episode_0161

There is a saying, “I wished for my brother’s happiness, but I didn’t wish for him to be this happy.”

Perhaps, like any other bystander, seeing Kim Dae-yoon now, one might think of such words.

“Hey, Dae-yoon. This is something the ajumma takes pride in making. Want to try it?”

said Ma-mang (Jeong Do-yeon), placing a strange pickled vegetable stem on his spoon for the first time.

“Take your time and eat it yourself, Mom. I might choke. Should I get you some water?”

said Jo-rang-i (Jeong Da-young), getting up from his seat to fetch some water.

It was an awkward and even burdensome situation.

Isn’t there a saying that too much of anything is not good enough?

Kim Dae-yoon thought.

Nonsense.

Honestly, what man in the world would refuse such treatment from two beautiful women? And one of them being the streamer he adores so much. If this is reverse fan service, then it can be called reverse fan service.

Anyway, he couldn’t believe the series of events that had unfolded since this afternoon, or more precisely, since last night.

The girl who lived downstairs turned out to be the streamer he idolizes, and now he’s been invited to her house, with future opportunities to meet as well. And now they’re even having a meal together. With her family, no less.

This is the epitome of a successful fan, isn’t it? He was even anxious about whether he deserved such treatment.

Everything was perfect. Except for the fact that it wasn’t just anyone sitting across from him, but Jeong Da-bin’s younger brother, who was glaring at him.

“Uh… um, how old is your… brother?”

Kim Dae-yoon awkwardly asked.

“He can take care of himself.”

Did he do something wrong? He turned around to look, but it had only been less than 10 minutes since they met.

“Oh, no. Just… haha.”

Feeling a bit awkward, Kim Dae-yoon scratched the back of his head. Then Jeong Do-yeon nudged Jeong Da-bin, who promptly revealed his age.

“I’m 16.”

“Haha… in 9th grade, huh? Which school do you go to?”

“Hanseong Middle School.”

“Oh, really? I graduated from there too.”

“Well, how many people who go to Hanseong High School didn’t go to Hanseong Middle School?”

Come to think of it, that’s true. With the development of the new town, there weren’t many schools nearby, and whether it was Hanseong Middle or Hanseong High, they were all cases of schools that had moved to new buildings in remote areas before closing down. So with the influx of students due to the new town, many students, including himself, didn’t transfer when they moved in the 2nd year of middle school.

As a result, until he graduated from 9th grade, there were only 4 classes in total for all students in the same grade, numbering less than 100. Well, it was fortunate that there were no territorial disputes among them.

Hanseong High had a similar atmosphere, so when his grade entered, it expanded to 8 classes, but before that, there were only 2 or 3 classes. Especially, the year before he entered, there were only 2 classes of seniors.

“That’s right. Haha. Yeah.”

“Hey, Jeong Da-bin. Why have you been so unhappy since earlier? What did the senior do to you?”

Jeong Da-young looked puzzled, alternating between Jeong Da-bin and Kim Dae-yoon.

-Whoosh!

Kim Dae-yoon vigorously shook his head, asserting his innocence.

“Anyway, I don’t know what’s going on, but tone it down. If you act like this, you’ll get me and Mom in trouble.”

Fortunately, Jeong Da-bin, Jeong Da-young’s younger brother, was a quick-witted child. Despite his own feelings, he knew how to act when necessary, so he cleared his throat and bowed his head slightly to apologize to Kim Dae-yoon.

“Sorry.”

That sight of Jung Dabin was somewhat unfamiliar, causing Jung Doyeon to furrow his brow. Kim Daeyoon felt like this place was starting to feel more and more like a thorn cushion.

“What, um… Hey, are you… Dabin? Miss Dabin? Younger brother?”

“He is. What’s with calling me ‘Miss’ to someone three years younger than you? Just call me Dabin. Is that okay?”

Jung Doyeon looked at Jung Dabin with a sense of coercion rather than persuasion, and Jung Dabin reluctantly nodded his head.

“Sure.”

“Oh, really? So, Dabin, who is your homeroom teacher? Just curious if I know them.”

“It’s Teacher Choi Sungjoon.”

“Oh, really?!”

As soon as Kim Daeyoon heard that name, someone’s face flashed through his mind. It was only natural.

“Me too! I was in Teacher Choi Sungjoon’s class in 3rd grade.”

Kim Daeyoon himself was also in Teacher Choi Sungjoon’s class in middle school. It was quite a coincidence.

“Why?”

“Why… I mean, I was in Teacher Choi Sungjoon’s class, so I just said Teacher Choi Sungjoon…?”

“Well… he continued teaching 3rd grade, so it could be possible, but is it really that coincidental? You’re not lying, are you?”

“What benefit would I get from lying about that?”

That was true too.

“Wow, this is so nice. Nice to meet you. Is Teacher Sungjoon still in good health?”

“Well, that teacher is a health enthusiast, so…”

As a familiar topic came up, the slightly sharp edge in the conversation softened. Ultimately, for Jung Dabin, it was a bit awkward to treat a senior who had studied math under the same homeroom teacher as just another guy.

Noticing this, Jung Doyeon and Jung Dabin exchanged glances and simply listened to the two’s conversation with a smile.

“Oh, are you still a bit weak in the computer area?”

“Yes… Just recently, my mom went for a consultation and… where was it malfunctioning?”

“The RAM was faulty. I just took out the memory once and blew on it, then put it back in, and it worked fine.”

“Wow… Teacher, you’re still the same. Hehe.”

“Don’t say that. Just the other day, I was showing some material in class and turned on YouTube, but… well…”

As Jung Dabin took the initiative to start the conversation, Kim Daeyoon inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. Then suddenly.

“Was I always this talkative?”

Somehow, due to his slightly introverted nature, he didn’t have many friends at school. The fact that he made an effort not to miss out on a conversation with someone who was pushing him away made him feel a bit strange.

He also had a thought that he was capable of doing this much. Anyway, he didn’t want to miss out on this good opportunity to connect with someone, so he felt relieved that Jung Dabin seemed to have loosened up a bit.

“Well, I enjoyed the meal.”

“Yes, thank you for eating well.”

Jung Doyeon smiled in response to Kim Daeyoon’s farewell. Unconsciously, he blushed at her appearance.

“Wow, that face is deceiving. How is she in her late thirties…?”

For a moment, while admiring her, Jung Doyeon began to tidy up the table.

“Oh, let me help too.”

However, as he tried to get up to help, Jung Doyeon quickly stopped him and asked him to go to Jung Dayoung’s room and wait there.

“Mom will clean up and cut some fruit for you, so why don’t you go to Dayoung’s room and wait for a bit?”

Since Jung Doyeon had been feeding him various things throughout the meal, there was hardly an empty space in his stomach. Why would he need to eat something more here?

“Mom, I want coffee!”

“You, it’s not good for students to drink too much coffee already.”

“Oh, come on, how much can I drink? Make me an espresso and mix it with milk.”

Jung Dayoung said, looking at the capsule machine.

“If you’re going to do that, just drink a latte capsule.”

“Oh, the taste is different. The taste is.”

As Jung Dayoung looked at the capsule machine, he said.

It was an absurd choice of words, but because it was Jung Dayoung who said it, it came across as cute.

“Yeah, anyway, Dayoung wants an iced latte. Daeyoon, on the other hand…”

“Oh, I’m fine…!”

“Just eat some fruit. You’re a high school senior, you need to get your vitamins.”

As she asked him to help her plan her YouTube channel, the words “Are you kidding me?” almost slipped out of Daeyoon’s mouth, but he managed to hold back his emotions.

“Well, I’m in.”

And so, he followed Dayoung back to her room.

-Creak!

Kim Daeyoon found himself entering the room and involuntarily taking in the scent. He was momentarily startled by his own actions, but fortunately, Dayoung didn’t seem to notice.

“How was it?”

Dayoung suddenly asked as she sat down.

“Huh? What?”

“My mom’s cooking. Wasn’t it delicious?”

Ah, that’s what she meant.

“It was delicious. Yeah. Your mom seemed really confident. Honestly, our mom isn’t really great at cooking. It’s not like her food is inedible, but…”

He had already gotten used to it and could eat it well. No, his mom’s cooking was the standard of taste for him, the benchmark for all flavors. Ironically, while eating out, he realized that his mom wasn’t that great at cooking. In that sense, Dayoung’s mom, Jung Doyeon, was quite skilled at cooking, as delicious as eating at a decent restaurant.

Although he still didn’t know how to cook at all, if he had a recipe, he might want to try it out later when he lived on his own.

“Well, how about trying it out with cooking?”

“Well, I don’t think we can convey the taste through a video. Yeah.”

That was the consensus. It was a saturated recipe video, and even professional chefs were uploading their recipes on YouTube. There were only a few chefs who stopped uploading because of the limits of recipes or repertoire. So, he honestly didn’t want to push her too hard.

“But for now, we agreed to upload the first video with what your mom wants. I think that would be best.”

“Okay. Then.”

Dayoung seemed somewhat disappointed, or rather a bit upset. She didn’t say it, but deep down, she probably wished they had gone in the direction she wanted.

In the end, they were a good mother-daughter duo. Even her younger sister, Jung Dabin, was like that.

He thought they must have a dark past, but seeing them like this, he understood. How could Dayoung maintain such brightness on her broadcasts?

Watching Dayoung continue to pour out ideas for Jung Doyeon’s YouTube videos, Kim Daeyoon could only smile contentedly as he looked at her.