Chapter 40

The sun was blazing. The asphalt was scorching under the sunlight. It was the kind of weather where just walking made you feel like you were dripping with sweat. The only saving grace was that while the temperature was high, the humidity didn’t seem too bad.

Of course, it was still hot.

“It’s so hot…”

Ha-yeon said that, but she didn’t let go of my hand. Even though our hands were sweaty and slippery, I didn’t let go of hers either.

As we walked, we arrived at a retail store selling home appliances. Ha-yeon and I went inside. The cool air from the air conditioner greeted us. We finally took a deep breath. Even though we had only walked a short distance, we hadn’t expected to be so exhausted.

“Mom, it’s so cool…!”

“Right? Let’s rest for a bit and then look at the air conditioners, okay?”

“Okay…!”

Instead of heading straight to the air conditioners, Ha-yeon and I looked around. There were various appliances. Among them, a washing machine caught my eye. We had a washing machine at home, but it wasn’t as good as the ones sold here. Actually, our washing machine was probably over 10 years old.

It’s common to use appliances like washing machines until they break, but seeing these shiny new ones made me want one. A good washing machine would mean Ha-yeon’s clothes could be washed even cleaner. Of course, our current one was still usable.

“Mom, look at this!”

Ha-yeon was pressing buttons with a happy expression. I watched her as we looked around at other things.

“A… a dryer!”

My eyes widened as I stared at it. Seeing my reaction, Ha-yeon freaked out.

“Mom, you’re scaring me!”

“A dryer!!”

Having a dryer would be amazing. Everyone thinks summer is great for drying laundry, but it’s actually the opposite. It feels like clothes take longer to dry than in winter because of the high humidity. If you leave laundry out too long, it starts to smell musty.

A dryer would solve that. Just take the laundry out of the washing machine and toss it in the dryer. I didn’t know much about appliances before, but raising Ha-yeon turned me into an expert.

Back when I was a man, I only knew about vacuum cleaners and microwaves. But now, after raising Ha-yeon and doing all the housework, I’ve come to appreciate the value of appliances.

“Ahhh!”

“Ahhhh!”

Ha-yeon and I stood in front of the electric fans, making “ah” sounds as the fans distorted our voices. The store was so cool that we wanted to stay longer. So, we decided to do some shopping while looking around.

There were a lot of people, so we didn’t have to worry about the staff. Honestly, I wanted to stay here until sunset. The cool air from the air conditioner was the best. It’s like how elderly people often hang out at banks.

But we couldn’t just play around, so I took Ha-yeon’s hand and walked over to the air conditioners.

“Air conditioners, air conditioners!”

Ha-yeon was so excited that she started jumping around. Buying a new, state-of-the-art air conditioner would feel great. I was also thrilled at the thought of getting a new one.

“Hmm…”

But when I saw the price tags, my confidence started to waver. The basic models started at 2 million won. And these weren’t wall-mounted air conditioners but stand types. I was torn between getting a wall-mounted or a stand type.

I had to choose one, but I thought it would be better to let Ha-yeon decide.

“Ha-yeon, which air conditioner do you like?”

“Hmm…”

Ha-yeon put her hand on her chin, deep in thought. It seemed like she was having a hard time deciding. I tried to encourage her.

“Just pick any! Mom has plenty of money!”

“Really…?”

“Yep!”

She looked a bit skeptical, but I had more savings than she thought. Living expenses and maintenance fees weren’t too high because the government provided support for single-parent families raising young children.

So, buying an air conditioner wasn’t a problem. I had savings too.

Of course, buying an appliance like an air conditioner meant using it for at least 10 years. Some people even use them for 30 years. And among modern appliances, air conditioners haven’t changed much in terms of performance.

The role of an air conditioner remains the same: to cool the house. While they have many features, the most important is their cooling ability. The reason we were replacing our old air conditioner was that it had lost its cooling power. Until then, it had served us well.

“Hmm…!”

Ha-yeon was still deciding between the air conditioners. But soon, she made her choice. A stand-type air conditioner.

“I want this one!”

“Okay? Then let’s get this one…”

The price tag was intimidating. Over 2 million won for one air conditioner. But I planned to use it for a long time. If we bought this air conditioner now, we could use it for at least 20 years. And I’d take better care of it than the old one. Thinking of it as 100,000 won a year made it seem more reasonable.

Considering the electricity bill and other costs, it wasn’t that expensive. It’s like paying less than 10,000 won a month. Compared to monthly phone bills, it was a steal.

And so, we successfully bought an air conditioner. Of course, installation wasn’t immediate. It was peak summer, so the store was backed up with appointments. But they promised to install it within three days, so we decided to wait. Installation wasn’t too complicated either. Just place the air conditioner and plug it in.

Of course, the old outdoor unit needed replacing, but the staff would handle that. That’s probably why air conditioners are expensive—they include the outdoor unit.

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“So cool…”

“Mom, it’s so good!”

Ha-yeon and I were smiling happily as we enjoyed the cool breeze from our new air conditioner. We turned it on right after installation. The old air conditioner was either sold to a junk dealer or thrown away somewhere. The technicians took it, but I didn’t know where they dumped it. Still, it felt wasteful to throw away an old air conditioner. Maybe someone could buy it for parts. I’ve heard there are stores that buy old phones for the gold in their semiconductors.

Air conditioners could be the same. Anyway, feeling the cool air from the air conditioner made all the fatigue melt away. It felt so good. I should’ve bought it sooner. The old air conditioner was just too hot.

Maybe the refrigerant had run out, or it was just too old, but its cooling ability had dropped significantly. Even at the lowest setting, the house never felt cool. The electricity bill felt like a waste. But now, it was different.

The air conditioner we bought from the retail store had cooling power on another level. Within 30 minutes of turning it on, the whole house felt cool. No, it wasn’t just a feeling—it was a fact. Ha-yeon and I could feel it.

“Mom, look at that!”

“Huh?”

I looked where Ha-yeon was pointing. It was a TV screen showing a woman in a bikini happily swimming. Come to think of it, I hadn’t taken Ha-yeon swimming before. She seemed to want to go.

“But we don’t have swimwear…”

“We can buy some, Mom!”

And so, we made plans to buy swimwear.