Jo Sung-hyun gently stroked Chae Yoon's head.
Perhaps it was because he had just cut her hair, it felt soft.
It's truly unrelated, but he remembered hearing that taking care of one's hair is also important.
With a smirk, Jo Sung-hyun spoke.
"Chae Yoon."
"Yes?"
"Daddy loves Chae Yoon a lot."
After saying that, Chae Yoon kicked her feet and giggled, then asked in a small voice.
"Do you like Chae Yoon more than singing?"
"Hmm?"
In response to Chae Yoon's question, Jo Sung-hyun blinked and looked at the child.
She had asked earlier if he liked the piano or The Little Mermaid more.
Chae Yoon had just said that she liked him more than the piano or The Little Mermaid.
Now, she was asking the opposite.
If he liked her more than singing.
"Of course, I like Chae Yoon more than singing. Daddy doesn't really like singing."
"Hehe? Daddy is a liar!"
As if Chae Yoon was saying it was unbelievable, she said to Jo Sung-hyun with a sly smile.
Chae Yoon, who had been sticking to Jo Sung-hyun's chest, now sat on his lap, looking at him at a similar eye level.
"Daddy is not a liar. Daddy doesn't lie to Chae Yoon."
"But... Daddy smiles a lot when singing, right?"
Chae Yoon said.
Jo Sung-hyun silently looked into Chae Yoon's eyes.
The clear eyes of the child reflected him.
"Was daddy smiling while singing?"
"Yes!"
Chae Yoon nodded her head vigorously.
Jo Sung-hyun let out a bitter, hollow laugh.
Perhaps.
He thought.
He might be crazy.
In his past life, experiencing the horrifying moment of breaking down and drifting away from Chae Yoon again...
'I want to do music.'
Unless that's crazy.
Jo Sung-hyun looked at the child with such thoughts.
The night grew deeper.
* * *
Chae Yoon was asleep.
Jo Sung-hyun stayed awake until dawn.
Did he sleep for a couple of hours?
When he opened his eyes, it was the dim dawn, and Jo Sung-hyun couldn't fall back asleep.
The sound of the child's voice continued to echo in his ears.
The words that he smiled while singing.
It could be easily dismissed.
It was a sports day, and it was natural to smile on such a day.
However, Jo Sung-hyun knew.
He knew that he really enjoyed singing.
He had been doing that all along.
"Because Chae Yoon wanted it. Because she wants it...."
That's how he lied to himself in his mind.
He already knew in his heart.
That he was doing it because he wanted to.
That's why.
He had thought that Chae Yoon would naturally change the song last night.
Because he thought she would, by his standards.
If it were Jo Sung-hyun, he would have torn it apart and changed it from start to finish.
To make it richer, to express all the seasons he had experienced so far.
That's why, Jo Sung-hyun was surprised when Chae Yoon didn't change it.
She didn't do what was so obvious to him.
'I’m such a trash.'
He laughed incredulously.
How could this be?
He had vowed not to live like that this time.
He had decided to live for the child.
To think of his musical standards in front of the child.
Was that the right thing to do?
"Sigh...."
Jo Sung-hyun sighed.
His head was complicated.
He ended up sitting on the living room sofa, staring at the piano for a long time.
He saw Chae Yoon playing the piano in his eyes.
The child looked happy.
At least when she was playing the piano, it seemed like it was everything in the world. She played the piano with such joy.
And she said she liked him more than the piano.
In the child's world, there was the piano and The Little Mermaid, but in the end, the most important thing to her was her father.
Just like Chae Yoon was the most important thing to Jo Sung-hyun right now.
"Maybe I should let her play like a normal child tomorrow."
Jo Sung-hyun muttered.
He wondered if he was too focused on musical things.
He should take her to the playground in the morning.
He got up from the sofa.
There was still more than two hours left until Chae Yoon woke up.
'Let's pack some lunch.'
He thought it would be nice to pack some picnic lunch.
No, he felt like he had to.
His head was complicated.
He needed to do something right now.
In the early morning, when the child was still asleep.
He stood alone in the kitchen.
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