Chapter 60
There's no child in this world who dislikes playgrounds. Children instinctively love playgrounds and smile brightly just by running around outside. It's as if they always have an adrenaline shot in their brains.
But maybe because of the shocking incident she experienced, Suryeon was different.
"Suryeon, want to go for a walk with Dad?"
"No. I'm not going out."
Whoosh—
Suryeon turned her head, refusing to go out. I invited her every day we went out, but Suryeon always refused, wrapping herself in a blanket.
"It's dangerous outside. Home is the best. It's dangerous outside the blanket."
With her bottom firmly on the floor, she showed an unwavering determination not to go out no matter what.
'This is troublesome.'
Although I knew the outcome would be the same, I got up and gestured to Hwaryeon and Choryeon to head to the front door.
"Then we'll go by ourselves, Suryeon. Rest well at home. Okay?"
As soon as I finished speaking, Suryeon threw off her blanket and rushed over.
"No. Dad, don't go."
Grip—
Suryeon grabbed my arm, preventing me from leaving.
"Stay with me. Let's stay home."
"You can be alone at home for a little while..."
"I understand when you go to work. But when you're home, stay home. Don't go out again."
Let's stay home together.
Suryeon said this, preventing us from going out. I looked at Hwaryeon and Choryeon waiting beside me, feeling troubled.
Hwaryeon and Choryeon, who had been looking forward to going out, glared at Suryeon and gritted their teeth.
"Lee Suryeon! We can't go out because of you! How many times has this happened now?!"
"Suryeon...! Don't cross the line...! This is too much...!"
Grrrr!!
Unable to hold back anymore, Hwaryeon and Choryeon snapped. Suryeon looked at them as if she couldn't understand.
"Why do you want to go outside? The outside is full of trash. A world full of trash is ultimately trash. But home is a happy world without trash, right?"
"W-What are you saying! What are you trying to say?!"
"The conclusion is that home is the best."
Suryeon said this and then turned her head, muttering.
"Hehehe... The world is full of trash... Home is the best..."
Maybe I shouldn't have let her use the internet so much. It seems her chuunibyou symptoms are quite severe. I sighed and patted Hwaryeon and Choryeon's heads.
"Looks like we can't go out today either. I'm sorry, kids. Let's all take off our shoes."
"That's not fair, Dad! We can just leave her and go by ourselves!"
She's right. We could just leave Suryeon and go out by ourselves, but my parental instinct told me that wasn't the right thing to do.
"Hwaryeon."
"What!"
"I know what you're saying, but can you take a good look at Suryeon?"
"Hmm? Okay!"
Staaaare—
Hwaryeon stared intently at Suryeon with me.
"Hehehe... Humans are trash... The outside is full of trash... The world is trash..."
Suryeon, afflicted with chuunibyou, was muttering to herself.
"Does that look normal to you, Hwaryeon?"
"No, she seems to have completely lost her mind."
"What do you think will happen if we leave her alone?"
"It'll be a disaster! The house will fall apart!"
"You understand well."
"Mm-hmm!"
Hwaryeon nodded, agreeing with my words. It seemed that Suryeon's condition looked dangerous even to Hwaryeon.
'Choryeon is nodding too. Even as the youngest, Choryeon, seems to think it's strange.'
Choryeon was also nodding as she looked at Suryeon, who had fallen into chuunibyou.
It seems Suryeon's condition is worrying—
"You're right, Suryeon! Humans who cut down trees are trash! We need to clean them up! For the normalization of Earth!"
"Why are you agreeing, Choryeon? That's just encouraging her. Don't listen."
I covered Choryeon's ears as she started to agree with Suryeon's ideas. Then, looking at Suryeon who was still chuckling to herself, I thought.
'It seems too late for the chuunibyou, but how do I treat this fear of going outside?'
Hmm. What should I do?
Sometimes it might be good to ask people around for advice. Even if I don't have friends, there are many adults around me.
***
I decided to ask people around me for solutions to the problem of 'My daughter refuses to go outside.'
First, I went to see Grandma, who lives closest to us.
"Grandma, you remember Suryeon from before, right?"
"That quiet little one. Even though I forget a lot these days, of course I remember her."
"She's refusing to go outside. Do you have any ideas on what to do?"
Grandma answered my question simply, as if wondering why I was even worried about it.
"Just hit her until she goes outside. Kids learn when you hit them."
"She's not a broken electronic device. What are you saying?"
"Tsk, that's how it was in my day. We all grew up getting hit, we all got fixed by getting hit."
What an absurd solution.
'Let's skip the physical therapy for now.'
It seemed Grandma had no intention of giving me proper advice from the start. She seemed bothered and wanted me to figure it out myself.
"Okay, Grandma... Next, although I'm reluctant... Since he runs a kindergarten, he might know better?"
It's nearby, so maybe I'll give it a try.
I went to Gu Bong-gu's Happy Kindergarten. Sitting in a chair that didn't fit in the colorful room, I asked.
"Gu Bong-gu."
"Yeah?"
"What do you think?"
Gu Bong-gu thought for a moment, then spoke as if there was no other choice.
"Just keep knocking on the door, asking her to come outside. If you're persistent, she'll eventually open it. She's scared of the outside because she's not used to it."
Knock on the door of Suryeon's heart like a loan shark knocking for repayment. Gu Bong-gu's loan shark treatment method didn't seem bad, though I'm not sure if it would work on the stubborn Suryeon.
"Anyway, thanks, Gu Bong-gu. I'll give it a try. I sent some money too."
"Yeah, pay it back soon. Call me if you need help."
Maybe it’s because I'm paying back the money, but Gu Bong-gu seems to have become friendlier.
It might also be because we share the experience of raising children.
"I've heard solutions from two people, but I'm still not sure."
There's no feeling of 'This is it!' What other methods could there be?
I lit a cigarette I got from Gu Bong-gu and smoked in front of the house.
"Sigh... Isn't there a good solution…?"
Unable to think of a solution, I couldn't bring myself to go home. Even after finishing the cigarette, I lingered in front of the house for a while.
Then, I opened my smartphone and checked my contacts.
"Maybe I'll call and ask after a long time. I hope they're doing well."
Employment Agency Manager Jo Hyun-gyu. I called the manager. After about 10 seconds of ringing, Jo Hyun-gyu's voice came through the smartphone.
-What's this, Ha-jun? You're calling at this hour? What's going on?
"Just wondering how you're doing, and I have something to ask."
I exchanged greetings with Jo Hyun-gyu and told him about the recent incident.
As a fellow father raising a daughter, Jo Hyun-gyu listened to my story without interruption and then replied.
-That fear of going outside must be worrying. In my opinion, it's best to treat it quickly. When my daughter was very young, she developed a fear of dogs after being bitten. That kind of thing becomes impossible to fix as they get older.
"She refuses to go out at all. Is there any way to help?"
-You said she went out because of her strong curiosity and had an accident, right?
"Yes."
-Then, try taking her to a place that stimulates her curiosity enough to overcome the accident. That should work. You need to show her that there are good places outside too.
As expected, the experience of a senior parent is different. I thanked the agency manager and hung up. Then, I walked confidently towards home.
"I've thought of a good solution."
Grin—
Because I felt certain I could solve this.
***
Suryeon sat next to me, looking up at the TV. To apply the advice, I held my smartphone screen up to Suryeon's face. Suryeon looked at me with disgust.
"What are you doing, Dad?"
"How does this look, Suryeon? Isn't it pretty?"
"Hmm..."
A photo of an amusement park in Zone 2. Suryeon looked closely at the smartphone screen.
"What do you think? It's an amusement park, don't you want to go, Suryeon? Doesn't it make you curious?"
"Hmm..."
Suryeon thought for a moment. Then, she turned her head away and answered.
"No. I don't like it."
"Because there are too many people?"
"Yeah."
As expected, she's picky.
'It's okay. There are still many options.'
I touched the smartphone screen and showed the next picture.
"A big supermarket!"
"Been there, nothing special."
"Swimming pool!"
"Not bad, but too many humans."
"Museum!"
"It's okay... but I don't want to go right now."
It seemed difficult to satisfy Suryeon's picky taste. Still, she started showing interest each time I showed her new places.
Maybe stimulating a dragon's curiosity was the right approach after all.
I showed her a place that might be difficult to visit, but one I thought Suryeon would like the most.
"How about this, Suryeon!"
"O-Oh...!"
A surface shimmering in the sunlight. Water stretching out endlessly. The sea with its unfathomable depth.
When Suryeon saw the sea picture, her blue eyes began to sparkle.
"No people... There's water... It looks cool..."
"How about it, isn't the sea nice? Even if you don't want to go out, don't you want to visit here?"
"U-Umm..."
Suryeon looked at the picture and thought deeply. Was she considering going outside? She occasionally frowned, probably due to fear.
However, Suryeon's curiosity seemed stronger, as she eagerly tugged at my arm and said.
"I want to go to the sea. I like it."
What a relief. Suryeon liked the sea and didn't refuse to go out this time.
I smiled naturally, feeling relieved.
Then, hearing about the sea, Hwaryeon and Choryeon tiptoed over to me and said.
"Me! Why didn't you ask me?! I want to go too!"
"I want to go to the sea too. I wish you had asked me... I'm a little disappointed, Father."
It's probably better to take everyone if we're going.
"Alright, let's all go together."
"Yay!"
"...I wanted to go alone."
"Okay, Father!"
Woooo-!
The children raised their voices in joy. Seeing this, I was happy but also worried inside.
'...Will we be able to go?'
I had a feeling that something might happen already. It was a father's intuition.