Time passed until the end of February, when the snow, which had not yet completely melted, turned black and ugly, leaving patches here and there.
With just a week left until my first day at middle school.
We left the office apartment where we had accumulated a fair amount of bad relationships and moved to the neighboring building of Ji-eun.
So, we relocated to room 202.
I wanted to move to the same building if possible, but it seems that someone had bought room 502 that we had eyed two years ago.
In the end, the only remaining options in the same building were super high floors above the 15th and 16th, so we ended up moving to the adjacent building instead, to avoid the hassle of riding the elevator up and down for so long.
We moved into room 402.
Even if the elevator broke down, it was at a reasonable height where we could easily go up and down the stairs.
In the spacious living room, there were tall dining tables and chairs suitable for a human meal.
Each room had beds at a suitable height, with a monitor, speakers, keyboard, and mouse sitting on the desk below.
In the kitchen of the office apartment, we could only use a modest two-burner induction cooktop, but now we had four burners of various sizes.
A decent-sized refrigerator, microwave, and coffee pot were standard.
An air fryer, which boosts the quality of solo dining by three notches, sat next to it.
The veranda, which had been barely big enough for a washing machine, was now spacious enough to cultivate a pile of plants.
“Finally, this looks like a place where people live!”
I said, satisfied, placing my hands on my hips in the dust-free new house.
Now, instead of worrying about it being cramped, I was faced with the happy dilemma of how to use the extra space that remained.
I was incredibly satisfied with everything, but oddly enough, that feel-good intoxication didn’t last long.
After all, we were dealing with electronic devices and furniture that we’d replace once every few years at best.
What had once felt like a completely new home quickly blended into the usual rhythm of everyday life.
With two days left until school, it was a late afternoon when I wished time would just stop.
Ding-dong! The sound of the doorbell rang, followed by knocks at the house where no one was supposed to visit.
Instead of going to the front door, I headed to the intercom and looked at the outdoor screen, revealing Ji-eun and Uncle Dae-han outside the front door.
I could faintly hear the loud voice of Juwon, who seemed to be down below, not visible on the intercom screen.
“Siyeon, open the door!”
“Who is it?”
The sound of an animated show playing softly from Siyeon’s room stopped, and she came bounding into the living room, her little footsteps excitedly asking who was there.
“It’s your sister and the uncle.”
Upon confirming who was behind the door, Siyeon hurriedly made her way to the front door.
With a clunk, the sound of the doorknob turning and the door opening echoed, a multitude of footsteps entering the house.
Leading the way was Ji-eun, followed by a hurried Juwon and relaxed Uncle Dae-han, trailing behind.
“Wow, it looks bigger than our house!”
“It probably is bigger!”
As Uncle Dae-han entered, he mumbled in astonishment at the spacious view, and Ji-eun responded saying it really would be, hearing his murmured praise.
It’s true that compared to a typical household, we had fewer belongings, and the actual area size was indeed larger.
Even if they were all apartments tied by the same complex, it’s not like the square footage was completely identical for each building.
As the three of them entered the house, the atmosphere quickly grew lively.
I turned up the boiler’s temperature and, with nothing much to offer, simply pulled out the chairs from the dining table for them.
“Here, a housewarming gift!”
“Wow, thank you!”
“This is toilet paper, fabric softener, shampoo, conditioner, body wash….”
Ji-eun, who was carrying something in both hands, had actually brought essential items for us, freshly moved in as a housewarming gift.
Truly a pro at household matters, she placed the items in their packaging near the bathroom and washing machine, creating a feeling of fullness.
Feeling a bit guilty for not being able to offer anything in return, I sat down at the dining table, opened my smartphone, and started fiddling with the delivery app.
“What should we order for delivery? Is there anything you want to eat?”
While Siyeon was playing with Juwon, I sat there idly exploring the search bar.
My recent searches included jjajangmyeon, chicken, hamburgers, pizza, jokbal, eel, sushi, and so on….
It truly was a comprehensive list of all possible delivery foods entered as recent searches.
Still, with the intention of having a big meal, I braced myself for at least ¥100,000 and started looking for sushi when Uncle Dae-han spoke up first.
“Should we go with the classic jjajangmyeon?”
‘Jjajangmyeon?’
Hearing Uncle Dae-han, I started removing the sushi one by one from my cart.
It’s a pretty close-to-perfect choice for housewarming delivery food, but to pick jjajangmyeon from so many other options…
It soon all made sense when Ji-eun chimed in.
“Yeah, since Juwon has to eat too.”
“Oh, right… Juwon is here.”
That reason was none other than Juwon.
Eating with a two-year-old means raw fish is not really an option.
“Yeah, both my husband and I are crazy about seafood….”
As I turned my gaze to Juwon, who was playing with Siyeon, Ji-eun gave a wry smile, as if it gave her a headache.
Seafood, seafood.
If they could slip seafood into a Chinese dish…
Well, at least jjamppong with squid or cocktail shrimp would be a standard dish.
“So, let’s go for two bowls of seafood jjajangmyeon and some sweet and sour pork… does Juwon like shrimp chips?”
“It’s the only ocean creature he eats well.”
“Shrimp? Yay!”
Of course, being the kind of seafood with the lowest barrier of entry, Ji-eun nodded firmly when asked if Juwon liked shrimp chips.
It seemed that Ji-eun was right; Juwon did seem to like shrimp quite a bit, immediately understanding that it was something for him and excitedly shouted that he liked shrimp.
If he wants to eat it, we’d have to order more.
“Then let’s add some spicy shrimp.”
“Oh right, we should ask for the sauce on the side.”
“Ah, is it too spicy for Juwon?”
“Yeah, even a little bit red these days is super spicy.”
Jjajangmyeon is hardly what you’d call commoner food anymore.
Since it comes to a price that casually crosses that of several orders of chicken with just some sweet and sour pork and shrimp added.
In any case, after realizing that to fill up five of us, we’d need around ¥70,000 to ¥80,000, I duly placed the order, deciding not to hold back on a festive day.
After finishing the order, I returned to the home screen.
“Did you finish the order?”
“Yeah.”
“Alright, shall we go check out the house now?”
And so began Ji-eun’s tour of her house, which was around 40 pyeong.
No matter how different the square footage was, the structure didn’t change much anyway.
Three rooms, one bathroom, one large living room, one kitchen, one boiler room, and a veranda included.
Since Ji-eun knew our previous house well before we moved, she could spot the newly revealed items right away.
“You bought a computer, a new bed, a new refrigerator, and air conditioners for each room? Did it cost a fortune?”
“Yeah, it was pretty expensive.”
“Is your money okay? It seems like you spent too much….”
“Thanks to the bonus, I’m doing better than I thought.”
In response to her question, I made a V sign with my index and middle finger and smiled as if feeling quite comfortable.
The influence of the three gold bars was indeed substantial, allowing me a bit of extravagance after receiving the deposit back.
If it weren’t for that, I surely wouldn’t have been able to buy a new refrigerator, a new computer, or air conditioners for each room due to psychological burdens.
When you really think about it, it was like getting a gift of ¥300 million.
I had to make sure to prepare anything I thought I might need somehow.
Once it entered my savings account, the thought of pulling it out would feel too wasteful.
So much so that not even ten minutes went by before the doorbell rang.
After a perceived ten minutes, I headed toward the intercom, puzzled.
‘What? Are they here already?’
“Oh? Already?”
It was the surprised voice of Uncle Dae-han, and I shared his surprise.
But beyond the intercom, I could clearly see the delivery person at the common entrance.
With a helmet and a steel bag, anyone could tell it was a delivery person from a Chinese restaurant.
Ah, it’s a store delivery guy, that’s why it’s so fast.
Everyone was left slightly in shock, realizing how quickly the food had arrived.
“Did they prepare it in advance and just microwaved it?”
“Couldn’t be….”
Such was the speed that even Uncle Dae-han casually expressed suspicion.
It definitely looked like it was stir-fried or deep-fried, with a crispiness that made it hard to believe it came from the microwave.
In any case, I tore open the wooden chopsticks with a snap and sat around the table as everyone grabbed their chopsticks and headed for the bowls.
I deftly lifted a hearty bunch of black noodles with my chopsticks and gently picked out the squid or shrimp toppings to place in my bowl.
Meanwhile, Ji-eun temporarily took Juwon’s plate to cut his noodles, sweet and sour pork, and shrimp into tiny pieces and hand it back to him.
As Juwon’s little toes wiggled under the table, I couldn’t help but playfully tickle his feet with my own.
“Hehe!”
“Stop playing at the table!”
With a clatter, Ji-eun set Juwon’s plate in front of him and exclaimed three words.
“Sure.”
Just like a mom’s shout.
Overwhelmed by that atmosphere, I decided to quietly enjoy my meal.
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