Chapter 36

It’s been over two months since I started working at the café. Ha-yeon’s kindergarten life has stabilized, and now the weather has transitioned from full spring to slightly hot summer. My salary has been steadily increasing. At this rate, I might earn as much as someone working at a decent small or medium-sized company, even though I only work six hours a day and have weekends off.

—

[Ha-yul, you’ve worked hard this month! Here’s a gift! Go watch a movie with Ha-yeon.]

I lay on the bed, staring at the movie ticket the boss had given me. He said he got it from somewhere. These days, movie ticket prices keep getting more expensive. What used to cost less than 10,000 won now easily exceeds 15,000 won. Watching a movie without a discount felt like a huge loss. Of course, not many people watch movies without discounts.

Noticing the ticket’s expiration date was near, I glanced at Ha-yeon. I had to watch the movie with her, but I wasn’t sure if she’d want to go. Our tastes might not align. Ha-yeon seemed to sense my gaze and ran over. She always had this hunter-like intuition, even though she hadn’t awakened yet. Her physical abilities were extraordinary.

“Mom! Don’t just lie on the bed, let’s play!”

Ha-yeon clung to my side. She knew I was a bed potato and called me out on it. Feeling a bit guilty, I thought I should go out and explore with her.

“Ha-yeon, do you want to watch a movie with Mom?”

“Movie? Sure!”

Luckily, Ha-yeon agreed. I quickly pulled out my phone. This world wasn’t much different from the original one. I searched for currently showing movies. The list popped up, sorted by popularity.

“Hmm…”

Ha-yeon and I stared at the same screen. None of the movies seemed appealing. Big holidays like Lunar New Year or Chuseok usually had better movies. On ordinary days like this, only mediocre ones were showing. As I scrolled, one movie caught my eye.

“Ti… Tiny Ping!”

[Love’s Tiny Ping]

It was a Tiny Ping movie. I swallowed hard and glanced at Ha-yeon. She liked such animations, but I wasn’t sure if she’d want to watch a movie. Honestly, I wasn’t into these kinds of animated films before, but after becoming a woman, I found them oddly entertaining. Hormones, maybe?

“Mom, do you want to watch this?”

Ha-yeon seemed to read my mind. Her intuition was scarily fast, especially when it came to me. For other things, she was just average.

“Ha-yeon, don’t you want to watch Tiny Ping?”

I looked at her with pleading eyes. If we didn’t watch this Tiny Ping movie, I’d regret it forever. Ha-yeon looked at me and then smiled brightly.

“I want to watch it with Mom!”

“Really? If it’s Ha-yeon’s wish, I’ll always say yes!”

I laughed, happy that we were on the same page. Ha-yeon and I really got along well.

“Then let’s decide to watch this movie today~”

I checked the movie schedule. Luckily, there were seats available at a good time. Since it was a kids’ animation, it wasn’t sold out. Blockbusters or famous Hollywood movies were the ones that sold out, not these children’s animations.

“Shall we get ready, Ha-yeon?”

“Okay!”

Ha-yeon and I got up from the bed. It was time to change clothes to go to the movie theater.

“Hmm…”

Ha-yeon’s fashion was more important than mine. I focused on dressing her. Would a one-piece dress suit her? Or a thin shirt with a skirt? Ha-yeon looked good in anything, making it hard to choose. She even got tired and looked at me.

“Mom… when are we going out?”

“Ah!”

I realized I’d been too focused on myself. I finally decided on the first one-piece dress she tried on. Ha-yeon twirled around.

“Mom, do I look pretty?”

“Yes! Like an angel! No, you *are* an angel!”

“Hehehe!”

Ha-yeon clung to me. I patted her head. She looked at me and said,

“Mom, you’re not going out like that, right?”

I was still in my pajamas, without even underwear. If I went out like this, I might be labeled a pervert. I nodded at Ha-yeon.

“Of course! Mom will get dressed too!”

Next to Ha-yeon’s large wardrobe was my small one. My clothes were minimal compared to hers. I didn’t need much—just something to throw on was fine. Though I occasionally bought new clothes now that I was earning money, it was nothing compared to Ha-yeon’s wardrobe. I felt more satisfaction dressing her up than myself.

I rummaged through my wardrobe. Skirts were a no, blouses didn’t suit me… After several passes, my fashion was complete. Honestly, it wasn’t much—just clothes I’d gotten from a donation bin.

If I posted this “donation bin fashion” online, it might get a lot of attention. Though it’d be embarrassing, Ha-yeon was staring at me with a blank expression. I felt guilty and said to her, “Let’s go watch the movie, Ha-yeon!”

“Mom, I’m not done talking yet…”

—

At the women’s clothing store, Han Ji-young sighed deeply. Working at the department store was a bit tough, but the monthly salary made it hard to quit. The pay here was much better than at a PC bang or convenience store, where you’d barely get minimum wage.

As she worked, a high school girl and a young girl entered the store. They looked like sisters, maybe with a big age gap due to late parenthood. The high school girl looked young, but her fashion sense was terrible. It looked like she’d picked her clothes from a donation bin. Normally, Ji-young wouldn’t care, but the girl was so pretty that it felt like a waste. If she dressed better, she’d be stunning. Even in those old clothes, she was beautiful—imagine how she’d look in something nice.