Ch.164Epilogue: Relationship (7)

When I woke up this morning, it was a bit hot.

It doesn’t make much sense to say the weather was truly summer-hot since the air conditioning was running in the hotel. Rather, it was probably because of the kids sleeping pressed right up against me.

I struggled mightily to get up without waking them. The biggest challenge was Ju-a, who had climbed completely on top of me and was lying face down.

Wait, how did I manage to sleep through her climbing on top of me yesterday?

Fortunately—if you could call it that—all four of us were properly dressed.

That’s right.

We didn’t do it yesterday.

“Hmm.”

I had planned to continue in all sorts of ways throughout our four-night, five-day trip, but for some reason, I didn’t feel like doing anything yesterday.

Maybe it’s because I’d already done pretty much everything with the three of them before.

So…

“I guess we need normal days to just hang out too, right?”

I muttered to myself, finding that explanation satisfactory, and started moving my body little by little again.

“Mmm…”

Lee Hayun grabbed my arm and clung to me, but I still managed to slip out from between them.

My pajamas were soaked with sweat.

When I got up, I could see yesterday’s devastation right before my eyes.

Fortunately, we hadn’t spilled any alcohol, but empty cans were rolling around on the hotel floor. Several cans of chuhai, several cans of beer, and two bottles of soju… wait, how did we even get soju abroad? If I recall correctly, Jihye brought it.

On top of that, we’d completely emptied a bottle of whiskey. Thinking back, I probably drank the most out of the four of us.

And there were several bags of snacks with some contents remaining. Also, one pizza with about two slices left and another completely finished pizza.

“…Ugh.”

Only after seeing all that did my body belatedly register its hangover, as if it had forgotten until now.

Thinking I should eat something to cure my hangover for breakfast, I staggered toward the shower.

*

Usually, the last day of a trip is as busy as the first day.

I gathered all the belongings scattered throughout the hotel room one by one and put them in my suitcase, then carefully looked around one last time to see if I’d forgotten anything before pulling the large suitcase out of the room.

With four such suitcases, even riding in the elevator was a bit uncomfortable. We weren’t the only people in there, after all.

Even at the checkout time of 11 o’clock, the kids were rubbing their eyes and constantly yawning. I, being the most functional among us, handed over the keys at the hotel lobby.

The hotel staff, supposedly selected from among the best professionals, didn’t show any particular reaction to us, but some other tourists who recognized us were quietly talking among themselves.

…They seemed to be discussing the various intimate skinship we’d displayed at the swimming pool over the past four nights and five days.

Since it was partly my fault for not being able to hold back, I decided not to confront them and just quickly walked past.

“What should we have for lunch?”

“Lunch?”

Jihye asked in response to my question.

“It’s already eleven. We’re well past breakfast time.”

Fortunately, we still had some time before we needed to head to the airport.

“Hmm… something cold… something for hangovers…”

I wasn’t sure if there would be foods that Koreans consider good for hangovers here, but oh well.

I chuckled and ruffled Jihye’s hair vigorously.

“Ugh.”

With her short hair all messed up, she looked at me with such a dazed expression that she didn’t look ghost-like at all. Well, when we left, we only had time to wash and dry our hair, not style it properly.

Maybe we should have some cold carbonated drinks, I thought as I led the three of them.

*

Since we couldn’t find Korean hangover soup no matter how hard we looked, we entered an Italian restaurant among the many establishments along the beach.

Although we had drunk so much last night with pizza as our snack, we went to a pasta place, so there was no particular issue.

“…Phew.”

Ju-a, who had gulped down the cold sparkling water that came before the meal, let out a long breath.

People were bustling all around us, but that didn’t mean all the restaurants in the area were packed. Most people who came to this area were heroes and their families and friends. The restaurants naturally had enough customers to keep running, but not so many that we had to wait too long.

With that bustling noise as our background, we sat for a while without saying anything, just sipping our sparkling water.

“I was thinking,” Ju-a was the first to speak up.

“Sometimes it’s nice to just chat without doing anything special.”

Hayun made a groaning sound. It seemed like she was agreeing. Since her voice didn’t come out properly, she took another sip of sparkling water before saying, “Yeah, yesterday was fun.”

Actually, despite all the talking we did yesterday, I don’t remember much. I just remember laughing a lot. Ah… ah… oh, right. Dad jokes. I suddenly got into dad jokes, searched for them on my smartphone, and recited them to the kids. Everyone laughed until their sides hurt.

Why?

I couldn’t remember why I started saying things like “Who stands in the pouring rain? A secretary.” I also couldn’t remember why it was so funny.

Just, how should I put it.

That moment was good.

You know those moments, right? When you gather with friends, talk about random things, complain about your boss a bit, discuss the noise from the upstairs neighbors, ask how everyone’s been doing lately—that feeling.

When the conversation ends, there’s not much left in your mind, but somehow you feel refreshed, like you’ve let everything out.

“…”

Well, we’re still college students living in the same place, so we don’t share noise problems or have bosses to complain about.

“…Oh, right.”

Jihye, who had also been silent as if lost in thought, finally spoke up.

“I took pictures yesterday.”

All three of us turned our heads toward Jihye simultaneously.

“Not with my phone, with a camera.”

I knew Jihye had brought an instant film camera because she wanted to take some artistic photos.

Oh, now that I think about it, I do remember something flashing in my memories from yesterday. Was that the sound of Jihye taking instant photos?

“…Oh, so, our drunk faces too?”

“Yeah, probably? I’ll show you when we get home. It’s a hassle to take them out of my bag now…”

“Yawn,” Jihye said with a yawn. Yes, good idea. Taking them out here would be a hassle, and they might be seen by others.

Let’s decide whether to lock them in a safe when we get home.

Silence again.

But it was no longer an awkward silence. Not the kind where you have a lot to say but are forcing yourself to hold back, but the kind between people who are comfortable enough with each other that they don’t find it strange to just be together without saying anything—the silence when there’s really nothing particular to say.

A comfortable quietness where it wouldn’t be strange for anyone to break the silence at any time.

“…”

And I felt somewhat emotional in that atmosphere.

Even just considering myself, how long had I kept my distance from Hayun and Ju-a? How much had I envied and been jealous of them?

Especially with Hayun, even while enjoying our time together, I had constantly tried to compete with her.

Now, I don’t feel that way anymore.

Because I’ve realized that human relationships naturally have times when you win and times when you lose—and above all, they’re not about keeping score of such things.

There are times when winning doesn’t feel good. There are times when losing can be enjoyable.

Even in situations where there’s neither winning nor losing, you can feel a ticklish embarrassment, and relationships can remain strong without any particular events happening between people.

I realized that fact a bit late.

I closed my eyes briefly, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly.

“…When we get home.”

When I opened my mouth, all three pairs of eyes turned to me at once.

“Let’s really pick out dresses now. I’ll choose all three of yours.”

At my sudden words, the kids’ faces all turned bright red.

“For the rings, well, I’ve been thinking that it would be good to have the same design for all—”

“W-wait, Jieun.”

As I continued talking on my own, Hayun stopped me in embarrassment.

“Yes?”

“So, that means…”

“Why are you so surprised? You guys already picked out my dress.”

At my words, the kids’ faces turned even redder.

Well, that’s how it is.

We should get married, right?

I have to take responsibility, don’t I?

The kids fell silent again.

This time too, it wasn’t an awkward or uncomfortable silence.

Just… how should I put it.

A silence full of embarrassment, ticklish and sweet.

Well, when forming relationships with people, you don’t always need to maintain the upper hand and win.

But still.

I can’t deny that being on the winning side is often more enjoyable.