TL/Editor: looloo

    Status: ongoing

    Illustrations: posted in discord

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    Once again, the calendar turned twice, and after the New Year, February finally arrived.

    And now.

    It was a little past my birthday and just before Heena''s birthday.

    We were right before Han Sarang''s first birthday.

    At 12 months old, Sarang could say Mom and Dad more clearly, walked alone albeit a bit unsteadily, and used her hands to pick up and eat various things.

    Because of this, she often put things in her mouth, causing Heena and me to panic.

    When she tried to eat baby food by herself with a spoon, about one-tenth of it ended up in her mouth while the rest made a mess everywhere.

    Not only that, but she had become even more of a clingy baby, proving she was Heena''s daughter.

    But not to Heena, to me.

    Normally, it''s the mom that babies cling to, but since Sarang saw her mom always clinging to me, she started seeking me out every day.

    The saving grace was that she didn''t have separation anxiety that made her cry when I wasn''t around.

    Heeseong once showed me a video. When I disappeared from Sarang''s sight, she became visibly sad. But soon enough, she called out, "Mommy~" and sought Heena.

    But as soon as I reappeared, she clung to me again.

    "Daddy! Daddy!"

    Tomorrow was her first birthday party. Sitting in the living room, I was checking the order of events on my laptop, and Sarang grabbed my clothes and kept calling me.

    I wanted to play with her, but I needed to finalize the details for tomorrow''s event.

    "Sarang, Daddy is busy. Can you be with Mommy?"

    "Aboo!!"

    I tried to hand her off to Heena, but before I finished my sentence, Sarang leaned on my leg and buried her face in it, wriggling around.

    Oh dear, Sarang...

    "Baboo..."

    "Just throwing yourself at me, huh? Definitely Heena''s daughter."

    "I-I don''t do that much!"

    Heena, sitting on the sofa behind me, quickly protested. But honestly, I think Heena was more intense, not less.

    "Anyway, take Sarang for a bit. I need to check the order."

    "Alright~ Han Sarang! Do you want to have some snacks with Mommy?"

    "Daddy!"

    "Daddy''s busy~ Let''s play with Mommy~"

    "Daddy! Daaadddyyy!!"

    "It’s not working, honey."

    "You''re giving up too soon."

    "How can I forcibly take her when she''s clinging to you like this~"

    Saying that, Heena also hugged me from behind. Now I was sandwiched between mother and daughter, and I had no choice but to give up checking the laptop.

    Ignoring them and continuing might make Sarang hurt herself by accident.

    "Sigh... I''ll look at it later. Where''s everyone else?"

    "Mom and Dad went to double-check the hotel, and I don''t know about my brother."

    "Well, we don''t have anything else to prepare, right?"

    "Probably not? We just need to dress up in our hanboks and look pretty~ Everyone''s coming to see that anyway."

    "That''s true."

    We hadn''t planned a big party, so that made sense. Only grandparents, a few relatives, and some friends of ours were coming.

    Despite the event being to celebrate Sarang''s first birthday, I was the one feeling more nervous.

    "Really~"

    I always felt grateful to everyone in the family, but especially to Heeseong. He never refused our requests and did so much for us.

    If Heeseong ended up getting married a bit later, one of my goals was to cover his honeymoon expenses. If not, I''d at least buy him some appliances later.

    "Jeongwoo and Yoonjung are getting married next year, right?"

    "Yeah. It seems they''ve settled in at work. They''re saving up this year and planning to move out after the wedding."

    "Haha, Yoonjung always talks about it when we meet these days. She must be so happy."

    "Many long-term couples break up, but I''m glad they are doing well. Honestly, I''d love it if Yoonjung became my sister-in-law."

    Jeongwoo, who looked gruff but always took care of me, and Yoonjung, who treated me like a real sister and gave me lots of advice on my relationship with Heena. Sometimes she did stir things up, but those were also fond memories now.

    "How about Sunhoo? Is he seeing anyone?"

    "He''d have to leave the house first... But judging by how often he comes to see Sarang, I doubt it."

    "Yeah... And I''m so glad he finally stopped bringing rice crackers and started buying other snacks..."

    "Seriously. More than half of those rice crackers were eaten by Heeseong. He''d open a bag, give one to Sarang, and eat the rest himself. What would we have done without him?"

    "Honestly, I think he started liking them. I saw him eating them while watching TV the other day."

    Sunhoo was as much of a fool for his niece as Heeseong was, though he still didn''t go out much.

    At least he made his own living, so our parents didn''t say much. I wasn''t sure how he made money on the computer, but as long as he supported himself, it was fine.

    "Daddy! Awuu!!"

    "Are you upset because I only talked to Mommy? Sorry."

    "No matter what you do, Daddy likes playing with Mommy more~"

    "Let''s stop competing with Sarang..."

    "I''m just kidding~ Sarang, do you want to play blocks with Mommy?"

    "Uweeaau..."

    Despite Heena''s suggestion, Sarang clung to my arms with no interest in anything else. She just wanted my attention and had no intention of leaving my side.

    Sarang''s love for her dad was nothing new. I dreaded the thought of her hitting puberty in middle school. Imagining Sarang being annoyed with me made my heart ache.

    If she ever got mad at me, I''d probably want to die.

    "What if she clings to you tomorrow too?"

    "We''ll have to carry her around. What will she grab? What did we prepare?"

    "Just the usual: a pencil, coin, ball, some toy items... and your photo."

    "...My photo?"

    "Yeah."

    "Why would my photo be there?"

    "Your parents suggested it. They said to bring a small framed picture of you from home."

    "I don''t understand..."

    For some reason, I had a feeling Sarang would grab my photo.

    Well, it wouldn''t be so bad. If she picked it, it would mean she wanted to marry her dad—a cute sign of affection from my daughter. As a dad, I''d welcome that!

    "If she tries to pick your photo, I''m going to intervene."

    "......"

    Mom didn''t seem to welcome that idea as much.

    Anyway, tomorrow Sarang would be one year old.

    I worried about whether I’d be able to sleep tonight. Maybe it was because Heena''s and my birthdays were close too, making it feel like a joint birthday party for the three of us.

    So, we chatted excitedly until the family came home.

    Looking forward to Sarang''s first birthday party tomorrow.

    Author''s Note:

    The end is near. Although this is the conclusion, I''ve started writing for longer than planned, with more time skips and a greater focus on raising a child. I''m going to break!

    Even after the conclusion, the serialization will continue for a bit! Under the name of side stories! I''ll move time forward freely, send characters to the military, write more about Sarang, and maybe even switch perspectives!

    Don''t we need to see more of the mother-daughter cat duo?!