It was a one-sided negotiation where only we benefitted, yet somehow, it was a satisfying conversation for both sides.
Opening the calculator on my smartphone, even if not precisely, I divided 1320 by 365 and found it to be about 3 years and 7 months.
Considering the time that had passed, it meant that the monster would reappear only when we were in the upper grades of elementary school, around 5th grade.
‘Anyway, that’s a good thing.’
Ultimately, the workload decreased while the payment stayed the same.
To think that I could have a fruitful conversation with a monster; sometimes it felt as if it understood me better than people did.
Since that day, the news of the monster’s appearance, which had abruptly stopped, was honest and straightforward, unlike the deceitful talk that humans excelled at.
With a few days passing without any sign of the monster, the media, like a bunch of ghosts, flood the articles piled high with delusions.
[No Monster Sightings for Days; Is ‘Sun and Moon’s Nightmare’ Recurring….]
[Recent Monster Sightings’ Coincide with Citizens’ ‘Anxiety’]
[Representative Kim Criticized for Suggesting ‘Call the Magical Girl for a Direct Talk.’]
[Representative Seo Stated, ‘Regular and Reserve Soldiers Can Handle the Monsters’; Councilor Heo Responded, ‘Talking Too Much for Someone of 5th Rank.’]
‘Go ahead and keep talking.’
From the perspective of someone who knows the reason for the monster’s non-appearance, it all seemed hilarious.
However, the real problem arose a few days later.
It started with a post on the internet.
How exactly it was captured, I have no clue, but there was a photo of the monster holding a metal plate that read, ‘I want to talk.’
It’s not a big issue that monster photos circulate online.
There were hardly any people around; they must have all run away. The most you’d find online were instances of slight property damage or the monster clashing with the magical girl.
For ordinary people, the perception of the monster was that of a savage creature appearing out of nowhere.
Thus, the very idea that a monster could understand human language and attempt to communicate was a tremendous shock to everyone.
The media’s interest seemed to die down for a moment, only to flare back up with that photo emerging.
[Can Monsters Understand Human Language? Monster Expert Professor Kim Says, ‘Impossible.’]
[Sun & Moon, Did They Actually Speak with the Monster?]
[Incheon’s Monster Absence Feels Like the Calm Before the Storm, Is There a Connection?]
[Zero Chance of Manipulation, Is Communication Between Monsters and Humans Possible?]
[Representative Hwang Pointed Out, ‘We Must Investigate the Relationship Between the Doctor Octopus Monster and the Magical Girl.’]
[The Battle Between Monsters and Magical Girls, Turns Out to Be a ‘Staged Play?’]
Even ignoring the news pieces that were crazy with a frenzy of information, various communities were also in an uproar.
Including galleries and various cafes, it seemed that the messenger apps were buzzing with excitement too.
The monster gallery was especially lively.
While regular people were reacting with shock to the idea of a ‘monster talking’, this side was full of responses like, ‘I knew it would come to this.’
[Are you serious, planning to invade planets and you thought it was just a savage? Really?]
[It’s hilarious to see those idiots who said monsters were savage, right?]
[Still can’t believe it’s ‘impossible’? For real, I’m itching to stab something.]
[But seriously, if legendary monsters fought, who would win?]
[We weren’t wrong. It’s this ‘world’ that’s messed up…]
[Now, who is the truly savage one here?]
It was literally a community situation akin to being in the middle of a war.
I felt like my sanity was being eroded the longer I watched, so I hit the home button and escaped back to the main screen.
“Give it to me, please.”
As I pressed a side button to turn the screen black, Gomteng crawled over from the corner of the bed like it had been waiting.
I knew it had nothing to do, but it was absurd how boldly it was now demanding my smartphone.
I wasn’t going to refuse, but I threw a few prickly remarks.
“This little guy is totally addicted.”
“Eh, what can you do with this….”
Hearing the typical words of an addict, I climbed down from the bunk bed.
No matter how loud the world was, my stomach was growling.
Today, I wasn’t satisfied with typical delivery food.
Surprisingly, what came to mind was that instant spaghetti I had eaten at the villa in Sokcho.
If I ordered pasta by delivery, it’d cost 20,000 won for a portion as small as a cup noodle.
Even though Siyeon and I were relying on delivery for our meals, we hated unnecessary waste.
I could fill a frying pan with noodles and sauce for just 10,000 won. Why would I order it?
I really couldn’t bear to think of wasting that much money.
My deep-seated frugality was still at work.
After gathering my clothes, I said,
“I’m heading out.”
Having mentioned beforehand that I was going out, I wondered where Siyeon could be hiding.
Instead of a simple acknowledgment, Siyeon popped her head up from the bed and asked.
“Where are you going?”
“To the mart, want to come?”
After answering her question with the location, I quietly suggested she join me.
“Sure!”
“Then get dressed.”
Maybe she had some ulterior motive because she responded cheerfully and got up immediately from the bed.
I tossed some summer clothes from the drawer onto the floor and watched Siyeon pick them up one by one to wear.
Seeing her so eagerly wanting to go out, she must have been after snacks.
Thanks to the monsters being more human than humans themselves, we leisurely headed to the mart, leaving the mascots behind at home.
As we passed a convenience store and entered the mart I frequented, the cool air inside refreshed the sweat that had gathered outside.
“Grab only what you want to carry, okay?”
“Okay!”
Leaving behind Siyeon racing through the mart, I headed for the noodle section with the plastic basket they provided.
Past various noodles like somyeon, ramen, and dangmyeon, I reached the shelf of bright yellow long pasta.
500 grams of pasta was just about enough for the two of us for three meals.
Still, this was the smallest amount available at the neighborhood mart, so I reluctantly tossed it into my basket.
Now it was time to pick a sauce.
Bacon Bolognese, Meat Tomato, Rose….
It was too complicated, so I just went for a cheap option among the red tomato sauces.
‘Bacon, bacon….’
Since it felt insufficient to eat just pasta and sauce, I thought about additional ingredients.
Instead of bacon made from pork belly, I found a slightly cheaper cut of thick front leg bacon.
Since I was a bit of a bottomless pit, as long as it was meat, it didn’t really matter, so I tossed it into the basket without much thought.
With only the things I planned to buy roughly filled in the basket, I approached the checkout counter.
“Hmm?”
As per her previous statement, it was only Siyeon who brought what she could carry.
Her hands were packed with snack bags, and somehow, she even managed to stack more snacks on top; it looked like a tower.
Siyeon’s crafty little mind was growing.
With her getting smarter by the day, not all of it seemed good.
Returning home carefree from the mart, I couldn’t have known just how much security was brought about by the fact that the monster wouldn’t be appearing for a while.
As soon as I got home, I took out the noodles, sauce, and bacon from the bag before heading to the kitchen.
“Ms. Mari?”
Gomteng fluttered over, firmly clutching my smartphone.
That attitude, as if it had been waiting, made me think it definitely wasn’t about the monster, so I turned my gaze and simply replied with a short “What?”
“Why?”
“I’ve been getting calls from a restricted number since earlier….”
“It’s probably the Minister Aunt; she said something’s up?”
Gomteng fluttered closer and handed me the smartphone, showing that seven missed calls were listed under the call history.
Not thinking that it was an unanswerable circumstance, as soon as I got the phone back, another call came in immediately.
Naturally, the number on the screen displayed ‘restricted number.’
I slid the green button to answer, casually saying my formal greeting.
“Hello.”
“Sun, why aren’t you picking up your phone?”
The voice coming through the smartphone was that of someone who needed no introduction.
In contrast to my nonchalant demeanor, her voice sounded a bit urgent.
I couldn’t help but ask in surprise why there was any rush to call.
“Why?”
“Why? You haven’t seen any monster showing up after that octopus monster, right? It’s chaos over here!”
What should be seen as good news has apparently caused a crisis for them due to sudden changes.
It would be fine if they just let it slide like they do when crafting ridiculous policies; why do they have to be so strict in this regard?
“Well, isn’t it a good thing if they don’t show up?”
“That may be what you think! Do you have any information?”
“Well, they said they’re not coming this way, like in 3 and a half years?”
As I casually spilled the truth, a brief silence followed from the other end of the smartphone.
The incredulity in the Minister’s voice came through with a hint of laughing disbelief.
“…Wait, did you actually say that?”
“Yeah, but….”
Answering calmly, I heard a deep sigh, followed by the distant tone of her voice.
“Hah, I can’t believe this… alright, just hang up for now.”
“Ah, wait a minute.”
“Why?”
I figured I should mention something inconvenient about life since I couldn’t take the initiative to call.
These annoying regulations for those under 14 drove me up the wall; just waiting until I aged felt more uncomfortable than it was worth.
So I decided to bring it up once.
“Don’t we have legal guardians or anything? Every time, I run into age restrictions, it’s maddening.”
“Hmm? Oh, didn’t you guys hear anything?”
“Pardon?”
A bizarre situation arose where the answer morphed back into another question.
The odd intonation of our mutual confusion felt almost like question marks floating around.
In this strange exchange of questioning each other’s issues, the tone from the other side of the smartphone began to settle.
“Hm… just a moment.”
Sensing some unease, the minister asked me to hold on for a bit.
I listened attentively to the distant chatter echoing through the smartphone.
“Hey guys, didn’t we assign legal guardians to Sun and Moon?”
“Uh, the Minister said one side seemed too responsible that it wouldn’t be necessary….”
“No, I was joking! Ugh, I’m losing it! Hurry and send a message!”
“…….”
From the faintly heard conversation, I gathered that they likely took a joke seriously, leading to this simple oversight.
What a ridiculous place this country was.
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