episode_0168

“And so, the vampire who married a human gave birth to a child and lived happily ever after ~”

Having no choice but to recount a past story from 15 years ago to her annoying daughter, who seemed dissatisfied.

Was she satisfied with that? Turning her gaze towards her now quiet daughter, she noticed the adorable vampire in front of her making an unpleasant expression.

What could possibly be bothering her?

As she tilted her head in confusion, her daughter, perhaps going through puberty, started to show her displeasure with a stern expression.

“…It’s not as fun as I thought it would be.”

“Uh, what?”

“I mean, this story you came up with, right? I looked it up on the internet, and it was a time of great confusion, but it seems too peaceful. No bad people, no real trials or tribulations.”

“Well, it was a confusing time indeed. With all sorts of incidents happening every day. But didn’t those things hardly ever happen to mom and dad?”

Honestly, wouldn’t it be stranger if they did happen?

Living a life following a strict routine, only going out on nights when her strength was at its peak.

Working at a cocktail bar run by a wealthy man who had enough money to spare even after spending recklessly.

Having colleagues like a dragon and a vampire, possessing powerful abilities comparable to those of legendary beings.

And having friends and acquaintances who were demons, angels, and other powerful supernatural beings.

Unless it was for the purpose of suicide, wouldn’t it be natural to try to avoid harm as much as possible?

She had wanted to tell her daughter how amazing the people around her were, but thankfully, it seemed like her daughter had realized it herself as she kept her mouth shut.

Well, this should make the story easier.

Messing up the cute vampire’s hair, she spoke in a gentle voice.

“It hurts a little that our daughter doesn’t like this story. It’s mom’s favorite story, you know.”

“…I never said I didn’t like it.”

“Heh, but didn’t it sound like that to mom’s ears?”

“No! I do like it! It’s just not as exciting as I thought it would be.”

“Heh, seeing you like this, you really take after your dad, huh? Oh, my cute little one.”

“D-Don’t touch me! Am I really a child?!”

“Then what else would you be if not a child? And even if you say that, your body is honest, right? You don’t cuddle up to mom like this.”

“H-Huh?!”

As she pushed her face away and quickly moved out of her embrace, her daughter looked at her defiantly. Wiping away her smile, she started to speak slowly.

“Oh, right. Ji-ah? Mom has something else to tell you, can you spare a little more time?”

“W-What is it?”

As the sudden silence settled in, her daughter seemed scared and tried to step back. Checking her movements quickly, she whispered in the ear of the stubborn vampire.

“Daughter.”

“Yes? Yes, mom…”

“Mom… really hates it when someone touches her things, you know that, right?”

“Uh, yes, I know…”

“But why did you touch it?”

Prompting her to answer by poking her side, Ji-ah swallowed nervously and tried to deflect the question.

“Haha… I-I don’t know what you’re talking about, mother?”

“Yoon Ji-ah.”

“Yes, yes…”

“What were the two things that mom hates the most?”

“L-Lying and touching mom’s things…”

“…Our daughter, did both of those things?”

Knowing that running away wouldn’t make a difference unless it was daytime, her cute daughter seemed resigned as she lowered her head.

Seeing my daughter in such a melancholic state pained me, but if I don’t scold her sternly now, she’ll likely repeat the same behavior in the future.

For a child of her age, the best punishment is to tighten the purse strings.

With a heavy heart, I decided on the best punishment I could give to my despondent daughter.

“Allowance cut in half for two months.”

“What!? Mom! That’s a bit too much…”

“If you commit a wrongdoing, you should receive the appropriate punishment for it, right? And it’s not like you didn’t know, you did it despite knowing I dislike it, so it’s a harsher punishment.”

“This is too much!”

“You’re the one being too much. Didn’t I tell you clearly? Your pocket money is something you have to earn. Since you have no intention of changing, you might as well give up now.”

“…”

As I firmly refused to show any leniency, my daughter puffed up her cheeks and slammed the door to her room shut, retreating inside.

…She’s acting like a sulking child who let out a fart. Did I spoil her too much?

As I gazed at the firmly closed door, I sighed softly, hearing the faint sound of my husband’s footsteps approaching.

I let out my bitter emotions and prepared to greet my husband at the front door.

Click – Click – Click – Click –

Ding-dong ~

Soon after, I heard the sound of the door lock being released.

As I opened the front door and embraced my husband as he entered, my beloved husband faced me and greeted me warmly.

“I’m back. Nothing happened while I was away, right?”

“Yeah, I just talked to Jiah about our dating days. I scolded her a bit for her mistakes.”

“…Mistakes? What did Jiah do?”

“She dared to touch my stuff without permission. So, I decided to cut her allowance in half for two months.”

This time, to ensure he couldn’t escape, I pulled my husband closer and looked up at him with a bright smile.

“Honey.”

“Uh, yes?”

“Do you have something to tell me?”

“…”

Afraid he might not have noticed, or perhaps he forgot, I gently touched the unfamiliar bite marks on his neck and spoke, causing my husband to avoid my gaze and take a deep breath.

Seeming to search for an escape route for a moment, he realized there was no way out with any means.

After a moment, he raised the white flag and sincerely asked for my forgiveness.

“Sorry… Jiah wanted to try it once. I allowed it. I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

“…This time, I’ll forgive you, but it must never happen again. I… really don’t like anyone touching my stuff.”

“Is it okay for a mother to be jealous of her daughter?”

“It’s even more unacceptable because she’s my daughter. Besides, it’s something I earned, so I can’t allow it.”

No matter how much she’s my daughter, there are lines that should not be crossed.

How much effort did I put in to have this man in front of me entirely to myself?

If I had put in all that effort, who knows, but it’s unreasonable to think that I can just get away with it by playing around.

“Just so you know, punishment is punishment. Don’t even think about secretly giving her allowance without my knowledge.”

“…Got it. But for now, I’m hungry. Let’s eat first. I smell something delicious, what’s for dinner tonight?”

“I prepared braised spicy pork. Jiah already ate because she was hungry, so it’s just you and me.”

“Braised spicy pork… I feel like having a drink. How about a drink after a long time?”

“Hehe, sounds good. Let’s see, is there a suitable drink left in the fridge?”

After finishing the preparations for my husband’s return, I took out the bottle of moonbaeju that my boss recently gave me from the fridge.

It had been a while since I had a drink with my husband, who had been busy for a while.

As I poured the alcohol into a wine glass, I subtly asked him the question I always used to ask.

“So… when do you think it will happen? Ji-ah is almost in 3rd grade of middle school now, it wouldn’t be too bad if she became a vampire soon, right?”

“…Didn’t I say I would tell you when I’m ready? How many months has it been since I said that and you’re asking again?”

“But you’ve been complaining about feeling itchy and uncomfortable lately…”

“Well, my body isn’t the same as before. Alright, let’s do this. Let’s wait until Ji-ah’s middle school graduation to become a family, how about that? Can you hold out until then?”

“Hehe, I’ve waited for 15 years, can’t you wait for just one more year? Sometimes, you underestimate me too much.”

—

Since I managed to secure a promise, I had to push my husband a little more without making him uncomfortable.

I didn’t want to evoke any negative emotions for no reason, so after toasting with my husband, I carefully brought up old memories to change the subject.

“Thinking about the past like this, doesn’t it bring back memories?”

“…Well, it’s rare for me to feel that way since it didn’t happen often.”

“Really? You know, every time I have a drink with you, I still remember that time first? When I went to your bachelor pad because I had nowhere to stay after Yejin disappeared, and you tried to feed me garlic chicken.”

“Oh, you still remember that?”

“It’s not that I remember it, I can’t forget it. How could I forget that?”

Teasing my husband with a mischievous smile, he looked bewildered as if he couldn’t believe it.

Then, he seemed to have a good idea, as he smirked and started recounting the embarrassing things I had done in the past.

“As you say that, I remember too. When I came back early because I was worried, and you were counting rice grains one by one?”

“…Hey, Yoon Jaehyuk! Time out! That’s cheating!”

“Who’s cheating, who started first? Oh, right. Now that I think about it, I remember that too. I turned into a bat and flew around, then hit the window -”

“Ahh! Aaahhh!!!”

As I screamed as if having a fit to stop him, my husband surrendered and fed me a piece of frozen beef.

…Sometimes, when I get humiliated like this, I realize how much I miss my husband who used to enjoy these moments.

Taking a deep breath to calm my excitement, I cautiously asked my husband a question.

“Honey, I have a question.”

“Yeah? What is it?”

“If the interspecies mutation crisis didn’t happen… how do you think we would be living right now?”

My husband, who seemed momentarily puzzled as if he had never thought about it before, quickly finished his thoughts and answered with a wistful smile.

“…Hmm? I’m not sure, but I don’t think we would be this happy.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, don’t you think so?”

“Heh, I do.”

…In that case, it was a good idea to wish for online classes when the meteor shower fell.

I did well, past me.

For the first time, instead of cursing my past self, I praised her.

I raised my glass once again with my husband.