Today’s broadcast wrapped up quickly. Even though moving ended early at around 2 PM, work is work, and Mia still hadn’t fully recovered her stamina. In fact, while I felt fine right now, I figured I’d be sore all over by tomorrow.
But everyone understood just how exhausted we were after moving, so there wasn’t much opposition to ending the broadcast.
When I stepped out of the room after shutting down the stream, I was struck by how small our previous place really was. My old place was somewhat roomy for a one-room apartment in Seoul, but the living room of this apartment felt even bigger since it had three separate rooms. The kitchen also wasn’t just stuck to the living room; it was kind of its own space.
The spaciousness of the new home wasn’t just about the number of people living here relieving space pressure; it also meant we could store things more efficiently, making the place visually appealing. Most importantly, having a wide, unobstructed wall was fantastic.
Because we could put up a big TV!
I didn’t usually watch TV much. I typically watched movies through an online streaming service, and the same went for animations or dramas. I didn’t really care for the emotional impact of screen size, so I rarely felt the urge to go to the theater.
But having a big TV had one considerable perk.
It was nice to watch something together.
In the one-room, it was awkward to watch anything together. To watch a movie, we had to use a computer monitor, and while mine felt big enough for solo use, it was quite small when trying to watch with everyone.
So usually, we spent our time looking at our phones individually. But now, that wasn’t the case.
Watching a movie on a big TV with everyone gathered in the living room was quite a nice scene.
“What’s the point of buying a sofa if you’re just going to sit on the floor?”
Thinking this, I spread a blanket in front of the sofa and sat down, earning a curious look from Charlotte.
By the way, Charlotte was sitting properly on the sofa.
“I’ve lived sitting on the floor for quite a long time.”
“I get that, but is there a reason we bought a sofa?”
“…Sometimes I want to sit on the sofa.”
That was the only answer I could come up with.
Usually, I liked stretching my legs out while half-lying on the floor, but when I needed to sit for a bit, the sofa was more comfortable.
Unlike me, the other kids hadn’t adjusted to floor-sitting, and among them, Charlotte and Mia, who were still getting used to it in this place, seemed genuinely thankful for having a sofa in the house.
Alice was sitting on the sofa, while Claire was sitting on the floor with me.
Anyway, since I had spread a blanket on the floor, and there was a blanket to cover up with, it wasn’t all that cold.
“Well, people in this country have their own ways.”
“That’s true, but…”
If we traced it back, our country had traditionally been floor-sitting until sofas and tables from overseas were introduced and became established. But hey, maybe it wouldn’t matter much.
Sitting like this felt really calming.
I thought about why that was, and it struck me that it was largely because this house felt like ‘my home’. In a rented place… no matter how long the landlord didn’t rush me, there was always the pressure of needing to leave someday. And it wasn’t just me feeling this; others probably felt it too, which might be why they tried to secure their ‘own home’.
But now… there was no need to worry about homes or money anymore.
“…”
After a moment of thought, I opened my mouth.
“Everyone, are you thinking about getting your driver’s license?”
“Driver’s license?”
Claire’s eyes sparkled at my words.
“I’ve already confirmed your resident registration is real. If you all want, you can get a driver’s license anytime. Until recently, I considered the cost of getting a license and thought it might not be useful, but now, we have the money for both the license and a car.”
As I explained, both Charlotte and Alice looked interested.
Well, their intentions were probably quite different from Claire, who just wanted to try driving.
In the Empire, there were still regulations in place, and Velbur wasn’t equipped with proper road laws yet since cars hadn’t fully entered yet.
To develop, we’d need to create and amend relevant bills one by one.
If we could learn about such things firsthand, this was a perfect opportunity.
“I…I…”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to. Most of the time, we’ll move together anyway. I’m sure there’ll be someone to give you a ride if you ask.”
“Absolutely! I’ll drive you anywhere!”
Claire, who had never even gotten her license, declared this, making Mia look a bit uneasy.
I hope it’s fine. While she had this lively image as if she’d cause an accident, Claire was really a model student who adhered strictly to the defined rules.
Of course, she would teeter on the edge of those rules sometimes.
“What about you? Thinking of getting it?”
“Since my original license has essentially disappeared, I need to get a new one. In reality, I hardly ever drove even when I had a license, and having spent years in Azernar without getting behind the wheel, it’s probably better to learn anew anyway.”
“Well, let’s think about that slowly later.”
“Yeah, weren’t we just gathering to watch a movie?”
Ah, right, true.
The TV was still showing the OTT program stuck on the movie selection screen.
“Ah! Wait a moment!”
As I reached for the remote, suddenly Mia shouted and jumped up.
Then, in an instant, she dashed to the kitchen and returned with a bunch of something in her hands.
The little thing she was hugging was none other than popcorn.
“I heard it’s good to have when watching movies…”
Mia dumped various kinds of popcorn onto the empty spot on the sofa as she said this. Her face had a hint of a blush, perhaps feeling a little embarrassed.
“That’s a classic choice.”
I responded with a smile.
*
“…Hey everyone. Aren’t you going back to your rooms?”
After the movie wrapped up, I thought to stay in the living room a bit longer before heading to my room.
Watching other videos on the big TV was quite enjoyable too. It was especially nice that I could slump on the floor and still get a good view of the screen.
I was about to doze off while watching, just like my dad used to do at home, but surprisingly, no one was heading back to their rooms.
The beds were properly set up, and each one was even a single bed for everyone to use comfortably. The delivery guys had quite the hard time with it.
Thanks to that, the rooms that Claire, Alice, and I used were filled to the brim, but it wasn’t at a level that made living there impossible.
“Oh? Where’s big sis?”
“I can just stay here and fall asleep if that’s fine.”
“Oh? Then I can also stay here and sleep.”
Claire repeated my words almost exactly, tilting her head in confusion.
“I don’t feel like sleeping yet. I thought I’d watch what you were watching.”
“…”
With Alice saying that too, I found myself at a loss for words.
For now, all the money from the lottery was in my bank account, and the house was in my name, but I didn’t intend to act like the landlord over these kids.
This house was a place we all lived together, and I thought of us as all being the owners. While we were here, it felt like we were five sisters together.
“The three of you are here, so it feels a bit off for just me and Mia to head back, doesn’t it?”
Hmm…
If only two people remained, maybe it could be alright for the three to head back to the room. No, that was a bit tricky; if I was just with Alice or Claire, then only one of the two would head back to the room. Even if it was me and Mia, or Charlotte, the same notion applied — either Mia or Charlotte would end up returning alone.
As long as I stayed in the living room, it felt like the situation grew oddly imbalanced.
“I’m fine with just sleeping on this sofa.”
Mia, who had confidently laid her head on Charlotte’s lap, said this.
“…At least I’d recommend coming down to the floor to sleep. You might fall off.”
“Is that so? Should I just get my blanket? After all, we’re all going to sleep here, right?”
“…”
In response to Claire’s words, I found myself struggling to come up with a reply.
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