episode_0037

“But I ate most of the side dishes you gave me. Last time, I didn’t eat them and kept them until Mom came, and they spoiled. Didn’t they taste good last time?”

“It’s delicious. It’s delicious, but how much do I eat by myself? I eat lunch at the guild.”

“You’re not going to eat breakfast or dinner. You’re not skipping breakfast and just eating dinner, are you?”

“Well, I tend to eat dinner at home… … .”

“You don’t eat breakfast. Mom told me to eat breakfast. It’s a line from a popular game character from the past. Breakfast is that important, so why don’t you eat it? And when I was separating the trash earlier, I saw some delivery food waste. You don’t eat breakfast, so you order dinner. Is it true that the side dishes that Mom makes for you don’t taste good?”

“It’s delicious, it’s delicious! But, that, that happens sometimes. Mom’s food is healthy, but sometimes I crave something spicy and salty… … .”

“Hey. Didn’t Mom say that delivery food is bad for you or not? Then did Na-min eat what Mom made for her? Yeah, that was good. Does she live by hanging her clothes out to dry? Does she just hang them on the drying rack and take them out whenever she wants to wear them? Mom told me to fold the laundry and put it in the closet after I’m done. If you just hang it out to dry, it’ll stretch, fade, and collect dust, so that’s not good. And also… … .”

Mom’s nagging continued as she looked around the house. Should I be thankful that Na-rin didn’t seem too upset?

Or maybe I should just say it’s sad because it goes in one ear and out the other.

But when I think about the fact that he said all those things for his daughter who lives alone, I just smiled while listening to it.

You can feel the mother’s love. Or not. Anyway, I’m not staying still because it’s not my story.

But I felt like Narin had been nagging me for too long. So I quietly said to my mom.

“Hehehe, thanks to you, I had a delicious meal. The cabbage pancakes and donggeurangttaeng were so delicious.”

“Is that so? That’s good. But there was no hamster food. What do you feed hamsters?”

“Hamshik eats that much. Namin really eats about a spoonful of rice per meal.”

“What? You’re kidding. Mom knows you eat less, but you still eat a bowl of rice. How can a hamster eat as much as its own body?”

“Isn’t it digesting while eating? Oh, this is… … . Can you come out for a moment? Namin-ah, unnie, I’ll go outside and talk to mom for a moment.”

Well, it seems like what I said didn’t have much effect.

Rather, it seems like she’s going to start nagging us in earnest, and Mom and Na-rin are trying to talk in a place where we’re not around.

Oh, it was Narin who tried to move the place first. I could completely understand why she didn’t want her younger sister to see her getting scolded.

I have never lived alone, but I still worry about my daughter living alone, so when I think about how much her mother takes care of her, I understand her warm heart, but I also wonder if Na-rin might feel a bit burdened.

Parental love is always so big and heavy that it’s unbearable.

Last time, I said it was an hour from my parents’ house to here. It took two hours round trip, including the bundle my mom brought in her hand. How hard it must have been to go back and forth.

And the care that goes into making the food. It warms my heart to think that Narin is truly a beloved daughter. Narin herself said that sometimes she spoils because she can’t finish it before we get there.

I know how you feel. At best, your mother and father gave you everything, but because I was sick, there were things I couldn’t enjoy.

At that time, I was so sick that I couldn’t pay attention to anything else. Looking back, I can only imagine how heartbroken my mother and father must have been.

If you think about it, the current mom is just nagging at Na-rin about her lifestyle. She won’t scold her that much and cause a rift between them.

Narin seems to be used to nagging too. I saw her just ignore what her mother was saying earlier.

“Hamshik-ah. We should prepare breakfast for Na-rin-ee and eat dinner together. Right?”

But since my mom says that eating breakfast is good for your health, I think it would be good for us to make an effort to eat breakfast together.

Maintaining a healthy body is easier and less painful than recovering from an illness.

I hope we all stay strong and live happily for a long time.

“Why are you suddenly coming out? Are you embarrassed because your mom nags you in front of your younger sibling? You should clean up after yourself and eat properly.”

When she was told to go out, she followed me quietly, but as soon as she did, Narin’s mother teased and scolded her.

Because I was always the one who listened to those kinds of stories lightly and answered them lightly. But I kept telling myself that it would change someday.

Somehow, Narin’s expression was serious. If it were the usual Narin, she would have been whining and making empty promises like, “I’ll take care of myself and clean up after myself.”

“Mom. Did you see the news? Yesterday, the police and hunters went to the lab where they were conducting illegal experiments.”

“I didn’t see the news, but my mom’s guild members were really excited about that story. Oh, that crocodile hunter was so muscular and cool.”

“Guild? Mom, you work in the hunter industry?”

“This guy thinks all guilds are hunter businesses. It’s a game story.”

“Ah.”

Narin looked embarrassed for a moment. But soon, Narin stuck out her lips and grumbled, then continued her explanation.

“What is that? Then you should call them game friends. Anyway, Namin and Hamshik are from there. At first, I thought they were just abandoned by someone, but they were probably going to die if left alone, so someone took them away and released them. They were probably going to freeze to death if left alone, so I brought them here.”

“Ah… … . So that’s why Hamshik eats a lot. It means he’s not an ordinary hamster.”

Even her mother’s expression became complicated. She never imagined that Na-min, who she thought was always so bright, would have such a past.

The shock was doubled because I thought Namin was just a fairy like one of the mascots that go around these days.

But I quickly calmed down. If I raise my voice and waste time here, I might give Na-min some room, even if Ham-shik doesn’t know it.

“If you come out and talk like this, does that mean that Namin and Hamshik don’t know that?”

“Yeah. So I just want you to treat me like my little brother… … . Is that okay? I’m sorry I adopted them without consulting you. But I brought them here because I thought I could take responsibility for them.”

“Okay, I know. It’s a bit worrying that a kid who doesn’t even eat breakfast is living with his younger sibling.”

“Oh, Mom. I told you to eat well.”

“You have to eat well. Otherwise, Na-min’s mom will take her away. Do you understand?”

“Okay.”

I was just worried that I might bring it home because it was cute. I was just worried that the little creatures might freeze to death.

The moment the word responsibility came out of her daughter’s mouth, Narin’s mother looked at Narin again. She thought, “Our foolish daughter has grown up so much.”

It wasn’t the Narin of her childhood who would cling to dogs and cats just because they were cute.

Of course, Narin still seemed like a child to her. After all, all children are children to their parents forever.

He didn’t complain about the side dishes, but he still didn’t eat the food I made for him properly. He didn’t even clean his room properly.

Since she was a child brought by a daughter like that, even though she wasn’t born with a painful stomach, I planned to treat Na-min as my daughter. I decided to consider it as having one more child in my life.

I was just worried about the hamsters. Namin is just a small species, so I don’t know how long they’ll live. Even though they’re not ordinary, they’re still hamsters.

Small animals usually have short life spans. If they were hamsters used as experimental subjects, we don’t know how long they would live there or how long they would live there. They would definitely die first.

Narin’s mother was afraid of that and didn’t raise a pet. She was afraid of being responsible for a life that would pass away first.

The child who would look for his mother when his knees were sore, did he really think about that and bring Hamshik into the house?

Even if that wasn’t the case, I knew that raising a hamster would definitely be a good experience for Narin.

It will definitely hurt. It will be as painful as it is painful. Thinking about this, Na-rin’s mother felt proud of her daughter and hoped that she would not be too hurt, and she stroked Na-rin’s cheek.

“Yes, my daughter. She’s all grown up. It’s cold. Let’s go inside. Let’s taste what Mom packed and clean up.”

“Child, I told you not to do it. It’s hard for mom too.”

“Nam-in, you should try mom’s cooking too. You’ll easily live another 20 years, right?”

Now, the two of them entered Narin’s house again, having their usual conversation. When they opened the door, they saw something noisy.

It was the sound of a wrestling match between Hamshik, who was trying to rush towards Nalin with the bundle his mother had brought, and Namin, who was holding on by holding onto Hamshik’s hind legs.

“Eww, Hamshik! Not yet! Mom and Nalin haven’t come yet! Hey, Mom! Is there food in this? Hamshik smells it and wants to eat it!”

“It seems that Ham-sik really has a big appetite.”

Narin’s mother thought that it might not be an exaggeration to say that Hamshik eats as much as people.