A Snowy Day (2)
A Snowy Day (2)
"Noona... if the kids start copying you for no reason, it'll be a huge problem."
"Hmm... you think so?"
If the kids started copying her pointlessly and rumors spread—just imagine.
The moment word got out that A-ra was involved, it would instantly become news.
Sure, some might say, "Why make such a fuss over that?", but A-ra, who had only recently returned to the public eye, had to be careful of even the smallest leaf rustling.
Because that's what it meant to be an idol.
"Then you pack the snow together like this...!"
"I don't think you need water?"
"You're right."
Packed together tightly by A-ra's monstrous strength, the snow froze solid quickly in the cold weather.
Then she placed the completely frozen snowball on the ground and began rolling it slowly.
So this was what they called a snowball?
The more she rolled it, the bigger it gradually started to get.
It was getting noticeably bigger, surprisingly enough.
"It's getting bigger and bigger, right?"
"Yes. It's getting really huge."
"Try making this until it reaches your waist."
Roll a snowball that barely reached my ankles until it came up to my waist?
Did I do something wrong or something?
"What do you mean, did something wrong~ This is just how you make a snowman."
"Ugh..."
Looks like I had definitely gotten myself into something.
*
"Meong! Meong-meong!"
"Little One, you can't break it, okay?"
I had been rolling the ball for a while now, so I smiled bitterly as I watched Lil' One, who was begging me to throw it for her.
The snowball had already grown big enough to reach my waist.
I'd wondered how long it would take, but I couldn't believe it had only been about 30 minutes.
Was snow always this easy to pack together?
I had worried it would take a long time for nothing.
"Hoo... shall we rest for a bit..."
"Meong! Meong-meong-meong!"
"Now, now, our Lil' One, come here."
Just as I was about to sit on the bench and rest, I stopped Lil' One, who was trying to charge at the snowball.
It looked like she was about to charge right at it, but the moment I called her, she stopped, tilted her head, and came trotting over to me.
Still, she listened to me well since I was her dad.
"Eutcha..."
She didn't look cold, but just in case, I tucked her inside my thick padding.
I pulled the zipper down past my stomach and held her so her face poked out.
"Warm?"
"Meong!"
"This is a ball Daddy worked really hard rolling, so you absolutely cannot break it, okay?"
"Meong."
I couldn't tell if she was nodding, or if her head was just shaking from panting.
Well... since I had warned her like this, she probably wouldn't break it.
"Then play around here."
"Meong!"
The moment I let her go, Lil' One bolted around energetically.
As expected, she seemed to love the cold snow.
Maybe next time I should look into a ski resort or something where we can bring the dog, too.
Ah, even if such a place existed, the dog probably wouldn't be allowed in anyway since it would be dangerous.
"Should I just start a business related to animals at this rate..."
Making money aside...
Lately, more and more businesses let you bring animals inside, but surprisingly, there are still so many places where you can't.
Restaurants, I could understand, but wouldn't it be fine for places you go with family?
So it was no small worry to me.
"Ehh... what business..."
It's not like I'm knowledgeable in that area...
And just because you have money doesn't mean you can jump into a business and succeed.
My Qtube channel only happened to do well, so who was I to be so arrogant.
As I sat there resting, mulling over these various thoughts,
A-ra came over this way, holding Pipsqueak, while rolling her own snowball—one slightly bigger than mine, no less.
"Seong-hwan-a, did you finish making the ball?"
"It was a bit hard, but I made it nicely."
"Where is it? I can't see it?"
"Huh? It's right over there..."
I whipped my head around, pointing at the snowball I had made so nicely.
There should have been a perfectly round, well-shaped snowball sitting there, but it didn't exist; instead, a large lump of snow was broken and scattered everywhere.
And our lovely daughter, Lil' One, was digging through the snow.
"Hek... hek... Meong!"
"Aw, aw, our Lil' One had lots of fun, didn't she?"
A-ra, finding Lil' One cute, hugged her and stroked her back.
It felt like all was well as long as she had fun destroying the ball I had worked so hard to make.
"That... that was something I worked hard on..."
"Our daughter did it, so you have to forgive her."
"That's... true, but..."
Who was going to resolve this unfair feeling for me?
I worked so hard on it...!
"Ah... my 30 minutes..."
It wasn't just the time. Because I had been rolling the snow while bent over,
my back and wrists were killing me too.
If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have let Lil' One go!!
"Well, it's just that..."
"Just that! What do you mean, just that...!"
"Hehe, Seong-hwan, you actually wanted to make a snowman too, didn't you? Looks like you were serious about it?"
"No... that's not it..."
Damn it.
The route for my escape had vanished.
***
A-ra quickly made a small ball and placed it on top of the body.
It was a little small, but it had enough shape to look like a snowman, so we took a commemorative photo in front of it and came back up to the house.
As for Lil' One, that rascal, she fell asleep right away because she was tired as soon as we got home.
I guess it must take a lot of stamina to break apart a ball that big...
"You can't hate Lil' One, okay?"
"I don't hate her over something like this. It just took the wind out of my sails a bit, that's all."
No matter how smart Lil' One was, instinct was something she couldn't overcome.
Even if it was a snowball I had worked hard to make, to Lil' One, it was just a big ball she could play with.
I turned on the boiler in Lil' One and Pipsqueak's room and wiped their bodies down properly.
Lil' One had already closed her eyes and fallen into such a deep sleep that she probably wouldn't have noticed even if I carried her away.
Pipsqueak was drowsy and dozing off, probably very tired.
"Little one, sleep tight."
"Meung..."
Only then did Pipsqueak close her eyes and head off to dreamland.
Tiny didn't seem to understand the two dogs who had suddenly fallen asleep, but she found a spot next to them, sat down, and eventually fell asleep too.
A soft laugh escaped me when I saw that.
Anyone watching would think Tiny had also been outside playing hard.
Alright... now it was time for me and A-ra, who were still awake.
I headed to the kitchen and made the cold iced latte that A-ra liked.
A-ra, who only drank cold things even in the middle of winter.
Wasn't drinking too many cold things bad for your body?
Still, A-ra never put anything hot in her mouth except for food.
She probably wouldn't listen to me about this, either.
"Noona, have a latte."
"In winter~ it's iced coffee~"
Singing the old CF song, A-ra accepted the cup and took a sip.
I brought my own hot chocolate—made with hot milk—to my lips and took a careful sip.
The sweet and bitter taste of chocolate spread richly inside my mouth.
I had chosen a hot chocolate mix made with stevia instead of sugar, and it seemed like the right call.
I thought sugar substitutes were better than blindly sweet, blood-sugar-spiking sugar.
Should I try using stevia instead of sugar in my cooking from now on?
"Noona, how's the latte taste?"
"It feels slightly sweeter than usual, but I like it because it's not sticky."
"I used a sugar substitute called stevia instead of sugar. It has no calories, so you won't gain weight."
"Really? Then I can drink it more often, right?"
I bought it thinking of A-ra, who couldn't gain weight because she was managing her figure, and it seemed like a decent choice.
But come to think of it, the reason I was cutting back on her coffee wasn't because of the sugar, but because of the caffeine...
She drank 3 or 4 cups of just coffee a day outside, so I was trying to reduce it at home...
I should look into decaf coffee.
"By the way, Seong-hwan-a, what are you drinking?"
"It's hot chocolate."
"Can I have a sip?"
"Here."
For a moment, I considered holding it in my mouth and passing it to her lips,
but I decided that kind of skinship probably wasn't a good idea since the drink was so hot.
So I just held out the cup.
A-ra took it and beamed a smile before putting the cup to her lips and drinking a little of the hot chocolate.
As expected, she must not have liked the heat because she stuck her tongue out slightly and wrinkled her eyes adorably.
"It's bitter!"
"Huh? You think this is bitter?"
It didn't taste particularly bitter to my palate... what was up with that?
Just in case, I took a sip, but the sweet stevia canceled out the bitter taste of the chocolate.
"It felt like eating 99% cacao!"
"It actually is 99%... but I sweetened it, so it shouldn't be bitter..."
It seemed our A-ra had an incredible sense of taste.
She had really been blessed by the gods in quite a number of ways.
We sipped our coffee and hot chocolate in silence, gazing out at the terrace.
This kind of atmosphere wasn't bad at all.
"Myaang."
"Oh, Tiny, are you done sleeping already?"
"Myaang."
Tiny had come over to my leg at some point and was rubbing her cheek against it.
Just a little while ago, she had been small enough to hold in one hand... but now she seemed like she easily weighed over 1 kg.
"Do you want to be coddled by Daddy?"
"Myaaong."
"That's right, you like Daddy more than Mommy, don't you?"
"What? No way! Of course, you like Mommy more, right, squirt?"
"Myaaong."
"See, see? She says she likes Mommy more."
"No, she doesn't? She said she likes Daddy more. Right?"
"Myaaong."
Tiny was just crying "myaaong", but we spent a good while bickering back and forth, assigning meaning to it.
It was ridiculously childish, but there was no one else in the house, and what couldn't a married couple do between themselves?
"Hoo... I'll let you off the hook just this once."
"Aww, aww, our Tiny~"
"Instead, Noona, give me one more latte."
"Just for today, okay? Since we played hard outside."
Since I planned to prepare decaf starting tomorrow, it was probably fine to give her one more cup just for today.
I passed Tiny, who was in my arms, over to A-ra and got up from my seat.
Come to think of it, Koreans really were all about cold drinks, no matter what.
In the past, I used to drink hot things often too, but these days, it felt like I couldn't handle anything that wasn't an iced Americano, even in the dead of winter.
Coffee had to be cold, unconditionally.
Because that was the unwritten rule.