episode_0025
by admin#25
For some reason, I left behind Zia, who was sleeping in the corner of my room.
“… .”
I soon arrived in the kitchen and, as usual, thought about what to make for breakfast today.
The thought didn’t last long, because I saw a bag of bread sitting next to the cupboard.
‘I should just eat something simple like toast.’
There’s nothing better for a morning than toast dipped in egg wash.
They say Koreans are rice-loving, but I didn’t cook rice yesterday.
“Brother. Good morning.”
“Oh. What is it? Your complexion looks good?”
“Hehehe.”
Min-ah had a sinister smile on her face. It seemed to have something to do with Jia sleeping in the corner of my room this morning… but I decided to let it go for now.
Sometimes in life there are things you don’t need to know.
“Oh, right. Can I go to your store later? ”
“As you wish.”
“Ah. Jia said she works there too? I want to see Jia in a maid outfit.”
…Does this guy think our store is doing some kind of suspicious business?
“Our store’s uniform is just a plain black uniform.”
“chi.”
“What is it? What is it?”
While Min-ah and I were having this pointless conversation, I saw Jia walking unsteadily toward my room, rubbing her eyes.
“Hello… .”
‘What are dark circles?’
A face that you can tell at a glance is sleep deprived.
It seems like he’s looking at Min-ah with resentful eyes, but I guess I’m mistaken.
“Good morning, Jia! But where did you go this morning? You weren’t next to me when I woke up.”
“That’s my sister… Ah. No.”
Jia answers with a slightly red face.
At this point, you might be wondering what happened last night.
“Jia. Is the toast okay?”
“Yes.”
Sizzle. The kitchen smelled delicious as egg-soaked toast cooked in a frying pan.
If there was something like bacon, it would have been a European style brunch. It was a little disappointing.
“The end. It’s done.”
A while later, we were all huddled together around the breakfast table.
As they placed toast on the plates in front of each of them, their eyes widened slightly.
“I will eat well.”
“I’ll eat well! Oppa.”
… When I see things like this, it feels like I’m raising children.
“Okay.”
After that, Min-ah and Jia each picked up a piece of toast and started munching on it.
I almost laughed a little because it looked like they were raising hamsters.
“If you want more, tell me. I’ll cook it right away.”
“Ah. Oppa. Can I take Jia out to the city today?”
“Huh?”
You don’t necessarily need to ask my permission.
“When I looked in the morning, Jia had nothing to wear. It would be a waste for Jia to keep wearing only my clothes.”
Well, right now Ji-ah is probably wearing the clothes that Min-ah left behind at this house.
“You don’t have to do that… .”
“What? You don’t like going out to play with your sister?”
“That’s not it.”
… By the way, when did you two become so close?
‘Didn’t we just meet for the first time yesterday?’
If someone saw us, they would think we were real sisters. Well, that’s not a bad thing. In fact, it’s good.
“Then go and come back. I don’t have to come with you, right?”
“Why? What do you have to do?”
“Uh. I have someone to contact briefly.”
Min-ah, who heard what I said, looked at me with a somewhat suspicious expression.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No. I’m just curious that my brother has someone he can contact.”
This is too much.
*
“Okay. I’ll go and come back.”
“I’ll be back. Ah. Sir. When I’m done, can I just go to the store and go to work?”
“Yeah.”
After Jia and Minah went out.
‘… You didn’t change your phone number, did you?’
I called a contact saved on my phone for the first time in a long time.
Ring, ring, ring.
After the phone rang several times.
[Hello? Is this Dohan?]
A voice I hadn’t heard in quite some time came over the phone.
The person I’m calling now is a youth counselor I knew from my orphanage days.
He was the one who helped me a lot when I was settling into society after leaving the orphanage.
“Hello, teacher. It’s been a while since I called.”
[Yeah. I was worried that something might be wrong because the person I used to contact once a year hasn’t contacted me recently.]
“Haha.”
[By the way, why did you call? Just to check up on me?]
“That, that’s none other than… ”
The reason I called this time was because I wanted to get some advice regarding Gia’s situation.
Even if it’s not necessarily a story about punishing the person who did something terrible to Jia, it would be good if Jia could receive psychological counseling or support.
[hmm….]
The counselor paused for a moment after hearing Gia’s story.
The teacher continued speaking after a while.
[First of all. You said that kid is nineteen, right? Then he can stay at a youth shelter. You said he’s staying with you right now?]
“Yes.”
After hearing my answer, the teacher continued speaking with a slightly hesitant look.
[I know you’re not the type of person to do that, but there are other people watching you too… I think it might be a good idea to talk to that kid.]
“… That’s right.”
Jia is still a student.
So, if you live in the house of an unknown adult man, other people may suspect you of an inappropriate relationship. Then, things can get complicated in many ways.
I’m not the type to really care about that kind of thing, but… I think it would be better to give Jia a choice.
‘Jia didn’t say anything directly, but she might have been feeling uncomfortable inside.’
[And our welfare center also has a program for psychological counseling for victims of domestic violence, so come visit us later. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other.]
“Yes.”
After a brief greeting, the phone call between me and my teacher ended.
“… After.”
After that, I tried calling my senior from the police department and my social worker, but the results were similar.
Even if we want to punish the author who did such a terrible thing to Jia, a lot of time has passed and it will be difficult to prove it, and we can’t expect a severe punishment…
“… I’m so frustrated.”
At that time, I was lying on the sofa in a daze with complicated feelings.
Tiring.
The cell phone alarm rang.
The person who sent me a message was Minah, who went out with Jia earlier.
[How is Jia? Isn’t she pretty?]
The message Minah sent contained a picture of Jia wearing clothes that looked like they had just been bought.
[Please reply]
Something that looked a bit like a white shirt… What was that called? Was it a blouse?
A sleeveless white top that reveals Zia’s slender shoulder line. And a black cotton skirt that contrasts with the white top.
It was a fairly standard color combination, also known as the Monami look, but it had its own charm.
There is a reason why they say that the face completes fashion.
“… .”
Honestly, if you just look at the photo, it’s at a level that you wouldn’t be out of place if you were a fashion model from an online shopping mall.
There was a moment when I felt a little disappointed with the resolution of the old feature phone.
[Jia looks gloomy. Answer quickly.]
Tiring. Tiring. Tiring.
Minah, unable to bear it any longer, takes pictures of Jia from various angles and sends them to her.
I couldn’t resist the urge to write an honest review of the photo and send it to him.
[It’s pretty.]
So now the feature phone is satisfied and doesn’t ring anymore.
“What is this? Bland.”
I felt a strange sense of regret and fiddled with my phone for no reason, then I closed my eyes and decided to take a nap.
*
“You’re pretty. Jia.”
The place Min-ah took Jia was a women’s clothing store in the city.
There, Mina relayed the message from Dohan, who had just arrived, to Jia.
“… Well, not really. It doesn’t really matter.”
When Jia heard that, she answered somewhat bluntly, but on the contrary, it seemed like she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twitching.
Min-ah, who saw that sight, smiled happily and said to Jia, who was still pretending as if nothing had happened.
“Huh? Even so, it seems like you can’t sit still until you get a reply?”
“Oh, that’s not it!”
‘cute.’
How can you be so cute?
Honestly, even if Do-han had said that the reason he brought Jia home was because she was cute, Min-ah would have accepted it.
Of course, I didn’t think Dohan would do that. But Jia was such a cute kid.
“How about this? Ji-ah?”
After that, Mina picked out a lot of clothes that would suit Jia.
“Ah… .”
Zia cringed slightly when she saw the price tags on the clothes and whispered softly.
“Yes, I think it’s pretty. But the price is… .”
Until now, Jia only bought one or two pieces of clothing at discount events, thrift stores, or off-season sales.
To her, the clothes that Min-ah had chosen for her were certainly very pretty, but their prices were dazzling.
But, as if to dispel Ji-ah’s worries, Min-ah smiled brightly.
“Okay. Here. Calculate.”
As soon as Min-a paid for the clothes without any hesitation,
Jia, who didn’t know what to do, just stamped her feet.
‘Unnie Min-ah, you were a college student, right? What should I do? How can I receive these expensive clothes?’
Even after leaving the store a while later, Jia is still fidgeting while holding a shopping bag full of clothes.
Min-ah, who was looking at her as if she found her appearance cute, stroked Ji-ah’s head and said.
“It’s okay. My sister is buying clothes for me. I don’t regret it at all.”
“… .”
“Where should we go now? It’s hot. Do you want to go to a cafe?”
Ji-ah’s eyes became slightly teary at Min-ah’s words, and she nodded quietly.
“Welcome!”
After that, Jia and Mina went into a cafe located a little distance away.
““… .””
As the two entered, the room became quiet in an instant.
After that, the people inside the cafe whispered so that the two could not hear.
“Wow. Look at those two.”
“Is there a drama being filmed around here?”
Ji-ah and Min-ah sat down after simply ordering the menu, ignoring the gazes around them.
“Hoohoo.”
What’s so good about it, thought Jia, seeing Minah smiling happily at her.
‘… I feel like I’m dreaming.’
If I think about it, my days after meeting Dohan were full of firsts.
It’s my first time coming to a cafe. It’s my first time wearing such pretty clothes.
This is the first time I’ve felt this happy.
“… .”
As the firsts overlapped one after another, Jia felt as if she was floating on clouds.
“Hey, Jia.”
That’s when I sat and waited for my drink to come out.
Minah spoke to Jia with a meaningful smile.
“Yes?”
Jia, who was still enjoying the feeling of happiness.
“How’s my brother?”
Ugh.
0 Comments