episode_0028

“Gather your strength~ Stretch out your whole body! Victory!”

Dayoung finished her game and shouted “Victory” with a refreshing face.

“This, this is unbelievable! Invalid! Let’s do it again!”

I couldn’t accept this result and demanded a rematch.

“Well, I’m fine, can Mom have another go?”

“Argh!”

Actually, lying down for a while made my muscles start to tighten. This… I’ll be sore all over tomorrow.

“Just accept defeat. Mom lost.”

“Ugh, frustrating!”

If Dayoung had beaten me with her amazing athletic abilities, I wouldn’t have been this upset. It was a fair and square match.

But Dayoung delved into the flaw of it being a game.

As long as she gets good grades, she pulls all sorts of tricks.

Using the controller sensor, during the stair section, she would just sit on the sofa and wiggle her legs, or lean on nearby objects while walking, even attaching straps to swing on her arms. She played a game, not exercised alone. I raised this issue with Davin and Seungyoon, but…

“I’m honestly angry, but it’s not a rule violation. There weren’t any set rules to begin with.”

Davin was frustrated, but accepted it humbly as one move. Seungyoon, on the same team, added:

“Jorang-i, no, Dayoung has always been like that. Even when broadcasting, people find it funny. Should we call it a slightly eccentric concept?”

My daughter… My daughter is eccentric! Rather than that, I can’t believe I’m being teased like this!

“Stop it, be tough. Accept the situation.”

When I didn’t understand and shook my head, Davin explained:

“‘Mom, you’re ugly’ is a trendy phrase these days.”

I almost jumped up in anger at that, but then couldn’t due to lack of energy.

In the end, I could only watch Dayoung’s trick parade, where despite her lowest physical performance, she cleared the stage in 6 minutes. Witnessing that, I shed tears.

“Ugh, frustrating! So frustrating!”

Davin’s incredible competitive spirit was probably like mine. What started as playing with the kids had now become something I couldn’t back down from.

“When I recover, we’ll play again. Then, we’ll build our stamina fairly!”

“Why me?”

Unable to contain my anger at her teasing words, I was about to shout, but…

“But what should we wish for, sis?”

Seungyoon asked Dayoung. Oh, it was about making a wish. Worried I might make a strange demand in anger, I naturally kept my mouth shut.

“What’s up, Mom. Anything you want to say?”

“Oh, no. Nothing. Hehe.”

“Ahem, let’s see… What wish should we make?”

Dayoung deliberately hesitated, raising my curiosity. But since the wish wasn’t decided yet, I had to remain neutral.

“Do you have a wish, Seungyoon?”

Dayoung asked Seungyoon.

“No, I’m fine. You can decide, sis.”

“Is that so?”

Dayoung smiled mischievously, almost devilishly.

“Hehehe, oh~ I’m looking forward to this!”

“D-Dayoung? Stop teasing and tell us quickly. Mom is getting a bit scared, you know?”

Then, as if waiting, Dayoung said,

“Tomorrow, when we go shopping!”

-Gulp!

“Try on a swimsuit I pick without complaining!”

“Huh?”

I pursed my lips and opened my mouth, while Dabin tilted his head and asked Dayoung.

“Shopping tomorrow? Where?”

Then Dayoung glanced at me briefly.

“What, didn’t Mom tell you? We’re going on a vacation next week. So she wants to buy a swimsuit or some simple clothes before that. She suggested going shopping at the outlet. Are you okay with that?”

“Hmm…”

Dabin glanced at Seungyoon and asked, “When are we going?”

Seungyoon raised his hand and said, “Oh, I think you can just go without worrying… I might want to go home early tomorrow morning.”

“Kids, let’s go shopping tomorrow after lunch or a little later leisurely. Anyway, Dabin, you’ll be up late playing with Seungyoon, right? Dayoung, you have plans for the weekend, so you’ll be broadcasting until late, right? Isn’t that so?”

Dayoung and Dabin both nodded in agreement.

“So let’s sleep in a bit tomorrow morning, have breakfast, and since Seungyoon’s mom will give us a ride to our place, let’s go together. Got it?”

“Yes. Thank you.”

Just as we were finishing the conversation, the phone suddenly rang. It was an unfamiliar ringtone, so we looked around to find the owner of the phone, which turned out to be Seungyoon’s.

“Oh, it’s mine. Um… it’s Dad.”

Seungyoon answered the call after pressing the accept button.

“Yes, Dad. Yes. Oh, I’m planning to sleep over at a friend’s house today. Yes. Yes, I got permission from my friend’s mom.”

Saying this, Seungyoon glanced at me.

“Do you want to talk to him?”

As I reached out my hand towards Seungyoon’s phone, he hesitated for a moment before handing it over to me.

“Hello?”

Suddenly, a woman’s voice came through, causing a commotion on the other end of the line.

“Oh, hello. I’m the person who is becoming Seungyoon’s dad.”

“Yes, hello. I’m Dabin’s mom, a friend of Seungyoon.”

“Well, um… I was a bit surprised when he suddenly said he wanted to sleep over at a friend’s house. Is everything okay?”

Seungyoon’s father asked, sounding concerned. I stood up, apologized to Seungyoon, and went into the bedroom.

“Oh, it’s fine. Seungyoon is really kind and cheerful. That’s why Dabin relies on him a lot and wants to be close friends with him. Haha.”

“Well, that’s a relief. I feel a bit embarrassed about this. Haha.”

“Don’t worry. If no one’s home anyway, wouldn’t it be better for the kids to play together like this? And… given the circumstances in your household, maybe it’s even more beneficial for the child.”

After I mentioned their household situation, there was a brief silence.

“Well… Seungyoon must have made Dabin quite comfortable. This is, well… embarrassing. Haha.”

“Don’t mention it. Our household is also a stepfamily… It’s not that uncommon these days, right? Anyway, I’ll make sure Seungyoon sleeps well tonight, and I’ll give him a ride to your place tomorrow.”

“Oh, no need. I can come to pick him up in the morning…”

“Since we have somewhere to go anyway, it’s not a big deal to give him a ride along the way. Please don’t feel burdened.”

“Haha… Thank you. When you come tomorrow, please give me a call, and I’ll come out to get Seungyoon.”

“Let’s do that. Yes. I’ll contact you tomorrow.”

“Yes, thank you. Please take care of Seungyoon for us.”

“Sure thing~”

After the call ended, I returned to the living room and handed the phone back to Seungyoon, saying:

“Since the conversation with your father went well, let’s have fun with Dabin today and tomorrow your mom will give you a ride home. Your father will come to meet you.”

Seungyoon brightened up and nodded in gratitude.

“Oh, thank you. Hehe.”

As expected, even if they act dignified, kids will be kids. It’s just that their family fell apart due to their parents’ circumstances. What wrong could the kids have done? It’s only natural to feel sorry for not being able to protect such a healthy family.

“All right then. Since we had a good workout, let’s go wash up and head to our rooms. Commence!”

“Commence!”

With that, I cleared my spot, tidied up the game console, and went into the bedroom. It was a struggle just to get up.

“Oof, I’m dying.”

Entering the bedroom, I grabbed fresh underwear and clothes and headed to the bathroom.

While the kids would take turns using the outside bathroom, the bathroom in the bedroom was solely my space.

I briefly thought about telling Dayoung to just use the bathroom in the bedroom, but considering hierarchy and personality, I figured she would be the first to shower anyway. I had already taken off all my clothes, and it seemed too bothersome to put them back on just to tell her.

-Whoosh!

Turning on the shower, adjusting the water temperature, I started getting wet from head to toe.

In a short time, muscles saturated with lactic acid from intense exercise relaxed in the warm water, releasing fatigue. It felt like my body was melting away.

“Ah… feels good.”

Feeling sluggish, after finishing the shower, drying my hair, I was confident I’d pass out as soon as I covered myself with the blanket.

“Ugh, why did I get so excited like those kids… making a fuss…”

As the heat dissipated from my body little by little, and the blood rushing to my head settled down, I started feeling embarrassed about how worked up I had been about the game just moments ago.

Wiping my face as if doing a dry wash, I brushed off the embarrassment. Slowly, starting from my head, I lathered up with shampoo and body wash, thoroughly cleaning every nook and cranny of my body.

Covered in suds, my skin glistened beautifully to the eye.

“It looks pretty….”

I blurted out those words, but soon my face flushed.

Damn it. But what can I do about being pretty.