Ch.340340. He Really Knows Everything

“My dad seems to love my mom more than anything else in the world.”

“Heh…! Mmph.”

“……”

I quickly covered Hwa Nabi’s mouth as she was about to burst into laughter, and turned my gaze forward. Our Woohee, who had memorized everything while other kids were reading from pre-written scripts, was staring right at me.

Judging by her pouty face, she seems to be saying this for me to hear. Does she have something against me and is expressing it indirectly like this? Nothing else would explain it.

I was wondering why she would think that way when Woohee looked around and approached the piano. There was a large decorative teddy bear on it, and Woohee hugged it tightly as if it were something precious.

“Dad is head over heels for Mom, and after work, he’s always stuck to Mom’s side like this.”

“…Pfft.”

This time it wasn’t Hwa Nabi who laughed. The person who made the sound was the homeroom teacher watching Woohee from nearby. Having burst into laughter despite trying to hold back, she seemed apologetic afterward and nodded toward us in the back.

“Hmm, I think we need some background music…”

The teacher muttered to herself and took out her phone to play a song. But as luck would have it, the song was suggestively romantic. You know, that song that often plays during romantic scenes on TV shows. That famous “doo, doo-roo-doo” song that appears frequently on comedy shows.

I don’t know the exact title, but anyway, the song matched the current situation in an amusing way. I wasn’t the only one who felt this way; the parents around me were either suppressing their laughter or covering their mouths while smiling with their eyes.

“At first, I thought all dads loved their moms like that. But after listening to my friends, I found out that wasn’t the case. Everyone’s situation is different, but since dads work, they’re usually too tired in the evenings to spend much time with their moms.”

—That’s exactly about you, isn’t it?

—What? What did I do?

—You always say you’re tired every evening.

—I say I’m tired when I am tired. I can’t say I’m not when I am.

Woohee’s words seemed to have sparked something, as other parents behind me started whispering to each other. From the conversation I unintentionally overheard, they seem to be a married couple, and just as Woohee said, it appears most dads do complain about being tired.

…That’s strange. I get exhausted, but I don’t really feel “tired” per se. Am I the odd one? Looking around, I see a few dads nodding as if they relate. Seeing this makes me think I might be a bit unusual. Hmm, I’m not sure.

“After hearing that, I thought: Ah, my dad really loves my mom a lot. Maybe Mom is the person Dad loves most in the world? Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense for them to hold hands every day and stick together like glue, saying they love each other, even when Woocheon and I are watching.”

—They must have a really good marriage.

—You should try being like that too. Isn’t it nice to hear such things from children?

—Why are you so dissatisfied that you keep nagging since earlier…?

—If you had done well enough, would I be saying these things?

“……”

It’s a bit embarrassing to eavesdrop on a couple’s argument. So I deliberately took a step to the side, and Hwa Nabi, after checking if anyone was watching, slid up next to me and whispered in my ear.

“…Heh. Honey, did you hear that just now? She said you stick to me like glue.”

“If she’s going to use an expression, why ‘like glue’…?”

“I’m not saying that’s how it is, but that’s how Woohee sees it. Why are you getting so serious? Heheh.”

I put on a serious face because I felt like I might get caught in something strange, but Hwa Nabi seems to have noticed my intention. Despite my stiff expression, she keeps poking my cheek with her index finger, as if she knows exactly what I’m thinking.

She keeps pressing my cheek as if daring me to say something… but what can I do in public with everyone watching? Unable to think of any way to stop her, I just let out a deep sigh.

“You’ll see later…”

“I’ve heard people who say ‘you’ll see’ are never actually scary.”

“……”

It might be a bit mean to Woohee, but can’t her presentation end quickly? If I leave her alone, she looks like she might even start patting my bottom.

Woohee, please. You’re smart, so you understand how Dad feels… With such thoughts, I desperately sent her a look. Somehow, she seemed to understand, as she looked at me from afar and smirked. The corners of her mouth turned up in a smile that looked exactly like her mother’s.

“But at the same time, I also thought this: Dad loves Mom as much as Mom loves Dad. No, maybe Mom’s love for Dad is even greater than Dad’s love for Mom.”

“…?”

“……”

What does that mean now? My head turned to the side involuntarily. Hwa Nabi seems to be feeling similar emotions, as she’s looking back at me with a dumbfounded expression.

Looking at Hwa Nabi’s blank eyes and pondering Woohee’s words, I became curious too. What’s the basis for saying that Hwa Nabi’s love for me is greater than my love for her? Woohee must have seen or heard something to think that way, right?

“Mom talks about Dad all the time, whether she’s awake or asleep. When she eats with me, she puts side dishes on my plate saying, ‘This is Dad’s favorite.’ When we watch TV together, she hugs me saying, ‘This variety show is Dad’s favorite.’ As if I’m some kind of Dad substitute.”

“…I told you that was a secret!”

“Shh, let’s hear more first.”

I held back Hwa Nabi, who was trying to step forward with a reddened neck, and urged her with my eyes. Go on, continue.

“And sometimes, no, very often, she tells me stories about your school days. Though they all sound like different stories, they all lead to the same conclusion: Dad liked Mom so much that he followed her around throughout school, so Mom had no choice but to accept him, and that’s how they started dating.”

“…What?”

Even allowing for memory distortion over time, this seems very different from the school days I remember.

After all, we were together throughout all three years of high school, even more than that. So the very idea that one of us followed the other around is absurd. We dated because we liked each other, not because of one-sided pursuit.

This is such a fabrication that it borders on fraud. I quietly looked at Hwa Nabi. And asked with my eyes if what Woohee just said was true.

“Ahem, hmm…”

Hwa Nabi fumbled with her lips and then slowly avoided my gaze. She seems to have something she feels guilty about and can’t answer.

“But, this is just my opinion, I don’t think that’s actually true. Mom pretends otherwise, but I can see everything. When Dad and Mom are apart, it’s always Mom who contacts first. Sometimes she sends KakaoTalk messages or calls almost every hour, and I’ve thought more than once that Dad might find it annoying…”

“Just so you know, I’ve never once found it annoying.”

“Ugh…”

When I whispered in her ear so others couldn’t hear, Hwa Nabi’s earlobes turned red. Whether it was from shame or embarrassment, I’m not sure.

“You can contact me freely, just like you do now. Oh, but please try to restrain yourself with the photos.”

“…Hmph. Now even if you contact me first, I won’t reply at all.”

“And when she contacts Dad like that, and occasionally, when Dad is busy and can’t respond, Mom becomes very sulky. For the first ten minutes, she pretends nothing’s wrong, but after that, she starts pacing around the living room like a butterfly. Then she comes to me and asks anxiously, ‘I hope nothing happened to Dad?’ Anyone can see this is behavior of someone who likes Dad too much, right?”

“……”

Like fire catching on dry kindling, not just Hwa Nabi’s earlobes but her cheeks and nape began to turn bright red.

She seems quite embarrassed that her behaviors when I’m not around have been exposed, as her cheeks turn crimson and her lips twitch.

“But what’s even funnier is what Mom does next. Even after desperately waiting for Dad’s reply, when it finally comes, she doesn’t check it right away. It’s like she’s playing hard to get, thinking ‘I waited, so Dad should wait too’… but from what I can see, it’s pointless. How can waiting just twenty seconds be playing hard to get? Especially when the ‘1’ notification is gone.”

“Pfft…!”

“…Oh my, this kid really!”

I quickly covered Hwa Nabi’s mouth before she could get louder. I managed to stop her before the kids noticed, but the parents watching our little scene seem to have figured out who Woohee’s parents are.

They whisper among themselves, then mutter quietly as if for us to hear, each adding their own comment.

—Wow, the kid speaks so well and confidently. Whose daughter is she?

—I guess children grow up smart like that when they receive a lot of love.

“So that’s why your replies were sometimes strangely delayed?”

Ignoring the ongoing comments, I tapped Hwa Nabi’s shoulder and asked. Hwa Nabi desperately shook her head as if trying to hide her reddened face.

“No, n-no, that’s not it…”

“Even after that kind of not-really-playing-hard-to-get, when Dad comes home from work, she sticks to him while pretending to be annoyed. Dad strokes her head as if finding her cute, and smiles saying he was busy. …This is just my opinion, but I think Dad knows Mom’s personality well and is accommodating her, don’t you think?”

“She says that’s how it is, what do you think?”

“W-what do you mean that’s how it is? Seriously, I can’t believe this. Don’t talk to me about weird things, I mean, don’t talk to me at all!”