episode_0041

“Ah, good. I’m full and… sleepy… .”

After finishing cleaning up neatly, I lay down on the shiny bed that I had just cleaned with a mop.

The woman took the man, whose face was red from drinking, into the house, and Seo-hu also took the dishes to wash and went back to his room. It would be nice if you came out and talked to him.

“They say if you eat and lie down, you’ll get fat.”

“Today is fine. Okay, Mirae, do you want to lie down next to Mom?”

He spread out his arms and told her to lie down next to him. It was never his intention to drag the future into the pit of corruption together, but it was an act born of a kind heart that wanted to share good things.

Let’s see if you can keep nagging while lying down.

“I want to lie down… .”

Mirae’s righteous mind was quickly broken. Mirae rested her head on my arm and closed her eyes gently. Her empty side was slowly becoming warm.

“If you’re jealous, do it with Narin too?”

It was so quiet that I wondered what she was doing, so I looked to see, and Hanna Yeon was just sitting blankly at my feet.

“I, I won’t do it.”

“… I know.”

Narin, who had been smiling happily at us, shrank down, and Hannayeon nodded and soon turned her gaze to the sky.

“Hanna Yeon.”

“Why.”

“Did you have fun while you were in France?”

“So-so.”

So-so. Hanna Yeon, who usually answers with ‘yes’ or ‘no’, blurted out four words. It means that her life in France was very enjoyable and rewarding.

“Thank goodness.”

As I was staring blankly at the moon floating alone in the dim night sky, thinking with all my heart, a mischievous question suddenly occurred to me.

“Then which do you like better, Stella or France?”

A childish question like, “Mom likes it, Dad likes it.” But for Hanna Yeon, who is serious about everything, it will be a difficult choice.

“… Stella.”

However, Hanna Yeon’s answer came back sooner than expected.

“Why? Because I’m here?”

Plan A failed, so we immediately pulled out Plan B.

But there was one thing I overlooked here.

“… Yeah.”

The fact was that the opponent was Hanna Yeon.

The person who spews out all sorts of embarrassing remarks without fail is none other than Hanna Yeon. I was a fool to think she would be flustered by a question as small as this.

“Mom, do you talk like that to other people too?”

As I was blaming myself for asking for nothing, Mirae turned her head towards me. Her purple eyes, shining softly under the night sky, looked even more beautiful today. No, our Mirae is always pretty.

“That’s how it is? Mom doesn’t really talk to other people.”

It was true. Of course, due to the nature of my job, I have no choice but to talk a lot, but I don’t have personal conversations or jokes like I do now.

“… … .”

For a moment, silence descended. Mirae was the first to avoid my gaze, and Hannayeon, as well as Nalin, whom I trusted, awkwardly turned their heads away.

“Ah, no, if I’m sad, I’ll be so miserable! K, talk to the guild people! I mean, don’t talk to strangers… .”

I shouted in the brightest tone possible. But, as they say, a strong denial is an affirmation. I felt like I was digging my own grave.

“Don’t talk about it again.”

The eyes of the future had already turned back to me.

A single word with obvious possessiveness. It was a word that completely washed away the anxiety that had been lingering in a corner.

I was always anxious. The day Mirae was kidnapped by the chairman, the day it was completely revealed that she wasn’t my real mother. From that day on, I’ve been worried that Mirae might suddenly leave at any moment.

But it was all just a rumor.

In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that I depend on Mirae to this extent. I know that very well. But what can I do when Mirae is the only family left by my side?

I still need a future. I guess you could say I’m not ready to be separated from the future. It’s funny that a mother with a high school daughter is already worrying about this.

“Why? Mirae doesn’t like her mom talking to other people?”

“That’s not it… .”

If it were like before, I would have nodded without even thinking about it. It’s a bit disappointing that the older I get, the less cute I become in the future.

“Mom, what do you think if someone asks you if you’re happy with me?”

He wiggled his eyebrows and thought, “What do you think?”

If you do it among friends, it can show off your friendship. If you do it among lovers, it can strengthen your affection. If you do it among family, it can be passed off as a casual joke.

The reaction will vary depending on the situation….

“Oh, no, you know that’s not what I meant. Right, Hannah? We’ve been friends for years.”

I noticed the strange airflow and hurriedly waved my hand. Does Mirae still think I like women? Of course, I can’t completely deny it… But Hanna Yeon feels different.

We are friends who transcend gender. Not only gender, but also distance.

Of course, it’s hard for me not to be aware of it, so I sometimes get flustered, but Hanna Yeon acts indifferently as if she doesn’t think much of me. If she was aware that we were more than friends, she would never have done that.

“Hanna Yeon?”

But why isn’t Hanna Yeon answering? Did she think I was the only one who was her friend?

“… Why.”

Fortunately, it seems that wasn’t the case. Hanna Yeon, who sat there blankly and answered belatedly. It’s understandable that she would be tired after a long-distance flight.

Actually, I was starting to feel cold too.

“Shall I go in?”

I secretly wanted to hear a definite answer that we were friends, but I couldn’t do it because I was afraid that it would look bad if I asked persistently.

Well, there is no need to define the type of friend in words. If they are not friends, there is no way they would come to see me as soon as I returned to my country.

* * *

“Then I’ll sleep in the future room.”

Hanna Yeon and Na Rin decided to stay at our house for now. This was because we had sold the house we were living in before moving to France.

They said they’re going to stay at a hotel starting tomorrow and look for a room, but if the future is okay, I wanted to have them stay at my house for the time being. I thought it would be fun.

“No, I’ll sleep in my mom’s room.”

As I left the room with my pillow, Mirae, who was holding her pillow in her arms, pushed me back in.

A girl in the middle of puberty volunteered to rent out her room. Who on earth raised her to become such an angel?

“Are you okay?”

“I always sleep in my mom’s room anyway. Now my room is uncomfortable.”

It was indeed not a wrong statement.

Even though I remodeled the empty room into a future room, Mirae always comes to my room to sleep. I feel bad about wasting the new bed I bought, but since it’s better to sleep with someone than alone, Mirae’s room naturally ended up being neglected.

“Is it okay for you, Unnie? You can sleep in my room.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The room problem has been solved.

Come to think of it, Mirae had brought out a pillow, so there was only one pillow left on the bed. Fortunately, I guess it’s not like we have a shortage of pillows in our house.

“Hanna Yeon, which is better, the pillow I sleep on or the pillow I hug?”

I picked up the pillow that was on my bed. When I leave the room, I naturally take the pillow I sleep on, but when I think about it, it can be a very sensitive issue.

Especially the pillow he was sleeping on. Just in case Hannah Yeon had chosen it, he carefully checked to see if there were any marks on it, and even held it up to his face to check its smell.

“I’ll use Mom’s pillow too.”

Whether or not he was bothered by the pillow-checking process, Mirae returned and gave Hanna Yeon her own pillow.

“Oh, really?”

The future seems to have used the pillow so cleanly that it doesn’t need to be checked. This makes me feel like I’ve become a dirty person. Anyway, I have mixed feelings.

“Then shall we wash now… . Hanna Yeon, do you want to wash first?”

“No, unpack first.”

“What about Narin?”

“Ah, wash first! I’ll unpack and wash with my sister.”

Hannayeon and Nalin taking out clothes from their carriers. In contrast to Hannayeon, who was taking out everything she could get her hands on, Nalin’s carrier, which was lying on the floor, had clothes neatly folded into squares.

I also need to take out the clothes the chairman sent me.

A large box left next to the sofa. If I open it now, the living room will definitely become a mess, so I should wash up quickly and come out to open it.

“Miraeya, are you going to wash first? I think I should wash early today?”

The average time it takes for the future to take a bath is long. On the other hand, I finish it much faster because of the habit I have developed. I shampoo, cleanse, apply body wash, and then I just spray water on the shower head and that’s it.

Well, it’ll take a while for the future to come out, so maybe Hanna Yeon is helping out?

“Let’s wash together.”

“… Huh?”

But I couldn’t do that because Mirae grabbed my wrist. When I looked back in confusion, Mirae added a word and grabbed me.

“Then the sisters will wash too.”

“Oh, is that so?”

It certainly made sense, no, it was a good idea.

I often followed Mirae along at a walking pace and smiled brightly.

“It’s been a while since we showered together, right? ”

“Okay… .”

It wasn’t that we avoided it on purpose. As time went by, the bathtub became too big for the two of us, and there was only one shower, which was too much of a hassle to take a bath together.

But it’s not that it’s impossible. Sometimes it’s okay for a mother and daughter to bond in a small bathroom. In other families, that would be a normal part of everyday life.

“Mom, is your belly fat sticking out?”

“Ahhh…! What, what kind of belly fat!”

I hung up my clothes and stood in front of the mirror, and Mirae, who was standing behind me, pinched my stomach.

At the moment of pinching, it is already out. In fact, I could feel a little volume in the flesh that was caught in the future’s hand.

Chocolate milk… . Since I basically have an office job where I sit for long hours, I always drink chocolate milk after work.

But isn’t this something that everyone has?

“Can we catch the future too? Well, look.”

I quickly turned around and put my fingers on the snow-white abdomen of the future, but my thumb and index finger, which I had ambitiously spread open, deciding to grab a handful, ended up closing in midair, contrary to my expectations.

“… Can’t catch it?”

“Because I’m different from everyone else.”

Mirae snorted, pushing her black hair past her shoulders.

No, people need to stick out their bellies a bit! What if they don’t have any fat and don’t look human?

“Who is that daughter? She’s really pretty. I don’t know, Mom, I want to wash up.”

This is clearly revenge for me lying down right after eating. Mirae scolded me. So she must have grabbed my hidden belly fat to prove that she was right.

I sat down on the bathtub, gulping down the Torazin tea. Then I squeezed a handful of shampoo into my palm and roughly massaged it into my hair.

‘Mom is upset, so calm her down quickly!’

Even I think it’s really childish and obvious behavior.

“I’ll close it for you. Close your eyes.”

“Oh, Mom is going to close it.”

My mouth and hands were talking separately. Before I knew it, my hands had settled on my thighs. To tell the truth, my mouth couldn’t hold back its laughter and kept giggling.

“I like moms with a belly too.”

“Well, I guess I should still exercise… ?”

“Yeah. It’s okay if my stomach sticks out, but I don’t want Mom to get sick.”

My small vessel feels ashamed at the warm voice of the future. I was so petty that I sulked over something I said out of concern for my mother’s health.

“Then, after dinner, shall we go for a walk? No… maybe I should go jogging… .”

As I was seriously planning my exercise routine with a reflective mind, Mirae’s hand that was washing my hair suddenly stopped.

“Future, what’s wrong? What’s wrong… .”

After a long pause, I slowly opened my eyes and asked. At the same time, I saw Mirae’s expression and froze in place, holding my breath.

The cold, sunken eyes reflected in the mirror. The thin, white fingers trembled slightly and reached for the nape of her neck. Soon, a cool sensation touched her skin, and Mirae’s lips, which had been tightly shut, slowly parted.

“What is this…?”

The place that Future’s hand was groping was the place where I was bitten by Serika Tachibana.