“The dragon guards the castle? But aren’t dragons supposed to be villains?”
Grant’s daughter, Phoebe, asked with a puzzled look. Angela nodded eagerly and added an explanation.
“This dragon is a good dragon. You see, he’s the princess’s knight and protector. What happened was, the king—he’s the princess’s father—saved the dragon a long time ago. So now the dragon protects the royal palace.”
“I know, I read it in a book.”
When Phoebe nodded in agreement, Angela’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“A book? Which one?”
“The Children of November!”
Phoebe responded immediately, as if she’d been waiting to say it, then quickly added,
“It’s my favorite book right now. It’s a fairy tale from my dad’s publishing company. The princess in the story is named Diane too. And there’s also a dragon knight who protects her, and his name is…”
“Todd!”
The two girls shouted in unison, then burst into giggles.
“You know it too?”
“Of course I do!”
Delighted by the shared connection, Phoebe beamed, and Angela nodded enthusiastically, equally thrilled.
“That book was written by my daddy. That’s him right over there.”
“What? Really?”
“Really!”
“Whoaah!”
Phoebe’s eyes went wide, nearly as big as her mouth. Swelling with pride, Angela puffed out her chest. Phoebe, still brimming with curiosity, kept the questions coming.
“Are you serious? Your daddy wrote that book?”
“Yep!”
“Daaad!”
As soon as Angela gave another firm nod, Phoebe suddenly turned and ran toward Grant, calling for him excitedly. Angela blinked in surprise as Phoebe dashed across the room to the living area, where Grant was chatting with someone.
“Dad, Dad!”
“Whoa now.”
Grant instinctively caught his daughter in his arms, watching her with a puzzled expression as she blurted out in an excited voice,
“Dad, is it true? Is this where The Children of November was made?”
Hearing her raised voice, Grant looked a bit flustered and turned to Yu-jin.
“Ah, um… it wasn’t written here, right?”
“Uh, no.”
Yu-jin replied, caught off guard.
“I wrote it somewhere else.”
“But he is the one who wrote it,” Grant quickly added, redirecting Phoebe’s attention by gently turning her toward Yu-jin. Faced with the sudden attention, Yu-jin gave a slightly awkward smile.
“Woooow…” Phoebe’s eyes sparkled again in awe.
Seeing this, Angela suddenly stood up with a little fluster and clung to Yu-jin’s leg. When Yu-jin looked down at her in surprise, he realized Angela was staring straight at Phoebe.
That familiar glint—childish jealousy.
Was it a pang of jealousy? Angela had never acted like this before—but then again, she’d never really had the chance. She’d spent all her time trying so hard to act like an adult. Maybe she was finally letting herself be a child, finally allowing herself to show a little clinginess.
That thought made Seol Yu-jin’s heart ache even more. He deliberately lifted Angela up and settled her on his lap, then turned to Grant and said,
“Angela helped me a lot while I was writing. I got a lot of inspiration from my daughter.”
Angela looked up at him like she was hearing it for the first time. Really? When Yu-jin gave her a soft smile, her face lit up as if she’d just heard his thoughts. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, and he hugged her back just as firmly.
Watching them closely, Phoebe leaned in and whispered something to Grant. Nodding, Grant turned to Yu-jin and asked with a smile,
“Mr. Seol, my daughter says she’d love to take a picture with you—would that be alright?”
“A picture?”
Yu-jin blinked, caught off guard by the unexpected request. He wasn’t used to taking photos, and something like this had never happened before. As he fumbled for a response, Grant continued,
“She wants to take one with her new friend too—the three of you together. Is that okay with you, Angie?”
Phoebe looked at Angela with hopeful eyes. The genuine friendliness in her gaze seemed to melt all of Angela’s wariness at once.
“Okay!”
Angela quickly nodded, then added a condition.
“But we have to take one with Daddy’s phone too.”
Angela didn’t have a phone of her own, and the one Yu-jin used was a prepaid model. I’ll just send the photo to my email and delete it after, he thought, nodding in agreement.
“Alright, let’s take it.”
Grant took Phoebe’s phone and snapped a photo of the three of them. Then he used Yu-jin’s phone to take another shot, capturing the same moment.
“Send me the photo later, okay? You don’t have a phone? You’ve got an email at least, right?”
Watching Phoebe deftly tapping away on her phone, Yu-jin quickly responded.
“Not yet. I’ll make one for her later.”
“Okay.”
Angela nodded. Yu-jin made a mental note that once things got a little better, he’d have to get a proper phone for Angela too. He checked her face for any signs of discomfort, but she seemed genuinely happy. Relieved, he gently stroked her hair.
Grant spoke up again.
“Is there anything else you need? Just say the word and I’ll send it right over.”
“Thank you. That’s very kind, but I’m okay for now.”
The polite exchange felt a little stiff, and Yu-jin suddenly felt awkward.
“Um… if it’s alright, would you like to join us for dinner…?”
He extended a halfhearted invitation out of formality, but Phoebe replied before Grant could.
“No, we can’t. Mom’s waiting for us.”
Angela’s eyes turned to Phoebe, who explained clearly and politely,
“We’re having dinner together, with my mom. Sorry, Angie.”
If only it had ended there.
Yu-jin was about to wrap things up when Phoebe suddenly spoke again.
“When’s your mom coming? Do you have dinner with her too?”
“Huh?”
The sudden question caught Angela off guard, and she stammered, unsure how to respond. Yu-jin, too, was no less startled. Sensing the tension, Grant quickly stepped in to defuse the situation.
“Phoebe, that’s not something you should ask.”
“Why not?”
Phoebe tilted her head, clearly not understanding why it was a problem, then turned back to Angela.
“Oh! You have a Papa instead of a Mommy, right?”
She puffed out her chest proudly and added,
“I learned it at kindergarten. There are lots of different kinds of couples—Daddy and Papa, Daddy and Mommy, Mommy and Mom. The world’s full of all kinds of families!”
Thrilled to finally put her knowledge to use, Phoebe couldn’t hide her excitement and kept asking questions.
“So? Is your other parent a Papa? A Mommy? A Mom? Which one is it?”
“Phoebe.”
Seeing Yu-jin and Angela frozen in place, completely at a loss, Grant hurriedly cut in again, his voice now more urgent.
“Time to go, sweetie. Your mom’s probably waiting for us.”
“But—”
“Come on, Phoebe. Mr. Seol, we’ll be heading out now. Take care, Angie. Let’s see each other again soon.”
Grant all but fled the house, leaving in a flurry of awkwardness. Yu-jin stood at the window, watching him hastily buckle Phoebe into the car and drive off.
The whole situation had struck like lightning—sudden, intense, and over in a flash. Silence settled in its wake. Normally, quiet like this was a common part of Yu-jin’s life with Angela, but this time it felt different. There was a fragile tension hanging in the air.
Yu-jin stole a glance at Angela.
She was pressed against the window, staring off into the distance. What if she asks about Papa now? Angela had never asked—not once. But Yu-jin had always known, one day, she would. That day was inevitable. Still… not today. Please, not yet.
He wasn’t ready. He never had been.
“Angie, how about dinner? Are you hungry? What do you feel like eating?”
Yu-jin changed the subject hastily, clinging to any means of escape. He knew he was being cowardly, but he didn’t have it in him to face it—not yet. He turned to head into the kitchen when Angela suddenly called out.
“Daddy.”
“Uh… what?”
He stopped in his tracks, startled, and turned around. Angela was still staring out the window as she asked quietly,
“My Papa is dead… isn’t he?”
“…What?”
Yu-jin blinked, completely stunned. And in that instant, he understood why Angela had never asked about Papa before.
She thought he was dead.
He’s not. He’s alive.
“Angie…”
Yu-jin opened his mouth—but no words came out. The air in the living room grew unbearably heavy, thick with a tension neither of them could escape.
***
“Hm hm hm, hmm hmm hmm.”
Humming to herself, Phoebe looked as cheerful as ever. Grant, watching her, let out a quiet sigh. Just thinking back on what had happened earlier sent a chill down his spine. Kids really are unpredictable. Still, he relaxed his shoulders with a sense of relief—at least they’d managed to avoid disaster.
Then his eyes drifted over to Phoebe’s phone screen.
“What are you doing? Sending the photo to Angie?”
“Dad, Angie doesn’t have a phone. How would I send it to her?”
“Oh… right.”
Chastised by his daughter’s tone, Grant scratched his head with a sheepish laugh, suddenly remembering. He tried again.
“Then what are you doing now?”
“Nothing.”
Phoebe replied while rapidly tapping away at the screen.
“I’m just bragging that I made a new friend.”
“You can’t mention anything about Mr. Seol. His identity is a secret. You remember that, right?”
“I know, Dad. You’ve said it, like, a hundred times.”
Phoebe pouted, though inwardly she thought, As long as I don’t say he’s the author of “The Children of November,” it’s fine.
Smiling with satisfaction, she tapped the upload button.
And just like that, a new post appeared on Phoebe’s account—a photo of herself with Yu-jin and Angela. It came with tags like: “My new friend”, “Angela”, “Yu-jin”, and “What’s up with him and Dad? LOL.”
SON WHY DOES 6 YEAR OLD HAVE A PHONE AND INSTA