episode_0028

“No, why!?”

“Mister, you don’t care? Didn’t you say you didn’t care?”

I could tell at a glance that the old man was flustered. He probably thought I would scold the soldiers or give them a few warnings and then clean up.

The old man sharing a room with me? I didn’t care anyway. It’s not like I have any romantic feelings or anything ridiculous like that for him.

“Sister Danhwa, I’ll just leave the room. Can I sleep in the living room?”

“Why you? Just use that room.”

Lina also seemed quite surprised by my bombshell announcement. It doesn’t matter whether you leave the room or not. What should I do?

“Ms. Danhwa, even if you are close with Mr. Dohoon, it’s a bit much for an unmarried man and woman to share a room…”

“I think you’re mistaken. I don’t see you as a man or anything. You don’t see me as a woman either. Can’t you tell by my usual behavior?”

“Wouldn’t it be better if Do-hoon shared a room with me? I know it might be a little uncomfortable for Do-hoon, but if that’s okay…”

Mr. Cheon Deuk tried to somehow collect what I said. Well, that’s a good method.

But there’s no law that says you can’t change rooms while you’re sleeping. If Lina were to cling to her and ask for a favor, would Cheon Deuk be able to cleanly get it done?

In my opinion, no. Moreover, even if Cheon Deuk had done well, it was 100% certain that he would crawl out in the middle and sleep in the living room because of his personality.

Until Hyeji finishes maintaining the facility.

“No, sir, he sleeps in the same room as me. There is no compromise.”

“No… Over there…”

Lina fidgeted and grabbed her apron. When was she talking so causticly before, and now she’s become a dumb person who’s eaten honey again?

Why, you look upset that you can’t play with your own Long Legs Uncle in the morning?

Then you shouldn’t have messed with me earlier. If you provoke someone and expect them to be okay, aren’t you less human?

Well, I’m still a middle school student now, so I’m still a long way from becoming human.

I felt a little relieved.

It was an immature way to resolve the situation, but what can I do? I am still a girl after all. Sometimes, you have to let go of the heavy burden of being an adult and take advantage of your appearance.

“Sister Danhwa, I’m sorry about earlier. So…”

I stared at Lina intently. Was she sincere? Her eyes were sobbing and tears seemed ready to fall at any moment.

Both the old man and Mr. Cheon Deuk were increasingly embarrassed by Lina’s appearance, and the situation began to become more chaotic.

Everyone was fooled, but I was not fooled.

Even if it wasn’t a bluff and was real, it’s none of my business.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but have you done anything to make me feel sorry? It’s all for your own good. Don’t feel burdened.”

To be honest, I wasn’t declaring that I wanted to monopolize him like some jealous girl. I was just saying that I wanted to isolate him, so I wondered if it was worth making such a fuss about.

Then, without realizing it, the corners of my mouth went up. This was because Lina’s expression changed to a miserable one after hearing what I said.

Tears like chicken poop fell. They were cheap tears. Originally, there was nothing valuable about children except the fact that they were children.

A being that is valuable in itself, but the act itself is not. Right now, that was Lina.

Ah, it’s fun. There’s a reason why you live shorter than others if you compromise. If you just let it go, you won’t feel any stress.

*

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on my door.

“Sister, I baked some cookies… Is it okay if I come in?”

Lina-kun. It was a locked voice. Come to think of it, she cried quite a bit.

I glanced at the old man sitting in the corner of the room like a criminal. Should I let him in or not?

The old man was fidgeting, watching me closely like a puppy that needs to poop. This was the third time Lina had knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

I decided to use my humanity. Even Zhuge Liang was able to make a deal with his lord after much deliberation, so it wouldn’t be the same for me to pay more.

“Oh, yes!!”

The voice was bright. It was the voice of a girl of that age.

I wish this incident had properly established the hierarchical relationship between me and Lina, but unfortunately, girls my age tend to forget even important things as time goes by.

As time goes by, we’ll have to establish discipline again.

When Lina came in, she didn’t look for me, but looked for the old man first. After confirming that the old man was doing well, she turned her gaze to me.

I’m not a witch who eats people.

“I made this because I had some nuts. These are almond cookies…”

The amount was too much for me to eat alone. It seemed like it was made to feed the old man rather than for me.

Lina, who had explained the five types of cookies one by one, placed the plate down in front of me and stood silently. It seemed as if she was waiting for me to properly convey the offering.

They saved my life, gave me a new home, and even fed and put me to bed. I deserve this level of treatment.

I put a few in my mouth, and the richness and sweetness attacked my tongue. There was also a freshness to it, as if it had just been baked, rather than the stale taste typical of canned or preserved foods.

Not bad.

I nodded with satisfaction. Lina looked at my reaction like a contestant on a cooking survival show and let out a sigh of relief.

“So what’s your business?”

Lina glanced at the old man and blushed.

“Can I talk to you alone, sister? As a woman to woman…”

My head was spinning. I already had a feeling of what I was going to say. This isn’t relationship counseling. What is this? This isn’t a meeting of the parents…

That doesn’t mean I have any intention of being a jerk to a kid who comes in with his pride bowed low.

I think I might change my mind after seeing something like ‘Lina’s collection of accumulated karma.avi’.

“Sir, I’ll go out for a bit.”

“Who’s going to get slapped as soon as I leave?”

The old man couldn’t take a step, perhaps because he still felt uneasy.

“If that was what you were thinking, wouldn’t Lina’s cheeks have already been in bad shape, even if you didn’t look at them?”

The old man immediately understood what I said and went out the door. We talked well.

“I’m sorry for being rude. I’m sorry for being presumptuous. I did it because I liked Dohoon oppa.”

Well, that’s a great idea. As a reckless girl, she came up with the logic that it’s because of love, which becomes an invincible shield in limited situations.

Although, it doesn’t seem to be that effective in the current situation.

“I don’t care whether you like me or not.”

Lina’s body trembled. An expression filled with anxiety appeared on her face.

“I was really wrong… But I can’t live without Dohoon oppa.”

Can’t live? Until recently, I was living a happy shelter life with that smart fluffy cat. I don’t know if you know that Hyeji and I occasionally take care of the fluffy cat or the furry cat.

“I won’t even dream of being your wife, nor will I even look down on you. I’m fine with being your concubine…”

“ha?”

What did I just hear? Is this a middle school student? A wife, a concubine? No, even if it’s the apocalypse, how can such words come out of a child who isn’t even precocious?

“Wait a minute, what the hell are you talking about.”

My sense of self-respect collapsed. It was such a blunt statement. She said that she wanted to become a concubine because she couldn’t be the first lady, but when I listened to what she was saying, it sounded like that unwavering first lady was referring to me.

“I’m doing this because I’m mad at you for wagging your tail at me. Every night, you try to make things a fait accompli…”

My head started to spin. It was fortunate that I didn’t feel dizzy.

“You seem to be making a huge mistake. Did you hear what I said earlier correctly?”

“My sister said she’d sleep with you every night from now on…”

Lina managed to spit out the words with difficulty. She bit her lip slightly, as if she couldn’t continue speaking.

I didn’t say anything like that, I just said I would let you sleep in my room.

There is an unbridgeable gap between letting her sleep in my room and sleeping with my uncle.

“That’s what Uncle Cheon-deuk and Unnie Hye-ji said. I made Unnie Dan-hwa mad, so that’s why this happened. Unnie Hye-ji explained everything. And if you like me that much, you should ask Unnie Dan-hwa for permission to have a concubine.”

“…”

Hyeji, this crazy bitch… what the hell did she say to that kid?

“Everything you said, everything you’re thinking right now is a delusion, so just shut up. It gives me a headache every time I hear it. I’m telling you clearly, I’m not against a man dating a younger woman. It’s annoying when I see it, but what can I do? A man and a woman are dating.”

“?”

Lina’s eyes widened as if she didn’t understand what I was saying.

“But I’m not saying that I won’t pretend not to know that a child who hasn’t even reached adulthood is doing all kinds of things with you. The most important thing is that you and I don’t have the kind of relationship that you think we have. We just share the same shelter and do activities together.”

Lina made a dubious expression. I felt like my stomach was going to burst. You don’t believe this? As I showed my frustration, Lina’s expression began to brighten.

“Then…?”

“Just keep the line. I don’t care if you become close to me or get engaged. I just don’t want you to see me doing dirty things until you grow up.”

In my opinion, it would take at least four years for Lina to mature mentally and develop the eye to choose the right husband.

Even then, if you like the old man, then do as you please… To be honest, I just hoped that Lina would find out the truth about the old man before then and become disillusioned.

I had already grown mentally for a long time, and my body was more than at least an adult’s size, so I could grasp the old man’s true nature, so there was no such thing.

I don’t know who would take that human as a companion, but wouldn’t he be one of the top ten unluckiest people in the world?