episode_0021

***

It was after 9 o’clock when I left the office.

The night air, which was still a bit chilly, greeted Mina.

She ignored my suggestion that I should go home because it was late, as if cutting her with a knife, and grabbed my wrist and dragged me, saying she would buy me food.

That’s how we arrived at the soup restaurant.

Heavy food like Sundae Gukbap was a bit burdensome, so we ordered bean sprout soup to get along.

Spicy soup, homemade rice, and a soft-boiled egg on top.

It seems like a good food to eat regardless of the season.

While I crunched on the cabbage kimchi, she broke open a soft-boiled egg with a spoon and mixed it into the soup.

Oh, you know how to eat?

As we stuffed warm soup into our bodies, we continued the conversation we had at the cafe in the afternoon.

Throughout the conversation, her eyes were curved like crescent moons, and I didn’t even think of useless things like dimensional travel.

***

After finishing their meal, they slowly returned home.

Since they lived in a similar direction, the man tried to take her there, but she ended up seeing him off home and coming back.

The long year has now completely passed and it has become a dark night.

The orange light of the streetlight bloomed in her path, like a spring flower that has forgotten when to set.

She walked home with a light heart, a feeling that was hard to describe.

-Ji-ing

At the sound of vibration coming from her handbag, her hopping steps stopped.

Her excited face turned cold after checking the caller.

“Yes.”

Short answer.

[Uh, yes, it’s me.]

A voice mixed with a metallic sound. She closed her eyes tightly.

“What’s going on?”

[Well, do you have to have something going on to contact me? With family.]

What kind of family is family?

She bit her lip to stop the words from rushing down her throat.

“Are you doing well? I’m doing well too. Okay then. ”

I hear a voice calling me from a mobile phone that is moving away.

[Send me some of that living expenses.]

“Did you leave it to me? I gave it to you 3 weeks ago.”

There was irritation in her voice.

Either way, I didn’t pay any attention to the voice on the other end of the phone.

[It’s been almost a month. Send some. Your younger brother said that the price of the civil service academy has risen, so pay a little more.]

“A child with intact limbs should have a part-time job. How long will I keep my hands open?”

[What kind of part-time job do you do while studying to become a civil servant? Since you are my older sister, I have to take good care of you. With family.]

“So, who helped me when I worked three part-time jobs and went to school?”

[……Send it anyway.]

-Suddenly.

The phone call was cut off, and she stood in the middle of the street.

I was definitely feeling good just a moment ago, but suddenly I feel like I’m stuck in the mud.

“Ha… really.”

I don’t cry over things like this.

Her emotions were too worn out to cry like this.

It’s always happened. The family naturally asks for money, and you have no choice but to send it to them.

Lee Mi-na had already adapted to this bondage.

As she lowered her head and suppressed her emotions for a while and started walking again, her cell phone rang again.

-Ji-ing

When she saw the caller, she quickly answered the phone.

” Mr. Inho?”

[Ah, Mina. I was wondering if you went in safely.]

“I haven’t gone in yet. I’m taking a walk at night.”

[Oh, I see. Still, get in early. It’s late at night.]

Even though she was at a distance where no warmth could be heard, she felt the warmth in her voice.

“Okay. Thank you for your concern.”

[yes. which…]

“???”

[Have a good night.]

“…Thank you. Have a good night too, Inho.”

She hung up the call, feeling her face heating up.

She stared at her cell phone with a turned off screen, then walked away.

“I don’t feel bad.”

Normally, I would feel bad for a week when I get a phone call from home, but not now.

She thought about Inho and headed home.

My steps along the road seemed a little lighter.