Chapter 94

Shrimp tempura, sweet and sour pork, fried chicken.

After that, fried rice, sushi, sashimi, rolls, steak, and so on…

Since I had to eat with Shiyeon, the variety of food I had been restricting suddenly expanded to a buffet, and I filled my plate quickly, clearing two or three bowls.

Exercise and dieting are for everyday life; when you come to a buffet, you have to eat as much as you can.

If I came here to eat and just nibbled on fruits and greens, how pitiful would that look?

Anyway, while the meal was well underway…

“What’s that?”

“It’s shrimp sushi; do you want to try some?”

I asked Shiyeon, who was pointing to my sushi with her chopsticks, if she was going to try it lightly.

Sashimi and sushi had been things I avoided until last year.

I naturally expected her to answer no, but unexpectedly, Shiyeon nodded.

“Yeah.”

I wondered what kind of wind had blown, as she had decided to eat the sushi she had been avoiding until now.

I’m fine with her expanding her food choices.

With that light thought, I picked up a small piece of sushi from my plate with my chopsticks and offered it to Shiyeon.

I handed her the soy sauce dish for sushi and informed her that she should dip it in.

Shiyeon took the popular shrimp sushi.

Imagining its familiar taste, she dipped it slightly in the soy sauce and brought it to her mouth.

Chewing like a squirrel with her cheeks stuffed, I thought she was doing surprisingly well when…

“Bleh…”

“Is it not good?”

Shiyeon scrunched her face up and stuck her tongue out.

It’s just shrimp on rice; what didn’t she like about it?

While I was thinking about what could be inside the sushi…

Shiyeon stated the reason she spat it out.

“It’s spicy.”

‘Ah, wasabi.’

It was something I had become so accustomed to that I didn’t even think of it as an ingredient: wasabi.

That green stuff is definitely a barrier for kids when it comes to sushi.

Thinking back, I also avoided sushi because of wasabi before getting used to its taste.

‘Hmm…’

I took a piece of sashimi off the remaining sushi and scraped off the wasabi part with my chopsticks, putting them back together.

This time, it was salmon sushi.

Seeing as I had only removed the wasabi, I wondered if it would be edible; Shiyeon was watching me keenly.

“Here, I took off the wasabi.”

“What kind of fish is this?”

“Salmon.”

Cutting through the bright orange flesh was a white fat line.

It was a sushi topped with salmon, which you can commonly find at the supermarket.

Even if I told her, she wouldn’t know what it looked like, but I did tell her what kind of fish it was.

At her age, which is overflowing with curiosity, she needed to know what was going into her mouth.

Once I removed the wasabi, it seemed edible; she didn’t scrunch her face like before and chewed it well.

The bride and groom were coming and going, greeting the guests in the spacious restaurant.

‘They must be tired.’

Sucking on a sauce-covered chopstick, I looked at the busy couple.

… The small amount of wasabi left on the end of my chopsticks gently poked my nose.

To wash that wasabi taste away, I immediately grabbed a piece of sweet and sour shrimp and popped it into my mouth.

The oily and moderately spicy sauce enveloped my mouth.

Thus, after only three bowls, I was completely full.

Thinking of the fourth bowl as the last, I filled my plate with small breads and pieces of cake for dessert and returned.

At the table, Shiyeon was still clearing her third bowl, and the couple in formal wear were there.

“Mary, did you eat a lot?”

“This is my fourth bowl.”

“Oh my, you ate well.”

As I proudly showed off the stack of bowls on the table, Senior Jiun chimed in with compliments.

True to her words, I had stuffed myself so much that I could tap my belly and hear a thumping sound.

Without a moment for a leisurely conversation, the bride and groom moved toward another seat.

Was there something they wanted to convey to me? Senior Jiun briefly remained near us and awkwardly spoke.

“I’m sorry, but could you go back by yourselves?”

I didn’t know what she was sorry for, but she said she would prefer us to go back by ourselves.

Since they were the main characters of the day, I didn’t think they’d have the luxury to drive us back.

They probably had too many things to do regarding cleaning up after the meal.

I had thought that from the beginning, so I nodded and said.

“I’m not so clueless as to intrude on newlyweds.”

“Mary is great, then I’ll leave it to you?”

With a sharp response, Senior Jiun gave me a thumbs-up with both fists.

Then she affectionately touched her cheeks as if they were the prettiest in the world, chasing after the groom who had squeezed through the chairs.

With a noticeably slower pace, I picked up pieces of bread and cake, finally managing to empty my fourth bowl.

“Phew.”

With food filling my throat, I let out a breath with an uncomfortable feeling.

Judging that there was no more room left, I surrendered in my heart.

When I turned my head to sneak a glance at Shiyeon, it was the same on her side.

She hesitated to grab the next chopsticks for her bowl, which had a bit of meat left, and let out a silent insignificant burp.

“Can you eat more?”

The question I threw out returned with a head shaking but no answer.

It seemed like both of us had reached our limit.

As we left our seats and exited the restaurant, the third floor was already packed with people.

The first floor of the building, which had been empty when we came, was now filled to the brim with people.

After leaving the dining area and hailing a taxi on the street, we were finally on our way home.

From that moment on, I was engulfed in an inexplicable sleepiness.

Thinking deeply about the cause, I realized it was because I had been moving since early morning, combined with the warm spring sun and the excessively filling meal.

Indeed.

The combined assault of spring drowsiness and post-meal drowsiness.

“Yawn.”

Due to that fierce onslaught, I found myself yawning as soon as I entered the house.

Naturally, after the wedding day, I couldn’t see Senior Jiun for a while.

Honeymoon, moving preparations, and other miscellaneous tasks.

Since they couldn’t work during the travel period, it meant days of just the two of us being left alone at home.

But there was no need to feel alarmed and exclaim, “Oh wow! It’s a big deal!”

After all, I had been here all along.

“I managed just fine in first grade, so what’s there to worry about?”

It was just that a little more housework might pile up.

Confirming that I was fully back home, the Gomtaengi started to crawl out of my pocket without me even needing to pull it out.

“Ha, I wanted to eat too….”

As the little Gomtaengi wiggled out of my pocket, it complained slightly.

I understood its disappointment, but cooperation on this matter was utterly impossible.

With my arms crossed and my hands resting on my hips, I continued.

“How many eyes are watching? How could I give you food there?”

Not just one or two, but dozens or even hundreds of people were moving around in the restaurant.

Even if nobody was paying attention to one another, it would still be apparent if someone was feeding a doll.

“True, but, ah! I want to eat sweet and sour shrimp!”

Even understanding that, the Gomtaengi lay down on the floor and started to squirm.

Since it had started lying down, I decided to step on the Gomtaengi’s face.

I felt the soft tips of my toes sink into its mouth.

Surprisingly, the inside of its mouth was quite spacious.

“Oof, ugh.”

“Has it not been fitting recently?”

With a kick, I swung my foot as if I had hooked it, feeling the appropriate grip of the Gomtaengi’s mouth.

Naturally, the Gomtaengi detached from my toes, flew off, and landed weakly on the ground with a thud.

“Cough! No, who puts their toes in someone’s mouth…!”

“Here I am, you little rascal.”

Now the Gomtaengi had learned to argue back even while getting hit.

Seemingly unsatisfied with my toes being in its mouth, the Gomtaengi was repeatedly gagging, leaning against the wall.

“Eww, it stinks….”

“Some people find this sort of thing rewarding.”

“Excuse me? Which hole-in-the-head person….”

As I lifted the leg that had just been in its mouth and shook it off, I murmured, subtly mentioning the kind of people that are into that.

It seemed the Gomtaengi was about to protest but, perhaps due to the internet surfing it had done, it turned its gaze away from me towards thin air, frowning.

“… I guess there are some.”

“Right? This is a reward for you squirming on the floor.”

“No, this is clearly just abuse… gulp!”

“It’s all about how you interpret it… huh?”

This time, I was stepping on the back of the Gomtaengi’s head while pulling out my smartphone to check for notifications.

After checking my recent notifications, I saw a message from Senior Jiun asking if I had made it home safely.

In reply, I texted her not to worry since Shiyeon and I had come back fine, wishing her well with all the tasks she had ahead and encouraging her to enjoy her trip.

Well wishes are just well wishes; I still had things to do.

“If you can get up even a little from this position, I’ll order sweet and sour shrimp for you.”

“Wha, is that really true?! Ugh…!”

After throwing out a little bait, the Gomtaengi charged at me desperately.

In the end, due to the differences in volume and weight, it didn’t succeed, but either way, I ordered sweet and sour shrimp for 30,000 won from the Chinese restaurant, having gone through all that trouble.