Seaweed Soup
The rabbits cleared away the mattress and installed a bed in its place.
“How’s that? Carrot.”
“Do you like it? Lotus root.”
The rabbits stood on the bed with their arms crossed and asked.
I shot them an incredulous look and answered.
“No, why did you suddenly show up and give me a bed?”
“I told you already. Last time we came by and you didn’t have one, so we felt sorry for you and decided to gift you one. Carrot.”
“Lotus root… You don’t like it? Then we’ll take it back…”
When I kept giving them that speechless stare, Suptoto’s ears drooped.
It wasn’t that I disliked it.
I’d been planning to get a bed for myself someday anyway.
I was just thrown off by the sudden gift, that was all.
“No. I do like it. Nobody hates getting presents.”
“That’s a relief. Carrot.”
“Lotus root lotus root!”
Santoto let out a sigh of relief.
Suptoto’s face brightened again.
Apparently they’d been worried I might not want it.
I’d always thought they just did whatever they pleased, but they actually paid attention to how others felt, huh.
Anyway.
Since I’d received a gift, I offered my thanks first.
“Thank you for thinking of me and bringing a present.”
“No need for thanks. Lotus root.”
“That’s right. Looking after students is an educator’s duty. Lotus root.”
“But aren’t you playing favorites a little too much with just me?”
“Carrot?”
“Lotus root?”
The rabbits tilted their heads in perfect sync.
“If you give presents like this to every other student, fine, but if it’s only me, that means you’re playing favorites.”
I didn’t want special treatment.
It wasn’t that I hated it, exactly—it just felt burdensome.
I just wanted them to treat me the same as everyone else.
At my words the rabbits blinked.
Then they glanced at each other for a moment before turning back to me and speaking.
“It’s not favoritism. Carrot.”
“Tomorrow’s your birthday, so we’re just looking after you a little early. Lotus root.”
“…Birthday?”
Tomorrow was my birthday?
I pulled out my ID and checked the resident registration number.
“Huh? It really is…”
Tomorrow really was my birthday.
The date was different from my previous life’s, so I’d completely forgotten.
My identity had been newly created by the Transcendent, after all.
The rabbits looked at me like I was ridiculous.
“Don’t tell me you didn’t even know your own birthday. Carrot?”
“Of all the things to forget. Lotus root!”
It wasn’t strange that the rabbits knew my birthday.
My information was registered with the Academy, after all.
An educator knowing a student’s birthday was nothing special.
Though, from the vibe they were giving off…
I got the feeling they probably didn’t know anyone else’s birthdays but mine…
“I’ve been so busy lately I completely forgot. Anyway, thank you again. For even remembering my birthday like this.”
Once I realized the rabbits had gone out of their way for my birthday, a wave of emotion hit me.
I couldn’t help but be moved.
This was the first time anyone had ever marked my birthday for me.
And of course, the first time I’d ever received a birthday present.
Ah, well.
There had been that one time at school when people found out it was my birthday and beat the living daylights out of me.
Under the pretext of “birthday punches.”
That wasn’t celebrating my birthday—it was just inventing an excuse to hit me.
“Heh heh. If you’re grateful…”
“Yes. I’ll pat your butt for you.”
I cut Suptoto off mid-sentence, and her ears twitched as she looked startled.
“Lotus root… How did you know I was going to ask for that? Don’t tell me you used mind-reading…?”
How could I not know.
Every single time I said thank you, she asked me to pat her butt.
I sat down on the bed.
Then I set Suptoto on my lap and patted her butt the way you would soothe a baby.
While I was doing that, Santoto tore open space again and started pulling something out.
“Professor. What are you taking out this time?”
“Side dishes. Carrot.”
“Side dishes?”
“Last time I looked in your fridge it was completely empty, so I put a little skill into cooking some side dishes and brought them. Carrot.”
“You really don’t have to go this far for me…”
“Don’t refuse. Just think of this as another birthday present and accept it. Carrot.”
“…Thank you.”
“Carrot. If you’re grateful, smack Suptoto once on the back of the head. She’s hogging all the fun by herself and it’s annoying.”
Thwap!
I immediately smacked the back of Suptoto’s head.
I kept the force light, so she barely reacted. She just kept snoring softly with a blissful expression on her face.
Santoto kept pulling airtight containers full of side dishes out of the space rift and setting them on the floor.
There must have been about twenty containers in total.
That was a lot.
“No… Why did you bring so many?”
“You have to eat a balanced variety of side dishes. Carrot.”
Santoto opened the fridge and packed the containers of side dishes in until it was stuffed full.
Suptoto, who had been watching that scene closely, suddenly hopped down from my lap.
“Kang Hahwi, do you like rolled omelets?”
“Huh? All of a sudden?”
“Do you like them or not! Lotus root!”
“I do like them. But why?”
Suptoto scurried toward the kitchen as she spoke.
“Heh heh! Tonight I’ll cook you rolled omelets and seaweed soup for dinner! Lotus root!”
Apparently she planned to make dinner for me before leaving, too.
While Suptoto and Santoto were preparing dinner, I sat at my desk and booted up the computer.
I wanted to hop on voice chat for a bit with my game friend Shuboma.
I logged into the game and joined the voice channel right away.
Shuboma was already in the channel.
Looks like she’d been waiting for me.
“I’ve been pretty busy recently.”
“I can’t right now. Just run them yourself.”
“I logged in to talk to you.”
“I’m not doing dailies. I really came in just to talk to you, so why don’t you believe me?”
“Ah. I have to eat dinner soon.”
Shuboma knew quite a bit about me.
When we’d talked over voice before, I’d casually mentioned that I lived alone.
And somehow I’d also ended up telling her I didn’t have parents.
“I’m not eating alone today. I have guests over.”
“Yeah. They’re cooking in the kitchen right now, saying they’ll make me dinner.”
I glanced back toward the kitchen.
Suptoto and Santoto.
They were both female, technically…
“Um… Calling them girls feels a little off… ‘Females’ would be more accurate.”
“They’re not people—they’re animals. More precisely, animal-type monsters.”
“They just wanted to celebrate my birthday… Wait a second.”
Something felt off.
I’d told her that our Academy’s professor and instructor were rabbit monsters.
But had I ever told her their names?
“Did I ever tell you the professor’s and instructor’s names? I only remember mentioning they were rabbit monsters.”
“I don’t remember that… And what do you mean the professor and instructor don’t care about guys?”
“I never said anything like that. How do you know something even I don’t know?”
Silence fell for a moment.
No voice came through the headset from Shuboma.
She broke the short silence and spoke again.
“What?”
“You’ve never said anything about that before.”
There was no strength in Shuboma’s voice.
Had something bad happened while she was enrolled at the Academy?
From the way she called it a past she didn’t want to talk about, it at least didn’t sound like anything good.
“So basically, Shuboma, you’re saying you’re my senior?”
“And you know the professor and the instructor too?”
“Your name is… No, never mind.”
I was about to ask for her real name, then decided against it.
And I decided not to ask any more questions.
Probing into her past any further here just felt rude somehow.
“I don’t even know your name, so I couldn’t tell them anyway. But why would it be awkward? Did you not get along?”
“Ah. You don’t have to answer this either.”
Even without asking, I could roughly guess the reason.
She probably didn’t want her old teachers finding out she was scraping by on game Ssalmeok.
Ssalmeok wasn’t exactly a respectable profession.
“Let’s drop the Academy talk. There’s no need to force an uncomfortable conversation.”
“Kang Hahwi! Dinner’s ready! Stop gaming and come eat! Carrot!”
“Bubbling seaweed soup, coming right up! Lotus root!”
Suptoto and Santoto had spread a tablecloth on the floor, set out rice, soup, and side dishes, and shouted.
“Boma. I’m gonna go eat now. Let’s voice later.”
I ended the voice chat.
Then I took off my headset and stood up from my seat.
“Hurry up! Carrot!”
“Yes. Coming.”
I walked over to the low table and sat down on the floor.
White rice and seaweed soup.
And about twenty different kinds of side dishes.
It was a feast fit for a king.
Wow… This is actually kind of moving…
Looking at the spread, my chest tightened for a moment.
It had been a very long time since someone had cooked dinner for me at home.
On top of that…
This was the first time anyone had ever made me seaweed soup for my birthday.
“How is it! Is it good? Lotus root?”
“I just picked up my spoon…”
Spoon in hand, I slowly took in the whole table setting, then the faces of Suptoto and Santoto sitting around it.
Somehow the atmosphere felt warm and familiar.
It felt just like having a family dinner.
“…Well then, thank you for the meal.”
Somehow, out of nowhere, I found myself having the kind of warm, harmonious dinner I’d longed for so badly in my previous life.
“Eat a lot! Carrot!”
“Start with the rolled omelet! Lotus root!”
I scooped up a spoonful of rice and thought to myself.
Every once in a while, inviting the rabbits over like this might not be so bad after all.