Aquarium
Aquarium
Today was the one day a month when the DongArin gathering was held.
Usually, we did our club activities from home—taking pictures of the animals we were raising, posting them, sharing care know-how—
But members said it didn't really feel like DongArin if we never met in person, so we made a habit of getting together for coffee once a week.
So we usually chose a place that allowed pets,
but this time so many people said they were coming that we decided to go to a larger venue, even if pets weren't allowed.
Normally there were thirty people at most, so it was never a problem,
but this time more than seventy people said they would attend.
And now, the most important part: the venue.
We had decided to meet at a big café that had just opened in front of the school.
So even though it was the weekend, I had driven up to the school.
It was so newly opened that the building and its storefront were spotless—it barely felt like a café.
"Did they go in first?"
The café's exterior windows were heavily tinted, so I couldn't see inside clearly.
As a result, I had no idea how many people were in there, and I found myself hesitating to walk in for no good reason.
Ding-dong.
When I opened the door and stepped inside, the chime signaling a customer's arrival greeted me.
At the same time, I heard the part-timers' greetings and the chatter of people, and my nerves settled a little.
A café was supposed to be this noisy.
"Yoo Seong-hwan! Over here!"
Jeong Hwan-yi, who had come in after me, was waving me over.
When I looked, the president and vice-president of DongArin were sitting there, along with a famous fish breeder from the club.
Around them, other members were chatting and making noise among themselves.
I ordered a simple coffee and a piece of cake, then made my way to Jeong Hwan-yi with the tray.
After placing the tray on the table and sitting down, I saw the DongArin president right in front of me.
The president who had first brought me into DongArin had graduated and was no longer here, but the current president—who used to be the vice-president—was leading the club well.
In fact, even better than before.
"Seong-hwan, it's been a while."
"Hello, President. It's been a month."
As I greeted him, the breeder member beside him also said hello.
Since it's only proper to return a greeting, I returned hers with a politeness anyone would have called respectful.
"So, what were you all talking about?"
"We were talking about the saltwater fish that came in at the aquarium."
"Aquarium? Ah, you run an aquarium too, don't you, Jin-hee?"
Jin-hee, the breeder who was the same age as us—twenty-one—ran an aquarium.
She was said to be quite famous among people who kept saltwater fish.
"Seong-hwan, are you not particularly interested in fish?"
"Well... I'd gotten a fish tank and everything before, but it just seemed a bit difficult."
To raise fish, you first have to cycle the water.
Water cycling meant pouring tap water that had been left out for a day into the tank, adding a cycling agent like a bacterial supplement, and running the filter.
The crucial part was that water cycling wasn't something you finished in a day or two.
Some said it took at least a month, others said six months,
and effectively, you had to wait endlessly for a cycling process with no definite end.
Unless I was incredibly fascinated with fish, did you really think I'd put up with that when I wasn't even that attached?
So I just never got around to it.
"That's a shame...."
"It's a shame for me, too. I didn't know raising fish took that much time."
I then took a sip of the coffee I'd placed on the table.
The sweet and bitter coffee cooled my throat.
"Then how about a visit to AquArin?"
"You mean the AquArin at Lotte World, or one of those."
"Yes, I heard they added penguins and a variety of fish this time."
Raising fish was troublesome, but seeing them wasn't bad.
Personally, I did like seeing things like sharks or stingrays.
"That doesn't sound bad... Should I try it as a date...?"
"Are you sure it's okay with so many people around?"
"Ah... now that I think about it, there really will be a lot of people."
Ever since we'd become a little famous, places packed with people were automatically unappealing.
That was because there would always be people who recognized us even with masks and sunglasses on.
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. The inside of AquArin is lit with dark blue lighting, so it's hard to even make out the face of the person right next to you."
"Is that so? Then it might be perfect for a date..."
Coming to a DongArin gathering and getting date-course advice was a little funny,
but wasn't this the whole reason we gathered? To have this kind of conversation?
Personally, I wanted to get some good ideas from other people, too.
"But why are you the one planning the date course for you two as a couple?"
Jeong Hwan-yi asked if that was the opposite of how it normally went for couples.
Of course, I wasn't going to give a normal reply.
Since he was a guy who had tormented me time and time again.
"Jeong Hwan, what era do you think this is...? Saying stuff like that isn't good."
"Huh? Did I say something weird?"
Jeong Hwan-yi just asked back, acting as if he hadn't said anything wrong.
I gave up on attacking him.
This guy wasn't the kind of opponent I could beat.
***
Having been recommended the great place called AquArin,
as soon as I got home, I started looking up articles about it one by one.
"Ah, so even though it's called Lotte World AquArin, it's not actually inside Lotte World."
It seemed like they just used the name as a franchise trademark.
And it looked like it was located in the basement of the Lotte Tower right in front of us.
"The one in Haeundae was right by the sea... I didn't know they built an AquArin in the middle of the city like this."
The price wasn't too expensive, and if you took your time looking around, you could easily spend two hours sightseeing.
And they even had various restaurants where you could eat...
"It's not bad as a date course. There are even linked course tickets..."
We wouldn't be going out every week, so wouldn't it be worth it to go once or twice when our schedules lined up for an outing?
I still didn't know whether A-ra liked aquariums, though.
I should go ask her.
To act on it immediately, I slipped out of the master bedroom and headed to the living room.
On the sofa, A-ra, the flirt, was hugging Lil' One and Pipsqueak in both arms and watching TV.
That drama was really popular these days.
Was it fun?
No, this wasn't the time to be doing this.
I had to ask A-ra quickly and set a plan.
"Noona, do you like AquArins?"
"AquArin? You mean the one from the game?"
"No, not that one."
It seemed that among the maps in the game A-ra played recently, there was a place called AquArin.
When I said that wasn't it, she nodded and smiled.
"When I was little, I used to go to the AquArin often with my parents. So I like it a lot."
"I see... Then would you like to go to the AquArin with me this week?"
"There's an AquArin in Seoul?"
A-ra had a reaction similar to mine.
When I told her it was right in the middle of Seoul, she was surprised, too.
"I knew about the zoo, but I didn't know there was an AquArin."
"It opened four years ago. Want to check it out?"
Four years ago was exactly when A-ra and I met.
Thinking about it that way, I felt a strange sense of destiny.
"Yeah! Of course I'm going! Are we going tomorrow?"
"Yes. You have the day off tomorrow too, don't you, noona?"
"Hehe, the timing's great—I don't have a shoot tomorrow."
A-ra smiled brightly and nodded in agreement.
I'd have to pick out my clothes for tomorrow, too.
*
- So? You decided to go to the AquArin?
"Yeah, but do you know what kind of fish they have there?"
- What do you need that for? It is probably on their website.
Jeong Hwan-yi quickly sent me the website address via message.
And sure enough, when I looked the site up, the types of fish and animals inside popped right up.
Now that I was looking, an AquArin didn't just have fish; they had animals like sea otters and penguins, too.
That meant there was more to see, which was nice.
"It'd be nice if I studied a bit beforehand and could then tell her things when we go."
- Man, you really know how to be loved by a girl... I'm honestly impressed.
"I'm flattered."
Jeong Hwan-yi was showering me with praise for once.
For A-ra's enjoyment, I was willing to put in any effort.
- Sigh... I'm going to go help with the chores.
"Chores?"
- My mom came out and asked me to help with some stuff.
"If you're busy, you could just work a part-time day job, you know."
- What are you talking about, a day job... If I help out and get exploited, and then customers swarm in, that's even more annoying.
Jeong Hwan was spouting some incredibly unfilial nonsense.
Was that what people meant when they said raising a son was useless?
- If customers flood in for no good reason, it's just a hassle for me. She doesn't even give me a penny of allowance....
I finished the call with Jeong Hwan-yi and put my phone down on the desk.
Then I booted up my laptop, went to the site's homepage, and began memorizing the names of the fish one by one.
"The ones I know are cichlids and piranhas... an eel Paraluku... stingray?"
I had no idea what the rest of the fish were.
Not only that, I couldn't even memorize their names.
It was an absolutely pathetic performance.
How was I supposed to memorize them all by tomorrow...?
Playing the know-it-all husband in front of my wife was quite difficult.
Now that it had come to this, I had no choice but to stay up all night and memorize them.
I could give up a single night of good sleep.
Because then, my standing as a husband would rise.