My Daughter Has Become A Fool

Chapter 9

Episode 9. Present@@@@

I laughed and handed the broom to Yeondu.

But Yeondu, struggling, managed to grab the broom while whimpering.

“Haha, heavy, isn’t it?”

“Ah... not... that heavy...”

Even holding the broom that was quite large, reaching up to my chest, seemed difficult for her.

It felt like the broom was dragging Yeondu along with it.

In the end, I took the broom back.

“When you’re a bit bigger, Yeondu, and if you want to help, let me know, alright?”

“Yes...”

Yeondu replied with a crestfallen expression.

Seeing her dejected look strangely made me chuckle again.

“Okay, Yeondu. How about holding the dustpan for me instead of the broom?”

“The dustpan...?”

“Yeah. If Yeondu holds the dustpan, I can sweep the dust into it. It’ll be a big help, right?”

“Hehe, okay!”

Yeondu seemed pleased that she could help, and she smiled brightly.

The dustpan wasn’t heavy, so Yeondu could easily handle it.

Sitting on the floor, Yeondu held the dustpan.

“Alright, let’s get rid of the dust! Swish~”

“Wow... Dad, the dust is completely gone!”

Hearing about the amount of dust made me sigh for some reason.

Well, there was a reason why there was so much dust.

‘Not an exaggeration.’

Over the past few days, the number of customers had at least tripled.

Once customers saw Yeondu, they kept coming back day after day.

It felt like they were coming to the convenience store just to see Yeondu.

But the bigger change was...

The kids.

“Boss, we’re here again today~”

“Hehe, hello! Did our cutie Yeondu behave well?”

“Gross, stop sticking out your tongue, Hajuyeon.”

“Oh, Jo Donggun, you should shut it!”

“Mister, we brought a bunch of new friends today too! Did we do well? Praise us, hehe.”

The timing of these kids was impeccable.

These guys were the main reason for the sudden increase in customers.

When they first came, the unease I felt was completely justified.

I deliberately greeted them dryly.

“Why hello there.”

“Why are you acting like that, boss? We told you to relax around us...”

“Yeah, mister. Just think of us as your little siblings.”

“Tch. With such a beautiful daughter, do you think calling you little siblings makes sense?”

“Haha, I don’t think that’s something you should say with your face.”

These noisy high schoolers came every day, bringing new friends with them.

Of course, I didn’t have any ill feelings towards them.

‘They’re actually quite nice compared to today’s kids.’

Despite spending a long time in the convenience store, they always cleaned up after themselves neatly.

They even voluntarily helped clean the store.

But because they attracted attention wherever they went, the number of customers skyrocketed like crazy, and I became busier than ever before.

‘I didn’t expect their influence to be this strong.’

A few high schoolers had the influence of a powerful sales team from a big company.

‘If I were the owner, I would have hired them, even if I had to pay them.’

But I wasn’t the owner.

Damn it. If I knew this would happen, I would have stopped them on the first day.

Regretting now won’t do any good. It was already like a river flowing.

“Hello...! Unni, oppas!”

Yeondu bowed cutely to the high schoolers.

After a few days of getting used to each other’s faces, Yeondu became quite friendly with the high schoolers.

Both Yeondu and I did.

“Wow, your greeting is adorable for real.”

“Yeondu looks even prettier today!”

“Hehe, look at the color of her t-shirt. Yeondu is wearing purple.”

“Stop with the dad jokes. It’s gross.”

I spoke up amidst the chattering kids.

“Hey, guys. Do you remember?”

“Remember what?”

“Today’s the last day.”

A few days ago, I received a call from the nursery. They said I could leave Yeondu there starting next week.

So I informed the customers who asked beforehand.

Today was Yeondu’s last day here, naturally.

Of course, I had told these high schoolers beforehand as well.

“Hing... it’s so sad.”

“Visiting Yeondu was the highlight of my life these days.”

Their expressions quickly turned gloomy.

I chuckled and said, “Anyway, study hard from now on. Become good adults, alright?”

Ah, did I sound like an old man just now?

It felt like a smoker saying, “Don’t smoke,” to someone.

But it was a sincere statement from me.

‘Without Yeondu...’

There was no reason for them to come here.

There were convenience stores much closer to the school with better facilities.

They probably wouldn’t be visiting often from now on.

So I just wanted to say something as a failed senior in life.

Despite everything, I had grown fond of these kids.

That’s when it happened.

“Huh?”

A strange question came from somewhere.

It was Donggeon, the mischievous one.

Huh, this kid. I’m giving him sincere advice for the last time.

Ignoring the puzzled look on my face, he continued.

However, what followed his words surprised me.

“Wait, what’s with the sour talk, boss?”

“Huh?”

“Why are you talking like today is the last time we’ll see each other?”

“Because today is Yeondu’s last day...”

“No, it’s not. Even if Yeondu’s leaving, we’ve built up a relationship with you, haven’t we? Naturally, we should still come here. Isn’t that loyalty?”

Even Hajuyeon, the girl who always fought with Donggeon, spoke up.

“That’s right. Even if it’s because of you, Mister, we should come here! We’ll keep doing business even without Yeondu, hehe.”

Wait a minute. What’s this feeling?

It felt like I was about to be moved. I wish they didn’t mention continuing the business, though.

Anyway, these kids seemed even better than I thought.

Amidst all this, Bumjae subtly revealed himself in the crowd.

He was the one who was active as a waterboy when these kids first came.

He was also the one who often received teasing from the group.

He reminded me of myself in the group chat, so I felt strangely attached to him.

After petting Yeondu’s head with a sad expression until now, he suddenly came up to me.

“Hyung, Juwon.”

It felt awkward for him to call me “hyung” with my name.

“Haha, why, Bumjae? What do you want to say?”

“..I have something for you.”

“Huh? To me?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, Bumjae opened his bag zipper, as if he had something to give me.

The kids around laughed as if they had heard something beforehand.

“Haha.”

“Hey, guys, let’s focus. Bumjae is unleashing his special move.”

“Dududududu...”

“Without paying attention to the reactions around him, Beomjae reached into his bag and handed me something.

And that something was an item I hadn’t anticipated.”