Precious Daily Life – 1

He had a dream.

As if the sky had cracked, a fissure appeared in the clear blue.

Five cracks, like a windowpane on the verge of shattering.

The atmosphere fell like broken glass.

And from within those gaps, he heard a voice calling his name.

“…What time is it?”

The first thing he did upon waking was to ask the time in a hoarse voice.

He struggled to lift his heavy eyelids and sat up.

Even with the same amount of sleep, there was a big difference between sleeping at night and sleeping in the morning.

It felt like he had only dozed off, not had a deep sleep.

A dull headache lingered from the light sleep, and he couldn’t shake the grimace from his face.

He picked up his phone from the bedside and checked the time.

“…I should get going soon.”

He placed his feet on the floor. The cold temperature of the floor crawled up his soles.

After getting ready, he checked his phone again halfway to school.

To make sure he could walk there in time, and to see if there was a message from Kim Sung-ah notifying him of a change of plans.

Fortunately, he could make it on time, and there was no message from Kim Sung-ah.

With the days getting shorter, the surroundings began to darken. In just an hour or two, complete night would fall.

He walked along her familiar route to school.

As he did, he aimlessly cast his gaze around.

Cars on the road starting their turtle-paced commute as the end of the workday approached.

Young women gathering in groups of three or five, bursting into laughter, seemingly enjoying something.

Male students, perhaps having just left a PC bang, chatting amongst themselves about the game they had just played.

Little children boarding a yellow school bus, heading somewhere.

Kang In-ho took it all in. For some reason, he wanted to keep taking it in.

It was an everyday scene that could be seen anywhere.

Thump, thump. He continued to walk the streets, and before long, he arrived at Sungin Girls’ High School.

He stopped just before the crosswalk. He could hear her voice again, telling him not to stand in front of the school gate.

He took out his phone again.

He arrived at a time that was neither too early nor too late.

He crossed his arms and stared at the school gate.

A few minutes passed, and a wave of school uniforms began to emerge in the distance.

Clothes of the same design rippled and flowed out this way.

And from within that wave of humanity, he could easily find a familiar face.

Also, a girl who spotted him in that wave of humanity.

Her mouth moved as if shouting, “Uncle!”

She waved her hand, beaming, and ran towards him.

Like a puppy greeting its returning owner, she smiled brightly.

She passed through the crowd, exited the school gate, crossed the crosswalk, and stood before him.

A high school student with her neat hair tied back looked up at him.

“Hehe, did you sleep well? You look sleepy?”

She grinned and waved her hand in front of his eyes.

She wore a beaming smile, as if she was very happy.

He chuckled at her cuteness.

“Oh? You smiled. Hehe.”

She giggled, grabbed his arm, and turned him around.

“Have you decided where to eat?”

“No.”

Kim Sung-ah narrowed her eyes and looked at him.

“What? You said we were eating out.”

“Let’s eat whatever you want. What do you want to eat?”

“I’m fine with anything… I can eat anything.”

“There’s no harder choice than that.”

He recalled his past relationships.

“Then, how about mala tang?”

“Mala tang?”

“Is that okay?”

“Let’s go to a place where we can adjust the spice level. I’ll have level 0.”

“Ehh, then there’s no point in eating it.”

She pulled on his arm, taking the lead.

“I don’t want to sacrifice my stomach for a moment’s pleasure.”

“Wow… is this what it’s like to be an adult? Ah, I don’t want to get old.”

Kim Sung-ah’s voice, though expressing distaste, was full of joy.

“Uncle, do you want to try a spoonful? It’s not that spicy.”

Kim Sung-ah pointed to the bright red broth.

Kang In-ho frowned and shook his head.

“It looks spicy just by looking at it.”

“It’s really not spicy… More than that, yours looks completely bland. Like peanut soup.”

“It’s good because it’s moderately spicy.”

As a matter of fact, it was just the right amount of spiciness for him to enjoy.

He picked up a dried tofu topping with his chopsticks and replied.

“Well, this much difference in taste isn’t a problem. We can adjust to each other.”

He didn’t bother to respond to Kim Sung-ah’s words, which seemed to look far into the future.

The meal continued as they chatted about various topics.

As they enjoyed their meal, putting the things they had each brought into their mouths, Kim Sung-ah turned around at the sound she heard from behind.

“Oh?”

It was a voice she heard every day at school.

“Oh, it’s Seong-a Teacher.”

Kang In-ho stood up awkwardly and greeted her.

“Ah, Teacher.”

Kim Sung-ah also stood up and greeted her.

“Ah, Seong-a and Inho… Seong-a’s cousin.”

Kim Sung-ah’s homeroom teacher, Im Soo-ah, greeted them awkwardly.

Kang In-ho’s gaze turned to her side. A dandy-looking man stood next to her.

“Teacher, did you come to have dinner too?”

Just as Im Soo-ah was about to say something, Kim Sung-ah took the lead in the conversation.

“Ah? Uh… yeah. It’s dinner time.”

“Enjoy your meal.”

“Yeah. You enjoy your meal too, Seong-a.”

As Kim Sung-ah smiled brightly and greeted her, Im Soo-ah returned the greeting and headed to her seat.

-Glances

Im Soo-ah glanced at them as she passed by, and Kim Sung-ah didn’t miss it.

“Eating a lot makes the spiciness come up a bit.”

While Kang In-ho was focusing on the mala tang again, Kim Sung-ah got up from her seat.

“Uncle, I’m going to the restroom for a bit.”

“Oh? Okay.”

As Kim Sung-ah went to the restroom, she looked at her homeroom teacher.

The homeroom teacher and her companion, who had chosen their food, were sitting at their seats.

As she cast a small spell, their voices could be heard as if they were listening from next to them.

“It’s been a while since I’ve had mala tang.”

“Oh, is that so? It’s been a while for me too.”

The companion’s voice.

“But, who were those people from earlier?”

As if she was curious about something, she asked Im Soo-ah.

“Ah~ They’re students in my class.”

“Oh, I see. I was curious because it seemed like you knew the man too. Haha.”

At the subtly probing words, Im Soo-ah’s voice trembled slightly.

“He’s a student’s guardian. A relative.”

“Ah~ I see. I was so surprised, I thought he was an ex-boyfriend. Hahaha.”

The companion made a trivial joke. Im Soo-ah only had to awkwardly laugh it off.

“I was going to try to contact him a little bit under the guise of being a student. But I’m good at being a wall.”

She told a blatant lie, without any hesitation.

“Oh… I see.”

“Yes, I’m not the type to just contact anyone. Ah, of course, Suho is an exception.”

“Haha, I’m honored. Hmm? I think ours is ready. I’ll go get it.”

“Are you sure? It’ll be heavy.”

“It’s on one tray, so only one person needs to go.”

The dandy man got up and headed to where the food was being prepared.

The moment the man left his seat, Im Soo-ah took out a mirror and checked her face.

Kim Sung-ah really didn’t like that sight.

So she cast another spell.

“Ugh, the smell… Uh!”

The man who was carrying the tray tripped and fell forward.

Two bowls of mala tang flew into the air and poured directly onto Im Soo-ah’s chest.

“Ah, it’s hot!!!”

A woman’s scream echoed through the restaurant.