For some reason, I found her incredibly cute.
—
Next came our first summer vacation together.
We took a day trip to the beach, catching an early morning train and returning on a late bus that arrived in the early hours. Hee-yun didn’t seem too fond of the bus, but it was the only way to get back so late.
“Yeon-ah, are your legs tired? Sit here.”
“Can I sit on the suitcase? I’m heavy; won’t it break?”
“What are you talking about? You’re so light, I’m worried you’ll blow away.”
“Hey, you know that’s a total exaggeration, right?”
Dressed in matching couple outfits, we stuck close, being lovey-dovey from the moment we left the train station.
After arriving in Sokcho, having lunch, we finally reached the beach.
“…Aren’t you staring a bit intensely?”
“You’re so beautiful, I’m speechless. That swimsuit looks amazing on you. Really.”
“…Thank you.”
I had put a lot of thought into wearing it; it wasn’t a bikini, but a [pareo swimsuit](a wraparound skirt) that showed a fair amount of skin. My boyfriend stared at me without hesitation.
Feeling satisfied yet slightly embarrassed by his intense reaction, I also glanced at Hee-yun now and then.
After a bit of hesitation, we played in the water and built sandcastles, enjoying the day by buying snacks from nearby food stalls.
And about two hours before taking the bus back home, as we strolled hand-in-hand along the darkened beach…
“Yeon-ah.”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
Hee-yun launched into a long, wistful confession. My heart fluttered, but it didn’t make sense to hear such gratitude for this relationship, to which I felt I should be bowing a hundred, a thousand times in thanks.
“Hey, Lee Hee-yun.”
“Huh? Ugh!”
I grabbed his collar, pulled him towards me, and silenced him with my lips. Thanks to that, our first kiss might have lacked a bit of atmosphere.
Shortly after, Hee-yun gently hugged me and gave me an even deeper kiss.
We managed to end it on a somewhat romantic note.
Our relationship started with a sudden confession, and we were slowly closing the subtle distance between us.
From that day on, we spent even happier days together.
“…Still, that guy, he says all that but never makes a move.”
“Did you want him to make a move?”
“?!?! Y-you! When did you get here!”
“Just now. More importantly, if you want it that much… I won’t hold back?”
“…”
“Huh? Yeon-ah.”
“D-do as you please…”
While doing things like that.
Next Episode
Our family’s living room, where we cheerfully chatter every day.
We were sitting around the table in front of the sofa, having a serious meeting.
Well.
To be honest, the most serious one was Hee-na. Despite being in her late thirties, she still hadn’t lost her beauty, my beautiful wife.
Thanks to Hee-na and Sarang’s help, I managed to take care of myself to some extent, so I still had almost no wrinkles, but compared to Hee-na, I was still an old man. Sad, so sad.
Anyway, Hee-na was resting her chin on her hand with a shadow on her face, and Sarang was also stiffening her face next to her.
-Heh heh
She couldn’t help but smirk, subtly showing a smile. Lastly, our cute youngest, Somang, leaned on me, enjoying her phone game, regardless of what the two were doing.
A sad person, a person pretending to be sad, a person with no thoughts, and me, who secretly thought this wasn’t something to be so serious about.
The reason why we were doing this at a slightly late Tuesday evening, when we would normally be bustling, was because of the bad news Hee-na brought last night.
—
“Honey… what should I do…?”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
Last night.
Hee-na, who came home later than usual, hugged me with a gloomy face as soon as she got home. I gently hugged my wife, wondering if something big had happened at work, and asked her why.
And the reason I heard was.
“I… I have a business trip abroad starting next week… for fifteen days…”
“Hmm. Um.”
“What should I do…”
“Huh? Is that all?”
“Is that all?! It’s fifteen days!! I won’t be able to see your face for fifteen days!”
“…That’s really a big deal! What should we do?”
Surprisingly, it wasn’t the kind of big deal where a project fell through, a subordinate made a big mistake, or she got caught up in office politics.
It was just a business trip abroad. She had gone occasionally before. However, she had managed to cover it up somehow, so she never went for more than a week, but this time it was a relatively long schedule.
However, I didn’t think it was something to take so seriously, so it was a little hard to sympathize. Of course, I couldn’t show that in front of Hee-na.
I’d be quite lonely if I couldn’t see Hee-na for fifteen days, but if I spent time with the kids, that would be over soon… Ah, from Hee-na’s point of view, it might be harder because she can’t see not only me but also the kids.
I didn’t have anything to say to my cute wife, who was stamping her feet in front of me, wondering what to do. I couldn’t tell her not to go.
So a day passed, and today, after Hee-na got off work, the whole family gathered in the evening for a meeting.
—
In fact, even if we had a meeting, there was nothing Somang and I could do. We had no say. Somang was still too young, and I couldn’t take sides with either of them.
“Han Sarang. From today until the weekend, Mom will monopolize Dad. Keep that in mind.”
“No way! Mom said she’s going to get off work at about the same time as me starting tomorrow! When am I going to play with Dad then!”
“Mom won’t be able to see Dad for fifteen days!”
“T-that’s true, but…”
“Admit it, or not?”
“Ugh…!”
The two’s heated debate seemed like it would end with Hee-na’s unilateral offensive. It seemed that Sarang could fully sympathize with the fact that she wouldn’t be together for fifteen days.
Besides, if she only endured for a week, Sarang or Somang would get to monopolize me in reverse.
However, Sarang had a resentful look on her face, but then she recalled what would happen after Hee-na went on a business trip, and the corners of her mouth twitched. On the other hand, Hee-na’s face was quite dark, even though she had monopolized me as she wanted.
Watching the contrasting atmosphere of the two, I hugged Somang, who had somehow taken a seat on my lap.
“And until Mom leaves, Somang should graduate from Dad for a while too.”
“Mom, me too?”
“Both of you should try to get away from Dad this time. What if you keep holding on to Dad and making it hard for him all the time?”
“Hmph, Dad said he’s not having a hard time at all! Mom is the one who is!”
“Mom is okay!!”
“I’m okay too!!”
When the two started raising their voices again, Somang turned her head back and looked up at me.
“Can’t I play with Dad?”
“Um… can you let Somang give way to Mom for just a week? Then Dad will play with you a lot again.”
“Okay. I’ll give way because Mom will be very tired later.”
“Our Somang is so mature… Good girl, good girl.”
I felt like my eyes were about to turn red at the sight of my son saying that. My ten-year-old son is so mature, but my thirty-eight-year-old wife and eighteen-year-old daughter are fighting like that.
Anyway, they bickered until the end, but the conclusion was reached anyway. Hee-na would monopolize me during the evening hours and weekends for about a week before she went on a business trip.
Of course, there was no room for my opinion.
Is this what it means to be the head of the family?
—
After that, from Wednesday, Hee-na’s attack, which was much more intense than usual, began.
She couldn’t help it in the busy mornings preparing for work, but my wife, who was able to return home around 6 p.m. until her business trip, immediately approached me sitting on the sofa.
And.
“Hehehe, honey~”
-Kiss!
She climbed onto my lap and boldly showed affection, not caring at all whether the children were watching or not. Usually, she would come home much later than this, and Somang or Sarang would basically take up the space, so Hee-na would give way a lot.
But she was clinging to me as if there was no way she would do that for the next week. She even came straight after washing her hands, still in her suit. Hee-na in a white shirt and black suit was honestly very sexy.
Sometimes I would ask her to do something kinky in this outfit.
Anyway, the eyes of the children looking at my wife, who was acting cute to me in this state, seemed full of envy.
“…I’m going to play with Joo-rang from tomorrow.”
“Sister. Can I play with you too?”
“Do you want to? Does Somang want to play with Joo-eun noona [older sister]?”
“Yes. I like Joo-eun noona.”
“Then let’s play together~ Joo will like it too.”
Sarang, unable to bear to watch this, decided to come home late from tomorrow, and Somang joined in.
I was worried about my children’s reaction, so I had my ears open to that side, and I was relieved that Sarang seemed to be playing with Somang for a while.
And I even thought that this might be a really good opportunity. Of course, I was happy that my son and daughter liked me, but I never wanted them to become estranged from their friends because of that.
Just like I have maintained good relationships with my friends to this day, the friendships in middle and high school often last a lifetime.
By the way.
“Eung..”
“Hee-na. Let’s just go into the room. Sarang and Somang will be uncomfortable.”
“Shall we? Then I’ll wash up quickly… no, let’s wash up together!”
“Um…”
When I turned my eyes to the children again at that, I saw Sarang hugging Somang and deciding what to do tomorrow.
It seemed like they were deliberately staying away because of Hee-na’s request(?), so I thought it would be okay to go in together.
Of course, our children would know that Hee-na and I often wash together, but it was a bit much to do it so openly.
With the consideration of our kind children, I decided to do my best for my wife, who would be suffering from a business trip from next week.
I looked up slightly at Hee-na, who was hugging my neck with both arms, and whispered softly in her ear.
“Then today… shall we wash our Hee-na clean in every nook and cranny?”
“…! Yes! Please!”
Looking at her face, which brightened at my words, and her eyes, which began to burn, it seemed like we would have to wash in the master bathroom. It’s much smaller than the bathroom in the living room.
Looking at Hee-na’s atmosphere, it didn’t seem like it would end with just washing her, but there was a bit of a soundproofing problem with using the bathtub in the living room bathroom.
—
Like that, during the weekdays.
Hee-na acted cute to me with all her might, as if she had gone back to the old days, and I also accepted it diligently. Sarang and Somang also came home late on purpose for their mother, or even if they were together, they gave us a lot of consideration so that we could be alone.
They seemed to be having so much fun playing with the three of them, including Joo-eun, that I was a little worried.
Of course, worry is worry, and I also started to feel quite excited about the time alone with Hee-na after a long time.
Early Friday evening, three days before Hee-na’s business trip.
Sarang and Somang went out again today, saying they would play with Joo-eun, and we sat in the living room, watching a movie leisurely. Hee-na was sitting between my legs, and I was hugging her from behind.
Then suddenly, Hee-na burst into a small laugh.
“Heheheh…”
“What’s wrong, why all of a sudden?”
“Do you remember that? When we first started dating, we used to watch movies together like this at your house.”
Of course I remember. Wasn’t that when we were about to have our first kiss, but your mom and dad came in and we couldn’t?
“When I first went to play at your house, right?”
“Yeah~ When our first kiss failed!”
“Wow… that’s really a memory. That was 20 years ago.”
“I know. That was a really long time ago…”
Hee-na, still with a voice full of laughter, seemed to be wistfully recalling that day. It’s a nostalgic memory. If I rummage through the photo album, there will probably be quite a few pictures we took together that day.
Thinking that, I gently grabbed Hee-na’s chin, who was sitting in front of me, with one hand and gave her strength to turn her towards me.
Then, as Hee-na’s head naturally turned, I also slightly tilted my head to the side and kissed Hee-na’s lips.
-Kiss
I ended the kiss, which I must have done thousands, tens of thousands of times, and smiled at Hee-na.
“Was I trying to do this back then?”
“Hmm~ If we had, wouldn’t we have done it more intensely?”
“Well, our Hee-na is so pretty, there’s no way I would have ended it with this, right?”
“That’s right~”
I wouldn’t have done my first kiss like that in those fresh days.
Eventually, with the movie put on the back burner, Hee-na turned her body towards me and faced me, and we continued a long kiss once again.
After sharing an intense skinship that was suffocating for a while, Hee-na opened her mouth with a slightly flushed face.
“Honey, let’s go on a date tomorrow for the first time in a long time. Just the two of us.”
“Sarang and Somang are helping us like this, so of course we have to.”
“Heheheh… That’s right. Our kids are so nice~”
We had occasionally gone on dates just the two of us before, but it had been a really long time since we had spent the whole weekend together like this. Our daughter wouldn’t let us go if she could help it.
With that, we made a date for the weekend, and we started planning what to do one by one.
Like when we were in high school.
Unable to hide our excited hearts.
Next Episode
And the weekend morning came.
After eating breakfast with the children, Hee-na and I finished preparing to go out. At the request of our wife, who still likes couple looks, we dressed up nicely together.
“Have a good time~ I’ll take good care of Somang!”
“Mom, Dad. Have a good time.”
“Thank you both. Then I’ll be back.”
“Lock the door!”
We held hands and left the house, receiving the send-off from the children who understood their mother’s heart, even though they bickered with me every day.
Hee-na’s footsteps, walking slightly ahead, conveyed her undisguised joy and excitement.
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had such a relaxing time, right?”
“Because you’ve been so busy. Doesn’t that company make you work too much?”
“Hehe, I guess so.”
We didn’t head straight somewhere, but slowly took a walk and had a leisurely conversation. Basically, Hee-na was very busy, and when we were with the children, the basic atmosphere was boisterous, so this leisurely time was really rare.
Hee-na’s hand, intertwined with mine, was softly overlapping, and her eyes, looking at me slightly, were always full of love and affection.
It was a gaze that was nothing new, but I realized it again. That I am the happiest man in the world.
I have been receiving such devotion from my wife for 20 years, and it will continue to be so in the future.
—
I had been thinking about what to do today whenever I had time for the past few days, but I wasn’t really thinking of doing anything particularly special. I didn’t want to go far away with just the two of us, leaving the children behind.
So what we chose was just an ordinary date. Even if what we did was ordinary, the fact that we spent a long time with just the two of us was now a rare occurrence. Sarang and Somang were always by our side.
“The only movies we haven’t seen have a 19+ rating [restricted for audiences 19 years and older].”
“Isn’t it okay sometimes? We’re going to do it later too~”
“I guess so. Shall we warm up with this?”
On weekends, we often stayed together at home, but there were also quite a few days when we went on family outings. And the movie theater was often included in the course of that outing, so we had seen almost all the movies that were released at that time.
Movies that Sarang heard were fun from her friends, or hero movies that Somang liked.
Thanks to that, among the movies we hadn’t seen at the movie theater today, the only one worth watching was a romantic comedy with a 19+ rating.
And about two hours later.
I definitely saw the movie, but honestly, I didn’t remember a single thing about the content. It was a movie that was relatively less popular than other movies, and that’s why there were almost no people sitting around us.
So throughout the screening time, Hee-na touched my body here and there with bold hands and played around. I also fought back without giving in. That’s why I didn’t have anything left in my head. I was focused on the hand movements.
In the end, I left with only my body heated up, leaving behind even the popcorn and cola.
“Honey, shall we just go do it?”
“Honestly, I’m a little tempted, but let’s hold on a little longer. It’s been a long time since we’ve been on a date.”
“That’s right~ Then give me a kiss.”
“Lips.”
“Ung~”
-Kiss
I stopped Hee-na, who was trying to change her destination right away at noon, and kissed her small lips.
I’ve heard that women’s sex drive gets stronger as they get older, but Hee-na didn’t really feel like that. It just felt like she had a strong sex drive from the beginning, and it has continued to this day.
Anyway, after appeasing Hee-na with a short kiss, we had lunch at a restaurant near the movie theater.
“Ah~”
“Ah.”
Feeding each other and being fed.
I wondered if it was a bit crazy at my age, which was approaching forty, but it wasn’t like I was harming anyone. Besides, Hee-na was so young that she was able to cover it up. You could say she looked like a young couple.
After that, we enjoyed a cup of coffee after the meal at a nearby cafe, and then walked around leisurely.
“Cook…”
I couldn’t help but laugh softly.
“Honey, why?”
“No… just. Because I’m happy.”
Hee-na asked me why at my sudden laughter, but the only thing I could say was really that. I was really happy to be on a date with my wife after a long time.
When we were walking down the street together, it felt like the countless dates we had had were passing by one by one before my eyes.
There were times when we would take a walk all day, and there were times when we would spend time alone in a room cafe all day.
There was no unique cafe in this neighborhood that we hadn’t been to, such as escape room cafes, animal cafes, or fishing cafes, and there was nothing we hadn’t done, such as sticker photos, batting centers, VR games, etc.
That was sometimes with just Hee-na, sometimes with friends, and sometimes with family.
Over the course of 20 years, I have really accumulated countless memories in this neighborhood.
And even now, I am still holding hands with Hee-na and walking down this street.
“When I thought about the dates we’ve had around here so far, it was kind of fun.”
“Really? We’re going to go on a lot of dates in the future, so what are you going to do if you’re already like that~”
“Do you count family outings as dates?”
“A date is only a date when it’s just the two of us!”
“Will Sarang and Somang give us more opportunities like this?”
“Won’t they graduate from Dad when they both get a boyfriend or girlfriend?”
“Um…”