Before long, Joo-ha turned 7 and was just a year away from entering elementary school. Slowly, a rebellious streak started to show up.
Well, I guess “rebellious phase” isn’t quite the right term. She’s still my lovely firstborn in front of me.
But there’s one change, though.
“I don’t want to! I’m going with Dad!”
“Come on, Joo-ha! I told you Dad is busy today, so you can’t throw a tantrum!”
“I like Dad…!”
Lately, there are quite a few instances where she doesn’t listen to my wife at all. It’s not that she dislikes her, of course, but it feels like her attachment to me has grown even stronger.
It seems Joo-ha typically rides the kindergarten bus for her daily commute, but sometimes, if one of us wakes up a bit early or has extra time, we pick her up right when kindergarten ends.
Today happened to be one of those days, and my wife decided to take Joo-ha to kindergarten herself. But today, Joo-ha was throwing a massive fit, insisting she was coming with me.
Thanks to her crying, I woke up disheveled and groggy, finally understanding the situation as I made my way to the living room.
“Oh dear, our daughter. Why are you so upset?”
“Dad…! I want to go to kindergarten with you today, but Mom…!”
Feigning ignorance, I spoke to Joo-ha, and she immediately dashed from my wife’s arms to me, chattering away as if to inform on her mother.
Seeing this, my wife looked ready to say something more, but I gestured for her to hold on just a bit while I patted my pouting daughter’s head.
“Well, is that so? How about our Joo-ha goes to kindergarten with Dad today?”
“Really!?”
“Of course, really. Have you ever seen Dad lie?”
“Uh-huh, never!”
Seeing my daughter respond with such certainty made me feel quite proud as a dad, realizing I had earned her trust. But this wasn’t the moment to revel in joy, so I gently reprimanded Joo-ha.
“But Joo-ha, don’t you want to go with Mom?”
“Uh, no…! I like going with Mom too!”
My cute daughter obviously wouldn’t dislike her mom, the one who takes the best care of her in the world, so her answer came back without a second’s hesitation.
Worried my wife might misunderstand, I hastily shook my head; it was too cute not to share a silent, “She says so,” with her.
Only then did my wife seem to relax a bit and start approaching us with a soft smile on her face.
“Then why did you say that earlier? Of course, Joo-ha might want to go with Dad, but Mom could get hurt.”
“Ugh, that’s….”
After calming her down and making her aware of her previous behavior, Joo-ha glanced at her approaching mom with a guilty expression.
Anyway, children at this age wear their emotions on their sleeves, making it entertaining to watch.
“And you know, Dad was supposed to leave early today, which is why Mom said she would take you.”
“Uh, I know.”
“But Mom decided to take you instead because she didn’t want you to feel sad, and you threw a fit?”
“Ugh….”
“Now, do you know what you should do for Mom?”
“Yeah….”
Her voice got quieter, but I knew she was genuinely realizing her mistake, feeling too embarrassed to look up.
So, I gently turned her around to face her mom, and she drooped her head as if she could shrink into a mouse hole.
Ever since Joo-ha’s gotten a bit taller, this has become a common occurrence.
Whenever something doesn’t go her way and she throws a fit, if she’s given some time to calm down and realize her fault, she gets genuinely sorry and can’t bring herself to look up.
Much better than other kids who simply throw tantrums, it’s almost adult-like. Still, it feels different from the Joo-ha who used to be just sweet, which is why my wife and I joke that she’s going through a rebellious phase.
“I’ll step out for a bit. You’ll apologize to Mom by then, okay? Otherwise, I won’t pick you up today.”
“Okay.”
I figured it would be embarrassing for her to admit she’d made a mistake, especially in front of me, so I intentionally decided to give her some space.
Wink.
As I winked at my wife while heading to the bathroom, she smiled back at me gratefully before focusing back on Joo-ha.
“Dad! Gyuri is brushing her teeth too!”
“Yeah, is Gyuri going to brush her teeth too?”
“Uh-huh! I want to brush my teeth with strawberry flavor!”
“Dad! I want cola flavor!”
“Got it. Gyuri gets strawberry, and Yoo-chan gets cola.”
Somehow, it ended up that I was in charge of supervising the twins’ teeth-brushing, squeezing strawberry-flavored toothpaste and cola-flavored toothpaste onto their tiny brushes.
It was a bit noisy, but it was just another peaceful morning scene in our home.
*
Joo-ha’s kindergarten isn’t that far from our house.
I’m not bragging, but the area is considered a rich neighborhood, so maybe it was built conveniently near where parents could frequently drop by. That’s the thought that crossed my mind.
Initially, I thought about sending her to an English kindergarten further away, but I wanted her to just have the freedom to play during her early years, so I chose this place.
Thanks to that, Joo-ha has made a lot of friends and seems to be doing well.
“Today is~ the day~ going to kindergarten with Dad~♬.”
“What song is that?”
During our ride to kindergarten, I heard Joo-ha singing a song I’d never heard before, and thought maybe it was a real children’s song. But she gave me an innocent answer.
“Eep, Joo-ha made it up!”
“Really? Our princess, you might become a singer or an idol in the future.”
Even though she doesn’t quite understand it yet, just from the rhythm and pitch when she sings, it seems she has some talent for it.
Plus, considering how bubbly and lively she is, it wouldn’t be surprising when she later says, “Dad, I want to be an idol!”
With her looks, there’s no denying she takes after her mom.
“Right! Dad, did we learn to dance with the teachers at kindergarten?”
“Oh, you learned to dance? What kind of dance?”
“We learned the dance of the Ice sisters!”
“Really? That’s gotta be super hard.”
If we’re talking about Ice, aren’t they the girl group famous for their sharp choreography? I used to listen to idol songs back in the day, but I kind of lost interest as I got older, so I’m not up to date.
But I do recall seeing some fans send idol dance practices as donations during live streams a while back.
I guess it sounds pretty tough; it’s amazing that she learned that?
“Hehehe, I’ll show it to you when I learn it all!”
“Ohhh… Can I look forward to it?”
“Yeah!”
Wow, our eldest daughter’s confidence is through the roof.
Typically, other kids would boast about their skills and then hesitate when it’s time to perform, but our princess doesn’t do that.
With this level of self-assurance, an idol career might really be on the table.
“If you become an idol later, you have to give Dad your autograph first!”
“Okay! But it’s a secret from Mom, okay?”
“Deal.”
Seeing Joo-ha respond cheerfully while doing a ‘shh’ gesture fills me with warmth.
By the way, is she really considering becoming an idol? If so, that’s huge news.
Squeak.
“Alright, we’ve arrived, our princess. Let’s get out.”
“Thank you!”
It seems like ever since she started kindergarten, Joo-ha has developed the habit of greeting the driver every time they get out.
Oh, my sweet daughter. Such good manners.
“Oh, Mr. Joo-ha’s dad, hello.”
“Yes, teacher. Sorry, I’m a bit late.”
“No problem. We haven’t even done the headcount yet.”
As we stepped out of the car, Joo-ha’s homeroom teacher approached us, having been looking around near the entrance. Luckily, we didn’t arrive too late.
“Hello, Teacher!”
“Yep, hello, our Joo-ha.”
Joo-ha dashed over to her teacher and gave her a big bow.
Even if we don’t do it at home, my wife has taught her to use honorifics when speaking to adults, and seeing her follow that makes me feel so proud.
In fact, when the teachers once told me, “Joo-ha is very calm and polite compared to her peers,” I found it a bit surprising. At home, she’s super lively!
Later on, I heard she’s also active outside but knows how to maintain boundaries nicely, earning her lots of affection. Apparently, her friends always flock to her because they want to play.
Maybe she inherited her mom’s charm.
“Well then, Joo-ha, I’ll be working, so I’ll see you later.”
“Okay! Don’t overdo it!”
Pfft, haha. It’s hard to believe my seven-year-old daughter speaks like that.
I couldn’t help but laugh at how mature her language choices are. The teacher standing next to me stifled a laugh as well.
“Wait! Dad! Dad!”
“Huh? What’s up? Did you forget something in the car?”
“No…! It’s not that! Just do this!”
“What like this?”
As I twisted around, Joo-ha urgently grabbed me, then placed her hands on her knees and bent down as if asking me to lower my height.
Curious, I bent down, and suddenly, I felt her moist cheek press against mine.
Smooch.
“That’s what Mom does for Dad every day! Today, Joo-ha will do it!”
“Oh my.”
Just like that, our household’s daily life was vividly displayed, making the teacher appear slightly flustered.
But honestly, there’s nothing wrong with having a good relationship between a couple, so I just smiled and patted Joo-ha’s head.
“Thanks to you, I’ll be able to work hard today, right, Joo-ha?”
“Really!?”
“Yep, really.”
Receiving support and a kiss from my adorable daughter, I waved goodbye and hopped into the car, feeling a rush of pride.
“Bye, Dad!”
I smiled back at Joo-ha waving goodbye through the window and stepped on the gas, heading straight to work.
Is this the feeling of enjoying raising children?
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