The World’s Strongest Daughter.

Thump-

Occupying the stall furthest inside the restroom, I caught my breath and carefully answered the phone.

“H-Hello?”

[You seem very busy?]

There was a strange sharpness in her voice coming through the phone.

She seemed a bit displeased that I was late to answer the call.

“Sorry. I was with So-yeon.”

[Just the two of you?]

I made a mistake.

I had completely forgotten to tell my wife I was going out with So-yeon.

“I should have told you beforehand, sorry. You know Pia Tower? I came to hang out with So-yeon to celebrate the end of her exams… It would have been nice if you could have come with us, I really regret it.”

How disappointed would she be to discover that her daughter and husband went out to play while she says she’s recuperating in Gangwon-do?

It’s my fault for not being considerate of her.

But my wife will understand since this is all for So-yeon.

“Since we came out to play, I even bought some clothes for So-yeon. I took a photo. Should I send it to you now?”

[Send it.]

As soon as my wife permitted it, I quickly sent the photo and added,

“Whose daughter is she? She’s really pretty. I thought I was seeing you when you were young?”

After a while, my wife spoke to me as if she had checked the photo.

[You picked it out.]

“Yeah. Isn’t it pretty?”

My wife checked the photo again and only after a long while answered ‘It’s pretty’…

Is it my imagination? For some reason, my wife’s voice seemed to be trembling slightly.

“Anyway, we’re going to go to the zoo now and then go home. I’m sorry for telling you so late. I’ll go there tomorrow…”

[Then, you can come this evening.]

As I tried subtly pushing it to tomorrow, my wife made the first move.

“Today?”

[You’re not staying out, so it’s fine to come today, right?]

“W-Well that’s true, but…”

To be honest, I’m tired.

No matter how much my body has become younger, after taking an exam in the morning and playing until the evening, you want me to go to Gangwon-do right away?

But I felt bad outright refusing because I was tired.

As I was hesitating to answer,

[I suddenly miss my husband… Should I go meet him?]

My wife cowardly threatened me.

“Yeon-hee, what are you…”

[Unnie.]

“…Please don’t say things like that. Unnie.”

Then my wife, no… Yeon-hee unnie laughed faintly and said,

[I’ll send a car at 9 o’clock today. Be waiting.]

“Huh? Yeo- U-Unnie!!”

Startled by the unilateral notification, I desperately called out to her, but the call had already been cut off.

“Sigh…”

I blankly stared at the call that had been carelessly disconnected and thought.

When she’s threatening me with her life, what can I do?

I have no choice but to do as she says.

***

“Two student tickets, please.”

The zoo tickets were quite cheap for the composition.

Perhaps because of that? Despite being a weekday, a huge number of people had gathered.

To the point where I thought I might lose my companion if I’m not careful.

No, did all the people in Seoul gather here?

Still, it wasn’t to the point where we couldn’t look around.

Fundamentally, it’s a zoo, but since there are also many monsters, the cages themselves are quite large and spacious.

There are also small steps for viewing, so the circulation of spectators is fast.

I unfolded the pamphlet I received at the entrance and spoke to Min So-yeon.

“So-yeon. Where should we go first?”

“I don’t know.”

“O-Okay…”

This is awkward…

Ever since I left to talk on the phone with my wife earlier, Min So-yeon’s tension plummeted.

Feeling guilty, I explained what happened.

I got an urgent call from my part-time job but postponed it because of an important appointment.

Strictly speaking, it’s not a lie.

I just didn’t reveal everything.

I want to honestly tell her everything, but…

I might lose Min So-yeon’s trust if I do it wrong.

It was difficult to get this far, and the risk of damaging the trust I barely built up is too great.

Even after explaining all that, Min So-yeon maintains her silence and curt responses, clearly showing her displeasure.

It probably means she noticed I’m hiding something or she’s dissatisfied with my actions.

It’s dangerous to act hastily in a situation where the cause is unclear.

But it’s also uncomfortable to leave it like this, so I need to find a way…

Huh?

Just then, a family passing in front of us caught my eye.

The sweet cotton candy in the child’s hand, and the ice cream in the parents’.

Right, let’s feed her something sweet first.

If I coax her gently, I might be able to find out the reason someday.

It was a thoughtless idea, but it’s better than doing nothing.

“So-yeon. I want to eat an ice cream. Should we go over there?”

“Whatever.”

Ugh…

Her indifferent answer almost discouraged me, as if she didn’t care, but I couldn’t back down now.

So I led Min So-yeon to the food court, and on the way,

The path where the lion den and tiger den face each other was so crowded that I thought I might really lose Min So-yeon.

This won’t do.

I immediately firmly grasped Min So-yeon’s hand beside me and spoke.

“Hold on tight.”

Then Min So-yeon looked at me intently with a startled expression, nodded her head, and tightly grasped my hand.

She and I advanced like that, holding hands and cutting through the crowd,

“Phew… I can breathe now.”

After pushing through for a while, we finally reached a point where we could walk comfortably.

“You can let go now, So-yeon. So-yeon?”

“Huh?”

“It’s okay to let go of my hand.”

Min So-yeon showed a somewhat regretful reaction and slowly let go of my hand.

Walking a bit more like that, we finally arrived at the snack booth.

I quickly scanned the menu, then casually brought it up to Min So-yeon.

“So-yeon, want some ice cream?”

“Not really.”

I had a menu in mind in case she said that.

“Then let’s buy one and share it.”

“What?”

Leaving the startled Min So-yeon behind, I approached the counter and ordered

“One large strawberry parfait please.”

Then Min So-yeon, who had followed, grabbed my sleeve and said,

“No, I said I’m not going to eat it?”

“I want to eat it.”

While bickering with Min So-yeon about why I ordered a large one if I was going to eat it alone, the parfait was completed before I knew it.

It came in a plastic cup about the size of a venti, with all sorts of ingredients piled up in layers, giving it a visual that couldn’t possibly taste bad.

“Wow, it’s big… Ah, two spoons, please…”

The moment I received the parfait, marveling at its majesty, Min So-yeon cut in and shouted,

“One is enough!”

In the end, we left the booth with just one large spoon.

Then we have to share with one…

She probably didn’t consider that.

There’s no choice but to share with one.

As we searched for a place to sit like that, we found an empty bench that happened to be available.

“Hold this for a sec?”

I handed the parfait to her, then quickly took out my cell phone…

“What are you doing.”

She glared at me and spoke.

“I just want to take one photo.”

Of course, it’s to show my wife.

But there’s another reason.

“We came all the way out to play. Wouldn’t it be a shame not to capture it in a photo?”

The ‘me’ when I was alive didn’t particularly like taking photos.

It’s not that I disliked it. I just didn’t feel the need to take them?

But it’s different now.

“Photos are the only things that remain. But if you really don’t want to take it, I won’t.”

No matter how much I want to take a photo, I can’t force it.

If So-yeon really doesn’t want to take it, I have no intention of making her.

“Sigh…”

Min So-yeon, who had been biting her lip and glaring at me, let out a deep sigh and told me,

“Then take it.”

I grinned at her and thanked her.

We took a photo with our faces close together and the parfait between us…

“Is the camera broken? My face looks weird.”

Min So-yeon’s face was unusually flushed in the photo.

Glancing at her face, it does look slightly reddened as if excited.

“I’ll edit it.”

I mumbled that I’d edit it, casually put my cell phone away, picked up the spoon, and spoke to her.

“Do you want chocolate or cookies?”

“I said I’m not going to eat.”

“Then chocolate.”

“I said I’m not eating?”

Naturally ignoring her words, I scooped up the chocolate and ice cream and pushed it towards her, and she glared at me and retorted.

“I don’t want it.”

She’s unusually stubborn today.

Ignoring her sharp gaze, I tapped her cute lips with the ice cream.

“Your lips touched it, so you have to eat it.”

It’s an absurd reason, but if I don’t do this, she absolutely won’t eat it.

Min So-yeon licked the ice cream on her lips, then unintentionally glanced at the parfait on the spoon.

She must have liked the taste.

With a content smile, I pushed the spoon towards her once more.

“Here, ahh~”

“So annoying.”

She eventually bit the spoon and slurped it up.

It had a chocolate topping and strawberry and vanilla ice cream, so there was no way it could taste bad.

“…”

She glared at me but diligently ate.

That sight was so cute that the corners of my mouth automatically curled up.

“It’s yummy, right? Should I have a taste too…”

The moment I scooped up the parfait to taste it, Min So-yeon’s eyes widened as she looked at me.

What’s with her?

She looked as if she wanted to say something, but she couldn’t speak because there was food in her mouth.

Glancing at her, I put the spoon in my mouth, and just then she finished swallowing the food and shouted at me.

“Y-You crazy bastard! What are you doing putting that in your mouth!!”

No, there’s only one. What can I do?

“I can’t eat it with my hands. That’s why I told them to give me two…”

Min So-yeon seemed to realize her mistake then and made a flustered expression.

“What’s the big deal. Here.”

I scooped the parfait and passed it to her indifferently, and her eyes trembled.

“Y-You’re going to just feed me…?”

“Yeah.”

Even though we’ve become strangers, we’re practically family, so isn’t this much okay?

Min So-yeon must have thought the same, as she gulped and cautiously opened her mouth.

Then she bit the spoon and slurped it up, slightly covering her mouth, and said,

“I-It does taste good.”

Fortunately, she seems to be in a slightly better mood.

After sharing the parfait like that while gently coaxing Min So-yeon, we could finally look around the zoo properly.

Rather than regular animals, more spectators were gathered around the monsters…

“Let’s go over there.”

Among them, there was one monster that caught Min So-yeon’s interest.

[Unicorn]

A new monster that arrived not long ago.

It was a unicorn.

“Unicorn?”

“I saw earlier that you can feed it too.”

“Really? Should we try it…?”

When I asked offhandedly, she nodded, expressing her desire to try it.

Is this okay?

I was amazed to see a unicorn, but I had no intention of participating in the feeding event.

It’s because I’ve already seen a unicorn inside a gate before.

It was when my wife and I were going around a gate alone, and as soon as that thing saw us, it vomited blood and ran away in a hurry.

I was happy that I got unicorn blood…

Will it be okay now that it’s Yoo Ji-hwan’s body?

The moment I hesitated,

Min So-yeon glanced at me and said,

“You don’t want to?”

“Ah, no? I totally love it? Let’s go quickly. We’re going to feed it too, right?”

“Isn’t that obvious?”

In the end, I had no choice but to head towards the unicorn.

And…

“Here are two unicorn feeds. No refunds even if the unicorn rejects it.”

Unicorn feed is 50,000 won each? (39 USD)

And it’s just one fresh carrot.

No matter how rare the monster is, isn’t this too much of a rip-off?

“Oppa, should we buy one and try it too?”

“Huh? Nah, that’s all a sales tactic.”

“Why? Are you not confident? I am though?”

The ironic thing is, there’s a whole truck of couples coming for this absurd sales tactic.

A chastity test that costs 50,000 won at a time…

The world has definitely gone crazy.

“Did you buy it?”

“Y-Yeah…”

Of course, our So-yeon can do it.

After Min So-yeon and I got a carrot, we approached the unicorn enclosure.

“I will check your carrot of faith. Okay, you may go in.”

Using the carrot as a ticket, we passed the unicorn enclosure.

“There are so many.”

We could see numerous people lined up in front of the unicorn.

Some children were accompanied by parents, but most were young couples.

“So-yeon. Look, there’s the unicorn.”

“It really has a horn…”

Seeing her eyes widen in amazement like a young child, I thought the 100,000 won wasn’t wasted.

[Yes, you can feed it now.]

Just then, with the words of the guide standing in front of the unicorn, a couple began to offer a carrot.

Neigh~

“You go first.”

At the woman’s words, the man carefully began to offer the carrot.

The unicorn stretched out its snout, sniffed the carrot, then immediately snatched it and began to chew it.

It means he passed the test of chastity.

“Ooh…”

“So pure.”

The other couples waiting with us also smiled contentedly at the man who went first.

But then…

Clack! Clack!

The unicorn clacked its teeth in rejection as soon as the woman held out the carrot!

“Y-You…!”

“N-No! Believe me! I haven’t done it recently… Ack!”

“Hey you…!”

At that moment, people let out sighs.

“Poor thing…”

“Is that what they call NTR?”

[Yep, please do the rest outside! Next customer!]

Following the guide’s words, the couple left, and it moved on to the next couple.

Among them were a couple who were both rejected, confirming mutual fault, and a couple who both passed, showing true love and receiving applause.

Needless to say, for the young children who came out of curiosity.

The turns went by quickly, and soon, it was our turn.

“Okay, you can feed it now!”

At the guide’s words, Min So-yeon suddenly jumped out and offered the carrot to the unicorn.

Neigh~!

The unicorn neighed as if bursting into laughter and ate the carrot with satisfaction.

It was an obvious result, so I didn’t feel much.

But if So-yeon had been rejected here… my heart might have been shattered.

Min So-yeon looked at the unicorn chewing the carrot and glanced at me confidently.

Huh?

Not understanding her feelings, I just smiled back at her.

After Min So-yeon’s ‘test’ ended like that,

“Yep, next male customer.”

Finally, my turn came.

I gulped and approached the unicorn.

White horse appearance, straight horn

Examining the pure white eyes rolling around seeking chastity.

I wasn’t confident.

Having been set up many times in my past life to make a younger sibling for So-yeon, unicorns were practically my natural enemy.

With even the experience of collecting a unicorn’s blood, would it really be okay?

Please…

I carefully offered the carrot, and the unicorn began acting strange.

Neigh…?

Isn’t it tilting its head and bringing its nose to my carrot, then taking it away repeatedly?

This guy is suspicious of me now.

Judging from how it’s not eating right away, my wife’s ‘love’ stained on my soul hasn’t been erased.

But conversely, it means ‘Yoo Ji-hwan’s body is clean.

“Good boy…”

I pushed the carrot toward the unicorn like I would coax a puppy, and the unicorn hesitated for a long time before bringing its snout.

T-That’s right!

The unicorn that hesitated until the end, like a child eating something it really doesn’t want to, stuck out its teeth and took a small bite off the end of the carrot.

At that moment,

The people waiting behind us clapped and congratulated us.

As I tossed the remaining carrot inside, I pulled out my hand. Min So-yeon, standing next to me, looked at me with a satisfied expression.

Huh?

The applause around us, Min So-yeon’s reaction.

I felt a strange sense of discomfort, but before I could figure out the reason, the guide’s call to clear out came.

“Yep, next customer!!”

What was that?

With that ambiguous feeling, while leaving the enclosure with Min So-yeon,

Neigh!!! Neigh…!!! Nei……

Thump-

The sound of something collapsing inside the unicorn enclosure was heard.

Oh well, probably nothing.

“What was that sound?”

“Ah, it’s probably nothing. Let’s go eat dinner quickly.”

I lightly put my arm around Min So-yeon’s shoulder as she tried to look back, and hurriedly left the enclosure.