284 – End of the Year
“Have fun.”
“It’s a pity. I’d rather sleep one more night.”
“hahahaha, I’ll do that next time I have a chance. I’ll spend the end of the year with my family.”
While saying that, I politely declined Kiseki-san’s proposal, and safely escaped from Karen’s house with the others.
“How are you going to get home?”
“I wonder if I should take a bus or taxi to the nearest station first.”
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“Then wait a while and ride with me. I’ll drop you off in front of the station.”
“I’m sorry I seem to have been indebted to you since yesterday.”
“This much between us.”
As Sasha said, she shook her hand as if it didn’t matter.
Ayase, who was watching from the side, asked curiously.
“Sasha has the same attitude as usual.”
“Why? Should I change my attitude just because I’m in a relationship?”
“No, it’s not like that, but aren’t you usually a little nicer to your boyfriend?”
Hearing her words, Sasha smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
“I don’t like it because it seems more pretentious. I prefer the plain one.”
“Well, if you’re dating for a long time, that might be better.”
Ayase nodded with an accepted expression.
Maybe it’s because the two of them are best friends, they get along better than expected.
I asked what came to my mind while watching the two of them.
“Come to think of it, what did you talk about when you went back to your room at dawn?”
After the Yobai incident was over, the four of them calmly returned to their rooms.
Thanks to that, I was able to keep my sleep time, but it is true that I am curious about what happened after that.
And the one who answered my question was Rika, who was on her cell phone while humming her song next to her.
“We just didn’t talk much. He explained how we all ended up becoming Ryu-chan’s girlfriend, and even gave us the names of the members?”
“I couldn’t tell you everything because I didn’t have enough time. I’ll have to explain it at the next meeting.”
“…A meeting?”
As I questioned the first word, Sasha nodded her head.
“The members of Yuseong Kim’s harem have a regular meeting once a month. Mainly for the harmony and friendship of the members.”
“…….”
What is that? Scared.
As I involuntarily hardened my expression, Rika, who was quick-witted, quickly raised her right hand and asked.
“Th-Come to think of it, I have something I want to ask Ryu-chan!”
“Huh? Uh uh.”
“What is the stalker case that is the reason why the class president fell in love with Ryu-chan?!”
“Oh, that.”
As if turning a bomb, another sensitive story popped up, and I couldn’t help but notice Ayase.
Then Ayase shook his hand as if he was okay, and then opened his mouth to explain himself.
“It’s a secret at school, but I’ve been doing internet broadcasting for quite some time.”
“Internet broadcasting?”
“Ah, of course it’s not like doing dirty things or anything like that. It’s mostly talk or games for a month.”
Ayase, who seemed to think it was a joke of his own, laughed awkwardly while saying that, and began to unravel the story of her past in earnest.
“Originally, Internet broadcasters shouldn’t expose their personal information. My information can spread to an unspecified number of people, and people with bad thoughts can access it. But I accidentally exposed my personal information. I did, and that led to a bad stalker.”
“Ah…”
“To be honest, I almost quit broadcasting because of that. At school and at home, I kept my internet broadcasting a secret, so there was no one to complain to. In the meantime, Yuseong helped me.”
Listening to Ayase’s explanation, Rika and Sasha’s eyes turned to me.
“Well, if it’s something like that, I can’t help it even if I fall for it.”
“I also got help from this guy.”
It feels like I’m suddenly flowing into an atmosphere where I can understand Ayase’s feelings.
However, I felt a little uncomfortable with Ayase’s treatment of me as her benefactor.
“No, I didn’t do much.”
I went over to Ayase’s house to study like it was the final exam, and I just reflexively subdued the assailant who suddenly rushed at me with a knife.
Hearing from Ayase that he was a stalker who had been following him for some time, he broke her leg as it were.
As I said that and waved my hands, for some reason, the three of them looked at me with lukewarm eyes.
“Occasionally, Ryu-chan seems to do things that deviate from common sense.”
“I think I use my head less because I have a good body.”
“That’s a plausible theory.”
“No, why do you draw conclusions like that?”
I argued while saying that, but the three of them didn’t even pretend to hear me.
It’s unfair!
***
“I’m back.”
“Welcome.”
It was a little after 2pm when I got home.
Even though it was the end of the year, it was still crowded with dinner customers, and there were many traces of customers eating and leaving on the tables in the store.
After seeing that, I immediately put on an apron and started helping my parents with their work.
“He must be tired after playing at a friend’s house, so go upstairs and rest.”
“I’ll help with this and do that.”
As I said that, I lightly ignored Ms. Lee Mi-ja’s words and began to tidy up all the tables in the store.
Has it been about an hour since you started working so quietly?
After clearing all the messy tables in the store and washing the dishes, I asked my father who was resting in the hall taking off his rubber gloves.
“How are you going to do your business tonight?”
Then my father, who was sitting at the counter reading a paper newspaper, glanced at me, then turned his head and said,
“I won’t do it today. It’s the end of the year.”
In other words, this is the end of today’s business.
Coming out of the kitchen humming a song at the unexpected good news, I saw the hands of the clock pointing to 3 o’clock and asked my parents.
“Have you not had lunch yet? Shall we simply boil some noodles?”
After hearing my suggestion, my mother stopped watching TV and asked, turning her head.
“Okay. Your son wants to boil it for you?”
“Of course.”
When I said that and rolled up my sleeves, the mother said, “Whoa, I’ve got a good son.” And put her chin on her chin.
With my mother’s consent, I simply filled the pot with water and started brewing the broth.
For the broth, we simply used anchovies, dashi, and radish.
For noodle noodles, I plan to use the medium noodles I got when I went to a Korean mart a while ago.
While the broth was boiling, carrots and zucchini were sliced and three eggs were prepared.
Sounds Song Song Eggs Tak!
Break all the prepared ingredients into the simmering broth, and finish by loosening the eggs.
If you add separately boiled middle noodles to the broth prepared in an instant, banquet noodles are complete.
I put sour kimchi for side dishes, seasoning soy sauce, and lastly hot noodles on a tray, and took them out alone before they cooled down.
“Come, come.”
Ms. Lee Mi-ja, who was quite hungry, welcomed banquet noodles more than her son.
The father sitting next to me silently set the chopsticks and spoons.
I set the tray down on the table and distributed noodles, one bowl per person.
This is our toshikoshi soba.
“I will eat well.”
Muttering that, I raised my chopsticks and ate a bite of the noodles before unpacking the soy sauce.
Slurp!
I didn’t season it much, but the anchovy broth is delicious, so the noodles are delicious.
I added a little salt when boiling the noodles, but it seems to be seasoned because of that.
However, Koreans taste better with soy sauce, so I added my mother’s seasoning soy sauce to the banquet noodles.
Woe!
Then the savory smell of sesame oil rises as it meets the hot broth.
The taste of knowing is scary, and my mouth is salivating on its own as if I had become Pavlov’s dog.
I drank the whole bowl of the soup, which had become slightly cloudy as the seasoning soy sauce seeped into it.
Slurp!
“Haa…”
The hot soup of the banquet noodles that passed down the throat permeates the five organs.
Udon or ramen soup is good, but it would be fair to say that the soup of banquet noodles eaten in the middle of winter is Korean soul food.
When I glanced at it, both of my parents were inhaling banquet noodles with satisfied faces.
I put the bowl down again, put the sour kimchi on top of the noodles, and slurp it into my mouth along with other condiments.
It’s hot.
However, the cold nature of kimchi neutralized the heat.
“Ha, huh.”
Involuntarily, I breathed out and took another breath.
Hurururururuk!
And this time, another bite with sour kimchi on top.
Hurulurururururuk!
When I came to my senses, all the noodles in my bowl were gone.
“It sucks.”
As I licked my lips in regret and got up from my seat with an empty bowl, my father next to me asked.
“You want to go get more?”
“Yes.”
“Then give me another bowl too.”
“Oh, me too.”
It seems that the banquet noodles I ate after a long time fit my taste quite well.
I looked at my father and mother in amazement at the order of refills that came one after another, then smiled and nodded.
“I prepared a lot, so please eat a lot.”
Because this is all the filial piety I can really do for Kim Yoo-seong.
***
After such a late lunch, my family closed the store early and went upstairs to our house.
Originally, most stores close early at the end of the year.
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That’s not much different in my house, so we huddled together in the living room and forgot tangerines while watching TV.
“These days, there are a lot of Korean singers in Hongbaek Gahapjeon.”
“It seems that the Korean wave is becoming popular again because of Netflix. Young people these days are crazy about it.”
“Tsk, I couldn’t believe it when I heard that on the news.”
“Did this nobleman live only by being deceived?”
My parents, as always, sitting in front of the kotatsu and bickering about whether I am right or you are wrong.
From my standpoint watching from the side, I couldn’t take sides, so it was just embarrassing.
As I was enjoying the year-end atmosphere while watching TV, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Ding-Dong!
“Who are you at this hour?”
“Yooseong, what did you order food for delivery?”
“No. They ask again how long it’s been since I ate.”
With that said, I jumped up from my seat and headed for the front door.
“Yes~ Let’s go~”
Knock!
When I opened the front door like that, the one standing in front of the door was-
“Whoops, how have you been? Yooseong-kun.”
It was the chairman who was holding a large bundle of something golden.