episode_0069

I entrusted Jiho and Jiyeon to Mom.

Mom looked at us and pleaded for us to come back late, but she said it.

I really don’t know if we’ll do that.

I agreed for now and decided to leave with Jiwon.

Because we promised. Jiwon also came on the trip happily as the two of us.

It was the first time in a long time that just the two of us went on a trip together since becoming a family.

Thanks, Mom…

As promised, we arrived at the hot springs where Jiwon and I came for the first time.

After completing the reservation and receiving our room assignment,

I stretched my legs out and was spacing out when Jiwon looked at me.

“Should we go out for a bit?”

I didn’t know how to respond to that.

I agreed for now and waited, then decided to go outside with Jiwon.

There’s not much to do here separately, so I’m not sure what we should do.

Thinking like that and looking around,

Jiwon started urging me to go outside.

A kid who never misbehaved before.

As soon as the kids were gone, they started acting up right away.

In front of the kids, they act like adults, but in front of me, they’re just pure children…

It’s really embarrassing.

I grabbed Jiwon’s head as is, calmed him down, and took him outside.

**

While thinking about what to do outside,

“Convenience store! There are so many delicious things here!”

Saying that, Jiwon grabbed my hand and started running towards the convenience store.

After running for a while, we finally arrived at the convenience store.

Everything is fine here, but the convenience store is too far.

So we went into the convenience store, bought some egg sandwiches, boiled eggs, and cider, and decided to head back.

“This tastes so good!”

For some reason, Jiwon seems excited.

In front of the kids, they act like adults, but in front of me, they seem like such young children.

Thinking like that, I took Jiwon back to the hotel.

Since a private bath was prepared, we would have to wait a few hours for the public bath. Thinking of wasting time elsewhere and having lunch, we decided to eat.

We entered the restaurant, requested lunch, got seated, and ordered tempura rice bowls.

“I’ve never seen anything like this in real life.”

Well, we hadn’t had lunch at that time.

Thinking it would be nice to eat like this now, I said let’s enjoy the meal.

Jiwon agreed and smiled brightly.

Usually, I would give in to the kids, but today we decided to enjoy together.

Looking at Jiwon enjoying himself,

I honestly felt a little sorry.

To Jiwon, who usually takes care of the kids, sacrifices what he wants to do, and works hard for me and the kids…

I felt so sorry for not giving any words of encouragement.

Almost shed a tear seeing Jiwon enjoying himself.

“Why are you crying?”

“This guy must have lost his filter today.”

“The kids aren’t here.”

“That’s true.”

Since the kids weren’t here today, we could curse each other normally.

While thinking like that, after some time passed, the tempura rice bowls we ordered arrived.

“Wow… What is this?”

Jiwon was surprised at the tempura rice bowl.

I was almost about to say the same thing.

I thought it was just a regular tempura rice bowl from a local shop, but a huge set of tempura rice bowl, something you’d see in a manga, was served.

“My mouth won’t close.”

“Should I punch you to close it?”

“Do you want to die?”

Jiwon couldn’t close his mouth, so I tried to help him close it with my fist.

He asked if I wanted to die, and I shouted sorry, and we decided to eat together.

Crispy tempura with hot shrimp.

Confirming it was shrimp tempura, I showed it to Jiwon.

“It’s so crunchy!”

After confirming the shrimp was firm, he started eating again.

What is this, isn’t this too good?

**

After finishing the hearty meal, Jihoon and I returned to our room and spread out the blanket.

As I laid out the blanket, contemplating taking a short rest, Jihoon was engrossed in his smartphone, lost in thought.

“Aren’t you writing web novels anymore?”

“If you mention that again, I’ll really kill you.”

He threatens to kill me over every little thing!

“Well, I’m just curious. You used to be so good at it before.”

In response to my words, Jihoon blushed slightly and replied, looking embarrassed, “It’s a bit ridiculous, isn’t it? If people find out we’re juggling kids and writing web novels, won’t they mock us for it?”

Is that such a big deal?

I couldn’t quite grasp why Jihoon was so concerned.

“The reason I don’t do broadcasts is because if kids come and say things like ‘Daddy, Nugguma (a term for a young girl) said you gave her money for three milk candies, is it true?’ How would you react?”

Upon hearing this, it hit me like a ton of bricks.

I could have been in serious trouble if that happened.

Thinking along those lines, I expressed relief that it didn’t happen.

“You should be grateful to me and live on.”

In response to his words, I bowed and said, “Thank you, Jiwoon.”

Standing up from my spot, I pondered what to do next.

There wasn’t much left to do now…

As I debated what to do while looking at the map app on my phone,

“Let’s take a bath.”

Jiwoon got up and suggested we bathe.

Huh? Now? Bathe right now?

It’s only 6 o’clock; it’s not time to bathe yet.

“Now that our reservation for the hot spring is ready, let’s go quickly and come back.”

I agreed with his words and got up from my seat.

Perhaps there’s nothing wrong with bathing early;.

**

So, Jiwoon and I entered the changing room to start changing clothes.

“Hey, Jihoo, help me take off my shirt.”

Jiwoon asked me to help him remove his shirt, saying it wouldn’t come off.

I sighed and asked, “Can’t you do this yourself?”

Despite sighing, I helped him take off his shirt, revealing a purple bra and underwear.

“This is the first one I bought.”

He was wearing the underwear I bought for him on the day he became a woman for the first time.

“Today is a somewhat commemorative day. I’ve kept it well and wore it today.”

It’s been almost 9 years since I bought that underwear.

It was still perfectly clean without any damage.

After Jiwoon finished showing off his underwear,

He confidently unhooked his bra, revealing his large chest.

It seemed bigger than before, and although I almost instinctively turned away, I managed to keep my gaze steady.

“Now that I’m used to it.”

I’ve seen this chest countless times now.

After almost 10 years of seeing it, I had indeed grown accustomed to it.

With that thought in mind, Jiwoon proceeded to remove his underwear as well, suggesting we enter the hot spring.

Doesn’t he feel embarrassed?

Even though we’re family, it felt a bit awkward how confidently he entered, but well, we are family after all.

So, we entered the hot spring and began to assess the situation.

After observing for a while, unsure of what to say,

Jiwoon started approaching me in the hot tub.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve been to a hot spring.”

“Yeah, it has.”

We came here to help Jiwoon overcome his trauma, but now we were both entering happily.

Thinking this way, I hugged Jiwoon.

“Jihoo?! Why are you suddenly doing this?”

Jiwoon was taken aback by my actions.

“Just stay still for a moment.”

At my words, Jiwoon agreed and stayed still.

Now… I think I can say it clearly.

“I feel sorry somehow…”

To express my apologies… I think I can do it now.

“You’ve been busy with work as an excuse and couldn’t fully dedicate yourself to childcare. You must also have things you want to do and moments when you want to rest, but I haven’t understood…”

In response to my words, Jihoon said, “No.”

“How much have you helped me? When I was sick, you played with Jiho and Jiyeon. You even tried to take a day off.”

“Just take care of us like you used to.”

Upon hearing that, I nodded in understanding.

Jiwon’s face kept getting redder for some reason.

Must be because she’s in hot water.

Should I leave? I was about to say when Jiwon looked at me and spoke.

“Jihoo… I don’t think I should say anything in this situation right now…”

“What is it?”

As I pondered what could be going on…

Jiwon’s gaze slowly began to lower, and following her gaze, I also lowered my head.

My belongings were touching Jiwon’s side.

“They… are touching.”

“…Yeah.”

Thinking back now, my hand was also touching Jiwon’s chest.

This… could be a bit of a problem.

Especially in the hot tub where there’s already intense heat.

With our bodies pressed together…

I stayed silent, unsure of what to say.

“Jihoo… I think we might succeed today.”

“What do you mean?”

“The third…”

With those words, Jiwon’s lips started to draw closer.

And as her lips met mine…

I couldn’t stop myself.

I began to firmly grasp Jiwon’s chest.

“We shouldn’t… do this in the tub…”

It seemed like Jiwon was trying hard to restrain herself.

Even though I usually think twice before acting, today, I felt compelled to go ahead.

I held Jiwon’s hands and decided to proceed.