The Unexpected Surprise
As I thought that, I ran my index finger across the bridge of my nose under my nose to wipe away the scent of catnip.
I felt strangely hungry all of a sudden.
“Now what time is it…”
I checked the time and it was 1:12 in the afternoon.
Come to think of it, lunch had been over a long time ago.
I had gotten so used to the hospital meals that I hadn’t even thought about cooking something proper.
Finally, I stood up without a word and headed toward the kitchen.
I opened the refrigerator in our house for the first time in a week.
I always had kimchi and fresh eggs in the fridge, but now I saw spinach stew, braised quails, and unopened sausage packages that I’d never seen before my hospitalization.
And in that square container was… curry?
Mom must have made it during my stay.
If there was curry, at least I wouldn’t have to worry about side dishes.
Today’s side dish was simple.
“Hmm, hmm.”
Hummed a tune of unknown origin, I bent over and pulled out the curry container.
I held it carefully with both hands so I wouldn’t drop it.
After setting the curry on the table, I grabbed a plastic container with enough rice for one person.
I combined the cold rice and cold curry in a wide bowl.
I popped it straight into the microwave for five minutes, hit start, and then headed to the computer.
In the meantime, Hyeonseo was sprawled on the floor with the game console, which I had been hoarding all week at the hospital.
“What did you do at the hospital?”
“Just some tests and some contracts.”
The microwave hummed as Hyeonseo’s question overlapped with it.
I answered in a flat tone, as if merely replying.
“Hmm.”
After I answered, Hyeonseo let out a meaningful sound.
It seemed he wasn’t really that curious, so he just hummed and didn’t ask more.
“Why?”
“No, just curious.”
When I grew suspicious at his casual reply, he brushed it off with “I was just curious.”
After watching a short video, the microwave beeped.
The sound that the rice was ready sent me hurrying over.
I took out the bowl with steam rising using an oven mitt.
I set it on the table and headed to the computer.
Like fried rice, I only needed a spoon.
I thoroughly mixed the rice and curry, then sat hunched over in front of the computer and started a video.
The unique spice aroma of the curry and chunky vegetables mixed chaotically in my mouth as I chewed.
Our family curry had quite thick chunks.
Onions, carrots, potatoes, enoki mushrooms, and meat were the main ingredients.
But among them, there was an uninvited guest that stood out.
Green flakes that had broken apart from long boiling.
Number one vegetable that gets messy when boiled too long.
Broccoli.
I hated it.
But since I couldn’t not eat it, I just swallowed the curry rice without complaint.
Instead, when the broccoli went in, I neutralized it with a quail egg from the stew.
I should have skipped the broccoli.
I grumbled inwardly for a moment, but I finished the bowl in one go.
The day after tomorrow was when I had to go back to school.
Even though it was Saturday lunch, I hated the coming Monday.
Why did the weekend only last two days?
As I muttered that to myself, I grabbed the empty bowls and headed straight to the sink to do the dishes.
Just as I was passing through the living room.
The sound of a door opening rang in my ears.
It was Dad.
A Saturday lunch, the person bursting through the door was Dad.
The guy who only played console games or watched baseball on TV when he wasn’t working late.
What had he gone out for?
The question didn’t linger long.
Dad held a box of appropriate volume in one hand.
The box was printed with the new console game that had just come out.
Was it bought with the money I gave him?
Even though it was obvious, I asked casually.
“Dad, what’s that?”
“Oh, this?”
Then Dad showed me the box with a happy face.
He leaned in close to my ear and whispered like a secret.
“I bought it with the money you gave for Parents’ Day. I’m telling Mom I got it used.”
Dad was already planning to lie only to me, having hidden the money he received.
He was going to say he bought it cheap used for Mom.
“Dad, that device alone costs eighty.”
“I saw it in your game-related streamer videos.”
“And Dad.”
“Now my ears are gone from there.”
“But Mom has her own thoughts…”
After hearing Dad’s ridiculous plan, I replied in a cold tone as if it made no sense.
“You know Mom is a hardcore game hater.”
“Yeah, but.”
I knew game knowledge was lacking on his side, but the price of game consoles wasn’t that high.
Even if I hadn’t said I gave money to Mom or Dad, she probably sensed it vaguely.
Looking at it from both sides, wasn’t this too bold an act?
Mom would easily suspect that a son bought a game console with a million won just given to him.
I don’t know, it was Dad’s doing anyway.
At least I wouldn’t get in trouble for giving the money.
“Anyway, is it a secret from Mom?”
“I’ll keep it secret, so just act like you bought it used.”
Despite the ominous feeling, I answered with disgust at Dad’s firm request.
With a box that stiff, saying it was used would make no one believe it.
“Oh, yeah yeah! That’s right.”
After taking my advice, Dad immediately held an unboxing party in the living room.
To show evidence that he bought it used somehow, he started tearing open the plastic and disposing of the trash.
It seemed he thought adding details would make it perfect.
Maybe his brain went numb with joy at receiving secret pocket money from his son.
If I were in Mom’s position, I would have suspected “Isn’t this money the son received for a game console?” but he even planned to lie about it being used.
Should I say his lies were shameless or simple?
While worrying if such a plan could even succeed, I scratched my head and headed to the sink.
It was Dad’s problem anyway.
It was already out of my hands.
Just as Mom returned from buying something.
Dad was playing games in the living room as if he had done something wrong.
It caught Mom’s eye.
I had come out to drink water and accidentally saw it.
We got front-row seats to the parents’ conversation.
“What is this? A game console?”
“Uh, a coworker gave it away cheap because he wasn’t using it.”
Mom was naturally suspicious of the unfamiliar game console.
Dad spilled lies without even wetting his lips.
“How much?”
“Not much, about twenty…”
When asked how much, Dad offered a whopping two hundred thousand won.
He sliced it in half twice, making it almost a quarter.
As someone who knew the original price, I had to laugh.
“Two hundred thousand each!?”
But Mom, who couldn’t understand anyone spending tens of thousands on games, glared at Dad with wide eyes.
“Twenty million each?!”
Actually, Dad had cut the big amount so much that he probably didn’t realize she’d be this shocked even at two hundred thousand.
He hastily tried to fix it.
If she knew the original price, she’d flip the whole house.
I swallowed that thought and drank water, then obediently went back to my room.
“Why, what is it?”
When I returned to my room, the person waiting was Hyeonseo.
He had his eyes wide open and asked for the clear conversation content of Mom and Dad.
“Dad bought a game console.”
“Oh.”
Answering as if it was nothing, Hyeonseo immediately understood with a short explanation.
He knew Mom was a fierce game hater.
Remembering when Hyeonseo had tried to bargain with Mom over buying a healing farm game, it was still pretty shocking.
If Dad hadn’t convinced her, Hyeonseo probably couldn’t have bought the game console either.
In that family atmosphere, Dad buying a game console meant…
Hyeonseo could easily guess something had happened.
Soon after, Hyeonseo typed on the keyboard with a short complaint.
“Mom hates games too much.”
“That’s bad.”
I agreed with that opinion.
One of the few times Hyeonseo and I agreed on something.
We’d watch streamer videos and think about games we wanted to play, maybe a couple.
But since Mom was the one approving, we couldn’t even ask to buy a six or seven million won game.
But lately, the situation had changed.
Even though it was money we were “eating” under the guise of research funds, it was actually money I had earned myself.
I didn’t even need Mom’s approval.
“…Should I just buy it with a new account and connect it?”
“Oh…!”
Hyeonseo let out a sigh at the sudden thought.
The account was shared anyway, whether I or Hyeonseo.
If it was a game anyone could play on one console, there was no need to save money.
Rather, I could take control of it by saying I bought the game.
“Hey, then what should we buy first?”
“I wanted this.”
While Dad and Mom were fussing over the new game console, we secretly made a gaming alliance and quietly expanded the games on the console in our room.