episode_0175

After finishing lunch and clearing the table, as the need for a large group of people to share the same space diminished, the siblings and their spouses who were there for our parents stayed in the annex to chat, while the rest of us scattered to the main house, each going to the living room, Sooyeon’s room, my room to start chatting.

Among them, I was uniquely chatting with Dayoung’s children, and the topic was,

“Dayoung, did you have an accident on the broadcast this time?”

When Dasol asked Dayoung with interest, Da Jun immediately shrugged his shoulders and turned his head as if teasing his sister, but Dayoung waved her hand as if it was nothing and answered.

“Yeah. It was the day when Mom appeared as a guest…”

“Oh? Uncle… I mean Aunt?”

Since the discussion was about changing the way they addressed each other based on the gender of the person, the children seemed to be adjusting their titles as they talked, but it was still not very familiar, so they used them interchangeably.

“Yeah. Honestly, look at how Mom looks. Even if she says she’s a college student somewhere, she won’t be out of place, right?”

“Hmm… true. Honestly, when I first saw her coming in, I thought she was some celebrity. Tsk, so annoying. Dayoung, you and Aunt, everyone is so pretty.”

“Pfft, come on. Even Unnie is pretty.”

Although Dayoung had a figure that was not inferior to me at the moment, Dasol was not lacking in looks either.

But looks are relative. It could be a problem for such a pretty person to envy another pretty person, but envy or inferiority would be each person’s responsibility. However, looking at the children of Dayoung’s family gathered here, there was no child who was lacking in looks.

“Yes, Dasol. If Dayoung is Han Ga-in, then you are like Kim Tae-hee, another kind of beauty that you don’t have. If you envy the beauty you don’t have, how much inferiority will others feel.”

“Really?”

Dasol seemed to be in a good mood with my metaphor and laughed continuously. Then, I suddenly became curious about Daun and turned my head to ask.

“Ah, Daun. Can Aunt ask you a question?”

“Yes, yes? Oh, yes. Anything.”

“About your university. How are the prices at the student cafeteria?”

“Oh, is this because of the new product your company is launching?”

I knew it from the moment she made a sound like ‘Heheung, Mamang’ earlier. She probably watched Dayoung’s broadcast that day. It was actually a market research, but it also had a bit of an investigative intent, and it was well received.

“Yeah, you know well. Hehehe, as expected of you…”

“Oh, yes. I saw it!”

Before I could say anything, she eagerly told her story first, as if there was something prickly.

Anyway, there was hardly a chance to hear from a current university student about how the university prices or food costs were determined. There were no university students around me.

“Ah, Aunt, if you just casually dress and walk around the university area, no one will know you’re 39, right?”

“That’s right. Just go around with flyers and say it’s for a market survey, and everyone will just say ‘Oh, I see’ and answer, right?”

As Dayoung and Dasol talked like that, I thought about trying it out, but since I wasn’t on the marketing team and the product development was already finished, it seemed meaningless to do a market research again, so I waved my hand.

“Ah, I should pick out some clothes with Unni and Mom. Unni, you know our mom, always wears that darned ‘mishilook’ because it’s comfortable, right? She even chooses casual dresses that look similar to ‘mishilook’ whenever she goes out.”

“Oh, really? I think Aunt would look great in clothes that models wear these days.”

“Who knows? So, let’s pick out some clothes with Mom and me. Okay?”

“Got it. Is there a computer? It’s inconvenient to look at the phone screen together because it’s small.”

“Mom, did you bring the laptop? Can I borrow it?”

With that, Dasol and Dayoung moved to my room with the laptop. Hey, why are you guys choosing clothes without me? What about me?

I thought that, but I decided not to interfere in choosing women’s clothes, as it would only be more tiring. So, I just sat there and decided to give my opinion when they were choosing clothes.

In this room, only the boys, excluding me, sat and created a dull atmosphere.

“So, Dabin will be entering high school soon, right?”

Daun tried to break the silence first.

“Yeah. Well, I think Dayoung will be going to the same school.”

“Well, there aren’t many high schools in that area.”

“Is Dajun ready for high school life?”

“He’s just okay. Well, there aren’t many interesting kids, so it’s kind of boring.”

Hmm… If you look closely, Dajun seems to be a bit aloof in everything.

What did Dayoung say?

‘Dajun oppa seems cool when you look at him, right?’

So, I asked what ‘cool’ meant.

‘A cool nerd. Someone who acts superior to others, making fun of their actions and thinking they are superior. It’s like a higher level of middle school syndrome. Some call it high school syndrome.’

I didn’t know it back then, but facing it now, I understand what it means.

“I see… um….”

“What do you mean ‘I see,’ Mom?”

“Oh, no. Just… Oh, right. You guys look bored. Do you want to go somewhere? The weather is nice, and Aunt can drive you somewhere…”

“Let’s go to the PC bang.”

Before I could finish my sentence, Cool, Dajun, spoke up.

“Of course, the PC bang.”

Daun agreed.

“Well, the PC bang is fine.”

With Dabin’s agreement, I realized that boys will be boys after all.

“Yeah… the PC bang… But do I have to go too?”

“You said Aunt would drive you. It’s a bit inconvenient for Aunt to drop you off in the city and come back to pick you up again, right?”

That was the case. So, I pondered whether I should go along or not and asked the girls if they wanted to go.

“Oh, we’re good.”

“We’ll just choose clothes here. Aunt can see them later when she comes back.”

With that response, I just nodded and left the room. Well, before that, Dayoung grabbed me.

“Here, take this.”

She handed me a selfie stick that also served as a tripod, which played a big role yesterday when we were coming down.

“Huh? Why is this?”

“To film a vlog. Yeah.”

“Oh, do I really have to?”

“Yes! You have to.”

I couldn’t refuse, so I reluctantly agreed to Dayoung’s request.

Then, when I told my cousins and sisters-in-law that I would take the kids to the PC bang, they were surprised.

“Oh, really? Well, the kids would be bored just staying here. But are you okay? Do you play games or something?”

“Oh, I used to play a bit in the past? I’ll just play with the kids and come back, I guess.”

“Haha, but Miss, wouldn’t going to the PC bang with the kids make you look like a peer to Daun? Oh, not a peer, more like an older sister?”

“So, what you’re saying is, they really look good together just based on their appearance?”

“To be honest, I envy them for looking over 10 years younger as long as they don’t change genders.”

“Is there anything Lee Yi can’t do?”

“Oh, sorry. Haha.”

When Donghyun mentioned that his older brother seemed envious, his sister-in-law gave him a meaningful look and jabbed him in the side.

Anyway, with their parents’ permission, they started to drive the boys to the car. Daun sat in the front seat, doubling as a photographer to capture their moments.

“Wow, Auntie, are you really going to start a YouTube channel?”

“Yeah, well. That’s the plan.”

“To be honest, when you mentioned doing it on a show, I thought you were half-joking.”

“I wanted to try it out. Nowadays, even people in their 50s and 60s are doing YouTube. It’s not just about being a media platform anymore, but also about self-producing. It’s like the old days of blogging.”

“That’s true. And our professor assigned a project related to that this time…”

It seemed that Daun was majoring in media studies. He had always talked about movies and videos with Davin, and it seemed like he had finally decided to pursue that career path.

“This time, we’re discussing how AI can be integrated into new media, whether AI will dominate the market or merge to create new markets. There could even be a completely new platform beyond YouTube…”

Although Davin didn’t quite understand what was being said, she found Daun’s enthusiasm for explaining his field impressive. She nodded along with a serious expression, showing that she at least grasped some of it.

“…In conclusion, YouTube could eventually become obsolete…”

Hey, Daun. It’s great that you’re explaining things, but could you not crush the budding enthusiasm of someone who’s just starting out?

I couldn’t help but feel a sense of doubt creeping in as I wondered if they were really going to start a YouTube channel.