Episode 14 - Like Everyday Life
Chapter 14 - Like Everyday Life
While gathered in the living room watching a movie, I met Yu-ra's subtle gaze.
'Now?'
-Nod.
When I linked my ability to Yu-ra's body, she crossed her legs and sank deep into the sofa.
It felt like the peach and rose scent in the living room grew even stronger.
- While watching a movie in the living room -
*
In the end, we left Daebudo for home past 7 p.m.
Originally, we had planned to return a little earlier, but because the mischief in the car got more intense than expected, Yu-ra's dress ended up soaked in an unexpected accident(?).
Thanks to that, we had to spend extra time drying the clothes in the car for a while.
'I tried to take care of Yu-ra this time too, but she absolutely refused and stopped me.'
'So I layered my ability on her because her reactions were fun... I guess I went a bit too far.'
'I didn't expect even her dress to end up like that.'
So Yu-ra was in a slightly sulky state.
"Se-ryu, you're such a pervert. I told you I really felt like something was weird, but you didn't stop..."
The flush still lingered on her face.
She sat in the passenger seat looking at me with an expression that was ambiguous between anger and embarrassment.
'We almost got caught by someone passing by.'
-Nngh... aaah!
Yu-ra's moans still seemed to echo in my ears.
Just as the memory from earlier was about to resurface, I shook my head.
Let me focus on driving.
-Dangle dangle
But while checking the rearview mirror, my gaze got caught again.
In the back seat, the underwear Yu-ra had taken off was hanging on a hanger, swaying.
And in the passenger seat sat Yu-ra, still wearing the beige dress that hadn't completely dried.
The clothes were clinging to her body here and there, so it was awkward figuring out where to look, more than usual.
-Glance
"..."
My eyes met Yu-ra's.
When I looked at the rearview mirror again, two more were swaying in the back.
'Four eyes...!'
If I looked to the side, Yu-ra was watching me.
If I looked at the rearview mirror, two more were watching from behind.
'Straight ahead.'
A driver's life depends on watching the road ahead.
"Se-ryu."
"Yeah?"
"Why haven't you looked at me since earlier?"
"...I have to drive safely."
"Liar."
"No, really. It's important."
"Hmm."
Sharp.
I changed the subject as naturally as I could.
"Sorry. Instead, I'll make you something good when we get home."
"...What are you going to make?"
Her voice had softened compared to a moment ago.
'It worked.'
"Hmm..."
We'd been out in the sea breeze for a long time today, and it was late, so warm food seemed good.
"How about doenjang sulbap, to warm up a bit? I make it sometimes when I'm alone. You dissolve doenjang, add brisket, tofu, and vegetables, boil it, then add rice at the end."
"Doenjang sulbap?"
Yu-ra thought for a moment, then her eyes sparkled.
"Oh... that sounds good."
Her voice definitely relaxed, probably because she liked the menu.
"...But we don't have tofu at home."
"Tofu is sold at convenience stores too—"
"Brisket either..."
"...?"
"Doenjang and vegetables toooo..."
"..."
Yu-ra avoided my eyes.
"We don't have them."
-Side glance
Steeling myself to face four eyes, I looked toward the passenger seat.
"Why!!"
Yu-ra snapped first.
"I didn't say anything."
"You said it with your face."
"Then what do we have at home?"
"We do have stuff, you know?"
"What could we have?"
"...Salad."
"And?"
"Pasta noodles."
"And?"
"...Cheese."
As expected.
'The fridge really didn't have much.'
When I'd seen it before, it had been a pretty Western-style fridge.
"Should we stop by the mart for a bit?"
"..."
Yu-ra's expression stiffened.
"What's wrong—?"
This time, instead of answering, she looked down at her own clothes.
"...Se-ryu."
"Yeah?"
"I don't have underwear on right now, and my clothes are still like this. How am I supposed to go to the mart like this?"
Yu-ra lightly tugged at the front hem of her dress.
"...It's not that noticeable."
Yu-ra slowly turned her head.
"...Really?"
"Yeah."
"Say it looking at my eyes."
Using a lane change as an excuse, I only looked ahead.
"...Like I said earlier, safe driv—"
"Se-ryu."
"I am currently driving—"
"Earlier, we were stopped at a light, you know?"
"..."
Busted.
"It really doesn't show much."
"Much?"
"No, that's not what I meant."
"So it shows a little!"
"Yu-ra, your voice."
"Whose fault is that!"
"...I apologize."
"Formal speech again."
"Sorry."
Yu-ra, who had been quiet for a moment, muttered very quietly.
"If Se-ryu stands in front..."
"Hmm?"
"Would it cover me?"
"...Cover what?"
"I don't know."
"Yu-ra."
"Just go to the mart!"
In the end, one more destination was added.
===
I parked in the underground lot of a large mart and turned off the engine, but Yu-ra only unbuckled her seatbelt and made no move to get out.
"..."
I mimed knocking on the window twice.
"Knock knock— aren't you getting out?"
"Just a moment."
Yu-ra checked the side mirror and the surroundings alternately.
"...It really doesn't show, right?"
'...'
I didn't answer.
===
Fortunately, maybe because closing time was near, the mart was quieter than expected.
"Stay with me, Se-ryu—"
Yu-ra followed much closer behind me than usual and whispered.
Whenever someone walked toward us from the opposite direction, she slipped behind my right side to hide, then came back out beside me once they passed.
When we arrived in front of the escalator like that, Yu-ra grabbed my sleeve.
"Se-ryu."
"Yeah."
"...Is there anyone behind us?"
I glanced back.
There was a middle-aged couple pulling a shopping cart and a student staring only at their phone.
"There are people, but no one's paying attention to us."
"Still."
In the end, Yu-ra hid her body between my front and the cart.
'It's been a while since I've seen her this flustered.'
Mischief rose up in me for no reason.
Yu-ra's chest.
My palate.
Link.
Then I quickly ran my tongue across my palate.
"Kya—hmp"
Yu-ra let out a startled sound, then realized she was in a mart and hastily covered her own mouth.
Then she glared at me with wide, round eyes.
"There are people behind us— Se-ryu..."
Yu-ra whispered very quietly with a troubled face.
I just pushed the cart with an expression that said I knew nothing.
After that, I played a few more pranks whenever there was no one around while shopping, until Yu-ra finally grabbed my arm and warned me in a low voice.
"Se-ryu. Just wait until we get home."
"...That's scary."
"You don't look scared."
She was exactly right.
===
Before I knew it, the cart was almost full of the necessary ingredients.
Brisket.
Tofu.
Zucchini.
Green onion.
Along with the ingredients for doenjang sulbap, I also grabbed Shine Muscat grapes and a pack of strawberries for dessert.
When I stopped the cart in the checkout line, the middle-aged couple who had done a big shopping trip was standing ahead of us.
-Beep.
-Beep.
As items went over the checkout one by one, the woman said to her husband.
"You should try that too. You know, the quit-smoking medicine Cheolsu's dad takes. The Lumesion one."
'Lumesion?'
My ears naturally perked up at the familiar company name.
"They say that works well?"
"They say it's amazing. Someone who used to smoke a pack a day apparently hasn't smoked a single cigarette lately."
"His willpower must be impressive."
"No, that's not it. He says he still gets the urge to smoke."
The husband tilted his head.
"...And?"
"He says when he tries to smoke, his hand weirdly won't go to it. Even after taking out a cigarette, he says he puts it back down without realizing it."
I also found myself looking toward the front.
The husband frowned as if he found it strange too.
"What do you mean his hand won't go to it?"
"He says he doesn't know either."
"Then the medicine must just work well."
"You think?"
-Beep.
The checkout was done.
The middle-aged couple picked up their baskets and left as if it were nothing.
'Someone who smoked a pack a day suddenly can't bring himself to touch a cigarette just because he took medicine...?'
What I'd seen on the morning news and what I'd experienced with the massage chair naturally came to mind.
In my head, Lumesion had gone from a stock worth watching to an all-in buy before I knew it.
As a bonus, an image of a pierrot on a cloud shouting "Let's go!" from somewhere came to mind.
===
On the way down to the parking lot after checking out.
-Thump.
"Ack—"
Yu-ra hit my back once.
"Seriously, in a place with so many people!"
"No one knew."
"How do you know that!"
-Smack.
This time it was my shoulder.
"Sorry... I'll cook you something good when we get home."
"...The strawberries too."
"Got it."
Only then did Yu-ra seem to relax a little and open the passenger door.
Then she suddenly glanced at the back seat.
-Dangle dangle.
"...Se-ryu."
"Yeah?"
"Isn't that all dry...?"
"...Want me to check if it's dry?"
When I reached out my hand, Yu-ra flinched in surprise and smacked the back of my hand away.
"Where do you think you're reaching!"
"I said I'd check for you."
"Forget it, just hurry up and go!"
---
The doenjang sulbap fortunately turned out well.
Thanks to not skimping on the brisket, the broth was rich from the start, and with every spoonful, a piece or two of meat came up with it.
"Mm— it's so good."
Yu-ra took a sip of the broth and nodded in satisfaction.
'Did you go to the mart?'
I wanted to say that, but I held back.
"The sulbap isn't too salty, right...?"
"Yeah. You're better at this than I thought?"
"...'Than I thought' again."
"Hehe."
In the end, the two of us nearly emptied the pot down to the bottom.
"Thanks for the meal, Se-ryu."
"Thanks for eating well."
When I moved to pick up the dishes, Yu-ra took them first.
"I'll do the dishes. You did the cooking, Se-ryu."
"Let's just do it together."
"It's fine. You put away the leftovers."
In the end, I put the remaining ingredients and side dishes in the fridge while Yu-ra did the dishes.
With the two of us splitting the work, cleanup was finished quickly.
And then.
Yu-ra plopped down on the sofa.
"...What should we do now?"
It wasn't even nine o'clock yet.
"Want to watch a movie?"
"Sure. What should we watch?"
We scrolled through the streaming menu for a while until familiar men in suits appeared on the screen.
"Kingsman?"
"Want to watch it for old times' sake?"
"Yeah. I like this one."
The decision was quick.
Yu-ra brought a blanket from her room, and we leaned back on the sofa sitting side by side.
After the movie started, at first we just watched the screen without much thought.
Yu-ra focused whenever action scenes came on, and I picked at the fruit from time to time.
Then, around the middle of the movie, when a familiar scene came on, Yu-ra picked up a strawberry and asked.
"What do you remember most from Kingsman, Se-ryu?"
"Hmm."
I thought for a moment.
'If I say when he saved the princess after all the work was done, that'd be a bit much, right?'
"For me, the church scene."
"Ahh— as expected."
"Why 'as expected'?"
"Most guys like that scene, don't they?"
"...Isn't it understandable? The action aside, the directing was really well done."
It was the scene where ordinary people suddenly started fighting each other like crazy, and chaotic action continued right in the middle of it.
No matter how many times I watched it, it was intense.
Yu-ra looked at the screen, then set the strawberry stem down on the plate.
"I found it a bit scary."
"What part?"
"How people who were perfectly fine suddenly change like that in an instant. They don't even know why they're doing it themselves."
"True."
I nodded without much thought.
"But it's only possible because it's a movie."
"Right."
Yu-ra quickly smiled again.
"I like 'Manners maketh man' the best."
"...I should've bought Guinness too."
"Hehe."
Yu-ra laughed and leaned against my shoulder.
"You look good in a suit too, Se-ryu."
"..."
-Poke poke.
"Your face turned red—"
Instead of answering, I picked up a strawberry and put it in Yu-ra's mouth.
The movie kept playing.
And we focused on the screen again.
Like that, without incident, the peaceful night deepened.
---
Sunday morning dawned.
This week was the day to go to my family home.
I leisurely had a cup of coffee at Yu-ra's place and got ready to leave.
"I'll get going now."
"Okay. Get there safely. Contact me when you arrive."
"Will do. You rest well too, Yu-ra."
"Yeah."
I stepped out the front door and got into the car.
Maybe because we'd been out and about all day yesterday, my body was a little tired, but my mood wasn't bad.
Actually, I was pretty satisfied.
'I spent the weekend productively.'
I started the engine and headed toward my family home.
After driving for a while, So-dam suddenly came to mind.
'I wonder if So-dam came down this week too.'
Moon So-dam had been a junior at my university and a member of the same club, and her family home wasn't far from mine.
Even after graduation, we still occasionally ate together or kept in touch, so if the timing worked out, it would be fine to see her while I was down at my family home.
'If she's around, maybe I'll ask her to grab dinner.'
While stopped at a light, I opened NanoChat, but since it was still early, I just put my phone back down.
And at that moment, another thing came to mind.
The strange email from a few days ago.
[If a major change has occurred in your body, be sure to check.]
"..."
At first, I'd dismissed it as spam the moment I saw it, but I still hadn't deleted it.
'Should I take another look at that when I get home?'
I had no intention of clicking the link.
Still, it seemed fine to check the sender address or the email content more closely.
Because there had been so many strange things happening lately.
Well.
If it really was spam, I could just send it to the spam folder then.
I looked ahead again.
For now, today.
First, my family home.