Ha-yeon’s Allowance

The Jet Black Cloak was an extremely rare costume, with only a few wearers on the server due to its expensive gacha cost and low probability.

It meant that it was such a precious item that ordinary users wouldn’t even get to see it in their lifetime.

I wandered around for about 2 hours for the sake of those ordinary users.

Just when I thought many users would have seen my Jet Black Cloak, a message popped up in front of me.

So-hee-[What’s up today?]

It wasn’t a message that arrived in-game.

It was a text message from my cell phone being broadcast directly through the capsule linked to reality.

I tilted my head, looking at the message.

What’s up today? What on earth was she asking?

While I was racking my brain over So-hee’s message, a new message arrived from her.

So-hee-[Like yesterday, kimbap again today? Or rolled omelet?]

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

Could it be that So-hee thought I would pack a lunch box again today?

Yesterday’s kimbap was prepared on the spur of the moment, so I hadn’t prepared anything separately today.

I looked down to check the real-world time.

Current time: 11:30 AM.

It was an absurdly insufficient time to prepare a lunch box.

Yeon-[I don’t have any today.]

So, I told her honestly.

Actually, even if I had a lot of time, there wasn’t really a lunch box I could prepare.

Because I didn’t know how to cook.

The only dish I could make was soy sauce egg rice, so that says it all.

So-hee wouldn’t want to eat such a half-assed dish either.

So-hee-[I see…]

The … left at the end of the message bothered me.

The content of the message naturally painted a picture of So-hee being very disappointed.

Mom, it was a moment when I needed Mom’s help.

But anyway, the lunch box was already water under the bridge, wasn’t it?

I started working on Deron’s daily quests for the time being.

Performing quests that I could receive every day and shopping for cheap items at the auction house.

I was only able to exit the game after finishing all the homework.

Current time: 1:20 PM.

Lunch time had long passed.

I hurriedly left the house and got into the car.

The destination was Mom’s house.

Bbi-bbi-bbyu-bbyu-

The car started moving after I finished setting up the navigation function.

I blankly stared out the window until I arrived home.

Had about 20 minutes passed like that?

I was finally able to arrive in front of Mom’s house.

“Mom!”

The moment I jumped out of the car, my body ran like *hodadak* to the front door.

I naturally opened the door, passed through the hallway, and entered the living room.

“Ha-yeon-ah…?”

Mom’s eyes seemed to be asking if I came again.

Mom was eating potato chips and watching television in comfortable clothes.

“Please teach me other dishes!”

I sat down close to Mom and said that.

Mom’s face smiled faintly as she looked down at me.

“Why, does So-hee want you to make other things too?”

I nodded vigorously.

She didn’t say that, but I couldn’t just make rolled omelets every day, could I?

Mom got up from her seat and headed to the kitchen as if she had expected me to come.

I followed Mom, stuffing the bag of potato chips she had left behind into my mouth.

*Nyam-nyam*.

“What did I tell you to do first before cooking?”

At Mom’s words, I quickly started washing my hands.

Because I was too lazy to go to the bathroom, I did it in the sink.

Mom clicked her tongue at the sight.

I smiled awkwardly and avoided her gaze.

I had always shown her the sight of washing my hands here before cooking, so it was natural for me to follow suit.

While I was washing my hands diligently like that, Mom started taking out the prepared ingredients from the refrigerator.

Meat marinated in sauce, onions, radishes, carrots, green onions. And a whole bunch of various ingredients that I didn’t know what they were.

I was blankly gaping at the sight of the overwhelming ingredients when Mom opened her mouth.

“Today, we’re going to make braised short ribs.”

“Braised short ribs…!”

I smacked my lips and licked my tongue.

Because I remembered the taste of the braised short ribs that Mom sometimes made.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten lunch. Naturally, a rumbling sound came from my stomach.

That’s how the cooking lesson time began.

I started cramming all the recipes into my head next to Mom.

Occasionally, Mom would tell me to try it myself and give up her seat, but since most of the ingredients were already prepared, there wasn’t much for me to do.

That’s how all the preparations were finished.

Now, all that was left was to turn on the heat on the pot and wait for it to boil.

“Take the meat with you when you go home later.”

“The meat?”

“Yeah.”

Mom said that and started packaging the meat marinated in sauce separately in one corner.

As I looked at the sight of the ribs neatly arranged in pretty plastic containers, my mouth naturally watered.

I sat at the table, propped my chin up, and fell into thought.

According to Mom’s explanation, braised short ribs were a very labor-intensive dish.

You had to remove the blood from the ribs you bought, and you also had to make the sauce and marinate it in the sauce for a long time.

In other words, it meant that it wasn’t a dish that could bring out the proper flavor in just one day.

Mom’s braised short ribs were completed long after 2 o’clock.

“You’re going to eat before you leave, right?”

“Yes!”

Of course, I’m going to eat before I leave.

Not eating Mom’s braised short ribs was like losing half of my life.

At this moment, I offered a prayer of thanks that Ha-rang wasn’t home.

If Ha-rang was there, he would have eaten all of my share of the ribs.

I smacked my lips and started eating with Mom.

“Is So-hee treating you well?”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything uncomfortable?”

“No.”

“Do you need anything else?”

“No.”

Mom threw questions here and there while eating.

I stuffed braised short ribs into my mouth and continued to answer briefly.

Just as the remnants of the ribs were piling up next to my rice bowl, Mom’s new question came flying in.

“When are you going to get married?”

I couldn’t really give a definite answer to this question.

Because I hadn’t deeply considered the issue of marriage yet.

“Um…”

“Is it difficult to answer?”

“No. It’s not that. I haven’t asked her yet.”

We had already confirmed each other’s feelings.

If that hot and sticky gaze wasn’t love, then what was it?

There was no need to confirm it in words, I could feel So-hee’s love with my body every night.

It’s a bit suffocating, though…

“I ate well!”

I emptied two bowls of rice, patted my bulging stomach, and got up from my seat.

“You’re coming again tomorrow, right?”

“Yes!”

I nodded and answered Mom’s question.

In order to make various dishes for So-hee, I needed Mom’s help continuously.

Wouldn’t I be commuting to Mom’s house for at least a month?

I nodded at my own admirable thought and held the braised short ribs that Mom had packed for me in my arms.

“I’m leaving!”

“Go carefully.”

I left the house, leaving Mom’s farewell greeting behind.

I got into the car and set the destination.

The place I was heading to was a department store nearby.

I could solve tonight’s dinner with the braised short ribs that Mom packed for me, but tomorrow I wanted to feed So-hee braised short ribs that I made myself.

So, I’m going.

“Let’s go!”

The car started moving with a vigorous shout.

The smoothly moving car left the residential complex and started speeding down the road.

The place I arrived at was in front of a very, very large department store.

I checked the pig nose wallet that was bulging thickly in my pocket and asserting itself, and then rushed into the department store.

Mom’s recipe was engraved in my head as it was.

I hooked my foot on the shopping cart and quickly sped around, picking out all sorts of ingredients.

After picking out and putting all sorts of things in the shopping cart for a while, a group of middle-aged women who were nearby slowly approached and started talking to me.

“Did you come to run errands for your mom?”

“No!”

“Oh my… then are you running errands for your dad?”

“No!”

Why on earth did they think I was running errands?

I put my hands on my hips and looked up at the middle-aged women.

“Oh my… how admirable…”

“The kid is so pretty…”

The middle-aged women were busy praising me, not caring about my answer.

They were really strange people.

I passed by the group of middle-aged women and headed to the snack corner.

Because I was thinking of buying snacks since I came to the department store anyway.

I had used up all my allowance, but I had the card that So-hee gave me, so I could buy whatever I wanted to my heart’s content.

If I had put in the snacks, then I had achieved my purpose.

I pushed the shopping cart, finished paying, and headed straight to the car.

“*Kkeueung*…”

The weight of the boxes containing various snacks and braised short rib ingredients was a bit heavy, but it wasn’t something I couldn’t carry.

Now it was time to go home.

I set the destination and recalled the events of the day.

A change had come to my life of only playing Deron every day.

How long had it been since I had such a fulfilling day?

I smiled, thinking of So-hee’s face.

After arriving home, I moved the boxes to the house with the help of the security guard *ahjussi*.

What I started next was preparing the ribs to eat tomorrow.

I put them in water and waited for the blood to drain.

The current time is 4:40 PM.

I had to hurry soon.

I took out an apron, put it on, and started steaming the braised short ribs that Mom had packed for me.

You have to steam it over high heat for a long time so that the rib meat becomes tender and easy to peel off and eat.

I wanted to play Deron, but I gave up because I had to watch the ribs so they wouldn’t burn.

I decided to play Deron after dinner later.

I guarded the braised short ribs like that until So-hee came.

5:50 PM.

It was the time when So-hee arrived home.

*Ppiri-rik-*

*Cheolkeong-*

“I’m home~”

“Welcome home!”

“Hmm… are you making something delicious?”

“Yeah.”

As expected, the smell of braised short ribs must have spread throughout the house.

I nodded with a confident expression at So-hee’s question and led her to the dining table in the living room.

“Sit here and wait!”

So-hee nodded with a bright smile at my words.

I took So-hee’s coat, hung it on the hanger, and carried the boiling braised short ribs to the table.

The mouth-watering braised short ribs with steaming steam looked perfect on the outside.

“Ta-da!”

“Ha-yeon-ah… did you make this?”

“Yeah.”

In fact, Mom made most of this braised short ribs, but I didn’t bother to reveal that fact.

I did the boiling, so it’s right that I made it.

“Eat it quickly.”

“Hmm…”

So-hee picked up chopsticks at my urging.

She picked up the hot braised short ribs, blew on them, and held them in her mouth.

How long had it been like that?

A bright smile bloomed on So-hee’s lips.

“It’s delicious.”

“*Heok*…”

I grabbed my chest and slumped down in my seat.

W-what is this subtle joy?

My toes curled up at the ticklish sensation that I couldn’t express in words.