Accidentally become a father-Chapter 23: Administratively Speaking

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"Done," I said.

Yuna looked at the form.

Her eyes lingered on the name.

She didn’t touch it.

Didn’t smile.

Made no major reaction.

Just gave a small nod.

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"Thank you," she said.

"For what?"

"For calling."

"It was just procedure."

She looked down slightly.

"You’re not mad."

"I told you I wasn’t."

"I thought... maybe you wouldn’t want to get involved."

I put the pen down on the table.

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"If I didn’t want to get involved, I wouldn’t have called."

She fell silent.

Quiet for a few seconds.

Then she asked quietly,

"Are you scared?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because nothing has changed."

She furrowed her brow slightly.

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"What do you mean?"

"I’m still living in this apartment. You’re still going to school next week. The bills still come every month. The world doesn’t stop just because of one name in a little box."

She looked at the paper again.

"But now it’s more official," she said.

"Yes."

"That means... if something happens to me..."

"He will answer the phone."

"And so will you."

"Yes."

She took a small breath.

Then, without much movement, she shifted her futon slightly with her foot.

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An inch closer to the table.

A small movement.

Barely noticeable.

But I saw it.

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I picked up the folder and slipped all the forms inside.

"Done for today," I said.

"We aren’t going anywhere else?"

"No."

She looked relieved.

Then asked in a normal tone,

"Can I watch TV?"

"You may. Human standard volume."

She stood up and walked to the small television on the shelf.

As the screen flickered on, blue light reflected against the white wall.

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I sat for a few more seconds in the exact same spot.

Looking at the small box that was now filled.

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Kuroda Seiji — Emergency Contact.

A name I didn’t save in my phone. A number I might never call again. Unless the world truly forced my hand.

Behind me, the chatter of a daytime broadcast began to play.

Yuna sat on her gray futon.

Her legs folded neatly. Her eyes focused on the screen.

And for the first time since yesterday,

we looked like a normal family.

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Administratively speaking. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

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