I’Ll Protect My Tyrant Dad! [EN]: Chapter 125

125. Side Story 1. Happy Daily Life in the Countryside (1)

February 9, 2024

My name is Sien.

I am a reincarnated person, and I am already three years old.

Our house is a small mud-walled house located on the outskirts of our rural village.

But lately, my dad has been acting a little strange!

‘Actually, Dad has always been very, very strange!’

But it is an undeniable fact that he has become even stranger lately.

Please listen carefully to what I have to say.

***

That day was like any other.

The small house in the countryside had a blurred boundary between the living room and the bedroom.

Dad put up a small curtain in one corner of the living room, designating it as my room.

Inside the curtain was a bed that Dad had made.

I jumped onto the bed, lay down, and called for Dad.

“Dadda.”

Dad, who came close in an instant, asked with sparkling eyes.

“Yes? Why did you call, Sien?”

“I wuv da bed Dadda made. Heehee!”

Whenever I said this, Dad would wear a face as if he had everything in the world.

Today was no different from the past.

“Dad is happiest just because our daughter likes it.”

I looked at Dad and nodded seriously.

“Ung!”

Dad pinched my cheek lightly.

It hurt when my chubby cheeks were pinched, but I endured it.

Of course.

Because I am Dad’s daughter.

As I squinted my eyes, enduring the pain, Dad lowered his hand and said kindly.

“Now, Sien, should you go to sleep?”

“Hyu. Sien gotta do lotsa things.”

“Huh? Like what?”

“Gotta see da flowahs. Gotta give a boobo [kiss] to da neighbor lady, too.”

Dad stiffened at the mention of giving a kiss to the neighbor lady.

“Ah… Is that so? Did the neighbor lady ask for a kiss?”

“Ung! She said I gotta do it without Dadda knowing. Heehee.”

“…I see, Sien. The neighbor lady said that.”

Dad’s atmosphere changed.

I struggled to read Dad’s expression.

The muscles in Dad’s tightly closed jaw were twitching.

‘Is he sulking because I only kiss the neighbor lady and not him?’

But the neighbor lady was truly a god of cooking.

Just one kiss, and she would give me ham and sausage, so it was very cost-effective.

‘Our dad is quite good at cooking, but Aunt Ann next door is a master.’

Once you taste Auntie’s cooking, you can’t help but give her a kiss.

Dad would know if he had a meal with Aunt Ann…….

But Dad seemed so disappointed, so I carefully said to Dad.

“Don’t wowwy! I’ll give Dadda a boobo fiwst!”

Dad smiled brightly in an instant.

His change of attitude was so quick that his sullen expression turned into a bright smile in just 0.01 seconds.

‘As expected, Dad is weak at heart!’

It seemed like a strange conclusion, but I, like a baby with a lot of prejudice and preconceptions about Dad—Dad is weak—looked at Dad and smiled shyly.

“Dadda! Boobo!”

“Okay, a kiss.”

As I kissed Dad’s prickly cheek, he smiled brightly as if he couldn’t stand it.

Seeing that, it seemed like my dad loved me the most in the world.

Before I knew it, Dad was patting my shoulder repeatedly.

‘I gave Dad a kiss, and now all that’s left is to sleep.’

I had to go to sleep quickly, thinking about what I had to do tomorrow.

Feeling the warm blanket gently wrapping around my whole body, I was about to fall asleep.

But that was the moment.

Dad, who was standing tall as if he was going to stay near the small baby bed until I fell asleep, whispered softly.

“Sien.”

“……Ung?”

I tilted my head in confusion, looking at Dad’s eyes peeking at me.

“Is dere any pwoblem, Dadda?”

‘I tried to speak as solemnly as possible, but this short tongue!’

I stamped my feet and screamed inwardly.

But no matter what I said, Dad seemed to find it cute.

He pinched my cheek and coaxed me kindly.

“Our most precious daughter in the world, Sien.”

“Dat’s wight.”

“Right, that’s right.”

“Den why?”

Dad hugged me tightly and whispered even sweeter.

“You know Dad loves our Sien, right?”

“Ung! I know you wuv me so mush!”

“I called you to say I love you.”

“Dadda! Sien wuvs you too! And I’ll wuv you no matter what happens in da fuwure!”

At those words, Dad gently stroked my hair and smiled.

“Thank you, but Sien.”

“Ung?”

“We won’t have any problems in the future. Because Dad will make it that way.”

“Uung……?”

“If there’s anyone blocking our daughter’s path, Dad will punish them.”

It felt like he was hypnotizing himself.

I tilted my head.

‘Something about the atmosphere doesn’t seem like the usual Dad……?’

But there was no time to worry more.

As a three-year-old, I was much sleepier compared to adults.

As Dad’s cozy hands gently stroked my cheeks and the warm blanket wrapped around my body, I began to doze off.

Holding Dad’s hand tightly, I whispered softly.

“Heehee. Dat’s wight! No pwoblem!”

“Then, Sien. Shall I sing you a lullaby now?”

Dad kissed my forehead briefly.

“Ung!”

As I answered vigorously and nodded, Dad soon sang a small lullaby.

“Birds sit on flower branches, and moonlight warmly embraces the baby. A gentle breeze blows over the trees. Tomorrow is picnic day. We are a happy family. Dad and daughter.”

It was a song that Dad had rewritten the lyrics to his liking, adding to the melody of a minstrel from long ago.

‘He said it was a song containing Dad’s wishes? It doesn’t seem like our peace will ever be broken.’

Anyway, sometimes when I thought about it, Dad seemed a little strangely anxious.

To be precise, he seemed to have a considerable amount of anxiety and obsession that the peace we had would be broken.

‘Why does Dad sometimes seem anxious……?’

But I couldn’t worry any longer.

In Dad’s unique, affectionate, and languid voice, I closed my eyes tightly and smiled softly.

I thought, ‘My dad is the best after all,’ and fell asleep.

***

The next morning came.

Having forgotten all the strangeness from yesterday, I woke up refreshed.

‘Today, the same day will unfold, right?’

In the countryside, every day was boring.

That was only natural.

Because this place is a very peaceful place.

But if you are with our dad, you can have a chaotic daily life.

Because our dad is…….

“Si, Sien! What should I do? Why can’t Dad pull out the sword?”

……Sometimes a little unreliable.

I walked languidly and chicly towards Dad.

“Dadda is a booboo [fool].”

“Huh? Sien! Dad is not a fool!”

“Tch.”

As my steps got closer to Dad, Dad widened his eyes and said.

“Sien, it’s dangerous to get close to the sword! Go away quickly.”

The person who says he is not a fool is usually the biggest fool.

‘He can’t even use a sword properly.’

I narrowed my eyes and looked at Dad, then shook my head.

“Dadda.”

“Huh?”

“You know. Hold da sword handle tight. And…….”

“Huh? And?”

“Pull it out wike ‘pop’.”

“Like ‘pop’?”

Dad made a foolish noise and pulled out the sword.

I sighed as I looked at Dad.

‘How can our dad live alone like that?’

But not being able to pull out a sword was just a normal occurrence.

The incident that made me feel really unreliable about Dad happened next.

***

That afternoon, I left Dad at home and went to dig up baby potatoes alone.

Of course, our dad said, ‘Sien, why is a two-year-old going to dig up potatoes?’

I said to Dad.

‘Ung, because Sien is a genius.’

After saying that, Dad seemed to be somewhat convinced.

Because our dad firmly believes that I am a real genius.

‘There’s a reason why I can be so sure.’

As I confidently placed a small bundle near my chest and slipped out through the open doorway, I heard an emotional voice from behind.

“Our daughter is…… a genius……!”

Taking advantage of the gap where Dad was nodding with an emotional expression, I quickly ran away.

‘I have to go steal baby potatoes!’

Stealing.

I thought it was a culture that only existed in the countryside of Korea in my previous life.

But as expected, this world also seemed to have something called stealing, just like any place where people live.

That’s what the women were talking about.

I smiled sinisterly and looked down at my very small hands.

‘Today, I will get dirt on these hands!’

I walked diligently, waddling with a grim smile.

Standing near the neighbor lady’s garden, I carefully looked around and put my hand on the soil, but someone lifted me up like pulling out a radish.

‘Damn it, stealing failed!’

I smiled awkwardly and waved my hand covered in dirt.

“Hi?”

“Oh my, Sien is here? I knew Dad would come!”

“Ung? You waited fow me?”

“Of course! Of course! Our Sien is the pride of our village.”

The lady looked at me with an expression full of anticipation.

‘She definitely needs something.’

I thought hard while looking at the ladies in the countryside, then grabbed the bib under my chin tightly.

“Wink.”

“Oh my, I’m going to die.”

“Don’t die!”

“No. I saw William, your husband, die.”

I sighed deeply while looking at the lady.

‘Anyway, this lady’s fussiness is on another level.’

But there was something I could get when she was completely captivated right now.

I raised the corners of my mouth and said.

“Potatoes!”

“Ah, okay! I’ll give you potatoes.”

The lady, holding me in her arms, dug up potatoes and chattered diligently.

“Come to think of it, Sien. Aren’t you glad our baby is so smart?”

“Ung? Why?”

“Actually, Sien’s dad is too innocent. Last time, he tried to exchange potatoes for jewels…….”

I opened my mouth wide.

“Je, jewels?”

‘It must be a fake, right?’

As I couldn’t bring myself to speak, the lady laughed and said.

“Oh, our Sien is surprised!”

“Wha, what! Tell me now!”

As I grabbed her sleeve and urged her, the lady laughed a little more and said.

“It was worth almost a territory, you know? It looked like he got stolen goods from somewhere…….”

My mind became confused in an instant.

‘I knew our dad was a fool, but……!’

I gritted my small baby teeth and urged the lady.

“Re, weally? Tell me mowe!”

“Yeah. So I asked him if it was stolen goods, and he was surprised. Then he hid the jewel with his sleeve, but it really had some blood or dirt on it. Ah, I thought he picked it up somewhere. Still, it’s a little sad because he doesn’t seem to know the value of the jewel very well.”

“Heol…….”

Even a fool knows the value of jewels.

‘What’s wrong with Dad’s economic sense?’

My mind was completely confused, and I pointed to my temple.

“Oh my, Sien. Why are you suddenly like that?”

“Nothin’…….”

“Here, I’ll give you potatoes. Come here.”

The lady gave me potatoes in my hand.

After giving the lady a lot of fan service, I returned home.

‘I have to scold Dad a lot! Starting with where he got that jewel……!’

But when I arrived home, I witnessed an even more shocking sight than usual.