episode_0030

When you eat at a Korean restaurant, you often end up with fried rice. Whether it’s pork belly, dakgalbi, or other dishes. That’s why many people jokingly call fried rice dessert.

But even if you can’t stir-fry it, mixing rice with the remaining seasoning is still dessert.

Just as there is a separate stomach for rice and snacks, Hamsik and Narin each ate a portion of vegetable tripe and still ate more rice.

Then Hamshik showed an unusual sight. He lay down with his stomach exposed.

The sight of his belly rising and falling, so bloated, made it seem as if he was barely breathing. I caressed Hamshik, who was now completely defenseless.

“Hehe, now is the time. Is there a day when even Hamshik gets full? You can’t even move right now, right? It’s okay if I just pat you?”

“Cheeee… … .”

Hamshik let out a loud scream for the first time. Hearing that, both I and Narin laughed heartily.

Then, Narin, whose face was flushed from the alcohol, lay down next to us and said.

“Haa. Good. It feels so good to have someone at home. Sometimes I get really lonely when I’m home alone after work, but it’s so good when I’m with you guys.”

“Oh, right, I see. Are you living away from your mom and dad?”

“Yeah. Because of work. If I take the bus or subway, my commute time is two hours a day, so I thought it would be better to just live near work. Especially in the past, housing prices were expensive, but these days, it’s not that hard to find a studio apartment.”

“Aha. It must not have been easy living alone. You’re amazing. You said that Na-rin did all the cooking and housework by herself.”

I did have my own room in my past life, but I can’t call it my own living space. So I thought it was amazing that Narin was doing something I’d never done before.

Because I was sick, I always needed someone to take care of me, and the military was originally a group life.

I never had the opportunity to become completely independent and take care of all my own food, clothing, and shelter.

To me, who vaguely yearned for independence, Narin was a wonderful person who could do things that I couldn’t do.

But Narin scratched her head and smiled awkwardly.

“Hehe, no. I’m independent in name only, but my mom comes often and gives me side dishes and stuff. She buys me clothes too… … I don’t cook much at home either. It’s like I just live in a single room a little bit away from home.”

“Aha. I guess you live close to your family. Oh, so someday I can meet your mother?”

“Not close. But Mom, even though it must be hard, comes carrying a bundle and gives me cold food and leaves, and I whine, asking why I brought such a heavy thing… … . Ah, I miss Mom. Na-min, do you want to see Mom together now?”

“Like!”

I briefly worried that maybe it was a secret that Narin had brought me into the house, so I should hide when Narin’s mother came. Fortunately, it seemed that wasn’t the case.

But since we were watching it together now, I was happy and agreed, but when I thought about it, I started to worry again.

Surely you wouldn’t just leave the house drunk? Come to think of it, my commute from home is two hours a day.

If I go out and come back at this time, Narin won’t have enough time to sleep today. Will she be able to go to work safely tomorrow?

The moment I was about to bring up the subject, thinking that I should stop him now, Narin took out her cell phone and made a call.

Oh, right. There was a video call. Just like the one we had at work, Narin wanted to call her mother with that.

After a couple of ringtones, a middle-aged woman’s voice came from Narin’s cell phone.

[Narin? What are you doing at this hour? What, are you drinking again? Mom told me to stop drinking.]

“Hey, I only drink once in a while, what? You said you drank it in a week.”

[A week? You’ve been drinking every time you call your mom for a week or two? Surely you’re not calling your mom drunk, Narin?]

“Oh, then I have to drink every day to see Mom often.”

[Isn’t there any option to call without drinking? Gosh, I’m an idiot for teaching you how to drink after you took the college entrance exam. I thought you wouldn’t drink because it’s bitter, but I’m shocked to see you drinking because it’s sweet and you like the tangy taste. But it’s nice to see your face. How are you?]

It was a warm conversation, even though it seemed like a bit of a fight. It was something I had never experienced in my past life.

Of course, my mother and father in my previous life were kind to me. They helped me in every way, telling me to do whatever I wanted before I died.

But because I was sick, I couldn’t say anything harsh to them. There’s something admirable about the parent-child relationship where they treat each other without hesitation.

“Yeah. Hehe. Oh, Mom. I have a little sister?”

[A younger sister? Suddenly? No, you didn’t have a daughter?]

“Oh, should I have adopted her as my daughter…? …? No, but I’ve never dated before getting married, so wouldn’t it be a bit weird to adopt her as my daughter?”

[What on earth are you talking about, Narin? Stop making that sound and explain to me.]

“Ta-da!”

But Narin also pulled me into it. Into that loving family.

Since I was already listening intently to their conversation, I waved eagerly at Narin, who suddenly pointed her phone camera at me.

First impressions are good and it’s something to see.

“Hello! I’m Na-min, adopted by Na-rin! Oh, and this is Ham-shik.”

As I waved my hand vigorously and introduced Hamshik, a woman who looked like she might become like Narin on the other side of the screen in about 10 years tilted her head back.

[Oh, yeah. Nice to meet you. But am I seeing things wrong? Something seems off with the perspective… … . Can a hamster and a person be the same size? Or is the hamster just bigger?]

Aha. So that’s why I’m acting like that because I’m so small.

I laughed at that absurd sight, and Narin also laughed and took a seat behind me, as if she wanted to be caught on camera with us.

“Ahaha, Mom. Nami is small. Someone left her on the street with Hamshik, so I brought her here because I thought she’d freeze to death if I was even a little late.”

[A kid who’s busy taking care of your own safety… … . Yeah, but you did a good job. But you can’t just leave them to die, they’re precious lives. But you really took her in as your younger sister? Is it that easy to put her on the family register?]

“Yeah. Since anyone can see that I’m not human, I submitted my documents as a naturalized citizen by claiming that I’m from another dimension. That’s how I was able to receive the subsidy.”

[I guess that system is well-established these days. Still, make sure to keep receipts for every time you use the subsidy. Last time, my mom’s friend’s son used it to buy a game or something and had to pay the money back right away.]

“Mu, of course. Surely I would spend my Namin support money on games? On the contrary, I have to feed the kids, so I stop spending money on games… … , oh.”

[What the heck. Narin, were you really into a game? What game is it? Tell me your ID.]

“Ahaha, Mom, I think I should wash up and go to bed now. I have to go to work tomorrow. I’ll call you again later. Don’t catch a cold!”

Narin, who was having a fun conversation, quietly leaned her phone against the plate of vegetable tripe we were eating and left the table. It seemed like she was afraid of getting in trouble.

And then he really went to wash up. Maybe he just left because he felt it was a bit awkward to hang up the phone first?

[Oh my, Mom told me to save all my paycheck except for what I need. Unlike when Mom and Dad were together, now if I just save money, buying a house is no longer a dream. Hey, did he really go to the shower?]

When Narin’s mother started hearing the sound of water, she started muttering to herself in disbelief, and I just laughed along with her. They say you can’t spit in a smiling face.

As I expected, Narin’s mother just sighed and spoke to me again with a smile on her face.

[Yeah, it’s cold, so I’m glad that Na-rin caught my eye. If Na-rin’s younger sister, she’s like my daughter. I’ll go see her sometime. Na-min and Ham-shik, stay warm too.]

“Yes, ma’am, you too, be careful not to catch a cold!”

[You should call me Mom.]

I paused for a moment at those words. Honestly, I thought that Narin introducing me to her mother was because she was drunk, and that her mother was just going along with the rhythm.

And Narin thinks of me as her little sister, but I thought other people would just think of me as a talking, human-like pet.

I was taken aback that he accepted me as his daughter so readily. First of all, we weren’t even related by blood.

And I also thought that if I called her mom now, wouldn’t I be abandoning my family from my past life?

… … But my previous life is already dead, so memories should remain as memories only.

And in fact, you could have two mothers, so it wouldn’t be exactly like a betrayal, right?

So, I smiled brightly and bowed my head in joy at having a loving mother again.

“Yes, Mom!”

[Oh my, how polite. Okay, I’ll go up soon.]

Ti-rong. The phone call ended after we exchanged greetings. But my heart was still pounding, and I couldn’t calm down, so I hugged the poor Ham-shik and rolled around.

“Hamshik-ah, our mom is born!”

But Hamshik seemed to be annoyed because he was so full, even though he was a mom. He just pushed me away with his foot.

I can’t help it. Since Hamshik won’t play with me, I’ll play with what I planned.

While Narin and Hamshik were mixing their rice, I also secretly stuck a grain of pure white rice under the plate.

I took it off again and started fiddling with it with my hands.

I think it would be better if we did it with a needle, but since Narin is washing up right now, let’s ask for that later.

First, I’m going to make the hamster lying in front of me. I’ll make the head shape first, then the ears, and then the torso, belly, and legs.

Perhaps because it was the first time I made it, it only had a very rough shape. But even so, if I say ham-sik, it is recognizable as Narindo ham-sik.

I wonder if I have a talent for this kind of sculpture? If I practice, won’t I be able to make more elaborate ham-siks?

When I was chewing on the rice, Hamshik’s eyes seemed to follow me. He was already quite full, so he didn’t show any greed for even a single grain of rice.

“Hamshik-ah. Is this you?”

“Kieee… … .”

“Don’t you think so? Let’s ask what Na-rin-ni-unnie says when she comes out.”

Hamshik closed his eyes no matter what I said. He was full and his back was warm, so he was starting to feel sleepy.

Meanwhile, Narin peeked her head out of the bathroom.

“Did Mom hang up the phone? Namin, should we shower together? The hot water is coming out now.”

“Yes! Oh, sis! I made this ham!”

“Uh… …. Sister, my feet are wet right now. Can I wash them and go out so we can watch together?”

“Yes, good! Hamshik, wash up and go to bed.”

“Kieee… … .”

Hamshik was just lying there, not even bothering to move. But I have the strength to move Hamshik.

When Hamshik dragged us to the bathroom holding both hands, Narin lifted us up.

Even Hamshik, who was too lazy to wash, had fun playing in the water when water was poured into the sink.

I guess he was upset that I pulled him in and he spurted water, but I guess it was fun anyway.

So after finishing the shower that would end the day like that, I came out feeling refreshed with Narin and was going to show off the ham dish I made with rice porridge.

The rice ball ham was shriveled.

“Eeee! The rice is dried up!”