446. The Youngest

The New Year's trip was barely over when the house became noisy again. First, there was Saet-byeol's return to school. Seo-a was still young, but... now that she'd grown up a bit, Saet-byeol wanted to go back to school. Of course, Kim Seo-bang and Shi-hyun-nim were against it. "The second one isn't fully grown yet, and won't it be hard on your mother?" I was touched that Shi-hyun-nim was speaking up for me. If I were alone, I would have silently suffered and accepted it. "Still...!" I understood Saet-byeol's feelings too. Unless she was going to switch to being a full-time housewife like me, taking two consecutive years off would have a big impact. "You had such a hard time because of Seo-hui, are you going to do that again with Seo-a?" Saet-byeol lowered her head at Kim Seo-bang's words. "I was incompetent back then, but I'll come home right away this time." Well, some dual-income couples leave their children with grandparents and go to work. Considering that, it wasn't exactly wrong. "I'll do well!" Saet-byeol bowed her head to Shi-hyun-nim. I couldn't bring myself to scold her when she went this far, so I sighed and allowed her to return to school. "But, if you go gallivanting around like before, you know what'll happen, right?" "Y-yes!" I didn't think the child was pitiful. It happens to dual-income couples too. I would just pour all my affection into the kids while Saet-byeol was gone. "Are you okay with this?" Shi-hyun-nim was worried about me. "Jangmo-nim, you don't have to do that." Even Kim Seo-bang was on my side, so my resentful feelings melted away. "But you have to study hard and come straight home, okay?" "Yeah, of course!" Hoo, well, she's my daughter, I have to trust her. I was about to take a breather after resolving Saet-byeol's issue... but then there was another commotion. "Awesome!!!" I was entertaining Seo-a in the living room when I heard a loud noise from inside the house. "What's going on?" It was Jae-won's voice.... "Seo-hui-ya, do you want to see your uncle?" "Uncle?" "Yeah, go tell him to be quiet, he's being too loud." While I was worrying about Jae-won, Saet-byeol moved first. Seo-hui, hearing Saet-byeol's words, immediately got up and headed to Jae-won's room. "Oh? Seo-hui, why are you here?" Jae-won, coming out of his room, quickly picked up his niece. "Mommy said you're being loud!" After saying that, Seo-hui swung her hand and hit Jae-won's face. "Aigo, Seo-hui-ya, Uncle's in pain." "Tte-jji!" (onomatopoeia for "bad") Jae-won accepted it with a smile, but he quickly put Seo-hui down, as if it hurt. "Jae-won-a, why were you shouting?" I went to Jae-won's side, worried. "I got into university!" I was surprised by Jae-won's words. Now that I think about it, it was about time for the acceptance announcements. "Which university?" "K University!" If it's K University, it's a similar level to S University, where Saet-byeol and Kim Seo-bang go, right? Of course, if S University is Tier 1, then K University is about Tier 1.5. "Really? Congratulations!" I think I should prepare a feast for dinner tonight? "Heu-eung, you applied to K University?" "What?" Jae-won showed a sharp reaction to Saet-byeol's response. "No? You should have just come to S University." "Whatever!" I wonder how much he dislikes his older sister to act like that. "Other places will start announcing soon, right?" "Right?" "We should eat something delicious for dinner tonight." "Then of course it's gotta be meat, right?" Saet-byeol jumped in there. "That's... right?" "I don't know, I just want Mom's food." "Then Mom will go grocery shopping!" To share this joy with everyone, I left the house. I heard Jae-won calling from behind, but I couldn't hear him well. I bought a ton of meat at the mart and came back home, immediately starting preparations, and cooked after Shi-hyun-nim came home. "Why did you prepare so much?" "Jae-won got into K University, you know?" Shi-hyun-nim's eyes widened. "He must have worked really hard." Jae-won couldn't lift his head, as if he was embarrassed. "R-really?" "Well, tell me if there's anything you want." "There's nothing." The embarrassed Jae-won was really cute. After the first acceptance news, more acceptance news came in one after another. That Jae-won got into Y University, H University, and other universities at a similar level to K University. It could be called a celebration. When I asked Jae-won where he was going to go, he said he was having a hard time deciding. Since they were at a similar level, it seemed inevitable. After 고민 (gomin - deliberation), Jae-won declared that he would go to K University, where he was accepted first. That's great, that's great. * Except for the money that went out for the kids' university entrance fees, we welcomed February without any major incidents. I felt sad that Saet-byeol and Jae-won would be going to school soon. "Who will play with Seo-hui when Jae-won goes to school?" "Who will pway with Seo-hui?" Seo-hui repeated my words exactly. "Grandma will play with you." Jae-won passed it on to me. "Uncle should play with you!" Seo-hui ran to Jae-won, regardless of what was said. "Ack! Hey! Don't pull my hair!" Seo-hui grabbed and shook Jae-won's hair as he lay down watching TV. "Uncle! Pway!" "Okay, should we go play outside?" "Yeah!" Jae-won sighed deeply, put on his clothes, and went out with Seo-hui. "Why do you hate your younger brother so much when he's so nice?" "Well, it can happen." "It can happen! You should be grateful to your brother." "Why are you suddenly yelling at me?" Saet-byeol grumbled and took care of Seo-a. Seo-a was now able to roll over and sit up on her own. Wow, kids grow up fast... I heard that Ju-hui's First Birthday Party is coming up soon too. Jae-won and Seo-hui came back after two hours. But their clothes were in pretty bad shape. "Jae-won-a? What did you do?" "Huh? We just rolled around in the snow a bit." It did snow yesterday... did they play outside like that? I thought they would have gone to the playroom. "Had fun!" Looking at Seo-hui's condition, it seemed like she really had fun. Seo-hui sniffled with a smile. "Isn't Seo-hui getting a cold?!" Saet-byeol, who came to the entrance late, was surprised to see Seo-hui. "You can get a cold sometimes." Jae-won took off his wet clothes and threw them into the laundry basket. Seo-hui saw that and followed suit. "Can get it sometimes!" Seo-hui looked at Jae-won as if asking for praise. "Aigoo, our niece, are you okay?" "Yeah!" "She says she's okay." Saet-byeol kept glaring at Jae-won. She was so murderous that I thought she would have punched him right away if I wasn't there. "Saet-byeol-a, 참아 (chama - hold it in/endure)." "I know, I know." "Jae-won, you should be more careful too." "Okay." Jae-won, reluctantly answering, took clothes to change into and went to take a shower. "It would be good to wash Seo-hui too." "Should I wash her?" Saet-byeol finally exploded when Jae-won said that. "Seo-hui is a girl, you know?" "Is this older sister crazy? Would I see my niece as a woman?" "That's enough! I'll wash her!" It was a situation where it was hard to say who was at fault. Saet-byeol took Seo-hui and went into her room. Seo-a was left alone playing in the living room, and we were frozen in place. "Jae-won-a, you understand, your sister is always like that." "Still, it's too much, I'm not some kind of animal." I comforted Jae-won, who was feeling hurt. "Go wash up and come out, I'll make you some delicious coffee." "Just make me a mix, don't bother trying to do anything fancy." "Okay." I felt a little sad at Jae-won's reaction. Even if I'm not good at making coffee... But Shi-hyun-nim always prepares the coffee, right? Shi-hyun-nim bought all the machines and tools....... It can't be helped that I can't handle it well because I don't use it often, unlike cooking. I quietly boiled water and waited. "Well, mix coffee is inevitable." Even if I go to a cafe and buy a cafe latte or cafe au lait, it's not as good as coffee mix. It's so well-made... especially in the cold winter, I'm drawn to its sweetness. When Jae-won came out after showering, I immediately prepared the coffee for him. "Jae-won-a, you should exercise a bit." "Suddenly?" I saw his body when he came out with his upper body naked just now, and he looked too weak. "I'm not telling you to make a muscular body like your dad... but wouldn't it be good to put on some muscle?" Jae-won frowned, as if he was thinking of Shi-hyun-nim. "Dad is cheating." "Mom doesn't expect that much, but women like it when you have some muscle." Before muscle fetish or anything, having some muscle improves your body balance and makes clothes look better. "Your older sister works hard to manage her figure, you know." Saet-byeol used to be overweight, but now she's perfectly managing her body. She's been consistently exercising at home while taking care of the kids, so that says it all. Jae-won's expression changed seriously at Saet-byeol's words. "Should I try it?" "Yeah, you said you were going to get a girlfriend in college." Jae-won's ears perked up, and he said he would try exercising. "Your dad will teach you well if you do it with him." "B-but, wouldn't Dad push me too hard?" "Hey, you know all your older sisters learned to exercise from Dad." "That's true...." "Don't worry." That night, when Jae-won told Shi-hyun-nim that he wanted to build his body, Shi-hyun-nim smiled brightly and took Jae-won to the gym. After about an hour and a half, Shi-hyun-nim and Jae-won came back.... "Jae, Jae-won-a?" Shi-hyun-nim must have pushed him really hard, as he couldn't even support his own body properly. "It's because it's the first day, so I pushed him to his limit to test him, I'll adjust it from tomorrow." "Keueo-eo...." A few days passed since Jae-won started exercising. There wasn't much change in his body after a few days, so he was 고민 (gomin - deliberating) whether this was right. "Ah, I don't want to go exercise." "Dad seems to like it?" It must have been better for them to be together than exercising alone, as he took Jae-won every day. "You're the only son there, you know." "I know, so please stop." Jae-won was sick of it. From Shi-hyun-nim's perspective, Sia had become independent and a woman, and he couldn't get close to her, and not to mention Saet-byeol. Jae-won was the only one who could properly engage with him. Of course, it would be best if I could engage with him.... "Huh?" "What's wrong?" Jae-won was playing a game on his phone when he jumped up in shock. "Jae-won-a?" "Ah, it's nothing! This is...!" I couldn't help but be surprised by his extreme reaction. "What's wrong?" "O-Mom...." Why is he looking at me with such a weak face? "What's wrong? What happened? Mom will help you." I grabbed Jae-won's shoulders. "I got my conscription notice." .........? "C-conscription?" Conscription, short for physical examination... an examination to confirm that there are no disqualifying factors before a healthy South Korean man goes to the military. I had a physical examination before I became a woman. Of course, my body changed before I went to the military.... But Jae-won is getting a conscription notice? No, Jae-won is a man and now an adult, so it's not strange for him to get a physical examination. "R-really?" "Yeah...." I was so shocked that my mouth dropped open. Jae-won is getting a physical examination... he doesn't have any special disqualifying factors, so he'll probably be judged fit for active duty, right? Jae-won in the military...? Kkyaaaaaaak!