The cheerful holiday night passed, and morning came.
After breakfast, the big event just before the holiday’s end.
The magical girls’ food competition began.
“Rock-paper-scissors, if you don’t show, you lose!”
“Ugh!”
“I won!”
This Chuseok, for some reason, Siyeon was the star instead of me.
Perhaps the goddess of fortune was following her, as she returned from every game clutching first place.
Thanks to that, we wouldn’t have to worry about side dishes for a while.
Although I returned my share, Siyeon happily brought home a mountain of food in a generous kimchi container, making this holiday quite satisfying as well.
On our way home in the uncles’ car.
Muttering a few compliments toward Siyeon, as if in awe.
“How did you only pick the delicious ones to win?”
“Hehe….”
Siyeon, feeling good from the honest praise, cheerfully made a V sign with both hands, showing her excitement without restraint.
The spoils of victory stuffed in the kimchi container included spare ribs and various pancakes.
Although she likely would’ve gotten a fair share even without winning, now we could survive three days and nights on just spare ribs and pancakes.
Additionally, we brought home a little bit of any other leftover side dishes, so our fridge, usually perpetually hungry, was set to be completely filled.
With Chuseok, properly held in late September to early October, soon came a cluster of holidays in October.
October 3rd, National Foundation Day, and October 9th, Hangeul Day.
And before such holidays, there’s a day that must be marked.
Siyeon’s birthday.
“What cake do you want for your birthday?”
“For my birthday? Hmm…cheesecake!”
While I expected things like sweet potato cake or chocolate cake, Siyeon surprisingly chose cheesecake.
After years of not even thinking about cheesecake, suddenly?
Raising an eyebrow in confusion, I looked sideways.
“Cheese? What’s that about?”
“Just because!”
I asked if her taste had changed, but the answer was just that.
Had she grown tired of eating the same things all the time?
Anyway, it was her birthday, and she wanted what she wanted, so there was no reason to bring her something else.
After running for several hours in the car with the air conditioning blasting,
while clutching the precious kimchi container, I slid into the elevator heading to the fourth floor.
It was already nearing October, yet the weather was still hot and humid.
Those few minutes getting out of the car and returning home were like being blasted by a hairdryer, as hot air enveloped my entire body.
“Wow, how is this autumn weather?”
Saying that, I waved one hand like a fan over my face, propping my knees under the kimchi container while leaning my back against the elevator handle.
Every year, the headlines always make a fuss over extreme heat, but this time, “extreme” doesn’t even begin to cover it.
No matter how much they claim people are dying from record-breaking heat, I’ve never seen weather like this right up to Chuseok.
“Fourth floor.”
The elevator reached our destination slowly, conveying its recorded voice leisurely as the hallway on the fourth floor came into view.
Before the door even fully opened, I dashed out with a speed far quicker than usual.
Beep-beep-beep-beep… the sound of the door lock password tapping echoed faster than normal.
As the metallic locking mechanism twisted open, I rushed inside as if someone were chasing me from behind.
As Siyeon came in behind me and firmly locked the door, I hurried to set the air conditioning to its lowest setting and began closing all the open doors in the house.
“Really, the electric bill this month is gonna be outrageous….”
I said this while plopping the kimchi container down on the table with a sigh.
Once the air conditioning is turned on, it’s a device you just keep using throughout summer.
Even though I started using it later than most houses, I was already worried about the electric bill; it was undoubtedly a record-breaking heat this summer.
As I mentioned the electric bill, the bear cub emerged from my pocket with no awareness, spouting nonsense.
“But if we want to stay cool, we have to run it, right?”
“You’re not the one paying, so zip it.”
“Well, if you think about it, I’m part of the magical girls’ package too. Can’t I cover the electric bill with my alarm value?”
This guy, bringing up nonsense when I’m already stressing about money, didn’t sit well with me.
Since he couldn’t contribute a single cent to the living expenses, I signaled him to shut up, but he replied with that.
This guy…although it’s nonsense, the words sound quite plausible when you listen.
Still, since I absolutely couldn’t lose an argument to him, I trailed off my words dismissively.
“Your mouth runs like a waterfall.”
“They say even the dumbest dog can bark poetry after three years at school, right? I was under someone for seven years….”
He proudly added useless tails to his statements.
As I pulled out the side dishes from the kimchi container at the table, I grimaced and issued a small command to him.
“Stop talking nonsense and close the door.”
“Yes.”
After running his mouth for a while, he immediately reacted to my firm command and scampered off.
He knew it himself, that he didn’t even need to continue with pointless chatter.
If he were doing it cluelessly, I would think, “sigh, what an idiot,” but….
The fact that he does it knowing makes it infuriating.
“Seriously, this weather….”
At this rate, I might be running the air conditioning until the end of October.
That thought quickly became meaningless…right after Chuseok.
As predicted by the weather report, the rain began to fall modestly.
From that moment, the previously high heat and humidity quickly dissipated noticeably.
Before the rain fell, the room temperature regularly hit 33 degrees, 32 degrees.
But just like that, it plunged to 24 degrees.
I experienced the miracle of a season change in a single day.
Truly, this crazy weather was astounding, and while covering the air conditioning and fan, I muttered softly.
“Really, the weather has gone nuts.”
“It changed in just one day….”
Even Siyeon, who usually doesn’t mention the weather, marveled at the sudden change.
It felt unbelievable that just a few days ago, we had to run the air conditioning full blast. Now, there was a crispness that went beyond cool.
That day, I didn’t even turn on the fan, even with all the windows shut.
It was chilly to the point where I couldn’t think about turning on a fan.
Thus, as I spent the end of September wrapped in a blanket on the sofa at home,
I mindlessly kept the TV news on, and suddenly, a piece of news that would have a big impact on daily life came on.
“A decision has been made in today’s executive meeting to designate the National Armed Forces Day, marking the 00th anniversary, as a temporary holiday.”
“Huh?”
Another holiday plan that somehow the lawmakers were working on between themselves.
I couldn’t help but exclaim in confusion. Out of nowhere, why was there a new holiday? When was that?
I vividly remembered my time in the military, but as a man, I had little interest in the Armed Forces Day.
Mother’s Day, Children’s Day, and even Buddha’s Birthday that I had little interest in.
While I could easily recall Christmas, National Foundation Day, and Hangeul Day, I had never cared about Armed Forces Day.
Looking it up afterward, I found it was on October 1st.
Siyeon’s birthday was on October 2nd, now sandwiched between holidays like an afterthought.
If this were a coincidence, it was quite the remarkable one.
“Between holidays—”
As is often the case with human psychology, even with the introduction of a new holiday, the greed was unending.
A holiday on October 1st, then October 3rd as a holiday. So naturally, I wanted October 2nd off too.
Anyone who thought attending school even a little is a waste of time would understand that feeling.
And that form of universal desire affected reality as well.
On October 2nd, Siyeon’s birthday, a weekday.
For some reason, due to the principal’s discretion, the school was declared a holiday.
To think that a weekday would turn into a holiday between holidays was almost predictable.
Upon reflection, such occurrences weren’t all that rare.
Hating a weekday between holidays, there are substitute holidays designated at a national level.
The principal probably thought it would be nice to have holidays back-to-back.
Yeah, it’s all the same once you’re living as a person.
“Hmm-♪”
“Are you that happy?”
The expression on Siyeon’s face, which had been grim at the thought of going to school on her birthday, had blossomed into a big smile.
In broad daylight, not at school but leaping excitedly down the street near home, she showed off a peppy stride.
When I asked if she was really that happy, Siyeon nodded vigorously while doing little spins in the air.
“Yay!”
“Watch where you’re going, or you’ll bump into something.”
“Hey, did Hee-young give you a gifticon? Let’s have chicken for dinner!”
“Sure, but let’s also get some exercise at home, okay?”
“Okay-”
A tiny cheesecake, barely enough to fill a middle school girl’s palm, priced at 28,000 won.
I couldn’t shake the thought that it was steep, but since it was a special day, I quietly packed it into a box and returned home.
The cheesecake I hadn’t eaten in a long time was more sweet and savory than rich.
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