Two weeks after Jae-won-gun started kindergarten, he finally began to adjust to the situation of being without the kids. Being alone was still lonely, but he had to endure this much. If he just waited a little, Saet-byeol-yang would be back home anyway. There was no reason to be pathetic all alone.
Jae-won-gun, who had been going to kindergarten for two weeks, adapted quite well in his own way. He bragged about what happened that day every day, and even just listening to the stories, I could feel the difference from the daycare center. They said education would be the focus, and it was definitely different. Learning Hangul and numbers was a given, and they taught vocabulary diligently too. Fortunately, Jae-won-gun had learned a little by watching Saet-byeol-yang study, so he kept up well.
Just listening to Jae-won-gun's stories, it seemed there were many kids who couldn't keep up because the teaching was difficult.
"Ah, I have nothing to do again today."
After sending the kids to school and kindergarten, I couldn't handle the free time at home. Spending time doing housework was fine for a day or two, but doing it every day eventually left me with nothing to do.
I guess this is why housewives hang out in mom cafes or spend time loitering in cafes. At first, I thought, 'When would I have time to do that when I have to take care of the kids?' but experiencing this situation myself, I had nothing to say.
"Ugh, I'm bored."
I really couldn't handle the free time. I was so bored that I surfed the web, but the fun was only temporary.
"I can't even be bothered to eat lunch...."
It was slowly becoming lunchtime, but since the kids weren't here, I couldn't be bothered to eat. Should I just fill up on milk again?
As I was blankly lying on the sofa, I heard the sound of the front door opening.
"Did Saet-byeol-yang already come back?"
I looked at the clock, but it wasn't time for Saet-byeol-yang to come back yet.
"Who is it?"
"It's me."
The voice I heard was Shi-hyun-ssi's.
"Why are you back so early?"
"I only had to do a check today."
Ah, he just came to check the buildings? What would a building owner have to do anyway? If there's a problem with the facilities, the hired security or manager would take care of it, and he just has to make sure the money comes in properly.
"You're back early."
"What were you doing?"
Shi-hyun-ssi looked at me and asked.
"Just lying down because I'm bored."
"You have nothing to do since the kids aren't here?"
"Yeah...."
I really don't know what to do.
"Can't you just relax?"
I wonder if just relaxing was this difficult.
"It's not easy."
I wasn't used to this situation. I've been fiercely taking care of the kids for over 10 years. Has my body adapted to that? It's actually harder to relax comfortably.
"Then shall we go on a date?"
"No, Saet-byeol-yang will be back soon."
Shi-hyun-ssi looked disappointed. But Saet-byeol-yang didn't come back even when it was time.
"Is she playing with a friend?"
"Probably, just leave her be, don't ruin it by calling."
Hmm, should I? Shi-hyun-ssi's words made sense. If I called and asked when she was coming back, Saet-byeol-yang would definitely get angry. I have to trust her, right?
"More than that, let's watch a movie."
Shi-hyun-ssi used the TV function to pay for a recently released movie.
"I didn't say I'd watch it?"
When I reacted sensitively, Shi-hyun-ssi clung to me like a child.
"Why, you liked movies."
"Not really...."
I watched the animations that the kids liked with them. I haven't seen a movie recently. But thinking about it, we used to watch them often when we were dating. No matter which area we went to, there was always a movie theater, so we watched movies when we had nowhere else to go.
"Okay, okay, so get off me."
When Shi-hyun-ssi, who had been clinging to me, fell away, I could focus on the movie comfortably. It was also convenient that I could easily get snacks and water since I was at home. The movie was so-so fun.
The problem was that Saet-byeol-yang didn't come home until the end of the movie.
"She's late."
Quite a bit of time has passed... Well, Shi-hyun-ssi is here anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter?
"Do you want to watch something else?"
"No, I have to rest a bit and then go pick up Jae-won-gun."
There was about an hour and a half left, but it was an awkward time to watch a movie.
"Okay."
"Sorry, the movie was fun."
I felt like I was being too prickly, so I apologized to Shi-hyun-ssi.
"It's okay, I know it's almost that time for you."
"......Did you really have to say that out loud?"
Shi-hyun-ssi realized he had made a mistake and avoided my gaze. It was a little awkward. When was the last time we were alone during the day without the kids? When we bought Christmas presents for the kids last time? It was really awkward to be without the kids.
"Ahaha, it's so awkward."
"Still?"
"Yeah."
Feeling sorry, I made coffee and handed it to Shi-hyun-ssi.
"I'll enjoy it."
I also drank coffee.
"Hoo, it's so awkward, I'm going crazy."
"Then how about going out and meeting people?"
"When have you ever seen me like meeting people?"
"That's true."
That was the biggest problem. Still, there were times when I had to become friends with other people while raising the kids, but those relationships didn't last long and ended as short-term connections.
"How about meeting friends?"
"Oh, um...."
I occasionally exchanged messages with Ha-eun unni and Seo-hyun-ssi. They were also busy with childcare and other things, so it was hard to meet. In the first place, we lived far apart.
"It's far...."
Both Ha-eun unni and Seo-hyun-ssi lived in Gyeonggi-do, not Seoul. Ha-eun unni's house was closer, and Seo-hyun-ssi's house was over an hour away by car.
"Ah, it'd be hard to meet."
"Yeah, well, what can you do."
Mi-ra-ssi is busy with work too....
"Don't you have any new people you've met?"
"Ah, I didn't get along with them."
I could tolerate being connected through the kids, but otherwise, I didn't want to associate with them. Maybe it's because I wasn't born a woman, but when I talked to them, it was hard to follow the topics, and I often felt like I was on the outside.
"Then try making a hobby."
"Hobby?"
"Yeah, I have exercise as a hobby."
"That was a hobby?"
It looked like he was serious, not just doing it as a hobby? More than Shi-hyun-ssi's reaction, the word 'hobby' lingered in my mind. A hobby, huh....
"Hobby... is it a hobby...."
While repeating pregnancy and childbirth and living busy with childcare, I didn't have anything that could be called a hobby. If I had to pick one, raising the kids was both a hobby and a job.
I was lost in thought, forgetting that Shi-hyun-ssi was there.
When I was a student, I didn't have any hobbies. I just studied, played with friends, and when I was a voluntary loner, I was absorbed in books and novels. When I was unemployed, I read novels all day.
"I didn't have anything other than reading novels."
Yeah, I didn't have anything to call a hobby other than reading novels.
"Then, can't you just read novels?"
"Trying to read what I used to read now is a bit...."
Has my mindset changed? I don't know if it would be fun to read fantasy novels now.
"You have to try something, how long are you going to be like this?"
"That's true too."
I decided to read a novel before going to pick up Jae-won-gun. I turned on my phone and opened the web novel app.
When I actually tried to read a novel, I didn't know what to read.
"In the past, I would have read something like a different world rampage story...."
I'm not interested in that kind of thing now. Back then, I wanted to become a Hunter and imagined myself like that, but not anymore. Now that I have a happy family, I don't know what to read.
"Rampage?"
Ah, I wasn't alone at home.
"I was going to read a novel, but I didn't know what genre to read."
"In that case, wouldn't it be right to go with something high in the rankings?"
"Rankings...."
Certainly, if it's a work that many people have read, it won't be too niche.
"I guess so."
The number one work was a fusion fantasy. It felt strange to settle down and read a novel instead of just taking a quick look, but I started reading anyway.
The prologue was quite interesting, and the development was smoothly fun. The right amount of comedy and seriousness were combined, so it was worth calling it fun.
"Looks like it's fun."
"Yeah, well, it's just worth watching."
I was reading the novel so intently that quite a bit of time had passed, and it was time to pick up Jae-won-gun.
"Ah, I have to go pick up Jae-won-gun."
If it weren't for Shi-hyun-ssi, I would have forgotten and gotten lost in the novel.
"That's why I said something."
"Thank you."
Saet-byeol-yang hasn't come back yet either? I'll think about Saet-byeol-yang later and go pick up Jae-won-gun. I fixed my hair, changed my clothes, and went out.
It wasn't late, but it was better to go quickly to avoid the line getting too long.
"It's a little unfair, but...."
I drew up my magic power to enhance my physical abilities and ran at a fast speed. When I arrived in front of the kindergarten, it was 10 minutes before dismissal time, but there was already a line.
"Should I have come a little earlier?"
Still, being about 7th in line seemed like a decent order. Five minutes before 5 o'clock, the teachers came out to prepare for dismissal, checked the parents one by one, and brought the children.
My turn came quickly, and I was able to meet Jae-won-gun.
"You worked hard, Jae-won-ah."
When I tried to hug Jae-won-gun, who came outside, he avoided me and headed outside.
"Jae-won-ah?"
"Mom, let's go home quickly."
It seems like there's something urgent.
"Okay."
Leaving behind the disappointment of not being able to hug Jae-won-gun, I headed towards him.
"Jae-won-ah, why are you in such a hurry?"
Jae-won-gun continued to run with his cute little steps. I was worried he would fall. Jae-won-gun ran without falling amazingly. Doesn't he get tired? He ran for almost 3 minutes and then stopped.
"Quickly, I'm going to buy snacks."
"Snacks?"
Is that why he was making such a fuss? No, it's a big deal from Jae-won-gun's perspective.
"Okay, I got it. Do you have money?"
"Yeah! I brought my allowance."
Jae-won-gun put down his bag, rummaged through it, and showed me his wallet.
"Okay, let's go, let's go."
I could have bought him snacks, but he said he would buy them with his own money, so why should I?
As soon as Jae-won-gun entered the mart, he was excited and picked out snacks.
"Why are you buying so many?"
"I, I'm going to try them too."
"What does that mean?"
"My friends said these are delicious."
Ah, I see, they were talking about which snacks were delicious among friends, and there were many snacks he hadn't tried? The snacks I buy are a bit old-fashioned. Also, Jae-won-gun liked drinks like yogurt more than snacks.
"So that's why you're buying them?"
"Yeah."
But isn't it too much? There were over 10 kinds of snacks.
"Jae-won-ah, can you eat all of them?"
"I'll eat them one by one."
"Really?"
It seems like he's not planning to eat them all at once. Looking at the snacks Jae-won-gun picked out again, they were definitely different. There were many snacks I was seeing for the first time, and many of them had unique flavors.
There were things like cuttlefish ink flavor, rainbow flavor, and even weird things like cider flavor.
"Is this really delicious?"
"Don't you know?"
Isn't this just a joke among friends? But seeing that they're being sold like this, it seems like they're selling... Is there a niche market?
When I went home with a bunch of snacks, Saet-byeol-yang and Shi-hyun-ssi greeted me.
"Saet-byeol-yang is here too."
"Yeah, Jae-won-gun, what's that?"
"Snacks! Let's eat together, Nuna."
"Shall we eat just a little...."
Saet-byeol-yang, who was worried about gaining weight, didn't seem to be able to resist completely.
"Which one should I eat?"
Jae-won-gun spread out all the snacks he bought and 고민했다. And he tore open two of the snacks he picked and ate them. I was also curious about the taste, so I tried them, and it was a shocking taste.
The taste was so shocking that I couldn't explain it.
"Uh, um, Jae-won-ah, is this really delicious?"
"It's not delicious...."
Jae-won-gun also said it wasn't delicious. Saet-byeol-yang didn't say anything, but she was frowning, so it seemed like it wasn't delicious.
"Is it that bad?"
Shi-hyun-ssi, who hadn't tried it yet, put the snack in his mouth and immediately coughed and spat it out.
"What kind of taste is this?"
"That's what I'm saying."
The kids didn't touch the snacks again.
"You're not going to eat them, right?"
"Yeah... It's not delicious."
"Then I'll throw them away."
Jae-won-gun and Saet-byeol-yang didn't say anything when I said I would throw them away. That's how shocking the taste was.
"I, I'm going to eat something else!"
While I was throwing away the snacks, Jae-won-gun tore open another snack and ate it. When I tasted it, it was at least at a level that could be called delicious.
"It's okay."
"Yeah."
Even if there are different preferences, it seemed like this would definitely appeal to a niche market.
"Eum, snack mashisseo!"
Jae-won-gun seemed satisfied in his own way.
"If you eat too much, you won't be able to eat dinner, so eat moderately."
"Yes."
Seeing them happily sharing snacks made me smile.