Bora left the house again today. It was a day to go to work early to take care of Hana. Bora, Haru, and Maru came to work two hours earlier than their usual time, taking turns every week.
Of course, Starlight Food counted those hours as work time. So, they could leave two hours earlier than those who came in at 9 AM. That meant coming in at 7 AM and leaving at 4 PM.
There was no overtime anyway. So, as soon as it hit 4 PM, they could leave without worrying about what others thought. If any issues arose, Haru or Maru, who stayed behind, would handle them.
“Hmm~”
Compared to the days when the office was in Gyeonggi Province, the commute was much shorter. What used to take almost an hour now took less than 30 minutes. That alone significantly improved their quality of life. Round trip, it was like saving nearly an hour. Driving through Seoul, Bora arrived at the Starlight Food Building.
“Hello~”
After greeting the building security, Bora stopped by the café to grab an Americano to-go. Then, she swiped her employee card at the entrance machine. The barrier opened like a subway gate, allowing her into the building.
Bora took the elevator to the 10th floor. She walked toward the lit office. After chatting with the person on duty, Bora headed to Hana’s room.
The duty shift was handled by office employees and some extra hires. They didn’t need much expertise since their main job was to help immediately if anything happened to Hana. It was so relaxed that watching dramas in the early morning was practically part of the job. If anything happened, Hana would come running anyway.
Bora opened Hana’s door. A refreshing breeze swept in. Just breathing it in felt healing. For a moment, Bora was so captivated by the fresh air that she shook her head to snap out of it. Then, she approached the bed.
Hana was sound asleep, looking utterly adorable. Bora finally understood why people said they wanted to raise kids. Seeing Hana’s chubby cheeks, she couldn’t help but want to pinch them.
Next to Hana, Nabi was curled up like a doughnut, sleeping. Bora gently shook Hana awake. It was time to get ready for school. Even though school started at 9 AM, Hana needed to wake up by 7:30 AM to get everything ready.
“Eeeeng…”
Hana whined, not wanting to get up. It was their usual WWE moment. It wasn’t that Hana didn’t want to wake up; it was her way of asking for a hug. Bora, having lived with Hana for over a year now, understood perfectly.
“Up we go.”
Bora lifted Hana, who snuggled into her arms. Except for the long dinosaur tail hanging down, they looked like a mother and child.
“Let’s go eat, Hana.”
The first thing after waking up was always food. For Hana, it didn’t matter whether she washed up before or after eating.
“Mm…”
Hana buried her head in Bora’s chest, eyes tightly shut. Bora stroked Hana’s head as they headed down to the first floor. The cafeteria was still empty. Employees came in by 9 AM, but the cafeteria staff came in early just for Hana. Of course, a little later, other employees would come in to eat.
The Starlight Food company cafeteria was tastier than most high-end buffets. Bora carried Hana into the cafeteria. The staff, seeing Hana, quickly got to work. There was a special dish prepared just for Hana in the morning, made with the chefs’ soul. Bora sat Hana down on a chair. Hana, now fully awake, looked at Bora with bright eyes.
Soon, an employee brought over a tray filled with delicious food and placed it in front of Hana. Next to the tray, they also set down a cup of Starlight Milk. No milk was as savory as Starlight Milk.
Hana sat properly and started eating. Watching her little hands move, Bora wanted to hug her tightly. Bora thought to herself that she might be the happiest employee in the world.
Getting paid this much just to take care of an angelic child—there was no better job. Of course, they did other company work, but Bora, Haru, and Maru had fewer tasks compared to others because of their role in caring for Hana.
“Yummy…”
Hana ate so well in the morning, not leaving a single side dish uneaten. Bora also ate quickly before Hana finished. She couldn’t bear the thought of Hana having to wait if she ate slower. Though Hana never gave her any looks to hurry.
“Thank you for the meal!”
Bora had already finished eating. She picked up Hana’s tray and…
She picked up her tray and placed it on the conveyor belt. If she put it here, the employee inside would wash the tray.
“Shall we go?”
“Yeah!”
Now, instead of being carried by Bora, Hana held Bora’s hand and went up to the 10th floor.
“Meow!”
Nabi was waiting in front of the elevator, as if she had sensed their arrival despite their efforts to be quiet.
“Nabi!”
Hana picked up Nabi and went into the room. Bora followed behind. It was time to wash up and head to school.
“Hana, let’s go wash up. I’ll take care of Nabi.”
“Okay!”
Hana handed Nabi over to Bora.
“Meow!”
Nabi struggled to stay in Hana’s arms but soon found herself in Bora’s embrace. Hana waved at Nabi.
“Nabi, be good until I come back from washing up!”
“Meow…”
Nabi immediately calmed down. Hana had a way with animals, always able to communicate with them effortlessly.
“Meow!”
Nabi scratched at Bora’s pants, demanding something. Bora, having lived with Nabi for a long time, knew exactly what she wanted. Bora opened the storage room where Nabi’s cat food was kept. Inside, there was plenty of cat food.
Bora took out an opened bag of cat food. Nabi circled around Bora, signaling her to hurry up.
“Alright, alright. Here you go, Nabi!”
Bora poured the cat food into the food bowl. Nabi checked the food and started eating. It was time for Nabi to eat, just like Hana had already eaten. Watching Nabi eat, Hana finished washing up and came out of the bathroom.
“Bora, dry my hair!”
“Come here!”
Whirr—
Bora picked up the hair dryer and started drying Hana’s hair. Hana’s hair grew long by morning, so it needed to be dried like this. She usually cut it with scissors before bed. Cutting it in the morning would leave it messy, so it was better to do it at night.
But taking her hair to a salon would take too much time. Hana wasn’t the type to wake up early and prepare. She would definitely complain.
“Done!”
“Yay!”
Hana’s hair was dry. She quickly went to the closet. Inside, there was the uniform Maru had ironed yesterday. Maru was responsible for Hana’s uniform, taking on the role of the youngest in the family.
Every day before leaving work, Maru would iron Hana’s uniform crisp. Of course, Bora and Haru also took care of other parts of Hana’s life.
“Here you go, Hana!”
Bora handed the uniform to Hana. Hana quickly changed clothes, showing no shyness at all. Well, Hana wasn’t exactly human, so maybe it was natural for her to have no sense of shame.
Bora thought she might need to give Hana a separate lesson on sex education later. After helping Hana into her uniform, Bora handed her the bag and walked her to the elevator.
“Meow.”
Nabi followed along.
“Have a good day, Hana~”
“Bye-bye!”
Hana got on the elevator and went down.
“Phew…”
Bora had successfully sent Hana off to school again today.
———————————————————————–
“Hi, Hana!”
“Hi!”
Hana met Jiyu and Yumi. Another fun day at school was about to begin.
