Chapter 53
Chapter 53
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: The Festival Thief
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The inn signboard and menu board we were in charge of were coming along smoothly.
Schwick schwick.
The signboard, being handmade bit by bit, certainly fell short of the polish of a printed one, but it had that differentiating charm, you could say.
It gave off a strongly special vibe.
And then there was the menu board Hyorin was drawing—what about that.
"Almost done."
"Yeah, just need to fill in the prices. You?"
"Me?"
To Hyorin's question, I casually turned my gaze to look down at the inn signboard placed in front of me.
I'd drawn the picture on a signboard mock-up I'd prepared in advance.
At a glance, it looked just like Han Ye Art University's inn, with illustrations of food on both sides and the school scenery incorporated.
Not bad at all, considering it was made in such a short time.
"Well, mine's almost done too."
Schwick.
At my words, Hyorin casually turned her gaze to look at the signboard I'd drawn.
She then flashed a bright smile and praised it.
"Cool. I knew you'd nail it."
I felt a bit embarrassed by the straightforward compliment, but since Hyorin liked it, I was in a good mood.
"But hey."
"Yeah?"
"We won't have to do more work after this, right?"
The worry suddenly hit me, so I asked. Hyorin shook her head, still smiling.
"The seniors don't hate us that much."
"They've already given us plenty to do, which is no small amount."
"Once this is done, there won't be anything else. We'll probably just take a break and help out with sales in the evening or something."
I'd never run an inn before, so I was a little excited. But business isn't as easy as it sounds.
I was looking forward to it while also feeling some anxiety on the other hand.
Step step.
Someone approached beside Hyorin.
"Wow, you two really have quick hands."
"Oh, senior. You're here."
"Everyone's working hard."
The person Hyorin called senior was Bang Ji-hyeok sunbae, a second-year in our department.
There was only a one-year difference in our ages, but because I'd finished my first-year second semester and gone to the army, there was a big gap in our student numbers. He was what you'd call a returnee student.
"Honestly, I'd like to help too, but our department has always had the first-years handle the festival signboards generation after generation. It was seriously tough for me back then too."
Lost in memories of the past, senior's gaze drifted into the air.
Hyorin laughed as she responded to his story.
"Still, thanks to the photos you showed us, we could work more smoothly."
"Yeah, glad that helped. If you need any more help from me, just say the word. I'll do whatever I can within what I know."
"Thanks, senior."
"Sure."
Bang Ji-hyeok sunbae lightly waved his hand at those words and walked toward the building where the department office was.
Watching his retreating figure, Hyorin smiled as she spoke to me.
"It's good we have a senior like him, right?"
Sure, it was better than getting no help at all.
But...
'Hmm...'
Something felt off.
Not just an emotional fluctuation, but a nagging, unpleasant sensation.
"Kanghyeok Lee!"
"Y-yeah! What?"
"You were so lost in thought you didn't even answer when I asked."
"Oh, you called me?"
"......"
Hyorin narrowed her eyes as she looked at me.
She soon changed her expression, stretched with a big yawn, and said,
"Then let's wrap this up quick and take a break too. I'm tired from rushing around since morning."
It'd be weirder if she wasn't.
"If you're worn out, go rest first. I can finish up and catch up."
"No, we said we'd do it together. Can't bail first."
It didn't really matter to me.
The work was almost done anyway, and all that was left was writing a few letters.
But Hyorin showed no sign of wanting to rest ahead of me.
"So let's finish fast and rest together."
I stared steadily at Hyorin as she said that, then quietly asked,
"I notice it sometimes, but you really have this mature side to you."
"Yeah, a mature side?"
"Yeah, look at you now. Even though it's tedious and tiring, you're giving it your all because you took it on."
"That's..."
It wasn't empty flattery.
I genuinely held Hyorin in high regard for her sense of responsibility toward her own tasks.
"If you weren't working hard, I wouldn't be either."
Well, the issue was that she herself didn't acknowledge it.
"So like senior said, take it easy. You'll wear yourself out."
Schwick.
At my tone, Hyorin lifted her gaze to look at me.
"Are you worrying about me right now?"
"Worrying, what..."
"Come on, you totally are. You saw me struggling and wanted to give me a boost."
I didn't have much retort to Hyorin's teasing tone. Sure, there were other reasons too, but part of it was wanting to encourage her.
But her follow-up words filled me with intense doubt.
"But you don't need to. I'm already happy right now."
"Happy...?"
"Yeah. So you don't have to do anything—just stay by my side."
"Why?"
I asked again what on earth made her want me by her side, but no proper answer came back.
Smile!
I could only stare steadily at Hyorin, who was just gazing at me and smiling.
My story wasn't over yet. But I couldn't continue with any more explanation.
"So then, what happened next?"
Daeun had her face so close it felt burdensome.
"Daddy's stories are fun."
It was an adult story.
Full of emotions that would be hard for little Daeun to understand.
"Yeah! Super fun!"
Daeun really loved the stories I told her.
That made me curious.
What part was fun, exactly.
"What part was fun?"
If I knew, I could tell her more stories like that later.
But the part Daeun liked about my stories was completely different from what I'd thought.
"Hmm, all of it."
"All of it?"
"Yeah, Daeun loves Mommy stories."
Not about what kind of story—it was just that they were about Mommy. Did Daeun like any story about Hyorin?
Daeun said,
"Daeun loves Mommy a ton! But Mommy's so busy she can't come see Daeun. When Daddy tells Mommy stories, Daeun's super happy."
"......"
I couldn't say a word.
The word "death" was far too cruel for a young child like Daeun.
Just the fact that she'd never see her loved one again was heartbreaking enough.
'Daeun...'
It seemed Daeun vaguely knew too.
So maybe she was trying to overcome her longing for Mommy through stories of the mother she never knew.
"So Daddy! Tell lots more Mommy stories!"
Nod.
At Daeun's words, I nodded my head small.
"I'll tell you all of them. From the first time I met Mommy, to the moment we had you. I'll tell you every single Mommy story Daddy knows."
It wasn't just that she liked them because they were about Mommy.
This was...
Daeun's own way of overcoming the sadness.
"Yeah! Thanks, Daddy!"
Daeun beamed as she spoke, and my face naturally broke into a smile too.
That was when I learned Daeun's secret.
There was still one person who couldn't unravel the secret.
That was Chang-sik.
"Daeun... Can't you tell just uncle? It'll be our secret."
Schwick.
Chang-sik kept challenging her because he desperately wanted to know Daeun's secret, but the result was always failure.
"No way! It's a secret!"
"Ah... I really mean it, just for uncle. I'll keep the secret for real."
No matter how much he begged, it fell on deaf ears.
Shake shake.
"No. Daeun won't talk!"
"Why?"
He looked genuinely curious. He even seemed a bit wronged at a glance.
Even so, Daeun never opened her mouth.
Flick!
At persistent Chang-sik's questions, Daeun finally clamped her mouth shut and turned her body away.
Faced with her silent declaration that she absolutely wouldn't tell, Chang-sik finally had to give up.
He let out such a deep sigh I thought it'd dig a hole in the ground. I cautiously approached Chang-sik and patted his back.
"She'll tell you someday. Don't be too disappointed."
"They say the sister-in-law who stops you is more hated than the mother-in-law who beats you."
Schwick.
"You're a real jerk."
Chang-sik raised both hands in surrender after seeing my playfully smiling face.
"I seriously don't know how I ended up tangled with you. I feel it every time an article drops, but I'm the only bad guy here. Fine, I'm the bad guy. Wow! I'm the bad guy!"
Had he finally lost it?
Regardless of people watching, he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
At Chang-sik's antics, Jungeun Park snapped a photo of him with his camera, then vaulted over the counter.
Click!
"Painter Bae Chang-sik, finally gone mad..."
"You! Delete that photo!"
"Eek!"
"Hey!"
"Oh! Phone call! Incoming call! Phone!"
At the prank, Chang-sik gave chase while Jungeun fled.
Seeing that made me laugh involuntarily, and at that moment, I got this sense of déjà vu, like I'd seen a similar scene before.
Like I'd witnessed it once already.
'Come to think of it, I think I was being chased back then too—what was it about?'
Right then, a voice flashed through my mind.
Thief!
"Thief!"
When the work was nearly done, a sudden shout rang out. I stopped what I was doing and looked around.
"Thief?"
At that moment, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his 50s was running toward us from far away.
'What?'
We were preparing for the festival, and suddenly a thief was charging straight at where I was.
In this absurd situation, even Hyorin panicked.
"K-Kanghyeok."
Worried Hyorin might freak out, I decided to calm her first.
"Stay put and it'll be fine. So don't move—let's avoid him as best we can."
The thief-looking guy had closed in right near us.
One wrong move and we could get dragged into trouble, so I tried to dodge as much as possible, but the thief's feet were faster than expected—and the signboard in the middle of the path made it hard to evade.
"Damn it! All of you, move!"
The thief kept swinging his arms wildly to shove us aside, but it wasn't easy to dodge because of the signboard's size blocking the way.
In the end...
"Eeeek!"
The thief swerved sharply away from the signboard toward Hyorin, who was working on the menu board.
Startled, Hyorin let out a shrill scream, and I instinctively threw myself forward.
Thud!
Thanks to throwing myself in time, I barely managed to trip the thief.
If I hadn't, he would've crashed right into Hyorin.
The very thought made my hair stand on end.
But the problem was, that wasn't the end of it.
Gulp.
I'd thankfully protected Hyorin, but the issue didn't stop there.
"You bastard! I told you to get out of the way!"
The thief yelled threats in the most shameless way.
"Hey! You're dead later! Yeah! I'll kill you!"
He pointed at me and spewed curses, then immediately turned to run again.
But the security chasing him had blocked off his escape route.
"Grab him, all of you!"
"Damn it!"
Three security guards narrowed their encirclement and lunged to seize him.
The middle-aged thief nimbly dodged the three guards and charged back toward me.
And then.
Grip!
"K-Kanghyeok!"
'Ugh...'
I'd been taken hostage, the middle-aged thief strangling my neck from behind.
"Damn it! One more step and I'll kill this punk! Hey! Back off now!"
If he'd just surrendered quietly, it'd only be theft, but this went way beyond.
The guy didn't care, though—he even pulled something sharp from his pocket and pressed it to my neck.
"A-Any closer and I'll kill this punk! Back off now!"
At the thief's words, the security guards panicked, and the standoff dragged on.
'Hmm...'
What to do.
The situation was extremely dangerous. I didn't know what was pressed to my neck, but one slip and it'd pierce right through.
So the only thing I could do right now was slip out of this when the thief was distracted elsewhere.
I exchanged glances with the security staff watching me anxiously once, taking in the surroundings and the thief's reactions...
Bang!
"Gurk!"
"Huh?"
A sudden dull thud rang out.
"Gahk!"
The hand gripping me went slack, and the guy toppled straight backward.
A moment later, Hyorin—clutching a scrap of leftover wood from the signboard in both hands—asked in a trembling voice,
"K-Kanghyeok, a-are you o-okay?"
It seemed Hyorin had saved me.