Indoor Hot Spring
Indoor Hot Spring
The intense heat had finally let up, and cool, refreshing days had been holding steady for a while now.
So my wardrobe, which had been nothing but short sleeves and shorts, gradually shifted toward longer clothes.
Maybe because the air conditioner had been running for months, having it turned off now felt strangely unfamiliar.
I even caught myself thinking that maybe it'd be okay to leave it on low even though it wasn't hot...
The dogs still seemed to feel the heat, so I kept it on low just in their room.
It was partly the fur, but also, a dog's body temperature runs higher than a person's, so you have to keep things somewhat cool for them.
They were still babies too, so enduring the heat would probably be a little hard for them.
Maybe that was why A-ra often went into Lil' One and Pipsqueak's room to spend time there.
I kind of thought it'd just be better to turn the air conditioner on in the living room.
And... being alone in the living room was way too boring.
"Noona, how long are you planning to stay in there?"
"Uh... until fall is over?"
When I opened the door to Lil' One and Pipsqueak's room wide, I saw A-ra lying down and playing with the two of them.
She had just declared she wasn't coming out until winter arrived!
I was pretty sure she used to be really sensitive to the cold up until last year...
Why was she sensitive to the heat this time?
Could it be that her subcutaneous fat had increased compared to last year?
I'd seen something somewhere about women having more subcutaneous fat than men, making them more sensitive to heat but more resistant to the cold.
God apparently decided to make women not just a superior version of men, but a perfect life form altogether.
Please issue a hotfix for men, too.
The sight of the air conditioner blowing cold air while A-ra was wrapped in a blanket was extremely contradictory.
Meanwhile, Lil' One and Pipsqueak were spinning in circles trying to catch each other's tails.
"I'll turn on the cool air in the living room, so please stay out here."
"Are you okay though? Seong-hwan, aren't you cold?"
"I'm wearing long sleeves, so I'm not cold. Now, come on out~"
Like a daycare teacher guiding children, I coaxed A-ra out of the room.
And following that, Lil' One and Pipsqueak came toddling out after A-ra with their little pitter-pattering steps.
Did our little rascals like Mom more than Dad now?
They were following her around just like ducklings trailing after their mother duck.
"Hm? Pipsqueak, do you like Mom more than Dad?"
"Mung."
"What about Lil' One? Do you like Mom more?"
Judging by Pipsqueak's answer, it seemed Mom was the favorite.
And seeing Lil' One hem and haw about answering, it looked like that one was still neutral.
To think we were already at the 'Do you like Mom or Dad better?' stage.
If we ever had a real baby later, what kind of dad would I be?
I was a little worried I might turn into a total softie who's completely wrapped around their kid's finger...
*
After I finished the dishes and sat down on the sofa, A-ra hugged me tight and started rubbing her cheek against mine.
A-ra's displays of affection always felt good.
"Seong-hwan-a~ Noona's got a week off, you know that?"
"Oh, really?"
Lately, she'd been filming programs or going to photo shoots without any vacation, so it seemed she was in a good mood about finally having time off.
"Yeah. They scheduled the overseas tour dates this time."
Since she'd have to be abroad for a long stretch, she got a short vacation beforehand.
Seeing her already resting, it looked like the decision for her to go overseas had been made pretty quickly.
"Where are you going this time?"
"Japan, America, here and there in Europe, and then back to Korea?"
"The last stop of the tour is in Korea?"
After touring each country, the final stop would be in Korea.
The Korean fans were probably going to be absolutely thrilled.
"Yeah. You'll come watch, right?"
"Of course."
If I, her husband, didn't go watch, who else would?
Though, if the ticketing was already finished like last time, there could be a situation where I couldn't go because there were no tickets left.
"Don't worry. Ticketing hasn't started yet, so I can get a staff pass issued."
"That's a relief."
"Seong-hwan, you sometimes worry about the strangest things, you know that?"
Calling me a worrywart, A-ra started vigorously petting my head.
It wasn't wrong—I'd worry about things that hadn't even happened,
but when something actually did happen, I'd sometimes fail to handle it properly.
"When do you leave?"
"I leave right after resting."
"Then at the first stop, they're probably already going crazy with ticketing and all that."
"Well, they said they'd already finished all the preparations."
They would have, yeah.
How else could you resolve a massive schedule like this within one or two weeks?
"So about how long will you be gone?"
"Probably around two weeks?"
"Hmm... so I'll be alone during that time, then."
Thinking about not being able to see A-ra for a while made me feel gloomy for no reason.
As I pouted my lips, let out a sigh, and lowered my head, A-ra beamed and stroked my hair.
"Why is my husband so adorable?"
"I'm not adorable. You're more adorable, Noona."
"Hey! I told you not to call a woman adorable, didn't I?"
Wasn't it okay for a husband to call his wife adorable?
No, if you went to the A-ra fan cafe in the first place, even the women were going nuts calling A-ra adorable.
And in reality, A-ra had a face that anyone would say was cute.
To the point where if you spotted her passing by, you'd want to pat her head?
Should I say she had a bunny-like face?
"Fans and your husband are different! Noona only wants to hear that she's cool from you, Seong-hwan."
A-ra laughed cheerfully, confessing things she normally wouldn't say.
Was a week of vacation really putting her in that good a mood?
"Our A-ra is so cool. Pat, pat."
"Hmm... that just now felt a little different somehow..."
A-ra tilted her head, saying it felt a little different.
But still, accepting my touch with a wry smile and staying still—wasn't A-ra the perfect bride?
I really felt like I'd done well with this marriage.
***
There was plenty of time left before A-ra left for her overseas tour, so she had more time at home.
Still, just sitting around at home wasn't her style; she spent her time productively, hitting the gym inside the apartment complex or the pool,
or walking the dogs.
Maybe because of that, the tired look she used to have became harder to find, and it was really nice seeing her always full of energy.
"Noona, how about taking a good long rest after you come back this time?"
"Huh? Noona has a ton of filming lined up after coming back from the overseas tour."
"Really? Still, I think it'd be better to get some rest."
I understood the excitement about idol comebacks and all that, but A-ra's stamina had its limits.
If she overestimated her own endurance and kept working, who knew when she might collapse.
"Hehe, are you worried about Noona?"
"Of course. You're Noona, not just anyone."
"Then for Seong-hwan's sake, I should rest a bit when I get back."
Programs could always be filmed next time, and wasn't it only natural to rest after working so hard and coming back?
The managers would probably take good care of her, but still...
"Noona, is there anything you want to do before you go?"
"Something I want to do?"
"Like, something you want to eat, or somewhere you want to go..."
Summer vacation was already over, so if we went anywhere, it'd have to be on a day when I had no classes.
Coincidentally, I had no classes tomorrow, so I thought maybe instead of staying home, going out with A-ra would be nice, and I asked for her opinion.
A-ra started thinking deeply.
It seemed there wasn't any particular place she wanted to go.
"Hot spring?"
"A hot spring?"
"I keep thinking about that hot spring we went into when we went to Japan that time."
She'd been really happy back then, yeah.
To the point where she'd laid me down in the room when I was pretending to have passed out and went right back into the hot spring.
Anyway, a hot spring, huh.
To go to a place in the Republic of Korea famous for hot springs, it would take quite a while.
So we'd have to stay at least one night.
A day trip would be tough.
Since things had come to this, should I just skip school for a day?
Missing one day wasn't going to tank my attendance score, anyway.
"Then, would you like to go tomorrow?"
"Yeah! I want to go!"
Seeing A-ra spring to her feet, I opened my arms.
But instead of coming to hug me like I'd expected, she bolted into the master bedroom.
Seems she went to pack clothes.
I felt a little sad for no reason.
Well, as long as A-ra was happy, it was all good.
As I followed, watching her back, I saw A-ra packing clothes into a small bag.
But we were only staying one night, so why clothes...
"But Noona! We're only going for a day and coming back; do you really need to pack clothes?"
"I have to pack clothes! Otherwise, they'll smell!"
She's a woman, yet she surprisingly pays a lot of attention to things like that.
Maybe it was because she was an idol, but she paid more attention to it than me, a man...
"Oh, right! Seong-hwan-a, what about Lil' One and Pipsqueak?"
"I'm going to look for a place that allows them inside. These days, there are a lot of places that allow companion dogs."
In this era where domestic travel had decreased, more and more places emphasized this aspect to somehow draw in customers.
Not just dogs, but you could also bring cats in,
and some places were even running extreme ads on social media saying crocodiles were allowed.
"The hot spring business might actually be decent..."
In an aging society, the hot spring business might not be a bad idea.
Taking a little inspiration from a Japanese ryokan and considering it as a business might not be bad either...
Or maybe a hot spring that really did have crocodiles...
Come to think of it, was there a place in Korea that raised small crocodiles?
I felt like I'd seen it on Qtube before,
someone who ran a reptile shop raising one.
I bet you'd need some kind of license for it.
Foxes were that kind of thing too.