A New Family
While waiting for the food delivery, I was given a tour of the house.
After taking a turn around the first floor, we headed up to the second. Auntie climbed the narrow, steep wooden stairs first, each step groaning underfoot. She was dressed in a luxurious, form-fitting knit one-piece that hugged her contours snugly. Her generous hips swayed with every step, filling my entire field of view.
"Your room on the second floor, Jeongseo... should probably be ready."
"Probably?"
"Haa... She's my own daughter, but I really can't trust her to get anything done."
The second floor was noticeably smaller than the ground level. It consisted of merely two rooms, a bathroom, and a short hallway. There was also a small attic space used for storage. Among them, however, there was no room cleared out for me.
"Didn't Mom tell you to empty this room?"
"I said I was sorry! I'll clear it right after we eat!"
"Just who on earth did you take after to turn out like this..."
Apparently, Yeo-eun had been using the entire second floor all to herself. Auntie had told her in advance to clear one of the rooms, but she had completely ignored the instruction. Now I finally understood why she had been glaring at me with such thinly veiled irritation. From her perspective, my sudden arrival made me nothing more than an unwelcome nuisance.
Ding-dong. Ding-dong.
"Oh? The food's here! I'll get it!"
Yeo-eun bolted downstairs at the first chime. Auntie barely managed to swallow her rising temper before turning toward me with a strained, apologetic smile. Had I not been standing there, the mother and daughter likely would have engaged in a full-blown screaming match.
"Yeo-eun is just feeling awkward, that's all. It's partly my fault for not explaining things to her properly beforehand."
"It's alright."
Auntie seemed to have realized that her daughter was giving me the cold shoulder. As we moved down to the kitchen dining table, she gave an embarrassed, awkward chuckle. When I considered it from Yeo-eun's viewpoint, the whole situation was practically a bolt from the blue.
"Auntie isn't able to come home very often, you see."
"Yes."
"I manage a factory, and the plant is all the way out in Gangwon Province."
Auntie had mentioned me to her daughter in advance, but only through brief phone calls and text messages. Since they hadn't sat down face-to-face to discuss the situation properly, Yeo-eun probably viewed me as an intruder who had dropped out of the sky into her personal space. Knowing something intellectually and confronting it in real life were two vastly different things.
"Ah, that's right. Is there any food you can't eat?"
"I eat pretty much everything. Well... I wouldn't know about things I've never tried, though."
As Auntie and I stepped into the kitchen, Yeo-eun stole a sharp glance in our direction. The instant our eyes met, however, she snapped her head away.
"Noh Yeo-eun. Go put on some proper clothes. Jeongseo lives here now, so be mindful of what you're wearing."
"Alright, alright! I was just unpacking the containers!"
"Mom will handle it, so hurry up and go."
Yeo-eun stomped her feet noisily as she stormed out of the kitchen. With every deliberate, petulant thud against the floor, her massive, heavy breasts bounced and swayed beneath her thin top. I had heard she was twenty-three, but her maturity level seemed considerably younger.
"I heard you eat meat as well. That's true, right?"
"Yes. The Monk told me I shouldn't be a picky eater."
"Good boy. Auntie really wanted to cook you a warm home-cooked meal, but I'm utterly hopeless in the kitchen. Fortunately, delivery food tastes great nowadays."
"Thank you for the meal."
The delivery order was grilled pork belly—samgyeopsal. I observed the side dishes, dipping sauces, and sizzling meat laid across the table, quietly comparing them against the memories of my previous life. It's remarkably similar.
Synthesizing the tales the Monk had told me with my brief firsthand impressions of Seoul today, I hadn't yet discovered any jarring differences from the world I had inhabited before. The timeline might be slightly offset, but certainly not to an extent that altered the baseline of modern civilization. The same country, and a nearly identical era. While I would have to experience more to know for certain, it was an immense relief. It meant adjusting to everyday life would be far smoother than I had feared.
"Let's eat before it gets cold. Eat plenty, Jeongseo."
"Thank you, I will."
Auntie picked up her chopsticks without waiting for her daughter. Sitting across from her, I began eating in quiet contentment.
"Ah, seriously? Starting without me? How disloyal."
"Hurry up and sit down."
The tranquil silence did not last. The instant Yeo-eun rejoined us, the kitchen grew boisterous again. She unleashed a steady stream of complaints toward her mother, though every single grumble sounded conspicuously aimed at my ears.
Did she even put on a bra? Her attire remained strikingly flimsy. Slumping into the chair beside me, she attacked her food with combative intensity, deliberately refusing to cast a single glance in my direction.
"Let's see what we need to get sorted... We have to get you a smartphone and set up a bank account." Auntie mentally organized my checklist of necessities between bites. Having lived sequestered in a remote mountain temple, I possessed virtually nothing. Aside from visiting the hospital, there was a mountain of administrative errands to clear.
"Clothes."
"Ah, right. Jeongseo doesn't have proper clothes either."
Yeo-eun, who had gone silent while stuffing her cheeks, tossed the single word onto the table. I did have a few changes of garments and undergarments packed inside my travel bag, but in the eyes of Auntie and Yeo-eun, those worn rags clearly didn't qualify as clothing.
"Yeo-eun?"
"What now? You're going to dump another chore on me, aren't you?"
"Mom has already been away from the factory for too long."
Her intuition was spot-on. Auntie was trying to pawn off several errands concerning me onto her daughter. In short, she was passing the buck.
"Aargh, seriously! Why do you always do this to me? He can handle it on his own. Didn't you say he's twenty?"
"He's your younger brother now, and you can't even look after him that much? It's not like Mom is asking you to babysit every little thing."
"Ugh, come on! I'm busy too!"
"All you ever do is hole up in your room glued to that computer, and you have the nerve to say you're busy? When are you going back to college anyway?"
"Why are you suddenly bringing that up?!"
It seemed I was destined to lose even more favor with my new sister. Either way, she stood no realistic chance of winning an argument against her mother.
After finishing lunch, Auntie and I headed out to a bustling downtown commercial district. We took care of the essentials for my future independence, setting up a checking account at her primary bank and activating a brand-new smartphone.
Walking the streets confirmed that this society was functionally indistinguishable from my previous life. Just as Yeo-eun had pointed out, these were straightforward tasks I could have easily accomplished entirely on my own. But in Auntie's eyes, I must have looked like a fragile toddler wandering near a riverbank, so I quietly complied without objection. Besides, she looked genuinely happy holding my hand as we strolled together.
"Jeongseo, are you feeling tired?"
"I'm fine. Though I think it might be best to head home soon."
"Shall we call it a day, then?"
We had just finished picking out several pieces of furniture at the department store. Auntie mentioned that she had considered buying everything beforehand, but held off because she didn't know my personal tastes.
"I feel like you've spent far too much because of me. I'll make sure to pay you back as quickly as possible."
"Oh, Jeongseo... It's not a burden at all, so don't let such thoughts cross your mind. Like I told you earlier, doing this brings peace to my own heart."
In a single afternoon, Auntie had spent millions of won—and that was only counting what I had witnessed firsthand. She bought the latest flagship smartphone outright at the agency, and swiped her card for premium department store furniture without blinking an eye. To someone like me who had lived as an ordinary, penny-pinching citizen in my past life, it was a dizzying display of wealth.
"And this is a little present from Auntie."
Bzzz.
Having returned to the underground parking garage, Auntie tapped briskly on her screen from the driver's seat. The moment she finished speaking, a chime sounded from my new phone.
"I originally wanted to buy you a handsome wallet and stuff it full of cash, but..."
"I've already received far too many gifts today... Thank you."
"Mhm. Once you start buying what you need, even that might disappear fast. If you ever run short, don't feel awkward and just let me know, alright?"
"Yes. I will."
I had adamantly refused her offer to buy a luxury designer wallet earlier, so she had simply routed the gift as direct cash instead. I almost slipped into my old-mannish habit of rambling about how undeserving I was of such grand benevolence, but managed to bite my tongue just in time. Instead, I simply bowed my head and conveyed my heartfelt gratitude.
"Auntie only ever had that sullen, gloomy daughter of mine. Suddenly having such an adorable son like Jeongseo makes me want to shower you with everything I can."
Auntie gently rested her hand atop my head. Her touch hesitated for a fleeting second, lingering with awkward unfamiliarity, but she didn't yank her hand away like she had before.
"Well then, let's head back."
"Yes, ma'am."
She seemed a bit shy about the tender moment as well. After giving my hair two gentle strokes, she flushed faintly and started the engine.
Before we had begun our shopping spree, I had shared my thoughts with her, suggesting there was no need to rush and that we could take our time researching and buying things one by one. It was my polite way of offering to find what I needed for much cheaper. In response, she insisted that spending time hunting for bargains was a waste. She wanted to provide these basic comforts herself, and moreover, she simply enjoyed walking around with me.
"So, do you have any plans for what you'd like to do going forward?"
"Yes. I made a promise to the Monk. First, I intend to enter university."
"Ah~ Auntie was just about to bring that up too."
I had sworn a promise to the Monk: to attend university, find employment, and surround myself with good, upright people. He had asked me to live an ordinary life. And I fully intended to keep that promise.
The pledges I made to him before my past-life memories returned were carved into my heart like an inviolable seal. Perhaps it was because his guidance had sprung from genuine, unconditional fatherly affection. Whatever the precise reason, I wished to live honoring the Monk's wishes to the very limit of my abilities.
"Have you thought about which college or major you want to pursue?"
"I haven't settled on anything specific yet. I think I'll need to ponder it a little longer."
"Of course. You've missed this year's admission cycle anyway... so take all the time you need to think it over. Auntie will help you every step of the way."
Chatting back and forth, we arrived back at the house before we knew it. There was a deliberate reason I suggested returning early even though the department store was still hours from closing: to confirm the true nature of the strange dissonance I had felt earlier today. Furthermore, I had come up with a modest idea of how to begin repaying her generosity.
Auntie maintained that she was merely returning the immense debt of gratitude she owed to the Monk, but from where I stood, that logic didn't hold. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world, and I had already received far too much from her hands.