Chapter 11
Chapter 11
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 11
Chapter Title: Da-jeong's House
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Lately, every single day has been a joy.
There are plenty of reasons, but if I had to pick just one...
[Yuna] - Good morning!
[Ji-ah unnie] - Yuna, you woke up early again today?
[Ra-hee unnie] - You're seriously so diligent.
It's got to be because of all the messages filling up the group chat every morning when I check it.
[Yuna] - Gotta go to the gym!
[Yuna] - Don't you sisters and Da-jeong do any exercise?
[Ra-hee unnie] - I've been doing Pilates lately.
[Ji-ah unnie] - Just a quick gym session in the evening?
[Chae-yoon unnie] - Guess I'm the only lazy one.
[Chae-yoon unnie] - (embarrassed laughing emoticon)
Everyone's so diligent with their workouts.
And yet Chae-yoon unnie has this amazing figure without even trying much. It's surprisingly genetic, I guess.
[Da-jeong] - I don't do separate workouts either.
[Da-jeong] - But lately, it feels like I should start.
[Da-jeong] - My stamina is just... too poor...
Back when I was a guy, my stamina wasn't half bad.
But now as a girl, even a little movement leaves me gasping for breath.
It's a bit unfair, honestly.
At my words, all the members except Chae-yoon unnie jumped in to share their exercise routines one by one.
There was so much detail, it felt like enough material for a full research paper.
That just shows how much they care about me.
[Yuna] - Oh yeah, we're finally meeting up today after so long?
[Ra-hee unnie] - Yeah.
[Ra-hee unnie] - Haven't seen each other since that first meeting day.
[Ji-ah unnie] - Already two weeks?
[Chae-yoon unnie] - About that, yeah.
Wow, has it really been that long since we last met?
We video call whenever we can, hop on Discord, text nonstop... it always feels like we're right next to each other, so it hasn't really sunk in.
[Ji-ah unnie] - Da-jeong, how're you getting here today?
[Ji-ah unnie] - President said she'll chew you out if you walk again.
[Da-jeong] - Not sure...
[Da-jeong] - (confused cat emoticon)
As we chatted about meeting at the company, Ji-ah unnie's question hit me like a wake-up call.
Truth is, when President called us all in this time, she specifically asked me to take some kind of transport—no walking—and said the company would reimburse everything with a receipt.
Of course, I'm grateful, but I'm hesitating a little.
If I were a regular employee doing productive work, it'd be one thing.
But from the company's perspective, I'm basically just an unemployed freeloader. Is it okay to burden them with this too?
On the other hand, skipping transport would get found out fast without a receipt.
What to do? As I agonized, Ra-hee unnie's message came through.
[Ra-hee unnie] - Want me to pick you up?
[Ra-hee unnie] - What do you think, Da-jeong?
[Da-jeong] - Ra-hee unnie?
[Ra-hee unnie] - Yeah, I've got my own car.
Ra-hee unnie has her own car?
Come to think of it, I vaguely remember hearing about it on a stream once.
I figured she bought it after starting to earn money, but apparently she's had it from the beginning.
[Da-jeong] - Won't it be too much trouble for you, unnie?
[Ra-hee unnie] - Nah, I'm good.
[Ra-hee unnie] - Unless it's super far.
[Ra-hee unnie] - Send your address just in case?
I don't want to burden the President, but is burdening unnie any better?
I hesitated a bit, but since her nagging would never end otherwise, I reluctantly sent my address.
[Ra-hee unnie] - Not too far from my place?
[Ra-hee unnie] - I'll swing by to pick you up by 11.
[Da-jeong] - Sorry, unnie.
[Ra-hee unnie] - Tsk!
[Ra-hee unnie] - No sorries allowed.
[Da-jeong] - Okay...
Ugh, I got scolded...
But I can't help feeling sorry.
[Ji-ah unnie] - Jealous of Ra-hee...
[Ji-ah unnie] - I wanna go for a drive with Da-jeong too.
In the midst of all this, Ji-ah unnie got jealous over the weirdest thing.
A drive with someone like me wouldn't be fun anyway.
Though for me, just sitting quietly with Ji-ah unnie would be a blast.
Ra-hee drove toward the address Da-jeong had sent in the chat.
She'd downplayed it as not far from her own place to spare Da-jeong's feelings, but it was actually pretty distant.
Even without lunch-hour traffic, it took a good while.
There's a place like this?
Finally nearing the address, Ra-hee looked around with a sense of wonder.
And for good reason—she'd never even imagined a neighborhood like this on the outskirts of Seoul.
Especially not for someone like her, living in what was basically a mansion thanks to her well-off family. This was utterly foreign.
For starters, the steep hill right in front of her looked ominous.
It felt like they'd just clear-cut a mountainside and plop houses on top.
Crammed-together shabby homes and an endless-seeming slope—it all felt so alien to her.
Just head up to the spot Da-jeong mentioned, I guess?
Eyes on the only path up the hill, she fearlessly hit the accelerator.
It felt steep, sure, but a road was a road.
She figured she could make it somehow.
What the—? What's wrong with this road?
But she had to rethink that fast.
The uphill path was way too rugged.
This wasn't some dirt trail for a tractor.
Every bump made the car rattle and shake violently. It was ridiculous.
Walking this in midsummer heat? Pure hell.
Da-jeong lives in a place like this?
The closer she got to the address, the more anxiety swelled in Ra-hee's chest.
And the higher up the hill she went, the smaller the houses got.
Some looked barely habitable, falling apart.
She even spotted one with no door.
Oh yeah, she mentioned cockroaches and rats in her place.
At first, she'd thought the rats were an exaggeration.
But she hadn't even reached Da-jeong's house yet, and it was starting to feel like cold, hard fact.
"Ra-hee unnie!"
"Da-jeong!"
How far up this brutal slope had she climbed?
The end wasn't even in sight, but there was Da-jeong in the distance, waving energetically as she approached.
Ra-hee rolled down the window and waved back happily.
Da-jeong came bounding over like a puppy hearing its owner call—like her tail would be wagging if she had one.
She might trip.
Her frail, almost scrawny frame looked so precarious as she ran.
Ra-hee even briefly considered jumping out and running to meet her.
"Da-jeong, long time no see! You doing okay?"
Ra-hee greeted her warmly as Da-jeong slid into the passenger seat and opened the door.
Da-jeong was so thrilled just to see one of her favorite members that she grinned like a fool, nodding with a "Hehe," before suddenly going glum.
"Yeah, unnie. But I'm really sorry. I feel bad making you come all the way up here..."
"No biggie. It wasn't hard at all."
It had been pretty rough, but Ra-hee told a white lie for Da-jeong's sake.
But Da-jeong wasn't one to buy it.
"No way. Taxi drivers refuse to come up here—they say it's too tough."
"...That bad?"
Da-jeong calling out the fib was surprising enough, but the truth she revealed shocked Ra-hee more.
Taxi drivers would go farther for extra cash.
If even they skipped it for less pay, how insane could the route be?
"Yeah. Last time the President dropped me off, I walked up from the bottom of the hill."
"......"
"I'm used to it, so it's fine," Da-jeong added, leaving Ra-hee speechless.
Imagining that frail body panting up this slope—even as an adult—made her heart ache.
Especially knowing Da-jeong wasn't the athletic type.
She's been walking this every day?
Ra-hee knew Da-jeong had walked to the company the first two times.
At first, she'd assumed it was a walkable distance.
But coming here today made it clear: it was anything but.
Distance aside, schlepping up and down this hellish hill in summer heat?
Thinking of those skinny legs trudging along filled her with pity.
"Oh, right. Unnie, I brought snacks for the car."
Ra-hee had just buckled Da-jeong's seatbelt and was about to pull out when Da-jeong rummaged in her worn-out eco-bag.
Ra-hee tilted her head.
"Snacks?"
"Yeah. Hehe... I felt so bad about making you come, so I figured I should bring something."
"You didn't have to..."
How was she this sweet?
Most people would just accept the kindness without a second thought.
But Da-jeong wouldn't even let that slide, showing this thoughtful side—Ra-hee suddenly desperately wanted a little sister just like her.
Click.
When Da-jeong revealed the contents of a plain old food container, Ra-hee's eyes went wide.
She'd pictured typical snacks like cookies or bread.
This was totally unexpected.
"Da-jeong, what is this?"
"Candied sweet potatoes. The neighbor grandma grows them in her garden and gives me extras sometimes."
"I see..."
It was candied sweet potatoes.
Sure, tang was a common snack or dessert.
But obvious fact: this wasn't something a 21-year-old woman would typically bring as a snack.
In a world overflowing with cakes and macarons, why seek out tang?
Yet Da-jeong presented it like it was the pinnacle of treats, beaming with pride and anticipation.
Ra-hee couldn't bring herself to admit she wasn't big on sweet potatoes.
"I'll feed you since you're driving, unnie?"
"Sure, thanks. Ah~."
"Ah~."
Ra-hee took a bite of the candied sweet potato Da-jeong picked up with a pair of chopsticks and popped into her mouth.
Chewing as she gripped the wheel, she turned the car toward the company.
Tang's pretty good.
That day, she learned for the first time that candied sweet potatoes were delicious.