TDRCB 04

Chaper 04 …

“Villain Test?”

“I’m going to see whether you uncles are villains or not.”

“How…?”

Haru pointed at Kang Tae-jun, who was standing at the very front.

“You first, Uncle.”

Kang Tae-jun opened his mouth with a bewildered expression.

“Me? A villain… test?”

Haru nodded and pointed at the other two men.

“Turn around. If you secretly look back, you fail!”

Gong Dae-in and Lee Hyun-woo hesitantly turned around.

Kang Tae-jun and Haru’s eyes met.

“Close your eyes.”

When Kang Tae-jun furrowed his brows and looked ready to resist, Haru planted her hands firmly on her hips again.

“If you don’t, Daddy fails.”

“What? I’ve already closed my eyes.”

Kang Tae-jun immediately shut his eyes. How many years had it been since someone had pushed him around this much? Ever since Oh Jang-mi disappeared…

“Hold out your hand.”

Kang Tae-jun obediently extended his hand through the gap in the door. With her heart pounding, Haru took off her glove. The moment her fingertips touched Kang Tae-jun’s hand—

Sparkle.

A light flashed, and a magnifying glass popped out.

[Haru’s Case Notebook]

Investigating the black-haired uncle…♪

The magnifying glass circled around Kang Tae-jun. Haru’s field of vision began spinning too, and then the scene changed.

“Does even smiling require approval from you, Kang Tae-jun? Try smiling a little more in life.”

Mom was smiling as she handed him a cup of coffee…?

Startled by the fleeting image, Haru quickly pulled her hand away. Her eyes widened.

Mom was in this uncle’s memories.

Judging by Mom’s expression, this uncle didn’t seem like a villain…

While Haru desperately racked her five-year-old brain, Kang Tae-jun felt disappointed that the small warmth had slipped away from his hand.

Could this child really be mine? It doesn’t matter even if she isn’t. I can simply raise her as my own.

“Done. You pass.”

“…I pass?”

“Now you can open your eyes.”

Kang Tae-jun brushed off his knees and stood up, flashing a triumphant smile at the other two men.

“Next, Uncle!”

Lee Hyun-woo hurried over and dropped to his knees.

“Haru. Daddy can do anything for you!”

“Close your eyes.”

Lee Hyun-woo closed his eyes. Haru took his hand.

“Lee Hyun-woo, the great man himself, is crying over a single plate of tteokbokki?”

A street-food stall, steam rising from its dishes. Mom was there, laughing heartily across a plate of tteokbokki.

“Uncle passes too.”

“Did you hear that? I passed!”

Lee Hyun-woo beamed as he made a V sign with his fingers. Kang Tae-jun clicked his tongue and turned his head away.

“Last uncle.”

Gong Dae-in approached. He pushed up his glasses and closed his eyes.

A dark room.

The uncle with glasses was staring intently at a monitor.

A red warning window began flashing noisily across the black screen.

The man’s typing grew faster. At that moment, the warning message stopped, and a message appeared in the center of the screen.

Whoever catches the other first buys coffee. Not that I need to see it to know I’ll win. —Rose

The corner of the man’s mouth lifted ever so slightly in the light of the monitor.

The image disappeared. The final writing had been difficult, squiggly letters. But Haru recognized it. That was the signature Mom used all the time!

Haru tilted her head and carefully observed the uncle, who still had his eyes tightly shut.

“Uncle passes too.”

Gong Dae-in adjusted his glasses with a click and said,

“As expected.”

Haru rubbed her nose. After investigating three times in a row, her head was throbbing. During the third test, her vision had even spun around. But as long as she only looked briefly, she seemed safe from nosebleeds, just as Mom had said!

Mom was right. Using my ability hurts a little each time. If I look for a long, long time, like I did when I was a puppy, that’s when my nose starts bleeding.

Haru tilted her head to one side.

All three uncles have Mom in their memories. Did Mom really send all three of them to be my daddies? But there aren’t any pigs with three daddies in the baby pig storybook. Could this be Mom’s test to see if Haru can find her real daddy?

Haru’s eyes sparkled.

If Haru passes the test, maybe Mom will come back sooner!

In that case, Detective Haru’s Great Mission to Find Her Real Daddy was officially underway!

When Haru opened the door, the three men entered the cramped studio apartment. Haru sat on the sofa, hugging Gomi, and looked down at the three daddies sitting on the floor.

“I’ve confirmed that you’re not villains.”

“Then you can call us Daddy now—”

“But!”

Haru raised her finger.

“Just because you’re not a villain doesn’t mean you’re a daddy. From now on, we’re going to do the real daddy test.”

“The real daddy test?”

Kang Tae-jun folded his arms.

“Fine. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Gong Dae-in pushed up his glasses.

“What are the criteria?”

“When is Haru’s birthday?”

Silence fell.

Lee Hyun-woo spoke first.

“March!”

Haru clapped her hands.

“That’s right! I got it right, didn’t I? Phew. I remembered! Jang-mi said she wanted to have her baby in spring when she had one of her own. She said spring had the nicest weather!”

The other two men grew tense.

Haru shook her head with a solemn expression.

“Uncle, you’re disqualified.”

“Wait a second! What did you say? Disqualified? Me?”

“Disqualified people should be quiet.”

Kang Tae-jun spoke up.

“Winter. You must have given birth to her after we broke up, so she was definitely born in winter.”

“What month?”

While Kang Tae-jun furrowed his brows, Gong Dae-in cut in.

“December.”

Haru’s eyes widened.

“Hey, wait. That doesn’t count!”

Kang Tae-jun interrupted.

“I said winter first. You’re just jumping on my answer. How cheap.”

Gong Dae-in smugly adjusted his glasses.

“You were the one struggling because you didn’t know the month.”

“Wait a minute. Then I’ll ask one more question.”

Haru hugged Gomi tightly and looked around at the three men.

“How did you meet Mom?”

All three men froze at the same time. Lee Hyun-woo spoke first.

“Can the disqualified contestant answer too?”

“No.”

“I wasn’t asking you!”

Kang Tae-jun ignored them and answered.

“It was at a New Year’s party.”

“A party?”

Haru tilted her head.

“Huh? I met her at a party too!”

Lee Hyun-woo chimed in.

“She was a reporter, so she must have been invited to various events.”

Kang Tae-jun casually responded,

“Did Oh Jang-mi say she was a reporter?”

Kang Tae-jun and Lee Hyun-woo turned their gazes toward Gong Dae-in. Gong Dae-in slowly began to speak.

“It was two in the morning. Someone had infiltrated the company server, and I was trying to trace the intruder.”

“What’s a server?”

“Think of it as an important room inside a computer.”

Haru nodded.

“The intruder welcomed me as if they had been waiting for me all along. That person was… Jang-mi.”

Gong Dae-in stopped speaking. Then he adjusted his glasses with an expressionless face. His words came a fraction faster than before.

“She was the first person I ever met whom I couldn’t analyze.”

“What? Jang-mi hacked into a system?”

Lee Hyun-woo was horrified. Kang Tae-jun also furrowed his brows without saying a word.

Haru recalled what Mom had told her about her daddy.

“Haru’s daddy is in heaven. He was so kind that he went to heaven.”

But these uncles didn’t look kind.

“He’s alive. Mommy was mistaken.”

Haru clutched her head, looking distressed. She was a genius baby, but this was just too difficult.

Had Mom lied? Or were the uncles lying?

Haru looked at the three men one after another.

“Are you uncles friends with each other?”

“No.”

All three answered simultaneously.

“Then are you Mom’s friends?”

This time, no one answered immediately. Kang Tae-jun spoke first.

“Since I’m your daddy, I’d say I’m closer to her than a friend.”

“I was probably the closest to her. Jang-mi and I used to talk all night long, you know?”

Lee Hyun-woo cut in.

“If we’re counting the number of all-nighters, I’m probably the one who spent the most time with her.”

The other two men whipped their heads around.

“We were talking about work,” Gong Dae-in added.

“Hmmm.”

Haru pondered.

She needed more clues. And to get more clues…