Online Lecture (2)
Online Lecture (2)
"Hey, isn't that Yoo Seong-hwan?"
"I heard he lives around here. Guess it's true."
"You're a fan. Go ask for a handshake or something."
"To...to a married guy? What..."
By the time I started picking up on those whispered voices around me, I realized I'd forgotten my sunglasses and mask again.
Come to think of it, I hadn't worn them when I went into the PC bang earlier either...
This is why people say you should always keep your wits about you.
When you give up thinking like I do, everything becomes a hassle.
Although the reason I gave up thinking in the first place was because it was a hassle.
"Let's see, a laptop..."
Honestly, it didn't really grab my attention anymore when people recognized me and whispered.
After all, they're just people I'll see once, and they weren't exactly whispering anything bad.
I was only interested in where the laptop I needed right now might be.
"Thunderbolt Mart?"
Since We Mart didn't have an electronics section, I looked around and spotted a store that seemed to use the Lightning Woman character as its mascot.
Peering inside, I saw a range of electronics brands — from Apple to Saemsung, Helgi, and more.
"Which one would be best to buy..."
The school's online lecture program only ran on Windows, so Apple products were out.
Saemsung and Helgi brand laptops were also pretty expensive...
"Huh? Why is this one so cheap?"
A laptop under We Mart's own brand, called Never, caught my eye.
The specs were low, but the standout point was that a working laptop only cost about 400,000 won.
"I'll just buy this one and go."
It was a laptop that would get used once and then be neglected anyway.
If I bought something expensive, wouldn't it just be a hassle to get rid of later?
I could sell it used, but... I didn't really feel like selling it used.
*
"It turned on."
I came home, turned on the laptop, and started the online lecture.
Then I crawled into bed, hugged Lil' One like a doll, and rolled around.
"Lil' One, you're happy because you're with Daddy, right?"
"Woof!"
Oh my, holding Lil' One meant I didn't need a separate heater. Had a puppy's body temperature always been this warm?
Maybe it was because the lecture was playing, but my eyes kept getting blurry and my eyelids felt heavy.
It wasn't just me; Lil' One seemed to be getting sleepy too, maybe because they were cuddled up against me.
"Oof, I shouldn't fall asleep."
Online lectures weren't finished just by listening — you had to submit assignments, too.
I should get up from bed soon and sit in a chair.
But Lil' One had their eyes closed and wasn't moving a muscle.
I put my ear close to their nose and heard faint breathing sounds, so it seemed they'd fallen asleep, probably tired.
"Normally, does a puppy cradled in someone's arms fall asleep...?"
Animals are sensitive, so they'd never do that.
Strangely, Lil' One slept really well even when I was holding them. It felt like they were more like a small child than an animal.
"Right... I had to call Lee Min-ho too."
I'd completely forgotten.
I checked my phone, and the one-on-one chat room with Lee Min-ho was lit up with a ton of red notifications.
"What am I going to hear when I go to school on Thursday..."
I'd been told off before for not checking my texts. Then and now, I was definitely in the wrong, so I had nothing to say.
***
"Seong-hwan-a~"
"You're back?"
Along with the sound of the front door opening, I heard A-ra's voice, so I peeked out. For some reason, she had a teary expression and threw herself into my arms.
There were two reasons why A-ra hugged me like this.
First, she'd fought with Hwa-young. Second, she hadn't eaten lunch.
She hadn't been fighting with Hwa-young much lately, so the first was an exception. The latter was the most likely possibility.
"I skipped lunch today, so I'm hungry."
"Perfect timing. I grilled some shrimp today."
"Shrimp!?"
You could almost call A-ra a crustacean killer, she liked them so much. She could probably eat two king crabs by herself.
"They were selling shrimp cheap at the mart today."
"Really? I was just craving shrimp, what a coincidence."
I grabbed A-ra's shoulder as she hummed a tune, about to head to the kitchen. "Before that, you have to wash your hands when you come home."
"Hehe, I forgot."
Seemed she'd forgotten the whole reason for the sink right by the front door — so you could wash your hands right there.
I squeezed some Dettol onto her hands as the water trickled, and only after she scrubbed them thoroughly did A-ra go into the kitchen.
I picked up one of the shrimp I'd peeled in advance and held it out to her.
A-ra took it and ate it so happily, as if nothing in the world could be more blissful.
"Is it good?"
"Haaah.... the shrimp is melting softly..."
"Shrimp really is best grilled in salt."
Actually, even though I say grilled in salt, it might be more accurate to say steamed in salt.
Because when you cook it with salt, the shrimp's moisture doesn't evaporate but stays trapped, which means the shrimp gets deliciously steamed in its own moisture.
"Was it only shrimp?"
A-ra asked if there was anything else, stuffing another peeled shrimp into her mouth. She looked like a hamster. She loved eating, but her mouth was small, so that big munching motion was really cute.
"Other dishes? Of course there are."
"What, what is it."
"I'll tell you once you've washed up."
"Mmm... okay."
Watching her put the last remaining shrimp in her mouth and munch away as she walked into the master bedroom, I felt the urge to go into the bath with her. But right now, preparing A-ra's dinner came first. Ah, and I had to take care of Lil' One's food too.
"Lil' One!"
"Woof."
"Whoa, you startled me!" When had they come? Lil' One was already lying in front of their food bowl. I'd shouted loudly toward the master bedroom thinking they were asleep, too.
"Lil' One, you startled Daddy."
"Whine..."
"No, I'm not scolding you..."
Maybe it was because I said I was startled? They seemed a little down. Hmm... when Lil' One and A-ra wore expressions like this, it hurt my heart.
"Wanna play on the terrace with Daddy for a bit?"
"Woof!"
In an instant, Lil' One's expression changed and they wagged their tail gently. Going out for a walk was good, but Lil' One also liked playing on the terrace like this, sort of a mini-walk. Our house terrace was so spacious, it was really nice having a use like this.
For the record, it was well-secured so Lil' One couldn't accidentally fall or anything.
Every single gap was blocked, and the height was raised high enough that a 4-month-old Pomeranian absolutely couldn't jump over it.
Actually, Lil' One could run around inside the house just fine.
Since it was a penthouse with a size exceeding 120 pyeong, it was spacious enough for a small dog like Lil' One to run around.
Still, the terrace where they could breathe fresh, cool air was better, wasn't it? A dog would feel stuffy too.
*
"Seong-hwan-a, but what's this?"
"Ah... the laptop broke, so I bought this one thinking I'd use it temporarily."
"Huh? The laptop broke?" Since I'd only just bought it, she seemed momentarily flustered to hear it was broken.
A-ra tried pressing the laptop's power button and pulling the power cord out. She didn't seem to know the reason herself, as she put a finger on her chin and fell deep into thought.
"Why is this happening..."
"It was working fine up until yesterday."
"Yeah, noona even saw you turning it off after playing a game." She wrestled with the laptop for a while, but what could she do if she didn't know the reason? A-ra eventually surrendered as well.
"Phew... Noona will send it in for A/S."
"Thank you."
Since it wouldn't power on in the first place, there was no way to format it, and if we opened the back panel, it couldn't get A/S, so there was no other option.
"But, you went to the mart and bought one right after the laptop broke?"
"No, I first went to a PC bang to try and take the class, but..." I told her how the class got canceled, and since I didn't want to just sit around, I went to the mart and bought a laptop.
"So? You went to a PC bang by yourself?"
"Ah."
It wasn't that A-ra forbade me from going to PC bangs. But the problem here was the fact that I went 'by myself'. If I had said I went with Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho, she would have asked if we had fun.
"Well, you had a reason today, so I'll let it slide."
"Phew..."
"But don't do that from now on, okay? You know about that sexual assault incident that happened nearby recently, right?"
"I know."
Apparently, a serious crime had occurred in an alley recently. They said the culprit had fled, so parents were in an uproar.
"So, try not to go outside if you can... and even if you do go out, just stay within the apartment complex, and definitely take the car when you go to school."
"I said I know. I'm not a kid."
"To noona, you look like a kid, you know?"
"But I'm noona's husband..."
Not a younger brother, not a son, but a husband. Well, it's not that I disliked her worrying.
"Then noona will go wash up."
"Sure, sure. Lil' One, let's go play on the terrace with Daddy."
"Woof!"
I stared blankly at A-ra taking off her top, then headed to the terrace. When I opened the door, Lil' One trotted out with little pattering steps. As expected, the outside air really was cool and refreshing.
"It really is stuffy being cooped up inside. Let's go for a walk with Daddy tomorrow."
"Woof!" They probably understood, right? I'd heard other dogs go crazy the moment you pick up the leash, begging to go out. Maybe our Lil' One didn't know that yet since we hadn't gone for many walks.