Jjimjilbang (3)
Jjimjilbang (3)
"I won!"
"Hoo... Minji, you're surprisingly skilled at withstanding heat too, aren't you?"
A-ra admitted defeat cleanly.
It was a bit funny that the loser was complimenting the winner's talent, but after all, she was the unnie.
Minji looked so genuinely happy about winning that she seemed ready to burst into three cheers.
"But Nuna, aren't you overdoing it?"
"Huh? I'm fine, I'm fine."
Well, a whole apartment was an amount A-ra could earn in just a few days of work, wasn't it?
Thinking about it like that, A-ra's astonishing financial power was both terrifying and reassuring.
"Promises are meant to be kept!"
"Unnie!"
"Aigo aigo, for my little brother-in-law, I'd do anything."
It wasn't just A-ra doting on her one-sidedly; Minji also loved her idol like a real older sister, and I was almost moved.
Minji wanted an unnie, and A-ra wanted a younger sister too, so it worked out well.
Now it seemed safe to say that Eun-ji had slipped out of A-ra's attention a bit.
"A-ra-nim."
"Ji-ye, call me A-ra unnie."
"Unnie?"
Maybe because her parents often held her hands, Ji-ye quickly grabbed A-ra's hand, looked up at her, and smiled.
She was so cute that A-ra began to cry out that her heart hurt.
A-ra and Ji-ye were 18 years apart in age, weren't they?
"Ji-ye, come here. A-ra unnie looks like she can't handle it."
"Huh? Is A-ra unnie hurting somewhere?"
But that 'hurt' wasn't actually a real ailment.
It seemed a bit too hard for a child who was only five years old to grasp.
Anyway...
"Ji-ye, where did your oppa and that friend of his go?"
"Over there."
The place Ji-ye pointed at was the coldest spot in the jjimjilbang.
She pointed to what's commonly called the salt ice room.
In this weather, they went in there?
They seem even crazier than the girls.
"Hey! Are you crazy?"
Even when I knocked, they didn't seem to have any intention of listening; there wasn't even the slightest stir.
Could they have frozen to death?
No, looking closer, that didn't seem to be the case.
Both of them were holding coffee with steam rising from it and enduring.
It seemed like the same logic as when A-ra and Minji had wet their throats with sikhye in the hot bulgama earlier.
What bet did they make?
Even if they suffer so much their lips twist, I don't care.
"They said the loser pays for everything."
"Oh?"
Well, that might not be so bad.
In fact, it's a golden opportunity to fleece Lee Min-ho.
*
In the end, it ended with Jeong Hwan-yi's victory.
Lee Min-ho even shed tears and expressed his sorrow, but no one paid him any mind.
A future where he'd end up blowing money on a bet this brainless.
Who would want to comfort a guy like that?
"But Seong-hwan, you're not going in?"
"The sauna? I don't like hot or cold."
Still, it would be a shame to come to a jjimjilbang and not use the sauna, so I planned to spend time in the lukewarm amethyst room at about 65 degrees.
It was unlikely I'd go into a bulgama or an ice room.
And even without going into those two, there was plenty to do here.
There was a place to leisurely enjoy a foot bath.
"Ji-ye, you don't like hot places either, right?"
Thinking I'd have a companion to stay with, I asked Ji-ye.
Ji-ye, who had been holding A-ra's hand and smiling widely, shook her head from side to side and began to deny what I said.
"I like hot places too."
"Oh... really?"
Was it because she's a girl?
I got the feeling she had the grit to endure hotter places longer than I could.
Am I really that frail after all?
I think I was a little shocked.
"Oppa?"
"Yeah..."
"You're pretty-looking, Oppa, so it's okay."
"...You know that's not a compliment for a married man, right?"
What good is it for a man who's already married to hear that he's pretty?
I stroked Ji-ye's head and let out a sigh.
*
"Nuna."
"Yeah."
We had enjoyed the sauna enough.
I was lying face to face with A-ra in the sukmyeonsil, where the sound of water trickled.
Since there was no one else but us, it was quiet and a perfect place for a conversation.
"You said you'd buy Minji an apartment. It's because of me, right?"
"That's part of it, and also because I want to get closer to Minji."
"I see..."
She wasn't a real younger sister, but A-ra seemed really happy to have a younger sister she could call family.
Even for someone like A-ra, spending 2-3 billion won at once must have been burdensome.
Well, it was A-ra's decision, so I just respected it.
Besides, she was giving it to Minji—I couldn't be more grateful, and there was no reason to object.
"But will Minji be able to handle things like utility bills?"
"Hehe, you're worrying about a lot of things, aren't you?"
"Of course. Whose younger sister is she?"
Anyway, if she took the bus from in front of our place, it went directly to Minji's school,
so I'd even thought about just having her stay at our place.
But considering A-ra might not like that and Minji would also have her personal privacy, I had found her a jeonse place instead.
A-ra tilted her head at the idea of bringing her into the house,
but living in the same apartment complex and visiting each other seemed okay.
"That's good for me too, I can look after Minji more. Thank you."
"What's there to thank? There's no need to say such things between married couples."
Then A-ra leaned on my shoulder and closed her eyes.
When I tidied her bangs and brushed them aside, she gave me a peck on the cheek.
Since we couldn't go to a regular jjimjilbang, I really liked this kind of place.
We could do affectionate things like this without worrying about other people's stares.
...Come to think of it, was it bad manners to display affection in a public place?
"Can we come here just the two of us?"
"They said once you've been here once, you can come back later too."
"That's a relief."
Wouldn't it be okay to come about once a month?
No.
Since A-ra was often busy even on weekends, even coming once every two or three months would be a success.
"Then I'll go into the bulgama for a bit."
"Again? If you collapse, I'm going to sit down and cry, you know?"
This won't do.
She's probably trying to get her fill because the apartment's sauna is lukewarm.
I'll have to find a decent solution.
***
Hearing the call sound, I checked the tablet PC, and it was a call from the front desk.
It seemed the installation technician had arrived.
- Unit PH1, the installation technician is here.
"Yes, understood."
The desk's call was concise, almost like a walkie-talkie.
They say there's a reason for everything, but I didn't really know why.
Anyway, the technician who came today wasn't here to repair or install white goods like a fridge or washing machine.
It was the day the present for A-ra was arriving, a while after we'd been to the jjimjilbang.
Perhaps the technicians had come straight up, because the doorbell rang loudly.
I hurried a little to the front door and opened it.
"Hello."
"Hello. We're here to install the sauna room."
To get to the point, for A-ra, who loves high-temperature saunas,
I planned to install a sauna room that could go up to bulgama-level heat.
The bathroom in our master bedroom was spacious enough, and I thought it would be great to place a sauna unit in one corner,
so I went ahead and bought it.
"By any chance, how long will the installation take?"
"It'll take about 3 hours. It might be a bit noisy~"
As expected, it was going to be noisy and take a long time.
Then I'd better move our dogs and cat into a room.
"Woof! Woof!"
"Mung."
"Hey, they're not bad people, so no barking."
"Hahaha, they're really cute."
"I'm sorry. I forgot to move them in advance."
"We all like dogs, so don't worry too much."
I quickly scooped up the dogs and cat and ran into the room.
In my arms, they didn't cry or struggle, these adorable little ones.
When this is over, Daddy will play with you later.
"Myaang~"
"Little one. Are you playing nicely with your unnie and oppa?"
"Myaang~"
As if saying she understood, she raised her front paw and let out a myaang~.
Cute little thing...
I gave each of them a pat on the head and then came out.
When I gently closed the door and came outside, the technicians were slowly moving the items in.
When I saw it in person, it was a really huge room...
Maybe because it's prefab, before assembly it just felt like robot parts.
"Where should we install it?"
"Please install it in the master bathroom."
"Ooh~ A lot of people do install them in the bathroom."
"So other people mostly install them in the bathroom too?"
"Usually in the bathroom. And those who can't because of limited space often install it in the living room."
Our living room was quite spacious, but putting a sauna room there was a bit...
I still thought the master bathroom was a good choice.
"Then we'll install it in the bathroom."
"Please go ahead."
There were about 6 hours left before A-ra came, so even after finishing the installation and cleaning up, there'd still be time left.
I was really curious what kind of reaction she'd have when she came home and saw the sauna room.
...She wouldn't hate it, right?
If she hated it, my heart might ache a little.
No, there was no way Nuna would hate it.
She could have a sauna at home.
Yeah, there was no way.
Stop thinking weird thoughts and let's just think about how to show it to her.