Chapter 141
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 141
“Mr. Honeybee.”
A voice shook me awake.
“Mr. Honeybee.”
My body swayed back and forth with the gentle push of a hand. The voice tickled my ear. Dokyun felt it all as he opened his eyes.
At the end of his gaze was Eun-ah, wearing a somewhat drowsy expression.
“…Good morning.”
“Carp.”
…So it was Eun-chae.
With a low groan, Dokyun sat up.
“It’s been a while.”
“Yeah.”
Dokyun scrubbed a hand over his face to wipe away the sleep, then looked at Eun-chae’s energetic face.
She was staring intently at him, her eyes seeming to sparkle.
“Mr. Honeybee, the carp.”
It was another one of her demands.
“…Alright. But should we eat first?”
Nod. Eun-chae’s head bobbed in agreement.
Dokyun let out a soft chuckle at the sight, then took her hand as they walked to the kitchen.
Was it because I’d been going out so much lately? Even though I felt like I’d slept enough, the fatigue refused to leave me.
My whole body ached, and a wave of lethargy washed over me. The thought, ‘Is my body finally reaching its limit?’ would pop into my head from time to time.
As he let out another big yawn, Dokyun saw Eun-chae taking some pork belly out of the fridge. He smiled again, stroking her hair as he spoke.
“I’ll have it ready in a minute, so can you wait for a bit?”
“Okay.”
Eun-chae nodded and headed toward the aquarium in the living room.
She plopped down on her bottom, tilting her head as she watched the fish tank. It looked like she would stay that way until I called for her.
‘What should I make for her…?’
The question followed naturally.
Dokyun hummed to himself, then stared blankly at the pork belly Eun-chae had handed him.
Wouldn’t something like this be too heavy for breakfast? The thought crossed his mind for a moment.
‘…Still, it’s better than not eating, right?’
With that decided, Dokyun grabbed two packets of instant ramen from the shelf and started making pork belly ramen.
My cooking skills had improved immensely since I started living with Eun-ah.
Of course, I was still nowhere near her level, so I wasn't allowed to cook when the real Eun-ah was out. But when the other personalities appeared, I had reached a point where I could elicit some pretty decent reactions.
First, add cooking oil and green onions to a pan to make scallion oil. Then, stir-fry bite-sized pieces of pork belly and onion. Add some Cheongyang peppers and chili powder and fry a little longer, then add water, the noodles, and the seasoning packet to finish cooking.
Once the ramen was done, Dokyun cracked an egg into the pan, stirred it in, and then carried the whole pan to the table before calling for Eun-chae.
“Eun-chae, time to eat.”
Does she really love those fish that much? Eun-chae, who had once again been lost in thought while staring at the aquarium, snapped out of it a beat late and came to sit at the table.
Her eyes landed on the glistening, oily pork belly ramen, and she nodded in satisfaction.
“I’ll eat well.”
“Okay, be careful, it’s hot.”
Dokyun smiled again as he watched Eun-chae use a fork to spear piece after piece of pork, then picked up his own chopsticks.
He grabbed a piece of meat and a mouthful of noodles at the same time, and the hearty satisfaction of a full mouth washed over him.
He followed it with a spoonful of the broth, and the warmth felt like it was gently unfurling his stomach, which had been clenched tight from all the drinking I’d been doing lately.
‘This is good.’
Ramen to greet a weekend morning. A quiet atmosphere. Even the sunlight streaming through the window. It was a truly refreshing morning.
* * *
After they finished eating and Dokyun had helped Eun-chae wash up and check on the pond, he sat on the sofa and watched her.
The secret notebook of the Eun-ahs.
She looked so happy, scribbling away in it with a pen.
Watching her, Dokyun felt a question he had long suppressed rise to the surface again.
What could possibly be written in there that they wouldn't show me?
‘Is it possible… they’re writing insults about me?’
He narrowed his eyes, glaring at the notebook for a moment before letting out a deep sigh and shaking his head to clear the thought.
Whatever it was, it was their private life. It wasn’t his place to interfere.
After a while, Eun-chae, who had been squatting on the floor, stood up and held the notebook out to Dokyun.
“Mr. Honeybee, this.”
She held it out, her eyes sparkling.
Dokyun flinched. ‘Am I really allowed to see this?’ he wondered.
‘…She’s the one showing it to me, so it should be fine, right?’
Having convinced himself, he slowly leaned toward the notebook.
“What is it?”
“Here.”
She proudly opened the notebook to a specific page.
And so, a part of the veiled notebook was finally revealed to me.
-
Hello.
└ LMAO, the gallery master has entered!
└ What, is your mom dead?
└ What’s a gallery master? The princess wants to be the gallery master, too.
└ You’ve worked hard. <- Witch
└ I’ll be in your care from now on.
└ Right. If anything happens, tell him. <- Witch
└ Eun-ah, can I dye my hair?
└ Uh…
└ Don’t cause trouble. <- Witch
└ The princess wants pink!!
└ Uh…
-
The first page of the opened notebook.
Dokyun let out a small laugh at the words of the personalities, who, with the exception of Eun-seol, all seemed to be saying whatever they wanted. Then his eyes fell on the word ‘Witch,’ which was heavily emphasized next to Eun-seol’s comments, and he looked at Eun-chae.
She was puffing out her chest, a wide grin on her face.
“I punished the witch.”
“Good job.”
Dokyun chuckled at Eun-chae’s words and turned his gaze back to the notebook.
Ever since that day Eun-chae had endured Eun-seol’s hangover for her, Eun-seol had become the ‘Witch.’
Was this her idea of revenge? Eun-chae had underlined the parts Eun-seol had written and scribbled the word ‘Witch’ next to them.
The level of her revenge was so cute that Dokyun laughed for a good while longer. When he stroked Eun-chae’s head, she nuzzled into his hand and then flipped to another page to show him.
-
Come to think of it, it’s almost Children’s Day.
└ The day of the lorini, lol.
└ Eun-sam, please…
└ Isn’t this what you made happen, dude? Just suck it up and deal.
└ Idiots. <- Witch
└ What’s a lorini?
└ You don’t need to know. <- Witch
-
‘Ah, that’s right…’
It was almost Children’s Day.
Dokyun realized this as he read through the notebook, then looked at Eun-chae.
Meeting his gaze, Eun-chae showed him the very next page and continued speaking.
“They said Children’s Day is a day for Eun-chae to go play.”
Her voice was filled with anticipation. Dokyun chuckled and looked at the page she was holding out.
-
Should Eun-chae and Eun-ji use Children’s Day?
└ Double loli, damn. Honeybee-dude is gonna lose his mind.
└ You crazy bastard.
└ Fine. Figure out how to split it yourselves. <- Witch
└ What’s Children’s Day?
└ A day for you and Eun-chae to play.
└ Then I’ll give the 4th to Eun-chae and the 5th to Eun-ji.
└ OK OK~
-
Ah, so this is how they divide up the days.
As understanding dawned, Dokyun nodded. While organizing the schedule in his mind, he also filed away a grudge against Eun-sam in a corner of his heart.
It seemed some discipline involving physical force was necessary.
‘What the hell does this bastard take me for?’
I thought she was being quiet lately, but she was pulling this kind of crap behind my back?
Veins bulged on his clenched fist. Dokyun felt his teeth grind together, then let out a sharp breath and looked at Eun-chae.
“Is there anywhere you want to go?”
“The sea.”
The sea… She’s been obsessed with The Little Mermaid lately, so I guess she’s become curious about the ocean.
‘Well, the weather has warmed up.’
A trip to see the sea seemed like a good idea.
Dokyun nodded in affirmation at Eun-chae, whose face was brimming with anticipation.
“Then let’s go to the sea. It’s only an hour or two by car.”
“Okay.”
Another smile escaped his lips as Eun-chae nodded back at him.
* * *
May 4th. It was the day Eun-chae would go to the sea.
“Eun-chae, this too.”
“Okay.”
At his words, Eun-chae lifted her arms above her head, and Dokyun pulled a hoodie over her.
“The sea breeze might still be chilly… Let’s bring a jacket, too.”
“Okay.”
Dokyun nodded in satisfaction, looking at Eun-chae in her short shorts and hoodie. He grabbed a jacket, and the two of them headed to the garage.
As was customary when going out with Eun-chae, the choice of car was left up to her.
Dokyun didn’t really get it, but this was a very important matter for Eun-chae.
Her mood for the day depended on which car they took.
The red one was for days when she felt energetic. The black one was for when she was sleepy. She didn’t want to take the yellow one because she didn’t like the color…
“…This one today.”
Because they were going to the sea, it had to be blue.
When Eun-chae pointed at the blue car with that thought in mind, Dokyun let out a soft laugh and nodded.
“Alright, let’s go.”
“Okay.”
Dokyun watched Eun-chae, who was practically radiating excitement in her seat. He buckled her seatbelt for her, then started the car.
‘About an hour and a half.’
That was the estimated arrival time displayed on the navigation system.
Since it was still early morning, they could play all day if they planned on having dinner there before coming back.
However, if I used up all my energy today, I wouldn’t be able to handle Eun-ji tomorrow.
That couldn’t happen.
Thankfully, Eun-chae was easy to look after since she listened well, but I still had to be mindful of managing my stamina.
With that thought, Dokyun glanced at Eun-chae. He felt a wave of infinite gratitude for Eun-ah’s foresight in scheduling the relatively calm Eun-chae for the 4th as he continued to drive.
The roads began to clear up as they left the city center, and soon the view outside the car window was filled with nothing but mountains and trees.
Feeling a sense of openness, he pressed down on the accelerator, and before long, the coastline became visible between the distant mountains.
“We’re almost there. You can see the sea over there.”
Dokyun said, glancing over at Eun-chae.
The moment she saw the ocean, her mouth fell open in a little ‘heh.’
Eun-chae stared like that for a long while. Once they entered the coastal road, she pressed her head against the window, completely absorbed in the scenery outside.
Her actions made him laugh despite himself. Another chuckle escaped Dokyun’s lips, and as the peaceful atmosphere continued, the car arrived at the sea.
In early May, the beach was still uncrowded, filled with a tranquil energy.
Dokyun got out of the car, took Eun-chae’s hand, and walked toward the water. The sound of gulls crying in the distance, the rush of the waves, the cool, salty air—it all felt like it was clearing his head.
As he stood there for a moment, taking in the sea breeze, Dokyun saw Eun-chae staring at the ocean with wide eyes. He smiled softly and asked a question.
“What do you think?”
Eun-chae, who had been looking at the sea with an expression full of wonder, shifted her gaze to Dokyun and answered, her face slightly flushed.
“It’s big.”
Her eyes turned back to the sea.
Eun-chae stared at the ocean for a while longer before asking Dokyun a question.
“Does the Little Mermaid live there?”
“She does, right?”
He replied with a small laugh.
Watching Eun-chae’s lively reactions, Dokyun smiled once more and slowly began to walk.