179 - There''s a Surprise?

    TL/Editor: looloo

    Status: ongoing

    Illustrations: posted in discord

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    A few days had passed since I last saw Sarang''s pouty face, which I only got to see about once a month.

    To be honest, I thought the kids would have forgotten everything they talked about before. At my age, I often forget plans I''ve made to do this or that, so I figured kids would be even worse.

    But surprisingly, on Friday evening, Sarang grabbed me as soon as I got home from work and brought it up.

    "Dad! You promised to play with us at the playground tomorrow, remember?!"

    "Ah."

    It was only after Sarang said that that I remembered we had indeed made such plans.

    Right. I had actually forgotten. Work''s been pretty busy lately.

    I''d been debating whether to do some work at home tomorrow to meet a not-quite-urgent deadline, but hearing Sarang''s words made me abandon that idea completely.

    I could always work on Sunday, or put in some overtime on Monday if needed.

    Sarang was staring at me with sparkling eyes, silently pressuring me with a look that said, "You remember our promise, right?" How could I possibly say no?

    "Of course I remember promising to play with you, Sarang. What time did you agree to meet your friends?"

    "We''re meeting at the police playground at 10 o''clock!"

    "Alright. Let''s all go together - mom, dad, and you."

    "Yay!!"

    Sarang jumped up and down with joy at my confirmation. She immediately grabbed her smartphone and started tapping away at the screen.

    Even though we''d agreed to play together, for Heena and me, it would essentially just be a walk in the park. Once we got to the playground, the kids would play among themselves anyway.

    And speaking of playgrounds, something suddenly came to mind.

    "Heena."

    *Smooch*@@@@

    "Hmm?"

    When I called out to her, Heena, who had been glued to my side working on her laptop, gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before looking up at me.

    "Next time we have some free time, want to go fishing together?"

    "Sounds good."

    "Uh..."

    Of course, I thought Heena would agree. But her immediate response without any hesitation caught me a bit off guard. I was sure Heena wouldn''t have even the slightest interest in something like fishing.

    "Are you sure?"

    "I''m happy doing anything with you. Should we cook whatever fish we catch for dinner?"

    "That... might be a bit difficult... I just thought it might be fun to try."

    "Let''s do it~ Oh, but honey. I probably won''t be able to make time until next month..."

    "That''s fine, I''m pretty busy right now too. Let''s go when we''re both free."

    "Okay! And if we''re going fishing, do you think my dad would want to come too?"

    "Sure, we can bring anyone who wants to come."

    Heena readily agreed. Now for the next step.

    "Do you think Sarang would like fishing?"

    "Hehe, she loves even just going for walks with you, so I''m sure she''d enjoy it~"

    "Hmm... You''re probably right. Sarang!"

    "Yes?"

    Sarang, who had been focused on her phone, likely messaging her friends, immediately looked up at me.

    I asked confidently, thinking Sarang would surely enjoy it:

    "Want to go fishing with mom and dad someday?"

    "Yeah! I want to go fishing with mom and dad! When are we going?! Tomorrow?! The day after?!"

    "Um... Well... Later..."

    "When''s later?!"

    "I''m sorry, Sarang. I guess I brought it up too soon..."

    Do I still underestimate Heena and Sarang too much?

    Faced with Sarang''s overwhelming enthusiasm and desire to leave right away, I found it hard to tell her we didn''t have any concrete plans yet.

    I managed to calm down the excited Sarang by reminding her about our playground plans for tomorrow and mentioning other upcoming activities like visiting a cat cafe.

    In the future, I should probably wait until all the plans are set before telling Sarang, maybe just a day before we''re actually going to leave.

    ---Raei Translations---

    And so, the weekend arrived.

    As promised, we arrived at the playground with Sarang, where we were greeted by a surprisingly large group of children. Heena and I were the only adults there.

    Usually, there are one or two parents who occasionally come along with the children, but today there were none. It seemed they had heard we were coming. Some parents had contacted us, asking us to keep an eye on their kids.

    So I opened my arms and waited. Jooeun bounced over to me excitedly. I carefully supported her with my arms and stood up.

    Is she about the same weight as Sarang? Jooeun is pretty slim too. They''re about the same height as well.

    "Wow!!"

    "It''s nice, right? Right!"

    "Yeah!! I love it!"

    Jooeun seemed overjoyed at her elevated view. I guess they don''t get to do this much at home.

    Jooeun''s mom probably finds it too tiring to lift her now that she''s heavier, and her dad is rarely home due to frequent business trips. Even though we''ve had some interaction with Jooeun''s family for a while now, I''ve only met him a few times.

    But strangely, instead of looking around, Jooeun was clinging to my neck and staring at me, just like Sarang does.

    *Squeeze*

    I thought maybe she just liked being held up like this. Since I won''t be able to do this often, I smiled at Jooeun, hoping she''d feel comfortable.

    "Hehehe..."

    She blushed and giggled. Jooeun was an incredibly cute child, though not quite as much as Sarang. Maybe I find her even cuter because she''s such good friends with Sarang.

    I held Jooeun for a while as we waited for our turn on the equipment. Soon, I saw the boys who had been riding earlier getting off.

    "Dad! It''s our turn!"

    "Alright~ Jooeun, you''re going to ride with Sarang, right?"

    "Yes!"

    From then on, I went around the playground, taking care of Jooeun and Sarang. When other children came over, I''d let them join in too.

    I guess this is what it''s like for a dad to play with kids at the playground?

    ---Raei Translations---

    At the playground, we didn''t just use the equipment. We played games like freeze tag and hide-and-seek too.

    I participated enthusiastically to help the children have fun, running around with them. I thought I was going to die from exhaustion. Kids really do have infinite stamina.

    Meanwhile, Heena sat on a bench, taking pictures of us and enjoying the fresh air.

    After a few hours of playing like this, it was finally time to head home.

    "Thank you both~ See you next time!"

    After making sure the children were heading home, we walked Jooeun back to her house. It was on our way home anyway.

    After safely seeing Jooeun home, we headed towards our own house.

    Sarang was asleep on my back. She had been fine until we said goodbye to her friends, but she started getting really sleepy on the way.

    "Wow... I''m exhausted, seriously."

    "Hehe, you worked hard~"

    "Were you okay? I thought you might have been bored."

    "Not at all~ It was fun just watching you and Sarang play, you know?"

    "Well, I''m glad. Did you get enough vitamin D?"

    "Yep~"

    Both Heena and I had things we needed to do today, but I think spending time together with our daughter like this is really important.

    Especially since Sarang enjoys it so much. Enough to fall asleep from exhaustion after playing.

    "Honey."

    "Hm?"

    "From now on, when Jooeun plays with us, make sure to bring me along too."

    "Jooeun? I don''t mind, but... why?"

    "Mm~ Because I can''t let my guard down?"

    "???"

    "You got it, right?"

    "Well... okay."

    As we were walking home, chatting casually, Heena, who had been quietly smiling, suddenly said something I couldn''t quite understand.

    I don''t know why, but honestly, I''d feel more comfortable if there was someone else to help keep an eye on things. Besides, unless we''re extremely busy, Heena will probably be with us anyway when I take Sarang out.

    Anyway, this wrapped up another peaceful weekend in our daily lives.

    I should get some work done tomorrow. As for the fishing trip... maybe I''ll start planning it slowly next month.

    Author''s Note:

    Kyeeeeeek!!!!! Be careful, Sarang!!

    ---

    enjoy! :)

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