episode_0008

I returned home with Ji-won.

Ji-won entered the house, trembling, covered herself with a blanket, and spoke.

“I’m a failure, I’m trash… I’m sorry for being born…”

Seems like something’s malfunctioning.

Not sure what to say.

Looking at Ji-won, unsure of what to say.

She started shaking as if afflicted by cyber psychosis.

“Waaah….”

*Smack*

It seemed like something was wrong, so I smacked her on the head.

When machines or objects break, hitting them sometimes fixes them, or so I thought when I hit her.

“Why’d you hit me!! Damn!!!”

Guess the old saying was right.

Hit her on the head, and she was fixed instantly.

After hitting her head, Ji-won looked at me, fully restored.

Seeing her getting angry, it seemed she was completely back to normal.

“Now that you’re fixed, get out.”

Knowing she’d become a bother later, I told Ji-won to leave.

Upon my words, Ji-won seemed to ponder for a moment, then lay back under the blanket.

“Eeeh.”

She started malfunctioning again.

This brat? Now she’s pretending to be broken.

Sending a look that clearly said this act won’t work, I eventually tried to get Ji-won out.

“I’ll do the housework!!”

Thinking it was over, Ji-won raised her hand and said, “I’ll do the housework! I won’t take a salary, just let me stay here!”

She’s obviously talking nonsense.

Besides, there isn’t much housework to do anyway.

I usually do the dishes.

And cleaning, I mostly handle that too.

We don’t really need someone to do the housework.

“I’m damn good at cooking!”

At least that caught my interest.

I know how to cook, but after school, I’m usually too tired to cook unless it’s a holiday or weekend.

Moreover, I find ordering food more convenient and cost-effective.

If someone cooks, at least one chore will be taken care of.

In return, I’ll provide some groceries and a room.

It didn’t seem like a bad deal.

“Fine… You can stay for about a week.”

Looks like I lost.

Well, a few more days won’t hurt, right?

She’s been kicked out before, so let’s help until she gets back on her feet…

It’s always like this.

Even if Ji-won were a guy, I would have helped due to her pitiful state.

It happened so often that it led to this.

With that in mind, I decided to let Ji-won stay at our place for about a week.

Is this the right decision?

**

Ji-won said she would cook dinner tonight and we went to the mart.

Although Seong-a-noona wanted to meet, meeting now would only lead to arguments.

So, we decided to meet another time.

After contemplating, Ji-won asked me, “What do you want for dinner tonight?”

She inquired about the evening menu.

“I’m fine with anything.”

“If you say ‘anything,’ I might just give you rice and call it a day.”

Feeling uneasy after that statement, I’ll try not to say ‘anything’ from now on.

Considering his character, he might actually do that, so I should avoid saying ‘anything.’

“Then… Kimchi stew.”

I felt like having something spicy today.

Upon hearing that, Ji-won acknowledged and proceeded with the shopping cart.

Entering the mart, we headed to the grocery section.

“This should do.”

“Hey, why are you buying meal kits?”

If this guy is good at cooking, why opt for meal kits instead of making it from scratch?

Though I can’t deny that meal kits are also a form of cooking.

Still, if it’s a meal kit rather than buying ingredients and making it from scratch, I might as well do it myself.

Flustered, Jiwon smiled and said, “It’s all the same, isn’t it?”

If this weren’t a mart, I would’ve smacked him on the back of his head three times by now. It’s a bit disappointing that this is a mart.

With the meal kit in hand, we bought a few snacks for Jiwon to eat, a couple of drinks for me, and headed back home.

“Since it’s dinner time, shall we start around 7?”

Jiwon stored the meal kit in the fridge and suggested.

“Hmm… Why do you have so much in your fridge?”

A lot? At best, there were a few bottles of alcohol, some kimchi sent by his mom, and a couple of frozen foods.

In Jiwon’s studio apartment, kimchi was all there was.

Seems like he considered that quite a lot.

“Instead, since we have nothing to do right now, how about a game?”

Jiwon held up a gamepad, proposing to play.

“It doesn’t matter, but make sure to cook dinner.”

To avoid changing my mind later, I confirmed and started the game.

After a few hours of playing a simple match, it was 7 o’clock as Jiwon announced he would start cooking.

“Hey, it’s time. Hurry up.”

Upon hearing me, Jiwon checked the time and began lying down on the bed.

Why is he lying on the bed? I thought to myself.

“Hehehe~~ I don’t want to, mister.”

“Wanna bet? Or just do it?”

“I’ll just do it.”

With those words, Jiwon got up, retrieved the meal kit from the kitchen, and started cooking stew.

How long has it been since someone cooked for me?

Sung-ah noona suggested we just order food.

Not only Sung-ah noona, but it had been a while since I ate my parents’ cooking, making me yearn for a home-cooked meal.

As I waited for Jiwon, anticipating a home-cooked meal, unexpectedly…

“Damn, fire!!!!”

I wasn’t expecting this.

Jiwon opened the door, asking for help.

There was a column of fire pouring out of the pot on the gas stove.

Using a lid to cover the pot, we extinguished the fire.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have said you can’t cook well, huh?”

Realizing I might have underestimated his cooking skills, I reluctantly took over the cooking.

And… this burnt pot will need to be thrown away.

Seems like more work has been added, making it more challenging.

After finishing the simple kimchi stew, we set the table in the room and ate.

Apologizing, Jiwon cooked rice in the electric rice cooker.

At least we could make rice, reducing some workload, but it was still a hassle.

“Hey! This stew is seriously amazing, look at this!”

Continuously praising me for the stew I made.

Even so, time didn’t stop.

Although more tedious tasks piled up.

I asked him to stay for about a week.

I intended to accommodate him for at least a week.

While eating, the doorbell started ringing.

-Ding dong, ding dong.

Not once, but twice.

Not twice, but thrice…

I wonder how many times they’re going to press it.

Someone seemed impatiently waiting outside, pressing the intercom, examining the entrance.

“Sung-ah noona?”

Outside stood Sung-ah noona.

“Hey!! I know Kang Ji-hoo is here! Open the door quickly!”

She seemed quite angry probably due to today’s events.

I thought I shouldn’t just open the door; after all, Jiwon was inside.

If she saw Jiwon, who knows what she might do.

Thinking this through, I decided to wait until she left.

“I’ll keep waiting until you come out! Come out quickly!!”

She started banging on the door.

It seemed like she wouldn’t stop until the end, so I had no choice but to wake Jiwon up and confine him to the bathroom.

“Lock the door, and stay here.”

I told Ji-won to lock the door.

“Oh… Were you looking at me like that?”

Oh my… I want to kick her out immediately.

Thinking that, I locked the bathroom door while looking at Ji-won.

There’s no other way now, I thought, and opened the front door.

“Why did you open so late?”

“Sorry… I was in the bathroom.”

After some vague words, I said to my older sister.

“Were you eating?”

“Yeah… But what’s up?”

I tried to get straight to the point, but…

“Great, I haven’t had dinner either. Let’s eat together.”

Sitting there as is, not sure what to say when my sister Seong-ah asked for food.

Just planning to have a meal together and chat a bit before parting ways.

“Hey, wait a moment.”

Seong-ah told me to wait and pointed to the dining table.

Looking at the table, thinking if something weird was in the food.

“Why are there two plates of food? And two sets of utensils…?”

Damn it. Forgot to clean up and didn’t clear away what Ji-won was eating.

“You… weren’t alone today.”

Seong-ah looked at me and mentioned that I wasn’t alone.

Now… what excuse should I make?