episode_0027

Hamsik is a hamster, and hamsters need homes.

Since hamsters are more likely to be at the bottom of the food chain than predators, they need a place to hide in order to sleep.

That’s why they prefer dark, cramped places, to keep out large predators.

It seemed like they were digging tunnels to do that, or instinctively gnawing on boxes or something like that to make a place to enter.

Although they say that fur keeps them warm, it is probably also to minimize body heat loss.

So, after eating four bags of crackers, Hamshik started wandering around looking for a hiding place, his nose prickling up.

Of course, there was no place to hide on the table where the snacks were, so Hamshik’s eyes were directed downward.

“Hamshik, don’t go down. The manager told you not to go down there. If you go down there, I’ll support you, support you.”

I immediately grabbed Hamshik because he seemed like he was going to jump out. Didn’t the manager tell you not to go under the vending machine?

Even if it’s not an exaggeration, I don’t like the idea of hamsters going down there either.

Even though the back is brown, the belly is pure white, which is the charm of a hamster. But it would be a problem if it gets dirty with dust.

So I tried to stop him with words and with my hands, but that only served to remind me that Hamshik wouldn’t listen to me easily.

He wriggled out of my grasp, then jumped down from the desk. I was so shocked by that that I couldn’t even catch Hamshik.

“Eww, Hamshik, no!”

Hamshik, who had settled down on the sofa once, quickly reached the floor. In the end, I had to go down with him to catch him.

While I was following him, Hamshik crawled under the vending machine.

I don’t really like messy things, but when Hamshik went in like that, I had no choice but to go in too.

“Ugh, I have to go into a dust hole!”

So I grumbled and knelt down and started crawling. But somehow the bottom of the vending machine was clean.

I wondered if they were really cleaning this thoroughly. Then, when I saw the hamster that had settled in that corner and was so clean, I had an epiphany.

Oh, there’s a purifier in Narin’s house too, so I guess there’s something like that here too. So it cleans up the dirty stuff automatically.

Then, the reason the manager told us not to go in here is probably because if we hide down here, it will be hard to find us.

Just like the coins that are piled up here. It’s because the space is too narrow for a human arm to fit in.

If you want to take it out, you can do so. You can do so by inserting a long object, like a broom or a rag, deep inside and pulling it out.

But people won’t go to all that trouble to pick up coins here. It might be okay for 500 won, but they’d probably go as far as getting down on the floor to pick up 100 won.

No matter how hard the purifier works, people don’t want to wear shoes that have been walked on and lie down on the place they have walked on.

Oh, come to think of it, I’m also walking and crawling around those places barefoot right now. Hmm… … . I can’t help it, so I’m doing this. I also want to wear shoes if possible.

Today, I had to come out in a hurry to return the USB, so I had no choice but to do this.

Well, when you were shopping online yesterday, did you only buy food and things to use at home?

When I get home later, I’ll order things like a drawing notebook and pencils, and I’ll also look for clothes I can wear.

The local office said they don’t have many clothes for short people like me. But if I search the internet, I think I might find some somewhere.

I’m worried about how expensive it’ll be if I really have to get it custom-made, but it’ll be worth it if I buy it before the subsidy runs out.

Anyway, as I was staring blankly at the coins that were shining brightly in the darkness, just like Hamshik’s pitch-black eyes, a good idea, though not particularly novel, came to mind.

Those are coins that people have given up. Can I take some of them?

“Hamshik-ah, Hamshik-ah. Let’s collect these coins.”

Of course, Hamshik didn’t respond to what I said. But now I know how to persuade Hamshik.

“I’m going to collect coins and ask my older sister to buy me something delicious. What do you think?”

I know you can understand human speech. Hehehe.

Considering Hamshik’s appetite, it’s obvious that if you try to lure him with food, he won’t be able to hold back and move.

As I expected, Hamshik, who had been sniffing, lifted his heavy butt and started to move. Then, he started to pick up the coins scattered here and there and put them in one place.

I also followed Hamshik and picked up the coins under the vending machine. Most of them were 100 won coins, but there were also some 500 won coins.

“Okay, now I need a place to put all this stuff. If I just put all this stuff here, even Na-rin-ni will have a hard time picking it up… … . Ah!”

Collecting is collecting. Now, as I was thinking about where to store and transport these, something suddenly occurred to me.

That’s the cookie bag that the crackers were wrapped in. As far as I know, snacks like crackers are usually wrapped in paper, but I think they threw away the paper because it was wasteful, and left only the inner packaging.

But where is that plastic wrapper? Since Hamshik licked the contents clean off his tongue, it would be okay to put in a coin or something.

You might think that ham-sik’s saliva is a bit unpleasant, but it’s really clean all the way to the bottom, and it’s just saliva. As long as you don’t put it in your mouth, it won’t matter.

“Hamshik, wait a minute. I’ll go up and get the snack wrappers.”

So I was just about to leave, when I heard Narin’s voice from outside the pantry, as if she had arrived.

“Namina, are you here? Oh, you’re not here… … ?”

“No one opened the door. Did they go out somewhere?”

We heard voices of panic as we were out of sight, and we saw large shoes pacing back and forth in front of us, restless.

I couldn’t stay down here any longer. I waved my hand as I left under the vending machine.

“Narin-i Unnie! Here, here! There were a lot of coins down there, so I was picking them up!”

“Ah. There you are. Namin, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Huh? You got hurt… … . Oh, because you came riding on your pigeon friend? It’s okay, your pigeon friend flies really well! Hamshik covered you warmly, so you weren’t cold.”

I secretly told her not to go under the vending machine, but I was worried that she would get in trouble if she did. Narin knelt down in front of me and started to shed tears.

“Thank goodness, thank goodness… … . I thought you were doing something wrong, Namin… … .”

I think Narin was really shocked when we left home without any notice.

I called her but she didn’t pick up, so I don’t think it’s my fault. But seeing her worrying about us like that and even crying made me feel uneasy.

“Um, sorry. I just wanted to bring you something my sister dropped… … . If I had called, I would have waited at home, but it seemed important, so I couldn’t help it.”

“Yeah, it’s an important item. Thank you. You must have had a hard time. Aren’t you cold?”

Narin’s hands were warm as she carefully lifted me up. It was warmer inside than outside, but it felt good because the inside of Narin’s hands were definitely much warmer.

“Narin’s hands are warmer than this room. Oh, by the way, we collected all the coins that fell down here. Let’s eat something delicious with them!”

“… … Okay, let’s do that. Let’s eat something delicious for dinner and be happy every day from now on.”

The coins that Hamshik and I had worked hard to collect were taken care of by Narin. The manager was standing behind Narin and looking at her with displeasure, but he didn’t seem to be stopping her, so it seemed like it was okay.

Oh, you really think that they exploited our labor to make money? But it wouldn’t cost that much.

“Ms. Narin. Anyway, the contents of the USB are absolutely… … . You know?”

“Yes, don’t worry. I won’t tell Na-min either.”

“No, if you say it like that, even people who weren’t curious will become more curious!”

While Hamshik, who had followed me, came out little by little and climbed onto Narin’s hand, the manager gave Narin a strong order.

If it’s the contents of the USB, it must be something related to the company. Since you said it’s about hunters, it must be their personal information or business secrets, or something like that.

I’m curious, but I’m not curious about things like that. I’m not an industrial spy or anything.

“It’s okay. You can’t tell your family about work-related secrets, right? That’s how it was at my old place.”

“… … Okay. Thank you for understanding.”

Fortunately, I spoke well, so the manager didn’t scold Na-rin for speaking without thinking.

Phew, I saved Narin from getting scolded twice today. Shouldn’t I get something delicious for dinner tonight?

So I looked forward to it while rubbing Hamshik’s belly in Narin’s hands.

“Hamshik-ah. We’re having something delicious for dinner. What do you want to eat, Hamshik-ah?”

“Tick.”

“Even if you cry like that, I won’t understand. This won’t work. You should learn Korean.”

Hamshik pushed my hand away with his hind leg and then turned around.

Well, I think it’s too much of a request. There’s nothing I can do. I have to give up on this.