Vroom vroom!
In the car with the roaring engine, I excitedly shook my body back and forth. Going out for fun is always a joy. But it seemed we were about to arrive at our destination, as the car’s engine sound slowly faded away.
We arrived at a downtown parking lot, and I hopped out of the passenger seat. Bora got out of the car next to me. I bounced around Bora energetically.
Now that we’re downtown, what should we do?
Suddenly, my brain froze. I came out, but now that I’m here, I have no idea what to do. Luckily, Bora seemed to have something in mind as she grabbed my hand and headed somewhere. She led us to a street lined with food stalls. Delicious smells wafted through the air.
“Bora, buy this for me!”
It was lobster topped with cheese. Just looking at it made my mouth water. It had been a while since I had street food. My usual routine was eating at restaurants or grabbing snacks and drinks from convenience stores.
“Okay, Hana. We’ll take two of these, please, uncle.”
Bora skillfully chatted with the street food vendor. My eyes were glued to the lobster. The savory, mouthwatering aroma was irresistible. Bora paid and handed me the steaming lobster.
“Wow!”
I could feel my saliva glands going into overdrive. Bora and I sat on a nearby bench and spread out the food we had bought, like a picnic. The lobster was packed in a paper box, and when I opened it, the lobster inside seemed to beckon me with its mesmerizing colors.
I grabbed one and popped it into my mouth.
“Nom nom.”
As I chewed, the juicy flavor exploded in my mouth. Then, the cheese attacked me. The rich, cheesy aroma filled my mouth.
The incredible taste made my eyes flutter. How could food be this delicious? Street food never disappoints. I mean, if it wasn’t tasty, it wouldn’t sell, right?
The flavor of the lobster lingered in my mouth like an unforgettable scar.
“Is it that good, Hana?”
“Yeah! It’s so delicious, I can’t stop eating it.”
I managed to reply to Bora, barely keeping my composure. But even as I chewed slowly, the lobster melted away in my mouth. I stared at the remaining lobster with longing eyes.
There were only two lobsters, so we had an unspoken agreement to split them. I gazed at the last one with a look of deep regret.
But Bora, as always, knew exactly what I was thinking. She said something that made my heart skip a beat.
“Hana, do you want to eat the other lobster? I already ate earlier, so I’m not that hungry.”
Yes! Bora is the best.
“Really? Can I have it?”
“Yeah. If Hana wants it, you can have it.”
My eyes lit up as I grabbed the last lobster and popped it into my mouth. But just like the first one, it melted away almost instantly.
In no time, both lobsters were gone, carried away by the wind. I sucked on my fingers and stared at the empty paper box.
“Hana, we bought a lot of food, so let’s eat this too.”
Bora started unwrapping the second dish we had bought. It looked delicious too—steaming takoyaki.
Oh no!
The takoyaki was tempting me with its irresistible aroma. This sneaky food! How dare it seduce me like this… This food must be evil.
I picked up a toothpick and stabbed one takoyaki ball. Then I popped it into my mouth.
Mmm!
This takoyaki was also incredibly delicious.
“Hana, eat slowly. No one’s going to take it from you.”
“Nah!”
I couldn’t hear Bora’s words. Even if I tried to eat slowly, my hands wouldn’t slow down. In fact, they only seemed to move faster.
I devoured the rest of the takoyaki at lightning speed. Bora ate a couple too, but compared to me, she barely touched it.
When I regained my senses, I glanced at Bora. She didn’t seem upset that I had eaten most of the takoyaki. Instead, she was casually munching on a hot bar she had brought from somewhere.
She had been eating that hot bar since I started on the lobster. She had only eaten a couple of other things while munching on it.
And she still had the hot bar she had started with earlier. Bora was scrolling through her phone while eating.
Something was leaving a message.
Oops! I almost forgot today’s goal. Somehow, I had to use my charm on Bora to lift the ban on snacks and ice cream.
I sneakily approached Bora. Her expression didn’t seem too happy. Looking at her face, I couldn’t help but feel uneasy. I was sure that if I brought it up now, I’d be rejected outright.
There was still plenty of time, so I could take it slow and carry out my plan with ease. It wasn’t over yet.
After eating all that food, my stomach was bulging out. I pointed to my belly and said to Bora, “Bora, my stomach is sticking out this much!”
“Yeah, yeah. Hana, you ate more than I thought~”
As she said that, Bora gently rubbed my belly with her warm hand. It felt like it was helping with digestion. The next destination was already decided. It was a place I hadn’t been to since I transformed into this body.
“Bora, I want to watch a movie!”
“A movie…?”
“Yeah!”
“Is there a movie Hana wants to watch?”
“I want to watch this!”
I showed Bora my phone screen. It was the movie version of “Little Magician Lumi.” Bora chuckled and patted my head, saying, “So you came out today to watch this, huh?”
“N…No!”
It was kind of true, but it was a bit embarrassing to admit. It didn’t feel very adult-like to beg to watch a movie like this.
I grabbed Bora’s hand and started pulling her along. The destination was already set, so I went straight for it. The movie theater was just a short distance from the bench.
A huge movie theater greeted me. Even though it was a bit past lunchtime, there were still a lot of people around. Was today a holiday? As expected, there were a lot of jobless people in this world who just ate and played.
But I was a student, so I stood tall. I had already completed my entrance ceremony and was a proper elementary school student of South Korea. I was definitely not jobless.
“Wow…”
As I entered the movie theater, various posters greeted me. And the flashing billboards were attacking my eyes. I held onto Bora’s hand tightly. If I lost her in this crowd, I’d definitely get lost.
Luckily, Bora seemed to feel the same way, as she tightened her grip on my hand. Bora and I really understood each other. After living together for a few months, we could pretty much read each other’s minds just by looking into each other’s eyes. Not exactly like an old married couple, though.
“Hmm… Hana said she wanted to watch this, right?”
Bora held up a poster of Lumi doing a kick. My eyes sparkled as I looked at it. It was the movie I really wanted to watch. In fact, the reason I went out today was partly because I wanted to see this movie.
“Yeah, yeah!”
I nodded vigorously, expressing with my whole body how much I wanted to watch this movie. Impressed by my enthusiasm, Bora nodded and said she understood.
Bora quickly paid for the tickets. Two tickets for “Little Magician Lumi’s Big Adventure.” I took the tickets from Bora and clutched them tightly in my hand, then stuffed them into my pocket so no one could take them. If I lost the tickets and couldn’t watch the movie, I was ready to cry my heart out today.
The movie was fantastic. Even though it was an animation, it felt so vivid, like I was experiencing it myself. Lumi was truly alive and breathing inside the screen. I was so absorbed in the movie that I didn’t even think about observing Bora. Every scene was too precious to miss.
I didn’t even notice Bora looking at me fondly. All I remember is my eyes sparkling as if I was being sucked into the screen.
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yeah, it was so fun I want to watch it again!”
“We can come again later!”
“Yay!”
I was so happy that Bora agreed. Watching a thrilling movie was a blessing.
