Valley
Valley
It was already August.
As time passed, the weather grew hotter, and things had reached the point where I was just lazing around without leaving the house.
Lil' One, also feeling the heat, spent the hot days sprawled out on the cool marble floor.
Staying at home all day was boring.
The sea, or a Soo-youngjang, or something—
I was suddenly itching to get in the water and swim.
Come to think of it, last summer I'd tried to go to a water park.
The timing had really been goddamn awful.
"The sea... is out of the question..."
If I wanted to bring our Lil' One, the sea wasn't an option.
She's still a baby—what if she got some weird skin irritation or something?
"A Soo-youngjang is even more out of the question..."
There was no way a dog could go into a Soo-youngjang, was there?
In that case... what was left...
Ah, I remembered.
Come to think of it, Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho had talked about a valley before.
A valley, huh...
Bringing a dog to a valley wouldn't be bad.
Even if I'd seen posts saying cooking was banned, there'd been nothing about not being able to bring a pet dog.
"Will Noona be able to take time off..."
Since we were going anyway, wouldn't it be more fun to go together?
It'd be great if we invited Jeong Hwan-yi, Lee Min-ho, Eun-ji, Yeji, and Hwa-young, too, and all went together.
First, I'd better call Jeong Hwan-yi and Lee Min-ho.
I didn't even know where that quiet, clear valley they'd mentioned was.
- Hello?
"What, are you working right now?"
- It's because I'm not a creator raking in money like some people.
Jeong Hwan-yi, who'd answered the phone with a huge yawn, looked a bit tired.
Jeong Hwan-yi, who during the semester went to work after school and inevitably had fewer work hours than others,
was apparently being worked to the bone during vacation.
Of course, he was getting paid accordingly and receiving vacation days, so he didn't seem dissatisfied.
There seemed to be other people doing similar things, too.
- So? Are we grabbing a drink today?
"That's not it. Didn't you and Lee Min-ho talk about a valley before?"
- A valley? Ah~ you mean that place?
"I was thinking we could all go check it out together, what do you think?"
- Not bad. The land around there is all Lee Min-ho's mother's land, so it's private property.
"......What?"
I could understand land around valleys or rivers, but weren't valleys treated as national parks? That meant they couldn't be used as private property.
Or was it land that had been passed down for generations before such laws were designated, so that's how it worked?
- I don't know about that either? Anyway, it's a really nice place to hang out.
"I'll have to ask Lee Min-ho's mother about it."
- She'd probably give permission pretty easily, wouldn't she?
Lee Min-ho's mother was favorably disposed toward me, too, so she might grant permission without much fuss.
Well, her son was going to hang out with a friend—she'd surely let us use the private land without issue.
- There's a platform there in the valley, too.
"Really?"
- And since it's not treated as a national park, cooking might be allowed, too?
"Oh... then I'll have to pack a few things."
Hadn't Hwa-young asked me not long ago to make her something delicious?
I could use this chance to go to the valley and do that for her.
"I'll call Lee Min-ho then."
- Sounds good. Or should we meet up later today?
"Shall we? A-ra Noona's going to be late today anyway."
She'd rested a lot recently, so she was doing a long broadcast recording and would be late.
Eating alone was lonely anyway, so I could just meet up with my friends and come back.
I hung up with Jeong Hwan-yi and went to the kitchen.
So Lil' One wouldn't get sulky, I opened a can of Cesar and mixed it into her kibble.
"Ggoma-ya, Daddy's going out for a bit and will be back."
"Woof!"
"Good girl, good girl..."
I stroked Lil' One's head as she ate her food happily.
It was hot right now and she might get heatstroke, so I should leave the air conditioner on and go.
***
"Huh? A valley?"
"Didn't you two talk about it before?"
"Ah~ you mean that place? That place is nice."
Lee Min-ho, who was no longer drinking alcohol, was just chugging soft drinks.
When he'd been drinking, I'd worried about his liver; now I was starting to worry about diabetes.
"Pwah... ahh... Eating ssam and then a glass of cola is a must, after all."
"Sigh... how do you eat them together like that?"
Eating and drinking them separately might be one thing, but he'd been drinking cola while chewing with ssam still in his mouth,
so Jeong Hwan-yi and I both let out sighs.
He was starting to eat bizarre food combinations, I swear.
"You can go there anytime. When were you thinking of going?"
"I'm thinking we all go this weekend."
"Who's everyone?"
"I was thinking of calling Eun-ji, Yeji Nuna, and Hwa-young too..."
"Hmm? Setting aside A-ra-ssi, the other three probably have schedules, though?"
"...Really? How do you even know that..."
No, never mind.
This guy was sincerely obsessed with 'Queens.'
He must have found out somehow.
But what was I going to do?
If three of them couldn't make it, there'd be no one going besides A-ra, me, Lee Min-ho, and Jeong Hwan-yi.
Lil' One and Cloud were dogs, so even counting them separately, it was only six individuals.
"Well, it'll still be fun even with fewer people."
"So? Are we going?"
"Yeah. We never got to go to a Soo-youngjang even once, remember?"
"Ah~ come to think of it, did we not go last year because of the torrential rain?"
The day before, the sun had been blazing relentlessly, and then the downpour came, which had thrown me off.
That day, I'd had no choice but to think someone had deliberately made it rain.
I'd seriously considered The Truman Show.
"If it rains again that day, it's your fault, Seong-hwan."
"What? Why would I be responsible for that?"
"From what I see, I think you bring the rain with you. Are you sure there isn't actually something going on?"
"There's no way......."
No wait... was there truly something to me?
On the day of the glamping trip, torrential rain had poured down and we hadn't been able to go, right?
"Hmm..."
"Looks like this guy has an inkling of something?"
"Nah, no way... unless I've been cursed..."
As I thought it over, the look in their eyes changed slightly.
It was a genuinely suspicious look.
"I don't know."
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
"Then it's just A-ra-ssi and us, I guess."
Couldn't be helped.
I'd just have to take care of Hwa-young separately later.
Right.
I shouldn't just talk about the people—I needed to talk about the dogs, too.
"Bring Cloud, too."
"Are you planning to bring Lil' One with you?"
"Yeah."
They got along so well that I wanted to let them play together often.
They were still young, so they were at a level where they could get along well.
"Hmm... our Cloud absolutely hates baths."
"He won't even go in the water?"
"Yeah. He tries not to go in at all, so I have to forcibly hold him and wash him."
"Really? Lil' One likes baths."
Or rather, should I say she doesn't really like being dirty?
When it's time to get washed, she waits in front of the bathroom door until I come, or something like that.
And she's so adorable—after I wash her clean and dry her off,
she licks my cheek as if throwing aegyo...
"Hey, you're getting that goofy grin again just talking about Lil' One."
"Ahem... Jeong Hwan-yi, you bring your dog too if you want."
"Forget it. My dog's attached to my noona and likes her, so it won't work."
Right.
The ownership of Jeong Hwan-yi's family dog was held by his noona.
Tsk tsk tsk...
Poor guy...
"What are you looking at me like I'm some pitiful creature for?"
"But you are pitiful."
"Sigh... I should just raise a dog of my own."
"Don't raise a Pomeranian."
"Why?"
"Because I'm going to raise our Lil' One's husband."
Obviously, a married couple needs to be together.
And all of Lil' One's puppies, I'll raise them all, too.
"Can't you just let me adopt one?"
"No."
I answered Lee Min-ho's request like a knife.
I couldn't bear to watch parent and child be separated.
***
"Noona's going too, right?"
"Of course I'm going!"
A-ra sprang to her feet.
Seeing her clench both fists tightly, she must have been thinking about the time last year when the torrential rain poured and we couldn't go out to have fun.
"And you said it's private property?"
"Yes, there'll be no one but us if we go."
"Then we can grill meat and have a barbecue, right?"
"That... that's right?"
"So we'll have to buy a ton of meat and seafood to bring..."
Honestly, she seemed more interested in the meat than the water activities.
They'd said there were farmhouse cabins there where you could rest, too.
Since we were going anyway, staying a night and coming back wouldn't be bad.
"I'm bringing Lil' One, too."
"Lil' One, too?"
"Won't she want to go into the cool water and swim around?"
She was still a baby puppy, but still.
Our Lil' One might have things she wanted to do, too.
"Hmm..."
"Are you against it?"
"No, that's not it... I was wondering if Lil' One can actually swim."
"Don't all dogs know how to doggy paddle?"
"Really? I thought she might not be able to because she's still young."
I'd heard that swimming for a dog is almost instinctive.
Well, if not, we could just go into shallow water.
"And if not, they said there's a farmhouse cabin there, so we can just stay in the air conditioning."
"Really? Then we can rest comfortably, too."
"I guess chaebols really are something else."
"Want Noona to make a place like that for us, too?"
"...In the countryside?"
"Hey! I told you it's not the countryside!"
And then A-ra gave me a smooch on the cheek.
Usually, she'd pinch me or pat me lightly—that was the standard approach.
"From now on, whenever you tease Noona, Seong-hwan, I'm going to kiss your cheek."
"I'm all for it. Glutton A-ra~"
"Tch..."
She got sulky in an instant and kissed my cheek twice.
It was very A-ra of her to still do what she needed to do even when she was pouting.
"We decided to go this Saturday, so get ready~"
"Meheheheong!"
"Glutton A-ra."
She gave me one last kiss on the cheek and then pulled the blanket all the way up over her head.
She'll sleep like that again, complain about the heat, and toss the blanket at me in the middle of the night.
And then the one who wakes up drenched in sweat is me.