Chapter 9, Home Security Guard
Chapter 9, Home Security Guard
6:30 AM.
My eyes snapped open out of habit.
"Haa. Wakey wakey, rise and shine..."
I got out of bed, muttering the NPC-like lines I used to shout in the [Dormitory] back when I was a total rookie.
I neatly tidied up my bedding—the quilt and pillow—and went out to the living room.
Naturally, I was the first one up.
In our house, the person who always leaves for work earliest in the morning is my eldest sister.
And my main job right now is to wake up even earlier than that eldest sister of mine to prepare breakfast.
"What should I make for them to eat today?"
I opened the fridge and did a rough scan of the ingredients.
There's some beef seaweed soup left over from yesterday, so I'll heat that up, and I should roll up a thick egg omelet.
Add some salted squid and cubed radish kimchi to that.
Put out a few side dishes, and it's the perfect breakfast.
I finished cooking, clattering away in the kitchen.
After setting the table for four, I checked the clock and saw it was almost 7 o'clock.
"Time to wake up."
I took off my apron and headed to the master bedroom.
I knocked twice, but there was no sound from inside.
I carefully opened the door and went in.
On the large king-sized bed.
I saw my eldest sister sprawled out, having kicked all the blankets off.
"Haa..."
As always, she's in her underwear again today.
A representative tax accountant at a successful large tax firm that occupies an entire building in Gangnam.
A career woman who looks like she wouldn't even bleed if you pricked her when she's out, yet this is how she is at home every single day.
Can't believe she's forty and has no intention of fixing that.
Of course, she takes such good care of herself that you'd believe she was in her 20s, but she has absolutely zero caution even though her grown adult younger brother lives with her.
"Nuna. Wake up."
I approached the bed and shook her shoulders vigorously.
"Ughhh..."
"Wake up. It's already seven."
Only after I shook her shoulders relentlessly did my eldest sister finally toss and turn.
She sat up, rubbing her messy eyes, and looked up at me with a dazed expression.
"It's already morning...? I just closed my eyes, didn't I?"
"Stop saying weird things. It's morning, so hurry up and eat. And put some clothes on before you come out."
At my scolding, Nuna stretched and giggled.
"I'll be out soon. Smells good."
Watching her get out of bed, I suddenly asked something I was curious about.
"But Nuna."
"Yeah?"
"How did you manage to get to work in the morning during the year and a half I was in the military? You're such a heavy sleeper."
At my question, Nuna stopped tying her hair while looking in the vanity mirror and answered.
"Back then? Back then, I'd wake up like a ghost the moment the alarm went off. I couldn't be late, after all."
"Then why can't you wake up now?"
"It's strange, but ever since you've been home, I don't seem to hear the alarm."
"What kind of nonsense is that?"
"I guess it's because my youngest brother takes care of waking me up and making breakfast, so I feel at ease."
"Geez."
"Anyone listening would think I'm an alarm clock."
"Just hurry up and wash up. The soup is getting cold."
"Alright~"
I grumbled and left the master bedroom.
A while later, Nuna came out of the bathroom and walked to the kitchen.
The disheveled look from earlier was gone, and she was in a perfectly tailored, sharp suit.
"Thanks for the meal."
Nuna sat at the table and spooned up some seaweed soup.
I also finished my meal with Nuna early in the morning.
Afterward, Nuna finished her meal in an instant and stood up.
"Nuna's heading out."
"Yeah. Have a good day."
I followed her to the entrance and saw her off to work.
I waved lightly, telling her to have a good day, and was about to turn around when Nuna stopped putting on her heels and rummaged through her handbag.
"Oh, right. Jae-jun-ah."
Nuna took a black credit card out of her wallet and held it out to me.
"What's this?"
"Living expenses card. Use it whenever you need to go grocery shopping or if there's something you want to eat."
"Oh."
Is this that legendary Nuna Card?
Since it was for living expenses too, there was no reason to refuse.
"Alright. I'll use it well."
I nodded and took the card, tucking it into my pocket.
Nuna grinned, then walked over and gave me a big hug.
Then, as always, she naturally patted my butt twice. Thwack, thwack.
"My youngest. You're really all grown up now."
"It'd be a problem if I wasn't grown up after serving in the military. I am twenty-one, after all."
As I retorted with a smirk, Nuna pulled away from my embrace, looked at my face, and let out a deep sigh.
"Haa... If only our Ha-rin took after you even half as much, I'd be a little more at ease."
Ha-rin.
Nuna's eldest daughter and my niece.
And that kid who is probably thinking about dancing in her pajamas in the corner of her room at this very moment.
I slyly defended Ha-rin.
"Ha-rin is doing well, too. Try trusting your eldest daughter a bit."
"Of course I trust her. But..."
Nuna furrowed her brow slightly and lowered her voice.
"The kid has been acting a bit suspicious lately."
"Su-suspicious?"
"Yeah. It seems like she has more money than her allowance. And it's suspicious how she and Jae-hee are always whispering to each other."
"Second Nuna...?"
As you know, the Jae-hee the eldest sister mentioned is my second older sister.
The youngest of our family's four sisters.
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
Because I know exactly what Nuna is suspicious about.
"...She's twenty, she's allowed to have her privacy. Don't be too sensitive."
"Yeah, well. Maybe I'm just being sensitive lately. I'm off!"
Nuna waved and stepped out the front door.
I watched until the end as the garage opened and Nuna's car pulled out.
Only after the car completely disappeared from view did I let out a sigh of relief and head back inside.
"Yaaawn..."
Just then, I heard someone rubbing their eyes and coming down the stairs from the second floor.
It was Baek Ha-young.
Her school blouse was half-unbuttoned, and her hair was a bird's nest.
"Un-cle. Did Mom leave?"
"She just left for work. You're going to be late for school at this rate. Go wash up."
"Mm..."
Ha-young crawled into the bathroom like a zombie.
Now I have to feed this kid and send her to school.
"Ugh, so busy, so busy."
Being a Home Security Guard's morning is a lot harder than you'd think.
Editing Baek Ha-rin's dance videos.
And editing Baek Ha-young's mysterious restaurant review videos.
Plus, stocks in my spare time.
My life as a Home Security Guard and full-time investor is rolling along very smoothly.
'The problem is that it's rolling on autopilot.'
I barely do any manual labor myself.
I've left everything like video editing and stock buying/selling to the [AI App].
So, there is only one task I am currently most focused on.
It's the housework as a Home Security Guard (unemployed).
3:00 PM.
I am pushing a cart through the fresh food section of a large supermarket.
I've got the living expenses card Nuna gave me, so I should fill up the fridge.
Starting with the Korean beef tenderloin for dinner, to the fruits and various snacks my nieces go crazy for.
And even beer snacks for my eldest sister.
I swept everything I saw into the cart.
After checking out, I walked out of the supermarket with three massive paper bags in my hands.
"Ah..."
As soon as I stepped out of the automatic doors, I sighed at the slightly hot weather.
And the heavy weight of the bags digging into my fingers.
I've finished the grocery shopping, but...
Now that I actually have to carry them, it feels daunting.
'Not having a car is really inconvenient.'
I got my license before I went to the military, but...
I don't have a car yet.
Carry this heavy stuff and walk all the way home?
'Should I just take a taxi?'
Just as I was standing on the roadside, feeling troubled and debating it.
Vroom.
Screech.
Suddenly, a car stopped in front of me.
It was a silver sports car, shining brilliantly under the sunlight.
Sleek curves and a chassis that hugged the ground.
Even to me, someone who doesn't know much about cars, it looked incredibly expensive.
'Even people who drive cars like this come to the supermarket to shop.'
I was admiring it inwardly when suddenly, the passenger window slid down.
Inside, a woman wearing sunglasses was gripping the steering wheel.
The woman lowered her sunglasses slightly to check my face.
"Our youngest, what are you doing here?"
A familiar voice.
Only then did I realize who the car owner was.
"Second Nuna?"
It was my second older sister, Kim Jae-min.
She is a whopping eighteen years older than me, but she possesses that family-inherited youthful appearance that makes her look like she's in her mid-20s to anyone.
"Our youngest. Why are you whining like a puppy? Get in."
Second Nuna said, popping open the passenger door.
"Who's whining?"
"You are a puppy, though. Your tail's about to fall off. Just get in."
"Who's a puppy?"
But I couldn't refuse the temptation of the air-conditioned supercar.
'...I guess I am a puppy.'
"My cute little puppy."
I sat in the cramped passenger seat, stuffing myself in while holding the bags in both hands.
I hugged the bags onto my lap.
"Geez, you bought groceries like you're moving house."
"Eldest Nuna gave me her card, so I just swiped it. But, Second Nuna."
I asked, scanning the luxurious leather seats and the flashy dashboard.
"What is this car? Did you change cars again?"
"I got a big bonus for the first half of the year, so I splurged on one."
"Bonus..."
My second sister holds the rank of deputy general manager at the country's top semiconductor conglomerate.
She's one of the key personnel at that crazy company that hands out bonuses of 1 billion or 2 billion won like it's nothing.
"I'm jealous."
"If you're jealous, our youngest should study hard and go to college."
"I'm comfortable being a high school graduate."
"Then I guess it can't be helped. Just drop you off at Eldest Sister's house, right?"
"Yeah."
Second Nuna pushed her sunglasses back up and skillfully turned the wheel.
The car roared out onto the road with a loud exhaust note.
The ride quality was definitely different.
After catching my breath in the air conditioning, I suddenly asked a question.
"But, Second Nuna. What happened to the car you drove before?"
At my question, Second Nuna tilted her head while pressing the accelerator.
"The car I drove before? The Velts? Or the Maserati? Espresso Martin?"
"Uh... the one you drove right before I went to the military."
"Which car from how long ago are you talking about? I don't even remember, kid."
"Haa."
Second Nuna is something else, too.
How many times did she change cars while I was stuck in the military?
More than that, the car names coming out of Nuna's mouth all sound like cars I couldn't possibly handle.
People say others inherit cars their families were about to scrap.
Can't even do that in our family.
"Why? Do you need a car?"
"No... I can't handle it."
I looked out the window of the speeding sports car and sighed.