On that day, I decided.
That I wouldn’t be deceived by that sort of lie for the second time.
That I wouldn’t become like those untaught masses who are fooled by the idea of an appealing relationship.
Therefore, I don’t need something like a family.
I had made that decision.
······I had made that resolve, but.
“W-Wait. This is all a misunderstanding. I-I’ll explain it in a way that even you uneducated masses can understand, so······.”
Just how did I end up like this?
I have to be calm. Nothing will get solved if I were to panic. There’s that one saying, isn’t there? Even if you’re thrown into a tiger’s den, you’ll survive as long as you keep your head on straight.
“Are you fine with those last words?”
“It’s all right. There’s no problem.”
······Stay calm, my ass. Do you think it’s possible to stay calm in this situation?
It’s Monday morning and I’m already in a situation where my entire life can be sent flying at a moment’s notice.
It was morning assembly right now, the time of day where students were still arriving at school. Although morning assembly has always been a time where the class was noisy, the atmosphere today was more terrifying than it was uproarious.
The enraged, ignorant mob was narrowing their encirclement around me who was currently trapped in a corner. In their hands, they held all sorts of lethal weapons. Things like desks and chairs were charming. Mechanical pencils, compasses, and box cutters were so straightforward that they were horrendous. The guy holding super glue and scissors made a cold sweat run down the back of my neck.
There should still be some awkwardness left in the class since it hasn’t even been a week since the new semester had started, but it seems they had all become one with their hostility towards me. WE ARE THE WORLD.
“Everyone! You shouldn’t bully Jjaro!”
The instant Saeyeon shouted that out, the encirclement that was closing in on me stopped altogether as if it were a lie.
While narrowing her large eyes, Saeyeon promptly squeezed herself between me and our classmates.
“Behaving scarily and terrifying someone isn’t a good thing to do! Bad!”
“Saeyeon······!”
That’s right. Just as I expected, you’re the only one who I can trust to be on my side. But you should say my name properly. How long do you intend to call me Jjaro?
While slightly raising the ends of her eyebrows, Saeyeon faced everyone and confidently made a declaration.
“As a wife, I can’t just turn a blind eye to my husband being bullied!”
“That’s right! You shouldn’t bully my dad!”
“Like I said, isn’t it because of the two of you that the situation became like this?!”
······Like hell she’s on my side. She’s an enemy who’s also trying to get me killed.
The little girl who was holding Saeyeon’s hand.
Large pupils, alluring cheeks that looked as if they’d be good to pull, and soft lips. Rather than appearing like a charming woman, she had a young face that made her appearance closer to being a charming girl, no, a charming child. Her tied up apple hairstyle was cute.
She was probably an elementary schooler at the very most. Even her height and form were on the level of a developing country that was still in desperate need of growth.
“······.”
Because of this kid’s appearance, the eyes of our classmates went back and forth between me, Saeyeon, and the kid.
That’s right. I know what you guys are thinking.
Although her pupils resembled Saeyeon’s own eyes, her eyebrows were like mine. Her slightly sharper jawline was similar to my own jaw as well. Similar. She looked like us.
However, no matter how much this kid resembled Saeyeon and me, no matter how much she looked as if she were a 50/50 fusion of Saeyeon and me, no matter how much it seemed as if this child would come out if Saeyeon and I really made a child,
“S-She’s not my daughter!”
After my exclamation, I could hear the kid’s response.
“······hk.”
No, this isn’t a response, is it?
“Hk, huu, uuu······.”
While her large eyes were filled to the brim with tears, it was like she was trying to forcefully prevent herself from crying out loud. Uh, wait, doesn’t this make it seem as if······.
“How could you be so mean, Jjaro! You meanie!”
“I’m the bad guy?!”
Ah, I said that out loud. Hasn’t it been a really long time since I received this sort of gaze from Saeyeon? No matter how you look at her, she was clearly upset.
“How can you say something like that to a child? And to your own daughter at that!”
“No, Saeyeon, that’s what I’m trying to say, she’s not······.”
“Don’t cry Jaim. There, there. It’s okay. Mommy will scold your mean dad. Bad!”
“O-ow?!”
This girl, she actually hit me!
Saeyeon was stroking the kid’s hair and speaking to her in a warm voice while not even paying the slightest amount of attention towards my boiling anger.
“Mom! Dad, dad said to me that······.”
“Yes, yes. Mommy is here. Don’t cry.”
The kid rubbed her face against Saeyeon as she held the girl in her embrace. Additionally, Saeyeon had a mother-like, attentive expression on her face as she stroked the kid’s hair. From a third-party’s perspective, it might appear like there’s a nice and warm mood wrapped around them.
“As I thought, it was like that.”
“Even after doing something like that, to make excuses when there’s distinctive proof like this right in front of us.”
······Like I said, from a third-party’s perspective, these two.
Along with some rumbling, the encirclement of classmates closed in on me slowly as they also continued to glare at me with eyes that looked as if they were a bunch of hawks hunting down their prey. This is terrifying. I might actually piss myself.
But I really don’t want to become a dad nor do I want to be torn apart by an angered mob and have my corpse carried down the street.
If that’s the case, then.
“Ja Saeyeon. Nothing happened yesterday, right? There wasn’t anything, right? Tell them there wasn’t! Say it! Tell them right this instant!”
I have to calmly, persuade Saeyeon here.
Moreover, persuasion means to make the opposition say the words which you want them to say.
Let’s persuade her while pulling on her cheeks. Saeyeon must have been in pain since she was closing her eyes tightly and struggling to open her mouth.
“Ububububu! Y-Yeah, nyahin hahhened yesherday······.”
“All right! Nothing happened, yeah? Right?”
Okay. Good girl. There must have been some lingering pain left in her cheeks since Saeyeon was rubbing them with teary eyes, but she still nodded.
“See? Nothing happened yesterday. We merely⎯⎯⎯.”
“······Slept together.”
“⎯⎯⎯For you to backstab me like this?!”
And in this situation where my life was on the line!
“But······.”
Saeyeon averted her gaze slightly and, while covering her cheeks which were red because she was either embarrassed or because I had pulled on them earlier, she spoke in a soft voice.
“But still, what you said to me yesterday and the fact that Jaim was born like this, I’m happy······.”
“I told you, stop making the misunderstanding bigger! What did I even say?!”
Although Saeyeon pouted and looked at me angrily in response to my reaction, she grinned.
“Yesterday, Jjaro was the one who first suggested that we should sleep together, remember?”
“No, well, that was because······.”
The cold winter has passed and even the forsythias are beginning to bloom thanks to the warm sunlight, and thus, the world welcomes a new beginning.
“That’s how we were able to have a child like this!”
This period of time where everything starts anew,
“⎯⎯⎯This little girl’s name is Jin Jaim! She’s Jjaro and my daughter!”
Celebratorily, it seems that I have become a dad.
Even though we only slept while holding hands.
TL note: Thanks for reading the chapter.
*IMPORTANT* For the sake of your enjoyment of this series, please read the rest of this TL note.
This first TL note is going to be rather long since I should probably explain a few things.
However, there’s a single reason why I was able to get through this volume. The fact that this is a completed series with 7 volumes. In the back of my head, I was aware that volume 1 was going to have the MC at his worst state, so I read while looking forward to seeing the MC’s growth and development. During a rather tense part of this volume when the MC was coming to terms with his past, I will admit that I teared up slightly due to how it was relatable to me in a certain way. When I started to read volume 2, it was a pleasant surprise to see that it wasn’t just the MC who was growing.
I read through a couple of the no-spoiler reviews for this entire series and every single review I found was rather positive. The consensus seems to be that volume 3 is when the series starts to get really enjoyable. You can even see the author getting better at writing.
In conclusion, while you guys are reading through this volume, I recommend that you hold back your rash opinions for now. The beginning is going to be rough, but the payoff will, according to the reviews, be great.
I hope you enjoy the story of this strange family.
Side note: I’m not sure how quickly I can get the next chapter out. I have to get back into the translating groove and this also a new series, so I’ll be using the next chapter as the standard for how fast I can translate this series. Hopefully, I’ll get it out by the end of next week.
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