Ski Resort (3)
Ski Resort (3)
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Ugh... I'm not okay..."
It was the day they were heading home after the four-day, three-night ski trip.
When he woke up in the morning, his head was feverish and his body was so stiff it creaked, so much so that
he even started to feel like he was some kind of scrap-metal doll.
How could he best describe it?
Maybe it felt similar to when you have sleep paralysis?
He was perfectly clear-headed, but his body was so stiff that it wouldn't move properly —
that was the closest comparison.
"I told you to take it easy yesterday."
"It got so fun once my body got used to it..."
"Haa... You're probably not the only one like you."
Up until the second day, it had been all about learning how to ski, so he hadn't felt much thrill,
but once he got the hang of it and could ski to some extent, it started to feel like a hobby he could enjoy for the rest of his life.
So much so that tumbling and falling didn't feel like mistakes or failures
but like part of the process of improving.
"Let's come back and ski again next year."
"Next year we should go somewhere else."
"Oh, right, you should come to the ski resort with your sister-in-law again."
"Tch..."
If he came with A-ra, he could clearly picture her doing nothing but worrying about him and not letting him ski for even an hour a day.
She'd probably make him do warm-up exercises for an hour alone.
"That's just your fate. So, can you get up now?"
"It's tough, but I can get up."
"Then let's hurry, it's almost time to check out."
He looked at the clock and it was already 9:40.
Checkout was at 10, so they only had 20 minutes left.
He had fallen asleep at 11 last night, so it looked like he had gotten a fairly deep sleep.
"Judging by your condition, your sister-in-law is probably going to scold us too."
"If I get an earful from A-ra, it'll be all your fault."
"What are you talking about? It's you two who dragged me into this."
They seemed to have forgotten that they themselves had dragged him along and turned him into someone who couldn't live without skiing.
Ah, wait, don't they sell things like ski simulators?
Something like that would be fun.
***
When they came down to the central desk to check out,
people were already swarming around from early morning.
Among them, he could see some of the people who had stayed in the room next door or the room above theirs,
as well as people he was seeing for the first time.
However, for some reason, everyone was either wearing dumbfounded expressions
or getting angry—so, should he say it was a little scary?
Especially, the aunties getting angry was truly frightening.
"Oh, did you boys come to check out too?"
"Ah, good morning, ma'am from next door. But is something else going on?"
The auntie, who had been glaring menacingly toward the back door with her arms crossed until just moments ago,
looked at them and smiled brightly.
At times like this, he thought it was really a relief to be a man.
Even though he was wearing sunglasses and looked suspicious to anyone who saw him,
because he was a man, people didn't consider it all that odd.
"Just now, the car break-in thief was caught and hauled off by the police."
"Really?"
"And what's more, the culprit was actually the guy who was getting angry alongside us in the parking lot!"
"Wow... that's seriously creepy."
The person who had been getting angry with them was the culprit.
In crime thriller dramas, didn't they sometimes feature a criminal like that?
Generally, those kinds of people were said to be psychopaths.
He felt chills run up his arms for no reason.
"I gave the police all of your contact information, so you'll probably get a call."
"Thank you."
"Oh my, what's there to thank me for? And you even bowed. From what I hear, you boys suffered the biggest damage."
The auntie laughed heartily and waved as she walked away, and after bowing to her,
Lee Min-ho started checking out at the desk.
From what he overheard, it seemed their car had taken the biggest cash loss,
but the auntie who had just left had valuable accessories stolen.
Since they didn't even know where the thief had hidden the stolen items,
it seemed like a pretty troublesome situation.
No wonder the aunties had been so furious.
And most of the cash stolen was his.
Well, come to think of it, would there be anyone else who would leave two million won in cash in the car and get out?
And the only person who'd forget they left that much cash lying around would be him.
No... when A-ra had her handbag stolen in Japan,
had she lost a larger sum of money than him?
"Now that I think about it, A-ra Noona had her handbag stolen in Japan too."
It had already been five months since the incident with no news, so
either they'd given up on the case because she was a foreigner, or they still hadn't caught the guy.
Well, he hoped it was the latter.
"Ah, that? I got a call about it a little while ago."
"Huh?"
"I got a call from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department in Japan."
"Really? How come I didn't know about it?"
"The missus said not to tell you because she was worried, but it just slipped out."
The sight of him smacking himself on the head while saying 'Oops, my mistake'
was nothing short of shocking.
It was probably a joke, but to see a man like that?
Honestly, it was dreadful.
But he was a pro too.
Smoothly glossing over Jeong Hwan-yi's action
and coughing once, he asked again what he wanted to know.
"So? What did they say when they called?"
"They did find the culprit, but they said he was already in prison for a separate case."
"If he's in prison... does that mean he's already doing time?"
"They didn't tell me what he was arrested for, but anyway, that's what they said."
Then getting the money back was a lost cause.
Anyway, in cases like this, recovering the money was like picking stars out of the sky.
Even in Korea, there were plenty of people pacing anxiously because they couldn't get loaned money back,
so what were the odds of recovering money lost overseas?
"Ah, but they said the bag was at the culprit's house, though?"
"That's a relief. It was a bag A-ra Noona was especially fond of."
The image of a dejected, cute A-ra after she lost the bag
was something he still remembered.
She had pushed her lips out in a pout and puffed up her cheeks —
she'd looked totally like a hamster...
or like a chinchilla.
"You're the only one who would ever call A-ra a hamster or a chinchilla."
"Of course, I'm the only one who can, as her husband."
"That's not what I meant. A-ra is such a charismatic figure in the entertainment world, but you're the only one who calls someone like that a hamster."
"Charismatic?"
The A-ra shown on TV programs
was certainly a reliable and cool figure.
But if you asked him whether he felt charisma from her...
Well...
To him, A-ra was just an affectionate and cuddly wife
who smiled often and loved to eat.
"What a fan feels and what a husband feels are polar opposites."
"Isn't it strange in the first place to feel charisma from an idol?"
"Huh? Do you realize you just said something extremely dangerous?"
Leaving Lee Min-ho, who started raging and threatening to record everything and spread it, behind,
they headed to the restaurant.
They had to eat before they could leave, after all.
***
"Get home safely."
"You two get home safely too."
They parked the car in the parking lot, and he raised his hand to wave to the two of them as they carried their luggage and walked away.
Still, it was a relief that his body felt a bit lighter after stopping at the hospital for an injection and some medicine.
If they hadn't stopped at the hospital near the ski resort,
his body definitely wouldn't have felt this comfortable right now.
"A-ra Noona... I guess she isn't home."
A-ra's car wasn't in its designated spot.
It was only 5 o'clock, so maybe she hadn't gotten off work yet.
She must have been so bored after being left alone for four days.
Starting today, he'd have to stick close to her.
"I'm back..."
Even though he knew no one was there, he greeted the empty house as he always did.
The house, which was dark as could be because the blackout curtains blocked all the light...
Huh?
Now that he looked, all the curtains were drawn open, and he could hear the TV from the living room.
He left the luggage at the entrance, took off his shoes, and went inside,
and there in the living room, despite it being the middle of winter, was A-ra wearing thin clothes and watching TV.
"Noona?"
"Oh, Seong-hwan, you're back early?"
"Your car wasn't in the parking lot. Huh?"
"I had a drink yesterday, so I left it at the agency. But are you sick somewhere?"
"I have a bit of body aches."
His body had been so stiff it was creaking, but since he couldn't let A-ra worry,
he lied and said it was just a bit sore.
"That's a lie, isn't it? It actually looks like you're really sick."
"N..no, I'm not..."
"Seong-hwan, you don't realize your nose twitches every time you lie, do you?"
"My... my nose?"
But, as expected, A-ra was still A-ra.
She saw through his lie at once,
got up from the sofa where she'd been sitting, and walked over to him.
Then she grabbed his arm and spun him around once.
"Aah!"
"You're frail, but I can tell you got carried away because it was fun and completely overdid it."
"I..it hurts......"
"It hurts? Go lie down on the sofa quickly."
After helping him take off the padded jacket he was wearing on top,
A-ra gently laid him down on the sofa.
Her husband had come back from a four-day, three-night trip with full-body aches, so of course she was upset.
He had nothing to say to A-ra.
"Did you have fun?"
"Yeah... I had fun."
"Next time, we have to go together, okay? Got it?"
"Of course."
When he answered immediately, A-ra gently started stroking his head,
then covered him with the blanket she had brought.
"First, take some medicine and get a good sleep."
Then she smiled brightly and turned off the living room light.
She also closed all the blackout curtains, so even though it was still evening, it was as dark as dawn.
It looked like she planned to let him sleep for a while and then scold him after he woke up.
Scary...
Was there anything in the world scarier than getting scolded by your wife?
Thinking that, he couldn't fall asleep even while lying down.