episode_0047

Perhaps it was because she thought she had passed the interview well, but Na-rin felt like she could enjoy the seolleongtang that came out not long after ordering.

“These days, it seems like these kinds of noodles come out faster than most fast food restaurants.”

“Yeah, that’s right. We used to do that all the time when we were kids. These days, if you order a hamburger, you have to wait 20 minutes, but things like seolleongtang or galbitang come out in less than 5 minutes. I said, “Shouldn’t we change between fast food and slow food?” ”

“Wow, I guess people all think the same.”

In reality, specialty soup restaurants put their famous dishes on top of soup that is already boiling, and hamburgers are cooked only after an order is placed.

There was no need for such analysis for the two mother and daughter who were just joking around. They would soon move on to another topic anyway.

The waiter who was bringing out the food placed a pot of seolleongtang in front of Na-min’s mother and Na-rin, then stopped with the remaining one. After seeing Ham-sik and Na-min slowly climbing onto the table, he filled the empty seats with a relieved expression.

It seems that this wasn’t the first time that a small person like Namin or a small animal like Hamshik had come as a guest.

You could say that he is a truly unbiased employee. Perhaps, even if a stone statue appears and you order from him, he will take your order without changing his expression and serve it to you.

“Hamshik-ah, it’s Seolleongtang, Seolleongtang. This earthenware pot is very hot, so don’t touch it.”

When their share of food came out, Namin showed Hamshik how to eat it as if she were really his older sister.

Whether it was the aftereffects of being in the lab or not, Hamshik is unusually smart, so whether he understood what I said or not, he wouldn’t approach the pot rashly as Namin said.

“Meal?”

… … Narin thought so, but Hamshik seemed to be the type to learn wisdom through direct experience.

He put his hand lightly on the pot, then quickly pulled it away, as if he was preparing to scream something, but then stopped.

At that point, I just touched the pot to scream “Kkieeeek”, but wasn’t it a reaction like that because it wasn’t as hot as I thought?

Hamshik put his hand on the bowl of seolleongtang again. Last time, he took his hand away as soon as he touched it, but this time, it seemed okay to just leave it there.

I wondered if it was really hot, so I followed Narin and put my hand into the pot. It was hot, but not hot enough to burn my hand.

When I actually tried to do that, I felt embarrassed because I thought I was doing exactly the same thing as Hamshik. Fortunately, everyone was looking at Hamshik and not me, so I didn’t even feel embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Namin was carrying the dishes placed on one side of the table in her arms: a pepper shaker, a salt shaker, and a paper bag containing green onions.

“Hamshik-ah, wait a minute. This is eaten with salt, pepper, and green onions.”

“Is it okay for a ham-eater to eat that kind of thing?”

“Uh… … . Will it be okay?”

It seemed that Na-min still thought that all hamsters were the same. Na-min’s mother turned her face towards Na-rin with a puzzled expression.

“I’ll explain it to you later,” Na-rin whispered. It was something she didn’t want Na-min to hear.

Just as Na-min was worried about what to say to her mother and how she should live in the future when she came to see her mother, Narin also had something to worry about.

Should I tell Namin about how I was before she came to me, or not? That.

If Na-min’s mother hadn’t accepted Na-min, the story would have been simple. It was a story that didn’t need to be told, so they would have just comforted Na-min and ended the story.

But neither Narin nor Namin wanted that. Namin’s mother saw traces of her son from a previous life in Namin, and because of that, Narin had to bring up the story that she had not yet decided on.

Of course it’s a good thing. I’m happy because both Na-min and Na-min’s mother can be happy. But the fact that it’s a headache doesn’t change.

As Narin’s expression became serious, Namin’s mother’s expression naturally hardened as well.

He seemed to be acting up and fussing over the sight of the spoiled child, perhaps because he didn’t want to ruin the mood in front of the child he had barely managed to get back.

“Oh my. Is that how Hamshik usually eats by himself? He even uses chopsticks.”

“Hehe, Hamshik is good at using forks and spoons. He doesn’t eat with them, but uses them like bowls.”

It was just as Namin said. Hamsik stirred the inside of the pot with his chopsticks to get some noodles, put one strand in his mouth, and started sucking it up.

The broth, the noodles, everything was so white that I had to guess what was going in it from Hamshik’s mouth, which was mumbling.

That didn’t last long, and soon the noodles showed their ends outside of the soup and were sucked into Hamshik’s mouth.

As the first sacrifice occurred, Namin began to suck up a single strand of cotton as if she couldn’t stand it.

That happened to be the same strand of noodles that Hamshik had bitten next. As they were sucking on the noodles, their lips naturally turned towards each other.

“Muuu!”

Hamshik continues to suck on the noodles without thinking, while Namin is startled and tries to step back.

In the end, Na-min was barely able to escape Ham-shik’s kiss after cutting the noodles. If Na-min felt that Ham-shik was wearing a proud expression, could it be Na-rin’s illusion?

The noodles, which were cut off and the soup splashed in the air, entered Hamshik’s mouth. The soup splashed by the soundless noodle-slicing fell on the loser with a thud.

“Eww. I’m sorry, Na-rin. Ham-shik spilled all the soup here.”

“It’s okay. The clothes just need to be washed. The seolleongtang and the handkerchief are white, so it won’t show.”

“Hehe, that’s good. Okay, Hamshik. You eat the rest of the noodles. I’ll eat the rice. I’ll pour the radish soup into the soup too.”

“Keeek!”

“Just kidding, just kidding. I won’t pour the soup.”

In the end, Hamshik screams as expected at Namin’s prank. It wasn’t loud enough to be heard outside, but it was enough to startle Namin’s mother.

“Oh my. Hamshik really understands what people say?”

“If you look at it, it seems like that might be the case.”

“Hehe, Hamshik is smart. But seeing him always ignoring what I say, I don’t think he’ll reach out even if I ask him to.”

Somewhere between boasting and shame. But Hamsik paid no attention to it and enjoyed the leisure of a winner.

But after eating all that rice, Namin said she was full after eating one spoonful and left the rest to Hamshik.

Hamshik was always the one who stole half of what others ate, but today, he overcame Namin and confidently fought for the food.

I scoop up some rice on my spoon and eat it all up, diligently. Then I scoop up another spoonful of rice soaked in the milky soup and eat it again.

Of course, if he did that, he would eat slower than a person. Strangely enough, by the time Na-rin and Na-min’s mother finished eating, Ham-shik had emptied the bowl so cleanly that you could see the bottom.

“Keeek… … . New liquid, new liquid.”

Meanwhile, listening to the stories of Na-rin and Na-min’s mother, Na-min fell into a deep sleep in the warm seolleongtang restaurant thanks to the hot boiler.

Hamshik had clearly finished all the Seolleongtang, which was larger than his body, and now he was licking the corner of his mouth with his tongue, looking at the broth that Narin had not eaten.

Namin’s mother smiled warmly at the sight of such a peaceful scene.

There was no way to bring up the story unless Na-min was asleep. So, on this occasion, Na-rin quietly brought up the story.

“Mom. Have you seen the news lately? It’s about the illegal research lab.”

“Yeah, I saw it. There must be few people who don’t know. … … You’re telling me that story now, right? ”

Na-min’s mother was quick-witted. Based on the strange intelligence that Ham-sik had already shown and what Na-rin had said earlier about picking up Na-min and Ham-sik, she had already put the puzzle together in her head.

Do all parents become superhumans in front of their children? Thinking so, Narin nodded heavily and answered.

“The reason Hamshik is so smart may be because of his work at the lab. So Namin is the only one who survived there… … . He’s a dwarf. I don’t know the name of his species.”

“That’s right… …. That, by any chance. They said on the news that a researcher got swallowed by a potion and shrank. Could it be Namin too?”

“I hope not. Honestly, I was thinking of not telling my mom and just burying it. But I don’t think it’s my place to decide.”

“Yeah, you did well. As a mother, I think it must have been hard to tell you that your child was in a dangerous place and you didn’t know about it… Thank you.”

Na-min’s mother said thank you, but somehow Na-rin felt like she had just taken a burden off her mind and couldn’t feel at ease.

I just lower my head as if I’m going to vomit out the delicious seolleongtang I just ate.

“I’m so sorry to say this to Mom, but Nami is my little sister, so I want to dig into this. It’s already over, but if I just cover it up… … .”

There was silence for a moment. In the separate room, the only sound was Hamsik scraping his spoon into the pot.

When Hamsik tried to jump into Narin’s pot to drink the soup, Narin stopped him and helped him tilt it so that he could drink it, Namin’s mother shook her head slowly.

“I’m not covering it up. Let’s just leave it alone.”

“But… … .”

“They say they are punishing all the research institute staff. Since this is a case that has already happened once, the government and various associations will not let it slide. And it doesn’t matter to Na-min. I hope Na-rin doesn’t have to suffer like that.”

“Even if nothing changes if I dig into this, still… … .”

“Mom has already done it. She fought against the country that took her sick son and killed him, and all she got was a place in the National Cemetery. What good would that have been? Hae-min is already dead. But Na-min is alive now. Rather than worrying about such things, it would be better to worry about useful things like what to eat for dinner and what to do tomorrow.”

I didn’t mean to cover it up. I meant that it was worthless to Namin and Narin’s lives, even more so than the dinner menu.

Narin’s heart wavered without mercy. Is it really okay? After all, I am Namin’s older sister.

In such a wavering mind, Na-min’s mother drove a wedge into it.

“That’s what adults do. Of course, Narin is an adult too, but now that she has nothing better to do, she has to leave it to her mom. Sometimes, if you find out something, tell me about it.”

“… … I will do that.”

Would hearing those words really ease the burden? Even Narin herself didn’t know.