episode_0074

Returning home with beer in hand, the sight that greeted me was… well, quite surprising. But not in a good way.

“Yesss! Three go!”

Da-yeong’s triumphant shout.

“Ugh! Hey! Be honest! Is this your first time?”

Soo-yeon exclaimed in shock, raising her voice towards Da-yeong.

“Ah~ It’s my first time offline.”

“Haha! Oh my, my! Our Da-yeong is a real gambler, a pro gambler!”

My father clapped happily at the sight of Da-yeong. Well, it’s not surprising for a family to play cards when they gather together.

“Stop! Chodan, Cheondan, 5 lights! Godori, seven of a kind, Kwangbak, Pibak, shook once so double, 25 points times 16 equals 400 points… 10 cents per point… so please give each of us 4,000 won.”

Goodness… 400 points is a possible score…

I had bought a toy for nostalgia’s sake, but it seemed like there was no room for such innocence in this gambling game.

“Wow, hyung. What’s up with Da-yeong? Just a gambler?”

Sang-gi looked at me in amazement, but I was even more surprised.

To think our daughter had such talent. A talent that wasn’t really necessary.

“Where did you learn this kind of thing?”

I asked Da-yeong in a lamenting tone, and she said she had played a few times online. Isn’t that a game that requires adult verification?

“Well, that… ”

“Did you make an account using my ID number?”

I’ve heard of cases where teenagers secretly make accounts using their parents’ names, so it’s not uncommon.

Sure enough, Da-yeong avoided my gaze. Later, I found out that Da-yeong was a true gambler who spent hundreds of thousands of won in cash on a game called “X Network Match.”

Anyway, when Da-bin and I entered the house, the atmosphere was tense as they were folding the cards. So, I took out the toy I had bought, and it seemed like the adults were more interested than the kids.

“Wow, where did you get this? It’s a real blast from the past!”

“Hey! Manduk doll. It’s been so long since I’ve seen this.”

Especially Soo-yeon and Sang-gi were explaining to Jin-woo how to play with the toy, showing interest with eyes full of nostalgia.

“Oh, that! I’ve seen it before!”

Da-yeong pretended to know while looking at the toy horse.

“When did you see something like that?”

“Oh… I saw it on a show called ‘Nostalgic Toy Ideal Type World Cup’ before, where they talked about these kinds of toys.”

Da-yeong played with the toy horse, pumping it up and down on the ground.

“It’s my first time seeing the actual toy, it’s fascinating. Da-bin, can you take a video of this? I’ll use it for my NewTube channel later.”

Saying that, Da-yeong took Da-bin and started filming various things.

Thank goodness. It’s better to have a childlike innocence than a gambling addiction.

Before I knew it, Jin-woo and Jin-seo were playing with toys under their parents’ guidance, and it made me feel content.

“Hey, Do-yeon. You start work next week, right?”

“Yeah. Ugh. I wanted to start work quickly during my break, but now that it’s time to start, I don’t feel like going.”

I didn’t know when I was fully immersed in work. Rest is indeed sweet.

“Hehe, that’s how it is. By the way, who will take care of the kids when you start working?”

Of course, the question of how we’ll feed our kids when they’re 16-17 years old isn’t what she meant. It’s probably more about whether I’ll neglect the kids if I focus on work again.

“It’s okay. The kids are old enough to understand everything now, and we’ll continue to spend time together as a family, traveling and all.”

“Yeah. Nothing is more important than family. So, take care of them while you can.”

Mom didn’t say much more there, and I just nodded my head and looked back at the kids.

“By the way, when is your period?”

I was momentarily taken aback by my mom’s sudden question.

“Uh, what?”

“For her? I mean her period. Isn’t it still irregular and all?”

In the first two months, my hormone secretion was so unstable that my period didn’t come. So my mom was worried, and it seemed like she remembered and asked.

“Oh… it came. Luckily, my period cramps aren’t that bad. I went to the hospital last week, and my hormone levels are back to normal.”

Upon hearing this, my mom nodded in relief.

“Well, health is the most important thing. Take good care of yourself.”

“Okay.”

We spent quite some time in the living room, and when my mom said she was going to make dinner and went into the kitchen, I checked the time and it was 5 o’clock.

“Oh, time flies.”

It would take about 30 minutes to get to the city center where the alumni meeting was, so I had to leave by 6:30 at the latest. It would be good to leave around 10 minutes earlier.

Until then, I decided to help my mom with preparing dinner.

“You don’t have to do it.”

“It’s okay. I have nothing else to do anyway.”

With my quick hands helping out, dinner preparation was quickly finished.

“Is it for a dinner appointment?”

My mom asked.

“Well… yeah?”

Even though it’s a rural neighborhood, there are famous franchises and pubs. Like XX Beer, or now considered a leader in the food industry, Mr. Baek’s pub. Well, there were also traditional taverns, but we might go there for a second round. Well, I’m not sure if we’ll go for a second round.

“But you’re going to eat salad anyway. Eat with your family here. That way, you won’t overeat there.”

That’s right. If I go there hungry and see food, I’ll definitely overeat, so I decided to fill up here before going.

“Okay, I’ll do that.”

“Okay. Tell everyone to get ready for dinner.”

I called my family, who were resting in their rooms, to the living room. I set the table in the living room and served the food one by one. The dinner menu was noodles, with the dishes we had for lunch served as side dishes.

Fortunately, I don’t really like party noodles that much.

Well, that’s also thanks to my mom’s consideration. I was picking at the greens, but the others were enjoying the meat and high-calorie dishes, so I would definitely be stressed if I ate them.

*crunch!*

“Wow, the vegetables are so fresh.”

As my family sat around eating, they were enjoying the salad my mom made.

It was made with lettuce and kale that my mom grew herself, not from a salad pack from the store, so the vegetables were incredibly fresh. The dressing was not the usual oriental or balsamic that we always had, but more like a simple pickled flavor. And best of all, since the neighbor gave us some pork loin, I lightly grilled it and added it as a side dish, making the other family members who were eating noodles envy me.

“You’re the only one eating delicious food, Mom.”

“Are you saying your grandmother’s noodles aren’t tasty?”

When my mom asked slightly offended by Dayoung’s muttering, Dayoung quickly waved her hand.

“Oh, no. That’s not it…”

“Haha. Just kidding, dear.”

Then my mom whispered something in Dayoung’s ear, and when I asked Dayoung what she said, she replied.

“Huh? Oh, it’s a secret.”

Seeing Dayoung drooling, I guess she wanted to eat something tasty after I left.

Anyway, after having a hearty dinner, I didn’t have much worry about going wild at the pub later.

As expected, people need to eat on time.

After finishing the meal, helping my mom with a quick cleaning, I started getting ready to go out.

I took out the clothes I had prepared to go to the alumni association, wearing a white V-neck shirt, black cotton pants, and a houndstooth check pattern jacket. Since there was no mirror in my room, I went to the bathroom to look in the mirror, and I felt that everything looked good on me because my body was in good shape.

However, I needed to put on makeup, and of course, there was no vanity in the room I used. So, I had no choice but to knock on Su-yeon’s door and ask to borrow her vanity.

“Should I just do it for you? It might be faster, and it’s nice to look good when you’re meeting friends after a long time.”

“Hmm… I’m not sure. You know my friends, so I wonder if it’s necessary to look pretty just to go out with them.”

Although it was the first time I was going to see them like this, they were all people I knew well, and we had known each other for over 20 years. So, what was the point of trying to look pretty for them now?

In fact, I had already told my closest friends in advance, and through them, the fact that I had become a woman had already spread to the other alumni.

Of course, there would be differences between hearing and seeing things firsthand, and everyone would have their own reactions, but did I really need to dress up nicely and go out? Just the thought of how I might be perceived was dreadful.

However, since appearance is appearance, I thought that whether I dressed up or not, I would still stand out at the gathering of people who were all turning 40 the next day, whether they were men or women.

“Just do it moderately. Well, there’s no one there who will look good anyway.”

But Su-yeon shook her head and said, “No. Instead of going out looking average, it would make a bigger impact if you went out looking crazy pretty. Then, it would be difficult for them to approach you, and you wouldn’t have to engage in light conversations with them. That way, they’ll be more interested in you, right?”

As Sang-gi was patting Jin-woo and Jin-seo, who were falling asleep on the bed, he was startled when Su-yeon suddenly asked him a question.

“Huh? Oh, right. Um. Well, I’ve never seen you do a full makeup before, so I’m curious.”

“Why would you be curious about that?”

He really brought disaster upon himself by adding another word. Su-yeon glared at him, and Sang-gi quickly averted his eyes and tried to come up with an excuse.

“Oh, no. I mean, it’s just out of pure curiosity…”

“Enough. You go out, and I’ll talk to her.”

“Eek!”

Expressing sympathy, she sat on the vanity chair. Su-yeon then took the car keys from Sang-gi and went out of the room, returning shortly with her makeup box and placing it on the vanity.

“You brought this all the way here?”

It was common for her to carry it in her car, given her profession, but the fact that she brought it with her in the car she borrowed from the company clearly indicated some intention.

“To be honest, ever since I heard you were going to the alumni association, I really wanted to do your makeup. Hehe.”

Even though she had just said something about doing a full makeup on me, it seemed like the person she really wanted to see with makeup on was Su-yeon herself. Anyway, I just sat still and breathed a deep sigh.