Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: No Such Thing as a Beastly Woman
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Today is Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary.
It's the momentous day marking eight years since they tied the knot!
'I thought Mom was 28, though.'
This might come as a bit of a shock.
She got married to Dad right after turning 20. Hold on. Does that mean during their dating days before...?
No, stop! Bad thoughts, stop!
A bunch of scenarios flash through my mind that could turn Dad into a total scumbag in an instant, but if the two of them say it was good, who am I to argue?
Mom didn't mess around as a teenager or anything. She must've dated cleanly back in high school, right?
Though hearing Dad's stories about their dates—like how she let him cop a feel or whatever—it doesn't sound all that innocent. But for Dad's dignity, let's not dig deeper.
"...Huh? Me too? Isn't this a day for Mom and Dad?"
"Hey now! Yuna. Where's that nonsense coming from? It's the child's job to celebrate for their parents."
"Exactly. Mom and Dad want to spend a fun time with Yuna."
No. I was trying to give you two some space, so you wouldn't have to worry about your young daughter's eyes and could fire up the baby factory, burning hot with body and soul. Tch.
Saying it like that makes me out to be some flaming filial daughter.
I do like being with Mom and Dad, though.
Come on, after seven years together, treating me with genuine love—who wouldn't love them? You'd have to be less than human.
That's why these thoughts pop up. Because I care about them.
I don't want some immature kid cramping their style on their special day.
Eight years married, and they're still oozing honeymoon-level affection, sweet as dripping honey.
I just want to give them some alone time.
Plus, there's that secret gift Dad prepared for Mom... Better if they enjoy it just the two of them, not split three ways.
"...Dad! Then I'll head out and come back for dinner!"
"For dinner? You planning to take the bus?"
"Nah? I can run there in under 20 minutes."
It's not that far from Tonggumi to Sadong. A little sweat makes it the perfect distance, right?
City softies like Yuri couldn't dream of it, but for a country girl like me, Han Yuna, it's a piece of cake!
Dad strokes his chin, lost in thought for a moment, then nods.
Looks like in Dad's head, now that he gets my physical abilities, this is totally doable!
"Alright. But be careful, okay? You know the place?"
"Of course~ Who do you think I am? As if I'd get lost!"
No worries about losing my way on Ulleungdo's roads unless I'm sprinting into the mountains!
I pat my chest and grin, so Dad ruffles my hair and gives the okay.
"?? Oppa. Where are you off to? You've been keeping it secret from me since yesterday."
"You'll see when you get there. It'll be a huge surprise."
Once I see Mom and Dad head out first... or rather, spot Dad's car rumbling down the road through the window, I throw on my coat.
For a small anniversary, fresh oysters from the sea or fruits and flowers from the mountains would do. But this is their wedding anniversary!
The most precious day of the year, once in 365. And my first gift to them.
No way am I half-assing it.
'It was seed money I was saving carefully...'
A wad of crumpled bills I'd hidden away from them.
Saved for when I grow up—or rather, when I can fully take responsibility for my freedom. But when it's time to spend, spend big, right?
Exactly 100,000 won.
I'll use 100,000 won.
A 7-year-old gifting 100,000 won worth of presents... surprising enough to knock 'em over, but not coma-inducing, yeah?
I can say it's from money I've been saving forever. Or whatever I earned running errands in Sadong.
Slam!
I step out the front door, greeted by the now-cozy warmth of the spring breeze, and head straight for Supermarket Grandpa.
A wedding anniversary gift? Most folks think rings, necklaces... or cash.
Rings or necklaces? No way I can snag two decent ones for 100,000 won.
Cash? Too crass. Feels like peddling materialistic modern society's bad habits without any heart. Pass!
"Grandpa!! Gimme some Choco Pies and castella!!"
"Eh? Isn't this our Peerless Warrior? What's up? Craving snacks?"
"Not for me! It's Mom and Dad's wedding anniversary, so I'm making a gift!!"
"What?! Why didn't you say so sooner! Aigoo. Come inside and wait a sec. Granny!! What's that Kasina girl's number again?!"
'??'
Huh? Kasina?
I kick off my shoes and step into Grandpa's house-cum-supermarket, where he and Grandma start dialing someone.
Hello? I was just gonna grab a ton of snacks here, buy a ginseng box in Sadong, stuff it with treats for decoration, and call it a day.
Grandpa yells into the phone, then bursts out laughing, yells some more, and finally sighs deeply, clicking his tongue.
"Sheesh. That shameless woman."
"Why're you fighting with your granddaughter again, old man."
"No, she says she's broke lately and can't even gift our Yuna anything!"
"Huh? No? Ah, no!! That's not necessary!"
I'd rather buy it myself than burden some stranger I don't even know.
No matter how wild I seem, I try not to inconvenience others... I'm not so shameless as to freeload off folks just trying to make a living because 'I'm a kid'!
"I've got things I can say and can't! If that's the case, she should've just asked you to help with work! Scheming to exploit a little kid because she's stingy!"
"...Huh?"
Hold up. Help with work and get a gift?
Whoa. If I do well, I can prep a gift for Mom and Dad without spending my own money?
Eureka!!
"Grandpa, Grandma. What kind of work is your granddaughter doing?"
"Nothing much. Used to make and sell bouquets, but now it's flower boxes? Y'know, flowers in a box for sale."
"!!"
Where is it?! I'll go work!! Hire me, Flower Shop Owner!!
A gift I prepare with my own labor!
Nothing more romantic, touching, or heartfelt.
Sheesh. Grandpa and Grandma need to make reasonable requests.
'Business is dead in winter, I'm in the red now—free flowers? As if.'
Wedding anniversary? Sure, worth celebrating.
I'd love to whip one up for free, but what about my wallet?
Nobody's feeding me. Should I eat the loss to do a good deed?
Especially when flower boxes for occasions like this go for 60,000 to 70,000 won... up to 100,000 for fancy ones.
I wanna see the face of whatever punk told Grandpa that.
'...Well. If she's coming to help, maybe not a total lost cause.'
Who knows? If she bails 'cause it's hard or slacks off, though.
I'll chew her out good!
Waiting for the kid who said she'd come work part-time, I figure it's some clueless boy who doesn't know the world yet.
A bit admirable, but I'll drill some reality into that naive head...
"Hello! You're Supermarket Grandpa's granddaughter, right?! I'm Han Yuna, 7 years old~!"
"???"
This tiny, adorable kid... the kind you'd wanna pop a candy in the mouth of if you saw her on the street... does a perfect bow with a booming voice, leaving me dumbfounded!
No, Grandpa. You didn't say girl. Or this young!
"I'll work hard! Sis! Tell me what to do!"
"Uh, uh? O-Okay..."
Her tiny, squishy hand grabs my arm, her cute face beaming even brighter with an innocent smile... How can I assign work to a kid like this?
Look at that little, skinny frame. She can't even carry stuff.
If I make her strain and she catches a cold, I'll feel bad.
"Th-Then, when customers come, greet them energetically? Rest on this chair when it's quiet."
"?? That's all?"
"Yup~ Yuna's so cute, that's plenty~"
I figured a middle-school boy would show, so I'd have him move boxes in the storeroom... Ugh, can't put rough work on a sweetie like this.
No choice. Leave the shop to her and handle the boxes and flowers in the back myself.
Sighing inwardly, I waddle out with stacks of over-10kg boxes piled like mountains from the storeroom...
"Ah! I'll get that!!"
The shop's dead quiet, so fidgety Yuna bounces over to take the box.
Whoa? Th-This thing's super heavy! What if the kid hurts herself?!
"W-Wait. This is heavy, so Sis should carry... it?"
???
"Where to?"
"...O-Over there, to Sis's workspace."
"Yes ma'am!"
What the heck. Insane.
Yuna shoulders a pile as tall as herself and trots off like it's nothing.
I rub my right eye, then left, wondering if I saw wrong... Nope, real deal.
Wh-What's with kids these days being so strong?
"Everything from the storeroom?"
"Uh, y-yeah...?"
"Got it! I'll move it all!"
.....
Watching the little girl hoist piles on both shoulders... I stop thinking.
Yeah. Kid's healthy as can be.