P' Kitt, who's chased away by Yu's father, quickly excuses himself and leaves because he senses trouble. I'm about to run after him out of concern, but Yu grabs my arm and shakes her head, signaling me not to follow.
Perhaps it's because her father currently believes that P' Kitt and I didn't know each other. If I show any concern, it may raise suspicions about how we got acquainted or, worse, lead to misunderstandings that I have feelings for him, too.
"What is this?! You just assumed everything and chased him away like that? Aren't you going to listen to his excuse about what really happened?"
"If he has to say some excuse, he's definitely in the wrong. If someone isn't guilty, why would they need to find an excuse? And you, do you still want our daughter to be involved with a man like that? He's engaged to one woman but flirts with her friend in the same house, thinking no one would see. But I saw."
"You only saw that, but you didn't hear what they were talking about."
"I trust my own instincts. I'm Trilowni, Professor of Divination, you know?!"
"Frung, tell me what Mr. Kitt was talking about at the pool. Why did he do that?"
"I... well..."
I stammer, unable to come up with a lie in time. Yu, seeing that I'm struggling, speaks up first.
"Why do you even need to ask, Mom? What decent person touches someone they just met like that? There's only one reason."
"But..."
"I love you, Dad!"
Yu changes the subject and quickly walks over to hug the elderly man who is still looking toward the front door, seemingly to see P' Kitt off but actually cursing him in his mind.
"You keep me safe from bad people. There's no man in this world as great as you. If it's not you, I won't marry anyone."
"Yu, that's your mother's husband!"
Her mom says.
"Hahaha. You're going to get dumped now."
"Yes, I'm going to dump you for this No. 1 girl."
Yu's dad plays along and hugs his daughter tightly, feeling proud and happy.
"The only man who truly loves Yu is me."
"Then I won't get married. I don't like men anymore."
"Loving me is enough, my dear daughter."
Yu turns to me and winks with satisfaction. Suddenly, the situation turns out this way. One pot of soup got P' Kitt kicked out of the house without Yu having to lift a finger. But strangely... I feel an inexplicable fear when I look at her dad.
He's scarier than I thought.
.
.
After everything settled down, we returned to our bedroom. Yu, in a good mood, whistles while picking out clothes from the closet as if she's never seen them before. Meanwhile, I stare out the window, starting to stress about my own situation.
Being loved by the people in this house is good, but I dread to think how difficult it'd be if I became hated. They can love someone so intensely one second and turn to hate them equally the next. Initially, I intended to reveal everything to everyone without caring about their opinions.
Now, I find myself hesitating.
I don't want to be hated... especially by her dad, who loves and cares for me like his own daughter. It'd be very painful.
