My Platinum-Blond Childhood Friend Is So Pretty

153 – 66. A Day in the Life of Dad, Lee Do-yoon

Summer. A typical weekday.

“……”

I woke up on the soft bed, feeling the faint warmth beside me, which was now empty.

“…~~~. ─.”

“~……~! …─!”

Beyond the closed door, I could hear the voices of my wife and daughter, laughing and chatting.

What a hardworking mother-daughter duo.

I also had to wake up early every day for work, but there were barely any days when I woke up earlier than those two.

My lovely wife, Ellie, would always prepare breakfast for me and our daughter.

And our lovely princess, Amelia, would simply sleep in early and wake up early.

“…I don’t want to go to work.”

Although I never show it in front of my family, I muttered my true feelings, which 99% of office workers would surely agree with.

The first year of working was tough, but it was fulfilling.

I finally became the breadwinner my wife and soon-to-be-born daughter could rely on, and I felt proud of myself for getting a job at a large corporation, and my parents were proud of me too.

The work was tough, but the adrenaline rush was worth it.

But now, four years have passed…

“I want to quit my job…”

These words had become a habitual phrase for me. With a long commute to work ahead, I was already thinking about quitting.

Of course, it was just a routine morning grumble, something most working people would do. I was just trying to overcome my desire to stay in bed and got up, putting on my pants over my underwear.

-Dal-kak-

And I headed out of the room.

“Are you up?”

My wife, a model and a housewife with platinum blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, approached me with a bright, blue-eyed gaze.

“Daddy, you’re late!”

Our 4-year-old daughter, who had already surpassed 48 months, was now running towards me, her long platinum blonde hair and blue eyes identical to her mother’s.

As I knelt down on one knee, she threw herself at me.

-Kiss!

-Kiss!

Her soft lips touched my cheeks. This was our family’s morning greeting, a morning kiss shared by mother and daughter.

I reciprocated by giving them both a gentle peck on the cheek, and we all smiled happily.

“Today’s breakfast is sugar toast. Amy suddenly wanted it.”

“It’s been a while since we had toast. What was Amy doing?”

“She was reading a fairy tale book with mom! Daddy’s favorite winter fairy tale.”

“Is it fun? Daddy should get you the Snow Queen dress quickly.”

“No, I don’t want to be Anne. Amelia doesn’t want to be Anne either.”

“Anne? You don’t want to be Snow Queen?”

“Snow Queen is mommy! Snow Queen is the queen!”

“Rather than Anne, Amy seems to suit being Snow Queen too… Can’t Amy be Snow Queen like mommy?”

“Yes, yes! Then Amelia will be Snow Queen too!”

“Okay, okay. Daddy will get you the Snow Queen dress quickly…”

“Honey, the toast is ready, so stop and go wash up. Amy, clean up the fairy tale book too. You can do it, right?”

“Yes…”

“Yep…”

As I received this loving treatment, affection, and love from my platinum blonde family, I felt grateful to start the day.

It wasn’t strange to think that I didn’t want to leave this warm and cozy place.

In that sense, my reluctance to go to work was stronger than others.

Well, on the other hand.

I felt a sense of determination and energy to work harder for this lovely family.

***

Today, I put on a formal suit and a short-sleeved shirt for work. I also wore a summer jacket.

To be honest, I could have dressed more comfortably, but I didn’t. Especially since I didn’t need to go outside much for work.

The reason I insisted on dressing formally was simply because Eli liked seeing me in a suit.

-Zhuk…

“Hehehe~”

Before going to work every day.

My wife would lovingly gaze at me, bat her eyelashes, and tie my necktie, which she really enjoyed.

I also loved receiving her tender care, gazing at Eli’s lovely face.

And after tying my necktie, I would always…

-Kiss!

“Hehe, all done.”

With a peck on the lips and a bright smile, it still feels like my heart would skip a beat when I see it from 10cm away.

Thanks to that, I couldn’t help but laugh and show my teeth, and Amelia, who was holding onto my suit pants, would also raise her hand.

“Pappa! Me too, me too! I want to give pappa a kiss!”

“Alright then. We’ll get our Eli kiss too. Okay… smile!”

Now that Amelia is about 50 months old and weighs almost 20kg, I can fully appreciate her healthy weight as I scoop her up and hold her close. My little daughter, with her small lips and clinging to my cheek.

“Ooh… kiss! Hehe… kiss!”

“What’s this, Eli is giving two kisses?”

“Daddy, daddy!”

“Yes?”

“Can’t you not go to work? I want to read a picture book with Amelia and have some snacks… and play together.”

“Would you like that? Daddy can take a day off and play with Eli?”

“Yes! That sounds great!”

With two adorable kisses, Amelia begs me to stay and play, wrapping her warm body around my face.

I feel like taking a day off, citing illness as an excuse, and my mind is filled with the thought.

But I know I can’t really do that, so I hold Amelia close for a moment, thinking about what to say.

“Eli, don’t be spoiled and come here.”

“Yes…”

Eli has been taught well. My weak daughter, who doesn’t argue with her queen-like mother, replies softly.

“Sorry, daddy. I’ll come home early and play with Eli a lot today. Okay?”

“Yes… hurry back.”

I reluctantly let go of Amelia, who clings to her mother’s leg.

And then, Amelia waves goodbye, looking adorable as ever.

“Daddy, bye-bye… see you later.”

Her slightly tired voice is also really cute.

“See you later. Drive safely.”

As I bid farewell, Eli strokes Amelia’s hair with one hand and waves goodbye with the other.

Before I leave, I take one step closer.

-Kiss, kiss!

I give her two more kisses on the lips.

“Mommy is the queen, so she needs more kisses than the princess. So, three kisses.”

“Hehe… you’re right. That’s how it should be.”

“Then I’ll be off.”

With that, I finally left the house. I had spent a lot of time at the entrance, so I was a bit rushed.

***

At work, I wished I could do my tasks comfortably, but unfortunately, that was impossible.

As a large corporation, our work manual was well-organized, but when team projects continued, every day became a battle against time.

Of course, it was all busy, busy, busy.

When I talked to colleagues from other departments, I would hear things like, “Why do they get to do that, but we have to do this?” or “This place is even more hellish than ours.” It was diverse.

Well, that’s just how life is.

Even though I was busy, the fact that time flew by quickly was a silver lining, and I could find happiness in that.

As I worked diligently, the clock struck quitting time, and since we had just finished a big project, I could finally meet my wife and daughter with a clear conscience.

That’s what I thought.

“Manager, the team leader asked if you’re available to attend the dinner party tonight, is that okay with you?”

“Hmm… I’m not really available, but I have to attend anyway.”

“Will you be able to make it?”

“Why are you asking? Are you bragging about going home?”

“Hey, I’m going too. And remember, you promised to help me with my love life.”

“I remember, but I don’t know if Yeona will attend the dinner party.”

“It’s a must-attend tonight. Since you’re a team leader, and it’s the team leader’s party, we can just eat and leave early.”

“Ugh… I won’t be able to leave early… I promised to play with Amy early today…”

“With your daughter? Then just say you’re sick and skip it.”

“You’re asking me to help you?”

“That’s true, but if my daughter wants to play, I can’t say no. If I were you, I would definitely run away.”

“…Should I run away?”

“But thinking about it, it’s better for the peace of our department if you attend. Others might slack off, but not you. The team leader will get upset.”

“Why did you bring it up then?”

“Haha.”

Unfortunately, the dinner party was already set.

I received a lot of attention and love from high-ranking officials, so I couldn’t skip the department dinner party, which was supposedly flexible.

Why did they like me so much?

High-ranking officials liked handsome male employees as much as they liked beautiful female employees.

When I attended, the female employees’ attendance rate increased.

As a married man, I could empathize with them.

I was good at holding my liquor and could socialize for a long time.

I was also a good listener, so conversations flowed well.

Thanks to these reasons, I rarely skipped dinner parties.

Our team or department, from the manager to the rest, had an open-minded atmosphere, so the dinner parties weren’t too long, and attendance was flexible.

Regardless, they always looked for me first, so I never had an excuse to skip.

Of course, I received a lot of help from their attention and love, but today was particularly frustrating.

“I should send a text to Eli…”

“I’m envious. If I had a wife and daughter like you…”

“You’d be crying at every dinner party, wanting to go home.”

“I agree. I thought my heart would break when I saw Amelia’s video last time.”

“‘You were even cuter this morning…’

‘Huh, really? That’s possible? You’re saying that calling out to Dad with all her might is cuter than our daughter…?’

‘I want to go home…’

As I listened to my colleague’s envious remarks, my thoughts about home became more intense.

Later.

I want to see Eli and Amy.

***

I had poured out my complaints mixed with resignation to my close colleague, but it was still better to enjoy the trip as much as possible rather than grumbling about having to go.

So, before the director came out, I gathered with other employees and chatted while laughing.

“Manager-nim, can you show us more pictures of Amelia?”

“Amelia’s pictures? Here you go.”

“Aww…! No matter how many times I see them, they’re just too cute. I wish I had a daughter like that too~”

“I’m stating my personal opinion. I think Manager-nim should upload one video and three photos of Amelia every morning as a must.”

“Agreed!”

“Every morning, it’s like a punch to the eyes, but how do you go to work?”

“Is she not going to kindergarten yet?”

“No. My wife wants to take care of her personally until this year.”

There was a family photo of my female colleagues on my profile and desk, and the innocent, pure, and adorable daughter with platinum blonde hair was not something you see every day.

Thanks to that, Amelia was like a superstar in our department.

It’s not easy to talk casually about my wife, Eli, but Amelia’s angelic cuteness made it relatively easy to bring her up as a topic and request photos.

As we chatted and laughed, the director and department head came out after finishing their work.

“Alright, let’s get going. Where are we going? Did Danjung book it?”

“Yes! I’ll guide you.”

“Okay. And… Manager! Where are you?”

“I’m right here!”

“There you are. Let’s go.”

I almost felt like crying tears of gratitude at the director’s call, which included attendance checking.

If it weren’t for this, I would’ve snuck out sometimes.

“As expected, our Manager-nim is the best. The class of the director, who even does solo attendance checking Wow, I’m not envious at all.”

“Hehehe…”

“Hmph…”

“Manager-nim, do you want to sit next to the director with me?”

“Sorry about that…!”

I lightly brushed off my colleague’s teasing and walked in sync with the others, sending another text to Eli.

[ Me : The atmosphere today is weird ]

[ Me : I think I’ll be late ]

[ Me : I’ll keep texting ]

There was no immediate response. Since there was no read receipt, I assumed she was having dinner with Amelia.

I had told her about the company dinner earlier, so she wouldn’t be waiting for me, and it was probably around dinner time now.

So, I didn’t wait for a response and put my phone away. And then, I continued chatting with my colleagues as we walked.

“Pappa─!”

A very familiar voice echoed from afar, piercing my ears.

“Hmm?”

“What? Is that…?”

“Isn’t that Director-nim’s daughter?”

“Doyun-ssi’s daughter?”

It wasn’t just me; the people from the company, whom I had only seen in photos and videos, could recognize her unique features at a glance.

In the evening, with her beautiful, platinum-blonde hair shining like a beacon, the small figure rushed towards me.

“Pappa!”

“Aemy? Why are you…?”

Amelia was here.