episode_0002

“……”

Ring, ring, ring. Ring, ring, ring.

The phone continued to ring persistently without any sign of stopping. Instead, it vibrated loudly as if urging for a quick answer.

Inside the room, amidst the bustling noise,

“Nayoung.”

She is my first girlfriend and my ex-wife.

I should have just texted her instead of calling. It’s partly my fault for not putting it on silent mode…

“Hello?”

Since I’ve already been caught, I decided to answer the call for now.

“Hello? Why weren’t you picking up?”

“Just… something came up.”

“We have plans at 4, right? Yoohee is also coming?”

“Not yet.”

“What!? If you don’t ask her yet, what will you do? Hurry up and ask!”

“Okay.”

What are we going to do when we meet?

Are you planning to say to Yoohee, “I’m your mom”? Running away from her and doing nothing, and now?

“Let’s keep it reasonable.”

“What do you mean?”

“Thinking logically, do you think Yoohee wants to see you? The mother who abandoned her?”

“….”

“Yoohee is my daughter. She’s not an object you can see just because you want to… ”

“…I see.”

I wanted to give her a piece of my mind about being unworthy of being a mother, but since I’ve already cursed at my daughter, I couldn’t bring myself to do it due to lacking the qualifications as a father.

No, that’s not the issue. Whatever happens with Nayoung now is fine.

“……”

“Hello!? Hey!”

Her unfocused eyes were glaring in my direction.

Long, black flowing hair. It’s not like she lives like a recluse; her hair shines. Her face was blushing, and she seemed embarrassed, trembling slightly.

“Sorry. I’ll call you back later.”

“Wait, hey!”

With a look that demanded an immediate end to the conversation, I quickly hung up.

A strong smell wafted through the door gap, reaching my nose, reigniting the suppressed excitement.

“She’s so beautiful.”

I knew she was beautiful at first glance. I was grateful to witness even a second of her growth, and it was moving to see her cute face mature over time.

But seeing her face was limited to the moment I closed the door after work, never having a proper chance to face Yoohee directly.

In the awkward silence, I spoke first.

“H-How have you been?”

Even though I saw her a little every day, strange words slipped out. But I truly didn’t know anything about Yoohee’s daily life.

She doesn’t talk about school life or what happened outside. The only information I could gather was occasional school updates on my smartphone.

“When did you get here?”

Ignoring my question, she asked her own.

“I just got here.”

Emphasizing that she came right after finishing her activities, she said it with an expression that showed she knew nothing.

But it had no effect.

“Why are you dressed like that?”

“Just changed into something comfortable… Oh.”

One sleeve of the short-sleeved shirt wasn’t properly straightened, and she wore yellow pants that didn’t match the grey checkered shirt at all. In other words, a fashion disaster.

“Dad, you don’t dress like that.”

“Well, that’s… um…”

Usually meticulous about my casual wear, I was so absent-minded that I ended up changing into weird clothes.

Could she tell I was acting hastily?

‘Wait a minute.’

How does she know that I usually pay attention to my clothes? Have we met occasionally? Is this behavior deducible from our occasional encounters?

My mind became complicated.

“Really. Did you just arrive now…?”

“Uh, yeah. That’s right. I took half a day off and just got here… Have you eaten?”

“……”

Yuhee took a step forward, glared at me, once again didn’t answer my question, and quietly went into her room.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like she found out, but for some reason, it felt empty. I wanted to talk more, I wanted to see that beautifully grown face a little longer.

“Sigh….”

The long-awaited conversation with my daughter ended like this.

—

“Hello.”

“Why did you suddenly hang up and go crazy.”

“Sorry.”

“Anyway, come out quickly. I have to go back in again.”

“But Yuhee isn’t coming–”

“Forget about Yuhee. Just you come out.”

“Me…?”

I changed my clothes, threw away the trash bag with tissues soaked in semen outside.

Being delayed due to traffic while driving.

Usually, I live near the station, just a minute away from work by subway, but when going elsewhere, I use a car.

“Why are you so late?”

“Sorry.”

A woman with short reddish-brown hair seemed angry at me. It was actually about 10 minutes late. Yes, I was late. Besides, it took a while to park.

She was dressed neatly in a white shirt and jacket, deliberately wearing a skirt that extended below her knees to avoid attracting much attention.

My ex-wife, Shin Nayoung.

“Do you work here?”

Seeing the name tag on her left chest, she seemed to be a department store employee.

“Yeah. It’s been about 3 years. Are you still going there?”

“Yeah.”

“Spending 10 years in the same place. I couldn’t do that.”

“It’s not easy to switch in this industry. If you want to move, you have to be prepared to take a few months off.”

“I see.”

With a senior-level position, to return under these conditions, one would need to prepare again and go through interviews. It’s better to stay put until retirement or being laid off. Of course, I am satisfied with my current job.

“Have you had lunch?”

“Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten.”

I had just masturbated with my daughter as a side dish, so there was no time to eat.

“Is tonkatsu okay?”

“You still like it.”

“Tastes don’t change even as you age.”

“True…”

We are both in our late thirties now.

We are walking different paths. I chose the path of raising Yuhee, while Nayoung chose the path of escape.

Of course, I understand it’s unavoidable. That’s why I left Yuhee at the nursery until I found a job. I raised her late, but the fact remains that she grew up in an incomplete home.

“How is Yuhee? How is she doing?”

“She got into university and is doing well. She’s resting today because she has no classes.”

“Oh~ She works hard.”

“Of course.”

“Isn’t it time for her to be independent since she’s all grown up now?”

“When she graduates from university, I’ll let her be independent. She probably isn’t working part-time.”

“For me?”

“Yes. I couldn’t do anything as a parent, so I have to do this much.”

“I see…”

Nayoung’s expression turned slightly bitter. Perhaps she regrets abandoning Yuhee. Maybe that’s why even the tonkatsu tasted bitter.

“So, is there a reason you called me separately?”

“Uh… well….”

Nayoung looked flustered, her gaze shifting around. She seemed hesitant to say something, so I waited for her to speak.

“So….”

She hesitated to speak, scratching her head nervously. Thanks to the delay, her stylish hairstyle was slightly ruined.

“With me…”

“With me?”

What does she want to say? After taking a few deep breaths, she finally spoke.

“I got married?”

“No.”

“Are you not going to do it…?”

“Well, at the moment, I have hobbies and don’t really feel the need for it. Let me ask you then. Are you going to get married?”

“Haha, I will. So, yes.”

“It seems like you’ve been thinking about it.”

“But, you know, since I’m an old maid, no one is willing to take me. I’ve looked around, but there’s no one willing to take me.”

“Eugh~”

Well… they say sexual function declines at this age. Still, I don’t know if it’s just makeup, but Nayoung still looks beautiful to me. If I set my mind to it, I might be able to get married right away.

“So, have you found a good person?”

“It’s you.”

“Really… what?”

“No matter how hard I look, I can’t think of anyone else but you. Even if I go on blind dates, everyone else seems inferior to you…”

“Is this a joke… seriously?”

“… … …”

“I guess I really only have eyes for you.”

“Let’s get back together,” Nayoung said.