My Daughter Has Become A Fool

Chapter 14

Episode 14: Juwon@@@@

After parting with Sun-dong, I returned home with a full water bottle.

“I’m back.”

“Hand me the water bottle.”

“Yes.”

Grandma took the water bottle and immediately put it in the refrigerator.

I thought she wouldn’t like cold water, but apparently, I was wrong.

“Do you have anything else to do, Grandma?”

“Do whatever you want, or just go to sleep.”

Oh, I actually intended to go back to Seoul.

The train I booked is scheduled for tomorrow, so I can’t go back now.

Well, I might as well follow Grandma’s advice and take a good rest.

“Then I’ll really go to bed?”

“Sure.”

“Grandma, do you know a boy named Seondong? Oh Seondong.”

“That brat? What about him?”

Seems like she knows him because it’s a small neighborhood.

I joked with a smile.

“Yeondu is like a mouse and Sun-dong is like a bat?”

“That little rascal, why do you ask?”

As expected, it turned out that ‘Yeondu’ was a word my grandmother came up with herself.

It’s a terrible hybrid word made by combining ‘bat’ and ‘mouse.’

“In short, it means a bat-like kid.”

Understanding the meaning made me even more bewildered.

“No, Grandma. What does ‘Sun-dong’ mean to a grandson?”

“Fit perfectly.”

“Well... Back when he was a newborn, you used to boast about how cute he was to the whole neighborhood.”

“Don’t you close your mouth!”

I shut my mouth, fearing I’d get another earful if I said more.

The day went by quickly.

Even though I lay down, I couldn’t fall asleep, perhaps because I had slept deeply yesterday.

Yeondu was the same as me. So, Yeondu and I took a walk around the house.

It was beautiful wherever we went, perhaps because it was spring.

The fields had their own charm, and there were also places with vibrant flowers in full bloom.

“Like this?”

“Yeah, Yeondu. Just a little more to the left.”

“To the left...?”

“Yeah, towards Dad’s finger.”

“Yes, Dad!”

“Now, Yeondu. Pose with the flowers.”

I used to have a hobby of taking pictures.

It wasn’t like taking selfies; it was capturing landscapes and various objects.

So, while I wasn’t a professional, I knew how to take more expressive photos than the average person.

“I lost interest for a while.”

After Yeondu came, that hobby revived.

Of course, the subject was Yeondu. Every time I saw Yeondu, I felt the urge to take photos.

Today, I taught Yeondu some poses, and he quickly followed along.

The flower pose was one of them.

Click.

“Haha, I can’t tell if the flowers are Yeondu or if Yeondu is the flower.”

Yeondu seemed unable to understand what I said.

Well, it didn’t matter. I wasn’t asking him to understand.

I was just expressing my thoughts.

“Wow, how many pictures did you take?”

Continuously wandering around and taking pictures, there were quite a few saved.

There was even a picture of Yeondu holding a water bottle with Seondong, and it turned out pretty well.

“Of course, it’s Yeondu. Seondong, on the other hand, awkwardly stares into empty space.”

“What about Dad?”

“Dad doesn’t like taking pictures. He prefers being photographed.”

“Yeondu wants to take a picture with Dad...”

“Then let’s take one together next time.”

That’s how the day passed quickly.

“Grandma, can I grill it?”

“Fine, you little rascal. Take out some kimchi from the refrigerator.”

Dinner was pork belly.

Sizzle.

My mouth watered involuntarily.

It’s been a while since I had pork belly.

To a poor bachelor like me, pork belly was a somewhat luxurious food.

“But Grandma, don’t you dislike meat? I think I heard it when I was young. Did you prepare it because of us, by any chance...?”

“It’s leftovers, leftovers!”

“Oh.”

There was nothing more to say about leftovers.

Ah, should I have said it’s too much for leftovers?

Anyway, whether it’s leftovers or not, there’s too much.

Suddenly, Grandma picked up a piece of meat and put it on Yeondu’s rice.

“Is it okay for Yeondu to eat...?”

“I gave it to you to eat, so why wouldn’t you eat it?”

“Thank you, Grandma!”

Yeondu put the meat in her mouth.

She seemed to intuitively know that it would be delicious.

“Yeondu, have you ever eaten pork belly before?”

“Yes!”

“Really? When?”

“After someone else ate it...”

“.. I see?”

I was momentarily taken aback.

I could guess who had eaten it and left it.

‘Son of a...’

I swallowed the curse again.

I couldn’t spit it out in front of my grandmother.

“Go ahead and eat, you little brat.”

Suddenly, Grandma picked up a piece of meat and blew on it before putting it on Yeondu’s rice.

Yeondu hesitated to open her mouth.

“Do you want Yeondu to eat it...?”

“I gave it to you to eat, why wouldn’t you eat it?”

“Thank you, Grandma!”

Yeondu put the meat in her mouth.

It was delicious, but for some reason, it hurt more than before.

Chomp.

I gently stroked Yeondu’s head and made a large lettuce wrap.

Then I handed it to Grandma.

“What’s this?”

“Remember this morning when you were feeling upset? I’m returning the favor by taking care of Yeondu first.”

“Enough, you little rascal. You eat it.”

“Why don’t you eat it? This is the first time your grandson has made one for you.”

Oh, I usually can’t say such cringy lines.

Grandma finally opened her mouth and took a bite of the wrap.

“You wrapped it too big, damn it. I hope your grandma’s mouth tears apart and she dies.”

“...”

Damn, I shouldn’t have said that.

I started eating in regret.

Sigh.

In the meantime, Yeondu finished a bowl of rice and fell asleep on my lap.

She seemed sleepy after wandering around all day. In the end, it was just Grandma and I who had the meal.

It was delicious, but it felt like the rice was disappearing somewhere. That’s the feeling I had.

After finishing the rice bowl, I said.

“Thank you for the meal. I’ll do the dishes.”

Then Grandma’s voice came to my ears.

“Juwon.”

I was surprised and looked at Grandma.

Well, I’ve never heard Grandma call me ‘Juwon’ before.

“..Grandma?”

From her expression, I could be sure.

It wasn’t the expression Grandma had been treating me with until now.