“Isn’t that you?”
Taehyun asked, alternating between me and the TV, fixing his gaze toward my direction.
I couldn’t possibly say it wasn’t me, as the character on the screen was clearly right in front of me, no way to mistake it.
Even the dullest bear cub would move from suspicion to certainty in this situation.
After a moment of hesitation, I rephrased to imply a positive answer.
“…I want to say no.”
I shot a slightly resentful glance at the girl on the screen.
It seemed that Korean magical girls hide their identities, so it looked like they had released a photo of the untransformed version…
It would have been better to release a picture of the transformed version instead.
At least it wouldn’t pinpoint who it was… Please let the kids at school not find out.
The struggles of an ordinary person entangled with a celebrity are fully covered by news on smartphones.
Like being the sibling or relative of a famous entertainer…
I didn’t want to be that kind of victim.
“Mom! Mari is on TV!”
Whether he knew my troubled heart or not, Taehyun cluelessly called the aunty in the kitchen over.
The clattering in the kitchen stopped, and heavy footsteps approached.
“What?!”
As the aunty’s voice, close to a shout, grew nearer, I genuinely wished.
Please, don’t let more people find out.
I had no faith in any god, but I prayed nonetheless.
‘Oh please.’
The moment the aunty arrived at the TV, did my selfish, sporadic ritual-like faith reach the heavens?
I didn’t know which deity answered my plea, but thankfully, the news moved on to the next topic as if it was trivial.
The aunty sighed in disappointment before serving a lavish dinner.
Unlike our home, which only uses onions and carrots in our vegetables, there were green veggies like cucumbers and lettuce.
There were also side dishes, like garlic pickles and radish wraps, on Taehyun’s table.
I thought it wouldn’t be bad to have such vegetables or side dishes in our refrigerator, and contemplated whether to stop by the mart to grab some before heading home.
“I enjoyed the meal!”
After washing the empty bowl and spoon in the sink and tossing them in a plastic basket, I picked up a sponge.
Around the same time, the aunty, having finished her meal, approached with her own bowl and spoon and dipped them into the water-filled basket.
Then she walked over to the stove beside the sink, turned the lever aside, and subtly asked me.
“Are you leaving soon?”
“I’ll just do the dishes and then head out.”
At that, she finally looked at the sponge in my hand, gasped, and snatched it away from me.
“What are you doing! Oh, stop it! Guests should just sit back and relax.”
Having just finished dinner, Taehyun dumped his dishes in the basket and headed straight to his room without looking back.
In the case of apartments in the same complex, even if on different floors, the looks are quite similar.
If it were my home, Taehyun’s room would match Siyeon’s.
Even if the rooms are the same, how they’re utilized differs from house to house.
At our place, there would have been a spot for Siyeon’s computer. But there was a bed instead.
From where Siyeon’s bed was supposed to be, I could turn about 90 degrees, facing the window wall where a monitor and computer were located.
“Shin Taehyun! You have a friend over, and you start with the computer?”
“Why? What else would I do?”
The clear sound of his PC wafting out into the room, and the aunty, who had been in the kitchen, shouted at Taehyun.
“It’s okay, I also enjoy watching games.”
I defended Taehyun so the aunty could hear me and plopped down on the bed, pulling out a couple of manga from the crowded bookshelf.
The manga ranged from educational ones to cooking comics and famous Japanese titles.
Maybe it was because I rarely picked up any books?
When I wasn’t allowed to use the computer at someone else’s house, surprisingly, these mangas read smoothly.
Basically, this was just a level of visiting Taehyun for dinner.
By the time it was nearing dawn, I couldn’t hang around to dry laundry, so it would be time to either read a few manga or throw in some comments while Taehyun game, before I had to head back.
Before I knew it, it was already 7 PM.
“Goodbye!”
As I finished my farewell and was about to return to my home on the 4th floor…
“Wait, wait, before you go!”
The aunty’s urgent voice.
The sound of the fridge opening and then shutting with a thud.
Suddenly, she handed me a 4.5-liter kimchi container, all wrapped up.
In a situation where I had forcibly accepted the kimchi container she pushed into my hands.
“This is the meat I marinated the other day.”
“Really?”
Though I’d heard everything about the contents, it felt awkward to return it.
Setting aside my confused expression, the aunty seemed triumphant as she swiftly shut the front door, waving goodbye for me to leave.
“Take that home and just fry it in a frying pan.”
“Why, why are you giving this to me….”
“Because I have leftovers.”
She shut the door with a firm click, as though she had no intention of taking it back.
“Oh, okay….”
What was left in the corridor was just me holding the heavy kimchi container in both hands.
Inside, the raw meat was drenched in bright red seasoning, and fresh veggies like stiff onions or green onions were showcased.
The container was half full, so it looked like nearly 2 kilograms of it.
With this, I’d surely have breakfast and dinner covered for tomorrow…
‘Somehow, I feel sorry for just receiving this.’
With that thought and stepping into the elevator going down to the 17th floor, I pressed the button for the 4th floor, confirming the light was on.
Leaning against the handrail while stepping back, I firmly gripped the handle of the kimchi container with both hands.
The air gently held my body in an elevator-like bizarre sensation.
Upon reaching the 4th floor, I input the final 4 digits of my phone number, listening for the beep of 4 sounds.
The doors opened with a clunk, revealing an almost pitch-black interior.
In contrast to Taehyun’s warm home, my house felt chilly.
Siyeon’s door was wide open, but no light seeped through, and there were no signs of life.
Peeking inside the room, even the bed was empty.
It wasn’t even that she was sleeping, where could she be?
There was no reason for her not to come back at this hour… Ah.
‘That’s right, the academy.’
I had forgotten; she had said she was going to the academy starting today.
The strange sense of unease vanished with that thought, and I turned my head from Siyeon’s room back to the living room.
‘There’s no difference between the outside and inside temperature.’
Through the transparent window, the evening’s faint dark light seeped in.
Feeling the contrast of the dark light and the cold, I was the first to try the boiler button.
Listening to the boiler hum, I turned on the kitchen light and headed that way.
I took the kimchi container, which always seemed hungry, and stuffed it into the refrigerator. Then I started on the housework I had promised to do.
I swept the dusty floor meticulously using a vacuum cleaner, emptied the dust bag, and tossed the piled-up laundry into the washing machine.
First things first, things to remove before putting them in the washer.
I took out various plastic trash and my wallet, setting them beside the washing machine while I instantly stripped off my uniform and socks, tossing them into the machine.
As the water hit the uniform, something began to squirm from the bulging pocket.
“Puhah! Why didn’t you take me out?!”
The bear cub, soaked from being stuck in the washing machine, flew out.
“Ah sorry, I forgot.”
Of course, the priority was on the pocket with my wallet, which led to the outcome.
I hadn’t even thought to take out the little fella, who had already become part of my daily life.
I had truly forgotten to remove him, but the bear cub looked at me with a dissatisfied gaze as if it was used to being bullied.
I really messed up, but it didn’t seem to believe me.
“I really forgot, Emchang.”
I curled my fingers into a fist, leaving just my thumb and pinky out, placing the pinky on my forehead and sticking my tongue to the top of my thumb—a forbidden vow.
But who would know? That was a vow I couldn’t keep.
The bear cub, with eyes that had cooled down, stared at me making the forbidden vow, and unexpectedly muttered a curse.
“There’s none here, damn it.”
“Oh right.”
It was a situation where the items needed for the forbidden vow were already absent.
Though I didn’t mean it, I reluctantly accepted the suspicious gaze as I headed toward the kitchen.
To prepare for Siyeon, who would come back late from the academy, I quickly started to fry the stir-fried pork that I had received from the aunty.
After turning on the ventilation fan, I grabbed a handful of raw meat with plastic gloves and moved it to an appropriately sized frying pan.
Clunk, the sound of the door opening.
There was only one person who would come into this house, Siyeon.
While flipping the meat steadily with a rubber spatula, I turned to the bear cub, who was staring at the meat with drool-worthy eyes.
“Hey, go tell Siyeon to get ready for dinner.”
“What about us?”
“Once Siyeon eats, I’ll cook more for us, so hurry.”
“Yes, sir!”
Without even having been into the army, where did it learn such a salute? The bear cub swiftly saluted from above and flew away.
Having received the message, Siyeon came out to the living room, sitting at the dining table without even having taken off her uniform.
Honestly, I was nervous thinking she might have eaten with someone.
I placed steaming white rice on the table and set down the frying pan filled with sizzling stir-fried pork, then pulled out another pan.
Since I was going to fry more meat at the request of the bear cub, I thought it was best that the mascot and Siyeon shared a meal, so I called the mascot while looking over at Siyeon.
“Hey, sea snake, come here too.”
“No…! It’s fine, I can eat with this one.”
But it was Siyeon who answered, not the sea snake.
She took the creature out from nearby and began to feed it with her chopsticks.
What the, a mascot could be left out, that’s not right…
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