NOVEL NEXT Chapter 132
One morning, a few months after Joo-ha was born, my older sister suddenly dropped a bomb while we were having breakfast together.
“Hey, honey.”
“Yeah?”
“Are you busy next month?”
“Next month? Wait a second, let me check my schedule….”
It was quite rare for my sister to ask about my schedule, so I was a bit surprised and quickly pulled out my phone to look at my calendar.
Hmm, it doesn’t seem like I’m that busy next month.
I have my broadcasts as usual, but that’s about it. Just one external event booked for the last week, and I’ve got a couple of ad broadcasts which I can manage without much hassle.
“Not really, why?”
“Just wondering.”
“That’s unusual. Is there something urgent next month?”
Given her somewhat bland response, I felt it was strange and nudged her for more information.
I assumed maybe the in-laws needed my help or there was some errand for them to run, which is why she was asking.
“Well, it’s not urgent or anything, but could you spare some time on the first Saturday?”
“The first Saturday?”
That was a pretty specific request for someone who had no plans.
It shouldn’t be a problem for me.
“That works for me. Ah, are you looking to take a breather or something?”
“Maybe something like that?”
“Aha.”
It was a vague answer, but it didn’t stray too far from my expectations.
After all, with Joo-ha around, we’ve been holed up at home most of the time. My parents and in-laws have offered to watch the baby anytime to give us a break, but we turned them down every time.
Since my dad was usually around at our house, it wouldn’t be bad to drop Joo-ha off with them for a bit.
Joo-ha isn’t shy, unlike me, so I’ve seen her play happily with my parents several times. So there’s no worry there.
I figured my sister must have a plan plotted out and didn’t push for details, thinking it’d be better to go with her flow this time.
I’d just stick to being the driver and water boy.
“Yay… Yay!”
“Our little one, have you already finished eating?”
After finishing my meal ahead of time, I fed Joo-ha in her high chair, and soon the bottle was empty.
Seeing that, my wife leaned over the table, looking at Joo-ha with a face full of love. I bet my expression mirrored hers.
“Looks like you’re now officially on Joo-ha feeding duty. Sorry!”
“Well, it’s better for the one who finishes first to help out.”
I shrugged it off, saying it was no big deal, and stood up with the empty bowl.
Naturally, being a guy, I ate faster than my wife, and that had become a routine to take care of Joo-ha.
It wasn’t always like this when we ate together; most of the time, she took on the burden. So I thought I should at least help out like this to earn some husband points. That’s how I see it.
Ding.
“Huh? …Haha!”
“Did something funny come up? You suddenly cracked up.”
While I was rinsing the dishes and putting on rubber gloves, I heard a notification, and my wife let out a small laugh.
I sneaked a peek to see what was so funny, and she proudly held up her phone to show me. It was a group chat.
“Look at this. Dad’s asking for Joo-ha’s videos since this morning.”
“From my father-in-law?”
“Yep.”
Then I was taken aback by an unexpected message from him.
【Dad – Seo-ha!】
【Dad – Send me that video of Joo-ha.】
【Dad – I need to see my granddaughter’s face before my meeting.】
But as I read, my initial surprise quickly turned into amusement.
Wow, so he’s busy this morning, huh? Maybe he was looking to de-stress before getting swamped with work by watching his granddaughter’s cute videos. I didn’t expect he had this side to him!
“Haha, what do you think? Isn’t it real?”
“Wow, it really is! Does your father-in-law send these often?”
“Not too often. I post in our family group chat when I can.”
“Guess it’s been a while since your last one?”
“No, I sent one two days ago.”
“……”
So he sent a personal message just because of a one-day gap? Impressive.
“Should I send the video I showed you yesterday? You thought it was cute, right?”
“The one with Joo-ha sucking on her bottle? Yeah, that was adorable! I’m sure he’ll love it.”
With trust that only a daughter-in-law can give, I sent the video and a few pictures of Joo-ha directly to my father-in-law. No need to trouble my wife to pass it along.
【Me – Dad】
【Me – Video】
【Me – Pictures!】
【Me – Sending this since you said you wanted to see Joo-ha!】
【Me – I’ll come visit soon.】
Though it hadn’t been long since we last visited the in-laws, I knew they’d want to see their cute granddaughter in the flesh rather than a video.
Setting my phone down after sending the message, I noticed the notification number turned to zero almost immediately.
Whoa, did he check it already?
【Father-in-law – Did Seo-ha tell you?】
【Father-in-law – Sorry for bothering you.】
【Father-in-law – Don’t mind the trouble, come over when you have time.】
Text messages lack the nuances of voice or expression, but I could almost see my father-in-law looking awkward reading that second message.
Seems like he planned to just secretly get the videos from my wife but got caught. Poor guy.
“What’d he say?”
“He seems a bit sheepish for trying to get videos from you secretly. That’s the vibe I got.”
“Seriously, what’s so embarrassing about wanting to see your granddaughter?”
“I know, right?”
On one hand, I couldn’t understand it, but on the other, imagining my father-in-law’s usual demeanor, I felt it was plausible.
Anyway, I should visit them again soon. Looks like he really misses Joo-ha.
*
As usual, I started my broadcast on time and decided to explore the café scene.
When I first got to Cheese, I thought it would only get a few visits in a day, but after my broadcasts took off, this place grew and now has a lot of things popping up.
Not just my stuff, but fans’ artworks of my wife and Joo-ha are shared, and sometimes I get suggestions for new games or content for streams, making it pretty valuable.
Thanks to that, it’s become a routine to browse the café before launching straight into a game.
[Title – Drawing the Uju Family!]
[Author – AegiJoohaLoves]
(A drawing of three people sitting together on a sofa.)
Last time I just drew Ms. Seo-ha, but the response was so good that today I decided to draw the whole Cosmo family!
When Joo-ha grows up, I’d love to draw more pretty pictures!
I’ll leave the original here, feel free to use it as you please!
Once again amazed by the family fan art that had just dropped, I clapped in awe. The quality was nearly photorealistic, almost making me think someone just transferred a photo.
Wow, is this real?
“Woah, this is amazing! Right, you guys?”
【Kokkiyaho】 – Wow
【Allfreed】 – Seriously, is this pro level?
【Lucid Dream 7】 – Let’s show this to Seo-ha later, okay?
【Arisa Loves It】 – Joo-ha’s chubby cheeks are perfectly captured, wow!
Indeed, just like the chat mentioned, I need to show this to my sister later. At this level, she’d definitely print it out and hang it up, right?
“I should immediately set this as my wallpaper. Oh, thank you for the high-quality fan art!”
I bowed my head in gratitude, saved the drawing, and quickly set it as my wallpaper.
My previous wallpaper was a fan art of just me, so swapping it for this made it so much more vibrant. Having the whole family illustrated together certainly brings a more heartwarming feel.
“Well, it looks like I’ve seen everything I wanted to, so I should… hmm?”
After skimming through a few more posts, I figured I had nothing else to browse and was about to launch a hot new game I had just bought.
[Title – Everyone, you’re invited to Cosmo’s Fan Meeting!]
[Author – Cosmo’s Ultimate Fan]
“…Wait, isn’t that my wife?”
【tws2425】 – Judging by the staff tag, it must be real.
【I’m Failing To Game】 – Seo-ha!
【Joo-ha’s Loving Team】 – Seo-ha!
【Cro-Magnon】 – But what exactly is this fan meeting?
I was utterly baffled by this unexpected news, so I clicked on the post, revealing a flashy promotional poster resembling an idol concert.
When did they even make this?
[Title – Everyone, you’re invited to Cosmo’s Fan Meeting!]
[Author – Cosmo’s Ultimate Fan]
(Promotional poster)
Hello, Dust Squad!
I’m Ryu Seo-ha, Cosmo’s wife and leader of the Dust Squad.
Today, I bring you a surprising announcement.
We are going to hold the first official fan meeting for streamer Cosmo!
Yay!
If you have any questions, leave a comment, but please check the instructions written on the poster before asking!
Further details will be posted in three days.
Just to inform you, all expenses for this fan meeting will be covered by my personal funds.
P.S. Sorry I didn’t tell you, honey. ^^7
“Sweetheart!”
After reading the whole post and realizing that the date of the fan meeting fell on the first Saturday of next month, the same day my wife had just inquired about, I started to panic, frantically looking for my absent partner.
I definitely recall her mentioning wanting to have a fan meeting since Joo-ha was born, but I never thought she’d keep it a secret from me when it actually happened.
Since she never said anything, I thought it was canceled and had mentally noted that it was probably for the best. After all, who would come to my fan meeting anyway?
But now she drops this just ten days before the event?
【HyangRedBlack】 – Lololololololol
【Whirlwind Flower 2】 – Did even the host not know? Haha!
【DaeSangBi】 – A fan meeting that Cosmo didn’t even know about, haha!
【Glasses with Lock】 – Seo-ha is actually super charming, haha!
【Lego Swallowed by a Pigeon】 – I’ll cover the costs; just show up! Haha!
The viewers, fully aware of the situation, chuckled at my despair.
Ah, if only I had known this earlier, I would’ve said I was feeling sick when she asked about that day!