episode_0070

“Your brother’s bag strap is short, that’s why.”

“Huh? A guy with a university diploma has a short bag strap?”

Suyeon chuckled at that.

“Well, research and development departments usually have a lot of master’s and doctoral degree holders, so it’s a bit different for those from undergraduate programs, right?”

“Still, considering your position in a mid-sized company, it feels like you’re progressing reasonably quickly when you think about your years of experience. Don’t you think so?”

“Well, our company is a bit tough when it comes to promotions. I’m not exactly lacking in performance, but I’m still just a manager.”

These days, new employees are coming in later, with impressive resumes, so they say they get promoted quickly once they join. But for my generation, the concept of such rapid advancement is a bit weak.

Being a department head after 15 years. There are people younger than me who are already at that level, so I’m not exactly considered fast.

“Anyway, your brother has been through a lot, so how about looking for an easier job now?”

“Hey, where’s the ease of being as comfortable as a salaried worker these days? Chicken joints? They’re going crazy these days. They’re selling cheaply at the mart, and small business owners are struggling.”

The complaints about the high prices of chicken that had been building up for a while exploded with the ridiculous claim of a giant chicken franchise CEO about a 30,000 won chicken. Eventually, the 5,000 won chicken from 10 years ago made a comeback, but the franchise headquarters, as well as small business owners, faced backlash due to the different consumer attitudes compared to back then.

Running a chicken joint in this day and age is, well…

But on the other hand, it’s intriguing. Even if it’s not chicken, the idea of opening a restaurant and running it with family members, I’ve thought about that too.

“Still, you’re in your prime at 40, so wouldn’t it be better to endure a bit more and then retire and start a business?”

I nodded in agreement with the above statement.

“Sigh, I should’ve gone into a technical field too.”

A term used to refer to calling a lawyer. Legal technician. As it’s called a technical field related to law, you can work in a personal law office without mandatory retirement even as you age.

Well, I didn’t really have a choice.

I needed a job right away, so I applied to the largest company I could with my qualifications at the time, which is the company I work for now. It was a mid-sized company back then, but it has grown to the point where it’s just below a large corporation now.

Retirement… Honestly, I’ve never thought about it during my working years, but considering that the usual progression for a regular company employee is from manager to director, there’s probably only one promotion opportunity left. Plus, now that I’ve come to realize the importance of spending time with family, and with my kids becoming adults and graduating from university in less than 10 years, it doesn’t seem like such a distant story.

I have a lot on my mind these days.

“Honey, I need to pee. Let’s stop at the next rest area.”

“Should we? It’s good to start waking the kids up slowly. If they sleep too much now, they might not sleep well tonight.”

So we decided to stop at the next rest area. As we drove a little further, the signs for the rest area started to appear. We could reach the rest area after another 5km.

“Kids, wake up!”

Suyeon woke up Dayoung, Dabin, Jinwoo, and Jinseo. Of course, the kids who were forced awake weren’t in a good mood and complained, so I comforted Jinseo, who was upset, as I was getting a bit tired from driving.

“Oops! No, sis. You shouldn’t sleep!”

Still, Suyeon, who had been calling out “Oppa, Oppa” for a while, quickly corrected herself to “Unni” when she realized she was outside. Jinseo seemed to find comfort in my arms, falling asleep again as soon as I held him.

But when I woke him up, he started crying, saying I had forced him awake.

Alright, this is a parenting story. Hyeseol found it almost too easy, to the point of feeling disappointed.

Normally, she would have been quick to soothe her child, worrying about the eyes of passersby. But since last week, her threshold for handling people’s stares had risen too high. Now, she couldn’t be easily embarrassed by just any gaze.

“Oh no, I suddenly woke up feeling bad~”

At first, she resembled her mother, but once she fully woke up, Jinseo realized it wasn’t her mom. Unable to calm down, she eventually calmed down when her mother took over.

“But Dad is different.”

“Haha, kids are still shy around strangers.”

Jinwoo quickly stopped calling her brother and held his mother’s hand, looking around.

“Oh, our Jinwoo. Look at those big, round eyes.”

Dabin was still half-asleep, but Dayoung had been awake since earlier, looking adorable as she clung to her mother after being disappointed to see the kids sleeping in the car.

“Who am I?”

When Dayoung asked Jinwoo, he blinked a few times before answering.

“I’m… Dayoung.”

Still struggling with pronunciation. Well, like most kids that age, his speech had become more fluent, but his pronunciation was still a bit off.

“Aww, so cute!”

Dayoung couldn’t articulate properly like other kids. Well, as parents, even that sight was heartwarming.

“Auntie, I’ll take care of Jinwoo.”

“Really? That’s convenient for me.”

And Sooyeon handed Jinwoo over to Dayoung.

Looking back, Jinseo, who had calmed down, was now looking around curiously.

“Mr. Park, bring Jinseo here. I’ll take care of her. We need to go to the restroom anyway.”

Perhaps fully awake this time, Jinseo didn’t resist coming to me. Once I put her down, she started walking right away.

“Let’s go to the restroom first and meet back here.”

The two families split up by gender to use the restroom before heading to the snack corner.

“Wow, it smells good.”

Seeing all kinds of food being prepared at the rest stop made me feel like I was losing my mind. I may not know about others, but I shouldn’t eat that.

“Sweet potatoes… squid… walnut cookies… hot dogs… Ah, looks delicious.”

Well, it may sound obvious, but I really like food. Eating and cooking are things I enjoy, so I was quite satisfied with my current job, and I’m very interested in finding new flavors.

But why isn’t there a saying like that?

Familiar tastes are scary.

In the end, it’s harder to endure because you know the taste.

“Mom, drooling.”

-Slurp.

At Dayoung’s observation, I quickly swallowed my saliva and looked at the food as if it were calling me.

“Just have one, think of it as a cheat day.”

“R-really?”

As I was about to give in to temptation and take out my wallet, Sooyeon stopped me.

“Oh, come on, why are you so strict? It’s not like you’ll die from eating one thing.”

Saying that, Sooyeon took a piece of jelly from the bag she had brought.

-Crunch, crunch.

“Mmm, delicious.”

That, that… cruel woman.

In the end, everyone comfortably bought what they wanted to eat, and I could only watch in amazement.

Oh, I’m envious.

-Tap, tap.

Someone tapped my shoulder, and when I turned around, Dabin was holding out a white paper bag and said, “Since squid is protein and can be a substitute for chicken breast, wouldn’t it be okay to have some dried squid as a snack?”

When did Da Bin come? He extended an octopus towards me, even reciting reasons why I should eat it. I looked at Da Bin with a touched expression and suddenly hugged him tightly.

“Ah, Da Bin, you’re truly a filial son.”

Seeing that scene, Su Yeon burst into laughter.

With everyone in high spirits, we were able to return home with food for both families.

“Park Seo Bang, let’s switch. Go to the back seat and rest your eyes.”

“Oh… it’s okay, I can just…”

“Honey, do as she says. Anyway, if Dad sees you like this, he won’t stay still, so you need to conserve your energy.”

In the end, unable to resist Su Yeon and my coercion, Park Seo Bang went to the back seat. As a result, I drove while Da Bin sat in the passenger seat.

Dae Young stayed in the back seat with the kids because he enjoyed playing with them, but Da Bin didn’t really like kids. Of course, he didn’t treat his cousins coldly, but he wasn’t as affectionate as Dae Young. It was actually surprising to see him being exceptionally nice to Hye Sol.

Driving on the highway after leaving the rest area.

“Mom, here.”

Da Bin tore a piece of dried squid and handed it to me.

“Thank you.”

I put the squid in my mouth and chewed on it, enjoying the chewy texture and savory taste spreading naturally.

“Delicious.”

Although it was food from a rest area, it somehow tasted even better due to the right timing and place. It might have been a bit overrated compared to the actual taste, but it was still delicious.

“Da Bin, can you pass me some with red pepper paste next time?”

“Oh, I can’t do that.”

Da Bin was stubborn in strange ways.

“Just once, please?”

“No, you have to watch your diet.”

Su Yeon, who was watching the situation, muttered quietly.

“Filial son, indeed. Filial son.”

Darn it, he’s even more stubborn than Dae Young. Just…