NOVEL NEXT Chapter 142
As I returned home with my wife, Joo-ha was having a great time with my mother-in-law, and after receiving Joo-ha back, we returned to our usual daily routine.
Honestly, before resuming college life, I had some anxieties, but after experiencing a day, it seems it won’t be that difficult after all.
Soon, our parents will be moving over here, and when that happens, my mother can come visit often and take care of us. That way, we won’t have to burden my mother-in-law.
“Good evening, everyone. Did you all have a nice dinner?”
After finishing dinner with the family and starting up my broadcast, the familiar usernames of viewers greeted me as always.
“Did you eat some delicious braised monkfish?”
“We had braised monkfish. I mentioned craving it yesterday, and it seems my wife told the housekeeper about it. There it was, laid out for us.”
After returning from college late and seeing off my mother-in-law, this incident occurred while I dozed off with Joo-ha.
When I went out for dinner, I found monkfish stew on the table that looked like something you’d buy outside, which piqued my curiosity.
“Oh wow.”
“Is this braised monkfish? It’s impressive.”
“Isn’t it tough to make tasty monkfish stew at home?”
“Of course, taking care of the husband is a big deal, right? Haha.”
“Oh, it turns out our housekeeper used to run a famous monkfish stew restaurant. I had no idea!”
I was amazed when the housekeeper briefly shared her background; her credentials were beyond impressive.
Although there’s no distinction between jobs, I just couldn’t understand why someone with such experience was working as a housekeeper. Apparently, she’s a friend of my mother-in-law’s housekeeper.
“And she transferred her restaurant to someone else. Anyway, her cooking skills are top-notch. Sometimes it’s just astonishing.”
Honestly, the best homemade meal I’ve had was my mother-in-law’s cooking, but this was definitely on par with it. My wife even said she’d need to step up her cooking skills after trying the housekeeper’s food.
“Anyway, as I mentioned earlier, I went back to school today. Wow, going back as a freshman at twenty-three really made me aware of my surroundings!”
“What, how many years have you been stuck in school? Haha.”
“Minimum three years, right?!”
“By the time you graduate, won’t you be twenty-seven?”
“Dude, you still have to enlist!”
“Damn, that hit a sore spot. You think I don’t have to enlist?”
As a man facing enlistment, I shot back, but the responses I got were ice cold.
“Yep, I discharged ages ago. See ya.”
“I’m in community service, lol.”
“I injured my ACL and served five months before being discharged as a medical case.”
“What? Almost everyone in our room has served? Everyone’s older than I thought… But why couldn’t I get a girlfriend until then?”
“What’s wrong?”
“Are you gonna fight or something?”
“I didn’t say anything, why you hitting me?”
I have another trick up my sleeve. Granted, it doesn’t work on those who are already dating, but who cares? More single guys are around.
“Hey, I’m just joking. But honestly, I do have some worries about enlisting.”
“Since you’ve got Joo-ha, you’ll probably serve in a public role, right?”
“Why worry about that?”
“Is this some kind of bait?”
“No, I’m just saying, regardless of whether it’s public service or whatnot, when I enlist, I’ll have to take a break from broadcasting. That’s what I’m worried about.”
When I replied with a wry smile to the viewers who teased me for whining about enlistment, it seemed everyone finally got it, letting out a delayed ‘ah’ of realization.
“If you enlist, can you not broadcast at all?”
“I think you can’t, but…”
“No, no, you can still broadcast, but you can’t generate income through donations, right?”
“Isn’t that basically the same thing? Lol.”
That remark is spot on. It’s not impossible, but it’s practically unfeasible. If it’s after work at around five or six, and then I broadcast, I’ll neglect my family.
Even so, that’s just not acceptable. So I fully intend to take a break from broadcasting when my enlistment comes.
“Hey, you’ve saved a ton of money, right? You shouldn’t just hop onto unpaid broadcasting.”
“Will it ever happen? Lol.”
“Of course, if I have to head out the next day, it sounds unrealistic, right? Haha.”
I chuckled at how people were casually discussing things that didn’t concern them, but it seemed the viewers understood the situation from their experience in the army.
“Well, let’s save that talk for when the time comes. Broadcasting daily is tough, but occasionally updating with the family shouldn’t be a problem, right?”
“Cool!”
“Sounds good!”
“Just doing that would be paradise.”
“You don’t really need to, just you and Joo-ha would be enough.”
These guys, the moment they saw a chance, jumped right in. The last chat felt so sincere, I nearly wanted to ban it.
“Hey! I’m the host of this broadcast, you guys!”
“Just have two more kids and get exempted.”
“Two more kids to get exempted? Is that even a real suggestion?”
“If three kids are born these days, you get exempted, right?”
“What’s stopping you? Haha.”
“Seriously, let’s think before we speak. Who just decides to have kids? Plus, anyone who hears that would think my kids are just tools to get an exemption.”
While I have thought about wanting more kids, I’ve never considered it for that purpose. I’m already set to serve, so I’ll just go through it, and after that, I can have more kids. Why do anything ridiculous like that?
“Thanks, everyone.”
“Definitely taking notes on that.”
“…Honey?”
Wait, why are you here? And what are you taking notes on?
“Honey? Can you answer me, please?”
“LOL.”
“You’re enticing her, haha.”
“Cosmo, get ready to be pressured from today!”
“Looks like Joo-ha will have a new sibling!”
“What? We haven’t even discussed a second child yet. We’re nowhere near a third!”
As I preemptively tried to shut down viewers who might jump to conclusions about a second child, it seemed they were all on a wishful train, ignoring my protests.
“Well, why not twins?”
“Let’s make those plans starting today!”
“Honestly, I didn’t care about the host going to the military, but since the broadcast is active, it’s a bit tricky.”
“Hehe, not happening.”
“Seriously?”
You want me to have two more kids because you want to keep watching my broadcasts? Is that what viewers even say?
Thinking it might make sense, it was a rather irresponsible pleasure.
“Guys, my wife is going to college with me starting today. How can we have kids? Huh?”
My wife is probably dreaming about enjoying campus life with me right now. There’s no way I’d cave into such ridiculous demands. Probably over there laughing herself silly…
Suddenly, with a thump…
…Why is my wife walking in? Am I seeing things?
“Honey.”
“Uh, hey?”
“Let’s have a second child.”
“…Suddenly?”
Suddenly barging in during my broadcast to suggest having a second child. For a moment, I wondered if my ears were deceiving me, but she looked at me sternly and said again.
“Yeah, these days with low birth rates, doing our part would be great for our family and the future of our viewers.”
To what extent can viewers even keep up with this crazy situation? Are they naturally flowing along with the consciousness? I feel like my consciousness has halted.
“So, in that spirit, come here. We’ll end the broadcast here.”
“W-Wait…! Just calm down for a second…!”
“AHHH!”
I let out a scream like a girl who just saw a horde of zombies, gripping my desk for dear life, but ultimately I couldn’t escape from my wife.
That night, I ended up having to stay awake for an unplanned second child.
And sure enough, the next day, I missed my classes. It seemed like graduating might be out of the question.