My Girlfriend Is Very Good To Me [EN]: Chapter 176

Ep. 175

Weekend family outing. I always welcome outings with just us, but honestly, I’m running out of ideas for where to go.

Because Heena and Sarang both love spending time with me, we try to go somewhere together at least once every two weeks.

So there’s almost no place we haven’t been, and almost nothing we haven’t done. Sarang wants to go to the playground, but a playground feels a bit underwhelming for a family outing.

So, after much deliberation, we decided on:

“How about a room cafe?”

“Sounds good, right, Sarang?”

“Yeah! I like it! Mommy, I want waffles!”

“Then waffles and bagels… and pick a drink too. What about you?”

“I’ll have a latte.”

“I’ll have chocolate!”

It was a room cafe near our house. I considered a multi-room [a cafe with private rooms for various activities], but playing games even when we’re out felt like a bit much. Besides, this room cafe also had rooms with TVs. And it was cleaner too.

After ordering and paying at the counter, we received our drinks and desserts and went into our room.

As I stepped inside, I felt a strange sense of nostalgia.

“Heena, remember? We used to come here sometimes.”

“Of course, I remember~”

“I can’t believe this place is still around. So many places nearby have closed down.”

It had been so long since I last came that my memory was hazy, but the interior seemed to have changed quite a bit.

I remember there used to be a lot of cute little decorations, but now it felt like they had cleared them all out and gone for a clean, modern style.

“Me! Me, waffle!”

“Daddy will cut it for you~ Wait, don’t sit on my lap, Daddy has a knife.”

“Okay~”

“Is the chocolate latte good?”

“Yeah! It’s delicious! Super sweet!”

“Let Mommy have a sip~”

“Here!”

While the two of them shared the drink amicably, I cut the bagel and waffle into easy-to-eat pieces. The cut surfaces were incredibly clean, truly the work of a master craftsman. After cutting food for Sarang for several years, my skills had improved dramatically.

I inwardly praised my own skills and pushed the plate to the center. And then, just as I was about to take a piece with my fork…

“Ah~”

“……”

Heena and Sarang immediately opened their mouths side by side like baby birds. They didn’t even seem to consider using the fork themselves.

The way they acted was so similar.

In the end, I gave up on eating and pointed the fork towards Sarang.

“Aaaah!”

The big baby bird made a dissatisfied sound. So, I turned the fork towards her.

“Aaaah~!”

This time, the little baby bird was in an uproar. Showing the inside of their pretty mouths as if competing, the mother and daughter waited for me, and I sighed.

This wasn’t the first time this had happened. Thanks to my past experiences, I also knew a simple solution.

I immediately grabbed another fork with my left hand, took another waffle, and fed it to both of them at the same time.

They both looked a little dissatisfied, but choosing one of them was impossible for me. I didn’t have the confidence to handle the aftermath.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah! Daddy~ More! Give me more!”

“Honey, me too.”

“Okay. Both of you, open up.”

“Ah~”

Right. What does it matter if I eat? The most important thing is that Sarang and Heena enjoy it.

After feeding them and finishing the desserts, we sat side by side on the low sofa and watched TV. Actually, the TV was just on as background noise, and both of them were just relaxing, leaning against me on either side.

It seemed no different from being at home, but doing it outside felt different. The drinks and waffles were also delicious.

—

After a leisurely time at the room cafe, we originally planned to go to the park. We were going to take a slow walk there and then head to wherever we felt like going, but on the way, Yoonsung suddenly came to mind. My friend who was still spending his days working hard at the snack bar.

His official title was still hall manager, but in reality, Yoonsung was practically running the place now. The auntie [term of endearment for an older woman] had handed over most of the management to Yoonsung and was now resting or occasionally helping out in the kitchen.

Thanks to that, Yoonsung had become even busier, and it had been hard to see him lately, so I had been telling him to come out and hang out in our group chat. So, I decided to take this opportunity to see Yoonsung’s face and headed that way.

I contacted him before going, just in case he was busy.

“Yo-! Long time no see!”

[What. I’m hanging up if you’re going to talk nonsense.]

“I’m taking Heena and Sarang there now, are you busy? If you’re busy, I’ll see you next time.”

[Hey, you son of a… I’m not busy! Come! Come for sure! Let’s see Sarang’s face for the first time in a while!]

“Oh, prepare some delicious tteokbokki [spicy rice cakes]~ It’ll take about 30 minutes to get there.”

[Come quickly!]

“Okay~”

The atmosphere was so welcoming that there was nothing to hesitate about.

“Sarang. Do you remember Uncle Yoonsung?”

“Tteokbokki Uncle?”

“That’s right. Let’s go eat tteokbokki at that uncle’s place, and then go get ice cream.”

“I want to go! I want to eat tteokbokki and ice cream!”

“Heena, is it okay?”

“Yeah~ One day of junk food is fine.”

Then, a little late, I also checked if it was okay with Sarang and Heena. Although they would never refuse if I said I wanted to go anyway.

I also got Heena’s permission for today’s snacks. Getting scolded by Heena for feeding Sarang too many snacks or junk food without telling her was the same as always.

Unchanged, I still get scolded by Heena for that issue sometimes…

Anyway, I immediately grabbed a taxi and headed to the snack bar. And the snack bar, which took about 20 minutes to reach, was the same as it used to be.

Come to think of it, I had a lot of memories here too. I had brought Sarang here when she was younger, I had worked here as a part-timer when I was in high school, and Heena had secretly come to see me while I was working. Was that when we had just started dating?

All memories, memories.

-Ding-dong!

“Welcome… What, you’re here?”

Opening the door, I saw Yoonsung’s face, happy but embarrassed to be so happy, frowning.

“We’ve arrived. But there really aren’t many customers?”

“It was a bit busy during lunch. Anyway… Wow~ Sarang has really grown up a lot!”

“Hello, Tteokbokki Uncle!”

“Yeah~ Tell me everything you want to eat! Uncle will bring it all to you!”

“Really?!”

“Of course~ Oh, and Heena, it’s been a while.”

“Yeah. It’s been a while~ Oh, right. We’ll pay today. We’ve always just eaten for free.”

At Heena’s gesture of taking out her card, he waved his hand as if to say it wasn’t necessary. But I felt a little sorry for not having paid here before.

Still, seeing him like that, I didn’t think he would accept the card even if I handed it over.

“Hey, thanks. Contact me on your day off later. I’ll treat you to a full course dinner on a weekday evening.”

“Thanks, Yoonsung.”

“What. Anyway… Sarang. Would you like to take a picture with Uncle?”

“Yes!”

“Alright! Then look over here and say cheese~”

“Kimchi~” [A common phrase said when taking pictures in Korea]

Sarang naturally struck a pose and looked at the phone camera, even with the sudden request for a photo.

Heena liked taking pictures so much, and everyone—family, relatives, friends—had taken a lot of pictures with Sarang. Thanks to that, Sarang was very used to this.

But if I took a two-shot with Sarang, wouldn’t that be like paying for all the tteokbokki? That guy is probably taking it to show off in the group chat. The group chat will be super noisy today.

Yoonsung held the phone and grinned for a moment after taking the picture, then headed towards the kitchen. Come to think of it, why is the kitchen auntie coming out to help with the hall cleaning once in a while?

Seeing that there were no other part-timers besides the kitchen aunties, it was either their day off or they had run away… Weekends are better than weekdays, so it’s probably their day off.

“Honey. I’m going to take Sarang to the bathroom.”

“Okay. You know where it is, right?”

“Of course~ I even remember the password.”

Heena took Sarang’s hand and went inside the store. She was probably going to wash Sarang’s hands and touch up her makeup.

And while the two of them were gone for a moment, Yoonsung delivered tteokbokki and fried food to our table.

No, why is it so fast?

“What’s with the tteokbokki coming out right away?”

“Tteokbokki is always made in advance, you idiot. I prepared the fried food right after I got your call.”

“Oh~”

“Eat well. Tell me if you want anything else.”

“Thanks. Sit down for a bit. There aren’t any customers right now.”

“Should I?”

At my words, he pulled up a chair and sat next to me.

“How are you these days? Is it okay to work at the company?”

“How else would it be? Same as always.”

“That’s a relief. But Sarang really looks exactly like Heena more and more every day.”

“Her eyes look like mine.”

“Hehe. Let’s just say that’s true.”

“Do you want to die?”

We had a meaningless, silly conversation for a while. Really, we hadn’t changed from the old days.

We used to play basketball and games together almost every day in middle and high school, but now we’re about to turn 30.

Maybe it’s because I don’t see him often, but when I talk to him face to face like this instead of texting, there’s a sense of longing in a corner of my heart.

“Does Sarang still only follow you around?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Is it really because she’s Lee Heena’s daughter… It’s about time she became independent.”

“Ah, don’t talk nonsense. Sarang will stick with me forever.”

“Whatever. She’ll probably say, ‘Dad, you’re annoying! Don’t come into my room!’ soon.”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“I’m going to kill you~”

“Ha…”

He makes a face that makes me want to punch him and jokes around. I seriously considered pouring the tteokbokki on the floor by accident. It’s so annoying.

He teases me with the same repertoire every time I see him, and it pisses me off every time. Our Sarang would never do that.

Yoonsung, who had been laughing for a while, continued.

“Doesn’t Sarang say things like that? Like she wants to marry Dad.”

“She doesn’t. Honestly, isn’t that all just asking a question with a predetermined answer and getting the answer you want? She said that when she was very young.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.”

“Hmm…”

At those words, Yoonsung was lost in thought for a moment. I was wondering why he was suddenly like this, when Heena and Sarang returned to their seats.

“You’re already out? We’ll enjoy the food~”

“Yeah, eat well.”

“Uncle! Thank you for the food!”

“Sarang, you eat well too~ But Sarang.”

“Yes?”

Yoonsung, who was smiling happily at Sarang’s polite words, suddenly called out to Sarang as he stood up from his seat.

Sarang, who had her eyes on the tteokbokki and was holding a fork, turned her head and looked at Yoonsung.

“Who are you going to marry when you grow up, Sarang?”

“Hey, hey. Don’t do that.”

I immediately stopped this idiot from asking such an absurd question. If Sarang were to say the name of a celebrity or a classmate and say she wanted to marry that person, my heart would be shattered.

But Sarang, without a moment’s hesitation, smiled brightly and answered Yoonsung’s useless question.

“I’m going to marry Daddy when I grow up!”

Wait, you’re going to marry Daddy?!?

No! Is that really true, Sarang?! This changes everything!

“Really?! Han Sarang. Daddy will remember this. You can’t say something else when you grow up…”

“Heung…”

“……”

Oops.