“I don’t know, they’ll figure it out themselves.”
Entering channel 36 on a news channel that sounds the same no matter how many times you listen.
As if it’s Christmas, a movie featuring an American boy with yellow hair and blue eyes who tricks a petty thief is playing.
Gathered in front of the TV, munching on snacks, it’s that time to empty our brains and watch Christmas special movies.
Christmas events have become unimpressive lately, and today, the nostalgia for classic masterpieces overshadowed computer games.
Similarly, Shiyeon, the artist, decided to take a day off and was comfortably sitting on the sofa in front of the TV, enjoying a leisurely moment.
Suddenly, I think of the events at our house that remind me of Christmas.
“Isn’t anyone saying we’ll have cake this year?”
That’s right; it’s the Christmas cake tasting.
When I asked that, the immediate reply was like she hadn’t forgotten.
“We’ll eat it all at Mary’s birthday.”
She says we can just accumulate the cake for my birthday.
It seems Shiyeon has also realized that Christmas isn’t such a big deal, as this year we’ll pass on the Christmas cake we usually buy.
After all, having cake every week can feel burdensome.
At this point, it feels like just another holiday.
Still, with the media making such a fuss, it felt like there was confirmedly no monster appearance this year, making it a rare holiday to feel genuinely relaxed.
With a sense of leisure focused on the TV, Shiyeon continues speaking.
“Oh right, have you seen the photo Anne sent?”
Anne refers to Tiara.
If she’s talking about a recent photo, it must be one of her with some well-known kids getting ready for Christmas.
It’s currently 11 PM on Christmas Eve in LA.
Due to the 17-hour time difference, while we’re almost at the end of Christmas, they’re in the height of it.
“Oh, they’re preparing for Christmas.”
In our country’s magical girl environment, direct discussions tend to be avoided even in calls or messaging apps.
Unlike the narrow peninsula, the U.S. continent allows people to confidently reveal who they are and gather followers.
She’s innocently showing us how she’s preparing for Christmas via the messenger app, presenting her pride in showing off her heartfelt message written finely in Korean.
It’s as if she’s expressing the American spirit of sincerity on various holidays, shocking us with the scale of rich people enjoying festivals.
I never expected to receive a photo of a whole roasted turkey.
I heard that it supposedly doesn’t taste as good as it looks.
Staring blankly at my smartphone, it seems like Shiyeon is gazing at the photo sent by Anne.
Curiosity about unknown food arises, leading her to ask me.
“What does turkey taste like?”
“They say it’s not as good as chicken; chicken is the best.”
I’ve never tried it myself, but I repeated the words I heard from a YouTube video I saw.
They say it has a strong gamey taste and is as dry as chicken breast.
But honestly, if it were tastier and juicier than chicken, it would have gone extinct already.
At the mention of chicken being the best, Shiyeon perked up, her head snapping up.
“Whoa, I want to eat chicken.”
“Suddenly?”
After discussing chicken and turkey, the topic unexpectedly shifts to chicken.
Checking the time on my smartphone, it reads 4:36 PM.
It’s too late for lunch and too early for dinner.
Still, if she wants to eat, why not just order something?
I opened the delivery app I had been fiddling with, tapped the search bar with my finger, and looked at Shiyeon.
“What kind of chicken do you want?”
“Honey Combo!”
“Oh, that one.”
The brand that supposedly introduced delivery fees among chicken franchises.
I clicked on the Honey Combo, the 23,000 won menu, and added it to my cart.
The basic delivery charge is 2,000 won, plus an additional regional delivery fee of 1,000 won.
And on top of that, a Christmas surcharge I’ve never heard of before, adding 1,500 won.
Without adding anything extra, the total was already 27,500 won.
Nearly 20 percent of the food price is delivery fees; the world is going to hell.
“Surely you guys are going to eat too, right?”
I glanced sideways at the two mascots, shifting my neck slightly.
Throwing the question at the two mascots comfortably settled in their spots, the Gomtaengi replied, hitting its chest with its fluffy arm as if it were obvious.
“Of course, it’s two against one; are we not even allowed to eat?”
“Then two of them…”
With four mouths to eat, one chicken just won’t cut it.
It’s better to have leftovers than to come up short.
Changing the quantity from 1 to 2, I checked the price.
With a single click, the first digit quickly shifted to 5 on the receipt.
I could spend this money on a buffet instead…?
But no, since it’s Christmas, anywhere we go, we’d have to wait at least an hour.
Even while thinking it feels wasteful, on this Christmas, I didn’t want to move an inch from my room.
Reluctantly, I hit the payment button, feeling an indirect sense of money leaving my hands, letting my arms hang.
Estimated delivery time: between 56 to 72 minutes.
On a regular day, I would have thought “it’ll probably arrive early,” but today, that message feels particularly concerning.
“It seems like everyone orders for Christmas.”
“Why?”
“The minimum delivery estimate is 56 minutes.”
“Wow, but it’ll probably arrive a bit earlier, right?”
When I pointed out the minimum estimated time, Shiyeon expressed hope for Christmas delivery.
And rightly so, usually, food does arrive sooner than the estimated time.
However, that’s only true on regular weekdays.
“Heh, I don’t think so.”
I dismiss the hopeful wish nonchalantly, hinting at a negative future with a casual uncle laugh.
Including the World Cup and big gaming tournaments, and other such occasions…
On days explicitly marked as ‘chicken-eating days,’ you can’t underestimate those estimated delivery times.
Whether it’s the owner or the part-timer, they’re sweating profusely in front of boiling oil and frantically pulling out chickens, hastily inputting delivery estimates.
Of course, it could take longer.
A little while later.
Is it said that ominous premonitions often come true?
The chicken, which was said to take a maximum of 72 minutes, is still nowhere to be found.
The house defense movie, where the petty thief was being outsmarted, had already moved on to the next series.
“Ah, when will it come—!”
In the end, unable to hold back, Shiyeon jumped off the sofa and rolled around on the living room floor, exclaiming in frustration.
Sure enough, even after an hour passed, there was no sign of completed delivery, nor did the shared entrance intercom ring.
“See, I told you?”
“Ugh.”
Confirming my stomped hopes one last time.
With a short groan, Shiyeon spread her arms and legs on the floor in an H-shape, totally deflated.
Yeah, on Christmas, it’s highly unlikely anything will be delivered on time.
How much longer did we wait? About 10 more minutes?
Ding dong, the sound of the shared entrance intercom ringing.
“It’s here!”
That sudden noise, without warning, brightened Shiyeon’s face, who had been sprawled on the floor looking lifeless.
It’s already 6 PM, almost time for dinner.
Unintentionally, the chicken was delivered right around dinner time.
It must have been exceptionally busy, as the chicken box was still warm even after such a long wait.
So, it wasn’t that delivery took a long time.
There were just so many customers ordering that our order got delayed.
I can only shake my head at the tyranny of the chicken franchise headquarters, but I have immense respect for the owners who fry chicken on such a day.
“Thanks for the meal—”
Draining the sauce from the pickled radish, I returned to the table with four small forks and a plastic glove.
Grabbing a piece of what seems like fried chick’s legs and wings, I brought it to my mouth.
The intense salty flavor of soy sauce chicken filled my mouth first, followed closely by sweetness.
The combination of sweetness and saltiness is foolproof; despite its smaller size, it guarantees flavor, as I swallowed the moist chicken leg almost without chewing.
The sound of crispy batter breaking.
The crunch of munching pickled radish.
Without exchanging a single word, I asked Shiyeon about her upcoming high school life over the noisy dinner table.
“Is it really okay for school to stay the same?”
“Yeah.”
Mumbling, rolling the chicken wing inside her mouth, Shiyeon looked at me and nodded.
High school is supposed to be as close as possible.
A girls’ high school slightly removed from the middle school where we had spent three years.
The reason I asked Shiyeon if it’s okay was…
Having had some bad experiences at an all-girls middle school, I worried she might have similarly negative experiences at an all-girls high school.
Besides, girls who usually start in an all-girls middle school tend to continue into all-girls high school.
Although the distance is considerable so such cases are rare…
If I happen to run into one of the girls who was a perpetrator back in middle school, it could be quite a headache.
No matter how angry I was, I still transformed right in front of them.
Starting high school with worries before it even begins.
However, as if to say there’s nothing to worry about, Shiyeon excitedly stretched her neck upward.
“But I have Mary!”
“That’s true; I’m here after all.”
As the source of Shiyeon’s confident assertion, I had no choice but to live up to those expectations.
