Chapter 38

“Mom, the cola must be the big one!”

“Drinking too much cola isn’t good for your health!”

“Eeeng!”

Unable to resist Ha-yeon’s aegyo, I had no choice but to buy the large cola. Even though it was called a Couple Combo, they gave us a small cola. So, we ended up holding popcorn and cola in both hands. Ha-yeon was holding the huge cola. Since she couldn’t hold the popcorn too, I was the one carrying it.

One large popcorn and two colas. That was enough for watching the movie. And since Tiny Ping was a children’s animation, the runtime was short. Other movies had runtimes close to 2 hours and 20-30 minutes, but Tiny Ping didn’t even reach 2 hours. I guess it was a movie that considered children’s attention spans.

Thinking about the kids watching Tiny Ping, it wouldn’t have been good to make the runtime too long. After all, kids have less patience than adults. If the runtime were longer, there would definitely be kids whining. Anyway, we went in with our popcorn and cola.

“Where is Theater 5…”

I was looking at the movie ticket, trying to find the screening room. The place was packed. People were overflowing to watch other movies. If I wasn’t careful, I could lose Ha-yeon. To avoid getting separated, I stuck close to her. It was the weekend, so there were a lot of people at the movies. This would make using the restroom difficult…

Being a woman now, I couldn’t help but be more sensitive about restrooms. When I was a man, I could go anytime, and the restroom was always empty, making it easy to relieve myself. But as a woman, it was different. Women’s restrooms don’t have urinals, so there’s always a line. In busy places, it takes too much time to use the restroom. So, I decided not to drink too much cola today. I didn’t want to have to leave the theater during the movie to wait in line at the restroom.

It’s important to watch the movie without interruptions.

The theater was like a maze, so it was a bit hard to find the right screening room. Of course, with Ha-yeon there, we managed to find it.

“Mom, over here!”

Ha-yeon was pointing to the screening room with both hands holding the cola. I checked the theater number on the ticket and went in with Ha-yeon. When I booked the tickets earlier, there weren’t many people, but now it was crowded.

Walking through the dark theater, we found our seats. Since we had reserved seats in the middle, it wasn’t too hard. Sitting down, Ha-yeon and I started eating the popcorn.

“Ha-yeon! If you want popcorn, you can take some!”

Strangely, Ha-yeon didn’t take any. She just ate the popcorn placed on my lap. I deliberately put the popcorn bucket on her lap, but she shook her head and handed it back to me.

“It tastes better on Mom’s lap!”

What kind of logic is that? My lap isn’t some seasoning. But Ha-yeon often says things like this, so I just let it slide. Meanwhile, Ha-yeon was already gulping down the cola. The movie hadn’t even started yet, and she was drinking like that…

Since becoming a woman, holding it in has become harder. I heard somewhere that women’s urethras are much shorter than men’s, which is why. Anyway, if she drinks cola like that, she’ll have to go to the restroom during the movie. So, I told her:

“Ha-yeon, if you drink cola already, what will you do when you need to go?”

“It’s fine! I’ll just go to the restroom!”

Well, Ha-yeon isn’t a little kid who can’t find the restroom. In some ways, she’s more reliable than me. Of course, this was the first time we went to the movies alone together.

I’ve seen her watch special movies at home, but coming to the theater to watch a movie in real-time was a first for Ha-yeon. I had experience, though.

“It’s starting!”

The lights in the theater dimmed, and the protagonist Tiny Ping appeared. I was quickly absorbed into the movie. Ha-yeon was also getting into it. Of course, her hands were constantly moving to eat the popcorn.

—

By the middle of the movie, Ha-yeon felt an unbearable urge to go. As Mom had said earlier, she had finished a large cola, so it was inevitable. Ha-yeon thought about holding it in, but it was impossible. She quietly got up from her seat. She glanced at Mom sitting next to her, who was completely absorbed in the movie.

Of course, Mom noticed Ha-yeon getting up. Ha-yul, seeing Ha-yeon get up, whispered quietly so others wouldn’t hear:

“Ha-yeon, are you going to the restroom?”

“Yeah!”

“Hurry back!”

After saying that, Ha-yul turned her attention back to the movie. Seeing Mom like that, Ha-yeon quickly ran out of the theater. If she delayed any longer, something bad might happen.

Except for when she was a very young child sleeping in Mom’s arms, Ha-yeon had never had an accident outside. Ha-yul was surprised at how quickly Ha-yeon headed to the restroom. But today, Ha-yeon felt like that record might be broken.

“Ugh…”

Ha-yeon held her crotch and looked at the line. Why were there so many women waiting for the restroom? It wasn’t as long as a highway rest stop, but Ha-yeon’s face started to pale.

If we were watching the movie at home, she could have just gone to the restroom. At home, there’s no need to wait in line like at the theater. And that situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place. She could have just paused the movie and gone.

But now was different. Ha-yeon couldn’t help but frown. She was really at her limit. She glanced at the men’s restroom next door. There was no one there. Usually, women’s restrooms had long lines, but men’s restrooms were different. With urinals, the turnover was fast.

For men, unless it was a big job, using the restroom took 10-20 seconds. But for women, it was different. Without urinals, women had to wait a long time, which was a common complaint.

“Ugh…”

Ha-yeon couldn’t help but groan. It was over. She couldn’t hold it any longer.

—

“Wow…”

The movie’s protagonist, Hachu Ping, used an incredible spell. I couldn’t help but be amazed. As the protagonist, her magical skills were impressive. And since this was an animation, I wanted to applaud the production team for their hard work in creating this scene.

Then, I suddenly looked at the seat next to me. Ha-yeon had been gone for a while. She left about 10 minutes ago but hadn’t returned yet. Did something happen? She said it wasn’t a big deal, just a small one…

I wanted to keep watching the movie, but since Ha-yeon hadn’t returned, I had to go look for her. If something happened to her, it would be a big problem. I got up from my seat and went out of the theater.

I went to the nearest restroom and entered the women’s restroom. I used to make the mistake of going into the men’s restroom, but now I was used to it and rarely made that mistake. Although I still slip up sometimes.

The women’s restroom was empty. But the door to the farthest stall was closed. I quietly approached it and knocked.

“Ha-yeon, are you in here?”

“…”

There was no sound. Surely someone was in there? Otherwise, the door wouldn’t be closed. I knocked again. This time, I heard Ha-yeon’s voice.

“Mom…”

Hearing Ha-yeon’s trembling voice, I got anxious. Did something happen?

Ha-yeon carefully opened the door. I couldn’t help but widen my eyes at the scene inside the restroom.