episode_0008

“Asking for help…?”

“Yeah.”

It’s a decree, isn’t it?

What can I possibly help with?

The girl leaned in close to me and said,

“Because you got the decree with me.”

“…What?”

At that moment, I was overwhelmed by her energy.

She leaned her face in, coming so close as if she was about to kiss me.

In that fleeting moment when I was breathless, I heard the sound of the door opening from behind.

Then, she turned her body back to its original position as if nothing had happened.

“Just kidding, you idiot.”

Just then, my mom’s voice was heard.

“Hello?”

“Hello.”

Mom walked to the front door.

Surprisingly, Mom had a calm face as if nothing had happened yesterday.

Rather, I was the only one embarrassed.

The girl looked at my face for a moment, then looked back at Mom.

Mom asked her,

“What’s going on?”

“I came to see him.”

“What for?”

“Just because we’re friends, to hang out.”

“Friends?”

Mom looked at me.

She, who was behind me, quietly gave me a look.

A feeling like, ‘Just agree with it.’

“Ah, yeah… we’re friends, Mom.”

“Really? Not a student?”

“Even if she looks like it, she’s an older sister.”

“An older sister…”

Mom looked at me for a moment and quietly said,

“Have fun.”

“Okay.”

I thought that was the end, but Mom threw in one more word to her.

“You can smoke, but don’t offer it to Ji-won.”

“Offer what?”

“Cigarettes, I mean.”

The air went cold at that word.

The subtle tension between the two felt very cold.

The girl nodded without saying a word.

“Ji-won, come home early.”

“Okay.”

As we came down the apartment stairs, she said to me,

“Aren’t you an adult? Are you a mama’s boy?”

“No, not that.”

“Whether you smoke or mess around outside, isn’t it your responsibility anyway?”

“That’s not true either. It’s natural for parents to worry about their children.”

“Parents… I don’t have anything like that.”

“You have a dad, though.”

“Whatever, help me.”

That decree she said was a joke earlier, was that real?

“Not the decree, you idiot.”

“Then what?”

“Buy me some cigarettes.”

“You can buy them yourself. I don’t have money.”

“No, I’ll give you money, so please buy them for me.”

“You’re an adult, so you can buy them yourself. You’re older than me, right?”

“Ah, it’s because I lost my ID card, so I can’t buy them!”

Oh ho…

I caught something.

“Give me the money first.”

She took out exactly 4,500 won from her pocket and handed it to me.

I took it and put it in my pocket.

“Buy them quickly. My hands are shaking.”

“I’ll buy them for you if you treat me well.”

“You crazy bastard!”

She rushed at me.

It wasn’t at a threatening level. She was shorter than me and a girl.

“By the way, what’s your name?”

“Call me older sister.”

“You have to look like an older sister to be called one.”

She rolled her eyes as if she was dumbfounded.

“I’m Kim Ji-won.”

“Ha… okay. I’m Kim Ye-rin.”

“Ye-rin, huh.”

“Call me Ye-rin *Nuna*.”

“Yeah, Ye-rin student.”

“You’re pissing me off, seriously.”

Ye-rin’s annoyed smile gradually changed to a playful expression.

“Hey, if you don’t buy me cigarettes, I’ll tell.”

“Tell what?”

“That you and your mom got the decree, I’ll stick it all over the apartment door.”

“…Hey, are you crazy?”

“Huh? Just now, you admitted that you and your mom got the decree?”

“No, I didn’t!”

“What do you mean, you didn’t.”

“How do you know?”

“The atmosphere.”

“The atmosphere?”

Ye-rin pointed to the convenience store with her chin and said,

“Buy me cigarettes first.”

“Ha… wait there.”

I bought cigarettes from the convenience store and handed them to Ye-rin.

She took the cigarettes with a desperate hand and immediately put one in her mouth and lit it.

“Phew… haa….”

“Is it that good?”

“This is what sex is.”

“Crazy…”

She smiled slyly and said,

“Wanna have sex?”

“Huh? Suddenly!?”

“What, I’m asking if you’re going to smoke.”

“Ah… ah.”

“What’s with that disappointed look?”

“No, I’m not disappointed.”

“You pervert.”

“What, you’re the one who said sex first.”

“Whatever, I bought you cigarettes, so I’ll keep the decree a secret.”

“I’m telling you it’s not that.”

She took another puff of her cigarette and exhaled.

“Hey, it’s all obvious.”

“What’s obvious?”

“Women can tell. That subtly uncomfortable vibe.”

“How did you see that?”

“When I saw you giving rice cakes to your neighbors a while ago, it was written all over your face that you ‘received the decree’.”

“….”

“Right?”

She was sharp.

I could lie and try to get away with it, but she didn’t seem like she’d believe me.

I decided to just tell the truth.

“Oh, that’s right. So what if I did.”

“So, did you do it?”

“Um… how should I put it.”

“You did, you did.”

“No, I didn’t!”

She finished smoking her cigarette and stomped it out with her foot and said,

“Hey, you better do it soon too. You’ll really die if you don’t.”

“Is it true that your mother received the decree?”

She looked up at the sky and said,

“The sky opened and a golden ray of light came down and took my mom away.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah. Honestly, I thought it was a good thing.”

“Why?”

She took out another cigarette and put it in her mouth and said,

“Mom is a bitch.”

“…Even so, you shouldn’t say that to your mom.”

“A bitch just happened to become a mom.”

“You too, geez….”

She lit her cigarette and asked,

“So, what’s the plan?”

“Maybe the decree is over.”

“The decree is over?”

“Yeah. We didn’t have a relationship, but….”

She quietly smoked her cigarette and said,

“That’s not possible, I bet.”

“Why?”

“When you complete the decree, a message pops up.”

“What message?”

“That you received the ‘Mark of Life’.”

“…Really?”

“Yeah, you’ll know when you see it.”

Was what I jokingly posted on the decree bulletin board real?

“Anyway, check the decree grace period well. There are a lot of people who got dragged away because they saw the date wrong.”

“Ha… I’m checking that.”

“And if possible, do it quickly.”

“….”

Is there no other way?

Do I absolutely have to have a relationship with my mom?

“If you don’t know how, well… I can help.”

“What, how are you going to help?”

She put her lips close to my ear and said,

“I’ll give you a one-time fling.”

“…Crazy!”

Then she looked at me closely and smiled slyly.

At that moment, I felt her touch on my lower body.

Then she threw away her cigarette and walked toward the apartment.

“Kim Decree, fighting.”

“What?”

Wait!

Kim Decree is my nickname on the decree bulletin board.

How the hell does she know that?

She’s a dangerous one, no doubt.

Whether she’s quick-witted, or she’s spying on my house….

I wanted to go inside and check for surveillance cameras or holes in the wall.

Then, I saw the cigarette that Ye-rin *Nuna*, whom I didn’t want to call *Nuna*, threw on the ground.

I carefully looked around and picked it up.

The filter part was wet with Ye-rin *Nuna’s* saliva.

I carefully took a puff.

“Cough cough—!!”

Why the heck are people doing this harmful thing…?

I roughly cleaned up the scene and returned home.

In front of the front door, Mom was standing leaning against the wall with her arms crossed and an angry expression.

“Kim Ji-won.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“Are you hiding something from Mom?”

Why is Mom suddenly acting like this?

We were definitely uncomfortable with each other?

And such a thing happened yesterday,

But now she’s really showing a “mom”-like attitude.

What is it?

Should I… be happy about this?

“W-what are you suddenly talking about?”

“Who told you to smoke?”

“…Huh?”

Does the smell still linger?

But Mom had an angry expression from the start.

It seems she was watching from the veranda.

Mom sighed deeply.

“You, don’t hang out with her anymore.”

“I’m sorry…”

“The answer?”

“…Okay.”

“Close the door and come in and brush your teeth.”

“Yes, Mom.”

“And I’ve set the table, so eat.”

“Yes.”

After brushing my teeth, I had a meal with Mom.

Mom had a stiff expression throughout the meal.

No… I was wrong to smoke, but

I’m an adult.

Do parents always see their children as young children?

I felt unjustly accused, and I didn’t feel good.

After finishing the meal, I decided to quietly look around the living room.

To check if there are any holes.

There doesn’t seem to be a surveillance camera, and if not, there might be a peep hole from the next house.

Because I can’t understand how Ye-rin *Nuna*, whom I haven’t known for long, and whom I’ve only met twice… no, three times in total including the time at the mart, knows me so well.

“Where did the hole go….”

I carefully looked at the wall, but I couldn’t see a hole.

“Hole, come out.”

Then, Mom opened the door and came out and said,

“Kim Ji-won, what kind of way is that to talk to your mom…?”

“Yes?”

Mom’s eyes were red.

…Is this how misunderstandings start?

“No, no, Mom, it’s not like that.”

“Even if I’m your mom… ‘hole’ to a woman…!”

To clear up Mom’s misunderstanding, I made an excuse.

“I was looking to see if there were any holes in the wall.”

“Why are you looking for holes in the wall?”

“Well… I saw on the news that there are often crimes where people secretly spy on their neighbors with hidden cameras.”

“…Okay.”

Fortunately, she seemed to believe me.

Mom asked me,

“How did the decree go?”

“That… I think it failed. I heard that if you properly carry out the decree order, a message will pop up for sure.”

“That’s what the kid next door said?”

“Yes.”

“Did you smoke because of her too?”

“Ah… that’s….”

I’m already an adult to blame someone else for smoking.

“That’s just me… I was curious. I’m sorry.”

“….”

Mom had a thoughtful expression for a moment.

And the next day, I was on my way back from the convenience store.

When I reached our house, which is a corridor-type apartment,

I saw Mom talking to someone in front of the next door.

Because the front doors overlapped in the direction the door was opened, I couldn’t see the person inside.

I thought, could it be Ye-rin *Nuna*, that was the first thing that came to mind.

When I approached Mom, Mom noticed me and

Lightly sent a greeting with her eyes and gestured for me to go inside.

Mom had a brighter face than usual.

At that moment, a voice was heard from next door.

An unfamiliar and thick man’s voice.

Something… unlike me at all, a deep, low-pitched voice.

I could tell by the feeling.

It seemed like Ye-rin *Nuna’s* father.