episode_0044

After the confusing and dizzying bath, I came out of the bathroom slightly dizzy and dried my hair with Hyesol. Then, Hyesol had milk. I replenished my moisture with coffee. As it approached the opening time of the kids’ cafe, we changed clothes and left the house.

The kids’ cafe was located in front of an apartment complex, so we decided to walk there without any special means of transportation. It was a distance where even a 5-year-old child could walk comfortably, so I held Hyesol’s hand and walked briskly forward.

Leaving the apartment complex, we crossed a crosswalk and saw a commercial building right in front of us. It was the very cafe I often visited.

“Ajumma! Over here, over here!”

Perhaps because it was a place I often visited, she seemed to know the area well. She greeted the building as if she were familiar with it, which was quite cute.

“Oh, our Hyesol knows the way well.”

Hyesol held my hand and urged me to hurry, leading me by the hand into the elevator that took us up to the kids’ cafe.

“Kids’ cafe~ Kids’ cafe~”

Hyesol hummed eagerly.

When the elevator stopped on the 3rd floor where the kids’ cafe was located and the door opened, I couldn’t resist and rushed out, leaving my hand behind.

“Hyesol, let’s go with the ajumma!”

Following Hyesol, I hurriedly got off the elevator and entered the entrance of the kids’ cafe. The sight that greeted us as soon as we entered was simply a large playground. Even though it was a narrow space for a kids’ cafe, efforts to make the most of the limited space were evident in the well-coordinated layout decorated with popular character concepts for children.

“Welcome. You’ve come early considering we just opened. Haha.”

A woman in her thirties approached me and started talking. Judging from her discussion about the opening, she must be the owner.

“Well, my child was so eager.”

In truth, I hurried because I was afraid my child would get bored playing with insects at home, but who cares about the truth. As long as Hyesol enjoys herself.

“Hahaha, your face looks familiar, your name is…”

“Hyesol. Park Hyesol.”

“Ah, right. Hyesol. But you don’t seem like her mother… Aunt?”

It seemed like she thought I might be Choi Jin-hee’s younger sister rather than looking as high-profile as Choi Jin-hee. At least when she looked from my face down to my chest, she realized I wasn’t Choi Jin-hee.

“Hahaha, I’m not her aunt. Hyesol’s mom had something come up, so I’m taking care of her for a few days.”

“I see. Anyway, since Hyesol has a membership at our cafe, you can just go in. I’ll take care of today’s check-in myself.”

After a brief conversation, we entered the kids’ cafe. Since we arrived right after the opening, besides us, there was no one else. Perhaps one or two people would arrive soon.

“Hyesol, none of your friends have come yet. Shall we play together with the ajumma here?”

When I asked Hyesol, who was already playing alone in the airball pool, she seemed a bit disappointed, but soon suggested that we play together, urging me to join her in the pool.

But I wondered if adults could go in, so I looked at the owner, who smiled and nodded.

“The ajumma will go in soon too.”

Fortunately, or rather naturally, I didn’t encounter any difficulties today, as I had come prepared in comfortable pants and a t-shirt instead of formal attire, just in case such a situation arose.

Age 39, playing like this in the ball pit gives me a bit of reality check, but isn’t parenting like that anyway? I became a parent too early, experiencing these things at a young age. Nowadays, parents who marry late according to the trend aren’t uncommon to have children around Hyeseol’s age even at my age.

In fact, Choi Jin-hee is only 5 years older than me.

So, doing these things at my age shouldn’t really distort my image.

Thinking that way, I played with Hyeseol with all my might.

“Ajumma! Throw it here too!”

After about 30 minutes of playing vigorously with Hyeseol in the ball pit, sweat had already soaked my body. Darn it, becoming like this so soon after taking a bath. If I knew this would happen, I should have just washed up quickly and come out.

But seeing Hyeseol, also sweating and enjoying herself, the reality check was quickly resolved.

Parenting is originally like that, nodding.

Anyway, as time passed, one by one, guests started arriving, and Hyeseol began talking to familiar faces and playing together with them without me noticing.

“Hyeseol… Aunt?”

A woman who seemed to be a parent of one of the kids playing with Hyeseol approached me.

“It’s not like that. I’m close with Hyeseol’s mom. I agreed to take care of her for two days.”

“Oh, I see.”

She then looked me up and down. What’s this?

“Is there something wrong…?”

“Oh, no. Just… By the way, what’s going on with Hyeseol’s mom? Why did she leave her child with someone else…?”

Does she know Choi Jin-hee well? Well, if the kids get along, the parents will probably get along too.

“Hyeseol’s grandmother hurt her back. So, she’s taking care of her…”

Upon understanding, the woman nodded her head as if she accepted it.

“Oh, but what about her husband, why did he leave the child with someone else…?”

Ah, she got the wrong idea from there. She probably thought everyone knew that the two were separated.

“Oh, that’s… He’s on a business trip!”

“I see… Got it.”

She seemed slightly embarrassed for prying into someone else’s affairs. She nodded her head in a somewhat softened attitude, glanced at the kids, then resumed the conversation with the moms sitting next to her. Somehow, I ended up joining their conversation naturally.

It’s funny how these moms, without asking each other’s ages, started showing a bit of deference to me because they thought I looked younger than them.

“Have you been married, Doyeon?”

“Well, I… used to be…”

“I see.”

They understood me as I spoke at length. Well, how many couples must have met and broken up in this new city? It’s not such a rare thing. Just look at Choi Jin-hee around me.

“Well, it’s okay. You’re still young, so you can start over. Yeah.”

They comforted me.

“What about kids? Don’t you have any?”

“Look at my body. How could a woman’s body after childbirth look like that?”

Even if women were beautiful when they were young, they say that their bodies often deteriorate after childbirth. In fact, some young women avoid having children because of this reason.

“I, I have a child.”

More like children than a child.

“Tsk tsk tsk. How many?”

“Two, two.”

“Oh. How are they? Did their dad take them away? It’s tough for women to raise two kids alone these days, right? If it’s still an adjustment period, think about it again.”

“How old are they?”

It seems that because I work from home as a full-time housewife, they seem very interested in other people’s household affairs. In their own way, it seems like they are giving me advice.

“The older one is seventeen, and the younger one is sixteen.”

“What, what? Not seven, six years old but seventeen, sixteen?”

“Well, how old are you…?”

“Thirty-nine.”

Their faces turned pale, beads of cold sweat forming on their foreheads. It seemed a bit ridiculous that they, who looked younger than me or more precisely, appeared to be the same age as Choi Jin-hee, were treating me like a younger sister, offering life advice based solely on my appearance.

“Oh, I see. Haha. You look so young…”

“Oh, I see. I thought you were a college student?”

It seemed a bit too much, no matter how you looked at it. Well, if I said I was a late 20s college student, it wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable.

“Um, should I call you unni (older sister)?”

“Just call me comfortably. I’ll just be Chaehui’s mom, Daehui’s mom, Hyunsoo’s mom.”

Since they were practically strangers except for taking care of Hyesol, I decided there was no need for formalities. And after revealing my age, instead of giving me life advice as they intended, they started asking me questions seeking advice. Whether there were any difficulties raising children, what challenges lay ahead as they grew older, how they were handling their children’s education, and so on.

Then, one of the moms cautiously asked, “When did you get divorced?”

“It hasn’t been long. About four months, I think.”

“Would it be impolite to ask for the reason…?”

“It might be impolite…”

She seemed hesitant to apologize.

“Well, it’s not a good thing. A common reason, you know. Because of infidelity…”

“Oh…”

A moment of awkward silence followed.

“So, it’s the men’s fault? Ugh, can’t they manage their desires properly? They’re just beasts. Beasts.”

This led to a tirade of insults towards their husbands. Men shouldn’t do this, shouldn’t do that. Some even suggested cutting off certain body parts.

I found it quite surprising to witness such gossip among these women. Was this normal behavior for them? Despite that, I couldn’t help but wonder if it was right for these wives, who worked hard for their families, to speak ill of their husbands in this manner. While they tried to sympathize with me for going through infidelity and divorce, in reality, I was the one who had been the husband. Oh, of course, I’m not saying I cheated.

“Do you agree with that, unni?”

“Uh, um… Yes, I guess?”

Not having much to say, I remained quiet, and they passed the baton as if seeking my approval.

And as the kids played around, I found myself unintentionally listening to their gossip about their husbands, something I didn’t want to hear.