchi by hand, and wrapped it around the pork.
“Here, ah—”
“Aah—”
Seona opened her small mouth wide. He slipped the perfect bite inside, and her little mouth began to chew, savoring the flavors.
Jeong-woo’s cooking always hit Seona’s taste buds perfectly, but today the accuracy was exceptional.
“Is it good?”
“So good! Better than what we had at the monster house!”
It took him a second to realize she meant the Chinese restaurant. As expected, while that place had been delicious, it couldn’t surpass her father in Seona’s eyes.
Her reaction alone told him everything. Today’s ending was the perfect conclusion to a special day.
While Seona finished eating, Jeong-woo completed the rest of the kimchi and cleaned up. It was already past her usual bedtime, but one task still remained: looking at the photos they had taken today together.
He finished all the bedtime preparations first, then lay down with the photos.
“Daddy—”
Seona jumped into his arms with a voice full of adorable charm.
“You’re being extra cute today, Seona. It must have been really fun, huh?”
“Hehe. Yeah. It was great.”
“Let’s look at the pictures until we fall asleep.”
“Yes! Pictures!”
Seona, who had completely forgotten, snuggled deep into his embrace at the mention of photos.
“Alright, let’s go through them one by one.”
The shots taken after finishing the cake showed both father and daughter beaming with bright smiles. Their identical expressions made it obvious to anyone that they were family.
Those were all the photos from the cake-making spot—pictures of them posing together with the cake. But Jeong-woo had taken a few others separately. Not many, but one from the Chinese restaurant and several of Seona completely focused on the games at the arcade.
“It really was fun, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
Yet Seona already looked sleepy. After everything they had done today, it was no surprise she might drift off right away.
Watching her eyelids slowly close, Jeong-woo gently stroked her back. Soon her breathing grew soft and steady. He carefully slipped out of her embrace.
“I’ll sleep after I finish just this.”
Jeong-woo placed the day’s photos carefully into frames, making sure none of them creased. He gazed at the neatly arranged picture with a contented smile, then set the frame on the living room shelf.
“……”
The soft click of the frame being placed revealed the photograph that had always occupied that spot. An old frame, lightly covered in dust. Inside was someone who now existed only in Jeong-woo’s memories.
“Honey.”
It had been a long time since he had spoken the word aloud. With no one left to call by that name, he had stopped saying it. Yet when he finally let it pass his lips again, it didn’t hurt as much as he had feared.
He brushed every speck of dust from the frame. He stared blankly at his wife’s bright smile, then realized how much time had passed. If he wasn’t careful, he might keep gazing at it forever.
“Still… I’m doing okay, right?”
He knew there would be no answer, yet Jeong-woo felt certain. He was doing well. Better than anyone.
Only after feeling the cool glass against his fingers several times could he finally set the frame down. He placed the two frames side by side, as close together as possible, then returned to bed carefully so he wouldn’t wake Seona.
At some point she had pulled her favorite white rabbit doll into her arms, holding it tight.
“Mmm…”
When Jeong-woo lay down beside her, Seona instinctively snuggled closer, as if she had known it was him all along.
Lying in bed, he saw what he had imagined earlier: moonlight filtering through the curtains. He couldn’t tell whether it was a full moon, half moon, or crescent behind the fabric, but it didn’t matter.
What mattered was that the moonlight was shining on Seona and on him. If she had sparkled with a warm red glow from the sunset earlier, now she shone with a quiet, silvery light.