Rainy Day (2)
Rainy Day (2)
Was it because it was vacation?
Was it because I had just finished eating?
Or was it because it was raining outside?
Lying around in the living room with A-ra, the cold air conditioner breeze blowing over us,
I felt like even the world's troubles were too much bother.
I even felt a little sleepy.
"I have to do the dishes and laundry..."
I murmured quietly to no one in particular.
Then, A-ra, who had been lounging beside me looking at her phone, caught the remark like a volleyball toss and began to answer.
"Take your time~ Noona will help you too."
A-ra smiled happily.
Having stuffed her belly full of delicious pajeon,
she seemed intent on thoroughly enjoying her two-day holiday.
A-ra certainly deserved it.
The problem was that I didn't.
"No, Noona, you rest well. The housework is something I should be doing."
As someone who was practically a housewife,
my pride wouldn't allow me to leave the housework to my wife as well.
Though, come to think of it, the housework
was really just cleaning, dishes, and laundry.
And on top of that, the robot vacuum did all the cleaning,
the dishwasher did the dishes,
and the washing machine and dryer took care of all the laundry.
This wouldn't do.
If I didn't do something, I'd really become nothing but a freeloader rolling around the house.
I sprang up from the living room floor where I'd been lounging.
I had to find something to do.
Just then, A-ra grabbed my arm and pulled herself up,
shaking her head from side to side.
"Seong-hwan-a, if there's no work, don't go making it. Rest up~"
"Umm..."
"That's workaholism. You need to rest when it's time to rest."
Then, she slowly sat me back down on the floor
and hugged me tightly like a body pillow.
The feeling of her soft chest and the fragrant, sweet Dolce & Gabbana perfume
nearly made my body react with a jolt,
but I shook off the sweet temptation and sprang up once more.
"I'll just do the dishes and come back."
"Just do what's necessary and come back~"
A-ra, who had languidly waved her hand to see me off,
rested her head on a pillow and pressed the power button on the remote to turn on the TV.
***
Only after finishing all the dishes and laundry, cleaning the toilet and bathroom,
and then taking a refreshing shower,
did I lie down next to A-ra.
Just like two hours ago, A-ra
was lounging looking at her phone,
with the TV and the sound of rain as background music.
I'd finished most things, so I could rest a bit now, right?
Did I miss anything?
I began to think it over carefully once more.
"Oh, right. I completely forgot about that."
I took my phone out of my pocket and accessed social media.
The only things I'd posted so far were a few promotional photos,
but my follower count had already increased significantly.
At this rate, would people believe me if I said my followers were breeding on their own?
Director had said it was important to post things like pictures once or twice a week
to communicate with the fans.
She said I didn't need to pay attention to the comments,
but could you really call that communication then?
Well, since I was a good kid,
I just had to do as Director told me.
I poked A-ra in the side as she was lounging around.
A-ra, who was looking this way with her head tilted,
had a face just like a puppy.
Like a Pomeranian.
"Noona, please take a picture of me."
"A picture? Couldn't I just send you a decent one I already have?"
"Huh?"
For a moment, I tilted my head, not understanding what A-ra meant.
Did she mean she had pictures of me?
A-ra hummed through her nose and began to search her phone's photo album,
bundled a few files together so I could see them all at once,
and held it out to me.
"How about these? I only picked out the ones where you look really good."
On the phone A-ra held out,
there were not only pictures taken in Japan, but also various others from our dates, or when I was sleeping.
Ah, there were even some mixed in from the hot spring.
If I posted something like that, wouldn't my SNS account get permanently suspended?
I heard there's a Safety AI that automatically locks an account
if a photo containing more than a certain ratio of bare skin is uploaded, even without explicit exposure.
Anyway, for photos taken with a phone,
the quality was quite decent, and they looked good.
However, it was a little strange that the subject in them wasn't A-ra herself,
but me.
"...Not these. I need a photo taken just now to upload on social media."
Private photos like these were a bit much.
Because they were memories I spent with A-ra, I wanted to keep them as just our own memories.
Did a photo meant to be shown to other people
need to contain the smile I only showed to A-ra?
I wanted only A-ra to see my genuine smile.
And conversely, I wished I was the only one who saw A-ra's genuine smile, too.
"But the fans would all love them?"
"I wouldn't like it. They're our private memories, aren't they?"
"Yeah... you're right..."
A-ra nodded, as if she understood.
Then, she shoved her phone into her pocket and got up from her spot.
"So, should I just take one for you then?"
"Yes, please just take a normal one."
I sat on an island chair in the kitchen, crossed my legs, and posed holding a mug as if drinking tea.
The Qtube camera made a clicking sound and flashed.
Since several expensive lights were already on,
the camera flash probably wasn't necessary.
"With this quality, you could probably work as a model right away?"
A-ra was peering into the camera, narrowing her eyes.
It seemed a photo that even the photographer found satisfactory had been taken on the first try.
"Then please send it to me."
"Just a moment... Sending it to myself first... Save complete."
A-ra, busy serving her own personal interests,
sent it to herself first, then sent the photo to me via chat.
Hmm, it certainly wasn't bad, better than I expected.
Even if the original subject played a part, our house's kitchen was quite pretty,
so perhaps due to the luxurious interior, it exuded a bright and high-end atmosphere.
I roughly uploaded it to social media
and attached a short greeting.
[Please enjoy Nobel Bakery products.]
Usually, most people post photos with messages of thanks to fans,
but to break away from that mannerism, I decided to post an advertisement.
This should make me look a bit like a manly man.
I hoped the community would be plastered with posts calling me boy-crush or whatever.
***
I was startled by the sudden ringtone.
How dare it disturb this peaceful time spent watching TV while touching A-ra's chest.
If it was Jeonghun or Lee Min-ho, I would bring down the hammer.
I fumbled for the phone ringing noisily on the sofa
and barely managed to grab it.
The caller ID was simply written as 'Director'.
"Hello?"
- Seong-hwan-ssi! The photo you just uploaded!
"The photo? What about that photo?"
It hadn't even been an hour since I uploaded the photo
and Director already contacted me.
At first, I wondered if she called to scold me for turning my greeting into an advertisement,
but seeing that she mentioned the photo, that didn't seem to be the case.
Or, was there something strange captured in the photo?
Since I hadn't checked the reactions, I didn't know what was happening either.
- That photo, where did you take it!? What studio did you take it at?
Studio?
Did she mean a photo studio where you get pictures taken?
I took it simply at home, so why was she bringing up a photo studio?
"A studio? I took it at home."
- Then, who is the photographer?
"A photographer? I guess you could call her that? A-ra Noona took it for me..."
- ...A-ra? Really?
"What reason would I have to lie to Director?"
- Huh-huh...
I heard a huge sigh from the receiver.
No, it was closer to admiration than a sigh.
Then, the sound of her palm smacking her forehead echoed in a familiar rhythm.
This must be one of Director's habits—
smacking her forehead with her palm.
- Does A-ra have a talent for taking photos too?
"I'm not sure... She's a person with so many talents, you know."
- No matter what, being born with that much talent is just too unfair... No, okay, I got it. Sorry for contacting you on your day off.
After that, we exchanged some small talk about the world,
and Director hung up first.
"Was it the CEO unnie? You were talking about the photo. Did something happen?"
When I turned around, A-ra was chewing on cold, hard ice cream.
That was the one I bought earlier when we went to get the pajeon ingredients.
"Yes, I suddenly got a call. She asked who the photographer was."
"Photographer? Pfft..."
A-ra, who had been trying hard to hold it in, finally burst out laughing.
She'd just taken it the way she normally does, so she must have found it amusing that Director had misunderstood it that way.
As I watched that scene with a wry smile,
I began to wonder if all her other photos were similar.
"Noona, let me see your phone."
"Huh? Okay, but what for?"
I took A-ra's phone and unlocked the pattern.
The wallpaper was a picture of me, just as usual.
I wanted to look at some other things too,
but that would be rude, so I went into the camera folder of the gallery.
As I thought...
Looking at them now, the quality of the photos she took herself was quite impressive.
Things like aperture and other techniques the pros used were all applied.
Should I say she looked to be at least at the level of a skilled amateur?
"Noona really is... multi-talented."
"That kind of praise is embarrassing..."
A-ra smiled bashfully.
That aegyo might be a talent too, for all I knew.