episode_0045

“I’m really looking forward to the sea.”

A young woman sitting in the passenger seat spoke to me.

Wearing a white blouse and denim skirt, she had an excited look on her face in anticipation of the future trip.

“Uh, yes.”

Looking at her like that, I answered hesitantly.

The reason was simple.

It was because my back was itching from the subtle looks in the eyes of the people riding behind me earlier.

There are currently a total of 10 people, including me, riding the 12-seater Starex.

Why are there 10 people instead of 9? That’s because the woman, or rather the girl, sitting in the passenger seat was someone who was not in the original plan.

She introduced herself as Gu Ye-seul and was Jin-ah’s friend.

When she said that she had heard that Jin-ah was going on a family trip and came to see her, she said, “Well, now that there is one more person, it will be a big deal.” Thinking this, I allowed her to ride with me.

“Oppa, would you like to eat this?”

“No, it’s okay. You eat.”

“You get sleepy when you drive, right? In times like this, you have to eat something sweet?”

Then, he popped a candy bar into my mouth while I was driving down the highway.

Jina’s friend, Yeseul, was unusual from the moment she first appeared.

When deciding on a seat in the car, Comrade Mal immediately said he was confident and offered to take my passenger seat.

Of course, there was resistance from other family members, including Han Chae-yeon, but they were immediately put down when they said that since it was a place they had often visited in the past, they could help with directions.

The fact that I had almost no experience of going to other places was a weakness.

‘Wouldn’t it be better for me, a man like him, to sit in the passenger seat?’

Chanwoo carefully presented his opinion.

Also, ‘My brother doesn’t have fun for some reason, so I think it will make him drowsy and drive.’ But I sank at Yeseul’s words.

As soon as she appeared, Yeseul won a 1-on-9 fight and was able to obtain the right to sit in the passenger seat as a prize.

The car stopped at a red light.

“Is everyone okay?”

Taking advantage of the moment, I slowly turned my head toward the back seat.

There, Han Chae-yeon and her younger sisters were sitting in comfortable positions, each wearing a seat belt.

And Chan-Woo Son was seen sitting alone in the back seat, twisting his body back and forth as if he was somehow uncomfortable.

It was a bit sad to see her standing alone like an isolated island among so many women.

Except for Han Chae-yeon and Yuna, who were acquaintances, who occasionally spoke to him, all the other children treated him as completely invisible, as if they had made a promise.

Maybe that’s why he looked so full of anticipation and excitement when we first met in the underground parking lot, but he had an awkward expression on his face, like a wild goose dad meeting after being away from his family for 10 years.

I can’t blame my sisters, it’s not that I intentionally have bad feelings towards him.

I just had a destructive affinity for hanging out with a stranger I met for the first time.

“Oppa. It’s a blue light.”

As I was looking at him sadly, I immediately turned my gaze forward when I heard a voice from the passenger seat.

They aren’t bad kids by nature, so if you hang out with them a little when you get to your travel destination, the awkward atmosphere will gradually get better. Let’s leave it alone for now.

With that in mind, I started concentrating on driving.

As she first declared, Yeseul was the ideal passenger seat partner.

Not only did he occasionally let me know when I was confused about the way, but he also became a great companion to keep me from getting bored on long drives.

“So, I once asked Jina what kind of man is her ideal type…”

“Well, you don’t have to say that!”

It was also fun to hear Jin-ah’s hidden episodes that I didn’t know about in this way.

“Oh, you have to enter the third lane here.”

“Okay.”

As I turned the steering wheel under Yeseul’s skillful guidance, I asked a question that suddenly occurred to me.

“I think it’s a little late to say this now, but aren’t your parents worried? I heard that my minor daughter is staying out overnight.”

“It’s okay. I said I was going to a summer training camp as part of my club activities. I also paid a generous amount for the dormitory fee. I’ll give it to you later.”

“…Hmm? Why did you do that to me?”

“You can’t ask someone who suddenly joins your trip to pay for your travel expenses. I also have something called shame.”

She grumbled half-jokingly, as if asking if he thought she was such a senseless person.

The more I looked at him, the more I thought he was definitely a good kid.

Despite his young age of being a first year middle school student, he is very considerate of those around him.

In addition to being able to control the line well so as not to be burdensome, I thought that Jina had made a good friend.

“Well, I’ll give it to you later too. Brother.”

Son Chan-woo hurriedly intervened from behind.

There was a sense of desperation in his voice, perhaps because he felt that he should not be disliked as a man on this trip, where the ratio of women was very high.

“Both are done, so keep them in. Anyway, this trip is free because I won the lottery. There is no need to have a needless sense of debt. Still, if you really feel like it, go to the sea and play with my sisters.”

“Just leave it to me!”

Yeseul shouted cheerfully.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at her trustworthy appearance.

“…What do they call this, barley that eats pheasant?”

“Sister. Are you talking about the sack of barley you dreamed of?”

“Yes, that’s right! That pheasant barley! I feel like we are being treated like that!”

A friendly conversation took place between the passenger seat and the driver’s seat.

Starting with Hayun’s dissatisfaction, the stares piercing my back became increasingly sharper.

Just like before, I tried my best to pretend not to know.

The vehicle, with its mixed atmosphere, moved smoothly and eventually arrived at its destination, the sea.

**

“This is the person who made the reservation. Is it possible to change the reserved 3-person room to a 4-person room by paying an additional fee?”

“Sorry. Since the hotel is currently full, I don’t think we can exchange your room.”

I tried it just in case, but the answer came back that it was impossible.

There is no way there will be any empty rooms in a hotel during the peak season.

The rooms I booked were ones that I had a really hard time finding.

“What should I do?”

“Well, wouldn’t one person be okay?”

“You can sleep with me and Younha. Because we slept together from the beginning.”

I received that response after consulting with a group of people with luggage in the lobby behind me.

The rooms we reserved were 2-person, 3-person, and 4-person rooms respectively.

The room for two men was set up for exactly 9 people, including a double room.

However, due to the unexpected participation of Yeseul, the number of people in the group increased by one, resulting in a shortage of rooms.

“Lana. I don’t think that will work… Anyway.”

I showed disapproval to Ran, who was showing me the tablet screen without anyone else knowing.

They say it can’t be helped because there isn’t enough room at home, but coming to a travel destination like this and sleeping in the same bed with a man and a woman is very likely to cause misunderstanding in many ways.

Moreover, Ran, who had a history of being half-naked in bed in the past, was even more dangerous in many ways.

“…”

Ran makes a sullen face at my words.

I smiled at Ran and patted her head, then went to tidy up.

“First, Yunha, Hayun, and their mother entered the triple room. The four-person room will be occupied by Yeseul, Sujin, Ran, Jinah, and Yuna. Our men will use the remaining two-person room. Does anyone have any objections here?”

“…over there?”

“Why?”

“Where is your mother..? No matter how much I look, I can’t see it? And Chaeyeon’s name is also missing.”

After hearing what I said, Yeseul immediately raised her hand and asked a question.

He seemed to be looking around to see if anyone else was joining him.

Oh, now that I think about it, we haven’t talked about it yet.

Because there were so many people, I don’t think I had even thought about it.

I don’t know what’s going on over there without saying a word. He pointed his finger at Han Chae-yeon, who was acting like a fool.

I think that person is having fun.

Anyway, it’s really bad to have a hobby.

A man who has aged as he should.

“Yes? to? Wait a minute, really?”

Yeseul’s eyes widened.

“Why did I lie about something like this? Who did you think it was in the first place?”

“Of course I thought she was older than my brother… Awesome!”

Soojin covered her mouth from how shocked she was and looked at me and Han Chae-yeon in turn.

“Mmmm.”

Chanwoo, who had had similar misconceptions as Yeseul, kept nodding as if he understood.

“Chaeyeon’s appearance is definitely deceptive. Who would think that is a woman in her 40s?”

“Sujin?”

“Oh, sorry! I apologize!”

Sujin, who was shaking her head in the same way, quickly apologized to Han Chae-yeon’s soft voice.

“Isn’t it normal for a while?”

“No matter how you look at it, it’s not an ordinary baby face level…”

Yeseul responded as if she was both surprised and tired of Jina’s carefree words.