“Is that you?”
Taehyun, alternating his gaze between the TV and me, asked while fixing his eyes on my side.
I couldn’t possibly say no, as the person on the screen and the one right in front of me were unmistakably the same.
No matter how dull and foolish one might be, it was a situation that turned suspicion into certainty.
After a moment’s hesitation, I responded indirectly with a confirmation.
“I want to say no.”
I glanced at her on the screen with a hint of resentment.
It seemed that Korean magical girls hid their identities, so it looked like a photo of her in her non-transformed state had been released….
It would have been better if they had revealed a photo of her in her transformed state instead.
Then, at least she wouldn’t be easily identified… I just hoped the kids at school wouldn’t find out about this.
The troubles of an ordinary person involved with a celebrity could already be understood through the news viewed on a smartphone.
Being known as the younger sibling or relative of a famous entertainer….
I didn’t want to become such a victim.
“Mom! Mary is on TV!”
Whether he realized the turmoil in my heart or not, Taehyun cluelessly called the lady in the kitchen over.
The noise of her rummaging for a spatula stopped, and I heard the sound of footsteps approaching.
“What?!”
As the lady’s voice grew closer, I earnestly wished for one thing.
Please don’t let more people find out.
Although I had no faith in any god, I prayed in that moment.
‘Oh please.’
The moment the lady reached in front of the TV.
Had my selfish, intermittent faith actually reached the heavens?
I didn’t know which god had answered my prayer, but luckily, the news quickly switched to the next event, downplaying the significance of the story.
After the lady expressed her disappointment, a bountiful dinner followed.
Unlike our home, which barely used vegetables beyond onions or carrots, there were green vegetables like cucumbers and lettuce on Taehyun’s table.
In addition, there were side dishes like pickled garlic and radish wraps.
I thought it wouldn’t be bad to have such vegetables or side dishes in our home as well, and considered stopping by the market before going home.
“Thank you for the meal!”
After washing the used dishes and utensils in the sink, I tossed them into a plastic basket and picked up a scrubber.
Around the same time, the lady who had finished her meal approached with her own dishes and immersed them in the water filled basket.
Then, she walked over to the gas stove beside the sink, turned the lever, and casually asked me.
“Are you leaving soon?”
“I’ll just do the dishes and then head out.”
Only then did she look at the scrubber I was holding without rubber gloves, and, shocked, snatched it away from me.
“What are you doing! Oh, that’s enough! Guests should relax and rest.”
Taehyun, who had just finished dinner, dumped his dishes into the basket and headed straight for his room without looking back.
Even if it was a different floor in the same apartment complex, the appearance was similar.
If it were our home, the area corresponding to Shiyeon’s room would be Taehyun’s room.
Even if it was the same room, each household uses it differently.
At our house, there would have been space for Shiyeon’s computer. Instead, there was a bed there.
From where Shiyeon’s bed would be, he turned 90 degrees to face the room with the monitor and computer pressed against the window wall.
“Shin Taehyun! You have a friend over, and you’re turning on the computer first?”
“Why? What else should I do?”
The sound of the clear computer humming out of the room made the lady in the kitchen yell at Taehyun.
“It’s okay, I like watching games too.”
I defended Taehyun so that she could hear me, then pulled out a comic book or two from the densely packed bookshelf in the room and lay on the bed.
The comic books ranged from educational ones to cooking comics and famous Japanese manga.
Maybe it was because I rarely looked at books?
When I couldn’t use the computer at someone else’s house, I found that unexpectedly, these comic books were quite easy to read.
Essentially, Taehyun’s place was just about coming over for dinner.
It was getting late, and I couldn’t hang laundry out at dawn, so it was about time I read a few comic books or gave Taehyun some tips on his game before heading back.
Before I knew it, the time had become 7 PM.
“Goodbye!”
As I finished saying my farewells and was about to head back to my 4th-floor home.
“Wait a minute, before you go!”
The lady’s urgent voice.
The sound of the fridge opening with a slide and then slamming shut echoed.
Suddenly, she handed me a 4.5-liter container of kimchi, still wrapped in plastic.
Faced with the situation where I had to accept the container she was forcefully giving me.
“This is meat I marinated the other day.”
“Yes?”
Despite having taken in all the contents, it became an awkward situation to return it.
To my puzzled expression, the lady gave me a look that suggested she had achieved something and waved her hand as if to hurry me out.
“Take this home and just stir-fry it in a frying pan.”
“Why are you giving this to me…?”
“There’s too much, I have leftovers.”
As if she had no intention of accepting it back, the door closed firmly with a clang.
“Oh, okay….”
What remained in the corridor was just the heavy container of kimchi I held in both hands.
Through the transparent lid, I could see the bright red spicy seasoning covering the raw meat, along with refreshing green onions and stiff onions.
The container was half full, so it seemed to weigh about 2 kg.
With this, breakfast and dinner for tomorrow were certainly taken care of….
‘Somehow, I feel guilty just accepting this.’
With that thought, I stepped into the elevator descending from the 17th floor.
I pressed the button for the 4th floor, confirming the red light illuminated.
As I leaned against the handle, I firmly gripped the container’s handle with both hands.
The air pressed gently against my body, creating the peculiar sensation unique to elevators.
Upon arriving at the 4th floor, I entered the last four digits of my cellphone number, followed by the ringing of the number four.
With a clang, the door opened to an excessively dark interior.
Unlike the warmth of Taehyun’s place, my home was chilly.
Shiyeon’s room stood wide open, but there was no light seeping out, nor any signs of life.
Even when I peeked into the room, it was empty, with no one on the bed.
It wasn’t that she was sleeping, but where could she be?
There was no reason for her not to come home at this hour… Ah.
‘Right, the academy.’
I had completely forgotten; she had said she was starting her academy today.
With that surprising sense of unease fluttering away, I turned my head back from Shiyeon’s room towards the living room.
‘There’s no temperature difference from outside.’
The faint, dim light of evening seeped in through the transparent window.
Feeling that dim light and the cold, I was the first to press the boiler button.
Hearing the rumble of the boiler, I turned on the lights in the kitchen and headed inside.
I placed the container of kimchi I had received into our refrigerator, which was usually famished given its size, and began the household chores I had promised myself to do.
I started by thoroughly vacuuming the dust on the floor and emptied the dust bag, then tossed the laundry accumulated in the laundry basket into the washing machine.
The number one priority for things to remove before they went into the washing machine.
I took out various plastic trash and my wallet, placing them beside the washing machine, and quickly tossed my uniform, socks, and other items into the washing machine that was already spinning.
As the water touched my uniform, something wiggled out of the bulging pocket.
“Puhah! Why didn’t I take that out!”
The Gomtaengi came flying out, soaking wet from the washing machine.
“Oh sorry, I totally forgot.”
Of course, it was a result of prioritizing the pocket with my wallet.
I hadn’t even thought about taking out something that had become a part of my daily life.
Even though I genuinely forgot and it slipped my mind, the Gomtaengi stared at me with a displeased look.
It was a honest mistake, but it didn’t seem to trust me.
“I really forgot, Emchang.”
I clenched my fist, curling all my fingers except for my thumb and pinky and tapped the tip of my pinky to my forehead, sticking my tongue out to the tip of my thumb in a forbidden pledge.
But who would have known? That it was a pledge I could not keep.
The Gomtaengi looked at me performing the forbidden pledge with cold eyes and unexpectedly let out a curse.
“It’s not here, damn it.”
“Oh, right.”
The materials necessary for the forbidden pledge were absent from the outset.
Although it wasn’t serious, I reluctantly accepted their suspicious glare and headed toward the kitchen.
I began preparing the stir-fried pork I had received from the lady for Shiyeon, who would return late from her academy.
After turning on the exhaust fan in advance, I donned plastic gloves and picked up a handful of raw meat to place in the suitably large frying pan.
Clang, the sound of the door opening.
The only person who would come in this house was Shiyeon.
Pausing my stirring of the meat with the rubber spatula, I looked at the Gomtaengi, who was watching the meat with eyes full of drool.
“Hey, go tell Shiyeon to get ready for a meal.”
“What about us?”
“I’ll grill it again for you after Shiyeon eats, so hurry.”
“Yes!”
Without having even served in the military, I wondered where it learned the salute, and the Gomtaengi promptly saluted and flew off.
Having received the message, Shiyeon appeared in the living room, unable to even take off her school uniform, and sat at the dining table.
I was worried she’d come in saying she had eaten with someone again today.
I placed warm white rice on the table along with the fried pork sizzling in the frying pan, and took out another pan.
Since I would be refrying the meat at the request of the Gomtaengi, I felt it would be better for them to eat together, so I called to the mascot, glancing over at Shiyeon.
“Hey, sea snake, you can come here too.”
“No…! It’s okay, I can eat with this one.”
But in response to my call instead of the sea snake, it was Shiyeon who answered.
She brought the mascot closer and began feeding it with chopsticks.
What? It should be fine to let a mascot join us.
I kind of felt a bit envious….
