Is It My Fault This Time Too?
“Uhm, actually, maybe this broadcast won’t be all that interesting for the two of you to watch. I’m not doing anything fun—just playing games, you know.”
I panicked the moment they said they’d watch my stream, but I barely managed to steady my voice and launch into my excuses.
I was probably lying, of course. Honestly, I wasn’t great at it anyway, and even if I gave them another address, they’d eventually figure it out.
So I had to come up with some reason they shouldn’t watch my broadcast.
Honestly, there wasn’t really a bad reason they shouldn’t. I wasn’t doing anything inappropriate—just gaming. And after that one time my chat got banned, I’d stopped talking in chat completely.
I wasn’t going to ruin anyone’s image with swearing like the other streamers did.
But the shame of it still bothered me. Even when my parents came to school to watch my classes, it was mortifying.
This felt exactly the same.
It was almost like having my parents visit my office to watch me work. Well, not literally, but the feeling was the same.
Of course, they weren’t my actual parents, but the embarrassment was the same anyway.
So I had to make sure they didn’t watch my stream at all.
The best option was to not let them even search for it.
But the uncle was persistent.
“You don’t need to worry. I played games a bit when I was little too. What games are popular these days?”
“You can’t game worth a damn. You’re worse than our son. You should at least admit you got eliminated in the corporate gaming tournament.”
“No, honey, it’s because everyone there is a pro. SpaceCrack is such a high-level game. They’re not easy opponents just because they’re office workers.”
“He didn’t even win one match, though. So that’s why.”
“No, I’ve got a 2400 rating. Not pro level, but enough to win a PC bang tournament among amateurs. Last year’s PC bang tournament, I actually…”
“Last year? Honey, talk to me later. You definitely didn’t enter any tournament last year.”
“Huh.”
The good thing was that thanks to the uncle’s gaming pride, their attention had completely shifted to that topic.
So after we finished eating, I could just get up and leave.
I knew it was proper manners to help with the dishes as the guest, but if I just kept giving excuses every time they asked to see my channel again, it would only make things more awkward later.
So I quickly took the rice the uncle passed me and moved it to our plates.
It was the most natural thing in the world, but he suddenly praised me.
“Oh, you didn’t have to do that. You’re such a good student. Who teaches manners like that these days… oh.”
“Honey.”
He shut up right after. It was comedy gold.
He didn’t even need to mention family education. Who else would learn table manners?
He was probably thinking of our mother and father.
It seemed the uncle knew about our mother killing our father and going to prison.
That was why the aunt was giving me looks.
She probably thought, how could anyone raised in a house like that possibly have proper family education?
But the truth was, until I became a woman, the two of them had been a perfectly normal couple and great parents.
It was just a little bittersweet, but I could let the uncle’s words slide.
“It’s fine. It’s in the past now. And I only did what anyone would do. Besides, I’m the guest here…”
“Just being grateful you brought us meat is enough, and I was worried since you live alone upstairs. Come by anytime you’re hungry. No need to hold back.”
“Exactly. Neighbors are better than distant relatives.”
And just like that, my broadcast story faded from their minds.
It wasn’t like they really planned to watch. Luckily, they’d only asked out of politeness.
It was like asking a novelist what the title of his novel was, or a cartoonist what his comic was called.
Then I could eat without any worry.
The side dishes were ones I probably would have grumbled about in my mind if it had been me before.
Soybean bean paste, anchovy stir-fry, kimchi, kimchi bean sprout soup, fried egg, and white rice.
But when I looked at the glistening rice grains, I realized I hadn’t eaten real rice in a long time.
Not a joke. It felt like the first meal in a month.
Of course. I’d been surviving on cup ramen for so long, but all the Gifticons I’d received were for chicken, pizza, hamburgers—stuff like that.
There had been a Hanwoo gift set, but it wasn’t rice either.
I did give it to them, of course, but still.
Well, I could have eaten rice anytime I wanted.
I could go out and eat out, or order kukbap through delivery, or just grab a triangle kimbap.
I just didn’t.
So the rice itself probably wasn’t special.
My nose stung a little.
Was it because I was genuinely touched by receiving home-cooked food?
Or because I missed the morning rice my mother made while I was still half-asleep?
Either way, I didn’t want to cry in front of the two people who were treating me like family.
So when the uncle and aunt finally picked up their spoons, I picked mine up right away.
And I took a big bite of the rice.
“Uh, uh… you must have been really hungry, student. You should’ve said something sooner.”
“Sigh, I knew it. You’ve been starving yourself because you live alone. Your limbs are so thin. You’re way skinnier than when our kid was on a diet.”
“That’s normal. Soyeong is all bones like her father. She had a strong skeleton, but she wanted to lose weight to look thinner. I never understood. Healthy is the best.”
“Honey! Calling a woman all bones will hurt her feelings! Nope, you’re taking the computer away from you for thirty minutes tonight.”
“Honey, I was wrong…”
They bickered back and forth while I chewed until my throat hurt.
The urge to cry I had a moment ago vanished, and I nearly laughed without meaning to.
If I hadn’t held it in, I would have sprayed rice paste all over their happy faces.
So I swallowed the last of the sticky rice, and quietly served them the side dishes.
It wasn’t something I’d been taught, but I remembered it from some YouTube videos.
There are rules when you eat at someone else’s house—especially when you’re the guest.
They showed it comically on a sitcom, but in reality it was rude to break those rules.
“The rice is so good. It’s way better than what my mom makes. And the anchovy stir-fry is crispy and delicious.”
I had to praise every dish.
That way the cook would feel happy too.
But when I looked at the aunt’s face, there was a hint of sadness.
“Oh, really? It’s been a while since someone praised my cooking. You should say that about the rice too.”
“No, your cooking is delicious every day. It’s supposed to be delicious. Whose hands make it?”
“So express it. Not just that it’s salty or bland.”
“No, that’s not it. It’s delicious.”
Was she thinking it was insincere flattery?
But I really meant it.
The aunt didn’t seem to like empty praise either.
I felt sorry for the uncle, who was probably getting scolded because of me.
Dad’s are probably just picky about empty compliments anyway.
My father would force himself to say nice things for the sake of a perfect family, but most fathers are strict and rough around the edges.
Still, the two of them were always bickering, which was more like old friends than a married couple with a boss.
But I didn’t stop praising them.
Even if I didn’t force it, home-cooked food after a long time felt so moving that I couldn’t help but express it.
“How did you make this kimchi bean sprout soup? It’s so good.”
“Just put in the kimchi and bean sprouts we have at home and simmer it. A little fish sauce.”
“Aha. The crispy edges on the fried egg are also amazing.”
“Hoho, really? It gets crispy when you cook it fast on high heat. Our daughter loved it, and the student likes it too, that’s great.”
“Did you make the kimchi yourself?”
“I used to make it, but now it’s too much trouble. Sigh, getting older. So I buy it already made.”
“Aha. Still, it’s delicious. It’s perfectly crisp.”
The kimchi probably wasn’t homemade, so I stayed quiet.
The soybean bean paste… I didn’t know how to praise it either.
Honestly, it wasn’t my favorite side dish.
But the aunt seemed to be in a good mood because she kept praising the food.
Her shoulders relaxed, and her face lit up with a smile.
The uncle seemed to notice something was off with the aunt, but his own mouth curved up because his wife was getting praised.
Thanks to that, the meal was comfortable.
The two of them really treated me like family, and I could eat as much as I wanted.
Well, if I had to complain about anything, it was that they kept offering me more even though I’d already eaten a whole bowl.
Even that was because the portions had gotten bigger.
The aunt looked sorry that I was still full.
She tried to stop me from doing the dishes, but I insisted.
Instead, the aunt said I should go home and rest, and the uncle offered to drive me home on his way to work.
But the moment we got to the elevator, the awkwardness returned.
It was inevitable when two guys were together.
Of course I was a woman now, but even walking up one floor was faster than waiting for the elevator.
Still, the awkwardness didn’t last long.
All I had to do when we got off the elevator was say goodbye.
“Uncle, you’re heading to work now, right?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, I should go.”
“Tell the uncle I had such a great breakfast. Thank you for taking care of me like this. I hope you have a safe trip home too…”
I thought that was enough, but I forgot how short the elevator door stayed open.
While I was talking, the door started to close, and the uncle frantically pressed the buttons, but he didn’t press the open button properly and the elevator shut anyway.
So the uncle, who’d heard my last words, called out as the doors closed.
[Have a wonderful day, student!]
Even when he was pressing the buttons, he made a mistake.
Wasn’t it strange that the SpaceCrack rating was 2400 and he still didn’t know how to use an elevator?