I was feeling pretty proud of myself after successfully making pudding. Riding on that high, I started looking for other things to make. But nothing seemed as appealing as pudding.
“Hmm…”
After diving onto my bed, I suddenly glanced at the scenery outside. It was morning, and cars were zooming around on the road visible through the distant forest.
“Now that I think about it…”
It was midwinter, and I was craving something sweet. Having successfully made pudding yesterday, I felt unstoppable. I decided to make dalgona, a treat that always reminds me of winter.
When I was a kid, I used to frequent the dalgona machine at the stationery store near school, so I wasn’t worried about how to make it. You just melt sugar over heat, add a bit of baking soda, and stir it around—voila, dalgona!
Of course, I needed a mold for the melted sugar mixture. But I had already prepared that, so no worries there. I grinned to myself, waiting for the employees to leave for the day. Bora was around today, but she rarely came to my room, so I knew I’d have plenty of alone time.
As I prepared the sugar and baking soda, the day flew by. Those two items were easy to get. The only problem was that the bald guy had taken the gas burner yesterday, so I didn’t have a tool to melt the sugar. But hey, if you don’t have teeth, you use your gums, right?
This was a hurdle my genius brain could easily overcome. I stealthily made my way to the office. The items I needed were probably there. It truly was a magical space.
After successfully sneaking into the office, I glanced around. It was 7 PM, and I had just had dinner with Bora. She usually disappeared for an hour after dinner, saying she had work to do. Not my business, so I didn’t pay much attention.
“Aha!”
I spotted my target and dashed over. What I wanted was the coffee pot. I unplugged it and hurried back to my room.
I laid out the sugar and baking soda on the desk and plugged in the coffee pot. All the ingredients were ready. Now, all I had to do was follow the recipe.
Since I didn’t have a gas burner, I decided to use the coffee pot instead. I placed it on the floor and plugged it in. I had already dumped the water from the pot earlier, but I added a little bit back because the pot wouldn’t work without it.
I opened the lid of the coffee pot and poured in the sugar. After dumping in almost half a bag, the pot was nearly half full.
“Heh…”
I couldn’t help but admire my genius brain for using the coffee pot as a substitute.
*Click!*
The coffee pot turned on, and I crouched down to watch it slowly heat up. After a few minutes, the sugar inside began to melt and bubble.
The sweet steam rising from the pot made my mouth water. Once I confirmed the sugar had mostly melted, I opened the lid. Inside, the sugar had turned into a sticky syrup.
I stirred it with a spatula, preparing for the final step. I grabbed the bag of baking soda and cut it open with scissors. I needed to add just a little, so precise control was crucial.
“Oops!”
But my shaky hands betrayed me, and way too much baking soda went in. Panicking, I tried to turn off the coffee pot.
But the baking soda was faster than my hands. The brown sugar syrup bubbled up and overflowed. The coffee pot was now a sticky mess.
The floor was a disaster, covered in sugary, baking soda-infused liquid. As I stared at the mess, I could already picture Bora spanking my butt for this.
I needed to quickly reach out and turn off the coffee pot, but the way it was shaking made me hesitate. It was probably scorching hot, and I didn’t want to burn myself.
“No!!!”
I ran around the room. The air was already filled with smoke from the burning sugar. Thankfully, the heat was so intense that the coffee pot turned off automatically. But the aftermath was brutal.
“Bora… Bora!!!”
I had no choice but to call for backup. Bora was the only one who could fix this mess. But she wasn’t in the office, so my cries for help went unanswered.
“Ugh!”
The coffee pot was spewing white smoke. The room was filled with smoke, and I could barely see. Soon after, the sprinklers activated, turning the room into a waterlogged mess. The fire alarm blared throughout the building.
“Uh-oh…”
I realized I had made a huge mistake. The room was soaked, and the coffee pot, beloved by the office staff, was ruined.
Since I made a mess in the room, this wasn’t going to be brushed off with just a scolding.
I felt a headache coming on. How did my plan to make a perfectly fine dalgona go so wrong? I was staring blankly at the sprinkler spraying water everywhere. I shouldn’t think this, but it felt kinda refreshing.
“Hana!!!”
A loud clattering sound followed, and Bora burst into my room. She took one look at me, drenched in water, and let out a big sigh. The sprinkler had already turned the room into a disaster zone.
“Ugh…”
Bora seemed to grasp the situation after spotting the overturned coffee pot. I stood there awkwardly, trying to sneak out while gauging her reaction. Just a little more, and I could escape the room!
But just as I was almost out, Bora grabbed the back of my neck. Her fiery glare made me shut my eyes tight.
————————————————
“Sniff…”
I sat in the office with both hands raised high. A few employees still in the building were cleaning my room because of my mistake. The TV and monitor got soaked and broke, but thankfully, the main computer was safely tucked under the desk and survived.
I cautiously glanced around. I knew I’d caused a major incident, so I had to be careful. Seeing Bora’s fiery eyes earlier had me even more scared.
My butt was spared, but my arms were killing me from holding them up. My perfect plan to make dalgona had failed… I made pudding just fine yesterday…
Then Bora walked into the office. I had no choice but to hang my head. The fire alarm had gone off, causing chaos in the building management. Based on past experiences, this wasn’t going to end with just one spanking. At least ten.
“Hana. Why did you take the coffee pot?”
Bora still seemed rational. I spoke in a guilt-ridden voice, putting on my best “I messed up” face.
“Well… I wanted to make dalgona to share…”
“Dalgona?”
“Yeah.”
Bora, holding a bag of soda, looked at me and said, “Hmm… If you wanted to make it, you should’ve asked me to do it together.”
“I wanted to surprise you like with the pudding last time.”
“Then, shall we go make dalgona together, Hana?”
I glanced at Bora. Did it seem like she was letting it slide? I nodded and said, “Yeah!”
“But… since you made a mistake, you need to be punished, right?”
“Huh…”
Bora gently pulled me over and laid me across her lap. I had no choice but to stay there as her hand stroked my butt.
Swish swish.
Bora’s hand caressed my butt. I instinctively tried to squirm away, but she pinned me down, anticipating my move.
Then, her hand rose high into the air. I could sense what was coming. I clenched my eyes shut, bracing for the pain.
Whack!
“Yikes!”
“Next time, tell me before doing something like this, okay? You can’t just do this without a gas burner. And Hana, you always have to be careful with fire.”
“Ye… yes!”
Thankfully, it ended with just one smack. I got off Bora’s lap and rubbed my butt. It helped ease the pain faster. Considering my room was flooded and the fire alarm went off throughout the building, I got off pretty lightly.
It was a mistake that could’ve easily earned me ten smacks.
“Hana, you’ll have to sleep in another room tonight, okay?”
“Okay.”
My original room was already a sticky mess of sugar and water. It’d take days to clean, so I had no choice but to crash in the princess-themed room with lace decorations.
