Side Story: Busan Trip
Side Story: Busan Trip
But wait, wasn't it possible to have fun tonight, even if it wasn't something scheduled for the very next day?
There was even 'that' point right in front of them, after all.
"If you rest now, couldn't we manage to go fishing even just for a little while later?"
"Fish...ing?"
As the word fishing popped out, A-ra slowly wriggled upright from where she had been lying face down on the bed.
As I thought, she had come to Busan having almost given up on fishing entirely.
But still, it was a bit frightening.
I was beginning to think my wife might have been someone who died with a grudge from not being able to fish in a past life.
"Fishing... we can do it?"
"We can just buy a fishing rod and some rigging supplies, right?"
"That's true, but..."
Just how obsessed is our A-ra with fishing?
She's also a collector who buys and gathers gear so good that cheap stuff won't even spark her interest.
For someone like that, just buying something cheap to enjoy for a single day wasn't really an option.
Then again, taking it all home was a bit of a tricky situation too.
It would be one thing if we'd driven down, but weren't we planning to take the KTX back home once the trip was over?
However, I had already anticipated all of that for my wife's sake.
"These days, you can ship even long things via parcel delivery, so don't worry."
"Really? So it's okay if we go fishing this evening?"
"Eun-ji, Jeong-hwan, and Lee Min-ho were all seriously pestering me to go fishing too, you know. So we can just all go together."
Now that I thought about it, every single member of our travel group loved fishing.
Didn't our own daughter Arin absolutely adore smelt rod fishing right this moment?
"Seong-hwan-a! What time is it right now?!"
"Uh... um... It's 4 PM now."
Since she abruptly asked for the time, my eyes shifted to the watch wrapped around my wrist.
Every time I looked at this Patek Philippe, already eight years since I received it, a wry smile crossed my face.
The signing event had started at 9 and finished at 15.
One might think it only lasted six hours, but for us, sitting and signing or doing a live broadcast, it was a very, very long time.
"Then, noona will sleep for just 2 hours, so wake me at six. Got it?"
"Got it. Six is also about the time we'll have to go down to eat."
And since there was nothing to do anyway...
I could just sleep later.
"But where did Arin go?"
"She's playing in Eun-ji's room."
"Okay. Then noona's going to sleep, 'kay?"
"Have a good nap and wake up refreshed."
A-ra, who until just moments ago had been lying face-planted on the bed, now lay down properly and covered herself with the blanket.
And as soon as she lay down, she breathed out softly and fell asleep.
"Every time I see it, it's amazing."
If she falls asleep like this, you could carry her off on your back and she wouldn't notice.
Whether you touched her chest or her bottom, she absolutely wouldn't wake up.
Should I touch her a little?
"Noona."
"....."
"Noona?"
"....."
"She's genuinely asleep."
To fall asleep leaving her husband all alone.
What would she do if her husband got sulky?
I gently settled my weight onto the edge of the bed where A-ra Noona was sleeping.
Because it was a fluffy, plush hotel bed, even plopping down somewhat inconsiderately caused no shaking at all.
Then, I brought my hand to the bottom of A-ra, who was sleeping like she knew nothing of the world.
Stroke, stroke.
I could feel the rough texture of the one-piece dress she was wearing under my hand.
Because of the material's nature, it wasn't smooth, but due to the faint sensation of warmth, my face automatically flushed.
"Mmm... mmnyah..."
The sleeping A-ra stirred a little.
Whether the sleeping posture was uncomfortable, or whether the blanket covering her was just too warm.
Even though it was winter, that thick duvet was hot.
The room wasn't even cold.
This worked out well.
Since A-ra Noona had kicked the blanket off because she was hot, the accessible areas had increased.
If earlier I could only reach her bottom, now I could touch her thighs, her calf, and if I managed well, even her groin area.
For reference, stroking your sleeping wife's body isn't a perverted act, but a way to breathe new heat into a marital relationship that becomes increasingly desensitized as time passes.
Stroke, stroke.
This time, I slipped my hand under her skirt and touched her thigh.
The flesh felt incomparably softer than before, and a faint, satisfied pleasure stirred within me.
As actions like this piled up little by little, it became easier to get aroused, and once aroused, my lower half would spring right up.
But of all times, right then...
Just that moment when things were starting to heat up a little.....
Someone knocked on the hotel room door.
How many people would possibly knock on our door?
All the other agency staff had gone back to Seoul, and only our travel group was left.
Haa...
It was just getting fun....
Still, I set my regret aside, stood up, and threw open the door that was clamoring to be opened right away.
There stood Eun-ji, holding Arin in one arm.
"Your daughter said she was tired, so I brought her."
"Arin-ah, are you tired?"
"Uung..."
Arin nodded her head while rubbing her eyes with both hands.
That exact action was one of the things she did when she was truly about to fall asleep.
I carefully took Arin from Eun-ji, and while slowly patting her back, headed toward the bed where A-ra lay.
Then I placed a small pillow on the side A-ra was facing and slowly laid Arin down.
Once Arin was laid down straight, A-ra smiled in her sleep and covered Arin with the blanket she'd been using too.
What was incredibly fascinating was that A-ra was sound asleep, and yet that gesture seemed to flow from pure instinct.
Even that hand gently stroking her hair right now.
"It really is fascinating. I guess a mother is a mother, huh?"
"It's hard to see a mom as perfect as our A-ra Noona."
"Right. Who would've known she'd change like that after having a daughter."
Eun-ji stroked A-ra's hair.
It was a scene you'd absolutely never see normally, but the situation was different with A-ra asleep.
"I was shocked, you know, when I heard she was suddenly retiring from being an idol."
"Well... since the baby came too..."
"I thought she'd keep promoting even after giving birth. So I was really surprised."
After A-ra retired from idol activities, Queens' activity volume had dropped significantly.
Since Eun-ji intensified her solo activities, and Yeji and Hwa-young intensified their acting careers.
That was how big the void left by A-ra was.
And I remembered that Queens disbanded not long after.
"Well, did she have any lingering attachment to idol activities?"
"Pshh, among all of us, where would you find someone with as much lingering attachment to being an idol as A-ra unnie."
"That's true. A-ra Noona was the most downcast about it."
But after Arin was born, she completely changed her mind.
She even beamed and said she'd done well to quit idol activities quickly, which flustered me at the time.
"Anyway, I'll come to wake you when it's time for dinner."
"To wake us?"
"You take a nap too. The left side of Arin is empty, so she looks cold."
Eun-ji said that one line, then chuckled and went outside.
Arin looks cold, what reason could there be.........
"Daddy... I'm cold..."
Ah, no, she really was cold.
I'm sorry, my daughter.
***
Right when the clock struck exactly 18, A-ra opened her eyes.
As expected, she definitely had a digital clock installed in her belly button.
If not, how could you explain waking up perfectly on time for dinner?
She immediately woke Arin up, they ate dinner, and then went into a fishing supply store near the hotel.
It wasn't as big as the stores in Seoul, but since it was Busan, close to Japan, it had a lot of Japanese-made fishing gear and was called a holy ground.
"As expected, should I just buy a Shimano rod..."
"Mom. Buy me this."
Seeing the small smelt rod Arin had brought over, A-ra held out her hand to take it.
She briefly checked its elasticity and strength, then nodded.
"My daughter, are you trying to catch even an octopus?"
"Don't they have godori here?"
"There probably are some... Well, it'll be fine."
Saying it was better to buy an expensive one and use it many times than to buy something cheap that might break and ruin her daughter's mood, she decided to buy the one Arin had brought.
I hadn't seen the price tag, but it was the small smelt rod placed right next to the Shimano rods A-ra was looking at.
It was probably incredibly expensive.
"Keuh... You know your stuff, boss, buying the Stella SW."
"Personally, I prefer the design of the BB-X, though."
"Still, for that taut, solid feel, the Stella is better, so you won't be disappointed."
Well, that figures.
One reel costs around a million won; if it weren't good, that itself would be a big problem.
Anyway, A-ra checked out with five fishing rods, one smelt rod, and five reels.
In the past, I would've been horrified, but now the sight of paying over ten million won in a lump sum doesn't faze me at all.
"But why are you buying so many fishing rods?"
"Gifts for our party members."
"Aha... is that so? What's the real ulterior motive?"
"Hehe, when else would I get the chance to splurge on fishing rods at an offline store?"
A-ra Noona liked expensive things, but she also liked cheap things.
It's because, while the enjoyment aspect of her hobbies is there, the collecting tendency is also extremely strong.
Of course, that didn't mean the items A-ra Noona bought were cheap.
No matter how dulled my sense of money had gotten, I didn't think those items were cheap.
But wasn't relativity unavoidable?
Considering how A-ra spends money, I couldn't help but think of them as cheap.
"Alright! Then let's go fishing!"
"Let's go~!"
Seeing Arin mimicking A-ra's actions exactly, I chuckled.
Could fishing really be that enjoyable...?