Chapter 228
Chapter 228
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 228
Chapter Title: The Independent One, The One Who Wants to Be
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Today was finally the day Chae-yoon unnie was moving in.
I had planned to wake up early in the morning to prepare for welcoming her.
But because yesterday's stream ended so late, I ended up sleeping in a little.
Rumble—
I hurriedly went down the stairs to the floor below, and noisy sounds reached my ears.
When I got downstairs, I saw moving company workers hauling all sorts of luggage through the elevator.
"Da-jeong, you're up? What happened—you slept in late for once?"
"Ehehe... Sorry. Yesterday's stream went on way too late."
Ra-hee unnie, who had arrived first, spotted me and waved happily.
Feeling sheepish, I scratched my head and peeked into the apartment from the hallway.
There, acting as the homeowner, Chae-yoon unnie was directing where the furniture should go.
"Ah, could you put that one over here?"
"You mean here?"
"Yes, just a bit more to the left... Ah, that's good."
I'd thought Chae-yoon unnie would just plop the furniture down anywhere without much thought.
But surprisingly, she was meticulously adjusting positions with a serious expression.
Well, it was the place she'd be living in from now on, so she had to get it right from the start.
"Huh? When did the maknae get here?"
"Just now. But the luggage isn't as much as I expected..."
"I hate having a bunch of random stuff cluttering up my place. I tossed anything unnecessary ages ago."
Hee, so that's how it was.
No wonder there were fewer pieces of furniture than I'd imagined.
Ra-hee unnie's place alone had all sorts of things everywhere.
"More importantly, is there anything I can help with?"
"Nah, it's fine. I hired cleaners for that, and the movers are handling the rest."
I felt bad for arriving late and wanted to lend a hand somehow.
But Chae-yoon unnie firmly refused and continued giving instructions.
Since there wasn't all that much to move, the apartment started taking shape in no time.
Ooh, it really felt neat and tidy.
Our place had a ton of Tofu-related stuff since we lived together.
Ra-hee unnie's had a slightly elegant, princess-like vibe.
Chae-yoon unnie's felt practical and functional, like that was the priority.
"Oh, right. Ji-ah unnie and Yuna are coming over for dinner later?"
"I heard. We can all eat together then."
"Huh? Tonight?"
I was curiously inspecting every corner of unnie's new place.
Then unexpected news hit me, and I was a little surprised.
I'd heard there'd be a housewarming, but I never dreamed it'd be on moving day.
We were fine with it, but wouldn't Chae-yoon unnie be tired?
The workers handled the heavy lifting, but there was still more organizing than expected, and the first day was always exhausting.
I knew from experience.
"What about dinner? Should we go out?"
"On moving day, it's gotta be jjajangmyeon, right?"
"Ooh, that sounds good too."
Chae-yoon unnie, the person in question, didn't seem to mind at all.
She was already drooling as she pondered the evening menu.
Watching her closely, I suddenly had a great idea and my eyes sparkled.
"Unnie! If it's okay, can I make dinner?"
Unnie's place would be too chaotic today to eat there anyway.
I'd been wondering if we should just eat at our place upstairs.
That's when I suggested treating the members to a home-cooked meal after so long.
I'd eaten with Ra-hee unnie recently since she lived next door.
But I hadn't had the chance with the others.
"Huh? You, maknae?"
"You sure you can handle it, Da-jeong? Making enough for five isn't easy."
Unlike me, who was excited, the unnies looked a bit worried.
Probably because cooking for five people alone was no small feat.
And since both of them were hopeless in the kitchen, they couldn't help much either.
Ahem, but I'm not so clueless that I hadn't thought of that.
And sure, five servings wasn't a small amount.
But filling the table with simple dishes wouldn't be too hard.
For example, bulgogi hot pot.
There were plenty of dishes that cooked in large batches, tasted great, and were perfect for sharing.
"Yes! It's fine. Since it's been a while, I'll put my all into it."
The unnies exchanged glances as I clenched my fists confidently.
Realizing they couldn't talk me out of it, they chuckled and nodded.
"Okay. Guess we'll get to taste maknae's cooking after so long."
"Don't push yourself too hard. Tell us if there's anything we can help with."
"Got it!"
Alright, first I need to go grocery shopping.
Before the members arrived, I rushed out to buy groceries and set the bags on the kitchen table.
The hefty weight matched the impressive amount.
I'd bought extra ingredients just in case, and that's how it piled up.
Guh, it's fine.
Any leftovers I can just eat tomorrow!
This is totally not overspending.
Yeah, not at all!
I checked the clock—it was almost 3 p.m. already.
They were all coming for dinner, so if I started now, I'd make it in time.
Okay, let's do this!
Beep—
"...Huh?"
I was tying my apron strings, pulling my hair back, rolling up my sleeves.
Steeling myself to start prepping the ingredients when I heard the front door open.
Huh, what was that?
Ra-hee unnie?
She said she'd stay to help Chae-yoon unnie with cleanup...
"Who is... Eh?"
"Long time no see, Da-jeong. How was Chuseok?"
"Ji-Ji-ah unnie...?!"
I cautiously peeked out, figuring it wasn't a burglar.
But an unexpected guest appeared, and I nearly dropped the kitchen knife I was holding.
Uwah...! F-First, I need to put this knife down!
"I was going to come in the evening, but I had some business nearby, so I came early."
"What about Chae-yoon unnie and Ra-hee unnie? Did you see them?"
"Yeah, I did. Chae-yoon even said you were making dinner alone, so no need to help her and to hurry over."
"Aha..."
So that's what happened.
Well, Ji-ah unnie was great at cooking.
It felt like she'd been sent as emergency relief.
"Wow, that's a lot of ingredients. How much did you buy...?"
"Ehehe... Well, I wanted to make so many things that I just kept picking stuff out..."
"Jeez, you'd catch a cold trying to use all this. Nobody's eating that much anyway—scale it back."
Ji-ah unnie approached, shaking her head, and lightly tapped my forehead—not even a proper flick.
Ah, right.
Among us members, the big eaters were basically just me and Chae-yoon unnie.
Ji-ah unnie ate a lot of bread, but her regular meal portions were pretty average...
Ra-hee unnie and Yuna went without saying.
Yuna could barely finish an 8-piece sushi set at a sushi place.
Ra-hee unnie was the undisputed queen in that department.
We'd even half-jokingly said among the members that watching Ra-hee unnie eat was like watching a bird peck at seeds.
"From the ingredients, looks like bulgogi for the menu?"
"Yes! And kimchi jeon and japchae too."
"A feast fit for a king. I was craving japchae so bad during Chuseok."
Ji-ah unnie complained that she hadn't gotten any japchae because of her Ireland trip.
Guess she ate a lot of local traditional foods there.
Well, japchae is delicious.
I loved it too.
Honestly, I could easily down three bowls of just japchae, no rice needed.
"Shall we get started? I'll handle the prep, so Chef can cook however you like."
"Hehe, sounds good!"
Just like that, I suddenly had a skilled assistant, and I approached cooking with a much lighter heart.
As the saying goes, even a blank sheet helps when folded together—with unnie's help, we finished the dinner table way faster than expected.
A little past 6 p.m., the members excluding Ji-ah unnie started arriving one by one.
In the living room, the dinner table we'd poured our hearts into was set.
The moment they saw it, their mouths dropped open, and they whipped out their phones to snap photos.
"Whoa, what's all this...?"
"Da-jeong and Ji-ah unnie made all this? Amazing...!"
"Looks so good. Thanks, you two."
Seeing that, Ji-ah unnie and I exchanged looks and smiled contentedly at the same time.
Looks like our efforts paid off.
It wasn't exactly a royal banquet, but it had everything it needed.
"Yesss, tweeted it right away. The Pistas are gonna be so jealous."
"Ahh, I was gonna post it!"
"We can all post it—what are you fighting over?"
Photo time ended, and we all gathered around the table to eat.
They seemed to like the taste—their eating pace was pretty quick, bringing a pleased smile to my face without realizing it.
"Ugh, so jealous of unnie... Now she'll get to eat Da-jeong's cooking from now on..."
"If you're that jealous, move in too."
"I want to...! You know how much I fought with Mom over that during Chuseok?"
Huh? Yuna fought with her mom?
I couldn't ignore that—I paused my chopsticks mid-bite and asked.
"Yuna, what happened with Auntie?"
"Well, since Chae-yoon unnie was moving out, I asked Mom if I could too. Can I be independent now? But she flat-out said no."
"Auntie must be pretty worried."
Ji-ah unnie responded understandingly to Yuna's grumbling.
I got it to some extent, but I felt a bit bad for Yuna.
"Did she say specifically why not?"
Ra-hee unnie, who had been listening quietly, asked out of curiosity.
Yuna pouted and replied.
"She said she's worried. Truth is, my mom's a bit overprotective."
"That's surprising. I figured Yuna's mom would be super laid-back."
"Not at all. Dad's kinda like that, but Mom's pretty strict. She tried super hard to stop me from becoming a Virtual YouTuber too..."
I see.
She'd never mentioned that on stream.
It was news to me, and I was pretty shocked.
"How about having a serious talk?"
"I did this time too. But she wouldn't listen at all. I said I want to focus on work with my siblings at home, so I want to move out, and she scolded me for blaming my siblings... I didn't mean it that way. Now I feel bad toward them too..."
This was a pretty tough situation.
Every family's different, after all.
Even so, I could see how auntie's words might hurt Yuna.
Of course, she probably said it out of worry for her daughter...
But from Yuna's perspective—an adult who'd established herself as a Virtual YouTuber—it might feel like a lack of trust.
Of course, I shouldn't judge based on one side's story.
But it felt like there wasn't even any willingness to negotiate from auntie right now.
I had no idea why she was so adamant...
"Yuna, just my opinion... Auntie probably has her own reasons. Maybe set up a proper time to really talk it out with her?"
"Talk it out?"
"Yeah, there might be things she hasn't said because you're her daughter."
At the very least, I felt there had to be a good reason.
A deep reason she couldn't voice precisely because it was for Yuna's future.
If that was true, a proper conversation would help, so I offered my advice.
Yuna chewed her food, looked at me, then swallowed and nodded.
"Got it. I'll try talking again. Maybe I haven't fully understood Mom..."
"Yeah! You got this, Yuna. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help."
I'd believed Yuna would respond like that.
I grabbed her hand tightly and cheered her on.
Seeing Yuna power through the bulgogi like she was building strength for that day made me smile.
I'm sure Yuna can pull it off. Yeah.