Chapter 1117: Side Story – Time Alone Together (1)

The story about the twins’ pregnancy is something for a bit later anyway, and there are still a few hours left until I get off work. Since it was a rare afternoon with just me and Min-ah, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to spend time together sometimes instead of going on a date. Though, it’s only for a few hours until Jin-ah and Seon-ah get home.

“I’m going to the grocery store for dinner. Eunbyul Unnie said she has to visit her place today, so she’ll come tomorrow.”

“Let’s go together, Han Min-ah.”

“Huh? You don’t have to go with me, I can go alone.”

“I just want to go together.”

“…Okay, sure.”

Han Min-ah nodded in agreement, seeming not particularly opposed to it. If she had cat ears, maybe they would have twitched slightly. Thinking that, I walked alongside her.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“I bought tofu, bought potatoes, Taekyung, grab a bag of onions over there.”

“Anything else we need? Like zucchini?”

“We have green onions left at home. And zucchini is cheaper if you buy it at the vegetable stand outside.”

…She’s really like a housewife. Does she always shop like this? Eunbyul probably isn’t this thorough. Even though she’s a professional Maid, she’s fundamentally a young lady raised in a wealthy family. Like on our date the other day, seeing this side of her really makes me understand how she managed to raise Jin-ah and Seon-ah for several years as a student.

“Oh, right. We’re almost out of soybean paste too.”

“Should I get the large one?”

“No, not that one, the medium size. The really big ones are hard to finish within the expiration date.”

“Okay, okay.”

Chatting about such things as we did some light grocery shopping, we ended up with just one shopping bag’s worth of groceries. Tonight’s dinner must be soybean paste stew. Personally, it’s one of my favorite dishes among the side dishes served at home. And Min-ah’s soybean paste stew is even more delicious than when I make it myself.

…Come to think of it, Han Min-ah never seems picky about food. She’s pregnant right now, which is supposed to be a very sensitive period.

“Speaking of which, Min-ah, don’t you have any morning sickness?”

“I had it briefly about a month ago, but it subsided pretty quickly.”

“…Does it usually pass that fast? Hye-eun was having a really hard time just a month ago.”

“Really? I just endured it and ate, so I got used to it.”

“…Endured it and ate?”

“It’s a waste to throw away food after preparing a meal just because of morning sickness. After eating like that a few times, it just stopped bothering me after a while.”

…It’s fortunate that it ended quickly, but still, I wish she would take better care of herself. Even with her commoner sensibilities remaining, she doesn’t seem to lack money anymore. It feels a bit excessive. Of course, this is ultimately my fault for not being home often. If I could have looked after Han Min-ah more closely, I wouldn’t have heard about this kind of thing.

“Let’s split the shopping bag in half, give it here.”

“Don’t make me feel more indebted to you, Han Min-ah.”

“…What nonsense are you talking about all of a sudden?”

After forcefully transferring the shopping bag filled with dinner groceries to my side, I took Han Min-ah’s empty hand instead.

“Hng?!”

…We’ve known each other for years, and she’s still surprised just from holding hands. Still, consistency is definitely a strong point. Maybe even after years, Han Min-ah will still be shy about little things like this, and still be cute. The same goes for Min-ah’s two younger sisters. …Though by then, all three of them will probably be holding my child in their arms.

Imagining children who resemble Min-ah, Jin-ah, or Seon-ah, I spotted a photo booth on the way home, and my interest piqued, I grabbed Han Min-ah’s arm and pulled her towards it.

“Min-ah, let’s take pictures there.”

“Huh? Suddenly?”

“Just to make some memories. We’ve never done this before.”

“No, we can take pictures with our smartphones…. This is just a waste of money….”

“What waste is there on a date? Just hurry up and get in.”

“…This, this was a date?”

It’s not like we have to set a specific date to go out together to call it a date. Han Min-ah’s face turned slightly red, as she thought it was just an outing to buy groceries. To prevent her from running away, I opened the door to the photo booth, quickly selected a photo frame, and completed the payment.

“Hey, hey! If you want to take pictures, you could have just gone home and asked the kids to take them….”

“I already put the money in, Han Min-ah. We won’t get the money back if we leave now, so just take the pictures.”

“Ah, okay…. Honestly, you’re really….”

…But now that I think about it, how does this thing work?

I had brought her here wanting to make some date-like memories with Han Min-ah, but honestly, this was my first time using a photo booth too. Meanwhile, the machine that ate the money automatically announced its presence to Han Min-ah, as if forcibly informing her.

『Beep. The photo shoot will begin after the beep. Strike a pose. 5, 4, 3….』

“Hey, hey, pose, pose!”

“What am I supposed to do if you suddenly say pose?!”

『Beep-.』

-Click.

The first photo was taken futilely amidst the confusion. Before we could even discuss the photo of us looking bewildered, the narration announcing the second photo shoot immediately followed.

『5, 4, 3, 2….』

“F-first, look forward! And I….”

“What am I supposed to do if I look forward….”

-Click.

Han Min-ah, turning her head towards me with a still bewildered expression, and me with a stiff expression staring straight ahead. This isn’t working. If it’s going to be like this, I have to force her to strike a pose.

-Squeeze.

“Hiyyaat?!”

“Let’s take one like this, hugging. We’re married, after all. We should have at least one photo like this.”

『5, 4, 3….』

“Hey, wait…! If you’re going to hold me, put your hand a little lower….”

-Click.

Still, the third photo seems to have turned out okay. There was no time to hesitate. If we wanted to salvage at least two out of the four shots, we needed to strike a proper pose for the last one too. Fortunately, I had already thought about how to take the fourth shot, so choosing a pose wasn’t too difficult.

『5, 4, 3….』

“Han Min-ah, look over here.”

“Hm?”

-Smooch.

“N-ngh?!”

-Click.

…A couple’s photo should have at least one kiss shot, right? The last photo in the photo booth was a kiss shot, taken while I tightly embraced Han Min-ah’s neck as she looked flustered.

『Printing photos. Please wait a moment.』

“Ngh, ngh….”

An impromptu memory-making session, an impromptu kiss. The narrator and Han Min-ah continued to kiss until both sets of 4-cut photos were printed.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“What is this? If you’re going to take pictures, at least take them properly….”

“…Yeah, looking at them like this, there’s really nothing salvageable.”

Two sets of 4-cut photos printed on rectangular laminated paper. Looking at the results, filled mostly with photos of us looking bewildered, I felt a bit disappointed. The first two photos were meaningless, just showing two people looking bewildered. In the third photo, I tried to create a pose where I hugged Han Min-ah from behind, but in my haste, one hand was clearly seen grabbing her chest. The fourth photo was somewhat usable, though. The couple kissing filled the frame with a good composition.

“Still, we salvaged the last one. That’s good enough, right?”

“This one cost 4,000 won…? Just for this piece of paper….”

“It’s 4,000 won for two, so 2,000 won per set. And I told you not to talk about money on a date.”

“No, well, that’s true, but….”

It’s good to save money and live frugally by not spending unnecessarily, but it’s endless if you start regretting money spent when you should spend it. At the very least, money spent on a date shouldn’t be regretted. It feels like I’ve completely lost my sense of money for dates after such a long time.

“And this last photo alone is worth 2,000 won. It came out cute, didn’t it?”

“…Th-that’s the one I like least. It’s embarrassing because you can clearly see how flustered I look.”

“I’m telling you, that’s pretty. If you keep saying that, I’ll print this one as a large scan and make it into a tabletop frame.”

“Hah, don’t you dare! How could I possibly display a picture like this?!”

“There’s wrapping plastic over there. I think we can put them in there and take them home?”

…Well, it’s a bit disappointing, but in the end, this is also a memory. Actually, the fact that we both looked so flustered felt more realistic, like it represented the relationship between me and Han Min-ah. Although it was a photo booth session initiated by an impulsive decision, I guess it can be considered a decent memory.

Thinking that, I put one of the two printed laminated photos into a plastic sleeve and packed it away. From behind, I heard Han Min-ah muttering.

“Honestly, what’s the point of things like this….”

-Rustle rustle.

Despite her words, Han Min-ah carefully tucked the photo, now in its plastic sleeve, into her inner pocket.