Ch.336336. Children Are Their Parents’ Mirror

I was pulled out of the teacher’s office, almost dragged by Hwa Nabi who was holding one of my arms.

While we were consulting with the teacher, many other parents must have arrived, as the hallway was now crowded with people… but right now, I couldn’t focus on any of that.

That’s because I had just heard the shocking news that Woohee was feeling lonely and trying to make a boyfriend. After hearing something like that, I couldn’t care less about such trivial matters.

“Excuse me, coming through.”

As Hwa Nabi apologized and made her way through the crowd, I could feel the parents making way for us while giving us sidelong glances. Even though my face isn’t particularly worth looking at, the fact that they’re staring must mean my expression is quite grim.

I can’t check without a mirror, but judging by how everyone who makes eye contact with me flinches, my face must be quite stiff. I should try to relax my expression. With that thought, I tried to adjust the corners of my mouth, but they wouldn’t budge. My condition seems more serious than I thought.

Creak. We passed through another door. Feeling the wind, I realized we must have gone outside. Only then did I come to my senses and look around.

We seem to be behind the kindergarten, with a quaint little garden at our feet. What’s this? Looking more closely, there are several small signs planted, with pictures of the teachers in charge and the children.

“Honey, shall we go sit over there on those chairs?”

“…Sure.”

Following Hwa Nabi, I sat down on a plastic chair and looked around.

The boys in the photos on the signs seem to make up a little less than half of the total number. The kindergarten notice said there were about 150 children, so that means about 75 boys.

Our Woohee probably has high standards, so if I narrow it down to the more refined-looking boys, that’s roughly 20 or so. That means these 20 are the ones I need to keep an eye on.

I wonder if there are any photos of the children’s parents here? If any of them came today, I’d like to firmly tell them that I have no intention of giving up my daughter. While thinking this and looking around, my eyes met with Hwa Nabi sitting next to me.

Her expression is strange, as if saying, “Honey, what nonsensical thoughts are you having now?”

“Really, you’re so random sometimes. What exactly are you planning to do by finding the children’s parents?”

“…”

What? How did she know? I was only thinking to myself, has she really learned mind reading?

Though completely exposed, I pretended otherwise and glanced at the signs. I might spot a boy from Woohee’s class later, and if I get the chance, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to approach him directly and give him a warning…

“Goodness, you doting father.”

“Ouch…”

Hwa Nabi slapped my shoulder. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but regardless, the sensation snapped me back to reality.

As I rubbed my shoulder, Hwa Nabi stared at me quietly. Her gaze was sharper than usual.

“Just in case, let me tell you in advance: don’t think anything strange, and don’t do anything foolish. Understood?”

“Yeah, well…”

“Answer briefly and clearly.”

“Yes.”

“Honey. You know I can tell when you’re giving insincere answers, right?”

“Hmm…”

Is it that obvious? Since she was right, I couldn’t say anything in response. Hwa Nabi stared at me for a moment, then chuckled.

“Ah, really. What am I going to do with this fool?”

Muttering softly, Hwa Nabi began to undo the front of her coat. Her V-neck knit underneath was thin, and with the deep neckline, her round, soft breasts seemed even more prominent.

As foolish as it sounds, I’m still a man, and even though I tried not to be conscious of it, my gaze was drawn there involuntarily.

“Aren’t you dressed a bit too provocatively…?”

“If a knit sweater is provocative, then every piece of clothing in the world is provocative, isn’t it?”

“What I mean is that you should have worn something that doesn’t emphasize your figure so much.”

“My chest stands out no matter what I wear, and you should know that since you’ve touched it plenty of times.”

“…What nonsense are you talking about.”

Thankfully, there’s no one around to overhear this ridiculous conversation.

“Anyway, you keep getting distracted. Honey? Come here.”

“Why, what are you going to do?”

“Stop talking and hurry up.”

Hwa Nabi placed her hand on the back of my neck and gently pulled me toward her chest. While pretending to resist, I let my body yield to her as if I couldn’t help it, allowing her to do as she wished.

Eventually, I was nestled against the chest of Hwa Nabi sitting beside me. The soft touch and fragrant body scent wafted up, washing away all the distracting thoughts that had filled my head.

“Stay like this until you stop having strange thoughts.”

“Then I might have to stay like this all day.”

“There you go again, saying unnecessary things.”

I tried to joke but only got scolded more. After being reprimanded, I obediently followed Hwa Nabi’s instructions, secretly enjoying her scent and the softness of her chest.

I didn’t do it for too long, just indulged for about thirty seconds. During that time, I collected myself, then sighed deeply and pulled away from Hwa Nabi.

“Are you calmer now?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

“No need to thank me, but are you really calm now? You’re not going to say anything strange to Woohee later, are you?”

Apparently not trusting me much, Hwa Nabi asked while buttoning up her coat. To show that I was completely fine, I tapped the armrest of the chair with my fingers as I answered.

“Yeah, I’m really okay. Don’t I look perfectly normal?”

“Tapping the armrest while answering makes you look emotionally unstable.”

Hmm, is that so? Well, I suppose my emotions are still a bit unstable. Thanks to Hwa Nabi, I’ve collected myself somewhat, but the fundamental issue hasn’t been resolved yet.

“Want to touch my chest?”

“No thanks, I’ll just accept the sentiment.”

“You could take the body too.”

Hwa Nabi muttered as if joking and fully buttoned up her coat. I quietly gazed toward the kindergarten building where Woohee was having her class, rather than at the garden.

“Honey, are you that bothered by Woohee mentioning a boyfriend?”

“Yeah, well… it bothers me a little.”

“A little?”

“…It bothers me a lot.”

“Why? Don’t tell me you’re afraid Woohee might actually get a boyfriend?”

“No, Woohee is pretty. So of course she’ll have a boyfriend someday, won’t she?”

I answered immediately, and Hwa Nabi’s expression momentarily became strange. Her half-lidded eyes suggested that she didn’t like my answer.

“Then what shocked you so much?”

“Woohee feels lonely, they said.”

“Is that really the reason?”

“Yeah, what else would there be?”

The mention of her wanting a boyfriend is shocking, but what’s more shocking is the teacher’s statement that Woohee seems to be feeling lonely. Even though I’ve been focused on work lately, I’ve never neglected my family.

I play with Woohee on my days off and talk with her every day, yet she feels lonely? Is that not enough? Honestly, it’s a bit shocking to have my qualities as a father questioned.

“Oh, come on.”

Unlike me, Hwa Nabi crossed her arms as if it wasn’t a big deal. While I consider this a serious matter, she seems to think otherwise.

“Honey, you’re usually not like this, but sometimes I don’t understand why you become so naive. You’re not doing this on purpose, are you?”

“Why would you even suggest I’m doing this on purpose… Wait, do I really deserve to be called that naive? Am I really that innocent?”

“Yes, you’re way too naive. Our honey is the very embodiment of innocence. That’s why sometimes you’re like an obedient puppy.”

“…Nabi, you’re not insulting me, are you?”

I asked uncertainly, but she didn’t answer and seemed to be thinking deeply about something. I waited until her lips parted.

“Honey, listen carefully.”

“Huh? Yeah, what is it?”

“Our Woohee… think of her as a fox with two tails.”

“Woohee is a fox?”

The nuance doesn’t seem malicious, but what does she mean?

“Woohee is much smarter than you think. All that talk to the teachers about boyfriends and feeling lonely was probably calculated.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Well, because that’s a strategy I used when I was young.”

“…Huh?”

Did I hear that wrong? What did she just say? That it’s a strategy she used when she was young?

“What do you mean? Explain in more detail. What exactly did you do back then?”

“It’s exactly what it sounds like. When I wanted something but my parents wouldn’t let me have it—something every student commonly experiences, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“So whenever that happened, I would tell them that if they didn’t listen to me, I’d get a boyfriend, and I’d break off the engagement with my boyfriend. That worked really well on my parents.”

“Ah…”

“But I never expected Woohee to use the same strategy on us, and even involve her teachers. Wow, seriously. Talking about boyfriends at her age—how is she exactly like me when I was young…?”

“…Wait a minute.”

I interrupted her and stared at Hwa Nabi.

“This strategy you mentioned, until when did you use it?”

“Hmm, I think I used it until right before I started living with you? Hmm, I can’t remember clearly. But why are you suddenly asking about that?”

“You didn’t… you didn’t say you’d get another boyfriend and break off our engagement after we started dating, did you?”

“…”

A moment of silence followed my question. Hwa Nabi’s eyes moved rapidly. She seemed to be debating whether to answer honestly or not.

…In a situation like this, hesitation itself is an excellent answer. Having reached that conclusion, I abruptly stood up. Then I put my arm under her armpit and lifted her up.

Holding the hand of the visibly flustered woman, I took her to a secluded spot behind the kindergarten building. Then I positioned her against the wall, placed my palm next to her head, and slowly looked down at her.

“Hwa Nabi.”