“I already went to work this morning… I just stopped by home for lunch break.”
“What? Lunch time?”
I was shocked. I slept that long?
Only then did I look around. Come to think of it, Kkotsu who had slept together on the bed was nowhere to be seen.
“I sent Kkotsu to kindergarten.”
As if knowing who I was looking for, Baek Woojin said.
As expected… that name and that appearance… it wasn’t a fantasy.
I was nodding my head when I looked around the room again. There wasn’t a single wall clock hanging in the child’s room.
“Um… what time is it now…?”
“12:14, it just passed.”
At Baek Woojin’s words as he checked his wristwatch, I was shocked again.
Huk… I really slept like crazy…
Embarrassed about oversleeping, I quickly threw off the blanket and got down from the bed. Still, perhaps because I slept well, my body felt much lighter.
“You slept very deeply.”
“Haha, yes. I must have been quite tired.”
“You don’t seem to have any sleep disorders either…”
Of course. I’m the type of person who falls asleep the moment my head touches the pillow.
“Ah right, if it’s lunch time then for a meal…”
“Yes, come out.”
Baek Woojin said just that as if he had been waiting and left the room. I followed him with a bewildered feeling.
Could it be that he came home on purpose because of me? To take care of my meal?
In-law, aren’t you a complete angel…?
With such thoughts, as soon as I went to the kitchen, I jumped in surprise at the gorgeous food spread before my eyes.
“Wow…”
I’ve never seen anything like this. On the island table, glossy sushi were lined up in a row, crispy-looking tempura, clear soup with white steam rising, and even buckwheat noodles beautifully arranged on plates.
“Please eat.”
While I was blankly admiring each dish one by one, Baek Woojin pulled out a chair for me and said.
In-law, is it really okay for me to eat this? Or is this… like a formal meeting between families…?
The food was so extraordinary and luxurious that such absurd thoughts occurred to me.
“Do you… dislike sushi?”
When I was hesitating, Baek Woojin asked with a worried expression.
“What? No! Not at all!”
I quickly sat down as Baek Woojin suggested and picked up chopsticks.
“I’ll eat well…”
I said that, but I was contemplating what to eat first when Baek Woojin, sitting across from me, first ate a piece of sushi topped with pure white sashimi.
“……”
I also followed him and put an identical-looking piece of sushi in my mouth.
And then… I felt it.
“It’s delicious…!”
I don’t know what kind of fish this is or what part it’s from, but the moment I put it in my mouth, the sashimi and rice melted smoothly. It was truly a heavenly taste.
In the real world, while living alone and trying to save money, I only ordered sushi for delivery once on moving day… What I just ate was so delicious that I couldn’t believe this was inside a novel.
“That’s fortunate.”
Baek Woojin, who had been staring at me like that, this time put a gunkan topped with plenty of flying fish roe in his mouth. I also picked the same thing and put it in my mouth.
“Mm!”
I couldn’t help but make a sound. It was hard to keep my hands and feet still, so I ended up fidgeting frantically. But when Baek Woojin gave me that penetrating look again, I quickly restrained myself.
Even though I’m not really Chae Seungyeon, let’s not be too excited. I need to make a good impression on my in-law…
Keeping only that thought in mind, I continued eating with Baek Woojin for a while.
Our eating styles were really different. I had a hard time controlling my body that got excited with every new piece of sushi I ate, but Baek Woojin had a very calm expression throughout the meal.
That was also fascinating, so while chewing sushi, I would alternately look at the next piece of sushi I was going to eat and at Baek Woojin.
“Ah. I finally feel like I’m alive…”
When my stomach was somewhat full, I suddenly became curious. Because while Baek Woojin, who is Kkotsu’s father, was in this house, the child’s mother was nowhere to be seen. It might be rude to ask someone I just met, but Baek Woojin and Chae Seungyeon are future in-laws. I thought it wouldn’t be bad to do some background checking in advance.
“Um… but, by any chance, Kkotsu’s…”
Then I closed my mouth again.
Oh right, since this is a world where men can also get pregnant, how should I address them? The child’s mother, father…?
“Died from a chronic illness a few years ago.”
“……”
Baek Woojin answered right away as if he knew what part I was curious about. I was flustered because his answer contained such professional terminology though.
Clack.
“Oh, you’re already finished eating?”
He hadn’t even eaten many pieces of sushi, but I was surprised when Baek Woojin put down his chopsticks and asked.
“Yes.”
“I see…”
I muttered while staring intently at the sushi Baek Woojin had left behind. Then, reading my expression, Baek Woojin pushed the bowl toward me.
“It’s leftovers, but… if you don’t mind, you can eat them.”
“Yes, I’ll eat them all up. How great that there won’t be any food waste?”
I gladly accepted his offer and popped a piece of eel sushi into my mouth and chewed it.
“You eat well.”
Baek Woojin said while watching me eat attentively.
“I think you’ll probably need to get a new prescription. It would be better to change the medication or reduce it…”
“Ah, then yes. I don’t need to take those medications.”
Slurp, I dipped the buckwheat noodles in the soy sauce broth, pulled them out and ate them, then grabbed and tore into a shrimp tempura.
This salty, crispy, and savory taste. It’s the taste of heaven. Really…
“…Is it because you were possessed?”
“Yes, yes, that’s right. Ah, this is really delicious. It’s incredibly crispy, isn’t it?”
“……”
I was so busy eating for a while, but at some point I felt a gaze boring into me. Only then did I think “oh no.”
Was he surprised because I ate like someone possessed by hunger? It was a bit embarrassing…
I hurriedly wiped the corners of my mouth with a tissue and looked at the clock hanging on the wall. Unlike the child’s room, there was a clock here. 12:35. This can’t be. I ate so extravagantly but only 20 minutes had passed? I’m not a competitive eater… it was a bit embarrassing.
“Please eat slowly.”
“Ah… no, I’m done eating… just eating this…”
I slurped the buckwheat noodles once more and put down my chopsticks. Then, as if he’d been waiting, Baek Woojin opened his mouth.
“Around two o’clock, an elderly lady will come to pick up Kkotsu. If you need to contact me for anything…”
He took out a business card from his suit pocket and gave it to me. On the white business card with no patterns, it said ‘YS Psychiatry Specialist. Director Baek Woojin’ along with an email address and cell phone number.
“Well then, I’ll take my leave first.”
As I stared intently at the business card, Baek Woojin spoke like a guest visiting someone else’s house and stood up from his seat.
“Um… Woojin-ssi.”
I approached him as he was putting on his shoes at the front door in the blink of an eye.
“Thank you so much. For saving me at the bridge, and for readily letting me into your house like this… Ah, lunch was really delicious too.”
“Is that so.”
“Yes, people like Woojin-ssi absolutely don’t exist in the real world. You’ll really be blessed.”
“……”
“I’ll clean up everything… and I’ll leave before it gets dark. Thank you so much.”
I bowed 90 degrees at the waist. But at that moment, Baek Woojin grabbed my shoulders and made me straighten my back.
“Where are you planning to go?”
“…What?”
“Don’t go anywhere until I get off work, stay here. It would be better to talk with me again then.”
“No, but… I’ve already imposed too much…”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
