Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: How to Become More Villainous (3)
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Yoon-seul perched atop Boong-boong #3. Next to her, Baek Su-in crouched down.
The two of them peered into the smartphone screen side by side. They were probably watching a movie. Last time, it was Baek Su-in who showed Yoon-seul *Desperado of the Wasteland*, and she apparently knew a lot about that kind of stuff.
She said her hobby was studying villain characters from various movies and comics.
That must have been the subject of their heated discussion. Which villains were cool, which weren't, and which ones were worth emulating.
Yoon-seul crossed her short legs haughtily or struck a pose like she was shooting something in midair.
Baek Su-in nodded in satisfaction watching her. As I observed them,
"I'm jealous."
She'd stolen my spot because I was busy. Playing with Yoon-seul like that was supposed to be my role!
- One serving of spicy pork stir-fry, please.
"Yes, one spicy pork stir-fry. Got your order."
But the customers just kept coming without end.
Whenever an order came in, I had to take it, cook it, and serve it.
I was destined to work.
Having lots of customers was always something to welcome. That's how we made money and could fulfill the deal with the siblings.
But at times like this, I couldn't help thinking they could trickle in a bit more slowly.
"My stomach's full of myself."
Right now, some restaurants were probably shutting down because they couldn't even cover operating costs, and here I was thinking that.
How immature.
I quickly reflected on myself and got to cooking.
"Instead, when break time hits later, I'll play with Yoon-seul."
I hustled toward the upcoming break time.
Time passed, the customers all left, and once the dishes were done, lunch service ended.
But Baek Su-in's villain lessons were still ongoing.
I wiped the water from my hands and approached Boong-boong. The two nodded at me as a signal.
Then Yoon-seul stepped forward with thudding steps—
Unlike usual, her strides were forceful.
"Opp. Pa."
"Huh? Yeah?"
"Chuu... whoo—"
She yanked the lollipop out of her mouth with a loud pop and blew out roughly toward the outside.
Pretending to smoke a cigarette. I'd tried it once myself as a kid. Thought it looked cool for no reason.
"Yoon-seul got strong."
"Yeah? How strong did you get?"
"Good question!"
Yoon-seul stomped heavily toward the fridge.
She took a deep breath.
"Grunt!"
Clunk—
She succeeded in yanking the fridge door open in one go!
"No way! You opened the fridge door on the first try?"
"Baba! Yoon-seul got strong!"
She stuck out her belly and lifted her chin proudly.
She was clearly thrilled with herself.
Normally, she had to struggle to open the fridge. Plenty of customers deliberately ordered cider and asked her to bring it just to watch her grunt and pull at the door.
Yet this time, she opened it smoothly. Sure, she'd put in a ton of effort, but this was clear progress.
I held out my palm, and she hopped up for a high-five.
"Yoon-seul's gotten super strong, huh?"
"Yeah! Eonni taught me."
"Su-in did?"
- Here, baba.
Yoon-seul shoved a smartphone in my face. It looked like Baek Su-in's.
- Ah, that's...
Baek Su-in seemed flustered, like she didn't want me seeing it.
What could it be? I peeked in.
No wonder.
"A workout video...?"
It looked like a self-recorded workout video of Baek Su-in.
Push-ups on the floor, pull-ups on a bar, squats in place, that sort of thing.
The kind of stuff for a vlog.
"Yoon-seul watched this and worked out following along?"
"Uh... not that."
"Then how'd it make you strong?"
"Eek! Put in lotsa grit! So I got tough. Now Yoon-seul beats the fridge."
Her opponent at our house was apparently the commercial showcase fridge.
Hearing Yoon-seul's explanation made it click.
Watching a workout video for a bit wouldn't actually build strength. I had her try opening the fridge again, and this time she grunted and struggled.
Opening it so smoothly earlier had just been luck.
After struggling in her rematch with the fridge, Yoon-seul wiped her sweat and shook her head.
She looked dissatisfied.
"It worked before, Oppa."
"Why not now?"
"Yoon-seul needs to get stronger."
"So you gotta smash the fridge?"
"Yeah!!"
"Don't smash the fridge, okay? That's the shop's rented one."
The commercial showcase fridge in the dining area was leased—if it broke, we'd have to pay the company.
With her resolve set, Yoon-seul marched over to Su-in with a stern face.
"Eonni, teach Yoon-seul."
- Workout?
"Yeah! Yoon-seul'll work out and get big."
Baek Su-in glanced at me silently.
Asking for permission.
They seemed set on doing something in the shop, but there was no reason to say no.
All the other customers had left.
While they sweated it out, I could prep for dinner service. It was even good to have someone watching Yoon-seul. Sure, I felt a tiny bit jealous about her taking my spot.
I nodded without a word, and Baek Su-in beamed.
- Thanks.
As the two started their workout in earnest, I headed to the kitchen to prep ingredients.
My eyes stayed glued the whole time. It was fun to watch.
The two bickering while exercising looked pretty cute even from afar.
Especially Yoon-seul.
Baek Su-in next to her nailed perfect push-up form, and Yoon-seul thought it was cool, so she tried mimicking the pose.
"Ughhh grunt!!!"
But despite her loud grunts, her belly wouldn't lift off the ground. She tried bouncing her hips for momentum, but it just made her flop like a fish—barely any effect.
After a few tries, she realized it was too much and toddled over to me.
"Oppa, Oppa."
"Yeah?"
"Yoon-seul figured it out."
"What'd our little lady realize now?"
"Getting strong right away's too hard! So Yoon-seul'll get a teensy bit stronger little by little."
She didn't need to get strong at all. This five-year-old had a tendency to crave power like she was aiming to be a destroyer.
Yoon-seul looked deflated, disappointed.
Drawing a line and telling her she didn't need to get strong would've been cruel.
"Then if Yoon-seul gets a little stronger bit by bit, she'll be even more boss-like, right? Wanna try going slow? No rush anyway."
"Yeah, that's good."
With that conclusion, Yoon-seul made a promise with Su-in. She'd complete one push-up on her knees. She was only five, but with effort, it seemed doable.
Because of that promise, during the remaining break time, she didn't ask me to read her a book or take her for a ride on Boong-boong.
She focused on push-up practice.
The tiny kid sprawled on the floor, sweating buckets, was both cute and pitiful. As long as she didn't get hurt, I just left her to it and cheered from the side.
"What five-year-old works out that hard?"
The thought crossed my mind, but it was just like Yoon-seul.
When dinner time rolled around, the first customer was Song Ji-a. No Su-young—just her alone.
She smiled brightly the moment she saw Yoon-seul.
- Long time no see, Yoon-seul?
"Oh! Ji-a Unnie. Why just you today?"
- Yeah, just Unnie. Su-young's eating dinner at home with her family today.
"Rui too?"
- Yeah, Rui too.
"Aww... too bad."
- Disappointed Rui's not here?
"Yeah! Yoon-seul wanted to show off how strong she got."
She struck a bodybuilder pose from a show, flexing her biceps and forearms to show off her muscles.
I poked it—squishy.
"Here for exam study?"
- Yeah, so tired.
"Sit there. I'll whip up something tasty. Want a drink?"
- Cider! Cider please!
I'd given Su-young free tteokbokki last time, so I felt a little bad for Ji-a. I was gonna throw in a cider, but Yoon-seul solemnly raised her hand.
Her turn.
I nodded, and Yoon-seul stood before the fridge with a serious face.
Grunt—screech—
Ugh...
Huh?
"Oppa, somethin's weird."
"Why? Won't open?"
"Yeah..."
I went over and opened it myself.
Snap—
It opened fine.
"Ah, uh..."
Yoon-seul panicked.
She'd been rolling on the floor doing push-ups until just now, so of course her strength was shot. Even for a boss, challenging the fridge in that state was too much.
Ji-a seemed to grasp the situation and patted Yoon-seul's shoulders from behind.
- You got this.
But our boss looked furious.
She clenched her teeth, thought hard, then looked at Ji-a.
"Ji-a Unnie, it's great. Yoon-seul got strong, see? Like whoosh! Even stronger! But now tired, can't open fridge..."
She desperately recreated her earlier push-up pose to explain.
- Yoon-seul got strong? Let me see.
Ji-a leaned down to meet her eyes, trying to humor her. Our boss couldn't ignore that expectation and dove into her practiced push-up!
She bent at the waist, hands on the ground.
Knees down, ready...
Go!
"Hup... gr iiiind!"
But after all that practice, her strength was drained, so a perfect push-up was impossible.
She'd managed three in a row during practice earlier, but now, after losing even to the fridge, she was way weakened.
So there she was, grunting and unable to come up.
But our five-year-old's grit kicked in. She'd just shown Ji-a she couldn't open the fridge, which was embarrassing enough.
Especially after boasting about getting stronger. So she groaned worryingly as she pushed.
It was heartbreaking.
"Yoon-seul, you can stop now... You've tried plenty hard."
I hesitated as her Oppa—should I stop her struggle prematurely? Just then, a mystical, magnificent sound bloomed.
Pffft—fizz...
Like murky gas erupting from somewhere and spreading into the air. Ji-a and I exchanged silent glances upon hearing it.
We knew instinctively it came from the center of Yoon-seul's butt.
She'd clenched too hard, affecting her sphincter.
"Ahh, uh."
We tried to play it off, but she panicked, push-ups forgotten entirely.
"Y-Yoon-seul didn't! Didn't do it on purpose!!!"
Whether she didn't do it at all or not on purpose, her words were falling apart.
Humiliated, the boss glanced around and slipped— whoosh—inside my apron.
"Oppa, hide Yoon-seul a bit..."