Accidentally become a father-Chapter 11: The First Confirmation

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The first confirmation of a new life rarely comes with emotion.

It comes with paper.

And this morning, paper was waiting for me.

Thin morning light slipped through the curtains.

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I woke up first.

It took me three seconds to remember why there were two futons in the room.

Then, I heard the soft rustle of fabric from my left.

Yuna was already sitting up.

Her hair was slightly messy, but her posture was as straight as a model student’s.

"What time did you wake up?" I asked.

"Six."

"Why?"

"I don’t know Papa’s habits."

"My habits aren’t interesting."

She nodded seriously, as if processing vital information.

I sat up.

In the morning light, the room looked smaller than it had at night. More real.

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"We’re heading out for a bit," I said.

"Where to?"

"Social introductions, so we don’t become a rumor."

She blinked.

"Is that important?"

"In a small apartment complex, yes."

We changed into simple clothes. I wore a gray hoodie. She wore a white t-shirt and a plain skirt.

The moment I opened the door, the smell of breakfast immediately greeted us.

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And as if scheduled by the universe itself—

Door 204 opened at the exact same time.

The middle-aged woman emerged wearing a floral apron. Her hair was hastily pinned up. She held a small bowl in her hands.

Her eyes immediately dropped to Yuna.

"Oh... morning."

"Morning," I replied.

She looked Yuna up and down.

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"This is...?"

I didn’t give her assumptions time to grow.

"My niece. She’s staying here for the time being. I’m her guardian."

Yuna bowed politely.

"Good morning, Obaa-san."

The woman softened slightly.

"Ah, so polite..."

Then her eyes returned to me.

"How old are you now?"

"Twenty-one."

"And you’re already the guardian of a nine-year-old?"

"Yes."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Her parents?"

"They can’t take care of her."

It wasn’t a lie.

Just the condensed version.

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She nodded slowly.

"Kids these days, huh... so many problems."

"This apartment is soundproof," I said.

She chuckled.

Yuna stood quietly beside me, not speaking unless necessary.

"Where does she go to school?" the woman asked.

Yuna shot me a quick glance.

Half a second.

I answered first.

"It’s being taken care of."

"Oh, don’t be late registering her. The elementary schools around here fill up fast."

"I know."

She looked at Yuna again.

"What’s your name?"

"Yuna," she answered for herself.

"What a pretty name. Just like that idol... what was her name..."

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I didn’t react.

Neither did Yuna.

"Yeah, the one on TV..."

The woman waved her hand dismissively, giving up on remembering.

---

"Never mind. If you need anything, just let me know."

"Thank you," I replied.

She went back into her unit.

The door closed.

The hallway returned to silence.

I turned to Yuna.

"Good reflexes."

"About what?"

"Not mentioning your mom earlier."

She gave a small nod.

"That’s the hard part."

"Did you practice?"

"A little."

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I stared at the empty hallway for a few seconds.

School.

Administration.

Documents.

A birth certificate alone wouldn’t be enough.

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"Let’s go back in," I said.

We stepped back inside the apartment.

The door clicked locked.

I walked over to the table and picked up the birth certificate again.

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"To register for school," I said quietly, more to myself than to her. "We’re going to need more than just this."

Yuna sat across from me.

"Like what?"

"A family register."

She fell silent.

"Do we have one?"

I stared at the document in my hands.

Good question.

If someone had gone to the trouble of altering a birth certificate...

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How far had they gone to prepare the rest?

I set the paper back down.

"We’re going to the ward office," I said.

"Today?"

"If I put it off, I’ll just get too lazy to do it."

She stood up without a single protest.

As if she had been ready from the start.

And for the first time that morning,

I began to feel that perhaps—

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the administrative aspects of my life had already been taken care of by someone else before I even had the chance to think about them.

And if that was true,

then the ward office wouldn’t be verifying the truth.

It would be revealing it.

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