[What's life about, anyway? Just living as it comes]
[What's life about, anyway? Just living as it comes]
The morning wake-up time at the newlywed home of Choi Ak and Sion is around 6:00 AM. Sometimes they wake up around 6:30, but usually, it's around that time.
The one who wakes up first is Choi Ak. Surprisingly, Choi Ak is the diligent type while Sion is the lazy type, so while Choi Ak is making breakfast, Sion wakes up, rubbing her eyes.
Both of them are the type to eat breakfast, but they don't eat rice. They just get by with some light bread.
"How many pieces of toast do you want?"
"I'll have two."
"I need to eat four to feel full."
"That's probably because you're in your prime. Don't people in their 20s usually eat a lot?"
"It's the time when appetite and libido explode. Absolutely. I like having a young body, too. Though sometimes I get so hot-blooded I go fucking crazy."
"Don't you always?"
"Ah, was that my personality to begin with?"
Being a married couple, there are similarities, but even married couples have their differences. Since they each have their own tastes, they respected each other in those areas.
While Sion eats her toast golden-brown with a fried egg on top, Choi Ak just spreads strawberry jam on his toast and chews it up ujeok-ujeok.
"Ah, right. Come to think of it, today is trash day, isn't it?"
"I'll take it out."
"The amount of trash isn't trivial. Mostly tissues."
"Isn't it usually like that?"
Before even considering the libido of a man in his prime 20s, stamina is meaningless to a Transcendent. After the two of them have intercourse for a night, they have to do a major cleaning just for the aftermath.
The tissues mainly used are disposed of separately in a Standardized Garbage Bag, and in a week, a 10-liter bag is full.
"I've sorted the recycling into boxes, so you can just throw it out like that."
"Is there anything else to throw out?"
"Let's see... Ah, come to think of it, you know the Nendoroids I sent by courier when we went to Japan? I have the packaging collected separately, so please throw that out too."
"Understood."
Sion nodded and ate her toast.
After breakfast, they wash up lightly and tidy up. Since Choi Ak has to go to work, the remaining chores are mostly done by Sion. It's just dishwashing, but with Sion's physique, it's hard to even wash dishes properly.
She pulls a chair from the dining table, places it in front of the sink, and does the dishes. Her body is small, but she can do anything.
"I'm off. There's kimchi stew I made for lunch, so eat that."
"Have a safe trip. Ah, before that."
Sion trotted to the entrance to Choi Ak, who was about to leave for work, and stood on her tiptoes.
Knowing well what she wanted since they did it every day, Choi Ak bent his waist and gave her a light kiss on the lips.
"This really gives off a newlywed vibe, doesn't it?"
"A kiss before leaving for work in the morning is something special."
It was a scene dripping with sesame salt and honey, but it was fortunate that no one was watching. If anyone had seen it, they would have gotten goosebumps all over their body.
After Choi Ak left for work, Sion finished the dishes and sat in front of the TV for a while. She has to do housework, but technology has developed a lot these days, so it's convenient.
As she flicked her finger, the robot vacuum started moving. The washing machine started running, and the air purifier turned on.
For Hanon, a race that dominates the laws of physics, operating machinery was as simple as breathing. After all, machines run on electricity, and if that's the case, turning on the power switch is easy.
After taking a break for about an hour, she got up to do other work. First, she prepared to take out the trash that Choi Ak had asked her to.
Although her appearance looked like a child of similar height, her strength and physical ability were no different from an average adult woman. A few Standardized Garbage Bags and a box or two were uncomfortable to carry because of her small stature, but it wasn't difficult.
Thinking of doing some grocery shopping while she was out, Sion grabbed her wallet and a shopping basket. The shopping basket wasn't something Sion bought either; it was bought by the surprisingly frugal Choi Ak.
"Plastic... plastic..."
She recycled meticulously. Choi Ak had already sorted everything anyway, so she just had to dump it out.
Trash day is a common gathering spot in densely populated areas. In particular, the couple's newlywed home is in a cluster of detached houses with expensive land prices, so most of the people there have some standing in society.
It's a place where a small society of a few dozen households is formed, not hundreds like in an apartment complex.
"Oh my, are you out on an errand for your mom? How admirable."
Being treated like a child was familiar to Sion. She glanced back and saw a middle-aged woman looking at her.
She didn't really like this situation. She could talk as much as she wanted with people who shared the same hobbies, but she wasn't very keen on the small society formed by women.
Within that, Sion's hobby of 'fan-girling' was not easily accepted, and it was rare to find someone to talk to about her true feelings.
At least, that had been the case two-thirds of the time in Sion's experience. She had been hurt quite a bit because of that.
If there was one thing she learned, it was that it's better to show an overwhelming difference and class compared to the other person. If she does that, she won't end up being recklessly attacked and bitten.
"I am not a child, but a newlywed. My husband handed out rice cakes a while ago, so I couldn't greet you then, but I am Sion, who moved in a few months ago."
"Yes? Ah... is that so?"
Unlike her appearance, which looked like a foreigner, her fluent and stiff Korean actually gave the other person confidence. It was rare for a child-looking kid to greet so politely, so credibility was added to the side that introduced itself.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Kim Yeo-sun, the president of the neighborhood women's association."
"If you're the women's association president, I should have greeted you first. I apologize."
"No, anyway, if it's the house that moved in a few months ago... it's Choi-sajang-nim's place, right? That one?"
"Yes, that's correct."
The title 'Boss' (Sajang-nim) is just a word used out of courtesy.
It was a title used because there was no one in this neighborhood with low social status, but from Kim-yeosa-nim's perspective, Choi Ak, who had handed out rice cakes before, was too young. He looked like a fresh graduate just entering society, and his eyes were sharp, so his impression wasn't good, but she called him 'Boss' just in case.
"Where abroad are you from, newlywed? America? England?"
"America. I lived there, naturalized, and then married my current husband after coming here."
"Your husband is young too, I guess you married early, unlike young people these days?"
"Yes, we did a few months ago. Due to personal circumstances, we couldn't hold a wedding ceremony and just filed the paperwork."
"Oh my, then you're still newlyweds, right?"
Kim-yeosa-nim had no intention of letting her go. That was because she needed to find out at least what kind of family Sion's family was.
The housewife network is scary. They are sensitive to rumors, and especially in the case of families with some status, there are only two choices left: inclusion or exclusion.
If Sion's family is well-off enough, they can let her into their own league, and if not, they can just proceed in the direction of ignoring her.
Thinking that since both Sion and Choi Ak are young, she didn't have high expectations, but it would at least be a way to kill time, Kim-yeosa-nim smiled slyly.
"But aren't you too young, newlywed? You look so young, it's beyond just being young. Do you have a secret?"
"It's because the medicine I took for a disease when I was young was so strong that I couldn't grow. It was so strong that even my hair bleached and ended up like this."
"Ah... I'm sorry."
Sion's appearance has a story woven for it. Since a married woman who looks like a natural silver-haired beautiful girl is not ordinary, she can rationalize it by telling a story that makes it convincing. The setting is that she lived a life of battling illness in an overseas hospital when she was young, barely recovered a few years ago, returned to Korea, and got married. The silver hair and young appearance have an excuse that the medicine used during the battle with the illness was so strong that growth stopped and the hair pigment was destroyed.
For that, she even had a forged medical certificate prepared.
"Newlywed, there happens to be a women's association meeting at the cafe in front, would you like to come with me if you have time?"
"Ah... I also came out to do some grocery shopping, so it's a bit difficult."
"Can't you even spare a moment? Still, you're a newlywed, you should at least make an appearance to the neighborhood people."
The subtle suggestion turned into coercion. If it were just her suffering, Sion would have just ignored it and gone inside, but if she were to be bad-mouthed, it would affect Choi Ak as well, so she decided to stay quiet for now.
Neither Choi Ak nor Sion cares about being bad-mouthed themselves. However, they hate it when it causes harm to each other. Because they know how precious they are to each other, they have the attitude that it's fine if they suffer a little more as long as the other is safe.
Like the saying that married couples resemble each other, it is a common point between Sion and Choi Ak, but there are also differences.
If Choi Ak is bad-mouthed, Sion responds relatively rationally. Like engaging in power trips or exposing corruption. It's at least a response based on the law.
However, if Sion is bad-mouthed, Choi Ak becomes a person with anger management issues. If someone says even one word like 'Your wife is a whore,' that person will have to learn about their own neck and the sorrow of a divided nation with their body that very day.
Sion, led by Kim-yeosa-nim to a nearby cafe, nodded at the cafe's atmosphere, which was decorated quite well.
It wasn't a famous brand cafe, but a cafe opened by a private business owner. It was a cafe that also served as a bakery selling handmade bread and cakes.
"Ah, Kim-yeosa-nim! Over here, over here!"
"Oh my, Park-yeosa-nim, you're already here. I thought you'd be a bit late."
"But who is that..."
There were three people who had arrived at the cafe first and were sitting there. Despite being middle-aged, they were ladies who could be described as having aged gracefully, but to Sion's eyes, the smell of heavily applied cosmetics was just uncomfortable.
"I'm Sion, who moved in a few months ago. Believe it or not, I'm a young newlywed of twenty-four this year. Please take care of me."
"Oh my, if you moved in a few months ago, you mean that house that was under construction?"
"Yes, that's correct."
Because it was a house that Sion personally designed and built, she demolished the original house and built it. Since it was a densely populated residential area, she had to be careful about noise, so the fact that construction costs were several times higher is a minor detail.
"That house, it was the house where Hwang-yeosa-nim used to live."
"Hwang-yeosa-nim is really unfortunate... I heard her husband's business went bankrupt, so she sold the house and sold everything else to pay off the debt, and she's breaking her back. Ah, I'm Park Ye-jeong. Nice to meet you, newlywed."
"I'm Joo Ji-young."
"I'm Han Jeong-sook."
All the housewives gathered here were idle people who had hired housekeepers and had time left over after being freed from housework, and if they gathered under the pretext of a women's association meeting, all that was left was chatting.
Especially if a newlywed who was young, or rather, a child, was added, the flowers of conversation would bloom even more on that topic.
"Anyway, the newlywed speaks Korean very well. How did you learn Korean?"
"I learned it by myself about two years ago. I learned it in standard language, so my tone is a bit stiff, but I'm used to this, so I'm using it."
"You're twenty-four this year? You're young. Ah, is your skin this good because you're young?"
"Seeing as I don't manage it separately, it's probably innate. However, the fact that my skin is white might be because I haven't been able to get enough sunlight."
"Did your husband go to work? May I ask what kind of work he does?"
Glances were exchanged between the housewives of the women's association. For them, their husband's job was their own signboard.
In that respect, saying he runs a chicken shop is not something to be very proud of.
"He's just running a small self-employed business."
"Self-employed? What kind?"
"My husband likes cooking, so I gave him a building and he's running a chicken shop."
From Sion's answer, they paid more attention to the fact that she gave him a building than the fact that he runs a chicken shop.
A building owner. As the joke goes that there is a building owner above the Creator, a building owner who can live just by eating rent is a stable source of income. Besides, there are people who don't have a single building, but there's no one who only has one. Because when money comes in, building owners tend to build other buildings.
Moreover, since Sion and Choi Ak's newlywed home was a house that was newly built until recently, considering the construction cost, it's clear that they are quite wealthy.
"My husband runs a small dental clinic. Thanks to that, he always nags me not to bother him even if I get cavities."
"In our house, my husband is a prosecutor, so there are too many relatives who keep asking about legal matters. Is this okay, is that better, they keep asking, and it's annoying."
"My husband works as a researcher at Average Corp. It's not the headquarters, but the Korean branch, but the pay is high."
Dentist, prosecutor, and I don't know the field well, but a researcher at a globally famous company.
These are jobs that earn good money or are socially recognized.
"My husband is the CEO of Daeseong Mulsan. Ho ho ho, everything is good except that he doesn't come home often, which is a problem."
"........."
Sion drank her coffee quietly at Kim-yeosa-nim's bragging about her husband. Unfortunately, she had ordered an Americano for her, who likes sweet things, so the bitter taste crawled up her back.
Her mouth is bitter, and reality is bitter too. It's not that she resents Choi Ak for having a lackluster job, but because of the people who mistake their husband's status for their own just because they got married.
"I know Daeseong Mulsan too. By any chance, what is your husband's name?"
"Ayy, who doesn't know it? It's a company under the Daeseong Group. But why do you ask for my husband's name?"
"Yes, I am a major shareholder there, so I know it well. Perhaps I might have seen your husband as I have been to the shareholders' meeting two or three times."
"...Shareholders' meeting?"
A chilling feeling passed behind Kim-yeosa-nim's back.
Among large corporations, where would there be a company that is not a joint-stock company? The money Sion earned by investing in stocks for two years is money, but what is more valuable is the stock that doesn't even have a physical form.
The stake she holds in Daeseong Mulsan alone is about 2 percent. If you look at the stock as a number, it looks small, but that 2 percent stake is a level of stake that other affiliates of the group might have.
That is why a 2 percent stake in a large corporation was enough to be called a major shareholder.
"I dabble in stocks, so I have bought stocks in many places. I usually sell them, but in the case of large corporate stocks, it's profitable to buy and hold, so I bought them whenever they came on the market."
"Hmm........"
One conclusion flashed through the minds of the women's association ladies.
Choi Ak's house is a house where the wife, not the husband, earns money. And a stock rich person at that. No, she said she also had a building, so in addition to that, a building owner.
Even if she fails with stocks, she has a building, so she's above average.
Conclusion: It wouldn't be bad to get close to her; it would be good.
"Stocks, I've been a little interested in them for a while, can you teach me, newlywed?"
"I'll teach you later when I have time. It would be a bit of a long story to do it here."
In the first place, who talks about work when they're resting? Sion grumbled to herself.
"Do you only do stocks? Seeing as you also have a building, I think you might do real estate too........"
"Just a little bit of land and two mountains to go play in the summer. I've just bought an island to live quietly in my old age later."
"..................."
She could understand the mountains, but an island goes beyond common sense. Sion just didn't say it, but her exact wealth is at a level that even a chaebol wouldn't envy.
Mrs. Park Ye-jeong, whose husband is a dentist, held her small hand and said.
"Let's get close, sister."
"I am not your sister."
Oops, my true feelings popped out.
Conversations between women are exhausting. Men's conversations are simple, divided into games or women, so they are comfortable, but women's conversations are more complex.
Sion barely escaped after being tormented for nearly two hours in there. The bitter taste of the thick Americano was spread all over her mouth.
"The bitter stuff is enough with my husband's white and sticky stuff."
It's a sex joke that only a married woman can make.
Sion led her mentally exhausted body to a nearby mart. She was in a bad mood, and the thought occurred to her that it would be good to grill pork back ribs and tear into them heartily for dinner tonight.
Meat! Meat! Meat that is good for the body and tastes good!
If you ask Sion what she likes next to Choi Ak, she would first say 'fan-girling,' and if you ask what she likes next, she would say sex. If you ask what she likes after that, she would answer meat.
Meat is always right. They said that if someone has gone through a sad thing, you should give them meat and money. If you are in a bad mood, eating meat to relieve it is one way.
The shopping basket of a person who doesn't worry about money is as heavy as their wallet. Whether it's Choi Ak or Sion, they eat a lot, not a little, so they easily spend 200,000 to 300,000 won just for the cost of meat for one meal.
It would be disappointing to eat only meat, so she buys some vegetables to season as a fresh salad, and also buys snacks.
As the saying goes, 'ink makes you black' (you become like those you associate with), resembling Choi Ak whose hobby is cooking, Sion also knows how to cook to some extent. However, it's a style of following the recipe, so it's a bit bland.
Lastly, tissues.
Lots and lots of tissues.
As it is proof of the good harmony between the couple, it was natural that the amount of tissue purchased was large in proportion to the tissue consumption, which is proof of the two people's smooth sex life. Even on days when they do it lightly, it goes over ten times, so cleaning up afterwards is also a chore. After finishing a round, washing the bedding was a daily routine.
After buying all the necessary items, the volume was one thing, but the weight was no joke. Sion's strength is, after all, the strength of an average adult woman, and she cannot exert more strength than that unless she uses her power in earnest.
Above all, it's annoying (important).
She ordered miscellaneous goods like snacks and tissues for delivery separately, decided to take the meat and vegetables herself, put them in a shopping basket, and returned home. The empty house, because no one was there, welcomed her.
"It's quiet every time I come back, it would be nice to raise a pet."
Anyway, Choi Ak wouldn't oppose it; he would just be agonizing between a cat and a dog. It's not that they don't have the means, and it's not that the house is small, so there was no reason not to raise one.
Sion is on the cat side. It doesn't need to be walked, and it knows how to handle its own waste, so it's a relatively easy pet to raise if you just feed it.
Choi Ak is on the dog side. Because they are affectionate, active, and recognize their owner.
Like this, the two people's differences and tastes are subtly divided. Nevertheless, seeing that they have been continuing a newlywed-like married life for thousands of years, one can see that mutual respect is the root of it.
Sion first tore the back rib part from the pack and seasoned it with salt and pepper along with appropriate cuts. Because she is closer to a machine than a living being, it becomes possible to season it uniformly without even a 1-gram error.
As for the vegetables, if she makes them in advance, water will come out and they will become soggy, so she washes them and puts them in the refrigerator. She can just slice and season them right before eating later.
The rice is the bean rice that Choi Ak likes. She puts raw rice mixed with beans into the Pressure Cooker and runs it. It's convenient because all you have to do is press a button.
"Everything is ready."
The seasoned back ribs are ready, the side dishes are all prepared, and the rice is cooking.
Having finished her work, Sion spent a pleasant time despite spending it alone, quietly, without talking to anyone.
For her, the time waiting for a precious person is much more valuable and enjoyable than the time spent with unfamiliar strangers.
Click, beep-beep-beep-beep!
At the sound of someone pressing the password on the front door lock and coming in, Sion trotted out and welcomed him.
"Welcome back."
"Yeah, nothing happened?"
"Nothing much happened."
Quietly, as if nothing had happened, Sion welcomed him with a very faint smile.
Her faint smile, which only Choi Ak could recognize, showed how much she welcomed him.