Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Even Farther Away (6)
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After a flood of tears, a time of peace arrived.
That evening, we went out to the city with Grandma for some dining out. Yoon-seul had been expecting fish dishes, but ended up eating tofu.
Gangneung is famous for its sea, but also for its tofu.
Since we were already on a trip, we had to try the local specialty.
Grandma grumbled that we could’ve just eaten at home, so why go out, but she didn’t seem to dislike eating out with her grandchildren.
And then night fell.
“Oppa, Yoon-seul has to sleep with Grandma tonight... Yawwwn.”
She let out a big yawn and made it clear she wanted to sleep with Grandma. She must’ve wanted to spend more time with her after so long. Starting tomorrow, we’d be staying in a room at a nearby resort.
Grandma’s house had two rooms besides the living room, so I got one to myself.
Lying on the bed, I felt lonely.
We’d been sleeping together for the past few months, so there hadn’t been much time apart from Yoon-seul.
“It’s weird without something small wriggling beside me. Kinda miss it now that it’s gone.”
Sometimes she’d squirm too much and it’d be uncomfortable, but now that she wasn’t there, it felt empty.
Siblings are like that, I thought anew.
Lying alone on the soft bed, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling, random thoughts flooded in.
The mattress felt different from usual, making my senses even more heightened.
“Lee Joo-hee...”
I murmured my birth mother’s name.
Through Grandma’s memories, I’d seen her from her childhood days.
She hadn’t seemed like a villain at all.
I could understand why Grandma overlapped Yoon-seul with her.
Once my sister grew up more, they’d probably look really alike.
More importantly, Grandma missed her daughter with an aching heart.
If there’s something you couldn’t do for your child while they were alive, it’s natural for a parent to feel regretful about it.
Still, witnessing that stirred all sorts of emotions inside me.
“Why’s her personality different from what I remember?”
Of course, my memories of Lee Joo-hee were extremely vague. Only fragments from my very early childhood remained.
But the image of that woman etched in my memories was somewhat aggressive, cold, detached, bold, and overwhelming. Especially after Dad passed away.
The Lee Joo-hee reflected in Grandma’s memories was worlds apart from that.
“Memories aren’t always reliable, I guess.”
Even so, if I had to pick which was more accurate, Grandma’s would be.
An adult’s perspective is bound to be more precise than a child’s.
But if that’s the case, where did those awful memories in my head come from?
I still remembered all of it, faintly at least.
I’d overcome it emotionally, but I hadn’t forgotten or erased it from my mind.
“Sigh.”
My head got needlessly complicated, and I let out a sigh.
No point dwelling on it.
I usually kept my smartphone brightness at the lowest so as not to wake Yoon-seul, but I turned it on. I adjusted it a bit brighter.
[Onui Tycoon!]
Time to check in with those other siblings watching over us from somewhere.
[Dal-nim: How’s the trip? Did everyone eat well?]
[Me: The food’s good, but not really Yoon-seul’s taste. Tomorrow I’m meeting Yu-min and Teacher Mi-jeong, so we’ll try some fish or shellfish then.]
[Dal-nim: Excellent menu choices!]
[Me: Why ‘excellent’?]
[Dal-nim: Because it’s tofu, shellfish, and fish.]
I got it just from that.
[Dal-nim: All protein! Tofu for plant-based, shellfish and fish for animal-based—the perfect diet for muscle growth. Impressive.]
[Me: Stop viewing everything through the lens of bodybuilding.]
No matter if the world splits in two, the Onui siblings’ love for working out won’t change.
[Dal-nim: You’re using the on/off switch we added for Yoon-seul’s ability well, right?]
[Me: Yeah, thanks to that, we could eat out worry-free, and she had eggs and chocolate on the train.]
One reason I could never dream of taking Yoon-seul out to eat normally.
Her ability: Food God.
Because of it, people once picked cherry blossoms off the street and ate them by Seokchon Lake.
It ramps up everyone’s appetite that much.
It’s a huge boon for rUnnieng our restaurant, but if it triggered accidentally on the street, it’d cause a mess.
So we used our restaurant’s fame reaching level 2 and the Onui power getting a bit stronger.
Sun-nim said we could now turn Food God on/off. I asked right away, and the feature was added to the [Onui Tycoon!] app in an instant.
Magic friends, those guys.
[Me: Investigation going well?]
[Dal-nim: You mean about Yoon-seul?]
[Me: Yeah. Anyway, I made Trigger Food for Grandma today too.]
One reason I made Trigger Food for Grandma.
We keep intervening in memories via Trigger Food to build up samples for the Onui.
Yoon-seul was asleep, but the memory intervention power itself activated properly.
Thanks to that, I was the only one who glimpsed Grandma’s memories.
Since the ability triggered, it’d help their Yoon-seul research as another sample.
[Dal-nim: Yes, following the Kwon siblings last time, now An Soon-yeon Grandma too. Two samples accumulated, so progress is better than before.]
[Me: Good to hear.]
[Dal-nim: One more sample might reveal something. Or maybe not.]
An ambiguous answer.
No need to get impatient, though.
At this point, what’s there to worry about her having that ability?
As long as I don’t make Trigger Food, it’s not something to stress over in daily life.
Plus, we’ve used it to positively affect people so far.
So her having it doesn’t bother or unsettle me.
It’s more like curiosity-driven research. If not the Onui, then who gave Yoon-seul that power?
I don’t think humans or transcendent beings are limited to the Onui. Still, another entity granting her an ability implies something big.
No matter how cute and lovable she is, being adored by every being in the world is a bit burdensome.
[Me: Don’t rush. Take it slow. We’ll figure it out gradually while rUnnieng the business leisurely.]
[Dal-nim: True.]
[Me: I’ll do my thing, you do yours. Let’s do our best.]
[Dal-nim: Sniff sniff... Smells like a youth drama.]
I was trying to pump us up, but Dal-nim’s joking again. I chuckled lightly, placed my smartphone by my head, and tried to sleep.
Creak—
That’s when it happened.
The door slowly opened.
Then, a little angel with her hair tousled from sleep peeked her head in.
“Zzz... Zzz...”
“Oppa pretending to sleep.”
“...”
She made actual “zzz” sounds out loud, and the 5-year-old caught on immediately. After boss and villain, now she’s after detective too? Sharp deduction.
“What brings Yoon-seul all the way here?”
“Um... Listen once.”
Yoon-seul stood aside, leaving the door slightly ajar.
From outside the door,
Rumble— grrrumble!
Grrrrrrumble...
The snoring roared like thunder.
It was Grandma.
Maybe from the drinks, her snoring was intense.
It was audible even here—what must it be like right next to her?
“Grandma’s snoring keeping you up?”
“Yeah... Yoon-seul give up. Tried endure, but no. Sleep with Oppa. Tired.”
Her tongue’s slurring like the sandman’s bothering her nonstop.
I shoved aside the pillow and shifted my body to make space. I patted the newly spacious spot beside me a couple times.
Getting the signal, Yoon-seul giggled “hee-hee!” and crawled onto the bed.
She glanced at me, then burrowed into my chest.
She rubbed her face all over.
“Why so clingy today?”
“Grandma nice.”
“Happy to see Grandma after so long?”
“Yeah.”
“We should come more, but Oppa’s busy with work, so we can’t often. Sorry.”
“’S okay. Call lot.”
“Fine. We video call a lot, right?”
“Yeah.”
After a few words, she buried her face in my chest again. She does this at home sometimes too. Especially on nights she can’t sleep.
Rubbing her belly then sends her off to dreamland.
I placed my hand on Yoon-seul’s belly and gently rubbed.
Her mouth curved into a fan shape, her eyes relaxed.
She smacked her lips, then her breathing evened out.
Sniffle—
She fell asleep with soft snores.
“Better with her here.”
Strangely, it felt more stable now than when I’d been lying alone earlier.
Must be because I’m used to having my sister beside me.
“Time for me to sleep too...”
I closed my eyes.
Cleared my mind to drift off.
Sniffle—
Snore!!
“...”
The 5-year-old was in no position to judge.
Worn out from roaming around since morning on the way to Gangneung, her snoring was pretty loud.
Like grandmother, like granddaughter—the snore sounded similar to the one outside.
There’s a trick for this.
Gently place your fingertip on her nostril tip and press like a button.
Snore...
Sniff, sniff...
The snoring stops for a bit.
Another pearl of parenting wisdom.
It’s been nearly half a year putting my sister to sleep beside me. This is basic knowledge.
I call this phenomenon the “Snore Stop Button.”
“Now really sleep...”
Even with the button pressed, the 5-year-old’s snore could strike back anytime.
I let my mind go.
Fortunately, I’d gotten up early today and was tired.
**
Early morning.
Rubbing my eyes, I headed to the kitchen, where Grandma was boiling something.
“No way, Soft Tofu Stew?”
Soft Tofu Stew as a drinking snack.
We’d had tofu for dinner last night.
And now Soft Tofu Stew for breakfast too?
Even if it’s Grandma cooking, I couldn’t handle that.
“No, not soft tofu. It’s seaweed soup.”
“Phew... Thank goodness.”
“You kid, even if you love soft tofu, no one eats it till they’re sick of it! This seaweed’s fresh from this morning—should taste great.”
“Oh, sounds delicious.”
The seaweed looked glossy.
Seaweed from a coastal town promised a whole new flavor and texture.
And it did taste great.
Our family of three ate it together, chatting happily.
Resort check-in was coming up soon.
Right on cue, a message from Teacher Mi-jeong.
[Kim Mi-jeong: We’re almost there.]
Time to pack and head out.
We hugged Grandma and said goodbye.
It was just one day, but a good time.
Normally I’d want two or three days, but Grandma had laid down the law to stay only one, so we scheduled it that way.
This summer, she plans to drink makgeolli with friends.
Such a spry bunch.
“Grandma, come again next time! With Oppa.”
“Yeah. Call me. On phone.”
“Yes, we’ll call next time.”
As we were leaving, Yoon-seul stared hard at Grandma, then ran back and hugged her waist.
“Grandma, see again next time...”
“Of course. Gotta see Grandma again. Next time I have time, I’ll go to Seoul. To see Yoon-seul and Oppa.”
“Pinkie swear.”
Yoon-seul stuck out her pinkie.
Grandma hooked hers.
Just watching warmed the heart.
“Yoon-seul, listen to Oppa good?”
“Yeah! Yoon-seul get along with Oppa.”
“Oppa treats you well? Gives lots of tasty food.”
“Yoon-seul like Oppa cooking best. And Grandma cooking too.”
As Yoon-seul rubbed her face against Grandma’s belly saying that, Grandma smiled kindly and stroked her head.
“Thanks, kid. Saying this old lady’s cool. My grandchild.”