Episode 430
‘With this, Seong Dae-young can turn off his nerves to some extent.’
I don’t know what Seong Dae-young thinks, but Lee Jae-heon, the immature youngest member of this party, is somewhat loved. It may not be universal love in this world, but it means that it is cherished. The moment Sung Dae-young reveals that he is targeting Lee Jae-heon, Lee Jae-hee or Lee Jae-hyung will take action.
‘Because there’s no way a mere writer… could avoid the eyes of those noblemen.’
Lee Jae-heon approached Jang Seo-ah in the living room. He must have liked the children’s animation that was shown, so he just watched TV with a cookie in his mouth. A mocking smile appeared on his dazed face, as if he were possessed.
I brought fruit to share and placed it next to the cookie bowl. Only then did the child’s head turn, perhaps realizing Jaeheon Lee’s presence. The child asked Lee Jae-heon, who was sitting next to me, in his characteristic quiet voice.
“…When is Minhong coming?”
“About an hour later?”
“7 o’clock?”
“maybe.”
“yes.”
I patted the top of the head of the child who was talking as if he was happy. Jaeheon Lee leaned back on the sofa as I closed my eyes and enjoyed being touched like a cat, as if I was in a good mood. I glanced at him and watched him crawl onto my lap, so I left him alone.
The child, who was proud as if he had climbed a high mountain, fell asleep.
“Huh.”
Jaeheon Lee kindly turned off the TV and gently rubbed the child’s back.
Jaeheon Lee doesn’t mind the cold, so he didn’t feel the need for a boiler. So we didn’t turn on the boiler for a while, but after bringing Jang Seo-ah into the house, we tried to raise the temperature as much as possible. If a small child like this catches a cold, he will suffer for a long time. However, this warm air was a little unfamiliar.
‘…Maybe because it’s a baby, its body temperature is very high.’
The hand that was patting my small back gradually lost strength.
“….”
I’m sleepy.
Instinctively, I hugged the child and fell asleep.
* * *
“Ta-da! “Look at this!”
Park Da-young got into Kang Min-ah’s car and held up a bag of cookies as if showing off.
“I made it myself to give to my uncle as a gift!”
“really? “Did you make this?”
“Yes yes yes it’s pretty! “I made all the jam cookies and jam.”
“Wow… that’s amazing.”
Dayoung Park raised her nose high in response to the car owner’s admiration. A combination of thickly boiled strawberry jam and crunchy butter cookies. Even in her opinion, these cookies were a masterpiece. The cookies made with colorful icing also turned out much better than usual.
Maeng Na-eun, who baked cookies with Park Da-young, also had a bright expression.
“This is my first time making those cookies. Dayoung followed suit….”
“They both did very well. “The manager will be really happy.”
“Yeah, right? “Did you do well?”
Maeng Na-eun’s face lit up with joy at Kang Min-ah’s kind praise. Maeng Na-eun, who suffered from an indifferent father, was weak to the kindness shown by kind adults. The male students in the same car gathered together and whispered amid the women’s friendly atmosphere.
“…Isn’t this just too poor for us?”
“Ignoring Tteokbokki? Are you ignoring tteokbokki?”
“To be honest, it’s not luxurious. “Let’s admit what we must admit.”
“No, who would ignore tteokbokki served with Juicy○? I also brought steamed eggs, sundae, and rice balls. “Do you know that this is all handmade?”
“calm down. “We made it together and no one will ignore it.”
It was only in the behind-the-scenes world that I felt immature at times, but in real life, adults, even the toothpick Kim Ki-jeong, were quite trustworthy. In addition, the adults were very considerate to the students and kindergarteners, perhaps because they were treating minors. I wasn’t going to ignore the homemade tteokbokki.
It’s just that you feel less confident compared to the golden, shiny cookies.
“Isn’t it a little cramped? “The car is too small for all of you to ride in the back…”
Kim Hee-chan shook his head in response to Kang Min-ah’s question filled with worry and regret.
“Oh no! are you okay.”
“Now that things have ended up like this, I don’t think it would be better if Park Da-hoon also gets crushed later…”
“Shut up, you bastard. “Why are you so clueless?”
“No sir… uhm why… uh…”
Seong Ji-ho, who was trying to joke again, was attacked by Kim Hee-chan sitting next to him and ended up swearing. I didn’t know it when we were alone, but I didn’t have the courage to swear in front of Kang Min-ah. Moreover, in front of an adult with such a soft and kind demeanor, I actually started to notice.
Kang Min-ah also noticed it, but didn’t really pretend to know. He just smiled his characteristic smile and continued the simple topic.
“So, this is your first time going to the manager’s house.”
“Ah yes. “It’s my first time.”
“The house is very spacious? What did they say? A pantry instead of a refrigerator… or something like that. There were a lot of interesting things. “I was really surprised when I first went there.”
“Wow….”
“Besides, it’s a duplex. “I don’t know if they drilled down to the upper floor or if it was originally structured that way, but I thought it was unique because it looked like a house.”
“You’re crazy, your house is on the second floor? “Are there stairs?”
“There are stairs, too.”
“Amazing, Great.”
The security guard glanced at Kang Min-ah, who came into the officetel with a group of students in tow. I wondered if he had already memorized my face after stopping by so many times. Maybe Lee Jae-heon said something separately. As I led the students toward the elevator, I encountered a familiar face.
Kang Min-ah happily called the man.
“Mr. Inho.”
“ah.”
Jeong In-ho, who was waiting for the elevator, turned and looked at her. It was not the hard and cold smile that I had worked so hard to put on like I saw in the other world, but a soft and gentle smile that I usually see at work.
“Thank you for your hard work bringing the students.”
“you’re welcome. “I was curious about how the kids were doing these days… Come on guys, show me.”
“hmm?”
The students shouted at Jeong In-ho, who tilted his head! They each held up their gifts with such confidence that they could make noise. It was a cookie bag well-wrapped with a ribbon and tteokbokki in a square side dish container. Jeong In-ho burst out laughing at the gift that clearly revealed the difference in personality.
“Aha hahaha…! Oh, I see. “Did you bring it as a gift?”
“We made it ourselves! “That sucks!”
“That’s amazing. “This makes me a little embarrassed.”
What Jeong In-ho, who was joking, took out from his work bag were baby socks.
‘No matter how much I think about the girl I was talking about back then, she looks like Seo-ah.’
I brought a child home. Minhong, a friend of the same age, mentioned it but did not mention Seo-ah, so we were able to find out the identity of the child brought into the house. I don’t know how Seo-ah ended up at Lee Jae-heon’s house, but I figured I’d have to ask anyway, so I bought some socks for her.
Jang Seo-ah’s parents didn’t seem to be good people, and Lee Jae-heon, even though he was an idiot, was very devoted to his child. I bought socks with the hope that Seo-ah would stay at Lee Jae-heon’s house for a long time.
“I’m not sure if it’s the right size. “I bought Seo-ah’s feet, which I saw before, based on guesswork…”
“Is it Seo-ah as expected?”
“I think so.”
Kang Min-ah once again checked the notice in the group chat room.
“…If the manager were to reveal the password so openly…”
“There was a lot to say about that as well. “You must be insensitive to safety to post such important information in a group chat room instead of anywhere else.”
Perhaps because the process of opening the door every time was cumbersome, Jaeheon Lee posted his door lock password on the bulletin board of the group chat room. Although they were grateful for the faith he showed, they could not help but feel uneasy as they had seen the defenseless side of the world behind them.
Moreover, In-ho Jeong even met Lee Jae-heon’s older brother.
“….”
“….”
Jeong In-ho and Kang Min-ah exchanged glances.
‘At least for today.’
‘I will never back down.’
‘It’s a good resolution.’
‘Let’s work hard together.’
I couldn’t say it out loud because there were students, but I found out through his older brother Lee Jae-hyung that Lee Jae-heon was planning something strange. Considering Lee Jae-hyung’s remarks, it seemed like it wasn’t just something strange. It was clear that a dangerous plan had been planned and was being implemented.
We had no choice but to bring students who had become independent from their parents and wanted to go with them, but it may have been a difficult story to tell to minors. The two decided again to put all the students to sleep or send them to another room and then interrogate them.
“Let’s get off.”
“I was crazy. Look at the stains…”
“Shh in the hallway.”
“Huh.”
Kang Min-ah patted the head of Seong Ji-ho, who reacted innocently, and then pressed the password for the door lock. The door opened softly without a single squeak, and the two people inside the house made eye contact.
“uh?”
“Yeonhee…”
It was Kwon Yeonhee and Noh Yeonseok who were holding a blanket.
“Shh shush…!”
“…! …!!”
The survivors who had just opened the door tilted their heads at Kwon Yeon-hee, who made as little wind noise as possible, and Noh Yeon-seok, who shook his head in silence. They crept inside. Kwon Yeon-hee, holding a blanket, pointed to the sofa on the floor with her other hand.
Survivors who turned their heads were able to witness an unexpected sight.
“….”
“…Ah….”
Jang Seo-ah wearing thick sleeping pajamas and Lee Jae-heon falling asleep on the sofa with Jang Seo-ah in his arms.
Park Da-young was the first to react to the sight of the two people with the same expression on their faces, exhaling colorfully. She quickly turned on her cell phone and a picture of the two people taken without sound was saved in her gallery.
“Park Da-young.”
Park Da-hoon poked his sister’s side and whispered.
“Please share.”
“Ok.”
“sister.”
“Yeah, no.”
“Fuck.”
Only then did Park Da-hoon pick up his cell phone.
Unlike the students who responded immediately, the adults couldn’t say anything and only kept their lips quiet. It was a very unexpected situation and an unexpected appearance. I felt nauseous without knowing why.
‘…like that…’
I can see you making such a comfortable expression.
Lee Jae-heon was a man with many thoughts and twists. Anyone could see that he was a person who lived tirelessly because he couldn’t die, and even when he smiled occasionally, it was blurry like fog or a grumpy laugh, so it was just obnoxious. Considering that even his petulance is an exaggerated performance by Lee Jae-heon, we have never seen him in a comfortable state.
Maybe that’s why such a calm face felt awkward.
‘…Of all the faces I’ve ever seen, you look in the best condition.’
He seems to be particularly weak towards children, and it seems he really likes children. When I saw Lee Jae-heon holding the child and Jang Seo-ah snuggling into his arms, I didn’t even dare to wake him up. I felt like I knew why Kwon Yeon-hee and Noh Yeon-seok were hissing and not being able to speak properly.
Any survivors who knew the circumstances of the two people would not want to wake them up. The same was true for Jeong In-ho and Kang Min-ah.
“….”
“Shall I prepare the seasoned vegetables?”
“Okay then.”
“It’s been a long time since I cooked at the manager’s house.”
“I see.”
I sent Noh Yeon-seok, whispering softly, to the kitchen. Noh Yeon-seok’s expression seemed quite excited, as if he liked Lee Jae-heon’s house, which was full of fresh and good ingredients. After Kang Min-ah, who said she would help him, left and the children who were watching the house secretly disappeared, only Jeong In-ho remained in the living room.
He looked at the two sleeping people with dark eyes.
“….”
It looks really good.
Why am I sad?
(Continued in the next part)
