My Daughter Has Become A Fool

Chapter 3

Episode 3. Question@@@@

As soon as I entered the house, the bleak household environment caught my eye.

Even though it’s my own home and I’m used to it, it feels like a pigsty.

A few sets of clothes are scattered around, yesterday’s pot of noodles sits on the table, untouched.

“Haha, sorry. If I knew you were coming, I would have cleaned up, Yondu.”

I started tidying up in a hurry.

I tossed the scattered clothes on, and the pot I quickly put in the sink.

The house is small, so in a short while, it looks quite clean on the surface.

But why does the house feel so cramped today? Oh, it’s because Yondu’s here!

With just one small girl standing, it feels like the house has shrunk by a third.

Well, to begin with, it’s a small one-room apartment with a living room connected to the kitchen and a tiny bathroom attached.

It’s cozy enough for me to live alone, but it’s ridiculously small for two people to live together.

“You can sit comfortably, Yondu.”

“Yes... but...”

“But?”

“What’s this...?”

Yondu pointed with a small finger at something.

I answered right away.

“That’s a pull-up bar.”

“Pull-up...?”

Her pronunciation was cute, and it made me chuckle.

She was pointing at a piece of exercise equipment used for chin-ups and other exercises.

I ambitiously bought it to get rid of my anchovy physique, but it’s been taking up space for years.

It’s hard to dispose of, and its unnecessarily large size ruins my living environment.

‘Ridiculous.’

Now I’m blaming the pull-up bar.

Just thinking about it makes me embarrassed again.

I should answer Yondu quickly.

“Yeah, it’s a pull-up bar. I..brother.”

I stopped myself from speaking.

The word “brother” slipped out unconsciously.

But am I really Yondu’s brother? There’s a twenty-year age gap.

Honestly, with a twenty-year gap, I could be her dad.

‘But I can’t keep speaking awkwardly like this forever.’

There was a need to establish a title.

But it’s pointless to make her call me dad.

First of all, it felt awkward for me.

Even if it’s a special situation, I’m only twenty-five, calling me dad is too much.

Besides, what worries me the most is the presence of Yondu’s father, my uncle.

I’m not sure about the details, but it’s certain he wasn’t a good father.

‘So Yondu might have resistance to the word dad.’

I wanted to talk without causing too much hurt.

Without realizing it, I asked Yondu, who was crouching down.

“What would you like to call me, Yondu?”

“...”

Did she not understand the question? There was no answer.

I clumsily continued speaking, one finger at a time.

“Well, you know, there’s that. Brother, or you can call me uncle. There’s also dad.”

Oops. Did I just say dad for no reason?

Even though I was thinking about it just now, I feel like such a fool.

I still feel quite immature to be a parent.

Amid self-blame, Yondu’s voice reached me.

“Can I... call you dad?”

“Huh?”

“Call you... dad?”

It was a question with a difficult-to-understand meaning.