Accidentally become a father-Chapter 31: A Nine-Year-Old’s Military Operation

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I was sitting at the small apartment table when Yuna slid a piece of paper toward me.

Not one piece.

Two pages.

Written in neat, straight handwriting, complete with category divider lines.

"What is this?" I asked.

"A list of school and personal necessities," she replied.

Her tone was like a secretary who had just finalized a proposal.

---

I picked up the paper.

At the top, it read:

MANDATORY NECESSITIES – TOP PRIORITY

Below it was a bulleted list.

Summer uniform – 2 sets

Winter uniform – 2 sets

Indoor shoes

Outdoor shoes

White socks – 5 pairs

Waterproof school bag

Pencil case (large capacity)

2B Pencils – 1 dozen

Erasers – 3

Transparent 30 cm ruler

Grid notebooks – 5

Lined notebooks – 5

---

I stopped reading.

"Are you planning to open a branch school?" I asked.

Yuna blinked slowly. "It is better to be fully equipped than to have to come back later."

"This is shopping, not a military operation."

"Which is exactly why it must be efficient."

I looked at her.

She sat completely straight. Back upright. Hands resting on the table. A dead-serious expression.

A nine-year-old child.

"And this?" I asked, pointing to the bottom half.

PERSONAL NECESSITIES – DAILY ROUTINE

Small towels – 2

Large towel – 1

Spare toothbrush

Gargle cup

Summer pajamas

Winter pajamas

Casual loungewear – 3 sets

---

"You already have clothes," I said.

"Those are temporary garments." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"We aren’t refugees."

"It is still inefficient."

I slowly lowered the paper.

"You’re nine."

"Yes."

"Why does this list read like a legal brief?"

She paused.

"...I’m used to it."

The answer was short. Too short.

I read the very bottom section.

MISCELLANEOUS (OPTIONAL BUT RECOMMENDED)

New lunchbox

Stainless steel water bottle

Neutral-patterned handkerchief

Simple hair clips

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I let out a quiet sigh.

"Do you know what optional means?"

"Worthy of consideration."

"That’s not what it means."

She looked at me with an utterly serious expression.

"If we have to come back next week because we forgot something, that would be even more inefficient."

I folded the paper in half.

"We won’t forget."

"We might."

"I won’t."

She fell silent.

Then, she said slowly, "You are quite confident, Papa."

"Yes."

She tilted her head slightly. Observing my face.

"You do not look like someone who enjoys shopping."

"I don’t."

"Then why do you look so calm?"

"Because this isn’t an emergency."

She processed the answer.

Her hand reached for her pen again.

"In that case, we can start with the top priorities."

"We’ll buy what’s necessary first."

"All of it is necessary."

"Not all of it today."

She stared at the list.

Her eyebrows dipped slightly.

"Uniforms are necessary."

"Yes."

"Shoes are necessary."

"Yes."

"A pencil case is necessary."

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"You could use a plastic bag."

Her head snapped up. "No."

"That was a joke."

She was quiet for a second.

Then she gave me a flat stare.

"Your jokes are hard to distinguish."

"That was also a joke."

She let out a tiny sigh.

---

I stood up and grabbed my light jacket from the hook near the door.

"Ready?"

Yuna looked at the list one more time.

With utmost seriousness, she folded it neatly in half. Then into quarters. Then slipped it into her small bag.

"I will manage the budget."

"You don’t know the budget."

"That is why I will observe."

"Sounds like surveillance."

"It is cooperation."

I opened the apartment door.

The air outside was slightly warmer than usual.

Yuna stood beside me. Her small bag hanging from her shoulder. Her hair tied back simply.

She looked like an ordinary schoolgirl.

Too ordinary.

---

"We’ll start with clothes," I said.

"Understood."

She stepped out first.

Then stopped.

Looked back at me.

"Papa."

"Hm?"

"We are not going to buy unnecessary things, right?"

"I never buy unnecessary things."

She nodded, satisfied.

We began walking down the apartment corridor.

Her footsteps were orderly.

Too orderly.

But at the end of the hallway, right before the stairs, she said quietly—

"If there is something cute... it can be considered."

I kept my eyes straight ahead.

"We’ll see."

She didn’t reply.

But her pace picked up just a little.

Little did we know, the real test of her strict "efficiency" was waiting just behind the automatic doors of the department store, ready to launch an assault of colors she wasn’t prepared for.

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