Accidentally become a father-Chapter 38: Not a Reward System
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The cool air outside usually cleared my head, but it didn’t seem to stop Yuna’s overthinking. She walked with a specific rhythm—the rhythm of someone who still had questions that needed logical answers.
Yuna walked beside me.
For the first few steps, she remained silent.
Then—
"Papa."
"Hm."
"If the total had been higher earlier... would you still have paid?"
"Yes."
Without hesitation.
She stared straight ahead.
"Without reconsidering?"
"I was already considering it while you were choosing."
She stopped walking for a single second.
"So you aren’t worried?"
"About what?"
"That it was too much?"
"We buy what we chose."
She fell silent.
Her steps matched mine again.
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A few seconds later—
"If I get good grades... can I buy another cute eraser?"
I stared straight ahead.
"You can buy one even if you don’t get good grades."
She stopped immediately.
"Why?"
"Erasers are not a reward system."
She processed the sentence.
For a few seconds.
Then—
"That’s not educational."
"Maybe."
"It doesn’t build motivation."
"Maybe."
"Then why?"
"You like them."
She looked at me for a long moment.
Her face changed slightly.
Not a practiced expression.
Not a formal face.
Softer.
"Oh."
Just that.
She started walking again.
Her steps were slightly closer to me than before.
I had three shopping bags in my hands.
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One held clothes.
One held stationery.
One held miscellaneous small items.
Yuna held the lightest bag.
It contained the erasers and notebooks.
"Are we going straight home?" she asked.
"Yes."
"We don’t need to buy anything else?"
"We’ve almost cleared your list."
"Almost?"
"We haven’t bought soap refills."
"That can wait."
"That is an inefficient statement."
"We don’t live solely to be efficient."
She stayed quiet for a moment.
We walked through the corridor of the small shopping center. The polished floors reflected the overhead lights. The voices of people blended into a soft hum.
A few steps later—
Yuna’s pace slowed slightly.
Nothing drastic.
Just half a step behind me.
I didn’t look back.
A few seconds passed.
Her steps grew shorter.
"Papa."
"Hm."
"How long... have we been walking?"
"Not long."
"Oh."
Two more steps.
"Papa." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"Hm."
"If we sat down for a bit... would that count as inefficient?"
"Yes."
She fell silent.
"But is it allowed?"
"It is."
I spotted a bench near the exit. It wasn’t on our schedule, and stopping now would delay our return home by at least ten minutes. But looking at Yuna’s slightly dragging feet, I knew efficiency was about to take a backseat to necessity.
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