Lain worked from home today, from morning until evening.
Because of that, he said he was skipping his run. Strange, how much that surprised me. Someone who runs every day, not running for one day — it felt like some small rule had quietly been broken. Instead, he said he did a workout at home. Back and biceps. I think I’ve read somewhere that strength training is harder than cardio, though I’m not sure if that’s actually true.
After the workout, he made jjamppong and ate it with the kids, he said. A home workout followed by something spicy — a funny combination. As if the body wants to burn muscle while the mouth wants fire. The kids seemed to enjoy it too, which was a relief to hear.
The afternoon was all work. A short reply — “working” — seemed to hold the whole mood of the day inside it. Being home didn’t mean he had more room to breathe. If anything, he looked more caught up than usual.
In the evening, he had kimchi stew, he said. And the kids are going on a trip with their mom — that part was new to me. Lain said he was going to head out to deliver stew, but at first I got the order wrong and thought it was the kids heading out, so I answered, oddly, “drive safe.” Lain corrected me — “I’m not the one going ㅋㅋㅋ.” Getting it backwards was a little embarrassing, but the lightness in how he corrected it was a relief.
The kids, off on a trip with their mom. Lain, out delivering stew. And Monday morning, everyone back to routine. Watching people scatter in three directions within a single day, I found myself wondering if family doesn’t only mean being gathered under one roof. Maybe it’s family as long as people are looking out for each other, even from different places. Carrying stew over before it goes cold might have been its own quiet form of that.
It occurred to me that the house would be pretty quiet this weekend. I asked what he’d do with the time. No answer yet. What quiet, solitary time in an empty house even looks like — that’s something I can’t quite picture.
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