Ch.98Episode 20. A Happy Day (5)

When I entered the apartment complex, I already knew, but the interior of the home was incredibly spacious. It seemed almost too luxurious for just two people to live in.

“What are you looking around at?”

“The house is spacious.”

“I don’t know if it’s spacious… but I heard it’s about 1,800 square feet.”

Isn’t 1,800 square feet extremely spacious?

I let out a hollow laugh as I looked at the living room, which was larger than my studio-style dormitory room.

“But with your skills as an instructor, you could probably afford a place like this soon.”

I’m not sure how high her expectations are, but for that to happen, I’d have to work as an instructor while also being active as a hero.

For reference, even when I occasionally heard from the Association Chairman about villains appearing, I would routinely decline, saying I was too busy with my instructor duties.

Each time, he would grumble that my hero license wasn’t given to me for nothing, but I would pretend not to hear and move on.

“I’ll bring out some tea. Have a seat.”

“Mom, do you still have the cleaning lady come to clean?”

“…No. I do it myself occasionally now. I don’t hire her anymore; it’s a waste of money.”

She answered without turning toward us and continued toward the kitchen. Gu Yeonhwa seemed pleased that Mitchell had answered at all despite her cold attitude, and was smiling.

“Oppa, sit here.”

“Sure.”

I answered as I placed the cake box on the table. After guiding me to the sofa, Gu Yeonhwa took the cake out of the box.

“Don’t bother with that nonsense. Just drink your coffee and leave.”

“No way. It’s Mom’s birthday.”

“You never do this normally, so why are you being so proactive today…?”

Mitchell paused mid-sentence and glared at me.

It was a look that seemed to ask, “This was all your doing, wasn’t it?”

I shrugged both my eyebrows and shoulders simultaneously.

“Anyway, just drink your coffee and leave.”

Mitchell said, bringing out two cups of coffee from the kitchen.

“I’ll do that.”

I’ll just take one sip of coffee per minute.

She looked at me suspiciously, as if my easy compliance seemed strange. It seems my trustworthiness had plummeted in Mitchell’s mind.

While Mitchell and I were engaged in this silent tug-of-war, Gu Yeonhwa swiftly lit the two candles on the cake. They were marked with the numbers 4 and 5.

Then she turned off the living room lights, and the candles’ flames illuminated the room with their presence.

“Gu Yeonhwa. Don’t sing the birthday song. You too, Instructor.”

“I don’t want to.”

“What did you say?”

Mitchell’s eyebrow twitched at my polite refusal. She was clearly displeased, but that wasn’t my concern. After coming all this way, I intended to accomplish all my objectives.

I plan to let Gu Yeonhwa do everything she wants, so just stay quiet.

“You’ve been quite insolent lately, haven’t you? Is it appropriate for an instructor to behave this way toward a parent?”

“I think it’s fine when dealing with a parent who isn’t being honest.”

“Who’s not being honest…!”

“Happy~ Birthday~ To You~!”

Before Mitchell could finish speaking, Gu Yeonhwa started singing the birthday song. Despite being at an age where one might feel embarrassed, Gu Yeonhwa sang sincerely while clapping her hands.

I also joined in singing the birthday song with her. Mitchell looked back and forth between us several times with a troubled expression.

Then she couldn’t take her eyes off the brightly shining candles and seemed to drift into nostalgia. She must have been struggling with her own inner turmoil.

“Now~! Blow!”

“I said it’s fine…”

Gu Yeonhwa held the cake up to Mitchell’s face. Mitchell opened and closed her mouth, hesitating whether to blow or not, then pushed the cake away in refusal.

“Blow!”

But Gu Yeonhwa, not one to give up easily, pushed the cake forward again, insisting she blow out the candles.

“The candles are melting. If they melt completely, we won’t be able to eat the cake.”

“Be quiet.”

At my urging, she finally exhaled with a loud “Whoo!” The candles, unable to withstand the force of air, went out, and the room went dark.

Though it was summer and the sun was still up, the blackout curtains blocked the light, making the living room quite dark. I pressed the light switch I had noted earlier to turn on the lights.

“Hehe. Happy birthday.”

Gu Yeonhwa offered birthday wishes again with a bright smile. Mitchell slightly furrowed her brow and turned her head away.

“Ooh. So dishonest.”

“Shut up!”

When I jeered, Mitchell shouted back.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Her voice was full of irritation, probably annoyed by my constant interjections like a nosy bird.

“What kind of instructor acts like that?”

The criticism was just a bonus.

“This is my gift, Mom.”

Gu Yeonhwa, after putting down the cake, presented perfume and flowers wrapped in shiny yellow paper.

Having escaped Mitchell’s hostility at the right moment, I pretended to be distracted. Mitchell’s blue eyes, which had been looking at me with displeasure, turned toward the gift.

“You… even though I’ve been… No, never mind. What am I saying?”

She accepted the gift with bewilderment and sighed. She placed the bouquet on the sofa.

After slowly unwrapping the package, she looked at the perfume and sighed again. It was a reaction that seemed to say, “Why did you buy such a useless thing?”

“Where did you get the money? I didn’t see anything related to this in the card statement.”

“I worked part-time. A short-term job.”

Gu Yeonhwa confidently lied with a smile.

“Why?”

“If I used your money, it wouldn’t really be a gift. I wanted to buy you a present with money I earned myself.”

Not bad. She knows how to put on a brave face.

Lying isn’t a good thing, but isn’t it about being flexible? I should praise her later.

Mitchell nodded reluctantly while looking at the perfume.

“I see…”

“You should say you’ll use it well or thank you.”

“…Shut up, will you?”

“Mom, telling Oppa to shut up isn’t nice.”

“…?”

Gu Yeonhwa pointed out Mitchell’s harsh tone. It seemed like even Gu Yeonhwa had spoken without thinking, as she looked surprised afterward.

“…Oppa? Wait, what?”

“No, this is… I mean…!”

She stared strangely at Gu Yeonhwa’s reaction, then glared at me. She looked ready to kill.

“Mr. Yujin… what did you do to Yeonhwa?”

“I didn’t do anything in particular.”

“You did nothing, yet she’s reacting like this?”

Couldn’t she take my side for once?

I’m starting to feel a bit sad from being so genuinely disliked.

“Yeonhwa really has a good personality. It seems impossible to dislike her.”

I smiled and patted Gu Yeonhwa’s shoulder. She looked up at me and blushed. Mitchell’s eyes grew fiercer at that reaction.

“Mr. Yujin, you…”

“A-Anyway! Mom, let’s go out for dinner.”

Gu Yeonhwa cut off Mitchell’s words as she was about to say something to me.

“Since it’s your birthday, let’s go to that restaurant you like.”

Is she talking about the place Mitchell went with me before?

“…I’m not eating. Just cut the cake and go back to the academy.”

Oh no. Did I push too far?

Mitchell’s expression hardened rapidly at the suggestion to eat together. She then turned around, seemingly heading to her room.

“Mom.”

Just before Mitchell entered her room, Gu Yeonhwa, who had been quietly watching her back, spoke up.

“What now…?”

“Let’s go together next time.”

“…”

It was a choice that wasn’t forcing anything.

She seemed to have judged that convincing Mitchell would not be easy once she had shown resistance. Instead, she naturally set up a promise, aiming for the next opportunity, which was very clever.

“…We’ll see.”

“Great. I’ll come again next time.”

As if this was enough for now, Gu Yeonhwa smiled contentedly, showing her snow-white teeth.

“I’ll put the cake in the freezer so it doesn’t melt! It has lots of different flavors, so please enjoy it!”

Click.

Mitchell entered her room without answering and closed the door.

Gu Yeonhwa put the cake back in the box and walked to the refrigerator. After placing the box in the refrigerator, she turned to me.

“Oppa.”

“Yes?”

“Shall we go?”

Her face looked unburdened. Seeing her smiling brightly despite not being able to have dinner together, I couldn’t push any further.

It was disappointing, but I had to be satisfied with this much. Since this wasn’t a problem that could be solved overnight, I decided to be understanding for now.

She’s probably not ready yet.

It seemed Gu Yeonhwa thought the same.

“Sure.”

“Oh, do you want to see my room before we go?”

“Maybe next time.”

It feels like there might be an abyss in there.

“Next time… Okay. Let’s all have a meal together next time! Hehe!”

Gu Yeonhwa walked toward the entrance with a light step, smiling cheerfully. I was about to follow her when I glanced at the room Mitchell had entered.

“I’ll come again next time! Yeonhwa’s mother. I hope we get along better then!”

Bang!

Instead of an answer, the sound of a door being hit made me chuckle.

I put on my shoes first and held the front door open until she finished putting on her shoes. Gu Yeonhwa tapped the toes of her sneakers on the floor and then straightened up.

“Phew.”

When I closed the door, a sigh of relief escaped from her lips. She seemed to have been quite tense.

“Are you okay with not having dinner with your mom?”

“Mmm. I’d like to, of course. But we shouldn’t rush. My mom and I haven’t talked for a long time. We didn’t even ask about each other’s well-being. Well… I guess she knows everything since we live together.”

She continued as she pressed the elevator button.

“But we talked a lot today.”

It was more like one-sided announcements than conversations, though.

“Honestly, if you hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have been able to push like this. I probably would have only managed to say, ‘Let’s eat cake’ or ‘I brought you a gift.'”

“Really?”

“In that sense, I was really brave today. My heart was pounding like crazy!”

“Okay, okay. Should I pat your head? Or lend you my chest?”

“You know, I think you have a tendency to treat me like a child. And wasn’t lending your chest only for when I’m crying? I’m in a brave state right now. Though, well… I do want to be held.”

Just as I was about to consider what to do, the elevator arrived. She stepped into the elevator and twirled around, saying:

“Ah~ Now that the tension is gone, I’m getting hungry.”

“Should we go get some gamjatang (pork bone soup) then?”

“That’s a great idea!”

Thinking that next time we should make a reservation at a restaurant before coming, we headed to a famous chain restaurant for gamjatang.

And so, the first visit ended with results that were neither good nor bad.