episode_0073

After the day’s work was over, I went shopping with Mirae.

To buy a housewarming gift for Hanna Yeon.

“Umm… What would be a good housewarming gift?”

“Tissue.”

“Isn’t toilet paper too common? But it’s between me and Hannah Yeon.”

‘Daitso’, where everything in the world is gathered together.

It’s nice to have everything readily available, but there are so many items available that it’s difficult to choose.

“What’s the relationship between you and Hanna Yeon?”

“Oh, you’re my sister…?”

Mirae’s gaze grew cold, but there was something else that bothered her before that.

What do you mean by sister to your mom?

“You set the rules, right? Or do you prefer calling me by my name? One day… .”

“Hey, there’s nothing this kid can’t say to his mom… .”

Before my name was called, I hastily covered Future’s mouth.

Yeah. I had decided. I didn’t care at all.

Maybe it was a handshake that made Mirae and I go shopping together.

“Hiyaak?!”

My heart was pounding as if I had done something bad, and I was looking around, when suddenly, I felt something warm and squishy on my palm.

Goosebumps running up my spine.

I was startled and pulled the hand I had placed on Future’s mouth away.

“Ah, no, if you do this in a public place… .”

“Does that mean it’s okay as long as it’s not a public place?”

As I was rubbing my palms, which felt damp, Mirae linked arms with me and closed the distance between us.

It won’t work.

Outside, the future home ground, no way to win comes to mind.

“Can you step away for a bit? People are staring at me.”

“Nobody’s watching.”

No, really?

I craned my neck to look around, but there wasn’t a single person looking in that direction.

Even though it is in a remote place… there are more than twenty of them, roughly speaking… .

In the end, there was no one to help me… .

“Let’s quickly choose a gift and go home.”

I sighed inwardly and looked into the future.

Still, the future looks good, so I guess I’m not so bad.

In the first place, if the future smiles, you won’t be able to make a sound. The future’s smile itself is a powerful weapon.

“So, I guess we can just use tissue paper.”

The future has been pushing the toilet paper ever since.

At first glance, it might seem like a gift chosen without much thought.

Of course, the most important thing about a gift is the heart of the giver, but I wonder if toilet paper would be a good housewarming gift for a friend you’ve been with for a long time.

“No, but still, Hannahyeon and I are friends… .”

“So what’s the relationship between you and Mom?”

Kwuk.

The arms of the future that were tightly wrapped around my arms began to tighten.

This time, I did call her Mom, but Hanna Yeon, who I usually called Unnie, has become my name.

It’s a mess one way or another. Mirae is probably confused because she’s suddenly trying to get away from her daughter.

“You’re my friend, right? What kind of answer do you want to hear from Mirae?”

“읏… .”

Thinking about it like that, an inexplicable sense of confidence welled up in me.

The future isn’t perfect either. This is the gap I need to exploit.

I don’t really know what I should be targeting though.

Anyway, when I asked confidently, Mirae looked embarrassed.

“You’ve known each other for so long, but you seem so unloving. Let’s choose seriously together.”

“Okay… .”

Fortunately, the momentum of the future has slowed down.

But even that was just my mistake.

Thin fingers entered between my fingers, then quickly interlocked and gripped me so I couldn’t move.

From the arms to the hands. It looks like they are completely bound by the future.

Let’s not worry about it, let’s not worry about it.

It was something I did on a regular basis, or almost every day, so there was nothing special about it.

The problem is that you have realized the meaning behind that action.

“Wait a minute.”

Come to think of it, there was one more problem.

“You don’t do this in front of other people, right?”

When I say outside, doesn’t that mean any place other than home?

No, should we divide it into indoor and outdoor? Then shouldn’t I be a daughter here too?

The criteria are too vague.

But if we go into detail about this, it will seem narrow-minded, so let’s wait for the opportunity to decide later.

“Why, do you want to show off?”

“So you asked?”

I had the urge to ask Mirae’s clever question right away, but I suppressed it as much as I could like an adult and asked her back in the same tone as Mirae.

“… Trying to control myself.”

The future was no longer dug into.

“I don’t like it when other people think, ‘Do I have a chance?’”

Instead, he looked at me with serious eyes without any playfulness, then quickly laughed and leaned closer to me.

At this point, it’s almost like hugging… .

“Who would think like that… .”

“I really hope it doesn’t happen.”

After some future mumbling, we chose Hanna Yeon’s gift.

“How about this? Doesn’t it suit you?”

“I think it suits mom better.”

What I finally found after looking around the entire place was a pure white apron with a tiny Chuchu drawn on the corner.

It definitely feels a bit cute for Hannah Yeon to wear… Oh, but that doesn’t mean I’m cute! I mean, compared to Hannah Yeon.

Anyway, I’m sure Hanna Yeon will be happy, so I’m personally quite satisfied.

Besides, Hanna Yeon always wears black chef’s uniform at work, so a white apron would look quite refreshing.

Hanna Yeon wearing an apron and preparing breakfast.

Yeah, that’s good… .

* * *

“Future, I think it’s time to go… .”

“There’s no set time.”

I got back home and even finished showering, but Mirae, who was hugging me in bed, didn’t seem to want to move.

You might say that this is no different from the outside world, but to me, it felt like a completely different future.

Mirae is a listless, drowsy, and at first glance, cute and spoiled brat.

Because this is the future I know for myself as a daughter.

“No, the pizza and chicken should have arrived? I heard the sound of a motorcycle a little while ago… .”

When Hanna Yeon felt burdened as if she was preparing some kind of grand house party, I threatened her by saying that pizza and chicken would be enough. I couldn’t ask someone who had been cooking all day to cook again.

“Just a little more… .”

“I said a little bit earlier… .”

Mirae rubbed her face against her shoulder blade, then raised her head and smiled faintly.

Why is it becoming increasingly difficult to push the future away?

“If I go see Tachibana, I won’t be able to see you all day.”

“No, I plan on coming back before dinner… .”

I don’t know why Tachibana’s name came up, but what Mirai said was true.

The more time I spend outside alone, the less time I have with the future.

“Then I guess I can just have lunch and go. Will two hours be enough?”

“Well… I guess we’ll have to talk about the details. But isn’t two hours too short?”

Talking nonsense and making people laugh.

Mirae, who seemed to have anticipated my objection, smiled playfully, then buried her face in my chest again and muttered.

“So, I’ll just stay like this a little longer… .”

Ding dong.

At that moment, a bell was rung outside.

“Look, I came to call you because you haven’t been coming for a long time.”

Thinking this was my chance, I quickly pushed the future aside and ran to the front door.

And then bang.

As I opened the door, Hanna Yeon, who had been standing there blankly, greeted me.

“Food is cold.”

“Oh, okay. I’ll be there soon.”

After packing up the gifts and future plans I had prepared, I dragged my slippers and headed to the house next door.

I’m secretly excited. It’s a distance I can walk wearing slippers. I guess it can continue like this from now on.

“Sorry I’m late… .”

“Sorry, we just got here too.”

The neighbors were also there at Hanna Yeon’s house. The aunt, uncle, and even Seo-hu.

“Oh my, I don’t know if it’s okay for an old man to get involved in something like this.”

“Hey, why are you saying such sad things?”

I went inside, whining to the old man who was acting shy. Since we will be living together as neighbors from now on, it would be good for Hanna Yeon to become friendly with our next-door neighbors.

“Ah, Sister! Wait a minute.”

The pizza and chicken were already set on the floor. It seems they chose the floor because the space cannot accommodate many people, but it also gave off a cozy feeling that warmed my heart.

“Why did you bring so much?”

Narin, who put down the chicken radish, showed interest in the shopping bag.

“Nothing special…I just brought some bath salts and aroma candles. They seem to be effective when used together while bathing.”

First, the lady took out the gifts from the shopping bag.

These are indeed thoughtful gifts. The aroma candles in particular felt luxurious just from looking at the packaging.

Above all, Hanna Yeon and Na Rin can use it together.

“We prepared aprons and hand cream… . I should have bought two each… .”

I’ll say it again that the thought is important when it comes to gifts, but I was still embarrassed by the apron and hand cream I bought at Daiso.

“Oh, no! That’s great. I just ran out of hand cream. Thank you, Haru!”

But Narin was happy and accepted even that gift with a joyful expression.

“Hmm… It smells good. Try it too, sis. It smells like peach.”

Our Narin… is so kind.

“Tissue… .”

Meanwhile, Hanna Yeon muttered something with a blank expression.

“Hey, sis! We can go buy it!”

“No, I’m a little surprised.”

Narin ran over and whispered to Hannayeon.

“Should I have just used tissue paper?”

“Ugh… .”

Mirae, who had been quietly watching the two, whispered in my ear with a proud expression on her face.

No, there is still a way.

“There is toilet paper at my house… .”

“Huh, huh? No! It’s okay, don’t worry and just sit down.”

I approached her quietly and spoke to her in a subtle way, but she waved her hand and asked what I was talking about.

After finally sitting down thanks to Narin’s persuasion, we gathered in a circle around the food and held wooden chopsticks.

“I’ll eat well!”

Just like when I eat samgyeopsal, it’s much more enjoyable when there are a lot of people.

It’s especially nice because there’s no silence when dishes are passed around or food is eaten.

Because it’s not awkward at all even if everyone is silent and focused on eating.

“Ah, Minseohoo. I have to pay back the chicken leg debt.”

Mirae suddenly started making strange noises.

Chicken leg… When did I borrow a chicken leg from Mirae?

“What, what are you talking about, already… .”

Seohu is also fidgeting, wondering if he will get stabbed… .

“You’re not going to pay me back?”

A mischievous smile spread across Mirae’s lips, while Seo-hu, on the other hand, glared at Mirae with a thoughtful look on his face.

‘it’s crazy?’

A look in his eyes that seems to ask that question.

Narin tilted her head as if to ask what was going on, then rolled her eyes as if trying to remember something, and then soon she smiled brightly and clapped her hands.

“Are you talking about the night before going to Chuchu Land? Mirae has a good memory too.”

Narin, with a faint smile on her face, is lost in memories.

The night before going to Chuchu Land… .

Ah! I remember back then when Na-rin gave Seo-hu a chicken leg. I did that because I couldn’t see the chicken leg that should have been there. In the first place, we’ve never eaten chicken together before.

“How do you remember that… .”

“Foot… .”

Seo-hu turned his head as if he was embarrassed, and Mirae covered her mouth with her hand and trembled.

It seems like Seo-hu is the type who is embarrassed about things from the past, and when I think about it from that perspective, my daughter doesn’t seem to have a very good personality either…

Well, thanks to that, the awkward atmosphere was relieved a lot.

“Hmm… Then should I accept it? Since I haven’t paid it back for 10 years, do I have to pay interest too?”

Narin also looked at Seohu intently, matching Mirae’s joke.

“Interest… Next… .”

Then, Seo-hu reluctantly picked up the chicken leg and put it on Narin’s plate.

At the same time, laughter erupted from the other side this time.

“Big… .”

A man struggling to keep from spitting out the cola in his mouth.

“Why, what is Dad doing again… .”

“Haha, that’s similar to what my dad said to my mom when they were dating.”

Seo-hu glanced at the old man, and the old woman’s flashbacks continued.

A story about a middle-aged woman and a middle-aged man’s love life.

The man, who loved pizza so much, often took his wife to a pizza place even when they were dating. But one day, instead of going to the place he always went to, he went to a very fancy pizza place.

And the old man ordered a Gorgonzola pizza, probably to look cool, but the portion was woefully inadequate.

The old man looked like he wasn’t full at all. The woman couldn’t stand to watch so she returned the pizza he had put in his plate, and the old man promised to pay back the interest and promised to meet again.

This was the end of the love story we heard while eating.

“Definitely… It’s a defective cell.”

“That’s right. I was surprised when I heard it.”

As we were appreciating the story, we saw two men next to us with equally red faces and turning their heads, and we burst out laughing again.

“Ugh… I’m full… .”

As we were talking like that, the food we had ordered was already almost gone.

You can clean up after you’ve eaten everything… .

“Hanna Yeon, can I take a look around your room?”

I got up from my seat, patting my full belly.

“Yeah… .”

Without even thinking about the answer that came right away, I went into Hanna Yeon’s room.

It was a plain room, not much different from my room. But there were Chuchu dolls scattered all over the place, so it felt a little scary.

It’s not much different from the room I saw when I was in high school. It seems like the only thing that’s different is the number of Chuchu dolls.

“Huh… ?”

The moment I was about to leave the room with regret, I discovered a strange object in the small space between the bed and the closet.

A stack of comic books tied with yellow string.

It looked like he was going to throw it away, but the strange thing was that there was a comic book sticking out slightly from under the pillow.

Is that the comic book that Hanna Yeon brought…?

Unable to hold back my momentary curiosity, I picked up the comic book that was under Hanna Yeon’s pillow.

[I will eventually become one with you.]

The two students were holding hands and facing each other as if it were a romantic comedy, but even after confirming it, the doubts that had settled in my heart did not go away easily.

Well… both students were of the same gender, and they were both women.

It’s not that I have any prejudices. If I had any prejudices to begin with, I would have suffered more in my relationship with Mirai and Tachibana.

But it was Hanna Yeon, and not someone else, who had this comic book… .

An indescribable emotion began to swirl around me.

Embarrassment. Ominousness. And a faint sense of anticipation.

I couldn’t make a definitive conclusion. To begin with, my head was so dizzy that I couldn’t tell if it was a dream or reality.

“This day… .”

As I was turning the pages as if I was possessed, Hanna Yeon suddenly came into the room and closed the comic book.

“What kind of cartoon is this…?”

I turned my gaze from the comic book to Hanna Yeon.

What emotions are in my eyes right now?

That’s probably… only Hanna Yeon knows.