episode_0106

“Anyway… Thank you…?”

“Yeah. I’m grateful too.”

They leave the café and head to the parking lot.

“But can we do this again later?”

“Huh! Surprise me. What’s up?”

Suddenly, unnie pops out and sticks by my side.

“I… want to sleep together.”

And then, she shyly blurts out a word.

She seems cuter than me.

“I said just once. It’s over now. No more. Soon, even going outside will become difficult.”

“Oh… so what about hanging out together?”

Now it’s getting scary.

Who made unnie like this?

“I’ll contact you later.”

“Yeah! I’ll wait.”

Oh, how cute.

The reason why unnie followed me.

“Oh right.”

We only have one car.

And it’s even mine.

“Nice. The car is good.”

“My mom bought it for me.”

“Oh… so you’re rich because of that…”

“Just a gift… well, it’s just… whatever. It’s just a gesture of kindness.”

Only the word “whatever” comes to mind.

Actually… there’s nothing to say. Really.

“Well… understood for now.”

“…But unnie.”

“Yes, Jihye.”

“What’s the reason for your change in personality after sleeping?”

I decided to ask straightforwardly.

Honestly, it’s scary.

“Oh… just. Maybe I feel better…?”

“Because you slept?”

“That’s right. Not knowing how joyful it is to have a good night’s sleep.”

So her personality changes, she clings… and acts cute…??

“So what reason makes you able to sleep because of me?”

Now we get to the point.

Unnie can only overcome insomnia if she finds this.

And I don’t want to create an uncomfortable situation.

She’s married and has a child but sleeps with another woman.

Isn’t that strange?

If asked like this, I really have nothing to say.

Before speaking, I would already be bowing my head in apology.

“Um……”

Lost in thought, unnie glances at me slightly and then looks ahead.

It’s like thinking while driving.

“The scent… and the softness. I wanted to keep holding your arm because it was so soft. And… for some reason, it felt good. The sleep came so easily, and I realized this is what true rest is! But did you want this kind of answer?”

It was a completely different answer.

As the listener, I only felt embarrassed.

“Oh… so is there a way for me to overcome insomnia without you? Like a similar perfume or a soft pillow.”

“Oh. I see. You can’t keep asking to sleep together like this forever.”

Unnie quickly agrees, nodding her head.

“Sigh… I absolutely can’t do this again except for this time. I don’t want to see something that oppa dislikes.”

“Yeah. I know… I’m thinking about it.”

While I’m anxious, unnie remains as calm as a fisherman catching time rather than fish.

“Sigh… I can’t even collect my sweat in a bottle to give you…”

“Oh. That might be good.”

“Oh. What’s good!”

What I said in haste is taken somewhat seriously.

For unnie, anything seems good if it means she can overcome insomnia.

“So, there really isn’t a good solution?”

“Well… I don’t know.”

“Ugh… why should I worry about you…”

While I worry, unnie seems rather indifferent.

Am I worrying in vain?

“Well… Jihye, are you trying to sleep while thinking about me? Try that. It might work well.”

Unnie smiled at me.

Happiness, freed from insomnia, was reflected in her smile.

My heart fluttered slightly.

“Hoo….”

The feeling of returning home after seeing off my sister.

I’m not the type to fall in love quickly, right?

What happens when a girl makes your heart race?

Is it because of the skillful way he captivates me like an older brother?

“Oppa….”

Thinking about the hardworking oppa, my pounding heart gradually calms down.

It’s not that my heart doesn’t flutter for oppa, but because he makes me feel safe lying here right now.

It’s because he thinks of our daughter and cares for me, giving me peace of mind.

“Ugh!?”

A vacuum cleaner passing by me with its motor sound.

It seemed to be moving along its path so nonchalantly that I almost felt like I should cry out if it hit me.

If there’s an obstacle, you just have to overcome it.

But what if the obstacle is too high?

Then what do you do?

“Ugh….”

I immediately got up and started doing housework.

Why are you thinking such useless thoughts?

“Ugh….”

I clean the floor by charging and moving back and forth.

I am lying on the bed.

I was trying to clean the bedroom, but this guy keeps getting in the way.

“Ugh… I need to vacuum this too.”

The blanket is already in the washing machine, and I’m lying on the sheet, tossing and turning.

“Ah….”

Considering the waterproofing on the sheet, it could almost be considered a divine intervention.

Yes. It may not be damp, but there is a strange smell coming from somewhere.

Surely it was a peculiar smell, but now only a musty odor remained.

That lingering scent of our passionate moments remained.

Since I couldn’t trust the waterproof sheet completely, the blanket underneath must have been thick….

“Hoo…. Even though I keep sniffing, it’s not oppa’s scent….”

I wash the blanket frequently.

I wash it often because the feeling of lying on a completely dry blanket after washing and drying it thoroughly is indescribable.

It’s clean and satisfying.

“I should have changed it right away….”

After thinking that, I didn’t change it immediately.

It’s a bit awkward to take out a new blanket in the middle of the night, and I had laid towels to prevent it from being damp.

The towels were as soft and thick as the blanket….

But things don’t seem to go as planned.

Perhaps… the smell from the blanket transferred directly to the sheet.

It’s not wet, but the smell will transfer.

“…Should I buy a new pair of shoes?”

Since there’s a smell, I want to buy a new pair of shoes that I wear all the time.

I have spare shirts, but since I keep wearing the same outerwear, I want to buy a new one….

“Ugh.”

I strip off the sheet and immediately put it in the laundry.

I’ve wasted too much time just thinking.

Until now, all I’ve done is think about oppa while lying in bed.

“Oh… Did you kick?”

Feeling an itchy sensation in my stomach, I sat back on the sofa.

“Jieun needs to come out healthy~”

Being healthy doesn’t mean kicking or using hands and feet.

Jieun’s movements in my belly feel more vivid than ever.

Compared to when I first thought my stomach felt weird, it’s a significant improvement.

“…Oh.”

I looked at the clock.

Rodol had already finished cleaning and was eating at his own place.

“Ugh… Darn.”

Time never waits for me.

“Are you back?”

“Why… are you breathing so heavily?”

Sending me a small compliment for finishing all the remaining chores.

“I… did some exercise.”

“Ah, I see. Still, take it easy. There’s not much time left now.”

“Yeah. Thanks. Sit down. Let’s eat.”

She set the table quickly and brought out tonkatsu.

Exercise… right.

Sweating, feeling exhausted, and the soreness in my body—it’s the result of hard work and effort.

“Oppa, I have something on my mind.”

Whenever I see you devouring the tonkatsu I made like a kid seeing the world for the first time, it makes me wonder.

“Hmm? What is it?”

“It’s about the tonkatsu…”

Dad can’t eat fried food.

Or should I say he doesn’t eat it?

When I made shrimp tempura, only I would gobble it up.

Today is not the day to coax you into trying it by picking it up with chopsticks and feeding you.

Not today.

Dad didn’t eat the tempura.

There were times, maybe during work dinners, when he came home late.

I don’t quite remember how the shrimp tempura ended up alone on the dining table that time.

But Dad did eat the shrimp tempura then.

Not just a few, but exactly one piece.

Quietly eating that one shrimp tempura, he then poured himself a glass of water from the fridge, drank it, and went to his room.

Upon later inspection, it was clear he hadn’t finished all the shrimp tempura.

Half-eaten shrimp tempura pieces were neatly wrapped in tissue and thrown away.

“Oh… Is it because making tonkatsu is difficult? I’m fine. Really. I mean it.”

“No, it’s not that. I was worried you might get tired of tonkatsu.”

I don’t think getting tired of it is the issue.

How could you get tired of tonkatsu when you love it so much?

But thinking of Dad made me consider that maybe you could too.

Approaching thirty, looking towards forty.

Will you still be able to enjoy my tonkatsu by then?

“Well… For now, I keep exercising to keep enjoying tonkatsu. It’s not about getting tired… Maybe as you age, things might start to bother your stomach or digestion won’t be as easy.”

“So, what’s your next favorite after tonkatsu?”

If there comes a day when you can’t eat tonkatsu anymore, then I’ll make sure to prepare your next favorite dish as deliciously as possible to help you let go of the regret of not being able to eat tonkatsu.

“Hmm… Kimbap rolls. And dumplings. I like fried stuff.”

“…You won’t be able to eat those either.”

We still have plenty of time.

Yes, we’re still in our twenties.

Surely, surely… By the time this thought crosses my mind again, you’ll be savoring tonkatsu.

“Take your time to think. If it really becomes difficult to eat, please tell me. I’ll make your favorites as tasty as possible.”

“Sigh… My wife is truly the best…”

“Oh, come on, with your greasy lips…!”

I stopped you from kissing my cheek.

I’ll just take the sentiment.

Greasy lips are a bit much.