Episode 51. Constant Romance (3)
Kang Dae-oh, who had just finished a short 2-day, 1-night camping trip with his eldest and youngest daughters to test what they had learned, felt a surge of confidence.
“It’s definitely better to actually do it ourselves like this than just listening to theoretical lessons. Don’t you think so, my daughter?”
Kang Yeyoung nodded vigorously, as if showing strong agreement with her dad’s words.
“That’s right. Later, I’m planning to try camping alone a few more times.”
“Alone? Not with Dad?”
“Yes. That way, it’ll be practice for surviving alone on a deserted island.”
It wasn’t wrong.
Practice for the filming was good, but…
From the perspective of a father with a daughter, Kang Dae-oh was filled with worry.
“Don’t go alone. Take two or three staff members with you. The staff can just watch, and you can still practice by yourself, can’t you? Right?”
Kang Yeyoung knew very well what Kang Dae-oh meant by saying this.
She nodded and replied that she would follow Kang Dae-oh’s words.
After all, safety was the most important thing.
At that moment, Kang Yera raised her voice.
“I’ll go too!”
“Unnie, until yesterday, you really hated it because there were so many bugs in the mountains.”
“It was more doable than I thought. And I can get a lot of good photos to upload to Byulstar. Look at this.”
Kang Yera showed him all the photos she took while camping with Kang Dae-oh and Kang Yeyoung yesterday.
She had taken so many that she had to scroll down for a long time.
The number of photos accumulated in just one day showed how satisfied Kang Yera was with this camping trip.
Kang Dae-oh chuckled and suggested to Kang Yera.
“Yera, how about you also try making camping a hobby with your sister this time?”
“I was already thinking of doing that. It would be fun if all us sisters, including Yebin, went together.”
If it was the three of them going together, not just one, Kang Dae-oh would feel relieved.
However, there was one hurdle to overcome before that.
“I don’t think Yebin unnie will say okay.”
Kang Dae-oh hadn’t said it, but he had actually expected the same.
Filled with confidence about camping, Kang Dae-oh finally decided to pursue what he had long wished for with Min Seung-yeon.
One evening.
Kang Dae-oh laid out camping tools on the floor of his study and began to organize a list of what each item was.
Just then, Min Seung-yeon opened the door and entered the room.
Looking at the camping tools spread out on the floor, she made a bewildered expression.
“So Yeyoung decided to use your study now because the living room wouldn’t work?”
“It’s not the youngest’s. These are things I ordered newly this time.”
“That’s a lie. You’re trying to cover for Yeyoung again, aren’t you? You shouldn’t spoil the kids too much. When they need to be disciplined, you have to discipline them properly.”
When they were young, she couldn’t bring herself to do that.
Because they were only children on the outside. Inside, they were all grown adults.
They were all adults who had regressed to their 20s and 30s. From Min Seung-yeon’s perspective, disciplining children who were already mentally mature felt like hitting the brakes.
However, now that they were all roughly the same age as when they regressed, she felt that proper parental education was needed.
Becoming an adult didn’t mean they had lived their whole lives.
Of course, the same applied to Min Seung-yeon, but as an elder in life compared to her children, she wanted to tell them what they shouldn’t do.
Because there was no end to education and learning.
However, while it might have been as Min Seung-yeon said before…
This time, it was exactly as Kang Dae-oh said.
“Actually, I learned camping from a CEO who runs a campsite, along with Yeyoung.”
“What? Since when?”
“Not long. About… 20 days?”
He was still a complete beginner among beginners.
However, thanks to intensively learning camping from CEO Oh Yong-jin for a short period with Kang Yeyoung, Kang Dae-oh, for a beginner who had just started, knew quite a lot.
In fact, he had recently taken his daughters camping successfully.
Min Seung-yeon said with a bewildered expression.
“I knew Yeyoung was learning camping. But I had no idea you were learning it too.”
“Of course, you wouldn’t know. I didn’t say anything.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Well…”
If asked for a reason, it was only natural to answer.
“I was thinking of going camping with you, just the two of us, this time.”
“Huh? With me?”
“Yeah. Now that I think about it, we’ve never been camping together, just the two of us. Not even when we were dating.”
During their student days, they had no money. More importantly, they had no car, so traveling far was very difficult.
After getting jobs, they had more financial leeway, but no time.
Then Kang Yera was born.
After having their first child, and then their second and third with two-year intervals, they couldn’t even think about going camping.
Then, when Kang Dae-oh suddenly brought up camping, Min Seung-yeon was confused about how to react.
“Did you like camping from the start?”
“It turned out to be fun when I tried it.”
“Really?”
After a short moment of thought, Min Seung-yeon nodded her head up and down.
“Well, alright. I was actually wondering if we should make a new sportswear item this time. I can just wear that when we go hiking.”
“Just make time. I’ll take care of the rest and make sure you’re comfortable.”
Perhaps the word “모실게 (I’ll take care of/serve you)” pleased her, as Min Seung-yeon chuckled softly and replied, “Alright.”
After coordinating the time and date with Min Seung-yeon.
It was decided for Wednesday of the following week.
With roughly 10 days of free time, Kang Dae-oh began searching the internet for good camping spots to take his wife.
However, getting the information Kang Dae-oh wanted was harder than he thought.
So, he eventually had to ask CEO Oh Yong-jin for help.
Upon receiving the call, CEO Oh Yong-jin recommended a few potential camping sites that met all the conditions Kang Dae-oh had in mind.
‘As expected. Asking an expert was a stroke of genius.’
On the day of departure, Kang Dae-oh loaded the luggage into the trunk, once again silently thanking CEO Oh Yong-jin.
Thanks to Oh Yong-jin, his worries about the location had completely disappeared.
From now on, it depended on how diligently Kang Dae-oh prepared.
‘Departure preparations are almost complete.’
Now all he had to do was wait for Min Seung-yeon to come out.
But then.
“……?”
The moment he saw Min Seung-yeon coming out with a backpack, Kang Dae-oh momentarily doubted his eyes.
This was because, in contrast to her loose top, she was wearing quite tight pink leggings on the bottom.
“Honey. Aren’t you cold?”
“Oh, this? It’s fine. Even though it looks like this, it’s fleece-lined inside. Want to touch it?”
Min Seung-yeon pointed to her hip area and asked.
Kang Dae-oh gave a wry smile.
“It’s a relief if it’s warm, but I’m just worried that other people might stare at my beautiful wife.”
“Oh, come on, seriously.”
Min Seung-yeon blushed and glared at Kang Dae-oh.
“Who would be interested in an ajumma like me?”
“I heard from Yebin a while ago. You said a young man approached you at the cafe and asked for your number, right?”
“Oh… that?”
Min Seung-yeon sighed briefly.
“He apparently thought I was in my 20s. When I told him my age, he was so surprised and kept apologizing, saying I looked so young. It was quite cute.”
It seemed the flow of time didn’t apply to Min Seung-yeon, as she was still young and beautiful.
The secret, of course, was self-care.
“Our kids are so pretty. As their mom, I should manage myself well too.”
If she thought about going shopping arm-in-arm with her three children, Kang Yera, Kang Yebin, and Kang Yeyoung, as a mother, she would inevitably care a lot about her appearance.
“Of course, no matter how much I take care of myself, I won’t be as pretty as the kids.”
However, despite Min Seung-yeon’s words, Kang Dae-oh shook his head.
“To my eyes, you’re prettier.”
Min Seung-yeon let out a hollow laugh.
“What’s wrong with you today? It’s embarrassing.”
“It’s good to have a dating-era atmosphere after a long time, isn’t it? Oh, I’ll buckle your seatbelt for you.”
Kang Dae-oh leaned closer to Min Seung-yeon, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
Min Seung-yeon’s face also turned red.
“There, it’s done.”
“……Thank you.”
As Kang Dae-oh said.
It truly felt like they had returned to the time when they were passionately dating.
After driving for about an hour and a half, they arrived at a mountain.
Looking at the mountain scenery where the autumn leaves created a magnificent view, Min Seung-yeon instinctively picked up her smartphone.
“Oh my, how pretty!”
Click, click!
The sound of the shutter kept clicking.
Kang Dae-oh felt pleased watching Min Seung-yeon, who was delighted like a child.
‘It was good that I asked CEO Oh.’
No matter how much he searched the internet, he couldn’t find a suitable place.
But when he asked CEO Oh, he immediately recommended a good spot on the outskirts of Seoul.
Just as he was about to thank Oh Yong-jin.
Coincidentally, he received a call from him.
“Hello?”
―CEO! Did you arrive safely?
“Yes. Thanks to you, my wife loves it.”
―That’s a relief! I was wondering until the last minute whether to tell you about another place.
“This place is more than enough. As a token of my gratitude, I’ll treat you to a meal sometime later.”
―It’s an honor. Oh, and that mountain is a hidden gem not well-known even among hiking enthusiasts, so you probably won’t see many people. There’s also a designated camping area, but the number of people who come there to camp is very small, so please have a good time with your wife.
Kang Dae-oh was personally very curious about what CEO Oh Yong-jin meant by “good time.”
But he didn’t bother to ask.
Because they both knew what was implied without needing to say it.
After finishing the call, Kang Dae-oh approached Min Seung-yeon.
“Let’s reach the mountain peak once before it gets dark, then move to the campsite.”
“Okay.”
Min Seung-yeon moved closer to Kang Dae-oh and naturally took his hand.
Min Seung-yeon, who was about a head shorter than Kang Dae-oh, leaned against her husband, smiling like a child.
He almost unconsciously said, “It’s uncomfortable to walk like this…” but then he clamped his mouth shut.
Because they used to walk like this all the time when they were dating.
In fact, when they were younger, they even walked closer together.
‘I should embrace the romance of those days after a long time.’
They had decided to create a romantic atmosphere for the first time in a while.
He shouldn’t make a wrong comment and cause the season to instantly change from autumn to winter.
Absolutely not.
