Accidentally become a father-Chapter 15: A Matter of label

---

We turned away from the counter.

And that was when I noticed two pairs of eyes watching us.

A young couple.

---

Probably in their early twenties. Sitting not too far away in the waiting area. They were whispering far too loudly for it to be considered a secret.

"He’s so young..."

"Yeah... and his kid is already so big..."

"People move fast in life, huh..."

---

I stopped.

Yuna stopped with me.

I slowly turned my head toward them.

"We can hear you," I said flatly.

They flinched immediately.

"Oh—sorry! We were just... uh..."

The man smiled awkwardly. The woman beside him lightly smacked his arm.

---

"We were just surprised. I mean... you’re so young, but you already—"

"The administrative system does not recognize emotional age," I said.

"As long as the forms are complete, everything is legal."

They fell silent.

---

Yuna gave the hem of my jacket a gentle tug.

I continued in the same even tone.

"And for the record, I’m her guardian."

"Oh!"

The woman instantly looked relieved.

"We thought—"

"Many people think many things," I replied.

The man nodded rapidly.

"Right, right... sorry about that."

"It’s fine. Gossip is society’s favorite light exercise."

---

We walked away before they could formulate any new theories.

Once we stepped out of the building.

Yuna looked up at me.

"Papa was a bit sarcastic."

"Just a bit. If I used any more, I’d end up a university professor."

She let out a small laugh. Not a loud laugh, but an honest one.

I glanced back down at the documents in my hand. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Everything was official.

---

Airtight.

Whoever was behind this had thoroughly paved over all the legal avenues.

I gave a slight shrug.

"Well then."

I muttered.

"If it’s this official, I suppose I can’t pretend to be ignorant anymore."

Yuna watched me carefully.

"Does Papa regret it?"

"No."

My answer was instantaneous.

I slipped the papers into a folder.

---

"Problems that other people have already solved are the best kind. All we have to do is execute them."

She looked a little more at ease.

We began our walk home.

At a red light.

Yuna suddenly asked in a quiet voice.

"Papa... if someone asks again later... are we still going to say guardian?"

I stared straight ahead.

---

Legally, I was the head of the household.

In reality, I had only been a father for two days.

Emotionally... I hadn’t done the math yet.

"We’ll see what the situation calls for," I finally said.

The light turned green.

And for the first time, a realization dawned on me.

Being a guardian was far easier than being a father.

---

The only question was—

would I keep choosing the safer word?

---