The soft belly fat was touched on the second day of the holiday.
It was Chuseok holiday, and ideally, on the second day of the holiday, we would return to our respective homes. However, for Seol holiday, it was customary to return on the third day.
Since they are all the same holiday, why is Seol different?
That’s because there’s a special event that takes place during the Seol holiday, which is a bit different from Chuseok.
“Hanbok has arrived!”
After lunch, in the afternoon some time later.
Lying down in an air-conditioned restaurant playing a smartphone game, I soon heard the voice of an uncle.
When it comes to hanbok, it’s associated with Seol, and with Seol comes the New Year’s greetings.
New Year’s greetings mean sebae, and sebae means sebaetdon.
Though it’s not like hanbok is a necessity for Seol, it was nonetheless a prepared attire for the right atmosphere.
The observant uncles brought the portable clothing racks from outside some department store into the restaurant and then went outside again.
The actual names of the magical girls were written on the plastic wrapping covering the hanbok.
Without needing to look closely at each hanger, I found the hanboks that looked small to anyone, took the hangers back to where I was lying down after finding Shiyeon’s and my name.
“Let’s wear hanbok!”
Draping the hanbok over the spot where I was lying, Shiyeon hesitated while fiddling with her smartphone and spoke up.
“Hanbok is uncomfortable…”
“If you want to receive sebaetdon, you have to wear it, right?”
Saying that, I took the hanbok out of the plastic and took off the clothes I was wearing.
Responding to the word sebaetdon, Shiyeon reluctantly got up from her lying position, getting dressed in the hanbok.
By the way, Shiyeon still didn’t know that she was earning more money than most working adults.
I was hiding this fact because I thought if I gave her the economic power too early, she would feel the weight of money too lightly.
By the time she becomes a middle schooler, she will gradually realize the weight of money, and I plan to tell her then.
Especially in modern society, where children are introduced to mobile games at an early age.
It’s better for them to realize the weight of the premium 110,000 won pack before handling money.
‘Now wearing it has become familiar.’
Feeling the fluttery, thin touch similar to sandpaper, I perfectly donned the hanbok.
However, it wasn’t a completely traditional hanbok with strings to tie up the jeogori, but an improved hanbok held together with Velcro… in other words, a modernized hanbok with decorations quickly attached.
Having tried it on multiple times, I helped Shiyeon, who was still a beat slow, and finished the sebae preparations a step ahead of the other older sisters with longer bodies.
The event for performing sebae began, accompanied by the aftertaste of festive food.
Originally, it would be a holiday without receiving a single penny.
But with the custom of Seol and sebae, we could get a little bit of money back, which was quite fortunate.
“Happy New Year!”
In front of the sturdy uncles sitting solidly, women in hanbok lined up to perform sebae.
How should I put it? It seemed a bit far from the normal festive look and atmosphere.
In that moment, Shiyeon, without a chance to stop her, was about to bow her head again.
Oh no, that’s not allowed.
At that moment, the uncle standing right in front of us was startled and flinched at the sight.
Fortunately, we were able to stop her second sebae before she bowed her knees.
“Shiyeon! No, no, no…”
“Why? So you can receive double the blessings!”
“No, that would be a big deal…”
Others like the uncles and sisters who understood the meaning chuckled at us.
Such things sometimes happen; bowing twice for double the sebaetdon could instantly break family harmony…
“Here’s your sebaetdon.”
“Wow! Thank you!”
“Thank you.”
Checking the amount in the envelope immediately by peeking with my index and middle fingers.
A bill of 50,000 won, the scent of which was fragrant.
Thinking it was money we originally would not have received makes it feel like finding lost money again.
Having worn hanbok, performed sebae, received sebaetdon, and eaten festive food, we had done all the usual things others do on the second day of the holiday.
On the bright third morning of the holiday, I took off the hanbok I had been wearing and changed back into the clothes I had worn on the first day.
“I can’t believe we have to go back to work tomorrow, I really don’t want to.”
“Well, at least it’s Friday, so that’s good.”
“Oh, if only there were a public holiday for times like this…”
On the third day, the last breakfast of the holiday.
The somewhat awkward atmosphere finally eased, and unlike the quiet meal on the first day, conversations were lively.
“What middle school are you two going to? Girls’ school? Coeducation? Is your test studying going well?”
When people gather, they tend to think the same way, and the discussions on that side continued, making those who came to escape nagging feel out of place.
After middle school comes high school.
The magical girls, now in their third year of middle school, knew that it was their turn after we answered, as they struggled to swallow their bitten rice.
Instead of answering, they returned the question with questions.
“Are you married? Do you have any decent guys? How many children will you have?”
The ill intentions behind the sharp questions felt like hidden meanings were woven into the inquiries.
Neither I nor Shiyeon were concerned, but several people who came to escape nagging might feel uncomfortable when such questions were asked.
Realizing unthinkingly that she was spitting out questions of ‘that type,’ she pulled her head back slightly, avoiding the uncomfortable questions.
“…Alright, I’ll stop.”
The fact that this side contained unusual kids had already spread among the magical girls.
It seemed she realized that she could insert such intentions into the conversations.
After a peaceful breakfast without any nagging, it was time to pack up the remaining festive food and head back home.
“Anyone who wants to participate in rock-paper-scissors for galbi-jjim, gather here!”
“Oh, me!”
“If you don’t show, you lose. Rock, paper, scissors!”
What remained was a contest for festive food.
Standing in front of the food we wanted to take home, we held our bags while those gathered started their rock-paper-scissors.
The undisputed top favorite, galbi-jjim.
Most people join in this game of rock-paper-scissors.
The second most prized food would be grilled fish, crab, or cockle salad, which have their own niche fan bases during the holiday.
Since there are not many competitors, and some people don’t even take them, it allows for taking heavier bags than other food.
Next would be jeon and japchae, which are generally good side dishes.
At this point, those who already received a lot of crab or grilled fish discreetly slip away.
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
Thus, the competition for jeon began.
With bold fingers raised in victory, I grasped that glorious honor with my own hands.
“Oh, I lost again…”
“Who won?”
“Me.”
Leaving the disappointed losers behind, I confidently held the transparent plastic bag high with both arms.
The uncle behind the tray scooped a pile of galbi-jjim from the transparent bag with a claw and poured it into the bag.
Sadly, I lost in other rock-paper-scissors, but at least with the galbi-jjim and some sauce, I could eat for three days.
The rest of the japchae and jeon were adequately divided based on the number of people, filling a large plastic kimchi container.
The reason the festive food, which I used to take in bags, was now packed in a kimchi container was…
Last Seol, the sharp parts of the crab in the bag pierced the plastic, transforming the official car into a soy-sauce smeared mess…
Such an embarrassing story was embroiled in that memory.
That became the newly developed policy or something.
As the other senior magical girls began to disappear one by one from the restaurant, we were left to see them off, staying until almost the end.
Sister Jiun had yet to arrive, leaving us idly in the restaurant.
As that bustling atmosphere quickly faded away, an awkward silence lingered in the air.
Unable to bear the sudden stillness, I quietly asked Shiyeon.
“Did you have fun during Seol?”
“Yeah!”
Shiyeon responded brightly to the question, swinging her legs restlessly from her seat.
It wasn’t different from any usual holiday, but it seemed she had enjoyed it after all.
In the end, until Sister Jiun arrived at the restaurant, the Minister did not show her face.
On the way back home in Jiun’s car.
“Sorry, I’m so late.”
“It’s natural for there to be traffic during the holidays.”
As I responded to Jiun’s apology saying it was natural, a yawn slipped out.
Even if the adults were treating us comfortably, there were about twenty adults surrounding us.
The tension that had been built up released all at once.
With drowsiness hitting me at once, I kept blinking my eyes.
“I’m sleepy…”
In the moment that Marie closed her eyes from the overwhelming drowsiness,
the former magical girl and current public servant, Seo Jiun, driving with two passengers, suddenly felt a sense of quiet and turned her gaze to the mirror above on the right side of the driver’s seat while waiting for the signal.
Though it was okay for Shiyeon, who fell asleep like her home’s bed every time they went far, even Marie, who would rarely sleep, was now nodding off deeply.
She must have been quite tired, she thought, and she gently drove so as not to wake the two children while finishing her day.
