Ch.135The Resemblance Is Uncanny (7)

“Thank you for the meal. Sorry, Doyoung. You came all this way, and the side dishes were too modest, weren’t they?”

Ban Doyoung’s signature milk porridge and rolled omelet, along with kimchi from Doha-min’s maternal grandmother’s house and seasoned dried squid and braised beef bought from Sunseong Mart. It was exactly the kind of meal for a sick person like Doha-min who had lost his appetite due to a cold.

“I like it. Now I know what dishes Doha-min likes.”

It was a bit simple, but not a bad dinner. After all, it wasn’t much different from when I ate with Mr. Ban at my house. Just porridge instead of rice, and a few more side dishes that my mom had prepared before she left.

Rather, from my perspective, I gained quite a lot. I got the opportunity to visit Doha-min’s house directly, and I learned what kind of food he likes.

“This guy. He never tells you what food he likes first. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say he likes anything.”

Whether it’s because he has no desires, or because he’s not good at confidently expressing what he likes, even though we’ve spent quite a bit of time together, I haven’t learned much about what Doha-min likes or dislikes.

Limiting it to food, that terrible mango-flavored cola, tonkatsu, and Ban Doyoung’s rolled omelet were all the foods I knew he found delicious. Only today did milk porridge finally make it into that category.

It’s the same even beyond the food category. The only thing I’m certain he likes is [Mari★huana].

“Ah, there is one thing he said he likes.”

“Oh, really? What is it, what is it?”

“Ban Doyoung.”

I pointed at Miss Ban Doyoung’s chest with my thumb standing straight up.

“Oh my~”

“…Please, at least let me digest the dinner we just ate.”

“Heheh, seeing you talk like that. You must be feeling a bit better.”

To prevent Doha-min from throwing up a second time, my mom and I exchanged signals indicating we should restrain ourselves as we finished our meal.

“Ah, right. Should we eat the snacks our Doyoung brought?”

“Oh, that sounds good. The porridge was a bit salty, so I was craving something sweet.”

“You’re the one who seasoned it with salt, Doyoung.”

It wasn’t a bad dinner, but the truth is that I, Doha-min, and mom all couldn’t shake the feeling that something was slightly lacking.

We decided to have a light tea time with the snack set I had brought as a get-well gift to satisfy that slight hunger.

“Wait a moment. Mom will finish the dishes soon.”

“Ah, please stay where you are. I’ll do the dishes.”

“Huh…?”

I gently pressed down on mom’s shoulders as she was about to get up from the table, making her sit back down in her chair.

“What are you doing? You’re a precious guest who came to our house after a long time. You already helped with the cooking, I can’t make you do the dishes too!”

“Hey now, someone who’s already gotten used to calling you ‘mom’ shouldn’t be called a guest. Besides, since I borrowed this house’s apron, I should take responsibility until the end, right?”

“Still… oof…!”

*squeeze*

As soon as I massaged her shoulders, which were slumped from carrying grocery bags after work, mom let out a childlike groan and leaned back in her chair.

The tension I felt at my fingertips alone explained how much of a battlefield her day outside had been.

“This is serious. We need to move you to the living room sofa. Lend me a hand, Doha-min.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Wait, just a… whoa!”

“Wow, why are you so light?”

“Th-that’s certainly nice to hear, but it’s scary, so put me down!”

Mom’s weight, even with Doha-min’s help, was much lighter than I had expected.

Since I remembered the weight I felt when I carried Doha-min before his growth spurt, I thought she would be at least slightly lighter than that.

I guess even though their faces look exactly alike, their insides are completely different.

*thud*

Feeling only the weight of something in our hands, Doha-min and I placed mom on the mini sofa in the living room.

“Phew… you scared me, I thought I was going to fall.”

“Don’t worry about it. Since you came home early, just rest comfortably today, mom. Doyoung and I will take care of the cleanup. I’ve been lying down all day, so I should at least do this much.”

“…Alright. Then I’ll leave it to you just for today, kids.”

“Leave it to us. Hey, Doha-min!”

I reclined the sofa backrest slightly, then turned to Doha-min who was standing next to me.

“You come here. Help me with the dishes.”

“N-not me alone, but together, right?”

“That was a forward-looking statement.”

While mom rested briefly in the living room, Doha-min and I decided to do the dishes together.

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.

.

Doha-min’s kitchen was slightly too narrow for two people to stand in one place. So whether we liked it or not, we had to maintain close proximity to each other for clear task division.

“Here. I scrubbed it clean. Where should I put this?”

“Ah, yes. Give it here. I’ll wipe off the water and put it on the upper shelf.”

With me wearing an apron to protect myself from water and dish soap, I directly washed the plates and bowls, then Doha-min, who knew where everything belonged, immediately wiped off the remaining water and placed them on the shelves.

“What… what? You mistook my mom for me in drag?”

“Her outfit was exactly like Doha-mi chan’s. I think this was a completely unavoidable mistake.”

“So you cleared up the misunderstanding and realized she was my mom…”

“Well, something like that.”

“You didn’t do anything weird to my mom while mistaking her for me, did you…?”

“O-of course not! I cleared up the misunderstanding through purely intellectual and rational conversation, okay?”

“Phew… that’s a relief then.”

The conversation did include some physical communication, but well, physical communication is still communication.

“Okay, this frying pan used for the rolled omelet is the last one.”

“Yes, this goes under the sink. In order of size.”

There weren’t many dishes to wash. The dinner was simple, and since it was porridge rather than rice, there wasn’t much food stuck to the dishes.

The most troublesome item was the oily frying pan I had used for the rolled omelet. Since there wasn’t much work and two people were tackling the dishes together, Doha-min and I naturally chatted while continuing our work.

“I was really surprised at first. I was wondering why my son, who was supposedly absent from school due to illness, was shopping at the market in front of the house looking like Doha-mi chan.”

“*cough*… Do mom and I look that similar…?”

“You do look alike. Ah, of course, mom is much prettier. The original version of our Doha-min is a bit lower grade, you know. Heheh. That face you worked so hard to make up during the school trip got all reset when it swelled up from your cold.”

“…Tch. Are you teasing me again?”

Doha-min, who was organizing the plates, turned his head with a sulky expression at those words. Yes, this was the reaction I wanted to see. All day since this morning.

“You always say I’m ugly, so why did you mistake my mom for me?”

“Good question. Why did I make that mistake?”

Even if the outfit was identical, if her face had looked much prettier, I should have thought she was someone else, but I mistook her for you wearing makeup.

Even if her height was similar to yours, if her chest had been even slightly more prominent, I should have recognized she was a woman, but I thought you were walking around with fake breasts.

Looking back, there were plenty of clues for making a rational judgment. Why did I make such an absurd assumption?

“I guess it’s because I missed you.”

“…Huh?”

“I missed you, Doha-min, so I made that mistake. Thinking what I saw was you. Wishing it was you.”

“…”

*whoosh*

“Hey, hey, hey! The plate!”

“Huh? Whoa-!”

Suddenly, the plate in Doha-min’s hands fell toward the floor.

*thud*

Just before it could make a shattering sound, I quickly bent down and caught the falling plate.

“…It’s clean enough that it didn’t slip from my grip.”

“*cough*, *cough*… Thank goodness. That’s a plate mom treasures.”

“If you knew that, you should have handled it carefully! How could you drop something so dangerous! Do you want to see tears on your mom’s face?”

“I-I’m sorry…! I won’t do it again!”

“Hurry up and wipe the sink, then set up the snack set! And drinks too!”

“Ah, understood!”

Despite my attempt at gaslighting him like that, unfortunately, Doha-min’s refrigerator didn’t have any Zero Lime in stock.

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.

.

“Mom, we finished the dishes. Come here and have some snacks that Doyoung brought…”

“Uh, mom…?”

“…Zzz.”

After finishing the dishes, I called out to mom who was on the living room sofa, but the response wasn’t an okay, but rather an adorably cute snoring sound.

In that brief ten-minute period while we were doing the dishes, mom had fallen asleep sitting on the sofa, overcome by fatigue.

“Is she sleeping?”

“Seems like it…”

Doha-min’s habit of falling asleep the moment he takes his eyes off something apparently was inherited from his mom.

“…Mom, wake up.”

“Wait a moment.”

“Huh…?”

“Let me look at her sleeping face for a bit.”

I stared intently at mom’s sleeping face on the sofa for a moment. That face that stimulated the maternal instinct dormant within this Ban Doyoung, that youthful and childlike face she had passed down to Doha-min remained here as well.

“…Hey, Doha-min.”

“Hmm…? What is it?”

“If I marry you, can we have a daughter like this?”

“…Eh?”