Ch.45Chapter 45. Party (3)

“Uh… shit.”

As soon as I opened my eyes, I knew something was wrong.

I immediately turned on my phone to check the time.

-4:52

What the hell?

It’s still daytime.

“Huh…?”

But it was dark outside.

Shit, what’s going on?

4 AM?

“Sigh…”

Now I remember.

I was just trying to rest my eyes for a bit, but old memories kept flooding back, so I ended up grabbing some soju.

Then I downed two bottles, sat on the couch drunk, and passed out.

This is crazy.

My sleep schedule is completely messed up now.

“Where did she go?”

I looked to the side and saw Juliane sleeping with a blissfully happy expression, using the sofa armrest as a pillow.

Cuss should have been using my thigh as a pillow, but she was nowhere to be seen.

Just then, I heard rustling from the kitchen.

“Crunch, crunch…”

“Hey you.”

I found Cuss chewing on a bread bag, plastic and all.

She stared at me with a stupid expression, so I quickly ran over and snatched the bread bag from her.

I never thought I’d be so grateful that human teeth aren’t sharp enough to tear through plastic.

But now it’s covered in saliva…

“You need to take it out before eating it.”

“This isn’t meant to be eaten?”

“Can’t you tell the difference by now? Don’t you think it’s strange when you can’t chew it properly?”

“I thought it would dissolve if I chewed it long enough.”

“Good grief, shit.”

What an idiot.

She still hasn’t adapted.

I wouldn’t be surprised if one day she chokes to death trying to eat rubber.

“Are you hungry?”

“No.”

“Well, I am. Help me out.”

Maybe it was because I’d only filled my stomach with alcohol, but I was really hungry after waking up.

I took two packets of ramen from the pantry and started boiling water. Cuss followed right behind me.

“Want to learn how to make ramen?”

“No. If I learn, you’ll probably make me do it later.”

How did she know?

Clever girl.

“I’m not letting you handle hot water yet. Just learn for now.”

“…Fine.”

She should at least know how.

That way, if the apocalypse hits and I die, she can at least make ramen to survive.

Cuss stood on her tiptoes watching as I opened the ramen packet and started cooking.

It wasn’t anything fancy like adding kimchi or green onions—just plain ramen.

Just boil water, add everything, and cook the noodles.

Cuss should be able to understand easily.

The only question is whether she’ll spill the pot or not.

“Hmm?”

“Pick up the chopsticks. I’ll teach you while we’re at it.”

When else would I teach her?

I handed Cuss the chopsticks and brought the pot and pot holder to the living room table.

“No, not like that. If you hold them that way in public, angry ugly Koreans will come running to beat you to death.”

“Eek!”

“So you need to hold them properly, like this. Like this.”

Is it really that difficult?

Cuss kept messing up her grip, and even when she held them correctly, she kept dropping the chopsticks.

Maybe she’s still not used to using her finger muscles.

As a Korean…!

She must learn to use chopsticks, so I couldn’t give up.

“Can I eat now?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Cuss asked while drooling.

Fair enough. The noodles would get soggy soon anyway.

I decided to compromise at this point.

As soon as I gave permission, Cuss buried her face in the plate and started inhaling the noodles.

She’s going to choke.

“By the way, don’t you need to change your pad?”

“Hmm…?”

“Go check.”

“Okay.”

“Hey, not here!”

I sent Cuss to the bathroom as she was about to pull down her underwear right there.

Not while we’re eating, for God’s sake.

“There’s a lot of blood!”

“Don’t show me! Just wrap it up and throw it away like Juliane taught you. There are new ones in the bathroom, right? Put on a fresh one.”

“Okay… but my underwear is soaked too.”

She must be a heavy flow type.

I ended up getting a fresh pair of underwear from Cuss’s room.

After a while, Cuss walked out proudly.

She had wrapped the used pad in a bag and disposed of it properly.

Good.

Now we wouldn’t have to worry about her having period-related embarrassments in public.

“Ah.”

“…?”

When I returned, the ramen had already gotten soggy.

But Cuss didn’t seem to mind at all and was slurping it up like it was delicious.

Watching her eat like that actually made it look tasty.

Well, I’ll just pretend it’s udon noodles.

Slightly curly udon noodles.

“The sun’s rising.”

“Mmm. You’re right.”

As we were finishing the ramen, light suddenly poured through the window.

The sun was rising.

It felt just like being at a college MT, staying up all night drinking, then making hangover ramen around 5 AM and watching the sunrise.

“Let’s take a photo with the sunrise in the background.”

“Photo?”

Cuss looked up at me with an unfamiliar expression.

True, we hardly ever took photos.

Except for the candid shots I took of Cuss.

They say memories may crumble and disappear, but photos remain forever.

I didn’t know that before, and I regret it painfully now.

I should start taking more photos.

“Wipe your mouth first.”

“Mmm…”

She’s so messy.

I pulled out a tissue and wiped around Cuss’s mouth.

Then I took out my phone and stretched out my arm.

“You’re not both in the frame. Move closer to Juliane.”

“Like this?”

“That’s right.”

We gathered around Juliane.

I was too lazy to wake her up, so I just let her sleep.

Taking a photo like this, we looked like a family portrait.

Though it was a bit weird with one person slumped over like a corpse.

Well, I heard there’s a culture in some country where they take photos with corpses, so we could go with that concept.

“Say kimchi.”

“Kimchi?”

“It’s like cheese.”

“Cheese?”

“Yeah.”

“Kimchi is like cheese… I understand.”

I took the photo while forcing a smile.

For the record, when I checked later, you couldn’t see anything because of the backlight.

***

With full stomachs and warm backs, Jinsoo and Cuss fell asleep again.

Jinsoo only realized it was Monday ten minutes before the school bus was due to arrive.

“Hurry up and wash your hair! Quick! Don’t forget to bring pads!”

“Ugggh, okay!”

“And your phone.”

“Ahhh! My phone!!!”

“What… why is it so noisy…”

“Did you sleep well, Juliane? Well, you slept for 12 hours, so I guess you must have.”

“What?!”

Cuss rushed into the bathroom.

Juliane got up in shock with messy hair.

The living room had turned into chaos in no time.

Despite Cuss and Jinsoo’s desperate efforts…

“It’s gone.”

“It left.”

The school bus couldn’t wait any longer for Cuss and departed.

“Let’s go by car. Get in quickly.”

There was no other choice.

Jinsoo hurried to the garage and opened the door to find—

“Hehe. Both parents seeing their child off together…”

“Get out.”

Juliane was already sitting in the passenger seat with her messy hair.

“Why?!”

“If you’re riding, pay for gas.”

“Come on! How much more could it possibly cost!”

“How much do you weigh?”

“Why would I tell you that?!”

“70?”

“Well, I’m not that light.”

“I meant kilograms, not pounds.”

“Excuse me?!”

Still, there was value in creating the image of both parents taking their child to school in a harmonious atmosphere.

Jinsoo ignored the furious Juliane and squeezed himself into the driver’s seat.

Soon Cuss followed and climbed into the back seat.

Juliane still had a dreamy look in her eyes, not fully awake.

“Is your hair naturally curly?”

“Yes… Actually, I straighten it every morning. It looks like this when I wake up.”

Juliane ran her fingers through her tangled hair and smiled bitterly.

She never thought she’d let this man see her hair like this.

Somehow she got drunk so quickly…

‘Wait, nothing happened to me, right?’

Could it be that nothing happened while she was asleep?

Juliane’s cheeks suddenly turned red as she started fidgeting.

‘What the hell is wrong with her?’

Meanwhile, Jinsoo watched her with confusion.

Monday morning traffic was tight.

But having driven to the school a few times, Jinsoo knew a quiet road through the suburbs and could drive without getting stuck.

Soon the car arrived at the Saint Catalina parking lot.

They had arrived even before the school bus.

“Well, Cuss. How about a kiss for mommy before you go? Mmmm…!”

“Ugh! Let go! I don’t want to!”

“Waaah!”

The still half-asleep Juliane grabbed Cuss’s cheeks and pulled her close, but the startled Cuss pushed her away.

Afraid Juliane might try again, Cuss quickly grabbed her bag and jumped out of the car.

“Haha. What about me? No kiss?”

“Kiss…? What’s the significance of pressing lips together?”

“It doesn’t mean anything special. Just an expression of bonding. It’s fine if you don’t want to. Have a good day at school…”

Jinsoo said jokingly as he turned his head away with a smile.

It seemed too early for Cuss to understand the meaning of kissing.

But at that moment, something touched his cheek.

Jinsoo turned with a blank expression.

There was Cuss, tilting her head.

“Did I do it right?”

“Yeah, that’s right… You’ll be late. Hurry up.”

“Okay!”

Cuss smiled brightly and ran off, bouncing her oversized bag.

When Jinsoo turned to the passenger seat with a smug expression, Juliane was sitting there in a daze.

“Why did she kiss daddy but not mommy…”

“Please get a grip. You’re not her mother.”

“Not yet!”

“Not yet?”

“Ah…”

Juliane’s face turned bright red.