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“…….”

“…….”

It’s my first time witnessing such a precious sight as my wife kneeling before me.

Mom was still lying in the room, suffering from a hangover. Just like Dana and Pia, who were both a mess from last night, staring blankly beside my wife.

Seeing these three sitting together made me want to laugh. After all, two of them are friends I’ve made since diving into this world, while one has known me since I was very young.

Moreover, to a Korean’s perspective, the other two looked foreign enough to pass as outsiders. If someone who didn’t know the situation happened to see us, they would undoubtedly find it bizarre.

Yet, the fact that all three looked familiar to me means we’ve managed to mix and spend time together closely.

Of course, I wouldn’t say being in such a position, kneeling, felt familiar either.

All three, at least, had washed up and come out right after getting up. I guess the situation yesterday made it a bit embarrassing for them to show their faces immediately. They probably wanted to delay sitting down by using showering as an excuse.

But there’s a limit to how long you can push things back.

The living room had already been tidied up by Mina, Kalia, and Arna last night, and the room wasn’t that messy either.

Fortunately… it seems no one had eaten enough to spill anything from their mouths.

“Sorry……”

As if starting a trend, my wife spoke first,

“I’m sorry too……”

“Me too, I’m sorry……”

Dana and Pia also chimed in with meek voices. The three seemed more embarrassed than genuinely apologetic.

“What’s with all the apologies?”

When I laughed incredulously and said that, all three of their faces turned bright red.

Honestly, it wasn’t something to apologize for this much. If we were out somewhere and had ended up like this, I might have gotten angry too, but we were at home after all. Even if we drank more than we should have, we didn’t do anything to the degree of making it unpleasant.

“It’s not that big of a deal. We just made a memorable memory.”

Yes, it was merely a somewhat embarrassing memory we created.

As I shook my smartphone while smiling, my wife’s face turned even redder.

“Ah…!”

The reason I bothered to keep pictures and videos was pretty simple. Half of me wanted to tease them, and the other half genuinely found them cute and lovable.

“D-Don’t tell me you took pictures!?”

My wife exclaimed, springing up, and Dana and Pia followed suit, realizing a moment later what had happened.

“So you remember what happened yesterday?”

I laughed while saying that, and my wife hurriedly lunged at me.

Of course, I was already standing and stretched my hands up. The height difference between us was just enough for me to be slightly taller. So if we both stood on our tiptoes and stretched our hands up, it would be hard for her to reach the smartphone in my hand. Well, her fingertips might just touch it, but still.

Plus, there was an unexpected complication.

…Both my wife and I had a bit of a chest, so standing face to face was slightly awkward, as we ended up pressed against each other. It wasn’t that kissing was impossible, but pushing our shoulders forward became challenging in various ways.

So, the reason my wife couldn’t snatch the smartphone from my hand had its explanation.

“Why, it was cute.”

“B-But… but!”

Seeing my wife, who spoke with tears glistening in her eyes, made my heart soften a bit, but still, I felt a lingering desire to tease her a touch longer.

Besides, having her soft body pressed against me wasn’t a bad feeling at all. Warm, soft, and plush.

Though I wasn’t fully appreciating the moment since my eyes were on the smartphone, our faces were almost close enough to touch. We could feel each other’s breath.

“…….”

Hmm.

“Just a little—mmpf!”

Kiss.

As I pulled my wife closer and kissed her, her eyes widened and she froze for a moment.

I leaned in again, feeling her soft lips once more.

“Ah, uhm.”

The scent of alcohol from my wife was absent. She must have brushed her teeth well to avoid smelling of last night’s drinks. There was a faint hint of mint.

I simply lowered my hands to wrap her back tightly.

Considering my wife had acted that way in front of others yesterday, I figured it wouldn’t be a big deal if I did something today. Plus, our friends were all already aware of our relationship.

Mom was still sleeping in the room.

The face of my older sister, who let out a sigh, looked as if the drink hadn’t quite worn off yet, akin to the mood when she had drunk quite a bit.

“…….”

“…….”

We remained hugging each other for a while.

I guess my sister had totally disregarded things like smartphones by now.

“Are you sure you don’t want to try taking it back? This is a golden opportunity for stealing.”

“Ah, I just don’t care anymore.”

Kalia replied, and Dana chimed in with a voice that sounded utterly deflated.

“Honestly, it’ll probably be locked anyway. Besides, if those memories from yesterday are memories at all, then it’s fine.”

“Right.”

…Hmm, it might be a little demotivating for the two of them to witness this scene. If I was in a situation without someone I loved, I might feel absolutely drained seeing what happened between my wife and me.

“Let’s just have breakfast. We need to eat something, right?”

“Actually, we’ve already eaten.”

“What!?”

When Dana said that, Arna responded, and Dana looked shocked.

“Well, I really don’t think it matters much. After all, it’s almost lunchtime anyway, so it’s practically the same meal time.”

“……Ah.”

But as Arna continued explaining, she once again looked deflated and stared out the window.

The sun was already high in the sky.

Thinking about time, it was indeed much closer to lunchtime than breakfast at this point.

“Wh-What’s that?”

After a brief silence, Dana opened her mouth.

“Are we just going to hang around the living room while I start preparing the food? Well, I mean, it’s no big deal for us.”

Having finally found some composure, Dana said that, and my older sister, feeling embarrassed, buried her face in my chest.

…It seemed like I wouldn’t need to bother erasing the video after all.

Next year around this time, I’ll show it to remind her about the risks of drinking.

*

“Is everyone alright?”

Just as lunch was nearing completion, Mom stepped out of the room. Unlike my sister, Dana, and Pia, who had washed up, Mom’s hair was a bit messy.

And she looked refreshingly different.

Years had passed since my childhood, and both Mom and I had aged, but her face was still the same as I remember.

Mom, who always left early in the morning, was standing in front of me looking freshly cleaned. Many times she couldn’t rest on weekends, and on days when she took a break, I had to go to school. Thus, I rarely saw her in a disheveled state.

Mom is still busy. But she’s not as rushed as before. Just knowing she could relax a bit eased my worries.

“Yeah!”

Pia raised her hand enthusiastically, and Mom smiled gently.

I guess she felt it was fine since one of the people who had gotten the most drunk yesterday was responding like that.

“Come sit down.”

“Thanks.”

As I pulled out a chair, Mom lightly nodded and sat next to me. After our last outing together, the slight awkwardness between us seemed to have completely dissipated.

“A-yeon!”

As Mom leaned in close with a smile towards A-yeon, who was nestled in my arms, A-yeon stretched her hands out and smiled back. The child’s hands, plump and red, still felt like a child’s hands. They were much thinner than an adult’s thick hands, almost as if light could shine through them.

Mom seemed eager to hold A-yeon, so I handed A-yeon over to her.

Mom’s face melted into a smile in an instant.

Se-yeon had plopped down in her chair, dozing off. Even though it was a child’s chair designed for adult height, it didn’t seem too scary for her. After all, young children tend to be brave.

“Does it matter if we leave a bit late?”

My wife looked at the clock and asked.

“It’s nearby anyway. Even if we are late, the place isn’t going anywhere.”

I smiled and said in response to my sister.

After all, Mom had a few days built up for this trip too.

This was the first trip with Mom. Plus, with someone I love and my closest friends together.

It would be strange if I didn’t feel excited, and a bit odd if I wasn’t anxious.