episode_0002

Despite our haste, Jini and I barely made it home just before the streetlights flickered on.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too late. Even though it was later than usual, it was still relatively bright. In reality, we couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.

The only thing that had changed was that I was leading the way instead of Jini, and we were walking hand in hand, getting along quite well.

Her hand, usually rough due to her impulsive nature, felt surprisingly soft. Holding it like this made me feel inexplicably happy.

How much farther did we have to walk?

Cars passing by ceased, leaving a desolate road with untamed grass growing on its sides. At the end of it, a luxurious mansion, quite out of place with the surrounding scenery, came into view.

It seemed like a living embodiment of discord. If it weren’t for the inhabited houses around, one might have naturally thought it was an ominous presence.

As always, but especially now with the deep shadows of dusk enveloping everything, the sense of unease was heightened.

It felt like you could summarize the feelings of the knight guarding the majestic windmill in front of La Mancha in just ten lines, but before I could contemplate further, a dull thud sounded right in front of us.

“It’s not opening.”

“You need to enter the password.”

“Password?”

“Just wait.”

In a split second, Jini was busy kicking the door.

She had always been a dedicated soccer fan since she was young. Practicing diligently without missing a beat like this. Indeed, Jini was a role model for everyone. Apart from the fact that she seemed ready to break the reinforced glass door at any moment, she was truly admirable.

“Okay, it’s done now.”

“It’s open.”

“See, it’s easy if you do it normally.”

“…What’s normal?”

“Um… something you need to learn slowly from now on?”

“I don’t want to study.”

“Haha… Let’s learn together diligently. I’ll help you.”

As I entered the code on the keypad at the lobby’s main entrance, the reinforced glass door, which didn’t budge no matter how hard Jini pushed, welcomed us with a click sound.

Thinking she was being scolded, Jini seemed slightly sulky. Anyway, machines like these were all inflexible. Thankfully, Jini quickly returned to her usual nonchalant self, letting out a light sigh. As always, she was really cool.

“Let’s go in.”

“Oh, before that, Jina.”

“What?”

“Do you want to eat first, or take a shower?”

“Huh? Um…”

I wanted to deal with the mess that was her uniform stained with blood and flesh. Stockings, well, considering Jini’s frequent falls, I had bought plenty in advance, but the uniform had only two spare sets at most. Moreover, the blood would stick and be hard to remove after a day.

…But unfortunately, the options given to me were extremely limited. The best course of action was to avoid the worst choice of falling asleep on the sofa with the bloodied uniform. Unlike the uniform, that would be difficult to replace in many ways.

“Let’s eat first.”

“Really? Okay, let’s do that. What do you want to eat?”

“Mapo tofu.”

“Anything else?”

“Spicy mapo tofu.”

“Got it.”

In essence, it meant adding spicy mapo tofu on top of less spicy mapo tofu.

Our Jini loves mapo tofu as much as soccer. Her favorite is, of course, the extra spicy one. Just to clarify, it’s not “like,” it’s “love.” To borrow a phrase from the teacher, jokingly speaking, of course.

Speaking of which, how much soy sauce and oyster sauce were left in the fridge? Pondering such idle thoughts, I reached out and grabbed Jini’s hand, which had faltered from the shock of hitting the door, and helped her up with all my strength.

Due to the recoil, Jin’s slender and light body, except for a specific area, nestled in my arms as if it belonged there. Her long hair and the hydrangea-shaped hair ornament stuck between them trembled slightly from the impact. The pleasant fragrance that blurred my vision was an added bonus. I don’t understand why the freshness felt from using the same shampoo and body wash is so different.

“…I’m sleepy.”

“If you sleep without eating, you’ll wake up hungry at night.”

“But my eyes keep closing.”

“Sleep, sleep. Let’s hang in there a little longer.”

“I’m so sleepy. Very sleepy.”

“In that case, I’ll have to eat the mapo tofu I made for Jin alone.”

“Huh? Um… That’s a bit awkward.”

“Is that so?”

“Eating alone feels lonely.”

“Okay, okay. I can only pass on meals if Jin is here.”

“In that case, I can’t. Meals should be eaten three times a day.”

In response to my reaction, Jin slightly sulked and pricked my hand with her nails. It’s a desirable companion mindset that prioritizes my health wherever and whenever. Be happy.

Anyway, Jin gave up resisting further and followed me as she pleased. The menu happened to be mapo tofu. Once I finish eating, I’ll surely sweat a lot, and the clothes will definitely come off on their own. Let’s believe that.

Oh, right. At this point, one question may arise.

You might wonder what minors do if they’re not studying or doing chores, which are usually done by parents. You might even want to scold them for being lazy.

Actually, I think the same way.

While I may not know, Jin’s parents, as well as her older brother and younger siblings, are all living quite well, not far away, almost enviable.

They aren’t necessarily bad people either.

Each of them is busy with studies or work, and due to various circumstances, they just can’t meet each other. Perhaps the probability of this continuing for the rest of their lives is high.

As I pondered these self-deprecating thoughts, we reached our doorstep after passing through the lobby. After taking a deep breath, I cautiously opened the door.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome back.”

Without needing to decide who would say it first, we greeted each other like that. Before the hallway sensor lights went out, we hurriedly ran to turn on the lights inside the house.

Living room, storage room, dressing room, bedroom, kitchen, and finally, when we turned on the fluorescent light in the bathroom, the orange light in the hallway faded away at the perfect timing. It was fortunate to return before it got dark. While the light was still scary, the darkness was even more frightening.

“Well, shall we start making dinner…?”

Just as I let out a sigh of relief and turned towards the kitchen, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket.

Glancing at Jin, who had already headed into the room after carelessly tossing her bag in the hallway, perhaps to read a picture book.

But who could it be at this hour? Thinking that, I unlocked the screen, and a familiar name, ‘Park Heena,’ caught my eye.

“Hello? Aunt?”

[Hey, can you talk right now?]

“Um… Well, for now.”

“Are you alone? Where did that kid, Ryujin, go?”

“If it’s Jin…”

Without saying anything, I subtly placed the phone near the bedroom.

As usual, Jin sat on the bed, reading a picture book aloud until I finished cooking. Her voice was clear and sweet, but there were many stutters and pauses in between. The person on the other end of the phone seemed to have understood that fact and didn’t ask any further questions.

“Yeah, well, nothing seems different from usual. Still, just to be sure, I’ll ask: did that brat do something to upset people again?”

“No, I haven’t touched her.”

Although I did kill a dog.

I didn’t want to unnecessarily worry, so I kept that thought to myself.

Initially, there was no expectation that Aunt Imo would have any lingering thoughts other than obsession, dependence, and monopolization regarding me. Therefore, I didn’t want to hear any unnecessary digressions.

“So, what’s the matter?”

[‘What’s the matter?’ Hmph, I knew it would come to this. Since we’ve scheduled a medical appointment, come out this Saturday. Various medications like nerve stabilizers, sleeping pills, contraceptives, and others might be running low.]

“Ah… right. I’m sorry. I should have checked in advance. Thank you for caring.”

[Anyway, always just living off others. If you’re sorry, at least call more often next time─.]

Before Aunt’s words could even finish, I casually tossed my phone onto the couch as if I were practicing baseball.

Simultaneously, as usual, Jin, with his absent expression, crossed the threshold of the living room and approached me. It was good that he wasn’t late.

“What are you doing?”

“Just taking a short break.”

“Have you eaten?”

“Not yet.”

Normally, he would have been more suspicious and probed further, but seeing him holding a picture book in his arms, seemingly distracted, I didn’t suspect anything.

Still, just in case, I decided to bring up the hospital discussion later.

“I have something to ask.”

“You have something to ask?”

“Yes.”

As I pondered over such concerns, Jin set aside the picture book he had been holding and said those words.

As long as he wasn’t asking if I could just go to sleep like this, it was fine.

“I just read that people like rainy days. But when it rains, they don’t go outside. They stay home.”

“Well, there are hardly any people who actually like getting rained on, except maybe you and me…”

“See, there it is. That’s what they call ‘normalcy’ that I need to learn, right?”

The girl living in a slightly different world from the characters in the story asked in her usual blunt voice.

To me, who had mentioned learning normalcy, she seemed genuinely puzzled, without a hint of falsehood. It truly seemed incomprehensible to her.

“Well… should we think about it after eating?”

“Sure, sounds good.”

Without offering any response to such a pure question, I hastily grabbed a useless fan.

Avoiding the girl’s vacant gaze, who had even forgotten her own question, clumsily so.