Hiking
Hiking
"Noona, let's eat."
The weekend had finally arrived after I'd finished dealing with all the hectic work.
A-ra, too, seemed to finally have some time to herself.
"Mackerel~ Mackerel~"
She was already humming, probably because she could smell the fish cooking, as she came into the kitchen.
The sight of her automatically brought a smile to my face.
"How much rice should I give you?"
"A lot!"
"A lot by A-ra Noona's standards means..."
I took out a small rice bowl and a soup bowl from the drawer.
You'd think both bowls were for A-ra, but not at all.
The small bowl was mine, and I planned to put A-ra's rice in the soup bowl.
A-ra, who could eat two or three servings even out of a soup bowl that size, was honestly amazing.
"Our glutton A-ra, shall I get out the soy sauce crab?"
"There's still soy sauce crab left?"
"We still have plenty."
A-ra seemed to think she hadn't marinated many, but she'd bought close to a hundred and marinated them all.
We'd given half to Mom, so only about fifty were left, but that was still plenty.
"How's the mackerel?"
"It's fresh mackerel, but there isn't a single bone?"
"Because I cleaned it all up to make it easy to eat."
"Oh... as expected of Yoo Seong-hwan..."
My face flushed a little at A-ra's praise.
I'd slightly steamed the fresh mackerel, removed all the bones and moisture,
then sautéed it in hot oil.
That was the trick to grilling fresh mackerel deliciously.
"How many pieces of soy sauce crab should I give you?"
"Just one!"
"Trying to save it? We have plenty, so it's okay."
"Nah, we have mackerel too."
Was this the 'playing coy' the Director talked about?
Judging by A-ra's usual intake, it didn't seem like it would fill her up at all.
*
"Seong-hwan-ah, want to go mountain climbing with Noona?"
"Mountain climbing?"
"It's more like a hill, so calling it mountain climbing is a stretch, but even you should be fine, Seong-hwan."
A-ra suggested going to the mountain.
It seemed like it would be tough...
"It's a mountain in name only; it feels more like a park. How should I put it..."
A-ra was lost in thought for a moment.
"Ah! Right! Remember that shrine we visited when we went to Japan? It was exactly that feeling."
That shrine we visited back then...
There were definitely some slopes, but it was closer to landscaping, and hard to call it a mountain.
It was truly just a nice place for a stroll.
"If it's that much, it should be fine."
"Right, right?"
"Then I'll pack some water..."
"Water? Nah, we can just buy a drink at the convenience store."
A-ra told me I didn't need to pack water and to just hurry up and get dressed.
Was it that easy of a place...?
"It's a place Noona used to visit occasionally when she had time."
"Alone?"
"Yeah. After I started dating you, I almost never went... It's been a while."
Was she looking forward to it since it had been so long?
She started humming a tune cheerfully.
***
"Huh? Why are there so many people?"
The place we arrived at was a low mountain in a suburban area.
It was little more than a hill, so calling it mountain climbing felt ridiculous.
A-ra got out of the car and looked around, seeming surprised by the crowd, which looked very different from a few years ago.
Judging by her reaction, it seemed like it was originally a place with very few people.
"There are a lot of couples."
"Yeah... It feels a little bittersweet."
Was she feeling bittersweet because her secret spot had become widely known and crowded?
Because what A-ra wanted to show me was probably a small forest where you could feel the quiet, clear air and gentle breeze.
"Let's still go up."
"Yeah. The inside probably hasn't changed anyway."
We each took a bottle of the drink we bought earlier from the car and closed the door.
Since we came in my car, I was about to lock it and put the car key in my pocket, but A-ra grabbed my hand and took the car key.
"Since you might lose it, I'll clip it to Noona's waist."
"Okay."
"Then let's go up!"
A-ra took one of my hands and started making it look like I was being dragged.
Did she think I might run away?
"It's not that. Look around."
"Ah..."
Maybe because so many couples had come, everyone was holding hands or linking arms.
It seemed A-ra also wanted to walk linked arm-in-arm.
"Are you embarrassed?"
"No? I'm not embarrassed, but I was worried Noona might be embarrassed."
What's so embarrassing about linking arms?
I scoffed at A-ra's words and climbed the stairs one by one.
"You say that, but you're kind of slow, aren't you?"
"Th-that's just because my stride is short."
"Hmm... Alright, I'll let you have that one."
"It's not 'letting me have it', it's true!"
My face turned red this time.
Since A-ra had been with me for so long, she knew exactly what I felt embarrassed about,
so she was very skilled at teasing me.
Her teasing wasn't just simple banter; she treated me like a child, which made it all the harder to resist.
When A-ra stroked my hair or my cheek, I completely lost the will to resist.
"Alright, alright. Our husband just has a slightly short stride, right?"
"Ugh..."
"Noona understands. So let's go slowly, okay?"
This time, she gently stroked my cheek.
Even people passing by were blushing as they looked at us—our skinship was sweet enough to fluster bystanders too.
"Aren't you embarrassed, Noona!?"
"I'm not embarrassed~ I'm wearing sunglasses."
"But I'm not wearing any, so anyone can tell who the person next to me is, right?"
"Ah."
Did she just realize that now?
Most people here were couples, and since it was stuffy to wear them while climbing,
I hadn't brought my sunglasses.
So there was no way people wouldn't realize that the person touching my cheek like that, right next to me, was one of only two people in the world.
A-ra and my mom.
"Seems like you're a bit embarrassed now."
"Ugh... Se-Seong-hwan-ah, let's just hurry up and go."
Was she a bit embarrassed?
Suddenly, she pulled my hand strongly and started running as if she was going to sprint all the way to the top.
*
"Phew... That's refreshing."
A-ra had drunk all of the ion drink I had bought, so I gulped down the cola A-ra had bought.
The cola, still cold and not yet lukewarm, instantly revived my energy.
"Didn't take long, just like I said, right?"
"Isn't it too fast? We've only been here for about 20 minutes."
Of course, the atmosphere and scenery were to my liking, and if you included the time going down, it was enough exercise to call it a decent walk,
but it hardly qualified as a proper date.
"Don't worry~ Noona already planned everything out."
Saying she had it all planned out so I shouldn't worry, she started wiping my cheek with a towel.
"Shall we head down soon if you're rested?"
I nodded appropriately.
Just like at the entrance, A-ra firmly held my hand and started going down in the opposite direction, swinging her arm widely.
Where on earth was she going?
*
"Hm-hm-hm~"
"You look very happy."
"Of course~ It's been years since I went~"
It seemed like the place we were heading to was somewhere inside this mountain.
Seeing A-ra so happy... Could it be...
"Ah! Over there!"
"I knew it..."
It was a restaurant boldly sitting in the middle of the slightly dark mountain forest.
It looked like a place that obviously sold makgeolli, pajeon, bibimbap, and things like that.
"How much I've wanted to eat the pajeon here..."
"You should have said something..."
Even if I didn't like mountain climbing, if A-ra said she wanted to go, I would have come along to this little hill anytime.
Because A-ra was my priority, no matter what.
"I was busy too..."
"Yes, yes, I know. Let's just go in."
I led the hand of A-ra, who had started making excuses out of embarrassment, into the restaurant.
She was surprisingly shy at times like this.
*
"Here's your pajeon."
"Oh..."
A seafood pajeon with a crispy outside was served.
Shortly after, bibimbap was also served.
"Not ordering makgeolli?"
"Not really in the mood for a daytime drink."
"Then should we order some cider?"
"Yeah, cider sounds good."
"Excuse me, one cider here, please."
The staff quickly fetched a bottle of cider, and with the opener set on the table, popped it open with a 'pop~' sound.
"Ahh... So refreshing..."
Even though I'd drunk so much cola at the peak, seeing the cold drink made me feel thirsty again.
I poured a glass for A-ra and then poured cider into my own cup.
*
"Aren't you eating?"
"We should eat together."
"Geez..."
I chuckled, picked up my chopsticks, and gently tore a piece of the pajeon.
I dipped the torn piece lightly in soy sauce and brought it to A-ra's mouth.
"Ah~"
"Ah~"
As expected of A-ra.
She wasn't embarrassed and ate it in one go.
Watching A-ra chew the pajeon, which was loaded with baby abalone, squid, and shrimp, and gulp down her cola,
images started forming in my head.
"Is it good?"
"Yeah... It's good. But there's something a little lacking."
"What?"
"Well... Should I say it feels a bit empty compared to the pajeon you made for me?"
A-ra placed the chopsticks in her mouth and thought deeply for a moment, then gave up and went for another piece of pajeon.
It seemed my homemade pajeon tasted better than this restaurant's version.
"Seong-hwan-ah, make me pajeon when we get home."
"Shall I? And we'll have a glass of makgeolli at home too."
"Oh yeah~"
Seeing A-ra's happy expression, I held out my cup filled with cider.
Seeing this, A-ra also held out her cup and clinked it against mine.