episode_0004

Dabin came home a little later than Dayoung, resolved dinner, and I went to the living room for work. Each of the children went into their rooms and had their own time.

-Knocking. Knocking.

“Yawn~”

Feeling a bit sleepy, I thought about making a cup of coffee and went to the kitchen. After brewing a cup of coffee with the machine and trying to go back to the living room,

-Oh, oh!

I heard a strange moaning sound.

“What is this sound?”

I cautiously walked towards where the sound was coming from. Passing through the living room, facing a small room opposite the entrance.

It was Dabin’s room.

-Knock, knock.

I knocked on the door, but since there was no response from inside, I carefully opened the door.

-Oh, oh. Ki, Kimochii!

The moans of a woman filled with ecstasy became more distinct.

“Panting, panting!”

Wearing headphones, Dabin didn’t even hear the knocking sound, a strange phenomenon where the sound leaked through the headphones.

Dabin was having his happy time alone.

Oh, this. Really.

I didn’t know what to do, so I was at a loss.

“Huff!”

As he reached his climax, Dabin shivered with short, heavy breaths.

Deciding to just let it go quietly, I gently closed the door.

-Clink, clatter!

The coffee cup held in the hand on the opposite side of the door handle wobbled on the plate and fell to the floor.

And the spilled coffee on the floor splashed a few drops on my foot, causing immense pain.

“Ouch! It’s hot!”

Reflexively lifting my burned foot, my body leaned forward, and as a result, the door swung wide open.

And there was Dabin’s rough taste in full view, along with my anxious gaze, and Dayoung watching over it. It was probably a love (battle) like war.

“Dad, are you okay? What happened!”

Meeting eyes with Dabin, I quickly closed the door and calmed Dayoung down.

“Oh, nothing… Ugh! No. I just spilled some coffee.”

“Oh, really! Are you burned? Let me see!”

Pulling my hand, Dayoung sat me down on the living room sofa. Kneeling on the floor, she carefully examined my foot.

“Oh, I’m really sorry. If you get a burn on your pretty feet, why are you so careless.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

“Fortunately, it doesn’t seem too serious. Be careful. You scared me.”

Dayoung breathed a sigh of relief. Although her words were stuttered, her caring heart made me so grateful that I hugged Dayoung tightly.

“Oh, our lovely daughter. Worrying about dad like this. Such a filial daughter.”

“Ugh, let go! I’m not a little kid!”

Although she protested, I had no intention of letting go of Dayoung.

After holding Dayoung close for a while and then letting go, she blushed and took deep breaths, looking determined. She didn’t seem upset or anything.

“You’re such a handful. Really.”

“Hehehe.”

“For now, just sit here. I’ll bring an ice pack.”

Then, Dayoung handed me an ice pack wrapped in a towel from the kitchen freezer.

“Thank you, daughter.”

As I applied the ice pack to my burn, the pain rushed in instantly.

“Ow!”

Dayoung’s eyebrows raised at my groan, but she soon relaxed her expression and let out a deep sigh.

“I know you didn’t mean it. Dad, you really need to be more careful. If you make those noises in your current state…”

“Is that so?”

Unable to hold back, I blurted out again!

“Oh, I don’t know! Anyway, I’ll clean up the spilled coffee, so just sit quietly.”

Sitting still in response to Dayoung’s annoyance, I suddenly said,

“Oh, Dayoung, I can clean it up myself…”

“Tsk! Just stay quiet if you’re a patient! I’ll do it.”

Ah, could Davin be caught like that? But we made eye contact, so he must have handled it by now, right? Various thoughts quickly pass through my mind.

“Oh, what’s this?”

“I, I’ve cleaned it all up.”

Fortunately, Davin hurriedly regained his composure and came out with me, seemingly having eradicated the evidence. Truly fortunate. Or is it really fortunate?

“Good job, Davin.”

Saying that, Dayoung pats Davin’s head affectionately.

Indeed, my children get along surprisingly well. If you listen to what other company superiors say, at their age, they were constantly fighting. Perhaps because I married early and had children early, the age of my children and the children of superiors around the rank of department heads was similar.

“Oh, anyway, Dad should cool off a bit before taking action. Don’t overdo it.”

After saying that, Dayoung went back to her room. Davin and I were awkwardly cooling down the atmosphere in the living room.

Quietly getting up from my seat, I passed by Davin and headed to his room.

“Davin, would you like to come into the room for a moment?”

Davin hesitated for a moment.

“Y-yes….”

A small room of about 5 square meters. It might feel a bit cramped for a boy who will be in the first year of high school next year.

I thought maybe we should move, but that’s not important right now.

After sitting on the bed, I tapped the space next to me and said, “Would you like to sit here for a moment?”

“Y-yes….”

Davin weakly sat down next to me.

….

There was a moment of silence. Choosing my words carefully, I eventually turned Davin’s head, met his eyes, and said, “Davin, Dad thinks it’s okay. You’re still a middle school student, at an age where you’re curious about such things, right? Dad didn’t have computers or anything at your age, but I understand because I also looked at magazines when I was young. It’s not something to be ashamed of. So, there’s no need to look so guilty.”

“….”

“It’s embarrassing, right? Of course, if you show that to your parents, it would be very embarrassing. That’s natural. But on the other hand, Dad is proud to see how much you’ve grown, right?”

“W-well, I’m not saying you should be too bold. There’s no need to blame yourself too much, that’s what I want to say, Davin.”

“….Yes.”

“Yes, because you’re smart. You understand what Dad is trying to say, right?”

“Y-yes.”

Although his face was still red, I felt relieved seeing some improvement and got up from my seat.

“Today’s incident will be forgotten as an accident. Dad will cleanly forget about it. So, Davin, don’t worry too much, okay?”

“Y-yes!”

He looked so lovable that I hugged him tightly.

“Oh, my child.”

When I was a man, I used to rub my beard against his face, but now I can’t do that, which is regrettable.

“Dad, let go of me.”

Davin mumbled as if embarrassed, burying his face in my chest. I released his hand from my embrace and stepped back.

Then, as he left the room,

“Uh, it might be unnecessary interference, but Dad hopes you’ll…restrain yourself a bit with SM. It could lead to a distorted view of sexuality…so…”

As I spoke, my face turned red, wondering if that was appropriate, and Davin seemed greatly flustered, his face redder than ever.

“!!!…Y-yes.”

Hearing Davin’s response, I closed the door and went into the master bedroom.

And…

“Oh, coffee.”

But since I was already wide awake, I finished my work and went to bed without delay.

As usual, I woke up in the morning, prepared breakfast, sent the children to school, and one day while working at a recently frequented cafe.

“Here’s your coffee.”

The cafe owner, who had become familiar after several visits, served bread along with the coffee as always.

“Oh, you don’t have to do this every time.”

“Haha, but I’m the owner. It’s my pleasure.”

After exchanging pleasantries, I focused on work again.

After working for about an hour, feeling a bit tired, I decided to take a break and cool off my head by watching Netflix.

-Click!

The screen went blank.

“What?!”

What’s going on? I tried pressing the power button again, but the screen only showed a flashing low battery icon before turning off again.

Oh, the battery ran out. And come to think of it, I must have forgotten to charge it after working late into the night yesterday.

“…It was an important part…”

It felt like being cut off in the middle of something crucial. It was very frustrating. As I sighed deeply and turned my head…

“!!”

A man at the next table was sitting there, sipping coffee leisurely and looking at his laptop screen. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, dressed elegantly. But what caught my eye was that the drama he was watching on his laptop was the exact one I was watching, right before it cut off.

Without thinking, I abruptly stood up from my seat and headed towards the man.

“Excuse me…”

I tapped the man’s shoulder and spoke, causing him to quickly remove his earphones and turn to face me.

“Yes, can I help you?”

“Um, could I…sit here for a moment?”

“Why?”

The man looked extremely puzzled, scanning me up and down before his gaze seemed to fixate on one side.

“Well, I was watching a drama at the table next to yours until my laptop battery died, and coincidentally, you were watching that exact scene. The strange judge Lee Young, right?”

The man slowly nodded his head.

“So, if it’s okay with you, would you mind watching it together…?”

Seemingly understanding the situation now, he nodded.

“Sure, go ahead. Have a seat.”

He blushed with embarrassment after saying that. Nevertheless, without hesitating, I sat right beside him to continue watching the drama.

“Here.”

He offered me one of his earphones. I cautiously accepted it and plugged it into my ear.

“Thank you.”

And so, I found myself watching the drama with a stranger for the first time.