Busan Fishing (3)
Busan Fishing (3)
'Ugh, it's cold.'
I returned to the car, holding Tiny in one hand and carrying a paper bag full of food in the other.
It seemed like animals weren't allowed inside the rest stop, so I had no choice but to return to the car, put Tiny down, and go back inside.
No matter how much I had Tiny cradled in my arms, I couldn't take him somewhere animals weren't allowed.
"Noona, is there anything you'd like to drink?"
"Hmm... could you buy me a bottle of Pocari?"
"What about other things? We've got a long way to go until Busan."
Since we'd already stopped at the rest area, I figured we should take care of everything now.
I planned not to make any more stops from here on out, except for gas stations.
"In that case, buy me some snacks or something too."
"I'll pick out something you like."
"Okay."
A-ra smiled brightly and then scooped up Lil' One and Pipsqueak, cradling them in her arms.
The two puppies started licking her face all over, clearly happy to see her.
After confirming that scene, I stepped outside.
* * *
- Up ahead, a speeding caution zone in 500 meters.
I heard the voice from the navigation and let out a huge yawn.
I'd heard nothing but the clicking of the wipers and a few bumps for a while, so the sound from the navigation was a welcome change.
A-ra had fallen asleep, probably tired, and in the back, Lil' One and Pipsqueak were asleep too.
But Tiny had climbed on top of Lil' One and was grooming him.
With the rain making it so dark inside, I'd had the light on, but now I figured I should turn it off to let them sleep comfortably.
After all, I hadn't brought any sleep masks or anything.
Even though it was daytime, the clouds made it dark outside.
Maybe because the rain was falling endlessly, driving on the highway felt especially atmospheric.
In a mood like this, you couldn't skip a quiet radio program.
As I idly turned the frequency dial, a channel that reads out listener stories came on.
This was why people who liked driving enjoyed it so much.
Driving really did seem to become more familiar and enjoyable the more you did it.
"Oh?"
While listening to the radio story and making my way down the atmospheric highway, I suddenly got the feeling that there were a few more cars around.
It had been completely empty just moments ago.
"Maybe there's been an accident..."
January was a peak season, so there were a lot of people using the highway.
Because of that, accidents probably happened more often than you might think.
And on top of that, it was raining, so the sloped roads would be very slippery...
This was exactly why drivers needed to drive safely.
"Mmmnnn..."
"Did you wake up?"
A-ra opened her eyes, wiping away the drool that had trickled down her chin, and looked around.
It seemed she'd been sleeping so deeply that she'd forgotten she was even in a car.
"Hwaaahmm... how long did I sleep for?"
"About three hours."
"I slept longer than I thought... were you bored?"
"I was a little bored, but listening to the radio while driving wasn't too bad."
We were stopped right now, so it was a bit boring, but A-ra was awake now, so I wouldn't be bored anymore.
Perhaps hearing our voices, the dogs who'd been sleeping in A-ra's arms woke up too.
"Is Tiny in the cage?"
"Cats like cozy places, after all."
I had deliberately taken out a cozy cage he could go into on his own.
Tiny really did seem to prefer small, snug places over big ones.
"Looks like we're stuck in traffic, want to switch driving seats?"
"Are you okay with that? If you're tired, you can sleep more."
"No, I think it'd be better for you, Seong-hwan, to get some sleep."
Perhaps because I looked more tired after driving for over five hours, A-ra unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car.
She shouldn't do that on the highway...
Still, the cars were packed in tight, so it didn't look dangerous... maybe it was okay...
"Hurry up and get out."
"Okay..."
At A-ra's urging, I got out of the car.
And when I sat down in the passenger seat where A-ra had been, Lil' One and Pipsqueak nestled into my arms.
Did our kids realize when someone was driving?
They hadn't snuggled up while I was in the driver's seat...
*
"Seong-hwan-a, Seong-hwan-a!"
"Oh... I fell asleep... what is it?"
"Look at that!"
A-ra was pointing at four people standing in front of a totaled car, looking troubled.
It looked like a pretty huge accident had happened, but no one seemed to be hurt.
So it was very striking that the victims and the at-fault party were all smiling wryly at each other.
"Looks like that was what caused the traffic jam..."
"Yeah, it took 30 minutes just to get past it."
"30 minutes? So I only slept for 30 minutes?"
I thought I'd slept for about three hours, but it turned out to be only 30 minutes.
How was that possible when I felt so refreshed?
"Right. And Minji sent a text earlier."
"Minji?"
I took the phone secured to the car's phone mount and checked the message.
Looking now, it wasn't just Minji—Jeong Hwan-yi, Lee Min-ho... and even Hojun were included; they'd all sent me a message.
"Haha..."
"What's wrong? What does it say?"
"Those guys sent me a message telling the two of us to have fun on our cozy little date..."
What I'd suspected turned out to be true.
They'd apparently planned it properly and all dropped out to push A-ra and me to go on a trip alone together.
Anyone who saw this would probably think we were two people in the middle of a flirtationship.
We were married, so we had fun together at home every day, they didn't need to think like that about us.
"I figured as much..."
A-ra smiled wryly, saying she'd had a feeling that was the case.
Apparently she'd thought it was suspicious when they said they wouldn't all be able to go at once.
"So what did they say they're doing?"
"They said they're going to have fun in Incheon on their own."
"Incheon... Incheon is fun too."
The feeling that she wished she could be with them over there was probably just my imagination, right?
I thought going to have fun in Busan would be way more fun for me though?!
"Haha, I'm kidding, just kidding."
"I almost pouted just now."
"Of course, going on a trip alone with my husband is the most fun. Right, little one?"
"Woof!"
Lil' One barked *woof*! even though he probably had no idea what was going on.
Still, I wanted to believe that in his heart, he was answering sincerely.
"Well then, I'm going to get a bit more sleep."
"But I'm bored..."
"Noona slept a lot too, you know."
"Hnnng...."
A-ra stuck out her lower lip in a pout and continued driving.
I had a lot to do once we got there, so I needed to get a good, deep sleep in...
* * *
"Seong-hwan-a, wake up."
"Mmm... another accident?"
"No! We're here at the hotel, so let's go inside and sleep."
It was already dark outside.
Just how many hours had I slept?
Looking at the clock, it was already 7 o'clock.
So I had slept at least four hours.
"Hwaaahm...."
"Sleeping in the car makes you more tired, doesn't it?"
"Even after sleeping that long, I'm still tired."
I got out of the passenger seat and opened the trunk.
Even so, yawns kept pouring out, and my jaw stretched open so wide it felt a little sore.
I pulled the luggage and the Pipsqueak and Tiny cages out of the trunk, then gently placed one pet into each carrier one at a time.
"Noona, here's Tiny."
"Our Tiny, will you just be in there for a little bit?"
"Meow."
As if asking to be let out immediately, she cried out *meow~* and then buried herself in a corner of the cage.
Our baby girl looked like she wanted to get out fast.
Carrying the light cages and the clothes bag, I entered the hotel.
Maybe because it was a high-class hotel, it was clean and there were a lot of people.
Usually those two things were hard to find together.
"Noona, where should we have dinner?"
"I'm more comfortable eating in the room."
"Me too."
We were both too famous now, so ordering in and eating in the room was the most comfortable way to have a quiet meal.
And the quality of the food didn't drop just because we ate in the room.
In fact, wouldn't people who like quiet places prefer to eat in their rooms?
We might end up eating all our meals that way, except for the breakfast buffet.
"Excuse me, I'd like to check in."
"Yes, could you tell me the name on the reservation?"
"It's Yoo Seong-hwan."
"I'm checking on that now. Please wait a moment."
There were a few rooms I'd booked under my name, it seemed...
Since we'd originally been planning on a bigger group today, I thought I'd reserved about four rooms.
The rooms we couldn't use... it was a bit of a waste, but it couldn't be helped.
Still, we weren't going to cancel or get a refund, so it wouldn't count as a no-show, right?
"There are four rooms reserved under the name Yoo Seong-hwan... but have the rest of your party not arrived yet?"
"No, something came up and they couldn't join us. We'll only be using the one booked with the pet dining package."
"Ah... in that case...."
"A refund is fine with us."
"Understood. I'll guide you to your room right away."
The moment the desk clerk finished speaking, a staff member who had been waiting nearby guided us to our room.
Wanting to use a bigger space this time, I'd booked a room that was larger than you might think.
I think it was called the Special Suite Room.
The price was terrifying to even talk about.
"Seong-hwan-a, is it okay if I go night fishing?"
"No. It's dangerous."
"No it's not~ It's not dangerous at all~"
"That just makes me trust it even less."
When A-ra tried to lie, her words would stretch out.
Like they just had.
And her ears would turn slightly red, which made her very cute.
In other words, if A-ra suddenly became cute, it meant she was trying to lie.
"I'm telling you, I'm not lying. Look at that."
"Huh?"
We'd been riding the elevator for a while, and the back of the elevator was open.
The place A-ra was pointing to was an area where many people were fishing.
"Look at that. I can fish right there now without even going down, can't I?"
"You're right about that..."
There were so many people around and it was very bright, so it didn't look like anything dangerous would happen.
If it was like that, maybe I could let her go?
"In that case, just don't stay too late. We decided to go to the Busan Aquarium tomorrow."
"Okay, got it."
Then A-ra planted a kiss on my cheek.
I couldn't hide the corners of my mouth from creeping upwards against my will.