The new year dawned. I took the kids to see the sunrise, but they couldn't take their eyes off the dazzling fireworks. I guess it was worth letting them nap for a long time? Jae-won was startled by the loud firecracker sounds, but he forgot his surprise when he saw the brilliant fireworks.
Even with the new year, nothing much changed. My ordinary life of taking care of the kids and doing housework continued.
Saet-byeol's kindergarten was also on vacation, so there were no problems, except that I had to take care of all three kids, which required a bit more attention.
Well, Shi-u didn't need much attention, so I just had to focus on managing the other two.
"Saet-byeol-a, what are you doing?"
"I'm resting."
Saet-byeol was sprawled out on the living room floor, and next to her, Jae-won was copying Saet-byeol.
"Your little brother is copying you."
Saet-byeol glared at Jae-won next to her.
"I don't know, it's annoying."
Isn't she getting too lax because it's vacation? Well, she's been working out properly at night, so should I let it slide?
"If you have nothing to do, at least play with Jae-won."
"Hmm, sounds like a pain."
Saet-byeol, who had been lying down, got up and nudged Jae-won.
"What do you want to do?"
"Are you going to play with me?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's go on the slide together."
"Okay."
Jae-won immediately got up and headed for the slide. Saet-byeol seemed annoyed, but she played with Jae-won. Shi-u was playing well by himself in his room, so I should take a good rest.
I watched the kids play and then turned on the TV. I watched the news, kids' channels, or just blankly spent time.
The TV showed kids riding sleds, and Saet-byeol and Jae-won watched it with fascination.
"Have you never seen a sled before?"
"Yeah, it's my first time."
Jae-won is still young, so I haven't taken him, and I haven't taken Saet-byeol either?
"Has only Shi-u been?"
I can't quite remember.
"Shi-u-ya, you've been to a sledding hill, right?"
Shi-u heard my voice and came out of his room.
"Did you ask me something?"
I pointed to the TV with my hand.
"The sled, I mean."
"What's a sled?"
"You've been there, right?"
"Yes, I went with Dad."
So, Shi-u has been there?
"Was it fun?"
I asked Shi-u, the only one who had been there, and the other two looked at Shi-u with anticipation.
"It was quite a while ago...."
Shi-u closed his eyes and pondered.
"It was fun."
"Fun?"
Jae-won was the first to react.
"Yeah, it was fun."
"I want to go too."
Saet-byeol is also showing interest, so should we go?
"Then shall we go to the sledding hill?"
"Now!?"
Saet-byeol reacted strongly to my words. Oops, I misspoke.
"No, we should go with Dad on the weekend."
Taking care of two kids alone was hard.
"Aww, man."
Saet-byeol looked very disappointed. She must have thought we were going to play now because she's bored. I'm sorry.
"Everyone agrees to go to the sledding hill, right?"
"Yes!"
"Then, let's make a plan when Dad comes home tonight."
"We're going to play!"
Jae-won jumped up and down, happy that we were going to play.
"Later, later."
I tried to calm down the excited Jae-won, but he couldn't easily calm down. Saet-byeol also seemed to be looking forward to it, and Shi-u was subtly smiling.
Shi-u went to swimming class after lunch, and I took Saet-byeol and Jae-won to the playroom. Is it because Saet-byeol is here today? Jae-won played with Saet-byeol more than with his friends.
Saet-byeol wanted to play alone for the first time in a while, but Jae-won kept clinging to her, which annoyed her. Not only that, but even Jae-won's friends showed interest in his older sister, Saet-byeol.
I was watching from beyond the glass window, and she really looked tired. Still, she's very popular.
When Shi-hyun came home in the evening, I brought up the sledding hill story before dinner.
"Suddenly sledding?"
"Yeah, it was on TV, and the kids showed interest."
"Dad, let's go sledding."
Jae-won clung to Shi-hyun's leg enthusiastically.
"Do you want to go sledding?"
"Yes!"
"Saet-byeol too?"
Shi-hyun also asked for Saet-byeol's opinion.
"I want to go."
"Really? Let's see."
Shi-hyun took out his phone and checked something. He's probably checking the dates. I also looked at the dates, but it was ambiguous. Going on the weekend meant a long wait, and going tomorrow was also a problem.
"Shall we go tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow!?"
Saet-byeol, who had been sitting on the sofa, jumped up and came to Shi-hyun, she seemed that shocked.
"Dad has some free time tomorrow, so wouldn't it be good for you guys to go right away tomorrow?"
"Yes!"
Of course, the kids were happy.
"Are you sure it's okay?"
"Of course, it's okay."
"I wonder if Shi-u will be okay?"
It's a weekday, so it's the day he goes to swimming class. I went to Shi-u's room to ask. Shi-u was studying in his room, so I felt bad asking.
"Shi-u-ya, Dad says we're going to the sledding hill tomorrow, is that okay?"
"Tomorrow? What about swimming class?"
"Of course, you have to skip it."
Shi-u likes swimming, so I wonder if he doesn't want to skip it?
"Then I should go."
"Really? Then I'll assume you're skipping it."
"Yes."
"Then study hard."
Shi-hyun had dinner and went to work out with the two kids.
"Sled, sled!"
Jae-won, who was left alone at home, seemed to want to ride the sled soon.
"Are you that excited?"
"Yes!"
It was so cute to see Jae-won taking a cushion to the slide and riding it, saying it was a sled. Will it be very cold tomorrow? I happily watched Jae-won and checked the weather.
"It looks like it will be cold. I need to dress them warmly."
I don't know how much the wind will blow, but the temperature was said to be low. And since snow can get on their clothes while sledding, they'll need thick clothes.
I rummaged through the closet in advance to find clothes.
"I think Shi-u and Saet-byeol had ski suits."
It's not that I'm trying to get them to ski, but they're just warm clothes, so I tend to choose them when buying winter clothes.
I took out Shi-u's clothes and put them on the chair, then looked for Saet-byeol's clothes. A ski suit with a similar design to Shi-u's but in pink came out.
"Hmm, I wonder if there's anything to put on Jae-won?"
The problem was Jae-won. It hasn't been long since winter came, so I didn't buy many clothes for Jae-won. Usually, I just passed down the clothes that Saet-byeol or Shi-u used to wear, so there was no need to buy more.
If it were ordinary clothes, there would be many to put on him, but since I wanted to dress him warmly, there were no clothes that satisfied me.
Even if he gets hot from moving around a lot, I need to dress him warmly....
In the end, I found the clothes that Saet-byeol wore when she was 4 years old.
"It'll be big, but it's better to put this on him, right?"
Compared to the clothes Jae-won is wearing now, there was a big difference. But there are rubber bands that can be tightened at the wrists and ankles, so it should be fine.
"Clothes are decided."
I also looked for my clothes and Shi-hyun's clothes. Fortunately, or perhaps I should say, there were ski suits that I wore in my 20s.
After finishing the clothes preparation, I came out to the living room, and Shi-hyun and the kids came back from their workout.
"You worked hard."
As expected, Saet-byeol looked tired.
"Alright, let's go to bed early to go out tomorrow."
Shi-hyun gently pushed the two kids' backs. I took Saet-byeol, washed her, and laid her on the bed.
"Are you tired?"
"Yeah...."
"Let's go to bed early for tomorrow."
I stroked Saet-byeol's forehead as she smiled gently. Jae-won was too excited, perhaps? Even when it was time to sleep, he didn't fall asleep.
"Jae-won-a, you have to sleep."
"I don't know, I'm not sleepy."
Saet-byeol had fallen asleep a long time ago, but Jae-won was being a troublemaker.
"It seems like Jae-won can't fall asleep."
Shi-hyun lay down on the bed and hugged Jae-won.
"If you don't sleep soon, you won't be able to play much tomorrow."
"I can't do that."
"Right? So, close your eyes and sleep."
Jae-won closed his eyes tightly as Shi-hyun coaxed him. Jae-won fell asleep before he knew it as Shi-hyun patted him lightly.
"He fell asleep."
"Shh, he'll wake up."
I kept quiet because I couldn't wake him up after he barely fell asleep. As I closed my mouth, only the sound of breathing could be heard in the master bedroom. I should go to bed early too....
I snuggled into Shi-hyun's arms, feeling his warmth, and fell asleep.
*
I woke up feeling a shaking in my body, and Jae-won was shaking me. It seems like the sun has just risen, but why is Jae-won awake?
"Are you already awake?"
When I rubbed my eyes and spoke to Jae-won, he got angry.
"We have to get ready to go out soon!"
"Jae-won-a?"
The first thing he said when I opened my eyes was to get ready to go out? Is he that excited that he woke up this early?
"We have to go sledding!"
I stopped Jae-won, who was shouting loud enough to hurt my ears.
"It's not open yet."
"No, let's eat quickly and go."
No, it's really too early.... Jae-won was about to wake up Saet-byeol and Shi-hyun, so I quickly hugged him to stop him.
"Let's let your sister and Dad sleep more."
"They have to wake up soon...."
"It's okay."
I came out of the room before Jae-won made more of a fuss.
"Are you that excited?"
"Yes! Everyone's not waking up."
"It's okay, let's wait slowly."
"Hmph...."
I soothed Jae-won and started preparing breakfast. I wondered if Jae-won would wake up someone else, but he listened to me and waited quietly.
I had almost finished preparing breakfast and was about to wake them up when Shi-hyun woke up.
"Hello...."
He scratched his stomach as he appeared, still not fully awake, and he was a complete middle-aged man.
"Are you awake?"
"Yeah, we have to get ready to go."
"Saet-byeol is still sleeping, right?"
"Yeah."
More than that, Jae-won is quiet.
"Why is Jae-won sleeping here?"
"Huh? He's sleeping?"
"Yeah, he's lying down and sleeping on the sofa?"
He woke up early and made a fuss, and then fell asleep again?
"He woke me up earlier than you and then fell asleep?"
I felt a sense of futility and laughed. He made such a fuss and then fell asleep again.
"He must have been looking forward to it."
"Sigh, should I get you some water?"
"I'd appreciate it."
I poured water for Shi-hyun. As Shi-hyun drank the cool water, he seemed to come to his senses and hugged me lightly.
"Don't you have something like a lunchbox?"
"It's a hassle, so let's just buy something to eat."
"Do you think that would be easier?"
"Yeah."
While Shi-hyun was setting the breakfast table, Shi-u and Saet-byeol woke up. Jae-won was so lost in dreamland that he couldn't come to his senses.
"Jae-won-a, let's eat."
He was sleeping so deeply that he didn't show any signs of waking up even when I shook him.
"Jae-won!?"
He only showed a slight reaction when I shouted. I kept shaking Jae-won and calling his name to wake him up, and Jae-won woke up.
"Mom-a?"
"Yes, it's Mom, let's eat."
"Eaat?"
"We decided to go sledding today."
Jae-won rubbed his sleepy eyes at my words and was startled.
"That's right! Aren't we late!?"
"No, we're going to eat breakfast now."
"Eat quickly and go!"
Jae-won, who got up in a hurry, went straight to the dining table.
"Eat quickly."
Shi-hyun smiled as he looked at the urging Jae-won.
"Okay, let's eat, let's eat."
Saet-byeol and Shi-u also had smiles on their faces, amused by Jae-won.
When I sat down, Shi-hyun picked up a spoon, and the kids started eating as soon as he took a spoonful of rice.
The noisy morning continued, and after eating, it was a mess as they prepared to go out.
Jae-won was making a fuss, saying he would put on his own clothes, and Saet-byeol was dragging her feet, which angered Jae-won.
"No matter how fast you are, the sledding hill isn't open yet, you know?"
Saet-byeol, who knew that such recreational facilities have set opening times, scolded Jae-won, and Jae-won, who didn't know anything, just shouted to hurry up.
"No! Hurry up!"
What a mess, what a mess.