Chapter 169: Family (3)

Since it was a rare summer vacation, we decided to take a family trip to Gangneung.

My wife looked incredibly happy, finally going on the family trip she had promised herself back in her college days.

Of course, the kids also beamed with excitement the moment we arrived at the beach.

“It’s the ocean—!”

“Wooooow—!”

As soon as the twins stepped onto the sandy shore, they let out excited cheers.

After setting up the beach umbrella, I reminded them of the safety rules once again before we went into the water.

“What did Appa say you absolutely must not do?”

“Never go off alone! Never take off our life jackets! And never leave Appa’s side!”

“That’s right! No matter what happens, you have to stay close to Appa, got it?! Eunbyul, just because you’re older doesn’t mean you can play by yourself, okay?”

“Yes~”

I couldn’t even count how many times I had drilled the safety rules into them for today.

While my wife sat under the umbrella with Geumbyeol, I put the kids onto a boat tube and stepped into the water.

Even though it was a very shallow area, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down with them.

“Waaaah! This is so much fun!”

“Right? Alright, now let’s take turns getting off the boat. Eunbyul goes first~”

“Okay~”

Eunbyul was the first to get off the boat and step into the water.

The coolness of the sea must have felt nice because she flashed a bright smile and clung tightly to my arm.

Once all the twins had gotten off, the four of us held hands and enjoyed the water together.

All we did was float lazily, but the kids giggled and shrieked with joy as if it were the most exciting thing in the world.

“Alright~ Let’s wave to Amma~”

When we all raised our hands and waved, my wife and Geumbyeol, who were under the umbrella, waved back.

Every now and then, my wife dipped her feet into the water, enjoying the moment with Geumbyeol.

The kids were all grinning from ear to ear, but as time passed, my energy was quickly draining.

Just when it felt like the fun would never end, our time in the water finally came to a close, and we made our way to a nearby restaurant by the beach.

“Huh? This place turned into a barbecue restaurant?”

As we arrived in front of the restaurant, my wife muttered something unexpected.

“Honey, don’t you remember? Ten years ago, we had shellfish here.”

“Oh—! Was this that place?”

When I glanced behind the restaurant, the view brought back memories—it was exactly the same as back then.

“Amma, Appa, you’ve been here before?”

“Yes, Amma and Appa came here when we were in college~”

“Wow, time really flew by. That was already ten years ago?”

“Honey, let’s go inside. Come on, kids, let’s head in. No being loud inside, okay?”

“Yes~”

After settling at a table, we ordered meat right away.

I was busy taking care of the kids, barely touching my own food, but seeing that, the kids took it upon themselves to make me a lettuce wrap and feed me.

“Appa, say ah~”

I happily accepted the lettuce wrap made by my eldest daughter.

Come to think of it, ten years ago, my wife had also fed me when we came here.

I suddenly recalled her face as she insisted I eat all the oysters, saying they were good for men.

As I chuckled at the memory, my wife, who was sitting across from me, smiled warmly.

“Honey, what’s so funny all of a sudden?”

“I just remembered how you fed me shrimp back then.”

“You still remember that?”

“Of course. It was our first trip together.”

“We were so young back then~”

“You’re just as beautiful now as you were then.”

“Hehe~ Hearing that makes me happy.”

Raising kids had made a wedding ceremony impossible, and going on a trip alone as a couple was out of the question.

At one point, I had gently suggested we could have a wedding later, but my wife had waved it off, saying it wasn’t necessary.

Even so, I knew she must have dreamed of that moment at some point.

She just never had the luxury to think about it while raising the kids.

But now that we had some stability and the children were growing up healthy, maybe… just maybe, it wasn’t too late.

“Appa, say ah~”

This time, my youngest daughter snapped me out of my thoughts by holding up a lettuce wrap for me.

After stuffing ourselves with barbecue, we left the restaurant and walked toward our lodging.

“Kids, did you enjoy the food?”

“Yes~ We ate so much—!”

“Good job~”

After dinner, we went to a café overlooking the beach for dessert.

The sunset outside was breathtaking, stealing the kids’ attention.

Even Geumbyeol, who was snuggled in my wife’s arms, gazed at the sunset.

“Honey, coming here with the kids makes it even better. It’s so beautiful.”

My wife muttered as she admired the sunset.

But for me, then and now, the most beautiful thing wasn’t the view outside—it was her.

“Yes. You’re still as beautiful as ever.”

****

As we walked back to our lodging after watching the sunset, the kids suddenly pointed excitedly at something.

“Amma! Appa! That place sells lottery!”

“How much do you win if you hit the jackpot? Can we buy a tiger?”

“You idiot—why would you buy a tiger? Are you planning to keep it at home?”

“Yup! I’ll buy a tiger and make it eat you, oppa!”

“What?! Then I’ll buy a dolphin and make it eat you!”

The twins were at it again, bickering as usual.

But before I could step in, Eunbyul handled it in my place.

“Both of you, be quiet before I eat you first.”

“Yes…”

We were about to keep walking when Geumbyeol suddenly squirmed in my wife’s arms.

“Awooo—!”

“Oh my, is our Geumbyeol interested in the lottery too? Honey, should we buy a ticket since we’re here?”

“Well, it is Saturday, so why not?”

At our conversation, the kids’ eyes sparkled with excitement.

Maybe they took after me—they seemed to have quite the interest in money.

In the end, we stopped by the lottery shop and bought a 5,000-won quick-pick ticket before heading back.

The kids gathered around the ticket, staring at it in fascination, gently running their fingers over it as if it were some sacred artifact.

“Be careful with that, alright? In just a few hours, this little piece of paper could be worth 1.3 billion won.”

“1.3 billion?! What can we do with that much money?”

At Hanbyul’s question, I smirked and said,

“You can do anything you want.”

“Wooooow! That’s so cool!”

“So, what would you all do if we won the lottery?”

At my wife’s question, the kids eagerly shouted their answers one by one.

First, our eldest, Eunbyul, spoke up.

“I’d buy gold.”

“Huh? Why gold?”

“Because currency value drops over time.”

“…Where did you even learn that?”

“The news.”

She gave such a mature response that I regretted not letting her watch more cartoons as a child.

The twins, on the other hand, had much more creative ideas.

“I’d buy a giant robot to ride to daycare! One that shoots beams from its hands! And it can fly through the sky! And defeat villains!”

Lately, Hanbyul had been completely obsessed with a recent sci-fi movie, shifting his interests from cars to robots.

Although I was a bit concerned about his new habit of blocking the path of our robot vacuum…

Just the other day, he even asked me to take it apart so he could install sensors on himself.

“What about you, Saetbyul?”

“I want to raise a dog!”

“Oooh~ What kind of dog? Do you have a breed in mind?”

“A Doberman!”

“D-Doberman…?”

“Or maybe a German Shepherd!”

Even though she was my daughter, I had to admit she had quite the unique taste.

But unfortunately, living in an apartment meant we couldn’t have a big dog.

“That’s too bad—we live in an apartment, so we can’t raise a dog.”

“That’s okay! If we win 1.3 billion, we can just buy a house where we can have a dog!”

The fact that she had already thought that far ahead left me speechless.

“And what about our little Geumbyeol? What do you want to do if we win?”

“Awoooo—!”

After hearing all their answers, we finally arrived back at the lodging.

I bathed the kids first before washing up myself.

“Honey, I’m done. You should go shower too.”

“Okay. Here, hold Geumbyeol for a bit.”

“Alright, come here, Geumbyeol, come to Appa~”

“Awoo—!”

I held Geumbyeol in my arms and sat down on the bed.

“Appa! When do we find out if we won the lottery?”

“Hm? What time is it now?”

“It’s 8:30!”

“Oh—then the live draw is about to start. Alright, everyone, let’s gather around and watch with high hopes!”

The kids sat beside me, their eyes glued to the television.

After a brief recap of the previous draw, the real lottery broadcast finally began.

“It’s starting…!”

All of them went completely silent, fixated on the screen.

Even though winning the lottery was nearly impossible, their faces were filled with hopeful anticipation.

- We will now begin today’s draw. Regardless of the order in which the numbers appear, matching any of them makes you a winner. Let’s start the draw. The first lucky number is… 1!

“It’s 1! Eunbyul, do we have a 1?!”

At Saetbyul’s question, Eunbyul stared at the ticket intently.

But soon, she let out a deep sigh and shook her head.

“Nope…”

“Aaaaah, so close!”

“My… my robot…”

“My Doberman…”

As the kids slumped in disappointment, the draw continued.

“It’s okay~ The lottery is just for fun. Let’s win next time, okay?”

I reassured them, thinking that at the very least, this had been a fun experience.

But just as the final bonus number appeared on the screen, I noticed Eunbyul’s hands trembling slightly.

“Um… Appa…!”

“Hm? What is it, Eunbyul?”

“What’s the rule for the bonus number?”

“Oh, if you match five numbers and the bonus number, you win second place.”

“How much is second place…?”

Her voice shook as she looked up at me, her lower eyelid quivering.

“Sweetheart…? Why do you ask…?”

“Am I… seeing things? I think we got second place…”

“Come on~ That’s—”

“Look…!”

She shoved the ticket into my hands, her face tense with anticipation.

I glanced at the ticket and compared it to the numbers on the TV screen.

A single bead of cold sweat dripped down my cheek—

Plop.

It landed right on Geumbyeol’s forehead.

“Awoo—?”

And then—

I froze.

My mouth fell open, my body stiffening in shock.

The kids, noticing my reaction, huddled around me, peering at the ticket in stunned silence.

Just then, my wife stepped out of the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a towel, and looked at us with confusion.

“Why do you all look like that?”

Carefully, I lifted Geumbyeol off my lap and passed her over to Eunbyul.

Then, I slowly got up and walked toward my wife.

“Honey?”

“Sweetheart.”

“What’s wrong?”

I looked at her, smiled brightly, and let the words slip out.

“Let’s have a wedding.”

“…What?! All of a sudden?!”

-- The End OF The Chapter --

 

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