Ch.327327. A Dreamlike Time

Blurry vision, hazy consciousness.

As I instinctively blinked my eyelids, I witnessed a strange scene.

The setting was the apartment where my family lives, specifically the kitchen table. Judging by the rice and side dishes laid out, it seemed like they were about to eat, but there were two faces that felt strangely familiar yet unfamiliar.

One was a girl with subtle hair color who looked like a high school student, and the other was a boy with vibrant hair who seemed younger than her.

“Mom, can I have some allowance?”

“Ucheon, you just got your allowance for this month. What did you spend all that money on?”

The high school girl scolded the boy in a lecturing tone. The boy called Ucheon frowned deeply and scooped up a spoonful of rice.

“Ah, I spent it all on workbooks. You know how expensive reference books are these days, don’t you, noona?”

“Did you really spend your allowance on workbooks? Not on hanging out with friends?”

“No, Han Woohee. I’m telling the truth! Have you been deceived your whole life? Why are you so suspicious?”

“What? Hey, Han Ucheon. Is that how you talk to your sister?”

…Wait, what’s going on? The boy and girl suddenly started raising their voices, but that wasn’t the important thing right now.

Didn’t they just call each other Han Woohee and Han Ucheon? Those are our children’s names.

“Han Woohee, Han Ucheon. Both of you, stop it. What kind of manners are these at the dinner table? Don’t you see your father is here?”

“But Mom, noona doubted me first. I feel really wronged.”

“Mom, Ucheon spoke informally to his sister first…”

“Did Mom not tell you to stop?”

“…Yes.”

“Yes…”

The children’s fight ended with just two words. Whoever she was, she was quite charismatic, but her voice sounded strangely familiar. Who is she? I looked at her face without thinking much and was startled.

The person who mediated the dispute with charisma was… someone I knew well.

“Nabi, don’t be too hard on the kids. Children grow up fighting, you know.”

My lips moved on their own. And then I realized. The mother of these two children was none other than Hwa Nabi, my wife…!

“There you go again, husband. At times like this, you should scold them firmly too. This way, I’m the only one who becomes the bad mom.”

“Woohee, Ucheon. Tell me honestly. Is your mom a bad mom?”

“No, she’s a wonderful mom.”

“She’s the best mom in the world.”

“See? They say you’re not a bad mom.”

“Oh, really…”

Hwa Nabi shook her head as if she couldn’t deal with this. Once again, my body moved on its own. I leaned my upper body closer to Hwa Nabi and kissed her on the cheek.

“Nabi, it’s a rare weekend. Shall we go on a date later?”

“…Well, where are we going?”

“How about a movie? I heard there are many good ones these days.”

“And after that?”

“I was thinking of getting some fresh air, but is there anywhere specific you want to go? Tell me, I’ll take you there.”

“I want to see the ocean.”

“Really? Then let’s go see it in the evening. Wear warm clothes because the sea breeze is cold, okay?”

“Hmm, alright. I love you, husband.”

Smooch, Hwa Nabi’s lips touched my cheek. I liked it and smiled at her, but then I felt another gaze and turned my head.

The kids, presumably Woohee and Ucheon, were looking at us with indescribably peculiar expressions.

“…Do you two want to come see the movie with us?”

“No, we’re fine. We’re not that tactless.”

“We’ll take care of dinner with noona, so just come home at your leisure.”

“You will? Then Woohee, I’ll give you some allowance, so order something for dinner with Ucheon. We should be back before dinner, but we might be late.”

I took out my wallet from my pocket and handed over two 50,000 won bills. Woohee received the money with a sullen face, fiddled with it with her fingers, and then glanced at me.

“Dad.”

“Oh, is it not enough? Should I give you more?”

“No, that’s not it…”

She neatly folded the money in half and mumbled with her lips, seriously contemplating. It seemed like she had something to say but was wondering if she should say it.

“Um, Dad…?”

“Yes, my daughter.”

“…Please make the youngest sibling a girl.”

—Flash.

My closed eyes flew open. As I reflexively looked around while getting up from the bed, the dining table was nowhere to be seen, and instead, a hotel bedroom scene entered my view.

“Wow…”

Ah, it was a dream. It was so vivid that it felt like I had traveled through time. I roughly wiped the cold sweat around my neck with the back of my hand and checked my phone.

The date was the same, of course, and the current time was 7:02 AM. I woke up exactly at my usual wake-up time.

“Phew…”

Finally feeling relieved, I stroked my chest. What was that? How could I dream something like that? No joke, I really thought I had aged in an instant. I know it’s an impossible phenomenon, but when you’re dreaming, you lose that awareness, which made it feel even more real.

As I was trying to suppress my pounding heart, something rustled, and Hwa Nabi started making groaning sounds. It seems she woke up because of my commotion.

“…Mmm, husband?”

“Oh, are you awake?”

“Mmm… just now. When did you wake up?”

“I just woke up too.”

When I gently caressed her soft lower abdomen, she curled up as if my touch tickled her. I moved closer to her from behind, embraced her, and subtly inhaled her scent.

A fragrant smell spread, warming a corner of my heart. Indeed, there’s nothing like Hwa Nabi’s scent when I want to calm my mind.

I’d like to embrace her from the front, but that would be too obvious, so I can’t. I touched Hwa Nabi’s body playfully while secretly sniffing, and after a suitable amount of time had passed, I called her softly.

“Nabi.”

“…Hmm, what is it?”

“I just had a really strange dream.”

“Hmm, what kind of dream was it?”

While embracing Hwa Nabi from behind, I told her in detail about the scene I had witnessed in my dream. I saw Woohee and Ucheon as students, they were arguing about allowance, then we made a date plan, and I woke up from the dream.

After hearing all this, Hwa Nabi had only one reaction. She turned to face me and, without saying a word, planted a kiss on my cheek.

“It’s good that the kids are perceptive. Do they take after their mother?”

“They looked like they took after their father.”

“Is that just how it appeared to you?”

“No, Woohee really resembled me. Ucheon seemed to take after you, Nabi.”

There’s a saying that the first daughter takes after her father’s appearance, but that’s just a folk belief, so I’m not sure if it will hold true. Still, seeing that her hair color was the same as mine, it might not be completely wrong.

“We’ll see as time goes by. Oh, by the way, husband. Speaking of the children, Woohee wants to go to kindergarten.”

“Really? Woohee wants to go to kindergarten?”

“Yes, what did she say? Something about wanting to escape this cage-like house and see the wider world… I think that’s what she said.”

“Wait, where did Woohee learn to say such things…?”

That’s something a person in their twenties might say, not a four-year-old child, no matter how you look at it.

I was so dumbfounded that I blurted it out, and Hwa Nabi embraced me with a playful smile.

“She probably memorized it from a storybook and used it as is. I remember reading it to her before; there was a scene where a bird trapped in a cage looks at the sky and monologues exactly those words.”

Woohee must have a really good memory; she’ll go far in life.

With such thoughts, I moved my upper body. I approached Hwa Nabi, naturally pressed my body against hers, and buried my face in her chest. Hwa Nabi looked at me quietly, smiled, and gently stroked the back of my head.

“So, what do you think, husband? Should we send our Woohee to kindergarten or not?”

“Well, isn’t it a bit early? At four years old, there would hardly be any children her age if we send her to kindergarten.”

“So, you’re against it?”

“Not against it, let’s say I’m fifty-fifty. What do you think, Nabi?”

“Hmm… I’m in favor. Woohee seems really bored staying at home.”

“Really? Did Woohee say she was bored?”

“She didn’t say it, but you can tell from her attitude. She used to be so excited when I asked her to play, but lately she’s been indifferent. I think Woohee is getting tired of playing with me.”

“Well, Woohee is at an age where her curiosity is growing.”

At four years old, it’s a time when children become curious about everything in the world, so she might be feeling restless.

I’m not sure how Woohee learned about kindergarten, but it seems the idea of a place full of peers has stimulated her childlike curiosity. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked to go to kindergarten, right?

As a parent, I’m a bit worried about sending Woohee out, but on the other hand, I understand her feelings. Even I used to ask my parents all sorts of questions when I was young, wandering around and poking my nose into everything.

Then as I got a bit older, I preferred playing at home… but that’s a story for another time.

Anyway, if that’s Woohee’s wish and Hwa Nabi approves, I don’t have any reason to stop her. You know, they say sociability is better developed early, right?

Sociability doesn’t grow naturally; it’s developed through interactions with various people. So experiencing diverse situations at a young age will be a great help for Woohee’s future.

“Alright, let’s send Woohee to kindergarten. But where should we send her? Is there a kindergarten near our home?”

“I’ve already looked into it, so don’t worry. I’ll take care of everything.”

“Oh, really…?”

Since she said she’d take care of everything, I guess I don’t need to worry about it anymore. With that in mind, I detached my face and lay down, looking at the ceiling.

“We’re supposed to pick up Woohee and Ucheon tomorrow at lunch, right?”

“Yes. We still have a day left.”

“Hmm, a day…”

That means we have a little more than twenty-four hours left.

I interlaced my fingers and placed them behind my head. Today is a weekend morning, and we have plenty of time. We can take it easy. Since we can extend the checkout by a day, should I just hold Hwa Nabi and watch a movie?

“We have a lot of time left, don’t we?”

“Yes, we do.”

As I was about to consider what genre would be good, Hwa Nabi suddenly placed her hand on my chest and climbed onto my upper body.

“What do you mean by ‘we have a lot of time’?”

Having my body suddenly taken over, I just blinked at her.

Hwa Nabi looked down at me with the eyes of a lioness eyeing her prey, then rubbed my thighs with her buttocks.

“Get it up.”