Why am I the Princess?

Since that day, Dad had made it a habit to print and save every photo we took together. Without me realizing, he had filled an entire box—and then some—with pictures. It seemed like he’d had some kind of revelation because, after that, he started taking me out to explore the world more often.

Today, he brought me to a building I’d never seen before.

“Tada~ This is Daddy’s studio!” he announced proudly.

The space was clean, almost as if someone had been using it until recently.

“Jiho oppa!”

The sudden knock on the door startled Dad, and he hurried to open it just a crack.

“It’s been forever!” the voice outside said warmly.

“Yeah… it has,” Dad replied cautiously.

“Are you coming back?”

“No.”

The woman outside the frosted glass door seemed disappointed, nodding slightly at his response.

“Is someone in there? Don’t tell me…”

Sighing, Dad opened the door fully. The woman standing there was stunning—so much so that I couldn’t help but stare. Still, she didn’t hold a candle to Mom, at least not based on the photos I’d seen.

“Modern women sure are good-looking these days…” I mused silently.

“Your daughter?” the woman asked, her eyes widening in disbelief.

“Yeah,” Dad replied simply.

“Oh my gosh… unbelievable. She’s gorgeous!”

She gawked at me, her reaction more dramatic than even Dad’s.

“Hi~ I’m Jieun, your big sister!” she cooed.

“…If you’re Daddy’s friend, shouldn’t you be an auntie or, like… a ma’am?”

Her face froze in shock, and she stared at me like I’d just insulted her entire existence. Meanwhile, Dad burst out laughing beside us.

“Should I be Auntie, then?” she asked hesitantly.

“Sure.”

She exhaled in relief. “Whew… I almost got called an old lady at 23…”

“Twenty-three?”

I froze. I realized, for the first time, that I didn’t actually know how old Dad was. Sure, he looked young, but I’d assumed it was just good genes. Twenty-three?

“How old is Daddy?” I asked, turning to him.

“What? You don’t know how old your own dad is?” Dad teased.

“Nope,” I replied bluntly.

Jieun smirked and answered for him. “He’s 26.”

I blinked, thinking back to what I had been doing at 26 in my previous life. At that age, I’d been working as an enforcer for a mafia organization, climbing the ranks for the sake of our group’s growth. Meanwhile, Dad had started raising me when he was just 22—a time when I’d only just begun the grueling training necessary to survive my dangerous world.

“…”

The thought hit me like a ton of bricks. A barely-adult Dad had given up his freedom and dreams to raise me.

“You probably don’t know how amazing your dad is, huh?” Jieun said, clearly proud of him.

“I have a rough idea,” I replied casually.

Jieun pulled out her phone and held it out to me. “Look at this! I bet you’ve never seen it before.”

I glanced at the screen. It was a video I’d already seen.

“I’ve seen it.”

“R-really? You’ve watched him perform?” she asked, clearly deflated.

“Yeah.”

She shot Dad a pleading look, but he just shrugged, pretending not to notice.

I turned to Jieun with a serious expression. “Your name’s Jieun, right?”

“Yeah? That’s right.”

“Then where are Translated Auntie and Edited Auntie?”

The room fell silent.

“…”

“…”

Unable to hold it in any longer, I burst out laughing. “Oh, sh**!” I cackled, clutching my sides.

The room remained awkwardly quiet as I laughed uncontrollably, thoroughly enjoying myself. Jieun and Dad stared at me, both unsure how to react.

Eventually, Jieun excused herself, saying she was going to buy snacks.

“Don’t tease adults like that,” Dad scolded gently once she was gone.

“Okay, but it was fun,” I said with a grin.

Dad chuckled softly, clearly amused despite himself. “Honestly… it was kind of funny.”

“See? By the way, did you tell Auntie Jieun what kind of snacks I like?”

“Yeah, I did.”

I nodded in approval. I only liked sweets that truly tasted indulgent—none of that mild, half-sweet nonsense. If it wasn’t rich like real chocolate, I wouldn’t touch it.

A little while later, Dad, perhaps inspired by the visit, sat down at his desk. It seemed like he had been holding onto a song idea for a while because he quickly began working on it. After a bit, he played part of it for me.

“What do you think?” he asked eagerly.

“It’s different from the songs you’ve written before,” I said, tilting my head thoughtfully.

Dad ruffled my hair with a smile and said, “We’re going to do this together, Siyoon.”

“Really?” I asked.

“It’s going to be fun, right?!” he said eagerly.

“No.”

“…”

At my blunt response, Dad’s face fell, his expression resembling a puppy caught in the rain. I couldn’t help but laugh as I reassured him.

“It’ll be fun,” I said with a playful smile.

“Right?!” Dad’s face lit up instantly.

Determined to live up to his reputation as a musical genius, Dad set to work crafting a song he was sure I’d enjoy—even before Aunt Jieun, who had gone to fetch snacks, returned.

“Whoa…” I muttered as he played a snippet of the melody.

Dad patiently explained his process, breaking it down step by step.

“So, you do this… and then this…”

Just as I was starting to get the hang of it, Aunt Jieun returned, her hands full of snack bags.

“Siyoon! I’m back!” she called cheerfully.

Dad, fully absorbed in the recording booth, didn’t notice her arrival and continued singing. Jieun set the snacks on the desk and sat down casually, speaking into the microphone.

“Oppa, redo that part,” she said.

Dad nodded, “I was thinking the same. Should I try raising the key this time?”

“No, lower it,” she suggested.

“Lower it?” he asked, tilting his head.

Though she had only heard a short section, Dad seemed to trust Jieun’s instincts completely. He nodded and sang again, this time in a lower key. The result was a voice laden with emotion, brimming with melancholy.

“Isn’t it a bit too dark?” he asked.