My Girlfriend Is a Fan of Me

After the long journey, we took a day to rest and only set out for lunch the next afternoon, loaded with the toys that the kids wanted to play with.

Since it was midday, the sun was pretty strong, so we unfurled the parasol, making it somewhat bearable. There was definitely less of a heat haze compared to when we were in Seoul; maybe it was the beach air.

“Kids, you have to wear goggles when you splash in the water, okay? Saltwater stings your eyes!”

“Yes!”

I reminded them beforehand, just in case they accidentally sprayed seawater into their eyes. I applied sunscreen on the kids and urged them not to go too far.

And then, the fun in the water began!

“By the way, why are you wearing a jacket?”

Curiously pondering while watching the kids play, I tossed the question to my wife, lounging on the sunbed.

She was wearing a waterproof hoodie over her swimwear, which was strange since I had seen her in a bikini when we were at the villa just a few days ago.

“Umm, after having the kids, I gained a bit of weight… It’s just a little embarrassing to show myself.”

“Oh dear, you worry too much.”

While my wife flushed and hid her stomach, I found it utterly absurd. Just a few days ago, I had seen her body right in front of me, and there was not an ounce of excess fat! She didn’t slack off on fitness or self-care even after having kids, so how much could she really have gained?

“It’s okay, take it off and play with the kids. I’ll put sunscreen on you.”

“I can’t refuse after you say it like that!”

As I squeezed some white sunscreen into my hand, my wife pouted but quickly took off the jacket.

The bikini revealed was a halter-neck type, considerably less revealing than the provocative black bikini I’d seen when we first arrived at the villa. Perhaps she felt pressured by wearing something too revealing in front of the kids, or maybe she just lacked confidence in her own body lately.

Either way, it looked fantastic to me. The slight cut at the waist was quite sexy.

“Okay, lay down. I’ll put sunscreen on you thoroughly.”

As I had my wife lie face down on the sunbed, adopting a service-style tone, she turned her head toward me in a hurry and exclaimed, “You can’t do weird things in front of the kids!”

“I wasn’t thinking of it, but are you feeling guilty?”

“Ugh…!”

Wait, was that a real concern? I chuckled as I saw her quickly turn back, burying her face in the sunbed. After marriage, I realized my wife had a surprisingly playful side.

Of course, if you asked me if I liked it, I would obviously say I did. But it certainly wasn’t something to be done in front of the kids.

Swish, swish.

“Instead of gaining weight, you seem to be losing some? Shouldn’t you eat more?”

As I applied the sunscreen, I casually scanned her body, but no sign of excess weight was anywhere to be found. Normally, when lying like this, some muffin top would peek out from the sides, right?

“I just don’t know! I weighed myself recently, and it was shocking!”

“Really?”

But my wife lamented as if I knew nothing about it, venting her frustration.

I figured she’d only gained about 1 or 2 kg at most, but that wouldn’t matter, so I decided to console her instead.

“It’s fine. You’re still in your prime, right? In my eyes, you’re still beautiful.”

“Really…?”

“Of course!”

At that, my wife seemed to relax a bit, a sigh of relief escaping her lips. Turns out, she was surprisingly sensitive to compliments.

“All done! Now let’s go play hard.”

“Thank you! You really applied it well.”

“Of course, you’re a regular here, so I have to do a proper job!”

After applying the sunscreen and putting on a little skit for my wife, we headed toward the churning waves to play with the kids.

“Daddy! Daddy! Look here! I found something cool!”

“Oh, what is it…?”

As I was about to enjoy a leisurely time in the cool seawater with my wife, suddenly, I heard Joo-ha’s urgent voice from behind.

Wondering what amazing thing she might have discovered, I turned back enthusiastically.

Splash!

“Phew!?”

Water from Joo-ha’s water gun hit my face, and my vision turned dark. The sound of Joo-ha’s delighted laughter filled the air, clearly enjoying her little prank.

Oh, she must not have witnessed what happened to my mom the last time she pulled a stunt like this. As a dad, I needed to redeem my honor; this called for full immersion!

However, I couldn’t just unleash water monster chaos against the kids. I had to counterattack with equal force.

“Daddy doesn’t have a water gun!?” Joo-ha squealed with delight.

Thinking she could outrank me since I had no weapon, Joo-ha appeared overconfident. However, little did she know, I had a secret weapon.

“Actually, I brought one!”

“Liar! I saw you didn’t bring one!”

“Oh? Then I guess I’ll just have to show you.”

Splash!

Thinking I was unarmed, Joo-ha was caught off guard when I squeezed water through my fingers directly at her.

It was a trick I learned from my father back in the day whenever we went to the stream or beach. I remembered how amazed I was the first time he pulled it off, and thankfully, I managed to learn it too.

“Ahh!?”

“See? Daddy’s water gun has infinite water!”

“How did you… Phew!? Daddy! Wait, time out!”

As I kept splashing her with water, Joo-ha flailed her arms and called for a time out.

Well, nice try, but not gonna happen!

“Not a chance! You splashed me first, remember?”

“But… Phew!? Mom…!”

Finally unable to bear the pressure, Joo-ha ducked behind her mother for protection. Ah, what a cheat move!

Peering over my wife’s shoulder, I watched as Joo-ha twisted and squirmed, trying to escape.

Then it seemed she’d spotted something, her eyes widened in determination as she turned toward the sandy shore.

“Gyuri! Attack Dad!”

Like a commander on the battlefield, she gave her battle orders while sprinting to safety.

In the following moment, splash!

“Gah!?”

A powerful jet of water from the shallow shore collided with my face!

As it turned out, Gyuri was waiting to ambush me, prepping to ambush while she couldn’t swim out deep.

“Hehe! Gyuri is on my side, right, Gyuri?”

“Yep!”

Wow, so it’s a sibling alliance now? I didn’t think Gyuri would turn on me like that.

Standing there helplessly, I shot my wife a pleading glance. It seemed she understood my silent message and wore a soft smile.

Then,

“Fighting together is unfair, so I’ll be on Daddy’s team!”

“Eh!?”

“Hey, Mom betrayed me!”

I wondered where Gyuri learned the word “betrayal.” Probably from her kindergarten friends.

Regardless, shock flashed across the children’s faces as they realized their plan was foiled. They hurried off to find reinforcement, fleeing toward Yoo-chan, who was building a sandcastle nearby.

“Yoo-chan! It’s an emergency! Take this!”

“Huh? Why?”

“Hurry! We need you to win!”

“I just want to build my sandcastle…”

Yoo-chan was reluctant, but once Gyuri joined the plea, he reluctantly grabbed a water gun and headed toward the water.

It felt like witnessing the beginning of a classic story where someone gains unknown powers to save the world.

Although in this case, it was comedic, as he had to face off against his very own parents!

In a way, this was quite a farcical family affair.

“Charge!”

“Yay!”

“Wahhh!”

Seeing the kids charging with their own water guns, my wife and I exchanged glances, as if we’d made a pact, and smiled simultaneously.

That thought subtly simmered – that bringing them along was indeed the right call.

*

After a hearty round of splashing and swimming, and even building a sandcastle together, we finally realized it was time to head back to the villa.

“Alright, wrap it up! Time to go back and eat some delicious meat!”

“Wow! Meat!”

“Meat!”

“Daddy! Are there sausages too!?”

“Of course, there are!”

As I clapped my hands to lift the mood, the kids, surprisingly fixated on the word “meat,” erupted with cheers. After all that splashing around, they must have been pretty hungry too.

“Wow, by the way, Yoo-chan. You built that sandcastle really well!”

“Yep! Mommy and Daddy and my sister helped!”

As I marveled at the impressive sandcastle standing proudly on the beach, Yoo-chan credited his family rather than himself. Quite a mature move for someone his age.

“Daddy! Can’t we play at the beach again tomorrow?”

“Sure! Joo-ha, you still want to play, huh?”

“Hehe…”

Realizing I’d uncovered her secret desire, Joo-ha shyly smiled and nodded.

We had taken the kids to pools before, but this was our first family trip to the beach, which made it feel quite special.

If I had known how delighted they’d be, I would’ve brought them down ages ago. I felt I hadn’t been a good enough dad.

“Hey, honey, what’s wrong? Don’t just stand there. Let’s go inside!”

“Yeah, let’s do that.”

As I stood there watching the kids rush into the villa, my wife approached, gently carrying a bag and taking my hand.

Almost entranced, I followed her slowly into the villa.

At that moment, a refreshing sea breeze swept over my body, and I took a deep breath.

---