Chapter 579: Underwater scooter
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 579: Underwater scooter
By now, I’d been to so many pensions that I was practically an expert.
Between MTs, personal trips, and the many times I’d gone with my girlfriends, I’d seen it all.
But I can say this with absolute certainty.
I have never seen a pension like this in my entire life.
It looked like it was going to collapse at any second. It was a single-story detached house, but the wood was so old it had turned black.
If I had to label it, it was a mountain villa.
The kind of villa where a murder would definitely happen if Detective Conan or Kindaichi showed up.
The atmosphere was so eerie it felt like the perfect stage for a serial killing.
“Which crazy bastard booked this place?”
At my words, everyone’s eyes turned toward Pyo Jin-ho.
Since this trip was his idea, he was naturally the one who handled the reservation.
“Huh…? Th-this isn’t right.”
But even Pyo Jin-ho looked completely bewildered. He hurriedly pulled out his phone, stammering that this wasn’t the place he had booked.
And he wasn’t lying.
The screen Jin-ho showed us featured a fairly luxurious-looking annex.
“What gives?”
“The GPS says this is the right place, though.”
“The address matches too. What is this, a scam?”
We muttered among ourselves, dumbfounded. Just as we were about to head inside to demand an explanation, I frowned while looking at the pension info on his phone.
“Hey, wait a second.”
I called out to the idiots who were ready to start a riot with the owner.
“The prices are different!”
“Huh?”
“What?”
This place operated on an annex system.
Each building was booked separately, and the prices varied wildly.
Among them, there was one building with a price tag that was overwhelmingly lower than the others.
It was this dilapidated mountain villa we were standing in front of.
“It looks like the owner changed and they rebuilt everything. All the other buildings are new, but since this one is tucked away in a corner, they probably just left it as is.”
Based on the reviews, that seemed to be the case. The moment I finished my brief explanation, Pyo Jin-ho tripped, and the other idiots immediately started stomping on him.
“You! Piece! Of! Shit!”
“Ugh! You moron! You should’ve! Checked! Properly!”
“You dug your own grave! You’re gonna die in there! It’s the perfect place for a murder!”
“Agh! Agh! Stop! Fuck! It was cheaper than the others, so I just booked it! I wouldn’t have done it if I knew it’d be like this!”
After Pyo Jin-ho took a thorough beating, we left his battered body behind and entered the pension.
Yeah, this really isn’t it.
We got the key from the counter and stepped inside, and it was honestly depressing. I didn’t see any bugs crawling around yet, but it was obvious they were there.
The furniture was so old it clearly hadn’t been maintained.
It seemed the owner’s strategy was just to rent this place out for dirt cheap to get rid of it.
“Just grab whatever room.”
“I want this one! The biggest one!”
“Hey, I was gonna take that one.”
“Jeong Chan-woo, you sleep in the living room. You don’t have a girlfriend anyway.”
Even though the interior was a bit grimy, everyone picked their rooms. Since we were here to have fun, they all seemed satisfied in their own way, but...
“No, this really isn’t right.”
I shook my head as I looked around.
No matter how much we were here to play, I couldn’t let the girls stay in an environment like this.
Especially since our little ones were coming too.
I’d rather tell them not to come at all than have them stay in a place like this.
“Pyo Jin-ho, you son of a bitch.”
“Ugh, what now?”
“You expect our girls to stay in a place like this?!”
“No, I mean—”
Jin-ho started to say something, then slowly closed his mouth and nodded.
“...I’m really sorry about that.”
“Sigh, you prick. I’m going to go ask if there are any rooms left. This place is a hard no.”
“Okay.”
Annoyed, I walked back out toward the counter.
Walking along the stone path, I looked at the other annexes. Every single one of them was clean and stylish.
To think those places existed while we were stuck in this spooky lodge.
I cursed Pyo Jin-ho’s stupidity once again under my breath.
“Hm? Is the water out again?”
“...No, it’s not that.”
That was the first thing the owner said the moment I arrived.
If the water doesn’t even work, they shouldn’t be running the place, damn it.
Grumbling internally, I asked if there were any other annexes available.
“Do you happen to have any other annexes left? I think we’re going to need one more.”
The owner replied with a troubled expression.
“Hmm... We’re fully booked for today. One is opening up tomorrow, but it’s a bit pricey.”
Tomorrow?
Actually, that worked out perfectly.
It didn’t matter if I spent today in the spooky lodge with these idiots.
The girls were arriving tomorrow anyway.
“Ah! Great! That’s fine! I’ll pay for it right now.”
Thanks, Bong-geun.
It was a bit expensive for a one-night stay, but since it wasn’t my money, it was fine.
If Bong-geun complained later, I could just pay him back then.
I might be broke, but my wives aren’t.
I still don’t get why my parents send my living expenses to the girls’ accounts instead of mine...
Nodding with satisfaction, I returned to the villa.
But what met my eyes was something more horrifying than any ghost.
“Ah, fuck, my eyes. Why the hell are you guys naked, you bastards?”
These crazy bastards were all taking photos together with their shirts off.
“Hey, Woo-jin. You come here too.”
“We gotta take a legendary shot of the boys.”
“Wait, wait. Let me do some push-ups first.”
“Look at this guy trying to get a pump.”
Despite the insults, everyone started working out. I wondered why these idiots were acting like this, but I also hurriedly knocked out a few sets of push-ups.
Except for Jeong Chan-woo, everyone’s physique was about the same.
Pyo Jin-ho had that typical big-framed, strong-pig vibe, and Kang Han-gang was at a level where he clearly wasn’t that interested in exercise.
Ahn Hyun-ho and I had some history with working out, so we weren’t too bad.
But Jeong Chan-woo was the exception.
I’d known he’d been hitting the gym for a long time, but still.
“Ugh, handsome guys shouldn’t be allowed to work out.”
Pyo Jin-ho grumbled in annoyance, and the others agreed. No matter how good that bastard Jeong Chan-woo’s body was, he was only going to end up pleasing that Bald Man anyway.
“That’s why the Bald Man likes him.”
“Psh, women don’t actually like perfect men. They like chubby guys like me.”
“Usually, only gay guys like bodies like that.”
“...Are you guys insane?”
Chan-woo grumbled, calling us ridiculous. Yet, he clearly had some pride in his physique because he didn’t stop flexing.
He was the type of guy who looked like he was acting cool even when he wasn’t trying to.
Anyway, after taking our photos, we headed down to the stream.
“But we haven’t even had lunch. Are we really going to play in the water right away?”
I was hungry since we’d just rushed here. Were we really jumping straight in?
“Agreed. Let’s eat first.”
“I’m hungry.”
Chan-woo and Han-gang agreed, but the other two were different.
“Hey, food tastes the best after you’ve played in the water.”
“If you’re full now, you won’t be able to play properly. Playing first, then showering and eating is the way to go.”
I usually don’t let myself get persuaded by these idiots, but Pyo Jin-ho and Ahn Hyun-ho actually made sense this time.
The other two nodded as well, and we kept walking.
The stream was quite large.
There were deep spots and shallow spots. In the shallow areas, other guests were already playing.
They looked like families with children.
Ah, I wonder if our kids will be able to play like that when they come later.
They were still too young to play in the water, but when they grew up, I definitely wanted to swim and play with them.
Is this what it feels like to be a dad?
I’d been feeling this way often lately. No matter where I went, I found myself thinking about doing this or that with the kids once they got older.
“Deep spot is a must.”
“Agreed, 100%.”
“Don’t go near the kids. You guys are filthy. Kids should only see good things.”
The idiots were talking nonsense, but at least they seemed to know they weren’t exactly good for a child’s emotional development or education.
“Hehe.”
“Hehehe.”
Just then, Kang Han-gang and Pyo Jin-ho pulled something out of a large sports bag.
How should I describe it?
It looked like someone had just ripped the handlebars off a motorcycle and brought them along.
“What’s that?”
“You guys bought something weird.”
“Did you steal those from a bike somewhere?”
At our questions, the two stepped into the stream with overflowing confidence.
“I told you guys in the group chat last time. I bought an underwater scooter.”
“This is it. This thing is insane.”
Underwater scooter?
Ah, Choi-GPT told me about that.
When I asked what it was after seeing it in the group chat, Choi I-seo had explained it to me.
I wasn’t that interested at the time, but I-seo had tilted her head, saying she thought I’d like it.
So I took a look.
“Whoa, holy shit, what is that?!”
The moment I saw them gliding through the water as if they were riding actual scooters, I couldn't help but get excited.
It wasn't just me; Jeong Chan-woo and Ahn Hyun-ho were also shocked and immediately ran toward them.
“Hyungs! Let me try just once!”
“This is crazy! What is this?! Is this why you wanted to come to the stream?!”
Naturally, we begged for a turn, but...
“Fuck you!”
“Get lost, you walkers!”
The two of them zoomed away from us on their underwater scooters.
* * *
“Ooh? I-seo, a package came for you!”
Seo Ye-rin dragged a large box across the floor and pushed it inside.
Choi I-seo, who had been packing everything for tomorrow’s trip to the stream, smiled, saying the last item had arrived just in time.
“What’s this?”
“Why is it so big?”
While Yoo Ah-rin and Seo Ye-rin looked on curiously, I-seo opened the box to reveal an underwater scooter.
Since it was an unfamiliar object to both of them, they looked at it with wonder, making I-seo chuckle.
“Woo-jin mentioned in the guys’ group chat that Han-gang Senior bought one of these.”
“He did?”
“I don’t remember!”
Neither of them had any interest in Han-gang, so the memory had already been deleted.
Checking the scooter’s operation, Choi I-seo said, “It was obvious Woo-jin would be jealous, so I bought one in advance.”
“Ooh.”
“As expected, Choi I-seo for domestic support?! Seo Ye-rin for night work?! Yoo Ah-rin for flat chest?!”
“You bitch!”
Yoo Ah-rin caught Seo Ye-rin as she tried to run away, pinned her down, and put her in an armbar.
“Aaaagh! Woo-jin! Yu-na! Seo-woo! Chae-rin!”
“Say it! Say my chest is the prettiest!”
“Aaaagh! But that’s a lie!”
Seo Ye-rin’s struggling screams echoed throughout the house.