275. I Switched to Dancer This Time! Bought the Full Legendary Set +_+!
275. I Switched to Dancer This Time! Bought the Full Legendary Set +_+!
***
Clink. Clink.
The sound of spoons and neatly arranged side dishes being set on the table rang out continuously, and Seoyun, wearing pot holders, set the pot down in the center of the table as the final touch.
With that, meal preparation was complete.
"...Why did you go through all this trouble from the morning?"
"It's morning, so even more reason. You need to eat well."
When Seoyun smiled brightly as if asking what the problem was, Serin found herself smiling too.
Then Seoyun carefully lifted the pot lid.
Bubble bubble!
Along with the sound of a rolling boil, the stew came into view.
It looked like doenjang stew, packed generously with all sorts of mushrooms and thinly sliced brisket, so much so that just looking at it made it seem delicious.
Moreover, since she felt Seoyun's cooking skills surpassed most restaurants, her mouth naturally watered.
"Doenjang stew?"
"Yeah. I stuffed it full of all kinds of things, so it should be good. Plus I tailored it to your taste, Sis."
The confident way she said it was cute, and Serin found herself thinking there couldn't be a better younger sister than Seoyun.
A sister who carefully prepares food while even considering her taste like this.
"Really? Then I'm even more excited."
"Sis, hurry up and try it."
She naturally picked up her spoon and scooped up a spoonful of stew.
Just as she was about to bring it to her mouth.
She froze.
I stopped instinctively.
The spicy aroma of the doenjang stew that hit just before it reached my mouth was anything but ordinary.
And even though I'd just scooped up the stew carelessly, a bright red chili pepper was proudly showing off its sizable presence.
'That's not a spicy... chili pepper, is it?'
The moment ominous feelings and thoughts of danger crossed, I felt Seoyun's gaze.
Her eyes were sparkling as she looked at me, as if waiting for me to give my impression.
So even knowing the ominousness, I had no choice but to eat it.
Hoo hoo. Since the stew was boiling hot, I cooled the heat slightly while steeling myself.
Chomp.
Then the moment I tasted the stew that entered my mouth.
"...!"
My eyes flew open as if someone had smacked me hard.
Gulp.
I couldn't even think about chewing several times—I just chewed once or twice and swallowed it straight down.
"...It's good."
When I forced out a single word through lips that wouldn't move properly, I saw my sister smiling radiantly as if she had the whole world.
"Right!? I remembered you like spicy food, Sis, so I threw in a bunch of Cheongyang peppers, and it turned out even more fiery than I expected. It was a bit spicy for my taste, but I thought you'd like it."
She was even chattering away excitedly. But even that sight didn't register.
I bit my lip hard and forcibly held back the sound trying to burst out.
Slide.
The moment I saw Seoyun ladling doenjang stew into her own bowl with the ladle, I urgently grabbed my cup.
Gulp gulp.
Even though I chugged the water as if to empty the cup in one go, I couldn't escape the pain of my tongue going numb.
"..."
With heat rising heavily in my face and my hands starting to tremble, my gaze suddenly went to the steamed egg.
"Um... Sis? That's the ladle for the stew."
"Ah, the steamed egg just looked so good."
I took the stew ladle and scooped up a huge portion of steamed egg, piling it into my bowl.
"Sis, you're really so careless. Now the stew's getting in the steamed egg."
Even with Seoyun grumbling quietly, I was desperate right now.
I took a big spoonful of the steaming steamed egg, blew on it quickly to cool it, and brought it to my mouth.
Because I wanted to somehow erase this terrible pain lingering in my mouth.
Chew chew.
The fluffy steamed egg filled my mouth, and while the melting taste of the steamed egg seemed to faintly ease the stinging pain on my tongue.
I couldn't stop my eyes from continuously scrunching up.
In fact, the chili pepper I'd chewed was so spicy that part of my tongue felt paralyzed.
'Just how spicy did she make this?'
It was comparable to the Death Sundubu stew I'd tasted before—no, since I'd chewed a spicy pepper directly, it felt even worse now.
"...Ah, it's spicy."
When Seoyun tasted the stew she'd served herself and fanned her hand to express the spiciness, Serin's hand twitched.
Because even while saying it was spicy, Seoyun kept bringing her spoon to the stew.
The way she ate it as if the spiciness was delicious was something Serin absolutely couldn't understand.
With her tongue still stinging, Serin eventually picked up her cup again, and Seoyun casually glanced at her.
"Sis, aren't you drinking water too often? They say drinking too much water during meals is bad for digestion."
"Ah, well... I'm just... a bit thirsty right now."
"I guess it can't be helped if you're dehydrated. But still, Sis, don't drink water so often while eating. You already sit for long periods normally."
Nodding at Seoyun's words, Serin drank a little water and then brought her spoon back to the steamed egg.
Serin's struggle to eliminate the stinging pain on her tongue just looked curious to Seoyun.
"I didn't know you liked steamed egg that much, Sis."
"It's just... the steamed egg looks good today."
"Really? Maybe I seasoned it well today."
Saying that, Seoyun scooped some steamed egg for herself too, and as she ate it, she smiled as if to say it wasn't bad. Seeing that, Serin couldn't bring herself to speak.
Because if she said she couldn't eat spicy food, Seoyun, who was so happy right now, would probably feel sorry or disappointed.
'After the meal... yeah, I'll tell her after.'
Seeing that she'd prepared spicy food again like this when Serin had thought it would just be a one-time thing, she figured she needed to say something this time.
Spicy food at this level was practically torture.
If the person who'd prepared it hadn't been Seoyun... it was the kind of spiciness that would have made her curse without thinking.
As the spicy aroma of the doenjang stew kept tickling her nose, Serin felt like she was getting PTSD and couldn't help making odd expressions throughout the meal.
"Sis, try some of this too. You need to eat a lot to stay healthy."
When Seoyun personally placed two pieces of meat on her rice, Serin forced a smile.
The rest of the meal was fairly pleasant. But Serin never reached for the doenjang stew again.
...
"Sis, should I... scoop the doenjang stew into a separate bowl for you? Maybe it's because the steamed egg is in a separate bowl, but you don't seem to be touching the doenjang stew."
"No, no. It's fine!"
***
1 PM.
A weekend afternoon was the easiest time to become languid.
Even people usually worn down by work didn't worry about anything on weekends, and many people relaxed comfortably.
So weekend afternoons were also the time when the most people used smartphones, watched videos on NewTube, or used services like OTT platforms.
Serin and Seoyun, having finished their meal that served as both breakfast and lunch, were now settled together in the living room.
Thump.
Seoyun, who had put on a famous movie through the hologram device, leaned her head blankly against Serin's shoulder.
"Haa... This is really comfortable."
Then she smiled softly as if it were truly comfortable.
"Seoyun. I think my shoulder hurts when you do that."
"You're my sister, so deal with it."
"What kind of logic is that?"
"I don't know~ Lend me your shoulder, Sis! Let your cute little sister be a bit clingy~"
When Seoyun buried her face against Serin's head and rubbed back and forth while whining, Serin, dumbfounded, let out a small laugh and turned her gaze to the hologram.
"So right now. Are you even watching the movie?"
"Roughly? It's a comedy. You can understand it even watching casually."
When Seoyun answered as if asking what the problem was, Serin thought this moment was truly peaceful.
'A weekend like this, well.'
Rather than resting alone, spending time with family like this sometimes felt like it settled her mind.
There was the comfort of being with someone, and maybe because it was Seoyun who took care of everything, it really was comfortable.
—
Then the comedy movie they were watching with Seoyun suddenly had a funny scene.
A woman deliberately made food spicy to prank someone she didn't get along with, and the person who ate it without knowing ran around in all directions, dramatically breathing fire in an exaggerated scene.
It oddly overlapped with my situation from just moments ago.
"..."
And it seemed I wasn't the only one who felt that way—I felt Seoyun flinch against my shoulder.
"Um... Sis, was it like this for you too when you ate spicy food?"
When Seoyun carefully turned her head and asked, I nodded without thinking.
"Pretty much...? Honestly, it was so bad I really couldn't eat it again."
"Sis, really. You should've said something right away. I would've made something else immediately."
"You'd already set everything out, so why would you redo it? The other food was good anyway."
"Honestly, Sis, sometimes you're overly considerate in the weirdest ways."
Seeing Seoyun laugh softly, I wondered why I'd tried to endure it too.
If I'd just said something from the start, it wouldn't have been a big deal.
BaTalk!
When I glanced at the BaTalk notification, it wasn't mine this time but Seoyun's smartphone.
Tap.
Seoyun picked up her smartphone, checked the message, and burst out laughing.
"Who is it?"
"Ah, it's a friend."
"A friend?"
"Yeah. I have a friend named Chaerin. She likes Another World as much as you, Sis... no, she likes games even more than you."
Having said that, Seoyun casually held up her smartphone to show this person named Chaerin.
"...?"
I blinked for a moment.
Because in this Chaerin person's BaTalk profile picture, for some reason, there was an image of me.
"You can see this picture too, right, Sis?"
Seoyun seemed aware of it too, as she openly zoomed in on the profile picture to show me, and I nodded.
The distinctive pure white silver hair.
The unusual weapon she was holding—a Crescent-Moon Weight.
No matter what part I looked at, it was clearly me.
"That's me. Why is your friend's profile picture like this?"
"Well, you know. Chaerin is a huge fan of yours?"
"A huge fan?"
"Yeah. She's watched all your broadcasts since your first one and even recommends them to me and stuff."
She said it as if it were fascinating and smiled brightly. I was a bit taken aback too.
My sister's friend is my fan.
'Am I really that famous?'
It made me think Another World's influence was even bigger than I'd thought.
Then I happened to glance at one of the BaTalk chats.
Chaerin.
[Seoyun... when are you coming back down? Seriously, I miss you so much I'm going crazy! You said it'd just be a day! It's already been days!]
"Chaerin, huh... She seems to really like you."
"Well, we're best friends? We've been together since high school through college, so she's my closest friend."
When Seoyun answered casually, I thought "I see" and my gaze wandered for no reason.
"...!"
'I switched to that Dancer this time! Legendary full set purchased +_+!'
The status message written on the profile of this woman who was Seoyun's friend—how should I put it.
I couldn't help but avert my eyes.
"I don't know..."