episode_0039

“Don’t you think it’s really too much?”

“…Ahaha.”

Yuna smiled vaguely after hearing Sujin’s words.

Lunch hour.

As before, he was sitting in his seat at the back of the school, forgetting his packed lunch as usual.

Two people from different grades did not have many opportunities to meet in school except after school, so they often met during lunch hours like this.

Soojin was the one leading the conversation, and Yuna was the one listening.

This was because, unlike others, Yuna had little memory of playing normally, so there was relatively nothing she could talk about.

“This morning too, they were talking only among themselves, leaving me alone, and it was really too much. Am I an invisible person? ”

And the current topic of conversation between the two was what happened at home today.

If I were to be precise, it was about their older brother, Han Yu-seong.

“Well, maybe there were circumstances we didn’t know about?”

“I know that, but…”

Sujin grumbled.

They are not blind.

About a week ago, he stayed up all night to pick up Hayun and Younha, who didn’t come home from school late, and just yesterday, even though it was a weekday, they didn’t go to school and headed somewhere together.

A situation where even a fool could clearly see that something had happened.

Nevertheless, Yuna and Sujin remained silent as if they had made a promise.

Because the faces of the children who returned home were red and swollen, as if to prove that they had cried a lot.

However, the children’s faces, filled with tear stains, seemed infinitely bright, as if they were crying because of something sad.

While watching that, I had a subconscious intuition.

Oh, I thought, even if you ask me, they’ll give me a vague answer and won’t give me an unconditional answer.

That’s why I didn’t bother to ask.

“We live together, so if we share some secrets, what good will there be?”

“…Ahaha.”

So all Yuna could do was listen to Sujin’s complaints.

“Last time too, he went out to play with Jina without me knowing, chewed on my words, and then went to the amusement park with the youngest. Honestly, don’t you think it’s discrimination?”

“I didn’t go either.”

“Sister also has an excuse that it is because of her part-time job. How bored I was at home alone on the weekend.”

That was something Yuna sympathized with to some extent.

I don’t know why, but Yoosung wanted to keep his distance from Sujin.

If even Yuna, who is only a third party, feels that way, how great is the loneliness felt by Sujin, the person involved.

However, that doesn’t mean I can’t recommend him to go out with Jin-ah. I saw with my own eyes how much trouble Yoosung suffered from his younger siblings after the two of them went out to play.

I couldn’t do such a sorry thing again.

“Now that you think about it, how about a part-time job?”

“Well, should I just say it’s okay? I feel relatively at ease because I work with a lady.”

“You know.”

There, Sujin whispered to Yuna in a secret voice as if she was telling a secret.

“Can I work there too?”

“Is that a cafe with a lady?”

“Yes. I wanted to try it too. I think it would be fun to make something like coffee.”

“It doesn’t matter…”

As Yuna was speaking up to that point, a memory from the past suddenly passed through her mind.

After granting Sujin’s request to cook for her family, a terrible tragedy occurred that evening.

“…Sister?”

“Uh…”

When I think about it, there was something a little strange.

According to Yoo-seong, the cafe ‘The Blue’ run by Han Chae-yeon was suffering from a chronic lack of manpower until Yu-na arrived.

Elementary school students get a pass because part-time work is prohibited by law, and Jina gets a pass because she is busy with side activities.

Then what about Sujin?

From what I saw while working with her, she didn’t do any club activities and went straight home after school, so she had relatively plenty of time.

But why has Sujin never been offered a part-time job?

“So…”

When Yuna realized the reason, she fell into trouble.

Leave the coffee making to Sujin, who turns ordinary dishes into hell…

Wouldn’t it be reported right away if we use spoiled ingredients?

The shock I felt that day was too great to just ignore it and say it was okay because it was coffee.

But to Sujin, your cooking skills are actually the worst. It’s impossible to say that.

“…Wouldn’t this mean that you should study harder?”

In the end, after thinking about it for a while, Yuna chose to avoid it.

“Sister…?”

“Ah, it’s already time…! If I don’t eat quickly, lunch will be over.”

Yuna tried to ignore Sujin’s suspicious look.

**

“here here. It’s really delicious.”

After school, Sujin mentioned that there was a place she wanted Yuna to come with.

I was curious about what kind of place it was, so I went there…

“..Snack restaurant?”

“Do you hate tteokbokki?”

“Ugh. No, I tend to like it.”

Snacks, which are cheap and relatively plentiful, were a favorite menu item for Yuna when she was in the facility.

The memory of eating tteokbokki worth 2,000 won at a food stall that was often sold on the street with children from the facility pooling their money together became quite a happy memory for Yuna.

“Yes. thank god. I was worried about what would happen if I didn’t like it.”

I follow Sujin, who smiles reassuringly, into the store.

The store, located quite far from the school, was quiet with few customers.

“Is Sujin here? Shall I give you what I always eat today?”

“Please come with me and give me two.”

“Yes. I got it.”

The lady at the store, who was dealing with another customer, saw Sujin and pretended to know her.

He said he goes there often and it seems to be true.

The lady went to the kitchen without even taking the order and immediately served the dish to the table where the two were sitting.

“…?”

“It’s called rice cake order, and it’s very convenient because you don’t have to bother ordering every single thing.”

Sujin explained to Yuna, who was puzzled when she saw the bowl filled with unidentifiable red lumps on the table.

“Ah, this is what is called Tteokttusun. It was my first time seeing it.”

“Well, I think this is the only place I’ve seen that sells tteoktwisun.”

Sujin laughed out loud, saying she was surprised at first too.

‘It’s a little strange.’

Looking at Sujin like that, Yuna suddenly had this question.

There were many snack bars other than this one in front of the school.

But I don’t know why I brought her to a snack bar in such a secluded area, a 20-minute walk away.

Was it because I really wanted to eat Tteoktwasun?

It was definitely delicious.

The fried food and the chewy texture of the sundae, which did not lose its crispness despite being covered in tteokbokki sauce, were definitely delicious.

But that’s it.

I didn’t feel a taste that could be considered very special.

In fact, the snacks I had previously eaten at the facility even tasted better.

The inside of the store was too quiet to say it was simply a matter of personal taste.

Aside from them, the only people there are a man and a woman who look like a couple and a man in sloppy clothes who is ordering some ramen and watching a video on his cell phone.

Considering that it happens to be after 5 o’clock, which is the peak time for customers, you can objectively see that the food at this restaurant is not that good.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, nothing.”

After thinking for a moment, Yuna shook her head.

I experienced Sujin’s strange taste once before.

Because she is that kind of person, she may have felt a unique taste that is not known to the general public.

I was overthinking it.

“But isn’t this place too far to go often?”

“It’s definitely a disadvantage.”

“It doesn’t matter to me, but I think it would be uncomfortable if someone else comes with me.”

“If that’s the case, don’t worry. Because I always came alone.”

Sujin, who had red tteokbokki sauce on her mouth, spoke in a calm voice.

Yuna was a little surprised when she heard that.

“It’s not that I’m alone, it’s something else. I guess I should just say that I had no choice but to come because other kids don’t really like tteokbokki.”

Sujin tried to evade the words just now, probably because they came out unconsciously.

When I think about it again, in the few weeks I have been living with Sujin, I have never witnessed her meeting other friends.

Together when going to school, together at lunch, and together when leaving school.

At first, I thought it was simply a consideration for him who was having a hard time adjusting to the sudden transfer, but it turned out to be a little different.

“…You know.”

“Huh?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

Yuna, who was about to ask a question that came to mind at the moment, immediately hesitated.

I thought too much about this too.

Objectively, Sujin was bullied by anyone and there was no reason for her to do so.

They are bright, cheerful, and so sociable that they are the first ones to approach you when you first come home.

It’s ridiculous that she doesn’t have any friends.

He must simply be secretly caring for her, as I first thought.

but…

‘That’s right. ‘Because only people who were not accepted by the facility or the orphanage came here.’

‘…yes?’

‘It means that it is a place where only people who have serious disqualifications and cannot live there gather.’

Was it just a coincidence that at this moment, I was reminded of the story I told Han Yu-sung the night I moved into the share house?