My Japanese Childhood Friend Is Too Flirty - Chapter 147



146. What it Means to Have a Growing Family (2)

It was a weekend just three days after Yura’s first birthday.

“Honey, won’t you come sit here a moment?”

Aki, having just put Yura to sleep in the nursery, sat down on the living room sofa and patted the spot beside her. It was a signal; she had something important to say, so come closer.

“What is it?”

I nodded and moved closer. Aki held her phone in her right hand.

The calendar app was open on the screen. A quick glance revealed a tiny note: [Ask Honey about army stuff!!]. It seemed she wanted to talk about my military service.

“Listen, Honey. You submitted all those army documents we talked about, right?”

“I did. Didn’t I tell you?”

“Umm. No, you didn’t. You submitted them… How did it go?”

“I was actually going to tell you… Here.”

I pulled my own phone from my pocket, opened the Talk app, and showed Aki the notification that had arrived from the Military Manpower Administration.

[★MMA Notice Regarding Mandatory Military Service]

[Mr. Ju Woo-ju, in accordance with Article 21 of the Military Service Act, you have been selected as a reservist soldier eligible for commute duty and your enlistment date and unit, the 52nd Infantry Division, have been determined.]

[★Information regarding mandatory military service can be found on the MMA website and through the Military Service Counseling Center.]

“Look, see this? The part that says I’ve been selected as a reservist soldier eligible for commute duty.”

“Oh… Doesn’t that mean you got assigned commute duty?”

“Yeah. That’s right. I got assigned commute duty, and the enlistment date is the date written below. It’s less than three months away.”

According to the original plan, I was supposed to enlist before Yura’s first birthday. But, as all Korean men know, the MMA’s unique way of doing things delayed my enlistment date considerably.

What did they say? Something like there weren’t any commute duty spots available right away, so October enlistment for commute duty was impossible, but active duty was an option, and did I want to go immediately?

I almost retorted, “Would *you* choose active duty when you can legally get commute duty?” But I just decided to wait longer to go as commute duty no matter what. I couldn’t leave Aki and Yura, who had just turned one, for active duty where I wouldn’t be able to commute.

“Ah, I see…! So, no more worrying about the army, then?”

“No more. I won’t have to go active duty.”

“Mmm. That’s good. Atashi was worried that time you said there weren’t any spots and about active duty… I thought maybe you’d have to go active duty…”

Aki sighed deeply, seemingly relieved. Touched by her concern, I stroked her hair.

“What would you have done if I’d gone active duty?”

“Hmm… I probably would have staged a one-person protest in front of the MMA.”

“Wow, your face would have been known all over the country if you’d done that, wouldn’t it?”

If my foreign wife held a one-person protest in front of the conscription office because of her husband’s military service… wouldn’t every news outlet in the country be tripping over themselves to interview Aki?

Imagining Aki, arguing my unfair treatment in front of a broadcasting station’s camera, made me chuckle. I stared at her, snickering.

“Still, it’s okay. For me, having 서방님 [Seobangnim – endearing term for husband] by my side is more important than my face being plastered everywhere.”

I assumed she was joking, but her eyes were surprisingly serious.

“…Really?”

“Mhm. Really.”

It was then that I understood.

Others might not realize it, but having lived with Aki for so many years, I knew.

Aki. She was serious.

If I had actually gone to active duty, she really would have gone to protest in front of the conscription office with a sign…?

“I, too, was prepared for it.”

“Oh? Prepared for what?”

“Prepared to cause a diplomatic incident. If I had really shown my face and protested, it would’ve been reported overseas too.”

“Eii, even so, that’s too…”

Just as I was about to say it went too far, a thought struck me.

‘…Wait. Aki’s grandfather was the Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs.’

If the granddaughter of a former high-ranking Japanese official held a one-person protest because of her Korean husband’s military service, wouldn’t that be a news story overseas, just as she said?

If that really happened, whether I wanted it or not, the whole nation would know our faces.

Hearing the words “diplomatic incident” from Aki’s mouth, it felt strangely imaginable, almost real, giving me a slight chill.

“It’s a relief nothing like that happened…”

“…….”

It really is a relief…….

To hide my goosebumps, I rubbed the back of my neck, subtly changing the subject.

“What about the toy I bought yesterday? Does Yura like it a little?”

“She likes the mobile a lot, but not so much the doll. I gave it to her to play with, and she just grabbed the rabbit’s ears and started tearing at them?”

“Ah, really? Maybe she’s still too young…”

Babies have a habit of putting everything in their mouths, so I deliberately chose a rabbit doll with a smooth surface, but I never imagined she’d try to tear off its ears. I should buy her another doll when she’s a little older.

“We have to go get her vaccinated next Tuesday, and the regular check-up at the hospital is on Saturday, right?”

“Mm-hm. That’s right. But going twice is a bit much, so I was thinking of combining the dates. What do you think about going on Tuesday if possible, or maybe on Saturday…?”

*Glance*.

Akari trailed off, eyes finding mine. She looked as though she had something she desperately wanted to say.

“Darling.”

“Hmm?”

“Now that your military service is sorted, and I think I’m finally settling into motherhood?”

“Well… I suppose so?”

“Yes. I think so too… So, that’s why I was thinking.”

*Thump.*

A soft hand landed on my thigh.

“Don’t you think… maybe it’s a good time to think about a second one?”

“……”

Had I misheard?

Her words, coupled with that unsettling caress, put me on edge. I turned to face her.

Akari was staring intently at me.

Very intently.

“What do you think, darling…?”

“Um… a little.”

“A little…?”

“I think it might be a little… too soon.”

“……Why?”

“I still haven’t done my military service, and what about your schooling, Akari?”

“No, it’s alright. I can wait for your service, and since you’re going to be at home every day anyway, I’ll still see you. And Mother said she’d help with the baby. If that’s not enough, she even said she’d hire a caretaker.”

Her answer spilled out like she’d been waiting for this moment.

I was momentarily speechless.

There seemed to be no escape.

“Your grandparents really loved the photos we sent of Yura.”

“Oh, did they…?”

“Yes. They were so happy with just Yura. Wouldn’t they be even happier if we sent them photos of Yura and a sibling together?”

“……”

“Answer.”

“Still, in my opinion…”

“Huh? What was that? You mean Master also thinks so?”

“No, I just…”

Aki covered my mouth with her palm.

“…Never mind, get it out.”

“……”

From noble mtl dot com

From the start, my opinion held no weight, it seemed.

“Never mind. I’ll get it out for you. Master, you just stay still…”

“N-no, wait a minute…! I can take it off myself. …No, really, I’ll take it off? Aki, Aki, mpph… mpph.”

* * *

That a family has increased by one person meant, soon, it could increase by another.

I was a little late in realizing that fact.

…Though, even if I’d realized it sooner, nothing would have changed. In any case.

Taking advantage of Yura’s peaceful slumber, after completing the important task, I came out to a nearby coffee shop. Aki, saying I deserved to relax until dinner after all the hardship, told me to go out and meet a friend from high school.

“Wooju, why are there so many red marks on your neck?”

“Mosquito bites. Mosquitoes…”

I self-consciously covered my neck at Seungwoo’s observation. Aki loves s*cking *that* much that she often leaves a lot of lip marks on my body like this.

I’ve asked her to restrain herself a little because it’s embarrassing every time I have to meet people… but Aki’s surprisingly stubborn and won’t stop. According to her, it’s all territorial marking to keep other indecent women away, or something.

“Ah~ Mosquito bite marks. But are there still so many mosquitoes in October? Shouldn’t you check the screens and drains?”

“……Yeah. I’ll check when I get home. What do you want to drink? I invited you, so I’ll pay.”

“No, it’s alright. I’ll get my own. Let’s go order together.”

Seungwoo stood up, following me. I told him he could just stay seated, but Seungwoo insisted on tailing me, and ordered an Americano for himself.

Next to him, I ordered a hot chocolate. I used to drink coffee often, but because I have to wake up in the middle of the night because of Yura, I naturally stopped drinking coffee. If I had to say, this too could be a positive effect of parenting.

“So, how is raising a kid? Manageable?”

Seungwoo, sitting across from me, asked, taking a sip of his Americano.

I stirred the hot chocolate with a teaspoon, thought for a moment, then blurted out.

“Honestly, ten months ago it was really hard… but these days it’s manageable. Maybe it’s because she’s over a year old, but she doesn’t wake up as much at night.”

“She used to wake up often at night, ten months ago?”

“Yeah. Really often. Sometimes almost every hour or two? So Aki and I often didn’t get any sleep at all.”

If Yura woke up ten times every night, I would soothe her three times, and Aki would soothe her seven times. Because I had to go to school, Aki would often be considerate and tell me to just sleep. I am still grateful for that point.

“Wow…. Every one or two hours. You must have really suffered. Now that I look at it, you do seem to have lost some weight…”

“No, Aki suffered more than I did. On days I had school, she practically took over full-time, soothing Yura.”

That’s what makes her even more amazing. How can she go through all that hardship and immediately want to have a second child? Seriously, Aki might even have more stamina than me.

“What does it feel like, having a child?”

“Hmm….”

What does it feel like, huh?

I held the hot chocolate mug with both hands and pondered for a moment.

“It feels like living a new life, I guess?”

“Oh…. Really that much?”

“That much. So many things I never even considered before Yura came along….”

“Like what, for example?”

“Like…. Well, my mindset has changed, for one. I think, every single moment, that I shouldn’t become someone Yura would be ashamed of.”

“Mindset…. Yeah. What else?”

“It made me realize how hard my parents must have worked…. It made me want to be good to them, and also to be incredibly good to Aki later on. No matter what anyone says, the mom is the one who suffers the most raising a kid. The kid only looks for their mom.”

“Really? Why?”

“I don’t really know either. Is it because kids just naturally prefer their mom? I treat her really well too….”

“……Heh.”

“……What are you laughing at?”

“Woojoo, you just sounded exactly like my uncle.”

“Like your uncle…?”

“Yeah. My uncle just had a kid a while ago, and he was telling me how it seems like the baby prefers his mom over him.”

“Ah, seriously…?”

Seungwoo’s uncle has the same worries as me, huh. I’ve never even met him, but I feel a strange sense of kinship.

“……Anyway. Don’t have kids too soon. Even if you marry your girlfriend, don’t rush it, enjoy everything you can as a couple. That way it’s less tough.”

“Hmm….”

“What?”

“Well, you don’t seem that burdened for someone who’s talking about how hard it is…?”

Seungwoo tapped his lips with his finger.

I brought my hand to my own lips.

My lips were turned up in a smile.

“If it was only hard, I wouldn’t be smiling, would I?”

“……”

“Even if it’s hard, it’s rewarding enough, right?”

“……Well. Yeah, it is.”

Lying if I said it wasn’t.

“Are you happy?”

“……Are you kidding me?”

I looked straight at Seungwoo.

“Of course I’m happy, you idiot.”