episode_0058

When the sun says goodbye to the sky and disappears into the distance, I know without even looking at the clock that it’s time to go home.

There was a passage in a book that said, “If you come at four o’clock, I will start getting excited at three o’clock.”

I remember thinking about how cute and fluffy the fox’s tail would be when it was fluttering its head in that passage.

Oh, but that’s not what I was going to say. Anyway, I’m waiting for Narin just as much as that fox is.

Especially today. It’s the day I promised to buy chicken for Narin.

When it comes to chicken, it’s not too fancy, but it’s also a food that you can eat while feeling good about yourself. That’s why I’m looking forward to it even more.

Of course, I don’t remember the taste very well. I just remember it being literally crispy and the meat being chewy. That’s all I remember.

It was so long ago that I couldn’t remember what I ate before I got cancer. I guess it’s hard to call it a healthy diet.

Of course, it’s not like I didn’t eat chicken at all. I ate things like samgyetang, baeksuk, and chicken porridge because they were considered nutritious food. Even in the military, things like steamed chicken were served.

Still, the word chicken, the emotion that the concept gave, did not disappear. I waited for Narin’s footsteps with a pounding heart.

“Namina, Narin… … are you waiting for me? I feel like it’s even worse than yesterday.”

It seemed like Jihyun noticed that too. That’s understandable, because after talking to Narin, I couldn’t sit still.

The annoying Hamshik didn’t pay any attention to me because he was busy with his own business, and the Saekmusae probably didn’t know because there were still too many things to be curious about.

As expected from a former researcher, Jihyun, who has good observation skills, noticed that.

“Yeah, we decided to eat chicken. Isn’t it going to be delicious?”

“Oh, that’s right. I’m looking forward to it. If I eat it with this body, I can eat the same amount very generously.”

Jihyun had probably eaten chicken more recently than I did, so she looked quite excited. Hearing Jihyun’s words, Saekmusae came closer and asked.

“What is chicken?”

“Fried chicken.”

“Chicken! When you say chicken, that chicken! It’s so delicious! What’s that fried thing?”

“Um… … . If you coat it with batter and dip it in boiling oil, it becomes crispy. That’s called frying.”

“Aha! It’s a collaboration between oil painting and burning!”

The color bird’s thinking has always been strange. I don’t know where he learned it all, or if it’s just because he’s a bird that he thinks differently.

Ji-hyeon, who came from a research lab that was said to have conducted illegal experiments, looked at that kind of color blind with complicated eyes. It must have looked strange to her too.

But instead of saying anything to the colorist, Jihyun chose to ignore him and talk to me. I guess she thought it would be hard to fix.

“Then, Namin-ah. How about ordering delivery in advance so that you can eat it right after Na-rin-ee gets off work? I saw yesterday that you got off work a little after 6.”

“Oh, that’s a good idea. What time is it now?”

“Five thirty. If you order, it will take about thirty to forty minutes for delivery, so you can eat it right after work, after washing up. Let’s ask Na-rin.”

“That’s totally cool. I’ll text you now!”

I vaguely thought that I would buy it, but I never thought about ordering delivery. After all, I never ordered anything in my past life.

So I first asked for Narin’s consent. Since she was working, I sent her a text message instead of a phone call.

– Me: Sister Narin, we’re planning to order delivery. What kind of chicken do you like?

– Narin: Oh, you want me to do it now? I’m just waiting for my sister to get off work…

– Me: I’m going to order it now so that you can eat it right after you get off work and wash up! If you order it for delivery, they’ll bring it right to your doorstep!

– Narin: Yeah, then you like fried chicken

– Narin: If you and Hamshik are going to share, I think we’ll need to order two… Then, wouldn’t two Griffin chickens be better?

– Me: Okay, I’ll look it up and order it!

Griffin Two Chickens? Could it be a guy with four chicken legs?

When I heard what Narin said and looked it up, it was true. If you order two, you get eight chicken legs. We can each eat two chicken legs for each flavor.

I don’t know if it’s genetic modification or if they’re breeding a species from another world, but since they’re selling it like this, I guess there’s no problem.

There are little people like me, ghosts, tentacle monsters that distribute food, and maybe even four-legged chickens.

“Jihyun, let’s order fried chicken and whatever else we want to eat.”

“Hmm, then… … . Since Saekmusae and Hamshik probably haven’t had chicken before, I think it would be okay to order one fried and order the seasoning separately. Or, if there’s something Namin wants to eat, she can order that too.”

“Okay!”

Since this is my first time trying it, I think it would be right to try the basic flavor. So, I decided to follow Jihyun’s advice and order a fried chicken and a green onion chicken.

First, let’s search for how to order delivery. Let’s start from there, Jihyun called me.

“Wait a minute, Namin. I’ll tell you. It’s annoying to have to search for it.”

“Oh, Jihyun knows how to order delivery too? That’s great!”

“Jihyun is amazing!”

As expected, they weren’t researchers for nothing. When I think about it, researchers are just people who wear white coats and are called doctors. They’re just incredibly smart people.

So, ordering delivery would be a very easy task.

And that was also the case with teaching it. He quickly taught me how to order delivery food even though I had no knowledge about it.

Without having to meet the delivery person, we could do everything from ordering to payment at home. Now all we had to do was wait for the food to be placed in front of our house.

So I praised Ji-hyun for being a good teacher, but when Ji-hyun got really embarrassed, I helped her calm down and praised myself too.

“I’m great too! I used what I learned right away!”

“Namin is amazing!”

“You’re amazing because you’re good at praising color birds!”

“Colorful bird is amazing!”

“Ham diet is also great!”

“Ham diet is amazing!”

I raised both arms and the magpie flapped its wings as it continued its parade of praise. Hamshik, who had come over wondering what the fuss was about, was looking at us with pity.

Anyway, she always has that expression on her face. But I’m a generous older sister who understands the difference between species, so I have to understand that kind of expression on my younger sister’s face.

Now, all that’s left to do is wait. Will Narin come first or will the delivery come first?

“Hmm.”

Narin kept looking at her watch. She was so worried about Na-min and Ham-shik, whom she had left at home.

At first, when I brought them home, I thought it would be okay since I would just keep them at home. I was too complacent.

Of course, since she came from a research institute, her ham-shik is also a bit extraordinary. I really thought of Na-min as my little sister, not a pet.

Those little kids are going out and coming back. What if something goes wrong?

Was I overly concerned? Do all parents with children think this way?

But there’s something that I can’t help but worry about more than the average child. It’s true that Na-min and Ham-shik are physically smaller.

Even if they are mentally older than children who are dozens of times older than them, if they meet a vicious dog or cat, they could be in big trouble.

And just how dangerous it is on an ordinary road. Rocks can fall, and drivers of cars and motorcycles won’t even see Namin and Hamshik.

No, you don’t have to go to the car. Pedestrians rarely walk around looking at the ground. You could step on them without even knowing it.

But if I tell them that they should stay at home because they are worried about such risks, isn’t that too oppressive?

Was it right to clip the wings of the children, out of fear that they might fall out of the nest and die? Narin was at a loss as to what to do.

“Ms. Narin. Are you worried about something? You don’t look well. I don’t think you’re worrying about what to eat for dinner.”

The manager approached Narin and asked her. Even from a distance, it was obvious that Narin’s expression was dark.

Narin looked up at the manager cautiously. The manager, who had been a man in his 40s, had the appearance of a middle school girl. But she was still a father of two high school-aged children.

I wonder if I can give you enough advice. Just as Narin was about to give up her luck with that thought, the manager raised his finger.

“Oh, it’s 5 minutes before I leave work, so I’ll only listen for 5 minutes. I’ll go home when I have time.”

“Oh, yes. Thank you.”

It’s important to be on time for leaving work. Thanks to the joke that didn’t seem like a joke, Narin was able to relax and talk about what was bothering her.

The manager, who knew Na-min and Ham-sik, listened to Na-rin’s story seriously. Then he told her a story about when his own children were very young.

As a parent, it was true that I was worried. Even if I didn’t necessarily plan on making them independent, just protecting them wasn’t for their benefit.

It’s really a one-in-a-million-wonder thing. If I do something wrong, won’t those kids have to live with each other? Thinking about that, the manager calmly said that it would be good to teach the kids how to live in the world slowly.

“Compared to that, Na-rin was blessed. She did that on her own without any errands or anything. How admirable.”

“Hehe, that’s impressive.”

“Eulssigu. A married woman who isn’t even married is going to be left behind. Well, it’s okay. It’s six o’clock sharp, so I’ll go. Anyway, I understand that you’re worried, but I think it would be enough to provide something like a GPS to prevent getting lost or a mana shield. These days, you can download such things on your phone.”

“Oh, right. There was something like that.”

The manager, who had finished the consultation in a calm manner, picked up the bag that had been made with poor craftsmanship. It was clearly the bag that his daughter had made for him when she was in middle school.

He’s a section chief who always has a sullen expression, but when you see him like this, you realize he’s a very family-oriented person. He’s cute.

Narin also hurriedly prepared to leave work, thinking that she would definitely be angry if she heard that.

Even though Namin said she would buy me chicken, I really had no intention of getting anything from her. I was just going to have her call for delivery and pay for it myself.

However, when I arrived at the first floor of the one-room officetel where Na-rin lived with a happy heart and light steps, someone followed Na-rin in from behind.

Narin felt uneasy there.

The large man who followed Narin onto the elevator that arrived on the first floor had no face to be seen because he was wearing a helmet.

Even when Narin pressed the button for the floor she wanted to get off at, the man didn’t move. Could it be that they were going to the same floor?

The man who followed Narin and got off the bus rustling around as she got off asked in a deep voice when he arrived in front of Narin’s house.

“Hey, do you live here?”

“Yes, but?”

“This is the chicken you ordered.”

“Ah, payment by card… … .”

“You said so when you ordered.”

Narin’s anxiety became reality.