Aquarium.
It had been a long time since Jo Sung-hyun had gone there, so he left with a little excitement. The aquarium was about 30 minutes away by car from his home. He thought it would be easier to get there by subway, so Jo Sung-hyun and Chae-yoon headed to the subway station together. Chae-yoon was also the same, but Jo Sung-hyun rarely had to travel by subway.
"It's been a long time since I took the subway."
He muttered as he held Chae-yoon's hand and entered the train.
"There are a lot of people..."
Chae-yoon looked around and whispered to Jo Sung-hyun. As the child said, there were a lot of people.
"It's probably because it's the weekend. Don't fall and hold Dad's hand tight."
"Yes."
At Jo Sung-hyun's words, Chae-yoon tightened her fingers and held his hand.
Soon the subway started to move, and Chae-yoon wobbled, not expecting it.
Jo Sung-hyun quickly held the child so she wouldn't fall. Chae-yoon looked surprised and grabbed Jo Sung-hyun's arm with both hands.
Every time the train started and stopped, Chae-yoon wobbled and held Jo Sung-hyun's arm.
But after a while, she seemed to get used to it.
Chae-yoon loosened her grip on Jo Sung-hyun's hand, and eventually she wasn't holding his hand with both hands.
"Chae-yoon. You have to hold my hand."
Jo Sung-hyun turned his head to Chae-yoon, who had let go of his hand, and reached out.
Chae-yoon was smiling brightly.
"Look at this. Chae-yoon has good balance."
He laughed as he watched the child trying not to fall. She was so happy, she kept looking excited.
"You'll fall. Hold my hand quickly."
Jo Sung-hyun said again and reached out his hand, and Chae-yoon looked a little hesitant.
She was conflicted between wanting to hold his hand and wanting to play a little more. The conflict didn't last long.
Thud.
The subway jerked as it stopped at the station, and Chae-yoon fell. It wasn't a hard fall, but she looked surprised and opened her eyes wide. Jo Sung-hyun was also surprised and quickly lifted Chae-yoon up.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, Dad..."
The child nodded and clung to Jo Sung-hyun's arm. Jo Sung-hyun shook his head, amused and incredulous, as he watched Chae-yoon holding his hand again after falling.
"Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine... Do I have to hold your hand?"
She said that, and she kept holding Jo Sung-hyun's hand until they arrived at the station where the aquarium was.
* * *
"Fish!"
Chae-yoon shouted in an excited voice. There were fish from the entrance of the aquarium, and Chae-yoon was amazed by the fish swimming in the tank right in front of her.
"One child and one adult, please."
"Yes, you can go in."
At the staff's words, Jo Sung-hyun put the tickets in his pocket and moved his feet. As soon as he entered, he saw a large aquarium.
"Wow..."
Chae-yoon gasped with her mouth open. He could see that she really liked it, and Jo Sung-hyun approached the aquarium with a happy face. Chae-yoon stared blankly at the nameless large fish swimming around. Chae-yoon moved slowly. She went to the next aquarium and watched the colorful fish. Jo Sung-hyun also moved with her.
"Chae-yoon. Look at that. It's Nemo."
Jo Sung-hyun pointed to the clownfish that was famous for the animated movie and said. But Chae-yoon tilted her head.
"Nemo...?"
"Yeah. Nemo."
He answered naturally and nodded, but he felt a sense of incongruity. Chae-yoon seemed to not know what Nemo was. Jo Sung-hyun thought it was natural to think of Nemo when he saw a clownfish, so he was a bit shocked that Chae-yoon didn't know Nemo.
"You don't know Nemo...."
"That's a fish... not Nemo..."
Chae-yoon glanced at Jo Sung-hyun and said. Jo Sung-hyun chuckled at the child's careful words. The generation gap between father and daughter was revealed later.
"Wow, it's Squidnut!"
"Squidnut?"
Chae-yoon said as she looked at the picture with various animal characters drawn on it. Jo Sung-hyun didn't know any of the characters that Chae-yoon was talking about, and Chae-yoon opened her eyes wide that he didn't know.
"Dad, you don't know Squidnut?"
"No. I don't really know."
"Everyone knows Squidnut..."
Chae-yoon tilted her head and said. Jo Sung-hyun wondered what to say and licked his lips. But before he could say anything, Chae-yoon exclaimed again and quickened her pace.
"Look at the big fish. Dad!"
The main aquarium of the aquarium came into view. There were sharks, stingrays, and big fish. "Wow..." Chae-yoon gasped with her mouth open. She ran forward to see them, but stopped when she saw the shark. She looked like she had just noticed the shark. The child grabbed Jo Sung-hyun's arm and looked up at him.
"There's a shark..."
Chae-yoon pointed to the large aquarium and said. Jo Sung-hyun blinked. The small hand that held him tightly. The slightly scared face. The eyes that seemed to ask him to do something. They were all cute.
"Dad..."
Chae-yoon took a step back and hid her face behind his leg. Then Jo Sung-hyun came to his senses.
"Oh, Chae-yoon. It's okay. The sharks here are nice sharks."
"Nice...?"
"Yeah. They're very nice sharks."
"They won't eat me?"
The child asked as she peeked out from behind his leg and looked at the aquarium. How could she be so cute? Jo Sung-hyun unknowingly picked up Chae-yoon.
"Heek?"
Chae-yoon was surprised and made a sound, but she soon snuggled into Jo Sung-hyun's arms. She seemed to feel a little relieved, and Chae-yoon stuck out her face and watched the fish in the aquarium. Spending time with his daughter was much more...
'Happy.'
A good thing.
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Thanks for the chapter aRaion! The aquarium is probably my favorite exhibit to visit.
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