Chapter 87: The Last Day of Vacation
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 87: The Last Day of Vacation
The vacation lasted three days and two nights.
Our time at the water park had ended yesterday. Currently, I was at a theme park in Gimhae, participating in a "goat-feeding experience."
Baaa—
Baaaa—
A goat crunched away at the grass I held out.
"Wow! Look at them!"
Lee Seung-ah’s eyes widened as she let out a bright giggle. She rubbed her hands vigorously through the goat's fluffy fur.
"...Are you really not going to try? They don't bite."
I turned around and waved the clump of grass in my hand. Behind my back, Ji Nuri was using me as a human shield, cowering away.
"I-I'm really fine."
Nuri’s voice trembled, her face ashen.
"Come here, guys! Over here~!"
Regardless of Nuri’s plight, Lee Seung-ah pranced around the farm like she owned the place, waving her bundle of grass.
Baaa— Baaaa!
Clop, clop—
The goats followed her, their hooves clicking rhythmically against the ground.
"..."
Swish, swish—
Depending on where the goats moved, Ji Nuri orbited around me like a satellite.
'Good grief.'
It was the exact opposite of how she’d been at the water park. There, Lee Seung-ah had been the one flying around with energy, but here, Ji Nuri was showing an unusually weak side.
'So much for her big talk.'
The image of her laughing boisterously before we arrived, bragging about how much fun this would be, was long gone.
— "Th-they're much bigger than I thought...?"
She was fine with cats, but she was apparently weak against large animals. Whether this was a fact she hadn't known about herself until now, she looked genuinely flustered.
"..."
I just stood there blankly. I didn't have much choice, considering Ji Nuri was death-gripping the hem of my shirt. But we couldn't stay like this forever.
I slowly took a step toward the goats. Overcoming the strength of her grip, I walked forward one step at a time.
"Hey, hey! Wait a sec...!"
Ji Nuri fidgeted restlessly but had no choice but to follow. Her steps were hesitant and shaky.
Anyway, that’s how things turned out. As you can see, we ended up hanging out together even after the water park. There were several reasons for this, but the most direct one was that our parents had become incredibly close.
"..."
I turned my gaze toward the fence. From a bench in the distance, I could hear the sound of lively chatter.
"No, so when Seung-ho was little—"
"Oh, really??"
It was mostly the mothers leading the conversation, while the fathers sat quietly, nodding along and chiming in occasionally. They had become friends at a frightening speed.
'...To an outsider, it would look like they've known each other for years.'
The fact that both mothers were naturally social played a part, but the biggest factor was their shared interests. Since they both loved dramas, they had hit it off immediately. The chatter on the bench showed no signs of stopping.
"Hmm..."
Thinking they’d be at it for a while longer, I looked back. A goat was right in front of me. It lifted its head, its long snout munching away.
Baaa—
I could only hear its cry. As expected, no Mini-Me was visible. That made sense—Mini-Mes were only visible on humans.
"Here, take this."
I shoved the grass into Ji Nuri’s hand.
"Huh?"
I pulled Nuri, who had taken the grass awkwardly, to my side.
"Try giving it to him."
"..."
Ji Nuri gulped hard. It wasn't that she was truly terrified of animals; it wasn't a phobia. She was just flustered by a new experience.
— "Ugh... ugh..."
As proof, Ji Nuri’s Mini-Me wasn't producing any noise. Even if her thoughts were wavering, I could still hear clear words. That’s how it is with anything you do for the first time—it’s only natural to feel nervous and hesitant.
"I told you it's fine," I spoke softly.
I carefully reached out toward the goat in front of us.
"Good boy."
Stroke, stroke—
I slowly ran my hand over its snow-white fur. I could feel the fluffy texture between my fingers.
Baaa—
See? He was a gentle one. Perhaps because he was used to people, he stayed still, enjoying the touch.
"Now."
With my other hand, I lightly grasped Ji Nuri’s wrist—the one holding the grass—and slowly guided it forward.
"!?"
Ji Nuri flinched, but she didn't pull her arm back. Though her eyes narrowed into slits, she eventually extended her hand.
Munch, munch—
The goat calmly chewed the grass she held out.
"There we go."
This little guy really was gentle. I softly patted the goat’s head.
"Ah..."
With a short exclamation, Ji Nuri’s eyes filled with wonder. She whipped her head around to look at me.
— "Hmph."
The Mini-Me let out a light chuckle. At the same time, the corners of her mouth quirked up. Her gaze seemed to ask, How's that? She immediately became triumphant, her face breaking into a pure, bright smile.
'Geez.'
I let out a faint smile of my own. How should I put it? Well, it was a smile that was very much like Ji Nuri.
After a vacation that felt both short and long, we began our journey home. Since we were heading the same way anyway, we traveled with Ji Nuri’s family.
Actually, "traveling together" was a bit of an overstatement. We were really just eating together at the rest stops.
"Did the convenience store have what I asked for?" Lee Seung-ah asked, holding a Sotteok-Sotteok in each hand. One of them was mine.
"They didn't, so I bought something else."
"Really? Is it because it's a rest stop? ...What did you buy?"
"Choco Mushrooms, Spicy Potato Chips... and some other stuff."
"You bought a lot."
Well, it wasn't my money.
Seung-ah climbed into the backseat first, and I followed her in. And then, Ji Nuri hopped in right after me.
"?"
I looked back to see Ji Nuri awkwardly squeezing into the car.
"Wait, what are you doing?" I couldn't hide my bewilderment. Why was she coming in here instead of her own car?
"...Huh? What? I got permission."
Ji Nuri tilted her head as if asking what the problem was. It wasn't a matter of getting permission or not; the problem was what Ji Nuri’s parents would think.
— "Ah..."
Then, she let out a small gasp as if realizing something. The Mini-Me nodded its head and continued in a confident tone.
— "...Is Lee Seung-ho getting the wrong idea...?"
What on earth.
"I just got in to play with Seung-ah," Ji Nuri said, pointing a finger at my sister.
"...Uh, sure."
I gave a half-hearted nod. It felt like talking any further would be useless, so I gave up quickly.
"..."
For some reason, I had a feeling the ride back was going to be just as noisy.
Nom—
Ji Nuri snatched one of his snacks. Since Lee Seung-ho was nodding off with the bag in his hand, he was in the perfect state for thievery.
Munch, munch—
"Mmm."
It was delicious. As expected, snacks stolen from someone else tasted the best.
"Hmm... Rainbow."
She then completed the word following "Maple Tree." They were in the middle of a word chain game.
"Forsythia," Lee Seung-ah responded immediately.
"We already did that one."
"For... For..."
Lee Seung-ah groaned, racking her brain.
"?"
Vrrr—
Just then, she felt a short vibration in her pocket.
'Is it Sol?'
It was a DM from Lee Sol.
— [Sol: (Link)]
'Huh?'
A link had been sent. When she checked to see what it was, it was a map showing the location of a shopping mall.
— [Sol: With A-young]
— [Sol: Shopping go?]
More DMs followed in quick succession.
"Hmm..."
Ji Nuri looked out the window. They were currently cruising down the highway. They were still on their way, and she felt like she would collapse the moment she got home. Unfortunately, she didn't have the stamina for a shopping trip.
— [Ji Nuri: I don't think I can today ㅠㅠ]
— [Ji Nuri: Today's the last day of vacation!]
— [Ji Nuri: (Puppy emoticon crying buckets of tears)]
Ding!
— [Sol: (Surprised hamster emoticon)]
The reply came back instantly. She must have been looking at her phone.
— [Sol: (Nodding hamster emoticon)]
Lee Sol seemed to understand. By the way, Ji Nuri was sure she’d mentioned she was on vacation. Sol must have forgotten.
— [Sol: Vacation fun?]
She was asking if the vacation had been good. Ji Nuri scrolled through her gallery. Was there a photo worth sending...?
— [Ji Nuri: (Selfie taken with the pool in the background)]
Ji Nuri sent a photo to Lee Sol.
— [Ji Nuri: They said it's the biggest one in the country, and it definitely was huge.]
She thought it would be fun to go with Lee Sol later. Maybe for a graduation trip or something. Or would they go abroad then?
"Ant...!" Lee Seung-ah shouted.
"We did that one too."
"An..."
Seung-ah fell back into deep thought.
— [Lee Sol: d]
A typo arrived. Ji Nuri tilted her head. As she did, the next message popped up immediately.
— [Lee Sol: What's that in the back?]
'In the back...?'
Ji Nuri looked closely at the background of the photo she’d sent. Lee Seung-ho was faintly visible in the shot. He must have been caught in the frame by accident.
'Oh, I should tell her about this too.'
Ji Nuri tapped away at the keyboard.
— [Ji Nuri: I was actually going to tell you]
— [Ji Nuri: Guess who I ran into here? Seung-ho's family.]
— [Ji Nuri: We ended up hanging out together lol]
Ji Nuri let out a little giggle. Running into someone you know while on vacation—it was a fun topic of conversation, even to her.
"..."
Giggling to herself, she waited for a reply.
"..."
Hmm.
"?"
What gives? The message was marked as "read," but no answer came. Had she fallen asleep while reading it?
"Tank...!" Lee Seung-ah spoke up again.
"Hmm."
Whatever. She’d probably get a message later. Ji Nuri countered Lee Seung-ah’s word.
"Kite."
"Ah, dammit...!"
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