I threw both arms high into the air, and Silly let out a long cry in the same tone as me. Moon Seyoung, who had been watching from the side, innocently exclaimed, “Wow!” and clapped before opening her mouth with a delighted expression.
“Oh, right! I decided to come with you too!”
“What?”
This time, I could not help being surprised. I had thought it would be nice if Moon Seyoung came with us, but I had planned to casually ask Baek Hyeonwoo about it sometime this evening or tomorrow morning. Yet they had already decided she would travel with us.
“Is that true, Brother?”
“Mm……. Well, for the time being.”
“Not just for the time being. I’m going to keep traveling with you from now on too. Mr. Hyeonwoo said he would give me a room. Right?”
“……Haa.”
Instead of answering, Baek Hyeonwoo let out an openly exasperated sigh, but there was no one who did not know that was as good as permission. Moon Seyoung and I looked at each other and giggled, and my eldest brother, exhausted after only a few hours, left the dining area saying he needed to get some rest.
“Do you happen to know where we’re going?”
“Hm? I actually asked him, but he wouldn’t tell me. Why? You don’t know either?”
“No.”
“Should I go ask him for you?”
“Mm…….”
It was true that I had asked because I wondered whether I might be able to find out through Moon Seyoung, but that did not mean I wanted to hide behind her and force the answer out of him. Since Baek Hyeonwoo never lied, anything he did not want to say was something he would not talk about no matter what happened, so if we stirred things up for no reason, it was obvious we would only end up hurting each other’s feelings.
“No. It’s okay.”
“Really? I think traveling without knowing the destination can be fun in its own way.”
“Haha.”
To think she could say something like that even in a world like this. Was it because she was the female protagonist, or because she was someone who could smash every zombie’s head apart with a single hammer?
Even in a world filled with nothing but questions, one thing was clear.
Moon Seyoung joining us was more reassuring than anything else.
“No, why are you taking that out without asking!”
“Because you don’t need it.”
“I put it in because I do need it, you know?”
At Baek Hyeonwoo’s words, Moon Seyoung’s face, standing beside him, crumpled mercilessly. Even when she repeatedly let out incredulous, hollow laughs of “Ha! Ha!” my eldest brother did not so much as glance at her and began rummaging recklessly through her luggage.
“You don’t need this either. Or this, or this…… Why did you pack this?”
What Baek Hyeonwoo pulled out after recklessly removing item after item was dried seaweed. He shook it carelessly a few times as though asking why she had packed something so useless, and Moon Seyoung irritably snatched the seaweed from his hand.
“It’s a snack!”
“I’m taking it out.”
“It’s luggage I’m carrying anyway, so what does it matter to you? Even if I need something, I won’t ask you for help, so stop touching my things!”
Why was dried seaweed a snack? I looked back and forth between the chips I was eating and the seaweed in Moon Seyoung’s hand. It was not even fried seaweed. It was plain dried seaweed with 200 servings written in huge letters on the outside.
Peeep.
“I’ll give you some, I’ll give you some.”
Wouldn’t that all swell up in your stomach if you ate it like chips? I thought I had seen something like that on an old television program. While wondering whether I should tell her or not, I took out a potato chip and held it out to Silly.
The bundle of tentacles split wide open, revealing a round mouth. When I put the chip inside, pointed teeth popped out and crunched it up. It ate well. Smiling with satisfaction, I lightly patted Silly’s rear and looked back at the two of them.
“Why are you taking that out too!”
“How many times do you want to hear that you don’t need it?”
“I packed it because I need it!”
Baek Hyeonwoo was certainly creating all kinds of things he would regret. The day before yesterday, Moon Seyoung had been reading a book, yet he had insisted that he absolutely had to sleep right there and turned off the light without permission. Yesterday, when she burned a fried egg, he had even criticized her harshly, asking what on earth she had been doing all those years at her age.
Of course, I had not simply stood by and watched either. I had told him I was worried Moon Seyoung might change her mind and say she no longer wanted to come with us, and that although I did not know why he kept tormenting Sis like that, he needed to stop. But Baek Hyeonwoo had only said things like, ‘I’d be grateful if she did.’
But humans were creatures that eventually adapted. The first one or two times, it bothered me……. Now I had reached the point where I looked forward to seeing what topic the two of them would bicker over next. The reason? The reason was simple.
“If you’re going to pack things like that, pack something our Sihyeon needs instead.”
“Good grief, if that was the reason, you should have said so from the beginning.”
……It was because the two of them were strangely in perfect agreement in the oddest places. As though they had never argued at all, Moon Seyoung and Baek Hyeonwoo emptied the bag completely, sat with their heads together wearing serious expressions, and began packing things they thought I would need.
I could understand dried sweet potatoes or jerky because they were good for filling up on calories, but why were they packing duck-shaped cutlery? Even when I openly said, “I don’t need things like that,” the two of them acted as though they could not hear me and began seriously debating whether to pack a handkerchief embroidered with waves or one embroidered with flowers.
“What is wrong with them, seriously.”
Pheew!
When I clicked my tongue in disbelief, Silly made a sound close to a sigh on my behalf. The sound was so cute that I was gently scratching its belly when Baek Hyeonwoo stopped packing and turned to look at me.
“Sihyeon, stop eating chips now. You’ve eaten too much.”
“……I just opened one bag and ate a little over half of it?”
“Silly, take it away.”
Peeep!
“Wait!”
The instant Baek Hyeonwoo gave the order, Silly, which had been lying on its back enjoying the petting, sprang up at once. Before I had time to stop it, the creature snatched the bag of chips and, the moment it landed on the floor, shoved its body inside and began greedily devouring the remaining chips.
“You said I could eat chips!”
“I said you could eat them. I didn’t say you could finish the whole bag.”
“…….”
“Do you know how much instant food and junk food you’ve eaten since we got here? You scratched your arm in your sleep yesterday. Stop eating now.”
Anyone listening would think I had been eating ramen and chips for all three meals every day.
Burp.
Meanwhile, Silly, having finished all the chips, walked out of the bag and let out a loud burp. Seeing it stretch its legs out contentedly with chip crumbs and grease smeared all over its body made me feel betrayed.
“Hey, I’m the one who begged to take you with us, you know? Do you know who saved your life?”
Pee-rik-kyoo.
As though it were obvious, Silly raised one front leg and pointed at Baek Hyeonwoo.
“…….”
I had nothing to say.
Instead of arguing further, I glared at the creature and grabbed it. Let’s go take a bath.
“Where are you going?”
“To bathe.”
“Let’s go together. We’re almost done, so wait just a little.”
The moment I stood up, Baek Hyeonwoo quickly spoke and gestured toward me. He was telling me not to go ahead and to sit back down.
“I’ll go wait there.”
“What if you slip on the wet floor and fall? Just wait quietly. Let’s go together with your brother.”
“Mr. Hyeonwoo is right.”
Moon Seyoung cut in with a worried expression.
“The human body is so weak. Even over something insignificant, your head can split open and your bones can break.”
It was frightening to hear that from someone who could split a person’s head open with a hammer. I gave an awkward smile, murmured, “Mm-hm,” and sat back down.
Baek Hyeonwoo’s claim that they were almost done appeared to be true, because things were gradually being wrapped up. When Moon Seyoung said she would organize and pack the rest herself, my brother merely gave a careless nod instead of saying thank you or asking her to take care of it, then approached me.
“Let’s go wash.”
“We’ll be back soon!”
Since we had decided to leave tomorrow morning, today would be our last day at the bathhouse. Swallowing my disappointment, I opened the glass door and went inside. Of course, there would be bathhouses in other places too…… but would there be anyone besides the female protagonist who had even cleaned one so she could stay there?
The instant the humid air touched it, Silly began squeaking repeatedly in anxiety and fled, but once we entered the bath, it slowly crept back after a short while and then jumped into the water with a plop.
“Do you like it?”
Silly merely waved its tentacles gently in silence. Right, it seemed to like it. When I playfully pressed it down with one finger and then let go, it irritably spat out a thin stream of water as though telling me to stop.
“Aren’t you scared?”
Baek Hyeonwoo, who had been quietly watching, asked slowly. Hm? I stopped splashing water at Silly and blinked as I answered.
“Of what?”
“Silly.”
“Now, after all this time?”
When I held out my hand with a smile, Silly climbed onto my palm and shook its head, spraying the water clinging to its tentacles everywhere.
“It’s a bug.”
“Don’t say that. It only looks vaguely similar…… What kind of bug is this smart and cute? Right, Silly?”
Pee-eep.
As though agreeing, the creature stretched its legs straight out, then jumped onto Baek Hyeonwoo’s shoulder and settled there. It even lightly stamped its feet as though demanding that he take back what he had said about it being a bug.
“Hurry up and take it back, Brother.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”
Only after Baek Hyeonwoo apologized as though he had no choice did Silly cry, Ppyook, and jump back into the water.
After that, we did not exchange much conversation. My brother relaxed and enjoyed the bath, while I preferred moving around to staying in the tub for a long time, so I played with Silly, going to the cold pool and then entering the sauna.
Of course, every time I moved, I was told to be careful because I might fall, but I simply let it go in one ear and out the other.
After washing, I pestered my brother until he let me eat one cup of instant noodles and one baked egg, then we went back upstairs to the jjimjilbang. Even though it was only eight o’clock, Moon Seyoung was already asleep. She must have been quite exhausted.
“We have to wake up early tomorrow, so let’s sleep too.”
“What time are we leaving?”
“I’m planning to leave before sunrise.”
He would definitely insist that we eat breakfast before leaving too, so I would have to wake up at five. I flopped down onto the thin jjimjilbang mat and stretched out fully. Baek Hyeonwoo covered me with a blanket and lay down beside me, and I turned toward him and spoke.
“Don’t be so mean to Sis.”
“I’m not doing it for no reason.”
Right, love could be a reason too.
But watching them from the side, rather than the fresh romance of students or the flirting of adults, they looked more like elementary schoolers poking at the person they liked just to get their attention.
“You might regret it.”
“That won’t happen.”
I don’t think so.
I giggled and pulled the blanket a little higher. He moved a little closer, slowly patted my back, and whispered, “Stop talking nonsense and get even a little more sleep. If you stay up late, I won’t bring any chips.” Unable to resist the childish threat, I quickly closed my eyes. A low sigh spilled over my head, but I did not care and drifted off to sleep while happily imagining the two of them becoming lovers.