(English) Today, I Must Ask Dad How He's Doing

This book is based on the author's real experience. The main characters are a daughter and a father. The daughter calmly observes how her dad spends the first year after retirement. So it's a story about the father, but it's the daughter who tells the story like a monologue.

After retirement, the father finally gets to live a peaceful and quiet life that hadn't been possible before. He enjoys a hobby that he'd always been putting off and hangs out with his friends. He attends his daughter's graduation ceremony for the first time ever and volunteers to prepare breakfast for the whole family. Perhaps, this was his attempt at getting closer to the rest of the family, as his hectic work life had never allowed him to communicate properly with them.

But as time goes by, he gradually speaks less and sighs more out of boredom and an uncertain future. He tries to get another job but fails, which further discourages him. Can the daughter give him support?

Her mind is depicted in her dreams.
In the pouring rain, she says to her father, "Dad, let's share my umbrella. Mine's bigger now."

(Japanese) 今日こそはお父さんの安否を聞かないといけない

娘の無関心な瞳に映るお父さんの退職後の1年間を描いた絵本だ。お父さんは家族のために朝ごはんを準備する。ゆとりのある余暇時間を楽しみ、たまには友達にも会って…。娘はお父さんの退職ライフも悪くないなと思っていた。ところが、時が経つにつれお父さんは口数が減りため息が増えていく。再就職の面接のあった日、お父さんはうなだれているように見えた。その日は1年前に退職した日のように雨が降った。傘もさしていないのに、お父さんは大したことないと「大丈夫だ」と娘の心配を無理やり聞き流して出ていく。やっぱり退職したあの日のように。その日の夜、娘の夢には雨でずぶ濡れのお父さんが出てくるのだが…。

딸의 무덤덤한 시선에 비친 아빠의 퇴직 후 1년을 담은 그림책이다. 아빠는 가족들을 위해 아침을 준비한다. 여유롭고 한가한 날들을 보내며 빨래와 청소를 하고 취미를 즐기고 친구도 종종 만나는 퇴직 라이프가 그다지 나쁘지 않다고 딸은 그렇게 생각했다. 그런데 시간이 흐르면서 아빠는 말수가 줄고 한숨이 늘어간다. 재취업 면접이 있던 날, 아빠의 어깨는 많이 쳐져 보인다. 1년전 퇴직하던 날처럼 비가 내렸다. 우산도 쓰지 않았지만 아빠는 대수롭지 않다며 ‘괜찮다’고 딸의 걱정을 애써 외면한다. 역시나 퇴직하던 날처럼. 그날 밤 딸의 꿈에는 비에 흠뻑 젖은 아빠가 등장하는데….