Ch.23Chapter 23. Entrance Ceremony (2)

“Aaah! Cuss! Get up already!”

This little shit.

Why isn’t she crawling out of bed yet?

I’m getting anxious here, hands trembling while making toast.

After buttering the pan and placing the bread on it, I went back to the bedroom.

“Mmm.”

“Hey you…”

This crazy girl.

She’s still sprawled out, drooling all over the place.

If she won’t wake up even with me yelling next to her, there’s only one solution.

“Get up. You little bitch.”

“Kyaaaaaaah!!!”

When I yanked her tentacle, Cuss jumped right out of bed.

That’s definitely effective.

I should use this trick more often when she can’t get her act together.

“What are you doing?!”

“I’m telling you to get up. Quickly wash your hair, change your clothes and come out. I’ll give you 10… no, 8 minutes.”

“Ugh… why are you in such a hurry…”

“It’s your first day of school, you blockhead.”

I told her until I was blue in the face that today was the entrance ceremony…

Damn, she might have high intelligence but her memory is worse than a bug’s.

I pushed Cuss into the bathroom and returned to the kitchen.

I almost burned the outside of the bread.

After flipping it once, I was about to take jam out of the refrigerator when…

“Aaaaargh! My eyes sting!!! It hurts!”

Along with Cuss’s screams came the sound of something crashing and breaking in the background.

I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.

She really causes trouble the moment I take my eyes off her.

For a brief moment, I wondered if aiming for a scholarship was too ambitious.

“What are you doing! I told you to close your eyes when using shampoo!”

“Aaaah… my eyes feel like they’re burning…”

“For fuck’s sake…”

When I went to the bathroom, Cuss was whining with foam in her hair.

Next to her, a basket was smashed with shampoo, body wash, and other things rolling around on the floor…

This is driving me insane.

“Come here.”

Geez. Standing straight while washing her hair makes everything flow down into her eyes.

Thanks to that, her whole body was soaking wet.

I really hope she doesn’t do this outside.

Her summer clothes are so thin that when wet, her underwear shows through.

“Tilt your head down.”

“Urk.”

I pushed her head down and personally rinsed out the foam with the shower head.

In the end, I had to help her change everything including her underwear.

If I’d known this would happen, I should have just given her a full shower.

At least she seemed to have gotten used to putting on clothes, managing without my help.

“Can you do it yourself?”

“I can.”

I felt a little disappointed.

Watching Cuss changing clothes awkwardly with those tiny hands…

I used to have an excuse to touch her chest while helping her change.

Now I’ve lost that pretext.

“Hey! Come sit down and eat your toast, now!”

“Ugh, why are you rushing me so much…”

Still, I pushed Cuss, now more alert after being doused with water, toward the table.

As I put the toasted bread on a plate… damn.

One side was completely burnt.

Still, since only the outside was burnt, I quickly cut off just the surface with a bread knife.

I hastily spread some jam on it, tossed it in front of Cuss, and stood behind her with a towel.

“Bleh… it’s uncomfortable to eat like this…”

“Deal with it.”

“My head is hot…”

“You won’t die. Bear with it.”

I quickly rubbed her hair with the towel, then grabbed a hair dryer and started drying it.

In the past, I would have had to deal with cords, but wireless was convenient.

But her hair is so long that it’s taking forever to dry…

I should have told her not to wash her hair.

By the time Cuss finished two slices of toast, I had finished drying her hair and was brushing it.

As I did so, I suddenly felt a wave of regret.

Why the hell am I doing this?

I’m not some servant attending to a princess.

“I’m done eating.”

“Sigh. You eat so fast. Get up then, quickly.”

But what can I do?

Just bear with it a little longer.

Then from tomorrow, Cuss will be able to go to school properly.

The time I spend worrying about what trouble she might cause will be cut in half.

“Hey, get in!”

“Okay! I’ll get in!”

I pulled the car out of the garage and had Cuss get in like some motorcycle passenger.

Oh, I wonder if kids these days know what that means.

Well, it’s not even from my generation either.

“Not in the back seat!”

“Oh, in front?”

“Yes, you little bitch. Am I your chauffeur?”

“Chauffeur…?”

“Anyway, unless you’re taking a taxi, sit in front. That’s proper etiquette.”

“Hmm… I understand.”

This kind of attitude needs to be corrected early on.

Trying to fix it later would be a real headache.

That’s what they said on that YouTube parenting channel.

“Fasten your seatbelt tight.”

“Seatbelt?”

“Didn’t Juliane teach you?”

Cuss silently nodded.

Wait, Juliane, that crazy… woman.

How could she put a child in a car without fastening the seatbelt?

Note to self… Juliane is a psycho…

“Raise your arm.”

“Like this?”

“Yeah.”

I leaned over and quickly fastened her seatbelt.

I also reminded her to put it on as soon as she gets in the car next time.

“If you don’t wear that and we crash, you’ll fly through the windshield, crack your head open, and die.”

“Eek!”

Using fear for learning is always the most effective method.

When we got onto the main road, there were quite a few cars.

Damn, we don’t have time for this.

And these idiots are cutting in and causing trouble.

“Hey asshole! Did you sell your turn signal at the brothel with your mother?!”

“Fuck off!”

“I’m going to be late for my kid’s entrance ceremony!”

“Oh, really? Then I should let you through!”

“Thanks a lot, damn it!”

That’s right.

The world is still warm after all.

Seeing that such heroes still exist.

“Ah… shit. This isn’t going to work.”

Whether it’s bad luck today, we kept hitting red lights.

We’re going to be late at this rate.

“Screw it. Cuss.”

“Yes?”

“Hold on tight.”

To make it on time, I had no choice but to drive a bit recklessly.

Ignoring lanes and signals, I drove like a madman, and we managed to arrive just 10 minutes before the entrance ceremony started.

I’ll probably get a bunch of fine notices soon.

“Here we are.”

“Wow…”

Cuss’s mouth fell open as she got out of the car and looked at the school.

It was understandable.

Cuss, who had only seen residential areas and slums, probably hadn’t had many opportunities to see such large buildings.

Of course, it couldn’t compare to a skyscraper, but the large Gothic-style building was impressive enough to inspire awe.

As expected of the prestigious Saint Catalina School.

“Things to remember at school. What did I say again?”

“What did you say?”

“Oh, this block… *sigh*. No swearing.”

“No swearing.”

“Keep your mouth shut as much as possible.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“If you don’t know what to do, just copy what the other kids are doing.”

“I understand.”

Cuss kept nodding.

Did she really understand?

I’ve been telling her this for days until her ears must have calluses.

Whatever.

Today we’re just going to attend a simple entrance ceremony and leave.

She won’t even have to open her mouth, just sit quietly and then leave.

Unless she’s determined to cause trouble, she shouldn’t attract any attention.

I should be able to relax.

“Hmm…”

As we headed toward the auditorium where the entrance ceremony would be held, I started seeing what looked like new students and their parents.

As expected of a school for the elite, everyone’s clothes and accessories exuded class.

In comparison, Cuss in her plain one-piece dress looked a bit simple.

Still, she’s so naturally cute that she gives off the image of a noble young lady who dresses modestly.

As long as she keeps her mouth shut, that is.

“Mom! Dad! Let’s hurry!”

“Okay, okay.”

“…”

Most of them had both parents present.

I wonder if we’ll stand out as a single-parent family.

Maybe I should have asked Juliane to come along.

Everyone seems to be holding their child’s hand.

Looking down beside me, I suddenly felt that Cuss looked lonely.

This could give the impression that she has a distant relationship with her father, which might become an obstacle in her school life.

It’s best to eliminate any potential problems.

“Hey. Give me your hand.”

“Hand?”

“Yeah. Let’s walk holding hands.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“It makes us look closer. Look, everyone else is doing it.”

“That’s true… Is holding hands a sign of friendship among humans?”

“You got it.”

“Then…”

Cuss obediently held out her hand.

I was planning to threaten her with the laboratory if she refused.

She’s been quite compliant lately.

I gently took Cuss’s hand.

It’s a bit cold.

Is my hand hot?

Her hand was so tiny that I felt like I could crush all the bones with just a little pressure.

I had thought Cuss was close to being an adult, but looking at her like this, she’s just a child.

Cuss’s skin was very soft.

Besides hitting her and touching her chest, have I ever had skin contact with Cuss like this?

It feels kind of fresh, this too.

“Hey…”

“What?”

While I was distracted, Cuss slipped her fingers between mine and interlocked them.

“That’s something only couples do.”

“Is that so? Didn’t we hold hands like this before?”

“Well, yes, but…”

“I find this more comfortable.”

“Fine. Do whatever you want.”

Well, anyone looking at us here would see a father and daughter.

Who would give us strange looks just for interlocking fingers?

If anything, the person with such thoughts would be the strange one.

“Hmm?”

Somehow the people around us started whispering.

I’m not sure why, but anyway, we finally entered the auditorium.

A grand theater-like space opened up before our eyes.

I had expected a flat indoor gymnasium when they said auditorium.

As expected of a wealthy school.

“Parents, please send your children to the front and take a seat wherever comfortable. The entrance ceremony will begin shortly. I repeat…”

“Hey. Do well.”

“Jinsoo… I still don’t understand why I have to go to school.”

She’s been quiet all this time, and now she starts whining at the last minute.

Why is she doing this?

Is it because she’s an alien? I really don’t understand her psychological mechanism.

“I told you. You need to learn things to live like a proper person.”

“Can’t you just teach me? I’ll learn well without complaining.”

“No, that won’t work. Now go.”

I don’t have the confidence to teach you, kid.

I pushed Cuss’s hesitant back and sat down in a suitable spot.

Even as she walked down the stairs, Cuss kept glancing back at me.

Each time, I gestured for her to go on, and only then did she finally reach the stage.

She really doesn’t listen sometimes.

It’s so frustrating.

Craning my neck to look, I saw Cuss following a teacher’s lead, scurrying off somewhere to line up.

Good. She’s listening well.

Now if she just doesn’t cause trouble over there.

“Excuse me! Cuss? Cuss Kim?”

“Oh please…”

I thought it was quiet for a reason.

Somehow Cuss was already crushing another child who had been standing behind her.

Embarrassed, I lowered my head and covered my face with my hands.