Chapter 78
Chapter 78
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 78
Chapter Title: Our Summer Vacation Together (1)
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A week had passed since summer vacation began.
During that time, our family and Seol-i's family had diligently prepared for the trip...
"Kids~ You all ready~?"
"Yeah~!"
"Yes...!"
"Yes, we're ready."
And so, today, we were finally heading out on our trip.
By the way, since our family's car was bigger, Seol-i, Dasom, and I were all riding in it.
"Dasom, no moving around too much in the car, okay?"
"Yeah!!"
Dasom nodded vigorously, her eyes sparkling.
Truth be told, the one looking forward to this trip the most wasn't anyone else—it was Dasom. For the past couple of days, she'd been singing songs about the trip.
Come to think of it, from Dasom's perspective, this was her first family trip ever. The first time since she was born that the whole family was going somewhere together.
So of course she was excited.
Seol-i seemed quietly thrilled too. Her complexion looked better than usual, and a smile full of anticipation lit up her face.
More than anything...
"Dasom, let's have tons of fun when we get there, okay?"
"Yeah!!"
She'd been chatting with Dasom about the trip like that a lot.
Whether it was deliberate or not didn't matter—the important thing was that Dasom and Seol-i both looked super excited.
Watching the two of them so hyped up made even me feel great, and I smiled warmly. That's when I noticed Seol-i's clothes had gotten slightly caught in her seatbelt.
Probably because she was wearing thin clothes.
I leaned over toward her, unbuckled the seatbelt, and refastened it properly.
-Click!
The seatbelt clicked back into place perfectly, and Seol-i's clothes came free without issue.
I checked it over, then leaned back to my seat and said to her,
"There, all good now."
"Yeah, it is..."
Seol-i beamed at me, and no matter how many times I saw it, she was always so cute. That's what cuteness really was.
At that moment, Dasom giggled and shouted energetically,
"Leeeet's go~!"
Dad started driving as if he'd been waiting for those words...
"Dasom, shhh during driving~"
"Shhh...!"
Dasom made an exaggerated gesture promising to be quiet, and with that, our family, Seol-i, and Seol-i's family all set off for Busan together.
And...
-Zzzzzzz...
-Snoooore...
Before long, Dasom and Seol-i had drifted off to sleep.
Their adorable snoring made me want to burst out laughing.
"Son, why don't you catch some shut-eye too?"
"I'm good. Isn't it better to have someone to chat with?"
"Haha! True enough."
Dad let out a hearty laugh and nodded.
Though Mom seemed to think differently.
"Mom can keep Dad company. You should sleep like Seol-i and Dasom."
"No, really, I'm fine."
I really was fine. I wasn't sleepy at all.
I'd gone to bed early last night and slept longer than usual, and more than that...
...It might sound weird to say it, but I was incredibly excited for this trip too. Thrilled would be more accurate. I couldn't wait.
It was Dasom's first trip, but it was my first family trip too.
How could I not be happy?
Maybe sensing my determination, Mom stopped trying to get me to sleep. And so, the three of us—me, Mom, and Dad—started chatting away in the car while Seol-i and Dasom slept.
"Son, since it's just the three of us, what do you think of Seol-i?"
"Seol-i?"
"Yeah, Seol-i."
I knew exactly how to answer that question about what I thought of Seol-i.
"My best friend."
"Like, besties?"
"Yeah, besties."
"Really?"
Mom's question stumped me for a moment.
Yeah, I knew it in my head.
You don't hug opposite-sex friends like that in a normal friendship.
If I had to define our current relationship, it'd be something like more than friends but less than lovers, right?
"...Yeah, really."
But I didn't want to admit that. Escapism, I guess.
Seol-i was cute and pretty. She had plenty of appeal as a girl.
Me? I'd never received a confession in my life. I had zero romantic charm—just a boring guy.
Nothing special about me, nothing I was particularly good at. Just average.
Could a guy like me match up with Seol-i?
More than that, the way I felt about her still felt distant from true lover-like feelings.
When I hugged her, my heart would race, and sometimes I'd have these slightly impure thoughts.
But alongside that, images of her cute side would flash through my mind.
Her fragile, adorable moments that felt like they shouldn't be touched.
Memories of looking after her since we were kids, just because we were friends.
When those memories piled up, my mind concluded that hugging her was "wrong" or "something I shouldn't do."
I didn't even understand myself. What did I want? What kind of relationship did I want with her?
I liked Seol-i, sure. That feeling was definitely there. But somewhere inside, I also saw her like a little sister.
With these two incompatible feelings, dating her was impossible.
"What should I do..."
I had no idea. None at all.
What I should do, how I should feel, how I should treat her.
Absolutely nothing.
With my mind in such turmoil, we kept driving toward Busan when...
"Let's take a quick break~"
We decided to stop at a rest area.
To give Dad and Seol-i's dad a chance to rest a bit, and to fill our growling stomachs while we were at it.
*
"Go buy some snacks~"
"Okay~!"
Dasom took off running, and Seol-i and I had no choice but to chase after her.
When Dasom finally stopped, she stared at the snack stands with sparkling eyes.
All sorts of street snacks spread out before us, and Dasom started pointing at them excitedly with her finger.
"Walnut pastries! Walnut pastries!!"
"Dasom wants walnut pastries?"
"Yeah! Walnut pastries! And fish-shaped buns!"
Dasom nodded and giggled at Seol-i's question.
For her, Seol-i and I headed to the walnut pastry stand and bought some.
"One ten-thousand-won worth, please."
"Sure~"
A full bag of walnut pastries was thrust toward us in an instant.
"Thank you~"
"Thaaank you...!"
Seol-i and Dasom bowed to the shop auntie, and I did the same.
After buying the walnut pastries, I asked Seol-i,
"Seol-i, what do you want?"
"Hmm... Marble ice cream?"
"Sounds good. Let's go get some marble ice cream."
Next up was Seol-i's marble ice cream, but that plan got scrapped soon after.
"Want gelato?"
"Gelato...!"
Because I spotted a gelato stand.
Seol-i nodded and headed over...
"One strawberry gelato, please!"
"Sure~ Strawberry gelato coming up~"
She picked strawberry without a second thought.
Seol-i gazed happily at the chewy strawberry gelato, while Dasom, now in my arms, grinned at the walnut pastries in my hand.
"Dasom, big bro Haneul's getting tired. Want to come down now?"
"Aww, okay..."
Dasom climbed down with a reluctant voice, and I was finally free of her weight.
She was starting to get heavy. Holding her with one arm was getting nearly impossible.
"Oppa! Walnut pastry! Gimme walnut pastry!"
"Got it~"
I pulled a walnut pastry from the bag still in my hand and handed it to her.
Then I looked for something for myself...
And spotted the perfect snack.
"I'll go with that."
"That?"
"Yeah, butter-roasted potatoes."
I was craving something savory, and it was perfect timing.
I ordered a serving without hesitation, ending up with walnut pastries for Dasom and the parents, plus the potatoes.
"Let's head back to the car."
"Hey, Haneul."
"Yeah?"
"Want a bite? But in exchange..."
I knew what she meant.
Trade a bite of strawberry gelato for a bite of potatoes.
Not a bad idea at all, but...
"You sure?"
Unlike the potatoes, I couldn't scoop the gelato separately since it was on a cone.
Seol-i nodded right away and brought the strawberry gelato to my mouth.
I felt like I had to eat it or regret it forever, so I squeezed my eyes shut and took a small bite.
-Nom
-Munch munch
As I chewed the chewy strawberry gelato, Seol-i asked,
"How's it taste...?"
She looked super tense, so I immediately gave her a thumbs up.
Satisfied, she grinned, and I fed her a potato on a toothpick.
"Your turn."
"Ahh~"
Seol-i took a bite of the potato I'd given her, then broke into a meltingly happy smile.
Naturally, I handed her the toothpick with the remaining potato.
She took it and munched away at it deliciously.
Even the way she ate was so innocent and cute.
And at the same time...
-Thump
...Even watching her eat was starting to make my heart race.
This was all Dad's fault. That unnecessary question had done this.
Fortunately, there was one person who snapped me out of these stray thoughts.
"Oppa! Me too! Me too, potatoes!!"
Our Dasom, begging for potatoes.
"Dasom, ahh~"
"Ahhh~"
With her bright, sunny expression, mouth wide open, Dasom ate the potato and burst into giggles.
Dasom really was cuter than Seol-i.
But unconsciously, I realized there was a fundamental difference between Dasom's cuteness and Seol-i's.
I just chose to ignore it.