Golf Is a Science.
Golf Is a Science.
Lee Gi-seok stood there with his mouth hanging open, staring at the trajectory of the golf ball I'd launched.
I smirked and walked up to him.
"Enjoy the show?"
"...More than that." He let out a breathless chuckle. "If I'd tried to teach you... I'd have been the one humiliated. Ha-ha..."
He'd already sized up my overall level with just one swing.
The real strength of this body, lacking in raw power, doesn't shine through in forceful swings.
It's when a shot requires skill over brute strength—that's when I can send the ball exactly where I want it, with absolute precision.
That was what set me apart the most.
When I set an obstacle right in front of me, pulled out a club suited for the situation, and showed him a shot that lofted the ball like a howitzer, Lee Gi-seok was speechless.
And when I finished off by demonstrating a clean bunker shot off the sand, Lee Jin-seok stared at me with trembling pupils.
"Once I start, I have to see it through to the end, you know~"
"....."
Lee Gi-seok wore an expression that made me curious about what was going through his head.
Leaving the amateurs be, I started teaching Da-yeon.
"Da-yeon, try holding your stance like this."
"Like this?"
"Stick your hips out a little more~ There you go. Now, from that position, naturally look right, then look left."
I helped hold Da-yeon's posture steady as she rotated her waist.
"How is it? Better than before, right?"
"Yeah!"
If you want to get into golf, all you have to do is feel the dynamics of a good swing.
After that, once you start tackling different courses, you'll be hooked before you know it.
As long as you've got the money, you'll end up traveling around, seeking out all sorts of golf courses.
Da-yeon kept practicing her swing just the way I'd shown her.
"You having fun?"
"Yeah!"
I used my club to scoop up a stray ball from the ground beside me as casually as shoveling rice into a bowl.
Da-yeon was watching me.
Energized by Da-yeon's expectant gaze, I bounced the ball on the clubface—pop-pop—then tossed it high into the air, swung the club behind my head to catch and regain my grip, and struck it clean—a little showmanship.
Thwack!
"Whoa..."
Da-yeon's eyes sparkled at the sight of me swinging a golf club like a baseball bat.
Come the weekend, I was lying on the sofa in pajamas, watching Neotube on the TV.
"Dad, you're up?"
"Yeah, you're up early."
Dad rubbed his eyes, yawned, stretched out, and flopped down beside me.
"Let's watch sports~"
"No."
"Whyyyyy~"
I shoved my hand against Dad's head as he tried to cling to me.
"I need to watch a movie review."
"Why not just watch the movie..."
"That takes too long."
Bored, Dad lay there, reached out, yanked Alpha toward him, and started messing with him—until he got a rapid-fire barrage of cat punches in return.
"Ack!"
Still, Alpha and Beta never, ever unsheathe their claws on people, thank goodness.
Even after getting smacked, Dad hugged Alpha close and looked up at me.
"Should we go out and watch a movie?"
"Can't be bothered."
"Go shopping?"
"Can't be bothered."
"Go out to eat?"
"Can't be bothered."
"Is it just that having Dad around is a bother?"
"Yeah, that's definitely a bother."
Dad's face screwed up into a look of utter devastation.
"...That's so mean."
"Oh, come on, not again~ Just leave me be, take Alpha, and go play over there. Shoo, shoo~"
"Then... should we go swimming downstairs for the first time in a while?"
"Oh... swimming?"
"Yeah!"
"Can't be bothered."
"Ahhhhh~ Let's plaaaay~"
"Dad, isn't that what kids are supposed to do to their parents? You're acting like a child."
"No? Absolutely not. To anyone watching, I look like a totally reliable dad, right?"
"No, you don't~ You're more of a bother than Alpha and Beta~ Go over there~! Let me watch my movie!"
Dad suddenly started touching my toes.
"Your feet are really small."
"Stop saying they're small... It's stressful enough that they are small."
"Whyyy~ It's cute~"
My hands and feet are slightly on the small side, even compared to other girls my age.
Still, when Dad massaged my little toes, a cool, tingling sensation spread through my entire body. It felt good.
"Should we go play some golf?"
"Well, that doesn't sound bad..."
That day, watching my picture-perfect swing, Dad personally confirmed once again that he was now unmistakably worse than me at golf.
The next day, our family went on a day trip to a hot spring with Da-yeon's family.
By "Da-yeon's family," I really just mean Kim Seon-hwa, Lee Jin-seok, and Da-yeon, since Jeong-yeon and Ga-yeon are overseas.
In case the place had a screen golf setup, Dad and Lee Jin-seok each brought along their own clubs.
I looked over at Lee Jin-seok, sitting in the driver's seat, and spoke up.
"We are going to a hot spring, right?"
"Ha ha ha..."
Dad had been playing golf non-stop lately, his shoulders and back aching from doing it for the first time in a while.
After chatting away in the car for quite a while, we arrived at the hot spring before we knew it.
I hadn't been expecting much since it was just a hot spring, but it turned out to be like a water park with hot spring baths.
Thanks to Dad's vehement objections, I was stuck wearing a swimsuit covered in lace ruffles that was absolutely not sexy.
Still, Da-yeon's figure and mine weren't exactly the kind of thing that could be hidden.
Dad was beside himself over my legs being so boldly exposed.
Lee Jin-seok told Dad to knock it off, and Dad, totally out of his element, made a huge effort to ignore my legs.
Kim Seon-hwa smiled and looked at me.
"I knew Si-yoon had great proportions, but your legs are incredibly long~"
"That's why I can't wear high heels."
"Really? Why not? I think you'd look pretty in them."
"Forget 'pretty,' it'd look creepy."
"Ah..."
Even though Da-yeon and I were different heights, our leg lengths were similar.
The moment I sank into the hot bath, my body and expression automatically melted.
"Haaauuh... I'm mellllting~"
"Me toooo..."
Da-yeon and I exchanged a few "hoo-uh hoo-uh"s as we floated, stretched out in the water.
"Is golf fun?"
"Yeah! It's totally fun!"
From what Lee Gi-seok told me, Da-yeon had pestered him into taking her to the golf course again yesterday.
When I felt Da-yeon's palm, I could tell calluses were about to form soon.
"If you do it too much in one day, your hands will get ugly."
"Really?!"
"Yeah, you've gotta be careful and pace yourself."
"Got it~"
Da-yeon and I wandered around, enjoying all the different baths.
Then we spotted a room labeled 'Screening Room,' and I went in with Da-yeon.
Three of the four walls were entirely covered in screens, and you could pick a movie from a corner kiosk.
"Oooh..."
A movie... while enjoying a hot spring.
I soaked in a sense of peace with Da-yeon in the water as we watched the movie.
After our bath, we showered and came outside.
As I was drinking some milk from a glass bottle, Dad and Lee Jin-seok approached from the distance.
"Hey, the thing to drink at a hot spring is sikhye."
Dad came over carrying sikhye and smoked eggs.
Da-yeon grabbed an egg, then tried to crack it on my head. I dodged lightly.
And then cracked my own egg right on Da-yeon's head.
"Eek!"
"Hoo hoo hoo... Not gonna happen~"
Da-yeon's face scrunched up into a sudden pout.
When I stepped closer, she swung an egg at me in a desperate counterattack.
I could have dodged it easily, but I just let it hit me.
"Hehe..."
While we were peeling and eating the eggs, Dad and Lee Jin-seok got up and headed for the ping-pong tables.
Honestly, I'd had my eye on those ping-pong tables from the second we walked into this area.
In the past, if my golf had been at a world-class pro level, my table tennis had been at the national level.
The old me couldn't even hold a candle to the dynamic vision I had now.
So I was absolutely certain that if I played ping-pong with my current vision, it would be insane.
Dad and Lee Jin-seok were actually pretty good, but, well, that's as far as it went.
At their skill level, I could toy with them like they were little kids.
"Si-yoon, should we play too?!"
I'd been holding back the urge to show off my skills, but if Da-yeon wanted to play, I had to oblige.
Or, honestly... regardless of gender, there was no way to avoid drawing stares.
Even I, totally used to it by now, could tell Da-yeon's chest bounced a lot. So how must it have felt for her?
I spoke to Da-yeon as she played, her face flushed as she kept pressing a hand against her chest to keep everything from bouncing out.
"Should we stop?"
"Yeah... I feel like it's all gonna spill."
'.....Excuse me? ...Spill... what, exactly?'
Da-yeon, casually dropping lines that could make my brain short-circuit.
I looked down at my own chest.
Spilling? Please. My bra was doing a stalwart, solid job of holding everything in place.
Thankfully, it seemed like no one but me had heard Da-yeon's comment.
Dad must have been watching me play ping-pong with Da-yeon, because he started provoking me.
"Ho, does my daughter play a bit of ping-pong?"
"A few times at school?"
"Hoo hoo hoo... Daddy's about to show you the heavens."
Dad was starting off with a surprising amount of confidence.
Alternating between heavy-spin drives and chops, I achieved an overwhelming victory. 22 to 0.
"So, the 'heavens' you were thinking of... is it the same one I'm thinking of?"
"....."
"Dad, you can't beat me at anything except music."
"Arm wrestle me."
"Didn't we already talk about this? I said I'd snap your arm, remember?"
"Sorry..."
After ping-pong was over, the group, of course, headed off to play screen golf.
Da-yeon, saying she'd played a few times, naturally took her place at the setup. I sat down next to Kim Seon-hwa.
"Si-yoon, did you have fun?"
"Of course~"
The older she got, the more Kim Seon-hwa radiated a powerful charisma and a richer, deeper allure.
It didn't work on me, of course, but Kim Seon-hwa was a publicly known iron lady of the business world.
That video of the former President completely fumbling in front of Kim Seon-hwa had spread around the world, causing Hanseong's stock price to skyrocket at one point.
Kim Seon-hwa looked at Da-yeon with affectionate eyes and spoke.
"You're not going to play, Si-yoon?"
"It'd just demoralize them."
"Hoo hoo hoo... I suppose so."
This was Kim Seon-hwa, after all—she'd been right there next to Lee Gi-seok, mouth hanging open, when she saw my swing.
"How in the world are you so good at everything?"
"Hm... My eyesight is really good. Enough that I don't miss most movements?"
"Huh?"
"And since my memory backs it up, I can perfectly replicate any movement I see. After that, I adjust it to fit my body based on what I've observed."
"Oh... so that's why you're so good?"
"No, actually, I was just born like that. Ha!"
"Ha ha... I see."
Watching Da-yeon's swing, she definitely had talent.
Who would watch her and think it was only her third day?
I got up from my chair, brushed off my butt out of habit, walked over to Da-yeon, and adjusted her posture again.
After golfing and taking another shower, we all headed home.
Lee Jin-seok had driven us there, but for the trip back, Dad was at the wheel.
"My dad must be tired too, you know~"
"I'm fine~"
I looked over at Lee Jin-seok with a smirk.
"Ah... Should... should I drive?"
"I wanna drive~"
In the back seat, Kim Seon-hwa grabbed my hips and pulled me down into my seat.
"Once Si-yoon gets her license, I'll have to buy you a car as a gift, huh?"
"Didn't Dad say he'd buy me whatever I wanted? A supercar~"
"You can't exactly drive something like that around every day~"
"Oh..."
"I'll get you something affordable and pretty~"
"I like that even more."
"Right?"
We arrived home and opened the front door.
As always, Alpha and Beta were there to greet us the moment we got back.
"Did you keep an eye on the house?"
""Meow.""
Dad must have been especially tired today; he told me he was going to bed first and went straight to his room.
I thought about bothering him for a bit, but decided against it and just took Alpha and Beta to my room with me.
In the darkness, wedged between Alpha on one side and Beta on the other, I fell asleep before I knew it.
Sunlight flooded into the room, stabbing at my eyes...
I woke up, registering that I'd forgotten to close the curtains last night.
"Ah... school... am I late..."
I checked the time and realized the sun had just risen early because it was summer.
With plenty of time to spare, my hand naturally slipped inside my pajamas.
I gently squished and kneaded, giving my chest a massage.
'Damn... they've really grown...'
Just then, Alpha and Beta stirred from my movement and woke up.
"Myaaaaaong..."
Beta stretched out into a long, full-body stretch.
"I woke up first."
Figuring I'd done enough of my own massage, I got on all fours and stretched out in a cat pose.
Alpha and Beta, right beside me, were doing the exact same pose.
"Hraaauugh... ugh..."
Without even wiping the sleep from my eyes, I got out of bed, and Alpha and Beta followed right after me.
When I opened the door to Dad's room, Alpha and Beta went in on their own to wake him up.
I turned right back around, heading to the fridge to get some milk.
"Pomme de la crème~ The power of the lion surges up~"
I roughly poured cereal into a bowl and filled it with milk.
As I wolfed it down while looking at my phone, Dad came out after waking up.
"I'm really late... sorry."
"Nah, you were tired yesterday."
"Yeah..."
Dad hugged me from behind for a moment, then, seemingly satisfied, stretched out.
"Should Dad take you to school today?"
"I have to walk with Da-yeon."
"Hm... what should I do today...?"
"No schedule?"
"Yeah, I did so many variety shows that everyone finds it hard to pay my appearance fee, apparently."
"Well, yeah, you get paid the same rate as a Hollywood star, Dad."
"You get paid twice as much as the dad from Next-Door Hyungnim."
"Ha ha."
Dad sat down in a chair for a moment and watched me eat.
"I still get anxious."
"About what?"
"That Si-yoon will get kidnapped again, like last time."
"I actually think I'm safe."
"Why?"
"Tae-oh and Ji-hoon, just the two of them, took on sixty guys... Come on, does that make any sense? Even Ga-in from a zombie movie couldn't pull that off."
Of course, the three of us had killed over 130 people, but they probably became fish food, because no one's found them yet.
Dad had also been pretty shocked by the fact that Tae-oh and Ji-hoon had killed 60 people together.
"....."
"Which means, if I'm with those two, I'm pretty much safe no matter what."
"Yeah."
"Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh could even beat my bodyguard guys in a fight, I'm telling you~ Kgh..."
Dad laughed awkwardly for a moment, then said to me,
"You'll be late for school, you should get ready."
"Yeah."
I went back to shoveling cereal into my mouth, nom-nom.
When I opened the front door, Da-yeon was waiting for me, as always.
"Si-yoon! Did you sleep well?"
"Yeah. You could've just stayed inside, why'd you come out~"
"Just because?"
"Ha ha."
Da-yeon and I got onto the arriving elevator and pressed the button for the 1st floor.
Then I glanced sideways at Da-yeon.
Feeling my gaze on her, she reflexively threw her hands up to cover herself, like one of Pavlov's dogs.
"Hehehehe..."
"Don't."
When I kept staring, she flinched away into the corner, taking up a defensive stance.
"I said don't."
I ignored Da-yeon's protests and closed in, and...
Inside that elevator heading to the 1st floor...
Da-yeon's pitiful yelps echoed and spread.