Chapter 496: Shoveling
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 496: Shoveling
Autumn, which had lingered at a mere chill, finally passed.
Winter had arrived in earnest, and heavy snow was falling thick and fast around the villa.
"Wow, it’s so pretty~"
Seo Ye-rin stood by the window, staring blankly up at the falling flakes.
Since this place was practically in the countryside, once it started snowing, it really came down in heaps.
"Miss, please have some cocoa."
"Thank you!"
Seo Ye-rin took the mug from the Auntie. At first, she had found being called "Miss" quite embarrassing.
Seeing how she accepted it naturally now, it seemed humans really were creatures of habit.
"Waaah, I bet when the baby grows up, we’ll build snowmen together and stuff, right?"
Behind Seo Ye-rin, who was muttering to the window, Choi I-seo let out a dry chuckle from her spot on the sofa.
"That’s still a long way off."
The child would have to be at least three or four years old for that.
"Three or four years?"
Yoo Ah-rin, who had been shaking her head in admiration, suddenly let out a smirk.
"Want to hear something cool? Even when our kids are three, we’ll still be in our twenties."
Surprisingly, they would still be in their twenties then. Of course, they’d be right at the tail end of them, but the fact that they were still in their twenties was what mattered.
Some people have a romanticized ideal of being a "young mom."
And weren't they young moms to an almost excessive degree?
"Wow, at this rate, we won't even feel a generation gap with the kids, will we?"
"I doubt that. I feel a generation gap even with Choi I-hyun."
Choi I-seo shook her head, noting that even a five-year difference felt like a gap.
She was currently learning how to knit—not because she particularly wanted to, but because she had nothing else to do.
Being pregnant and living in the countryside meant her options for activity were extremely limited.
As someone who felt like thorns would grow on her body if she wasn't doing something productive, Choi I-seo had already mastered cross-stitching, soap making, and bead crafting. Now, she was conquering knitting.
"Pffft-pffft-pffft!"
Just then, Seo Ye-rin pressed her lips against the window and made a noise. Since her belly was quite round now, she was standing at an angle, making her silhouette very prominent.
"Woo-jina! Is it hard?"
While the girls were inside diligently managing their bodies.
I was putting what I learned in the military to use.
Which is to say.
"It’s freaking exhausting!"
I was shoveling snow.
"Why! Does it! Snow! So damn! Often! Here!"
Back when I was in the military, I used to think: Is there even a point to shoveling while it's still snowing?
Since it’s just going to pile up again while you’re clearing it, wouldn't it be better to wait until it stops?
But after coming here, my mind had changed.
You can't let the snow pile up.
If you're not careful, you could end up in a situation where you can't leave the house at all.
Yoo Ah-rin walked over to the window and stood next to Seo Ye-rin. She cackled as she watched me laboring away.
"Hey! You're good at that! Your movements are so snappy. Your shoveling is incredible! Is it because you spend your daily life digging yourself into holes?"
"You're laughing?! You think this is funny?!"
"Look at that, the baby's daddy is getting mad at the mommy."
Yoo Ah-rin immediately tattled while stroking her belly. I bit my lip and forced an awkward smile.
"A-Ah, no. Daddy isn't mad."
"Ugh, look at his face. Why does he look like that?"
My cheeks were frozen stiff from the cold, so my facial muscles wouldn't move the way I wanted them to.
"Hooo! Hooooo!"
Beside her, Seo Ye-rin blew her breath onto the glass and started doodling on the fog with a grin.
As expected, only Ye-rin cares about me.
I thought she was drawing a heart.
[SEX]
Right, that’s Ye-rin for you.
That part of her wasn't going to change even after she became a mother.
Well, it’s not like I wanted her to change, but still.
Then again, considering her mother goes to adult stores...
Ahem.
"Hey, take it easy with that stuff. The kid's gonna learn weird things."
"Whyyy? This much is fine. They said it’s more important for the mom to be happy and stress-free."
"..."
After a moment of thought, Yoo Ah-rin tilted her head and asked.
"Hey, what age do you think is appropriate for a kid to start watching adult videos?"
"That is a very profound concern."
What kind of conversation is this?
The dialogue drifting through the window while I shoveled snow was certainly... fresh.
But as I shoveled, I actually found myself pondering it too.
"Hmm. Well, I don't know. Isn't it best to watch them once they're adults?"
It sounded like a normal answer for Seo Ye-rin, but in reality, it was the most unrealistic answer of all.
"Hey, how are you going to block it like that? I heard even elementary schoolers watch them these days. When did you start?"
"In high school."
"..."
A brief silence followed.
I was also a bit surprised and glanced toward Seo Ye-rin. I couldn't believe she had watched her first adult video in high school.
That’s actually quite late, isn't it?
Is it because she held it in for so long?
Did she bottle it all up since she was young and then just let it all out once she became an adult?
Is this a testament to the necessity of early education?
I tilted my head in confusion while shoveling, and this time, Seo Ye-rin asked back.
"What about you? When did you watch them?"
"Me—?"
After hesitating for a moment, Yoo Ah-rin answered with a sigh.
"In 7th grade. I went over to Jeong Chan-woo's house with some other friends, and that bastard was watching one."
"Ugh."
"I was so shocked back then that I beat the living crap out of him. Thinking back, I wonder why I hit him so hard."
When you're young, there's a certain sense of shame regarding sexual things. She probably lashed out with her fists because she was embarrassed.
Well, even now, if she's embarrassed, her fists fly first...
Anyway, that bastard Jeong Chan-woo has been sloppy since the old days.
"That's why Jeong Chan-woo wasn't very popular with the girls in middle school. One of the girls who went with me spread the rumor."
Now he’s known as the "public property" of the Architectural Engineering department, busy playing around with his lower half in all directions, so is that a happy ending?
Once he returns to school this time, he’ll probably be hanging out with the freshmen.
It’s annoying just thinking about that guy, who probably changes the girl on his arm every week.
I wonder what the Bald Man is up to these days.
Is he still running the adult store?
Should I ask Seo Ye-rin's mother?
She is a regular, after all.
"Woo-jina! Woo-jini, when did you start watching?"
Seo Ye-rin called out to me as I worked. Having already thought about it, I answered immediately.
"8th grade."
"Hmm? That's later than I thought?"
"I thought Woo-jini would've seen them in 1st grade!"
"What do you mean 1st grade? That's way too early."
No matter how you look at it, that's not right.
"My house was strict about that stuff. I didn't have the chance to be exposed to it."
I remember only finding out about such things after a computer was placed in my room once I hit middle school.
Before that, I spent my time on pure, childhood-only concerns, like how to fleece the other kids to increase my allowance.
At this point, I started getting curious.
"What about I-seo?"
Having the same thought, Seo Ye-rin immediately turned the arrow toward Choi I-seo.
Choi I-seo, who had been knitting on the sofa, flinched and clamped her mouth shut.
She had been listening to the conversation, but it seemed she had stayed quiet, hoping that if she didn't speak, they wouldn't notice her.
"Come on, when did you start?"
"..."
She made it very clear she didn't want to say, but eventually, under our combined gaze, Choi I-seo answered.
"Elementary school... 1st grade."
"Whaaaat?!"
"Holy crap."
"...?!"
Hearing that outside, I was so shocked I threw down my shovel and ran to the window.
What was she saying?
Choi I-seo, the most modest among us, was the earliest to consume adult media!
However, a bright red Choi I-seo shouted back.
"I-I just happened to see it then! I didn't watch any after that!"
"How did you end up seeing it?"
"That's, well..."
Choi I-seo put down her knitting and explained in a small voice, avoiding our eyes.
"I just... couldn't understand how babies were made with my current knowledge."
"Ah."
"I mean, things like... getting pregnant by holding hands while sleeping, or a bird bringing the baby, or getting pregnant from a kiss... those things are obviously impossible, right?"
I thought to myself that even her "First AV Contact" achievement was very typical of Choi I-seo.
It was a shame that a quest started for the pursuit of knowledge ended in the tragic result of "Watching AV in 1st Grade."
Regardless.
"So Choi I-seo was the lewdest one all along."
As Yoo Ah-rin nodded, Choi I-seo shouted in frustration.
"This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you!"
"Hooo! Hooooo!"
Seo Ye-rin blew her breath onto the glass next to where she had written [SEX].
Then, she added one more thing.
[I-seo SEX]
"Seo Ye-rin! I told you to stop!"
"Hehehe!"
Thinking that today was peaceful as usual, I went back to shoveling snow.
Just then, a car entered the driveway.
It was the Porsche I had won as a prize a long time ago.
"Oh, right. Jin-ah said she was coming today."
She had said she would come here to rest now that her national tour was over.
Choi Jin-ah opened the car door and greeted me with a bright smile.
"Woo-jin! You were shoveling snow? That looks tough!"
"Good timing. Hurry up and grab a shovel. This never ends."
"Oh, by the way, Woo-jin! Let's roast these! I got them from a colleague in the orchestra—!"
Choi Jin-ah pulled out a bag of marshmallows.
"Yeah, let's eat them after we finish clearing this. So first—"
"They say these are super expensive. Apparently, once you eat these, you can't eat any other marshmallows."
"Right, I get it, so go and—"
"On a snowy day, you need something warm and sweet, right? They're delicious in cocoa, too."
"...Hey."
As I glared at Choi Jin-ah, who was pointedly ignoring my request to help shovel, she immediately bolted toward the house.
And then she tripped.
Thud!
"Gwaaark?!"
"..."
"..."
After rolling once as she fell, Choi Jin-ah just stared blankly up at the sky.
I let out a sigh, walked over, and held out a hand.
"Just how much have you been eating that you're literally rolling around now?"
"Do you really want to die?!"
The bag of marshmallows flew straight into my face.