episode_0051

Around the end of the fireworks, Davin received a call. It seems like they will come in tomorrow morning.

“Oh really? Anyway, be careful and have fun since you’re away from home. If anything happens, call me right away. Got it?”

“Yes, Mom. I’ll call you again when I’m about to leave tomorrow.”

“Okay. Have fun and come back~”

After hanging up the phone, when talking to Dayoung, she raised her eyebrows as if she was displeased and said,

“What is he doing coming to play with his family? Really.”

“Let it go~ It’s not easy for him to come to Busan, so he should enjoy meeting his friends as much as possible.”

“Still!”

“Ugh, why. Is it not fun to hang out with me?”

“Oh, no. Who said that?”

Dayoung’s sentiment wasn’t entirely incomprehensible, but anyway, until tomorrow morning, they had to enjoy themselves together. Although Haeundae and Gwangalli were tourist destinations with many places open late at night, there were only inappropriate places for a high school student like Dayoung to go. Yes. Places where alcohol is involved.

So, as regrettable as it was, it was time to start heading in.

“Should we go in now? I want to wash quickly because the sea breeze is too strong.”

“Oh, they have a spa there. Should we do that now?”

Looking at the time, it was already past 10 o’clock, close to 10:30. And if I remember correctly, they definitely close by 9:50.

“Oh, that’s a shame. We must try it tomorrow. As soon as Davin arrives, he will play in the outdoor pool and then go to the hot springs in the evening. How about that?”

Having to wear a swimsuit twice a day and immerse oneself in water seemed more strenuous than expected. Isn’t it better to spend the whole day at the hotel in Busan?

“It’s a hotel vacation.”

Ah, right. It was a hotel vacation, not a beach vacation.

“Still… Shouldn’t we try dishes like Gukbap, Milmyeon, and Dongnae Pajeon?”

“Mom… Did you come here to eat?”

“No, what else is left besides eating?”

“Photos are left. After all, if you eat, it just turns into waste?”

I enjoyed finding and eating delicious food as much as cooking. While other men relieve stress through sex during the three basic desires, I relieved stress through food.

So, I was quite satisfied after eating something delicious for dinner tonight.

“Got it. Then let’s go to the pool tomorrow afternoon and the spa the next day.”

“Huh? Check-out is at 11, so what…”

“So what? They open at 8, so we can go early, soak in hot water, and then leave.”

No, why is a 17-year-old talking like a 40-year-old woman? Soaking in hot water.

“Anyway, since Davin won’t be here tomorrow morning, we should go out a bit, eat something delicious, tour around with Davin in the evening, and then go to the pool.”

Actually, I wanted to see the ocean view from the infinity pool in the morning…

“Since the spa also has an infinity pool, we can see it on Sunday morning.”

I thought the schedule was too tight, but oh well. Since I’m on vacation, I might as well enjoy it as much as possible.

“Oh, how about Songdo? I want to go there too, and since it’s just beyond Busan Station in Yeongdo, can’t we check out, leave our luggage in the locker, and go?”

If that’s the case, I might arrive home late at night after taking the evening train.

“You don’t even go to work, Mom.”

Well, unless it’s a break like now, when would I ever do something like this?

“Got it. Let’s do that then.”

Having made that decision, I hailed a passing taxi and headed back to the hotel. As I was about to enter, suddenly.

“Oh, can I have just one can of beer?”

Suddenly thinking about alcohol, I asked Dayoung.

“Go ahead. Why ask. But Mom, you can’t handle alcohol. Will one can be okay?”

Saying that, we headed to a nearby convenience store.

“Welcome.”

Certainly, even convenience store clerks in Busan speak in the Busan dialect, so you can really feel like you’ve gone on vacation to a different region.

“Hmm, there probably won’t be any local specialties here, right?”

When Dayoung suddenly brought this up, I asked what she meant.

“In Japan, they have convenience stores in each region that sell snacks using local specialties. I’ve heard they don’t have things like that in Korea.”

Ah, I wondered what she was talking about. Indeed, I felt a bit envious of those aspects as well? No, I thought it would be nice to emulate them. Since I work in the food development department, I see a lot of various data, so I could understand what she meant right away.

“Well, we probably don’t have them.”

“That’s a shame.”

Should I have bought a plate of sashimi and brought it in?

“Sashimi isn’t unique to Busan.”

“Hmm… Well, how about stopping by Nampo-dong or somewhere similar in Busan before going to Songdo to buy some tteokbokki, fish cakes, or hotteok?”

Actually, that area is closer to Busan Station.

“No, that would be too rushed. Let’s just go to Songdo. We need to take pictures.”

Ugh, I actually wanted to eat that. Damn those photos…

Well, I took four cans of beer from the refrigerator. They say it’s ten thousand won for four cans, but looking at the quantity, it seemed like even drinking one can would make me full. I’ll drink the rest tomorrow.

“Do we need to buy some snacks?”

Dayoung asked.

“Yeah, maybe. Should I get a cup ramen?”

I asked, but Dayoung shook her head.

“Maybe not with beer… Maybe if it were soju. How about ordering chicken? There seem to be places around here.”

Wait. Cup ramen with beer?

“How do you know that?”

“What? A chicken place? I looked it up…”

“No, I mean the combination of cup ramen and beer isn’t great.”

A high school student wouldn’t know about that.

“Hey, what are you thinking? It’s not like that. Nowadays, you can easily see such combinations on YouTube.”

I looked at Dayoung suspiciously, but seeing her calm expression, I thought maybe I was wrong.

“Geez… You’re suspicious.”

“What?! How dare you see your child like that?”

“Well, anyway, let’s skip the chicken. Since we had fried food for dinner, it might be a bit heavy.”

Actually, I’m not sure if we can finish a whole chicken between the two of us.

“Well, we came all the way here. Right?”

She said she wanted to eat chicken, though.

Anyway, we decided to just buy chicken here and headed out of the convenience store with beer, drinks, and snacks, heading to the chicken place. If you go up a little behind the hotel and enter an alley, you’ll find a chicken place that looks a bit shabby but exudes the vibe of a local favorite.

-Sniff sniff.

“The smell is good.”

Hearing that their garlic chicken was famous, I bought one and brought it back to the room.

First, I told Dayoung to wash up, then I put the beer in the fridge and set up the chicken. I thought it would be better to leave the box open to prevent the fried coating from getting soggy, so even if it cooled down a bit, it would be better.

Then I opened my suitcase to find clothes to change into. Since we had to share a room with the kids, I felt a bit awkward wearing a slip dress, so I chose the pajamas that Dayoung recommended. Actually, we all bought silk pajamas together because Dayoung suggested we all match with the same sleepwear. But the colors are slightly different. Dayoung got pink, Davin got navy blue, and I got mint green.

A color that feels like a mix of mint and sky blue. Honestly, it’s not a color I particularly like. I thought navy blue, like Davin’s, would have been the safest choice.

-Click!

Dayoung came out of the bathroom after finishing her shower.

“Now it’s Mom’s turn to shower.”

“Oh, right.”

When I saw Dayoung in pajamas, it felt cute in a way. No, not really charming, but because she was short, there was something adorable about her.

I embraced Dayoung tightly.

“What, what is it?”

“It’s cute when our daughter wears this.”

If I had done this as a father before, I would have heard all sorts of complaints, but now that distance had long disappeared.

“Do you know I’m cute now?”

“Of course. Look at this.”

“Hehe! Go wash up quickly.”

After that, Dayoung said she would go to the terrace to look at the night sea.

Leaving her behind, I quickly went to the bathroom to wash my body and roughly dry my hair before putting on clothes.

“Okay, it’s small.”

Overall, the size was fine, but the buttons near the chest didn’t close. Two out of the five buttons didn’t fasten, giving a slightly exposed feeling. The collarbones were clearly visible between the open buttons, making it feel more provocative than just wearing a bra. Unsure of what to do, I simply took off the top and put on a robe provided in the bathroom corner.

Then, as I walked out of the room, Dayoung asked about the whereabouts of her sleepwear.

“The buttons don’t all close.”

Upon hearing this, she widened her eyes and shook her head.

“Really. I hadn’t thought of that. Truly destructive.”

“Stop teasing. Let’s eat chicken quickly, I’m hungry.”

Although most of the warmth had dissipated, the crispy texture remained, making it quite enjoyable.

-Click! Cheers!

The sound of opening a beer can and the refreshing carbonated drink hit my ears.

-Glug! Glug!

Without delay, I brought the beer to my lips and drank it down, feeling incredibly refreshing.

“Ahh, nice.”

The first drink as a woman was incredibly delicious.

-Crunch!

And then, the pleasure of tearing into a greasy chicken leg.

“Is it really that good?”

Dayoung looked curiously at the beer can in my hand.

“Oh, you can’t have any.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

She didn’t say a word, but from the way Dayoung’s eyes sparkled, it was as good as if she had spoken.

“Wanna take a sip?”

“Really?”

“There you go. Where did the innocent girl vanish to?”

With a stern expression, she swiftly snatched the beer can from my hand and gulped it down.

“Hey, hey!”

I tried to snatch it back urgently, but she had already drunk enough, letting go after taking a sip.

“Ahh!”

“How is it, not tasty?”

Most people react like that the first time they drink beer. Why drink something so bitter? I said that, and my younger sister Su-yeon said the same. Isn’t there a saying that you should learn about alcohol from adults? Since Su-yeon was nine years younger than me, I just taught her.

Anyway, expecting a reaction like “Ew, why drink this?” when Dayoung drank, she frowned and opened her mouth.

“Wow~! It’s! Bitter!!!”

“Hehe!”

Oh, my goodness. Is that really my daughter?

In the end, that night, Dayoung managed to prove our family lineage by single-handedly finishing a can of beer from the fridge without getting even slightly drunk.