Why am I the Princess?

The man I assumed to be my dad initially showed up only occasionally, but it seemed he had decided to focus on me now. He was around more often.

When I was first fed milk, I briefly wondered if this man could be my mother, but it didn’t take long to figure out the truth.
The stunningly beautiful, almost mesmerizing young woman in the wedding photo I saw in the house? Nowhere to be found.

And this man, my supposed dad? He looked more like a pampered pretty boy than someone ready for fatherhood.

“Si-yoon~”
“…..”

When I looked up at him with a blank expression, his face crumpled, and tears welled up in his eyes.

“Why does my little girl look so angry?”

As I struggled to roll over for the first time, his face lit up with uncontainable excitement. He quickly grabbed a rectangular object with an animal-themed case—probably a camera—and aimed it at me.

What year is this, anyway…?

One thing was certain: this was the future.
That whole incident happened in 2004, so it couldn’t still be 2004.

Lying in what I assumed was a crib with bars resembling a cage, I couldn’t see much beyond my immediate surroundings.
As I stared at the ceiling, trying to gauge the size of the room, the man put down the camera and muttered to himself.

“She doesn’t cry… What’s wrong with her?”

He started fiddling with the camera-like object, then spoke into the air as if on a call.

“Uh, Mom? Si-yoon isn’t crying at all…”

Oh, no… Is my dad… not the sharpest tool in the shed?

I noticed something in his ears—a device of some kind.

“If you just quit work, then maybe—”

He stopped mid-sentence, flinching slightly, as though scolded. Then he pulled the device from his ear.
It looked oddly like the head of a golf club, but the tip seemed to be made of silicone.

After a moment, he hesitated, then put the device back in and spoke again.
This time, his face grew serious.

“What…? Are you serious…?”

He glanced at me briefly, then walked out of the room.

Even with the soundproofing, I could faintly hear his voice rising, unmistakably angry.

“…Fine. I won’t call. Don’t contact me, either. Never again…”

When he returned, his eyes were red, tears threatening to spill. He looked at me with a mix of sorrow and guilt etched into his face.

“I’m sorry for being such a useless dad… my little girl.”

My dad, always smiling and flipping me over, seemed determined to get me to do something.

Seriously, this is exhausting, I thought bitterly.

That said, my motor skills had improved, and I could flip over more easily now. At first, I had to break a sweat just to do it.

“Si-yoon, you’re amazing!”

But then came the day he decided to bathe me. That’s when I saw myself in the mirror for the first time—and reality hit me like a truck.
My chromosomes weren’t (X, Y). They were (X, X).

No… no, no, no… this can’t be happening. Shit.

My dad, beaming at me as he prepared the bath, cooed,
“Why does my little girl look so down?”

If I chopped off your privates right now, you’d feel just as miserable as I do.

“This… this must be what parents feel, huh? My little girl is so beautiful…”

Later, as we headed to the bathroom, I began to realize something else—this was definitely the future. And perhaps this body’s dad was extremely wealthy.
The house was far too spacious to belong to a young guy living alone.

It was also around this time that I finally understood why babies don’t talk.
Their throats are too soft, too weak to form proper sounds. The best I could manage was a loud “kyaah” whenever I tried to say anything.
Honestly, it felt like it would be easier to bite my tongue and die than attempt proper words in this state.

And damn it, I don’t even have teeth.

I prodded my soft gums with my tongue, resigned to my helplessness, as my dad carried me in his arms.

“Does my little girl like this~?” he cooed.

This is driving me insane… seriously, what did I do to deserve this?

I had to admit it—this man was dedicating his entire life to me.
He hardly left my side, doing his best to stay with me every second of every day.

I’ll acknowledge it. This is what a father’s love must be, something I never gave my subordinates.
This… this must be what a family feels like.

So, I decided to play along.
I even gave him a title: rookie dad.

If I disappeared, I was certain this rookie dad might make a drastic choice.
So, even though I lived as if I had forgotten how to speak, his voice made me reconsider.

“Why is my little girl taking so long to start talking…?”

He muttered to himself, visibly worried.

“I read to her every day… but she barely even babbles…”

“…Dad?”

“!!!!!”

Was my pronunciation too perfect?
Or was he just shocked that his daughter, who hadn’t even babbled before, suddenly called him “Dad”?
His face lit up in a mix of excitement and disbelief as he rushed toward me, practically shaking with energy.

“Si-yoon? What—what did you just say? Say it again! Just once more!”

“…Dad.”

“HUHHHH!!!”

This rookie dad seemed like he was always on the verge of fainting over the smallest things I did.

Hey, calm down! If you drop dead, I’m screwed too, you idiot!

But what could I do? At this age, I couldn’t even control my own body properly.

That day, I met the people I assumed were my grandparents.

“Si-yoon~ It’s Grandma! Grandma~”

“…..”

Thanks to overhearing my dad’s phone conversations, I had some idea of how he felt about his mom.

After laying me down, my dad stepped into another room with them. The door was slightly ajar, so I could hear their conversation.

“…So, are you planning to not work anymore?”
“I have enough money to raise Si-yoon.”
“Do you really think just having enough money is enough in today’s world?”
“Once Si-yoon starts daycare, I’ll go back to work.”

Listening to their conversation, I realized something shocking: my dad wasn’t as wealthy as I’d thought.
This massive house wasn’t the mansion of some elite—just an unusually large, normal home.

Damn it… so we’re not rich after all?

Time passed, and by the time I turned three, rookie dad looked at me with a mix of nostalgia and determination.

“Si-yoon,” he said, “there’s something I want to tell you.”

“Si-yoon, is the TV fun?”

I was watching a movie rated 15+.

“I’m focused. Don’t talk to me.”
“…..”

Rookie Dad deflated like a scolded puppy, his shoulders drooping. I sighed and glanced at him.

“You’re not going to suggest reading a fairy tale, are you?”