On the way to Taean, the kids didn't seem to be in a good mood, probably because they were in the car again. Even adults get tired of long car rides, so how much more would the kids? We took breaks to play along the way, but they were having a hard time enduring the accumulated fatigue.
Was it because the car was shaking? Even when I tried to show them cartoons on TV, they couldn't concentrate, and they showed a lukewarm reaction even when I gave them toys.
"Shi-hyun-ah, let's take a break."
"Are the kids really not doing well?"
"Yeah, I think we need to rest a bit."
"Okay, I think a rest stop will come out in about 10 minutes."
I told the sprawled-out kids that.
"They said we're going to rest in about 10 minutes."
"Mommy, choco."
Saet-byeol-i handed me the chocolate she had received from Father-nim.
"You want to eat it?"
"Uh."
The chocolate was melted from Saet-byeol-i's warmth, from how tightly she had been holding it.
It's not melted too much, so it should be okay.
I unwrapped it and popped it into Saet-byeol-i's mouth. Saet-byeol-i, who had looked listless, perked up a bit after eating the sweet chocolate.
"Shi-u, hang in there a little longer."
"Wanna drink water."
"Water? Okay."
Just in case Saet-byeol-i was also thirsty, I prepared water in two straw cups.
"Here, this is for Shi-u."
"Mom, me, me."
As expected, she probably wanted water because of the stickiness left in her mouth.
"Here, this is for Saet-byeol-i."
"Wow!"
She immediately grabbed the cup and sucked down the water. After quenching their thirst, the kids seemed a bit more comfortable.
Before long, Shi-hyun-i entered the rest stop, and we were able to get down on the ground.
"Let's take a break."
I left Saet-byeol-i with Shi-hyun-i and moved with Shi-u. Shi-u was drawn to the various snack smells at the rest stop and went to the sales stand.
"Looks yummy."
"It does, should we buy some?"
What should I buy? At a rest stop, there were often skewers or hot bars, and I also saw whole potatoes and walnut cakes.
"Can't see."
"You're going to look and choose?"
"Uh."
I picked up Shi-u and walked around the sales stand. Shi-u checked each one as if savoring it.
"What's this?"
"It's oden."
"Oden... I'll have this."
What Shi-u chose were hot bars. From there, I chose regular, shrimp, and sausage hot bars without any spicy flavor.
Various sauces were in a small refrigerator, and I sprinkled only ketchup and mustard sauce next to them. There were spicy sauces too, but I left them out since the kids couldn't eat them.
"Shall we go back? Or should we tell Daddy and Saet-byeol-i to come?"
"Um, wanna eat here."
It seems he's talking about the outdoor tables. I put the hot bars down at the place Shi-u had chosen and contacted Shi-hyun-i on my phone.
I told Shi-hyun-i that I bought hot bars and told him to come eat, and after explaining the location roughly, he replied that he understood.
Not long after the call ended, Shi-hyun-i came with Saet-byeol-i.
"Something to eat?"
"Yeah, there's something Saet-byeol-i likes too."
Saet-byeol-i's eyes lit up when she saw the sausage hot bar.
"Sausage!"
"Yes, it's sausage."
I cut it into bite-sized pieces with chopsticks and fed it to Saet-byeol-i, who ate it very deliciously.
"Mah-yi-jjeo!"
"Saet-byeol-ah, I told you not to talk when you have food in your mouth, right?"
Shi-hyun-i scolded Saet-byeol-i. Saet-byeol-i covered her mouth with her hand and pretended not to know. Shi-u also started eating the hot bar. The kids didn't even think about us and were just busy eating by themselves.
I was watching that with a pleased smile, but it seemed to bother Shi-hyun-i.
"Sung Shi-u, Sung Saet-byeol."
There was a sense of intimidation in his low voice, and the kids flinched and stopped their actions.
"Are you the only ones with mouths?"
"Ah."
Saet-byeol-i didn't seem to understand, but Shi-u did. Shi-u understood what Shi-hyun-i had said and realized what he had done wrong.
"I'm, I'm sorry."
Shi-u moved to the side with a guilty look and made room, and only then was Shi-hyun-i able to sit on the chair.
"You know what you did wrong, right?"
"Y-yes..."
Saet-byeol-i also realized that the situation was serious and was watching carefully. Then she looked at me and reached out her hand to be held. I hugged such Saet-byeol-i, and Saet-byeol-i avoided Shi-hyun-i's gaze.
"Don't you cover for Saet-byeol-i either."
"What would a kid know."
Shi-hyun-i seemed a little angry. The problem was that the kids were eating the food only among themselves without thinking. If they had at least said a word to us to try it, Shi-hyun-i wouldn't have been like this.
"Hoo, Saet-byeol-i might be able to do that, Shi-u-ya? But not you."
"Shi-hyun-ah, stop it, Shi-u understood too."
"Sung Shi-u, answer."
"I, I won't do that again."
I knew why Shi-hyun-i was scolding him, but it seemed like the atmosphere would be ruined if it continued like this.
"Stop it, do you have to do that on the way to have fun?"
"Hoo, okay, let's be careful next time."
Even though Shi-hyun-i closed his mouth, the atmosphere didn't improve.
"Shi-u-ya, it's okay, eat quickly."
"Okay..."
Shi-u was just picking at it with a sullen look. Saet-byeol-i was constantly avoiding his gaze because she was scared of Shi-hyun-i.
"The kids are scared."
I should have stepped in before Shi-hyun-i did. How stupid of me to just watch with a pleased smile....
"...Sorry."
Shi-hyun-i, who apologized, tried to lighten the mood by stroking Shi-u, but somehow Shi-u was even more scared. Where did the fun snack time go, and why did the atmosphere become so heavy?
"Eyy."
I sighed and picked up Shi-u as well. I hugged both kids and rubbed my cheeks against theirs.
"Shi-u-ya, Saet-byeol-ah, it's okay."
When I coddled them, Shi-u also buried his face in my chest.
"Daddy was too much, wasn't he?"
It wasn't just Shi-hyun-i's fault, but I said that for now. Shi-hyun-i didn't respond to my words and just apologized.
"I'm sorry."
The gloomy atmosphere didn't dissipate until we returned to the car. Shi-u and Saet-byeol-i didn't eat the remaining hot bars, so they were left over, and Shi-hyun-i disposed of them with his head down. My heart ached at how lonely he looked.
When we got to the camper, I immediately took the kids to the bedroom and separated them from Shi-hyun-i.
"Shi-u-ya, are you scared of Daddy?"
"No, I did wrong."
"Really?"
"Uh."
"Then can you talk to Daddy in a bit?"
"Uh."
I stroked Shi-u's head. After comforting them for a few minutes, the kids seemed to have calmed down, and I left Saet-byeol-i to Shi-u and came out of the bedroom.
Shi-hyun-i's expression while driving wasn't very good. He seemed to be worried.
"The kids are okay."
"Sorry."
I sat comfortably in the passenger seat and started talking.
"Manners are important, but if you push them from the start, it's bound to turn out that way."
Shi-hyun-i became quiet.
"I should have reasoned with them."
"I guess I was too hasty."
"When we arrive at our destination, face the kids properly."
"Okay."
Eyy, I also had a headache.
"Go to the kids."
"Are you sure it's okay?"
I was worried about Shi-hyun-i as much as the kids. I was worried that he might be blaming himself.
"It's okay."
I got up from the passenger seat and put my hand on Shi-hyun-i's shoulder as I headed to the bedroom.
"It's not your fault."
"...That's."
"I should have said something first, I'm the one who's sorry."
If I had warned them first, this wouldn't have happened, but I didn't.
Shi-hyun-i smiled bitterly at my words.
"I'll go."
When I went back to the bedroom, Saet-byeol-i was lying down, and Shi-u was sitting next to her, patting his younger sibling.
"Is Saet-byeol-i sleeping?"
"Uh."
Saet-byeol-i must be tired.
"Shi-u-ya, do you want to sleep too?"
"I'm okay."
I naturally laid Shi-u down next to Saet-byeol-i. And like Shi-u had done for Saet-byeol-i, I patted his stomach.
"I'm not sleepy."
I just smiled.
"But where are we going?"
"It's a place where Mommy and Daddy went to play before Shi-u was born."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's a pretty place with lots of flowers."
"Flowers?"
"Yeah, the season is different from when Mommy and Daddy went, so it'll probably be different flowers."
"Different flowers?"
"Yeah, when Mommy and Daddy went, it was tulips, but today it's lilies?"
"Don't know tulips."
I took out my phone, searched through the gallery, and found the picture I took back then.
"This is a picture I took back then."
Shi-u was looking at the picture with wonder. He was looking at it so intently that I felt a bit burdened.
"Mommy is the same, but Daddy is younger."
"R-really?"
"Uh, Daddy looks cool."
"Daddy is cool now too?"
"That's right."
I stroked Shi-u, who was smiling bashfully.
"Shi-u is lucky, huh? Because he looks like Daddy, he'll be a cool guy in the future."
"Uh."
After talking for about 5 minutes, Shi-u also fell asleep.
I checked that the two kids were sleeping well and went back to Shi-hyun-i.
"How long do you think it'll take?"
"About 30 minutes?"
"That's a long time."
"The kids?"
"Sleeping."
I sat in the passenger seat and kept Shi-hyun-i company, and before I knew it, we arrived at our destination.
The lily festival site already had a lot of people. Was it because it was vacation season? I saw a lot of people who had brought their kids.
"It'll be hard to park."
"Should we ask the security guard like last time?"
After circling the parking lot, we were lucky enough to park in a corner. Fortunately, the car next to us was also a compact car, so there was no problem even if we parked a large camper.
"Should we wake up the kids?"
"We have plenty of time."
Shi-hyun-i finished parking and headed to the bedroom, looking wistfully at the sleeping kids. He really seemed sorry for what had happened earlier.
After waiting 30 minutes for the kids to wake up, Saet-byeol-i woke up first, and Shi-u woke up after her.
The kids, who had woken up from their sleep, flinched when they saw Shi-hyun-i, but they seemed relieved when they saw Shi-hyun-i smiling kindly and hugged their dad.
I said quietly to Shi-hyun-i.
"That's a relief."
Shi-hyun-i was embarrassed and didn't answer. After tidying up the kids' clothes and hair, we came out of the camper, and Saet-byeol-i started to be amazed by the newly unfolded scenery.
From the way out of the parking lot to the entrance, many flowers were welcoming us.
"Amazing?"
"Floweh issuh."
"We came to see flowers today."
While I was looking at the flowers around me and talking to Saet-byeol-i, Shi-hyun-i urged me on.
"Let's go quickly."
I quickly followed behind Shi-hyun-i's urging. There were many people lined up at the entrance to buy tickets.
Saet-byeol-i was so excited that she couldn't control herself and was fidgeting, and Shi-u was waiting quietly. Still, I was relieved to see Shi-u holding Shi-hyun-i's hand tightly.
"Daddy, is this the place you came to before?"
"How did you know?"
"Mommy told me."
"Really?"
Shi-hyun-i looked at me.
"That's right."
"Mommy said we're taking pictures here."
"Really? I'm looking forward to it."
Shi-hyun-i was lost in nostalgia, thinking about the old days. In fact, compared to when we came before, the parking lot was similar, but many things had changed from the entrance, and it was hard to find a place that matched the memories of when we came before.
Well... it's not like it's been 1 or 2 years, it's been almost 8 years since we came, so maybe it's natural?
"Shi-hyun-ah, what are you thinking about?"
"Huh? Just old things."
"It's completely changed from when we came before, right?"
"It has."
"Mommy, I need to pee."
"Ack."
While standing in line, Saet-byeol-i said she wanted to go to the bathroom.
"Go ahead."
"Okay..."
I picked up Saet-byeol-i and made my way through the crowd. When I bumped into people while passing by, I bowed my head and apologized as I passed by and headed to the bathroom.
The women's bathroom I arrived at had a line, so I had to wait.
After taking care of Saet-byeol-i's bathroom needs, I had to head back to where Shi-hyun-i was, but people's gazes were sharp. It probably looked like I was cutting in line when everyone was lined up.
"I'm sorry, I have company."
I kept bowing my head as I passed by the people in line.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
Ugh, I'm so embarrassed....