Ch.228Side Story – I Became a Heroine After the Pure Love Ending (19)

After mom and dad, this is the second time.

Witnessing adults’ intense affection right before my eyes.

Ah, these are also mom and dad, right.

“Dohami…! You should know to restrain yourself in front of the children…! Especially in front of Hamin and his girlfriend, of all people…”

“Hehe! The one who falls for it is the fool. Despite graduating from such a good school, you fell for a high school graduate housewife’s 20-year-old classic trick? You’re such a pseudo-intellectual! Heheh.”

“It’s not because I’m a pseudo-intellectual, but because both you and Hamin asked for it together, so of course I had to agree!”

“Really? Son! Quickly order this parasite brother chairman here! Tell him to give mom all the kisses he’s been withholding for 20 years right now!”

“Just how many glasses did you drink at dinner, Mom! Calm down first!”

“This is serious. Usually when I meet Dohamin, I kiss him at least 6 times. If it’s 20 years’ worth, how many times would that be?”

“Including leap years, 20 years is about 7,305 days…”

“Then 7,305 multiplied by 6 is 43,830 times… Wait, why am I telling mom and dad about our frequency!”

If nothing else, one thing was certainly clear.

Who this Dohamin kid takes after.

“What are you going to do? Are you going to insist we don’t postpone with my mom this time too?”

“I, I didn’t expect mom to act like this at all. She never properly talked about dad before, so I thought she didn’t have much lingering attachment or longing for him.”

Unconsciously lifting his glass and drinking his iced tea,

Following the flow of the drink through the straw, Dohamin gazed into space with cloudy eyes as if looking back on his days with Dohami, then put down his glass with a quiet sigh.

“But that wasn’t the case. Mom was holding it in all this time. She still had feelings for dad, and even after 20 years, she still misses him. But she kept smiling and enduring it in front of me, afraid that I might feel the same emptiness without dad. She didn’t want me to feel that way.”

“Hmm…”

Ouch.

I took a sip of hot chocolate following Dohamin’s lead and quickly put the cup down.

As expected, it’s still quite hot since it just came out.

“I think about it a bit differently.”

“Huh…? What do you mean differently?”

“Maybe she just enjoyed spending time with you so much that she didn’t have time to think about anything else?”

“…Huh?”

For a moment, Dohamin’s stunned gaze focused on me.

“…Can I really think of it that way?”

“At least that’s how it was for me.”

“Huh…?”

“I enjoy being with you so much that I don’t really think about other things.”

That’s coming from someone who kicked away the chance to return to my original world just to be with you.

If even I feel this way, how much more would Dohami, who actually gave birth to Dohamin?

“Still, it feels a bit like… I’m thinking in a way that’s convenient for me. Looking at mom now, I can’t shake the feeling that she really loved and missed dad a lot.”

“The current Dohami can’t help but think that way.”

“Huh? Why…?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

I placed my hand over Dohamin’s on the table and slightly leaned my shoulder against his.

“Because Dohamin belongs to me now.”

“…”

“Oh right, come to think of it, I’m also way behind on the kisses I should be getting today. What are we going to do about that?”

“N-now…? In front of mom and dad…?”

“We’ll have to do it in front of your parents at the wedding venue anyway. Let’s just consider this practice.”

“W-why is the conversation going in that direction?”

Because you and I

Can only have a pure love ending.

“What’s this, are you running away like your dad?”

“W-who’s running away! I’m just saying that as students who aren’t yet adults, we need to show some restraint in our actions, not that I’m trying to avoid Hami…”

“Oh? So you’re saying you won’t avoid me even if I do more? Come here!”

“Uwah!”

The chairman, my comrade united in the great purpose of pure love,

Had his mouth covered by Dohami’s surprise attack.

“Dohami has no problem kissing an old man’s bitter espresso-stained lips. Why isn’t Dohamin doing anything about the hot chocolate and whipped cream on the world’s most beautiful girl’s lips?”

“…”

“Eek. My shoulders, they’re caught.”

The warmth and trembling from Dohamin’s large hands transmitted throughout my body.

By now he should be able to do this naturally. As always, this guy takes a while to get started.

“Let’s make up for it by doing twice as much when mom and dad aren’t around… I guess that won’t work, huh?”

“If you know that, then hurry up and do it. We’ll do twice as much on other days too.”

“…Okay.”

It’s customary to give more work to those who do their work well.

So you should give more love to those you love.

Hearing his reluctant “okay” that somehow had a slight smile at the end, I gently closed my eyes.

Even with my eyes closed, I could clearly feel Dohamin’s shadow falling over me.

Just as I was about to slightly turn my lips upward, thinking this should be enough…

-Wooooong

My eyes snapped open at the intense vibration sound coming from somewhere.

It was the sound of a phone ringing in Dohamin’s pocket.

“S-sorry, Doyoung. Just a moment for this call…”

“Oh, really. Way to ruin the mood. Which girl is trying to seduce our Lime’s dad with a call at this late hour…”

“Um… it’s Scarlet.”

“…”

Ugh, this little brat.

Unable to ignore the incoming call, Dohamin lifted his head that was coming toward me and answered the phone.

“Hello…”

So I’m the one you should be saying “hello” to.

“Ah, Scarlet. What’s the reason for your call…”

[Ah, Hamin oppa. You must be tired after the college entrance exam today. I’m sorry, but is my sister there by any chance?]

“…Ah, yes.”

Dohamin nodded and quietly held out his phone to me.

“Ahem. Ahem.”

How dare she interrupt my precious time with my brother-in-law.

Clearing my throat lightly with the intention of giving her a piece of my mind, I took Dohamin’s phone.

“What is it, Scarlet, who’s gotten a bit cocky since her bust grew after entering high school? I’m in the middle of a very important time with Lime’s dad, so I’d appreciate it if you didn’t interrupt…”

[Hey-! What time do you think it is and you’re still not home-!]

-Beeeep

The kendo world champion’s shout, tearing through the speaker, caused a momentary ringing in my ears.

This voice. Truly worthy of Ban Doyoung’s sister, who captured the attention of the entire school with a single shout on the day of the entrance ceremony.

[Just because the college entrance exam is over and you’re almost an adult, you think you can do whatever you want? Do you know how much Mom and Dad have been pestering me to call you! If you’re going to be late, you should call and say so! You said you were going to eat and hang out with Hamin oppa, not stay out all night!]

“I’m sorry.”

I bowed my head through the screen, as everything she said was right, leaving no room for argument.

[And you’re not even answering your phone! I called more than 10 times in the past hour, and you didn’t answer once, forcing me to call Hamin oppa! It’s almost midnight already!]

“No, I didn’t ignore it on purpose, I just put my phone in my coat pocket… and I had it on silent because of the exam, so I didn’t know at all… Wait, what time is it now?”

After hearing Siyoung’s words, I lowered Dohamin’s phone to check the time.

[11:29 PM]

“Eek!”

Seeing that the time was later than I thought, I reflexively stood up from my seat.

“D-Doyoung. Why are you suddenly like this?”

“This is no time for all of us to be sitting around! Get up quickly! Dohami and Mr. Sibal too!”

[W-what? Weren’t you just with Hamin oppa? Who is Mr. Sibal?]

There was somewhere I wanted to go before today ended.

There was still one date spot left that I had planned to visit with Dohamin.

“Dohami! We don’t have time, so stop kissing Mr. Sibal for a moment!”

“Huiing…”

“W-why are you suddenly acting like this? When I asked you to stop them earlier, you pretended not to hear!”

“I’ll explain on the way, let’s just go now! Did you bring a car?”

“No, I thought there might be wine, so I came by taxi…”

“Then please call a taxi quickly! Sorry, Scarlet! I’ll definitely be home before 1 AM! I’ll come in quietly so Leon doesn’t wake up, so tell Mom and Dad not to worry too much!”

[What? Who are you with right now?!]

“Family! Anyway, family! I’m hanging up now, okay?”

[Ban Doduk unnie? Ban Doduk unnie! Hey!]

-Click

Sorry, Scarlet.

But there’s no time to waste.

If we delay even a little, today will be over.

“Let’s hurry, the taxi is waiting downstairs, right?”

“Y-yes, but…”

“Then let’s go down quickly! Mr. Sibal, you take the passenger seat!”

“B-but you need to tell me where we’re going…”

…

…

“Hehe, that was fun. Compared to the old days, Dohamin, you’re more photogenic now, aren’t you?”

“R-really? I think I look about the same.”

“Really? Maybe it’s just that you look more handsome to my eyes now? Heheh.”

“Haah… When you suddenly answered the phone and rushed out, I thought it was your curfew or something.”

…

“So when you said hurry, you meant hurry because the instant photo booth might close?”

“What else could I do? This photo booth closes at 1 AM. One of today’s goals for Dohamin and me was to take commemorative photos after the college entrance exam. If Mr. Si(bal) hadn’t dragged things out with cold bait like the secret of birth, we could have taken photos more leisurely.”

“Don’t call other people’s family matters ‘cold bait’!”

“Who’s ‘other people’? I’m the one who’s going to make Lime with Dohamin, you know? A secret of birth that doesn’t affect my feelings for Dohamin at all is just cold bait, what else?”

“D-don’t fight in the car! Mom is sleeping right now!”

In the taxi heading home after completing all our plans.

Dohami, perhaps overwhelmed by fatigue, fell asleep leaning on Dohamin’s lap shortly after getting in the car.

“Well… I’d like to express my gratitude anyway.”

The chairman, sitting in the passenger seat, spoke while looking at the film he had been holding tightly in his hand even while getting into the car.

“Huh? For what? Mr. Si(bal) paid for everything today.”

“Today is the first time. For Hami, Hamin, and me. Taking photos together. Going to a cafe and having snacks together. Riding in a car together. All of it.”

“…”

“Perhaps if Doyoung hadn’t been here with us today, it would have taken much longer. I hate to admit it, but I’m sure that if I were with Hami and Hamin, I would have hesitated and wasted time overthinking much more than I did now.”

“…Then shall we hang out together like this again, the four of us? Heheh.”

“…It’s shameless of me, but I’d appreciate that. Thank you, my son’s ‘awesome girlfriend.'”

“…Huh?”

“D-Dad…?”

Slightly surprised by the unexpected words from the chairman’s mouth, I tilted my head toward the passenger seat.

“What? Didn’t you say it yourself at the cafe earlier? That you’re Hamin’s awesome girlfriend.”

“Ooh… that one got me. Of course, if you had used the perfect version like ‘awesome girlfriend prettier than Dohami,’ I would have been even more surprised.”

“That’s not possible.”

“Now you’re firmly saying that’s not possible.”

“Of course. There’s no woman in this world prettier than Hami.”

“…Huh?”

“Why are you surprised? It’s an obvious fact. Hamin, you think the same as I do, right?”

“No, no matter if she’s my mom, I can’t agree that Doyoung is below her.”

“H-Hamin…? Are you choosing your girlfriend over the truth in this simple multiple-choice question? Even knowing that’s the path to filial impiety?”

“I’m not choosing falsehood for the sake of filial piety! It’s obvious that Doyoung is prettier!”

“…Wow.”

There was definitely one area where father and son differed.