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It’s enjoyable to see children growing up.

If, just if, I had looked a bit older, that might have been a little scary. After all, what would happen when these kids grow up and I’m all old and gray?

The world doesn’t run perfectly. Economic issues or various other problems can arise. If luck is really bad, there could be a traffic accident or an illness.

Well, honestly, getting into a traffic accident or getting sick might not be a huge deal in this world. As long as it’s not instant death, there are ways to survive and recover.

Thinking back, economic issues can be somewhat set aside. Both my wife and I, well… even if we’re not exactly “magical girls,” we’re still involved in various matters and earning a decent amount of money. The money we’ve saved up together is quite substantial.

Plus, though it’s a sensitive topic to bring up now, we also have quite a bit of inherited wealth in various forms.

Honestly, even if the Earth were on the brink of destruction, as long as it didn’t happen overnight, there would still be other options. There are other planets in this world where people can live, and if it’s urgent, we can just build colonies and migrate. Pang-pang’s company is already building several colonies for research purposes, and there are quite a few companies like that or slightly less capable within Eun-ha.

Moreover, my wife and I, probably due to the influence of magic, have almost stopped aging since we became university students. There has been research on drastically reducing aging through magic, but even in the academic community, that’s regarded as quite unusual.

Life spans do ultimately come to an end, though.

Anyway.

When I weigh everything like this, it might seem like my worries are a bit excessive, but still, it’s both joyful and somewhat concerning to think that my daughters and I are growing older together.

“Mom.”

Ji-yun was sitting on my lap, looking up at me.

It seemed the program on TV wasn’t very entertaining.

The way she looked up at me with her head tilted appeared remarkably flexible. Well, at that age, elementary school children are generally quite flexible.

“Yeah?”

I lazily replied and rubbed her head, and Ji-yun said,

Ji-yun’s hair resembled Ha-yoon’s. Pink hair.

It seems there’s a complicated relationship between dominant and recessive genes in this world. When blond and black-haired people have a child, the likelihood of the child having black hair is much higher, but pink hair? Not so much.

Though her hair is pink, her personality seems to resemble mine a bit more than Ha-yoon’s.

……

Hmm, maybe not? Thinking about it, I don’t think I was ever this bright. Perhaps the child grew bright due to her home environment. If I think like that, it makes me a little happy.

Her pink eyes sparkled as she looked up at me.

“How did you meet Mom and the other Mamas?”

That was a question I hadn’t anticipated.

“Uh…”

How should I explain this?

Actually, explaining my relationship with ‘Ha-yoon’ isn’t that difficult. We’ve liked each other since childhood, despite some ups and downs along the way.

Ji-hye… that’s fine since we grew up together. Jua could also be seen as someone I met in a work context.

However, somehow it feels too careless to explain it that way.

“Indeed.”

As I pondered briefly, Jua slid into the spot beside the sofa.

“Mom!”

Right. To Ji-yun, everyone is “Mom.” It’s amusing how we all turned to look whenever someone called “Mom!” Yet, turning around, I could roughly guess which ‘Mom’ the kids were calling. It was a different tone when they called for each one.

It seems that having only one mom in a household taught the kids to differentiate in their own way.

It was more about the atmosphere than a verbal expression, but they somehow managed.

“How did we meet, I wonder?”

“No, you know that story already, obviously.”

“The story from the partner’s mouth feels entirely different, you know. I want to know when you fell for me.”

Um…

If we’re going to nitpick, wasn’t it you who fell for me first?

But saying something like that here seemed like a discussion that could lead to me being on the hook later tonight in another sense.

Jua chuckled while ruffling Ji-yun’s hair. Is Eun-ha still sleeping in the other room?

“……”

I racked my brain. When did I ever fall for Jua?

I’m sure it wasn’t love at first sight. I didn’t understand why Jua liked me at the point she started to.

However, as time passed slowly, I gradually found myself liking Jua too. So much that I wanted to make her happy.

“……I liked your hair.”

I said while staring blankly at Jua.

Jua’s hand that had been ruffling Ji-yun’s hair halted.

“At first, I think I just liked touching that hair.”

After insisting that I should say it first, Jua blushed and pulled her hand away from Ji-yun’s head.

“Again? Again?”

Ji-yun asked excitedly.

“And, um. I also liked that you never gave up.”

Yeah.

I grew to like her. Even when I showed somewhat lukewarm reactions, Jua never gave up on me.

“She’d come close, shyly, sit beside me, and confess. Honestly, it’s not easy not to fall for someone saying they like you with that kind of face.”

“……”

Jua lowered her head, but her ears, always tied up in a ponytail, were already visible.

Since Jua usually had pale skin, it was too obvious when her ears turned red.

“Hmm, really?”

That made me jump up in surprise.

“Mom!”

There stood Ji-hye, holding hands with Eun-hye and Ye-ji. The two children were younger than Ji-yun and Eun-ha by two years. They just entered elementary school last year but were still full of energy.

Though they had been asleep just a moment ago.

“Then, what about me? How did you fall for me? Huh?”

“Right. How did you fall for Mom?”

Why was she suddenly so curious?

I hugged Ji-yun tightly for no reason. Hehe, and Ji-yun giggled.

“We’ve been together for so long.”

When there are many wives, you have to treat all those wives as fairly as possible. That’s the responsible thing to do. Above all, if I hadn’t loved them equally, I shouldn’t have married them.

“Being together for so long, little by little, I slowly realized all the lovable parts about each of you.”

“……Really?”

Ji-hye’s face turned a little red.

Then she sat down with the kids at my feet.

With Ji-hye perched on my lap, she bragged, “Look, Mom says she’s been in love with Mom since long ago!”

“Ji-hye, you know me so well.”

I said while leaning back against the sofa, still holding Ji-yun tightly. Gently stroking her head slowly calmed me down.

Soft, warm, moving gently with every breath. Ji-yun particularly loved being in my arms. I, too, enjoyed holding Ji-yun.

“I know what to do when you’re feeling down, I know all the things you like and dislike. And I even adjust to that. My personality was pretty terrible when I was young.”

“Mom had a bad personality?”

“Yeah. Mom was totally bad.”

“No, add ‘personality’ to it when you speak.”

I answered dumbfounded at Ji-hye’s words.

Well, adding ‘personality’ doesn’t really make it sound better.

“What about me?”

“Mom!”

That was already the third “Mom!”

Ji-yun loves her twin siblings. She adores them so much. As of now, she’s probably with Jia and Joo-eun.

Are they lying side by side, sleeping? With their calm and relaxed personalities, they often appeared to be the most mature of the bunch.

Ha-yoon sank down beside me with a thud, linking her arm with mine.

“What about me?”

Ha-yoon’s personality has become a bit cheeky since we got married. No, maybe this is her honest side. I liked this version too.

Ha-yoon, in her newfound confidence.

“……A flower.”

“Uh?”

“You were like a beautiful flower. One that I didn’t want anyone to pick.”

“……”

At my honest sentiment, Ha-yoon immediately zipped her lips. Her face turned red, reminding me of her childhood, which was somewhat amusing.

“A flower?”

“Yep.”

When Ji-yun asked, I happily replied.

Ah, I was so drowsy I felt I might doze off right here holding Ji-yun.

Still, I had to finish answering.

“However, you were much sturdier than I had expected. Throughout the time I was watching you, you stood firm and never wilted.”

“……”

“But just watching made me feel jealous.”

That’s right.

I had thought I wanted to win.

“But later I discovered. That flower also thought of me as a flower.”

And that made me happy.

Thinking back, I was always surrounded by flowers. I was a flower too.

I realized that a bit late—still, I was happy.

Even now, I am surrounded by such beautiful flowers.

“Hmm, I see.”

Ji-yun’s voice grew somewhat drowsy.

On each side of me, and from my legs, I felt the warmth of them leaning against me.

I liked that.

The fact that we could lean on each other. It just felt nice.

 

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