episode_0048

Finally arrived at Busan Station. Busan, which arrived after about 2 hours and 20 minutes of running. Even though it was summer and the days were long, when I looked around and saw that it was getting dark, I thought I should quickly go to the hotel and check in.

Looking at the map, there was a bus directly to Haeundae Station, but it took nearly 50 minutes. On the other hand, if you take a taxi, you can arrive within 40 minutes. The time difference wasn’t that big, but I wondered if I needed to bother taking the bus. When you come to a tourist spot, isn’t it natural for your wallet to get a bit lighter?

We went out of the station and wandered around looking for a taxi stand.

For me, finding my way wasn’t that difficult since I often come to Busan Station for business trips. I hailed a taxi and told the driver the destination, and the taxi driver started without saying much.

Fortunately, the driver seemed taciturn, so I could comfortably chat with the kids and arrive at the destination without much conversation.

“Since we’ve finally come to play in Busan, let’s have fun!”

After the taxi driver unloaded all the luggage from the trunk, he coolly started the car and said that.

“Hmm, the smell of the sea.”

I had reserved a hotel right by the sandy beach, so naturally, the salty breeze from the sea tickled my nose. No, maybe it’s not the nose that the salty breeze tickles, but the heart?

“Ah, the smell is nice. Busan, baby!”

I thought the reaction was a bit exaggerated, but I felt excited enough to go along with it. As I was captivated by the scenery of the beach in front of me for a moment, I felt the gaze of passersby gathering, so I quickly headed towards the entrance of the hotel.

As I opened the door and entered the lobby, the luxurious appearance of the lounge caught my eye. I heard that it was originally a very old hotel, but after remodeling recently, both the new building and the main building had a very chic feeling. Moreover, many people enjoying desserts filled the spacious tables, creating quite a lively atmosphere.

“Oh, nice.”

“Yeah. Wow, that mango shaved ice looks delicious. Should we try it later?”

Of course, it was not cheap, but hotel mango shaved ice seemed like an image almost synonymous with wealth, so I wanted to try it at least once. Unless my wallet is feeling light when I’m on a trip, I won’t even look at food that seems wasteful. Besides, when I see something like that, I immediately calculate the cost price, so unless I’m in a touristy mood, I won’t eat it.

“Okay. Dabin is going to eat delicious rice soup with a friend, so should we eat together?”

“Oh, greedy. Unnie.”

“Hehe, I’ll buy some separately for Dabin tomorrow. Let’s eat then.”

So, after briefly looking at the restaurant in the lounge and checking in, we headed to the front desk. Dayoung said we could check in through a kiosk without face-to-face interaction, but wouldn’t that diminish the experience of traveling?

“I made a reservation. Under the name Jung Doyeon.”

“Yes, could you please tell me the last four digits of your phone number?”

After giving the number, the clerk confirmed the reservation, informed us of the various facilities’ operating hours, and handed over the key card.

With the key card in hand, we headed straight to the room.

As soon as we entered the room on the 5th floor, the first thing we saw was a terrace facing the distant sea.

“Wow, it’s beautiful.”

Dayoung ran to the terrace as if she were excited and looked at the darkening sea.

“Wow, it’s quite cool because of the wind blowing, isn’t it?”

The temperature on the terrace was room temperature, so it wasn’t too hot, but the sea breeze blowing made it feel just right.

“Still, close the door. We don’t want the cold air to escape.”

It wasn’t too hot, but as I entered, it was the perfect time to turn on the air conditioner. Instead of Da-young, who was excitedly looking at the sea, I just closed the terrace door. Then, Davin casually lifted the lock on the terrace door.

“These days, my sister has become too cunning. She insulted me.”

Muttering like that, she looked at Da-young, who was busy looking at the sea without even knowing that the door was locked, with a wicked smile.

Then she turned her head, gave me a fresh expression, and said,

“I’ll go see the kids. Oh, I might not come in today, so I’ll contact you later after checking the atmosphere.”

Even though the cost of the triple room is not cheap, not coming in… well, if it’s her choice, I’ll respect it.

“Okay, have a good time. Oh, wait!”

I took out my wallet and handed Davin a card.

“If you need to use money, use this.”

I usually save my allowance well, but since she visited tourist spots and met friends, she might need a lot of money. Emergencies happen too.

Davin hesitated for a moment, facing me as I handed her the card, then cautiously reached out and took the card.

“Yes, I probably won’t need it, but I’ll take it just in case.”

“Okay, have fun and come back.”

Saying that, Davin left the room. Now only Da-young and I were left. After Da-young enjoyed watching the sea for about 5 minutes, taking pictures, she turned around and gestured for me to look at her. But I just smiled slyly and shook my head.

Seemingly bored, she tried to enter the room with an uninteresting expression, but…

-Beep, beep!

Since the lock was on, there was no way it would open.

“What’s this! Open it!”

It was Davin’s doing, but somehow it seemed fun. I didn’t feel like opening it either.

I shook my head again.

“Oh, stop playing around! Mom!”

She must have been quite embarrassed, seeing that she even changed the way she addressed me to “Mom” after arriving at the hotel and persisting.

“Tell me what you did wrong.”

As I spoke confidently, Da-young frowned as if she didn’t like it.

“Is this how it’s going to be? Will you get revenge later?”

“I didn’t do anything wrong. Davin locked it, and I just watched.”

Then she took out her phone and called Davin, arguing with her. But it seemed like Davin was handling it well, so she hung up bravely.

“Oh, please open it. It’s getting hot.”

“Promise. Knock when you come in through the bedroom door in the morning.”

Because she would suddenly open the bedroom door every morning, and since she found something fun in the photo she took of me before, she often took photos. Although she claimed to use them for storage purposes only, I didn’t feel good about being captured disheveled while sleeping, so at least as a precaution, I set that condition.

“Yiik, th-that’s…”

“Don’t like it? Then forget it.”

Saying that, I turned around and pretended to leave the room, but Da-young immediately responded as if screaming.

“Oh, okay! Just knock, right!”

In response, I turned back with a relaxed attitude and unlocked the door.

Da-young, who entered the room immediately, seemed quite hot, sweating profusely.

“Childishly really…”

Saying that, she cooled herself off in front of the air conditioner, feeling the cool breeze.

“By the way, what should we eat for dinner? There’s a famous grilled beef place near the hotel, shall we go there?”

Of course, there was a more famous restaurant that offered beef ribs for 50,000 won per serving, but since my daughter prefers rice soup, why bother going to such an expensive place? We could go to a local restaurant when Davin returns tomorrow.

Actually, when you think about it, it’s funny to think that there would be such a good value-for-money food spot in Haeundae, which is famous as the representative tourist destination in Busan.

“I looked it up on the train earlier. How about tonkatsu?”

“Huh? Tonkatsu? You can eat that a lot even at places nearby.”

Coming all the way to Busan for tonkatsu seems like quite an imbalance, doesn’t it?

“Oh, I heard there’s a nationally famous tonkatsu restaurant in the neighborhood next to it, Gwangalli.”

Even so, isn’t tonkatsu just tonkatsu? Nowadays, with everyone copying things so well, unless it’s something remarkably special, it’s a bit disappointing to spend a vacation meal on tonkatsu.

Yes, there was a time when I thought like that.

“W-What is this taste!”

Juicy. The juices burst out explosively.

This Japanese tonkatsu restaurant had an extremely long waiting line. The operating hours were until 9 o’clock, and we arrived around 8:10, so we waited for about 20 minutes even though it was close to closing time. Even then, because it was near closing time, we only waited for 20 minutes, but during lunch and dinner hours, you may have to wait an additional hour there.

I thought, why wait 1 hour and 20 minutes for tonkatsu, but after tasting it, my thoughts completely changed.

“T-The tonkatsu has a charcoal smell?”

Dayoung seemed quite surprised by the taste despite inviting herself along. It wasn’t just my imagination; there really was a charcoal smell coming from the tonkatsu. I wondered what they were doing by putting briefly fried tonkatsu on the grill, but it seemed to be a process of imparting a charcoal aroma.

I learned something new. I should try it at home with a mini grill sometime.

No, more than that, the quality of the pork cutlet and the level of cooking were excellent. Rather than just eating tonkatsu, it felt like adding a crispy coating to deliciously cooked meat.

This is… culinary art.

I used to be a woman whose appetite had greatly diminished, but on that day, I couldn’t resist overeating.

Of course, even though Teacher Yeongsu advised me to eat moderately after looking at my diet, since there was a gym at the hotel, I decided to compensate by working out there.

“Phew, I’m full.”

In the end, I couldn’t finish everything no matter how much I ate, but at least I had a satisfying meal.

Since we took a taxi to Gwangalli, I feel like I want to do something more before leaving.

“Oh, Mom. There’s a small amusement park called Beach Land on the coast here. Shall we go check it out?”

Suddenly reverting to the title of “Mom.” As expected, judging by the reactions of those around me, we decided to go with the setting of being sisters like before.

“Okay. Let’s just go as sisters while we’re in Busan.”

Dayoung also agreed, saying, “That sounds good.”

“By the way, are there any rides there?”

Since I wondered if there was an amusement park in Gwangalli in the first place, I asked, and it turns out there are just a few small rides. Bumper cars, Viking ship, Disco Pang Pang, and so on.

“Well, that’s fine. Let’s go there.”

And so, we headed to Gwangalli Beach Land, where there are amusement rides.