Side Story: Oversleeping and Shopping
Side Story: Oversleeping and Shopping
"It's so noisy..."
Wooongㅡㅡㅡ
A loud vibration and the default ringtone had been sounding since early dawn, and it finally made me open my eyes.
There was only one person who would call me at this hour.
I didn't know the reason for the call at this time, though.
Even with the deafening noise of the ringtone filling the room, A-ra was sound asleep.
To wake A-ra up, you'd practically need to launch a spaceship right next to her.
Even that dull insensitivity of hers was nothing short of lovable.
I gently stroked her cheek, lightly brushed her hair back, and unplugged the phone charger from the device on the nightstand.
"Ugh, what the..."
I was genuinely startled when I looked at the phone.
I had been certain it was early dawn, but the clock read 9 a.m.
Seeing that the caller was Arin's kindergarten homeroom teacher, it wasn't like I'd woken up early as usual, sent Arin off to kindergarten, and then gone back to sleep.
Our entire family had overslept and ended up being late.
"...What should I do?"
To be honest, it wasn't really a problem.
Arin could just take a day off from kindergarten, and A-ra had no schedule today either.
As for me, I was a full-time homemaker and hadn't planned on filming any CueTube videos today, so I was basically unemployed.
Now that it was already late, was there really any need to jump up and rush around?
"Alright, Arin deserves a break for a day, too. How tiring must it be going to kindergarten."
I began spouting such nonsensical self-justifications simply because I couldn't be bothered to move.
Honestly, since I was home all day, there was no problem with not sending Arin to places like kindergarten.
She had already mastered her studies and proper manners anyway.
In the first place, wasn't kindergarten for people who didn't have someone at home to look after the kids?
By now, she was probably in bed, hugging Lil' One and Pipsqueak, sleeping soundly (koko naenae).
It was a bit of a shame not being able to see that adorable sight, but it wasn't important enough to disturb my daughter's sleep.
"To.day... I'll take... a day off... Sent."
I sent a text to Arin's homeroom teacher saying that Arin had a fever and would take the day off.
The reply came back in an instant, as if she had been waiting for the message.
And it was very brief and clear.
- Okay ^^
After checking the message, I flopped back down onto the bed.
I decided to savor sleeping in, something I hadn't done in a long time.
*
"Daddy."
"Umm..."
"Daddyyy."
"Ugh..."
"Daddy, wake up."
A voice, a mix of fatigue and aegyo, made me open my eyes.
Naturally, the one making that voice was my daughter, Arin.
Seeing her lips jutting out in a pout, was something bothering her?
Or maybe she was sulking because I hadn't played with her.
"What time is it now?"
"1 o'clock... Daddy, I'm hungry."
Well, if our Arin was hungry, I had no choice.
I sprang up from the bed, sat on the edge, and let out a huge yawn.
Anyway, how was it already 1 o'clock when I felt like I hadn't slept much at all?
I had really overslept on an unprecedented level today.
"What about Mom?"
"Next to..."
I looked over and saw that A-ra was still sleeping too.
Seeing her sleeping deeply for the first time in a while felt kind of nice.
"I told them you're taking the day off today. When did you wake up, Arin?"
"I woke up around 9 o'clock."
"You did? Well, Daddy told your kindergarten you're resting today, so let's just relax at home."
"Okay."
I gently stroked the head of Arin, who was nodding nonchalantly.
Then, I scooped her up with one arm, supporting her bottom, yawned loudly, and walked out into the living room.
After that, I finished preparing lunch, woke up A-ra, and we ate with Arin.
It had been a while since we sat at the dining table on a weekday to eat together, and it gave me the pleasant illusion that we had become an incredibly laid-back family.
A-ra, fighting off waves of drowsiness as she ate, was very cute, but the sight of Arin holding her spoon with her tiny hands and scooping up rice was also extremely cute.
Just... every single little action she did was so cute.
Every single thing she did to try and imitate her mom somehow.
"Arin, is it good?"
"Yeah. It's yummy."
A-ra deboned a piece of fish and placed it on top of Arin's spoon.
We watched happily as Arin ate it up like a baby sparrow.
Was this what people meant when they said just watching your child eat well makes you feel full?
I felt like I could finally understand a mother's heart.
"How about we go out and get some fresh air after lunch?"
I suggested it to A-ra, who was quietly eating.
I figured—going out on weekends was nice, but wouldn't it be fun to sneak away on a weekday like this, like we were playing hooky?
A-ra, who had been quietly chewing her food, put her spoon down on the table upon hearing my suggestion.
Then she took a refreshing gulp of barley tea to quench her thirst and rubbed her belly.
Even when she was exhausted, A-ra had to eat two bowls of rice.
And that was just so incredibly cute.
"Should we? But where would we go?"
"How about Costco? We can shop for groceries and stuff too."
"Oh, that sounds good. There's a neighborhood park right in front, too."
Another impromptu plan had been made.
It was scary to think that next time we might impulsively go on an overseas trip.
***
"Song Ah-rin! Mommy told you to pick just one snack!"
"Hmph..."
The moment we arrived at the snack aisle, A-ra told Arin to choose one snack she wanted to eat.
It wasn't like we couldn't afford to buy several, but A-ra had said absolutely not, stating that eating lots of snacks was a shortcut to obesity.
Please, where on a kid who runs around that much was there any room to gain weight?
I briefly considered taking Arin's side, but if I defied A-ra, I would be the one getting devoured in bed later, so I had no choice but to hold it in.
".....Arin. You should listen to your mom."
"Hngg..."
Even her disappointed expression was the spitting image of A-ra.
Well, having grown up seeing her mother act that way, it was only natural.
Still, I couldn't just stand by and watch my daughter look so forlorn.
"Ahem, if you don't, then no toys for you?"
"Toys?!"
The moment she heard the word 'toys', her eyes went wide, and she immediately clung to my leg.
Her eyes were sparkling.
Arin, perhaps taking after her mother, had a love for cars and a hobby of collecting car figurines.
I knew she had quite a few, ranging from cheap ones to expensive collector's items.
Actually, the reason we had come to Costco in the first place was to buy Arin a present.
Since it was a foreign chain store, it was easy to find toys like that.
"So, you'd better listen to your mom now, okay? Only one snack."
"Okay!"
Only then did Arin put the karaoke-bar-sized bag of Shrimp Chips back in its place.
For the record, the first snack Arin had picked was a karaoke-bar-sized container of Postick.
"Ideally, it's best not to eat snacks. But even if you do, you have to limit it to just one."
"........."
"What's wrong?"
I couldn't feel even an ounce of sincerity from those words coming from a noona who was walking down the snack aisle with her hand thrust into the shelves, sweeping everything into her cart.
Arin was only holding back because I had coaxed her with the promise of toys. Otherwise, she would have already been pouting her lips and puffing her cheeks at her mother, expressing her discontent.
"Of course, this means Arin can't eat them because she'd get fat."
Having stuffed her cart with snacks right up to the end, A-ra beamed.
I had never seen anyone pull a shopping cart around looking so excited.
Meanwhile, Arin wasn't paying much attention to her mother filling the cart with snacks.
She was just holding my hand, smiling brightly and thinking hard about which toy to buy.
"Noona, you get fat too, you know. Especially in the chest."
"My... my chest getting bigger can't be helped!"
Strangely, A-ra never seemed to gain weight anywhere else, only her breasts grew larger.
I was happy about it, of course, but A-ra seemed dissatisfied that her underwear no longer fit and that they were getting heavy.
From my perspective as a man, it was the best, though.
"Daddy always stares only at Mom's boobs."
Arin made that utterly embarrassing remark and then stared at A-ra's chest.
She looked as if she was about to drool at any moment, as if she wanted a big chest herself.
"Ahem. Arin, that's not something you should say."
"Hngg..."
"Still, Daddy does like Mommy's boobs."
"No... what kind of conversation is this mother and daughter having..."
The husband listening from the side felt like he was dying of embarrassment.
After walking a little further, the moment we reached the toy aisle, Arin and A-ra dashed straight toward the car models.
A-ra even abandoned the cart she had been pushing and ran after Arin.
Why on earth were women so crazy about toys?
Especially things like robots or cars, and they were also obsessed with swords and guns.
I chuckled to myself at the sight, grabbed the cart, and slowly made my way over to the two of them.
By the time I got there, they were already gripping the items they wanted tightly in their hands.
"Arin, what's that?"
"AE86!"
It was the car that anyone could recognize as the one from the Fujiwara Tofu Shop.
I didn't know why Costco was selling a model of that car, but since it cost only about 30,000 won, I decided to just let it slide.
"Then A-ra Noona........"
"Bugatti Chiron!"
What Arin had shown me was an inexpensive product in a cardboard box.
But what A-ra showed me was a pamphlet for a toy displayed in a showcase that anyone could tell was expensive.
"...Don't you already have that one?"
"No. It's a different model."
I had no idea what was actually different, but A-ra jutted out her lip and insisted it was made by a different company.
If she collected all the Bugatti Chiron models in her hobby room, she'd probably have at least five.
"Are you going to buy it?"
"Yeah!"
"Then can you buy one more for Arin?"
"Hmm... well, wouldn't one more that costs around 30,000 won be okay?"
Even while saying that, A-ra made sure to stay mindful of her daughter's upbringing.
She was amazing, in more ways than one.