169 - Winter Getaway (3)
TL/Editor: looloo
Status: ongoing
Illustrations: posted in discord
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Whenever we stalled, I'd fuel Heena with a kiss.
Under the bright sun, we cruised down the highway as if on a leisurely drive, soon arriving at our first rest stop.
Thanks to motion sickness medication and the thrill of excitement, I still felt perfectly fine. When I checked on Sarang after exiting the car, she seemed to have woken up, groggily moving her head around.
"Sleep well?"
"Yes... Daddy... Where are we?"
"We're going on a trip far away~ Remember Daddy telling you?""Yeah... Sarang's hungry..."
"Really hungry? Want to get something yummy with Daddy and Mommy?"
She'd slept for quite a while, so it made sense she'd be hungry. I quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and carried her into the rest stop.
"What do you want to eat?"
"Udon. It's all I can think about."
"Let's head to the food court then. I'll have whatever Sarang wants."
"Will that be enough for you?"
"Yeah. I want to eat light, and you'll probably have snacks too, right? I'll share those with you."
As expected, Heena had it all planned out.
Udon alone at a rest stop did seem lacking. There were so many options here. If Heena shared snacks with Sarang, it would be fine to let her have a few more treats.
Sarang's eyes sparkled as she looked around, taking in all the delicious aromas wafting through the air.
"Ooh! Daddy, look - potatoes!"
"Want some?"
"Yes!"
"Sarang, when can we have snacks?"
"After eating!"
"That's right~"
Honestly, I'd be perfectly happy filling up on junk food, but I couldn't be so irresponsible with Heena right beside me. No getting scolded on our trip.
We passed by the restaurants and entered the building. Inside, we saw convenience stores, more eateries, and the food court.
I lifted Sarang higher so she could see the menus.
"Sarang, what do you want to eat?"
"Same as Daddy!"
"The same as me?"
"Yes! I wanna share!"
It seemed Sarang had overheard my conversation with Heena earlier and latched onto the idea of sharing food. But just ordering two portions of udon seemed lacking.
After thinking for a moment, I said to Heena:
"How about we get one udon and one bibimbap to share between the three of us?"
"Sounds good. I'll place the order - can you watch Sarang?"
"Got it."
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Raei Translations
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Though it was busy, true to rest stop efficiency, our order came out in what felt like less than 5 minutes.
We set the udon and bibimbap on the table and dug in together.
"Ah~"
"Ah!"
"Chew thoroughly, okay?"
"Okay!"
"Our Sarang~ You're eating so well~"
With Sarang there, we naturally focused on feeding her. Just watching her munch away contentedly was enough to make me feel full.
And beside her, the rest stop udon I was nibbling on lived up to its reputation. No joke, I wanted to eat it at every rest stop for the rest of our trip.
Most importantly, Sarang seemed to be really enjoying the food too.
"Heena, try some. The udon is really good."
"I am~ You should eat more too instead of just taking care of Sarang. Han Sarang, can you eat by yourself?"
"I can... But it's yummier when Daddy feeds me!"
"Oh really? Well, I guess we have no choice then!"
"Sheesh, you shouldn't always indulge her whims."
Even as she said that, Heena watched us with a contented smile. Sarang had completely abandoned her own spoon, and we took turns feeding her bites from my spoon.
Thanks to that, our meal took longer than expected. Afterwards, we strolled around the food stalls inside the building.
"Sarang, want some potatoes?"
"Potatoes... Hot dog! I want a hot dog!"
"A hot dog? That works too."
I entered the famous bakery selling hot dogs, lifting Sarang up again. As soon as she could see over the counter, she beamed at the employee and placed her order.
"Hello! Sarang wants a hot dog please!"
"Hi there~ Which kind would you like?"
"One potato hot dog, please."
"Certainly, I'll help you with payment over here."
After paying, I received a thick potato hot dog from the employee and headed to a bench outside. It was so thick that it would be hard for Sarang's tiny mouth to eat...
Honestly, it looked a bit challenging even for my mouth.
I used the disposable fork and knife I'd requested from the employee to cut the hot dog into small pieces. Then I fed the smallest piece from the top to Sarang.
"Nom nom..."
"Is it good?"
"So yummy!"
"You should finish chewing before talking. Remember to chew thoroughly~"
"Okay!"
I fed the next piece to Heena, who was sitting across from us with her chin propped in her hand.
"Mmm..."
"How is it?"
"Mmm hmm..."
She nodded in response to my question, covering her mouth. Heena has quite a small mouth too, so even cut into pieces, it was probably hard for her to talk while eating.
Once again, I ended up neglecting my own food. But who cares? My daughter and wife were enjoying their meal so much.
As I continued cutting up the hot dog, I suddenly wondered if this is how my dad felt during our family trips.
He always ordered after us rather than getting what he wanted first, and just took small bites of whatever we'd bought.
Before, when the whole family traveled together, my mom or mother-in-law often took care of Sarang, so I hadn't fully grasped this.
Thanks to that, I was only now truly learning my dad's heart. And I realized that when he insisted we eat more even after we offered him some, it wasn't just empty words.
Watching Sarang open her mouth like a baby bird in front of me, I deeply felt the happiness of giving.
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Raei Translations
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After our fun eating spree at the first rest stop, we ended up stopping at every single one after that. We'd left with plenty of time to spare, and since we couldn't predict when Sarang would need a bathroom break, it was safer to just stop at all of them.
Since Sarang was awake now, I sat in the back seat to take care of her. Heena was quite disappointed about that.
"I'm so sad I can only see your face in the rearview mirror now..."
"Hmm... We're not moving right now, are we? Want to look back here for a sec?"
"Yeah!"
*Smooch!*
Since it was more dangerous than when I was in the passenger seat, I quickly kissed Heena as she turned around.
"Sarang too! Sarang wants to kiss Daddy too!"
"Okay, okay."
*Smooch!*
Fulfilling Sarang's request as well.
After an fun drive filled with conversation and playfulness, we finally arrived at our destination. The time in the car and our stops at rest areas had been so much fun that it felt like we'd gotten there in the blink of an eye.
I massaged my wife's shoulders, since she'd done all the driving herself to get us here. She rarely lets me take the wheel.
Seriously, I can drive well too... But because of one mistake, I guess I'll never get to drive again.
"You worked hard."
"Not at all. It was fun."
"Give me the bags. Let's check them in and look around a bit."
"Okay, here."
"Daddy! I wanna go too!"
"Alright. Make sure you hold Daddy's hand tightly~"
"Okay!"
We crossed the dazzling hotel lobby and confirmed our reservation with the staff member, checking in our bags. We were told we could check in a little earlier than 3 PM - about 30 minutes early.
We'd just take a quick walk around and come back.
"Is it alright to use the hotel facilities starting now?"
"Yes, feel free to use them."
"Daddy! Sarang doesn't have her stuffie Eoluki! It must be in the bag!"
"We're going for a walk now, so let's let Eoluki rest a bit. Okay?"
"But it probably wants to go for a walk too..."
"It's taking a nap, they say. And don't you want to see the swimming pool?"
"Swimming pool! I wanna see! Let's go! Sarang's going to see the swimming pool!"
"Hehe, is that so?"
Well, we couldn't actually go in without changing clothes, but still.
The lobby staff smiled at Sarang's innocent words and laughter, clearly finding her adorable. I nodded in gratitude before the three of us set off to explore the hotel.
Honestly, just the first floor lobby was enough to make me feel relaxed - the open space with its clean, beautiful interior and comfortable-looking seating.
As expected of a high-end place, it felt like we were being pampered just by sitting there.
"That sofa was so comfy~ I want to replace our sofa at home with one like it."
"Want to look for a similar one and buy it?"
"Wouldn't it be super expensive?"
"Probably..."
Heena kept looking back at the sofa she'd been sitting on until just now, clearly satisfied with it.
As we walked a bit further and saw the hotel guide map on a large pillar, my heart started racing.
Although I'd already researched everything online and roughly knew what was available, seeing it in person at the actual hotel felt completely different.
From the fitness center to the game room, swimming pool, sauna, jjimjilbang, cafe, bookstore, and more. There were even multiple swimming pools - outdoor, on the top floor of the hotel, and another separate one on the roof.
"We can't go in the pool without changing, so... let's just look around a bit and then head to our room."
"Okay. Are you hungry?"
"After eating so much? Not at all. Sarang's belly looked pretty full too."
"Sarang's tummy is full!"
"Oh my... Sarang will have to swim hard today. Your belly looks like it might burst."
Since we'd stopped at every rest area to eat, Sarang's belly was visibly sticking out. Though even that looked cute, of course.
After touring the facilities on the first floor, we returned to check in.
Following the hotel staff's guidance, we entered our reserved room.
"Wow... It feels totally different from the photos."
"Really... It's so pretty~"
We couldn't help but exclaim in awe from the moment we opened the door.
The ocean view visible from the balcony, the bright and incredibly clean, spacious room. One huge bed and a smaller one for children.
Even the bathroom I glimpsed on the way in was as big as my room at home. Its size was nice, but what really caught my eye was the enormous bathtub.
Of course, Heena's house has a tub too, but it's a bit tight for two people. This one looked roomy enough for all three of us, including Sarang.
While I was marveling at the bathroom and tub, Sarang was bouncing around and flopping onto the bed.
"The bed is so big! Daddy! Are we all sleeping here together - Sarang and Mommy and Daddy?"
"Should we? The bed's so big we could all roll around without falling off."
There was a cute, safe bed set up for kids, but if Sarang wanted to sleep together, that seemed fine too.
After the hotel staff finished explaining the facilities and left the room, Heena finally headed towards the bathroom and spoke up.
"We'll go in together later, right?"
"Of course. But won't Sarang want to bathe with us too?"
"Then we'll all go in together... and after we put Sarang to bed..."
She paused there and gave me a sultry look.
"We can go in again, just the two of us."
Author's Note:
Sarang's cuteness is number one in the world!
You're asking if there's any 19+ content in this episode? There really isn't.