episode_0021

“Are you coming at 3 o’clock?”

[huh. maybe.]

“Slow down, we have to prepare too.”

December 25th, Christmas morning.

Is it because I played with my friends until evening yesterday, Christmas Eve?

I woke up much later than usual. When I woke up, it was lunch.

‘Still, I’m glad I didn’t wake up later.’

If I had slept until 3 o’clock, my parents would have woken me up.

It was a bit difficult to welcome Riya without any preparation.

Of course, I didn’t prepare much when we met… but lately, I’ve been feeling a little strange.

Because it is a special day called Christmas.

‘We couldn’t spend time together last year.’

We couldn’t see each other last Christmas because Riya’s family went on a trip.

Of course, we exchanged gifts or contacted each other on the day before, but not being able to meet in person is quite difficult.

That’s why I looked forward to this Christmas a little more.

“Sihyeon, when is Riya coming?”

“I guess he’ll come at 3 o’clock?”

“About an hour… I should start preparing now.”

My father had not yet been discharged from the hospital.

They said he could be discharged tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, but the timing was bad.

That’s why it’s me and mom preparing for this Christmas.

Even though it was preparation, there wasn’t much to it.

‘Making food is everything.’

Although the quantity is not large enough for 3 people to eat, I planned to make it in a variety of ways.

Even though I’m not good at cooking… I could at least follow the recipe.

From now on, I’ll cook the noodles later so they can soak while eating, and what I’ll cook now is the meat.

Also beef.

Why beef for Christmas? You could say that.

Beef is always a good food and goes well with anything.

Christmas is no exception.

Chi-Ik-

The red-colored beef was grilled with a sizzling sound when placed on the grill.

How long has it been since you ate beef?

Just hearing the sound whetted my appetite.

“More importantly, Sihyeon, what is your gift?”

“I bought it yesterday. Even packaging.”

“What is the design? Did you buy it well?”

“Yes, at least I liked it.”

The gift for Riya had already been bought yesterday.

That’s also a gift I bought with all the pocket money I recently saved.

I’ve never spent such a large amount of money in my life, and I didn’t regret it at all.

Because it’s a gift for Riya.

‘I guess it was a good purchase…?’

I bought it because of the taste of Riya I’ve seen so far, but honestly, I’m not sure.

Actually, I had already wrapped it in my room, but ‘that gift’ is a matter of taste.

I hope you like it.

“Is this enough?”

There was quite a lot of food prepared.

Beef, pasta, fried food, pizza, etc.

A table filled with simple yet delicious food.

And it won’t be long before the food is full.

Ding dong-

Riya arrived at my house.

“I will open it.”

“Of course you have to open it, should I open it?”

“…That’s right.”

As my mother said, I went straight to the front door and opened it.

When I open the door, I see Riya behind it.

The clothes she wore underneath that pure white hair were different from usual.

Clothes that are neither that comfortable nor that decorated.

It was a dress that made you feel like an effort was made to find a compromise between the two.

“Welcome.”

“Yes.”

“I cooked rice, so let’s eat it quickly.”

After a brief greeting, we headed straight to the table.

Everything was set up, even the cutlery, so all I had to do was literally eat.

“Are you here?”

“Yes. Thank you for the invitation.”

“Go play.”

After greeting her mother, Riya naturally sits down next to me.

She looked at the perfectly set table, then rubbed her fingers and opened her mouth.

“…Ready. I was trying to help you.”

It seemed like he was bothered by just taking it and eating it without doing anything.

That’s right, because when I came here before, I didn’t often just take it and eat it.

It would be even more so if the table was set up this extravagantly.

“What are you talking about? We invited you, but we have to prepare.”

“We invited you to prepare the meal, so don’t feel pressured.”

“…Yes.”

Although she didn’t seem to be completely convinced yet, she responded with a small nod.

The meal that followed.

These were dishes I cooked, but they were quite delicious.

…There may be a reason why the seasoning is a little strong, but I didn’t think about it.

Riya, who had been eating quietly without saying a word, soon ate the food I had prepared and then opened her mouth.

“It’s delicious.”

“I did that, isn’t it delicious?”

“…Yes. It’s delicious.”

There wasn’t much conversation at the table.

A situation in which only the sound of spoons rattling continues.

I don’t know if he doesn’t like that situation, or if he’s really just asking.

While eating, the mother first threw a bomb at Riya.

“Riya.”

“Yes.”

“Call me mother.”

“Puk-eup..!?”

What do you mean, mother?

What are you going to do if you suddenly explode such a large bomb?

“Hehe, hehe!!”

I even heard the story. Huge damage.

“Cough…!”

“Sihyeon, here’s the water.”

“Ah.. Thank you.”

Riya, who was next to him, handed him some water. The water she used, not the water Sihyeon used.

Was it intentional or a mistake?

I could have thought of something like that, but I didn’t notice it because of my mother’s bombshell and saree.

“Son, why are you reacting so much?”

“…It’s because you suddenly say that.”

“We talked about it a lot last time.”

Is this also an extension of the strange feeling I’ve been having recently?

Things that seemed insignificant before seemed so big these days.

“Rather than that, call me Riya, mother.”

“Ahh…”

Her mother asked her again if she would not stop until she heard that from Riya.

Lee becomes redder than me and lowers her head.

She seemed quite embarrassed, covering her mouth with both white hands and avoiding gaze.

“Ri, you’ll be in trouble, don’t play around like that.”

Wouldn’t Riya hate it? I thought about it for a while and said it.

Before I could finish my words, Riya opened her mouth first.

“Uh, oh my…?”

A small voice, so small that you can’t even hear it unless you listen closely.

But the house was quiet, and no one opened their mouths when she spoke of him.

The voice definitely resonated with me and my mom.

“….”

A moment of silence.

And the silence seemed to have made her even more embarrassed, and now she lowered her head and covered her entire face.

‘joke…? No, it means something else, right?

I, too, was equally taken aback by her words.

The meaning of mother was used in many different ways.

If you were close to your friend’s mother, you could also call her that.

It was not necessary to call only the lover’s mother “mother.”

but.

Still, my heart did not sink.

‘No… I guess.’

Riya probably didn’t mean it that way.

Even though I thought that, my heart didn’t stop beating.

The dining table is instantly silent and only the faint sound of the heart can be heard.

In that situation, my mother spoke first.

“It would be nice to have a daughter like the real Riya.”

She said this while stroking Riya’s head.

I could see him moving as if he was trying to lighten the mood.

“Do you want to come home to me and leave Harin behind?”

“Oh, no…”

“Let’s exchange with Sihyeon, I like a daughter more than a son.”

“..Why me?”

Is it because of her words?

The atmosphere started to relax a little more than before.

A meal to start again in such a relaxed situation.

However, once a situation like that occurred, I couldn’t concentrate on eating.

‘No… I guess?’

Because I kept thinking about what Riya said earlier.

#

After a while, we finished eating.

Although there was a lot of variety, the quantity was not that large, so I was able to eat all of the food.

“I will do it too.”

After that, despite her mother’s dissuasion that she doesn’t have to, Riya does the dishes together, insisting that she has to do it.

Seeing Riya’s appearance, I also went to the sink to wash the dishes.

This time she told me no and rejected me.

I felt embarrassed because I felt like I was alone doing nothing, but what can I do?

I really have nothing to do.

After washing the dishes, Riya packed her bags again to go home.

It wasn’t that late, but there was nothing I could do because I had work to do at home.

“I’ll take you there.”

I followed after her and went with her.

Holding the gift that was in the bedroom.

Not many people were seen on the streets of residential areas other than downtown.

This is probably because most people are going into town or resting at home.

“It’s cold.”

“Yes.”

I couldn’t figure out when to give a gift, and I was only saying things that weren’t very nutritious from time to time.

How long did I walk without saying anything?

I saw and felt that it wasn’t long until we reached Riya’s house.

I can’t afford to worry about timing anymore.

“Liya.”

I handed her the gift I had in my hand.

A gift wrapped in a pretty envelope the size of your palm.

“It’s a Christmas present.”

“Ah..”

After receiving the gift, Riya immediately tore off the wrapping paper and lifted the gift.

It was a bracelet.

Just a bracelet with a real gemstone in the center.

A white, shining jewel kept catching my eye.

Of course, I wonder how much pocket money a middle school student would have saved, and of course it wasn’t of very good quality.

Still, this was the best I could do.

“How about…?”

My heart trembled.

What if I don’t like it?

That anxiety kept creeping in.

“Yes.. I like it.”

But, ignoring that anxiety, she smiled brightly and held the bracelet with both hands.

A bright smile.

If you think about her usual appearance, it was an expression you couldn’t even imagine.

“I’ll write well.”

After saying that, she put the bracelet on her wrist.

The bracelets were shaking, perhaps because of her thin wrists.

And even more than that, what caught my eye was Riya, who was looking at me as if she really liked the bracelet.

“…My gift is a wish ticket.”

At that time, Riya spoke.

“Wish ticket?”

“Yes, I’ll listen to anything.”

Anything.

As soon as I heard those words, numerous thoughts came to mind, but I discarded them as soon as they came to mind.

It goes without saying, and just thinking about it is blasphemous.

“Do I have to write it now?”

“No, you can use it later.”

“Then I’ll write about it later. If you remember.”

“Yes.”

Where should I use the wish ticket?

My head was already spinning.