episode_0065

“…Delicious.”

-Nod

Father’s reaction was quite simple.

Clear and easy to understand.

I was grateful that I had prepared various sauces.

It must be the Japanese-style tonkatsu that brings out the texture, but it also preserves the taste of the oil.

To us, it might be the best oil taste, but for parents, it could make it greasier.

When we talk about the oil taste, it commonly refers to the marbling of pork belly or beef.

So, I made an effort to remove as much oil as possible. By the way, my brother’s portion remains the same.

“Delicious.”

“Hehe. Thank you.”

As confident as one should be when making their best dish, if it was for my brother, I should have made namul for my parents.

That’s why even though it tastes good, I worried that it might get bland later on.

It might be delicious to me, but not necessarily to others.

“…There’s a reason for dipping in salt. Feels somewhat like steak.”

It was still praise.

“Do you really like tonkatsu?”

“I do. Even when both of you were busy, I asked the housekeeper to make tonkatsu for me.”

“…I didn’t even know what food my son liked.”

He looked at my brother with a face that seemed apologetic, but my brother responded with a nonchalant expression, saying it’s okay, he knew they were busy because of work.

“Uh-huh….”

He finished his plate and bowl.

I was worried that he might have forced himself to eat, but considering that he drank water again, it was undoubtedly too much.

“Next time, I’ll treat you to Korean food. Seems like I only thought about you, brother.”

“It’s okay. It was delicious. Many people get divorced because of bad food, so I’m relieved it was good.”

“…Thank you.”

He nodded, stood up, and cleared the dishes.

“I’ll do it. I can handle clearing the dishes by myself. Please stay and chat with my brother for a while.”

“Ah… Sure. I’ll leave it to you.”

Tomorrow is another workday.

During the weekdays, I work, and then my brother’s weekends are solely for me.

I hope we can get along at least a little.

I am quite greedy.

If you’re going to take away my brother’s time, you should consult me first, not my parents.

“Uh… Hello?”

Should I have asked about the housekeeper when we were asking each other questions earlier?

Since we first met, this mysterious woman who hasn’t spoken at all has piqued my curiosity a bit.

“…Oh, do you want this?”

Nodding, she takes the plate.

“I want to help with the dishes.”

…Nod

She is shorter than me, so I couldn’t see her face clearly, but with her long hair tied up, I just thought of her as a woman.

…Honestly, she’s pretty.

If this were school, wouldn’t she have become known as a unique and pretty girl?

Though she doesn’t speak, her timid personality is evident in her eyes.

“…Huh? Sorry.”

Our arms slightly bumped while doing the dishes, and as she continued to bow repeatedly, she just looked cute.

“But, how old are you?”

I could express her age using my fingers.

I spread out three fingers, then removed one index finger and spread out the rest.

“…You’re older than me.”

She seems much older than me. 35 years old?

Why do people around me look so young?

“How can I convey my name silently?”

As if she already had experience, she grabbed my hand.

“Ah… Handwriting?”

-Nod

“Um… Um, Song? Ah. Son… And me? Eh? Oh. Yes. Son Naye, is that right?”

She smiled, nodding her head.

Her smile felt like a healing balm.

“Son Naye. Naye. Your name is pretty too. Shall we be friends?”

“…?”

“Texting will do!”

Curious about the meaning, she replied directly to the inquiring expression, but the older sister shook her head as if it wasn’t that.

“Why… do you want to become close?”

Rather than frustrating, should I say it’s fun?

There’s a sense of satisfaction when you guess something right.

“Oh… because you’re pretty?”

Whether she’ll give it or not, she rummaged through her pocket and pulled out her phone.

“You’re giving it to me?”

-Nods

“Hehe, thank you. I’ve got the number of a beautiful sister.”

Maybe Naye is embarrassed; she covers her face with the hand that was on her sleeve.

She seems cuter in this hoodie-like outfit than the suit she wore yesterday.

“Oh. It seems like our conversation has come to an end. It was nice getting to know you.”

Shaking hands and handing back the phone, she returned to her brother’s side and sat closely next to him.

“You are the first person to have a friendly conversation with that child.”

“Why… I just asked her to be friends because she’s pretty.”

“There have been few people coming, but there have been few who are interested in the housekeeper. And there haven’t been many instances where such an expressionless child feels shy and smiles.”

I don’t think I did anything.

It’s just a simple difference.

If this were a place where only important people came, even if it were a convenience store job, I might have gotten a lot of numbers.

Since I can’t speak… I honestly can’t guarantee how I would handle the truth, but even from an ordinary person’s perspective, it’s not acceptable, so they might not even give up on the truth.

“…Ah. Could it be that this sister can’t speak…?”

“Yeah. It’s selective mutism.”

Simple yet lengthy.

There’s nothing wrong with her brain, but she doesn’t speak due to some unspecified incident.

Although the incident wasn’t brought up, one could vaguely sense that it was something unpleasant.

“It was a bit unusual meeting her… We were communicating through writing, and I felt like something was lacking financially. It seemed like she was slightly short on money. It was just a little bit, so I covered for her, but she said she would repay later and insisted that I contact her.”

The reason wasn’t explained.

How far back in the past are we going?

“Oh… but why here…?”

“I didn’t bother contacting her because it wasn’t a big deal, but she said to wait at the hospital later.”

I watch her wipe the water off the plate.

“She was crying because she didn’t have money, so I said it was okay, but she asked to postpone it until later. So… I brought her as a housekeeper… Is that all?”

“Does my brother know about it too?”

“Yeah. She made tonkatsu.”

She said the sister is 35… and the brother is 27, so there’s exactly an 8-year age difference.

“Since when have you been working?”

“Um… I brought her when my son was 10. It was a busy time, and I couldn’t even prepare meals, so I needed a housekeeper.”

At 18?

“Oh… by any chance, did you provide enough money for her?”

“It’s not like that… but… she probably needs things like school.”

“She didn’t go to school and passed the GED because I taught her. She’s cute and smart.”

“I see.”

Unintentionally, I found myself gaping.

She lives diligently.

“I’ll get closer to her. I hope she smiles every day.”

Was she lucky? She started working at a young age, but it was gratifying to see how she overcame and learned despite the hardships. She seemed like just an ordinary, small, cute girl, but now she seemed quietly remarkable.

“I thought about it. Was her name Jihye…?”

“Yes. My name is Jihye.”

Mother faintly smiled and gently held my hand.

“I thought about it… it seems fine. Take care of my son. Come visit us occasionally. We’ll mostly be at home.”

“Oh…!”

I looked at my brother.

He was looking at me too.

Eager to hug or something, we exchanged glances indicating we’d do that later downstairs.

“Thank you… I’m really grateful.”

“I should be the one thanking you. Thank you for taking care of my son all this time.”

It might have been brief, but for me, it was long and filled with tension throughout.

“…Maybe we should have a formal meeting later on?”

“I want to.”

It felt somewhat awkward, but even my mother seemed unaware.

“Let’s get in touch later. I’d like to meet you once.”

“Yes. I’ll check my schedule and find a nice place to contact you.”

“I’d like to have the wedding about a month before it’s finalized.”

My brother said as he took our hands that were held together in front of my mother and me.

“Yes. It’s fine if the son decides too.”

For some reason, she looked pleased… but there was no reason for her to take our hands.

There shouldn’t be any reason for jealousy towards our parents.

“Well then… it’s getting late so I should go now.”

“Yes. Let’s keep in touch~”

“Yes. I’ll make sure to contact you.”

With spare time on hand, maybe I’ll end up calling frequently.

I might seem a bit foolish or even appear much more serious of a fool.

I didn’t hear anyone say I was cute.

I wanted to hear that.

“I should bring the clothes.”

“Oh. Thank you.”

My brother handed me the outerwear along with the bag.

I bowed my head in farewell and headed towards the exit pathway.

Taking my brother’s arm that was injecting life into my empty arms.

“Oh. Unnie, can you send me a text?”

“I’m doing well.”

-Nods-

With the greetings done, I put on my shoes and stepped outside.

Walking down the corridor towards the elevator, a curiosity suddenly arose.

“You’re not close with that unnie, are you?”

“Ah… Somehow as we grew up, unknowingly, we drifted apart… Maybe we’ve grown distant. But my gratitude remains unchanged.”

“I see…”

Should I call it a reason…

Honestly, even now, with such a height difference, I thought she wouldn’t be scared if she saw the unnie.

It felt like a small person seeing a giant.

And considering the state she was in, which was quite worn out, her expression probably didn’t look as relaxed either.

Now stepping out of the elevator, which could truly be called goodbye, the outside felt even colder than before.

Yet strangely, this refreshing feeling was like a first, almost exhilarating rather than cold. I was feeling invigorated.

My brother let go of the arm he was holding.

“Phew… Shall we go inside for now?”

“Of course. How long have you been holding back?”

As we extended our arms towards each other, ready, I approached and embraced him.

“Wow!!”

I might have been lifted off the ground.

He lifted me up while hugging me, spinning me around in the air.

If my brother was happy, then that was enough.

I also felt joy in my heart, so I was happy.

“Sigh… Let’s go home. Suddenly feeling tired.”

“You’ve worked hard.”

Patting my back, we moved towards the car.

“Hmm… You won’t sleep in the middle of the day tomorrow, will you?”

“Because I have to work hard tomorrow too…”

No one would say anything if I slept in the middle of the day.

After all, I wouldn’t be working.

So, I’m also thinking about finding a job.

I had seen articles saying that once you have a child, there’s nothing else but going out to earn money.

I briefly checked successful examples who had earned enough for retirement funds, and I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

The kitchen utensils were at a collector’s level of variety.

What I can do now… is still just one thing.

“How about underwear with stockings…?”

“…Great. Really great.”

“Then that’s settled.”

Giving something to my brother that would relieve his fatigue must be a wife’s role.