episode_0199

“Okay, everyone? It’s time to say goodbye again. I’ll say it again, please give the paper you received to your parents? Hehe…”

“If you don’t tell your parents, I might be in trouble, right? So, please tell them.”

The squinty-eyed teacher said goodbye to us, always with a suspicious smile on his face.

“Okay, that’s the end of the message! Now go home and get some rest. Then we can come back tomorrow and play hard!”

Knock knock!

After saying goodbye, the cross-eyed teacher ran out of the classroom, and as soon as the leader disappeared, the classmates left the classroom in a rush with loud cheers.

Now the only ones left in the classroom are the sleepy Chae-eun, the old Jae-seok, and me.

After waking up Chae-eun, who was still drooling and enjoying her dreamland trip, I patted her head and told her that daycare was over.

“Chae-eun, daycare is over! Now go home and sleep!”

“Ugh… Just 5 more minutes…”

“Go home and sleep for 5 more minutes! This is daycare!”

“Hing.”

Bubi-bubi-bubi.

Chae-eun, who had been complaining for a while, rubbed her eyes, then got up from her seat and left the class, and I walked towards Jae-seok, who was left alone.

Now that we’ve eliminated the variables, there’s no one left to get in the way.

Surely, someone won’t suddenly pop up and interrupt this brief monopoly.

I smiled brightly and called out to Jaeseok, who was reading a thick book without moving an inch, in a cheerful voice.

“Jaeseok!”

“…”

But Jaeseok doesn’t answer at all.

If it were normal, I would have always answered with ‘why’ even if it was annoying, but why isn’t he saying anything today?

…I wonder if I’ve started to hate myself just like my mom said?

Suddenly I got scared, and I slowly approached Jaeseok with a pounding heart. Only after hearing his small, rasping breath did I finally let out a sigh of relief.

“Hoo.”

You were sleeping. I thought you hated me again.

By the way, Jaeseok, what kind of books do you read that you read the same ones every day? No matter how thick they are or how unreadable they are, it’s been like you’ve been reading the same books for over three months now.

Out of curiosity, I cautiously took a peek at Jaeseok’s book, and there I saw crooked letters that made my head spin just by looking at them.

“What is this…?”

First of all, I can’t make out anything, so I don’t think it’s Korean, and judging by the squiggles, is it the ‘English’ thing that Mom and Dad talked about?

I don’t know. Regardless of whether it’s English or Korean, seeing the letters themselves so densely packed made me lose both motivation and interest.

There are pictures, but instead of cute teddy bears and such, there are only strange shapes… A picture that is impossible to describe.

I gave up on trying to understand and decided to just pat Jaeseok’s head.

Tsk tsk.

As I roughly ruffled his hair with my soft hands, Jaeseok slowly began to open his eyes.

“Ugh…”

Then he frowned as hard as he could, as if something hurt, and stretched.

“Ugh…”

A face that is not the usual relaxed and blank face, but a face that is filled with fear and fatigue.

I stopped stroking, tilted my head, and asked Jaeseok.

“Is something wrong? You look really tired?”

“You don’t have to know. It’s none of your business.”

“Yeah, if it’s hard, tell me! I’ll let you touch my tail!”

“No need.”

“Heeeek…”

When I gave a firm answer and my shoulders slumped, Jaeseok slowly got up and asked me a question.

“By the way, didn’t the teacher say anything while you were sleeping?”

“There it was! Mom and Dad told me to make sure to show them the paper we got?”

“Paper? Oh, you mean the paper for the parent observation class?”

“Yeah, that. Looking at the content, it says that the observation class is a week later. Aren’t you looking forward to it?”

“Not really. Since both of you work, I don’t think they’ll come even if I show you.”

With a skeptical smile, Jaeseok started packing his bag.

“It won’t make much of a difference whether I show you or not, so I guess there’s no need to show you. Haa, anyway, I’m going to be heavy like a dog today. Why did I get caught by that weird old man?”

Jaeseok left the daycare center, muttering a series of complaints. I watched his miserable back as I cautiously called over one of the maids.

“Sister.”

[Yes, Miss.]

“There’s a paper for the parent observation class that Jaeseok followed, right? Please give it to Jaeseok’s parents.”

[…Why does the young lady care about that?]

“Why?”

I smiled brightly and whispered quietly in my maid’s ear.

“Well, to get a little closer.”

You know who it is without me having to say anything, right?

After hearing the explanation, the maid immediately started chasing Jaeseok.

—–

“Parent observation class?”

“Yes! That’s a week later!”

My daughter is so happy that she gives me a piece of paper folded in a crinkly manner and laughs brightly.

I felt a little annoyed at the expression that seemed so full of desire, but I held it back by stroking Jin-ha’s head roughly and slowly opened my mouth.

“My daughter called me, so of course I have to go. Haha, I guess I’ll have to work hard after a long time.”

“Thank you, Mom!”

“Thank you, of course I should do that. Mom will be watching you closely to make sure you’re doing well outside, okay?”

“Yes!”

Bubi-bubi-bubi.

Jin-ha was in my arms, caressing my soft cheeks, and I held my daughter in my arms for a while before carefully whispering to her.

“Oh right, Jinha? Did you finish all the homework the teacher gave you? You said to write a picture diary by tomorrow.”

“How, how did Mom do that…?”

“Mom knows how to do everything. Shouldn’t we do it little by little? They say that when something is hard and you don’t like something, you feel better when you finish it quickly.”

“Yes… Mom…”

Jin-ha left the room listlessly, her fluffy tail and perked ears hanging down. As soon as her cute daughter left the room, a maid quietly appeared from a corner.

[Ugh…Ugh…I really thought something big was going to happen. You suddenly opened the door and came in while I was reporting…]

“I told you he was a smart and sly kid. So, be careful from now on, okay?”

[Yes, ma’am. But the tip is…]

“I’m going to be depressed for a while because I told you to do your homework, so please pat my head and cheer me up. Okay?”

[thank you!]

The maid chases after Jin-ha, repeatedly expressing her gratitude.

I looked at her back and sighed deeply.

“Is that really that good?”

Before they got married, when they first came to the mansion, they were maids who were full of charisma.

Although she was wearing a subculture outfit rather than a typical maid outfit, she looked a bit cynical thanks to her strong aura and clean impression typical of demons.

“How did you end up like that? No, maybe you’re just a girl by nature?”

Well, it’s true that there’s a big difference between having three fluffy foxes and a mansion with just one man.

“It’s a little broken… I liked that tough but affectionate look.”

As I complained in a small voice, a soft but commanding voice was heard from behind me.

“The difference in Jin-ha’s existence is huge. Even people who hate foxes will definitely be captivated by that child.”

“My daughter is really cute. You were foolish when you first got possessed, too.”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I was just playing around with you for a bit? Do you think I look like such a stupid fox to you?”

“Sometimes I’m a bit stupid. Or should I say I’m a bit of a fool?”

“Ahem.”

The fox god coughed and made a face, then picked up the crumpled paper that was on the desk.

“Parent observation class? Phew, so that’s why the kid was so happy.”

“They say the kid is smart? I don’t know what plan he’s made, but I can see that it’s progressing step by step.”

The fact that he proudly handed me the parent observation class paper was probably part of the plan.

I think it roughly means that you should become friendly with the people who will become your in-laws.

“You warned me not to be obsessed, so I’m going to make a big deal out of it. Should I call this great or scary? ”

“Phew, I don’t know about anything else, but it seems like it’s already too late for Jaeseok to thwart this terrifying scheme.”

We have also prepared like this, so there is no way they will not take action.

The fox god giggled, crumpled the paper again, and opened his mouth while patting my back.

“Please respond to my daughter’s efforts. Well, even if you don’t respond, it seems like she’s already prepared the next plan.”

“Well, I’ll have to think about it first. If Jin-ha listens well, I’ll give him strength, but if he doesn’t, I’ll get angry.”

“You too… want to be a parent like that?”

“If my daughter doesn’t listen to me even if I die, I have no choice but to change my mind. They say they’ll give an extra piece of rice cake to a disobedient child, but I have no intention of doing that.”

Of course, he is very mature for his age, so he should listen to what I say.

I jumped up from my seat and strode towards the door as I continued speaking.

“Just like now? I sent you off to do your homework, and you came back and eavesdropped on our conversation. What’s so cute about it that I want to hang out with you?”

As I opened the door wide, without even being able to react, my daughter, who was feeling annoyed, was standing in front of the door with her ears pricked up with a blank expression.

A stinging look on his face as if everything had been discovered, but he soon controls his expression and smiles faintly as if he knew nothing.

What she held in her soft and smooth hands was a roughly drawn picture diary.

Perhaps the prepared excuse is the one in hand.

I slowly squatted down and smiled broadly while patting my cute but annoying daughter’s head.

“Jinhaya.”

“Yes! Mom.”

“Did you hear everything? What Mom said.”

“…”

As I carefully read through my daughter’s picture diary, written with a pencil, I spoke to her with a hardened expression.

“Listen to your mom from now on, okay?”

“Yes.”

Jin-ha nodded repeatedly with a face like he was seeing his grandfather.