301. You Seem to Make Your Own Food Too. There's Really Nothing You Can't Do
301. You Seem to Make Your Own Food Too. There's Really Nothing You Can't Do
***
There are people who fall into a deep sleep when they're alone, but the moment they become aware of someone else's presence, they can't sleep deeply anymore.
Like a white-furred fox that startles at the smallest sound and shrinks back, wary. The woman with hair the color of fresh winter snow was the same way.
"..."
Serin, who had woken earlier than usual, blinked through her fatigue.
With her hangover compounded by exhaustion, a strange unpleasantness seemed to wrap around her whole body, and her mood wasn't particularly good.
Just as she was thinking, under the warm morning sunlight shining on her, that the night had passed, a small sound came from outside.
Slide.
Serin swept her disheveled hair back with one big motion and let out a sudden, hollow laugh.
"Pfft..."
%@$#.
From beyond the door came the faint murmur of voices, too quiet to even make out what was being said. The thought that she had woken up over such a small sound made her feel strangely unfamiliar with herself.
Back in Black Ark, I used to spring upright at the slightest brush of wind. It was as if that version of me had resurfaced.
She took a moment to collect herself and sat up.
Click.
Then she opened the bedroom door.
"Huh...?"
"...Serin?"
I could see two women in the living room, both looking at me at the same time.
Their hair was a complete mess, and her gaze couldn't help drifting to the pale skin showing wherever their clothes had come off at some point.
But both of them looked so disheveled that she could practically see the traces of how wrecked they'd been last night.
"Did you both sleep well?"
She spoke naturally as she walked toward the kitchen, and the two of them gave her dazed looks.
"...Oh, yes."
"Um, where are we?"
One of them asked in a bewildered tone.
Drip.
As she filled a cup from the water purifier, she couldn't help laughing a little.
"This is my place."
"Oh, your place, Serin."
Soyul answered with a blank expression, looking so utterly defenseless that Serin found it funny even while drinking her water.
"Um. Honestly, my memory cuts out from yesterday, so I don't really remember. What happened?"
Hayoon, on the other hand, spoke as if she had no idea what was going on, so Serin took the cup from her lips and decided she needed to explain.
"What, you both blacked out after drinking yesterday? You were completely out of it by the end. I thought about calling a taxi and sending you home, but it seemed too dangerous, so I just brought you here."
She stated the facts plainly, as if that was all there was to it, and watched their reactions.
"Ah..."
"So that's what happened..."
The two of them nodded blankly, looking as if they had no idea how much danger they'd been in, and I couldn't help shaking my head.
Clink.
As I set the cup down, I finally felt a little more awake, and I decided this part needed to be said with more force.
So, unlike her relaxed expression from a moment ago, she hardened her face slightly and spoke.
"Seriously, if you two get that drunk, how do you normally get home? Yesterday, with those outfits and how much skin you were showing—two women completely wasted, do you have any idea what could have happened?"
"Oh, I... well. I'm not usually the type to drink that much, but yesterday I just couldn't help myself..."
"Right. I think I got carried away by the mood too... I was just so excited to meet you in person, Serin."
At their answers, my expression softened a little.
'So yesterday was just special?'
Her first thought was relief that they didn't normally drink to the point of blacking out.
"I only said that because I was worried about you two, really... Do you know how much trouble I went through yesterday, bringing you both home by myself?"
"...I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too, for causing you trouble."
Both of them relaxed their expressions and smiled faintly.
"I didn't bring it up to get an apology from either of you. I just want you to be careful from now on. And don't say you caused trouble. You're both my people anyway, aren't you?"
As she said that, she opened the refrigerator and saw the drinks sitting in one section.
The various brands of drinks visible there were, ironically, all for one single purpose.
Hangover relief.
She'd stocked them in advance because she'd been drinking with Sua often enough, and they'd turned out to be more useful than expected.
"I have hangover drinks. Would you like some too?"
Saying that, I took my own hangover remedy and turned my attention back to them.
For some reason, I saw the two of them looking at me with slightly moved expressions.
"Oh, yes, yes! Please."
"M-me too!"
"...?"
Why were they suddenly stammering? She wondered, but she grabbed hangover drinks for both of them and headed to the living room.
She handed the bottles over, and the two of them nodded slightly as they each accepted one.
Pssht. Pssht.
Watching them drink, I sat down near the sofa where they were seated.
"Pfft..."
Up close, they looked even more wrecked, and she burst out laughing. The two of them looked embarrassed and averted their eyes.
"Anyway, you really live in a wonderful place, Serin."
Soyul spoke up to deflect her embarrassment.
"Right. When I first opened my eyes, I thought I was in some fancy hotel. Do you live here alone?"
Hayoon chimed in, sounding curious, and I nodded without much thought.
"Yes, I live alone."
"Wow. Alone here? Even just glancing around, the place looks huge."
"You must be really successful. Even where you live is different."
As the two of them marveled in surprise, I wondered if this place really was that big.
Five reasonably sized rooms. Two bathrooms. One living room and one kitchen.
'It is pretty big for living alone.'
Honestly, since I saw this place every day, I'd never really thought about it. But now that I'd brought people over, I could feel just how big it was for one person.
"It just sort of ended up this way."
She said it calmly, not wanting to show off, but Soyul's eyes sparkled.
"Living like this in Cheongdam-dong must cost a fortune. As expected of a big-name streamer!"
"Hey, I lived here before I became a streamer."
She answered with a small laugh, and now Hayoon looked full of curiosity.
"Serin, if you don't mind me asking, may I ask what you did before you became a streamer?"
At Hayoon's careful question, I paused to think.
She briefly wondered why Hayoon was asking that, but she quickly understood.
She'd given out a huge sum of money under the name of a bonus, and she'd said she lived alone in a place like this at a relatively young age.
'Well, sure.'
The 2.7 billion won was one thing, and this house was mine too.
But that wasn't something a person could normally achieve at twenty-five.
'Should I call this luck?'
She'd somehow ended up in this situation, but she'd been living as if it were only natural.
And it wasn't strange for someone else to find that fascinating.
"I just did a little work related to stocks. I got lucky."
"...Stocks?"
"Yes. A little."
She said it with a soft smile, and Hayoon's mouth fell open slightly.
"Wow, Serin. Then this house—don't tell me it's not even a rental?"
Soyul asked playfully, and I smiled faintly and answered in a mysterious tone.
"Who knows? I'll leave that to your imagination."
What Seoyun had told me about 'my' past was all about stocks. Apparently, I'd had a knack for money.
Seeing the two of them at a loss for words, she spoke first to change the subject.
"Well, you can both sober up, take your time getting yourselves together, and then head home."
"Yes, of course. Serin, if you really brought us here yesterday, it must have been hard on you."
"Then how about I make breakfast? I can cook a little."
Unlike Hayoon, who answered calmly, Soyul seemed eager to do something in return, so I agreed.
"There are some cooking ingredients in the fridge. Would you mind making breakfast, then?"
"Leave it to me! Cooking is my hobby."
"Oh, then I'll help too."
As the two of them got up, I pointed toward the bathroom first.
"First, both of you go wash up. I'll get you towels and toiletries."
Both of them had smeared makeup and looked a complete mess, so I couldn't help laughing even as we talked.
At that, the two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"Pfft... Hayoon! Your makeup is totally messed up right now. Serin keeps laughing because of how you look."
"Soyul, you're one to talk. You look ridiculous right now."
"Pfft... You two are both the same. At least go wash your faces."
After that, as if the fatigue and hangover had been a lie, Serin was laughing brightly.
***
Bubble bubble!
As the doenjang stew boiled vigorously, Soyul picked up a spoon and carefully took a sip.
She blew on it and then held it out to Hayoon, who was right beside her.
"Hayoon, taste this for me."
"Oh, okay."
Hayoon obediently opened her mouth, and Soyul fed her the spoonful. After tasting it, Hayoon made a subtle expression.
"Isn't it too bland?"
Soyul, who had been uncertain, took another spoonful of the stew.
Steam rose from it, and she blew on it again before putting it in her mouth. She looked at Hayoon as if something seemed off.
"Isn't this about right?"
"Is it? It tastes bland to me."
While the two of them were adjusting the seasoning, Serin carefully began setting spoons and bowls on the table.
Then she opened the refrigerator and saw several containers of side dishes that Seoyun had made.
'I should use up some of these side dishes while I'm at it.'
With more people eating, it seemed like a good time to clear some out.
Clink. Clink. Slide. Slide.
As Serin moved busily, dishing out several side dishes onto plates, Soyul and Hayoon, who had been preparing the food, found themselves watching her.
"Hayoon. Seriously... doesn't Serin get prettier the more you look at her?"
Soyul admired her without thinking as she watched Serin carefully portion out side dishes onto plates, and Hayoon nodded as well.
"Right. She seems to cook for herself too—there really doesn't seem to be anything she can't do."
The neatly arranged side dishes in the containers looked like proper home cooking to them, and beneath that snow-white silver hair, they caught a glimpse of yet another domestic side to her.