A Peaceful Day (5)
A Peaceful Day (5)
I was lounging around on the massive bed set up in one corner of the acrylic house when a bodyguard from Team 5 came into the greenhouse carrying something.
"Late-night snack delivery~"
"Oh, come on~ just that amount? Park Ji-hoon can eat all that by himself~"
"Haha, I'll bring more."
"I'll just send Park Ji-hoon over."
"That's even better~ hahaha."
Tae-oh had put in his time since he was nine, so he'd earned the right to laze around. But some greenhorn rookie bastard had the nerve to lounge while his senior was up and moving.
It was a good thing the bodyguards liked Park Ji-hoon. Back when I was a senior, I would've beaten the shit out of him.
We checked out the food the bodyguards brought and burst out in admiration, nodding our heads.
They said they'd even brought chefs. Hanseong really did live up to its reputation.
Charcoal-grilled chicken with a sweet and savory sauce, plus quail eggs and stir-fried noodles all packed in together—just the sight of it made my mouth water.
"Wow..."
Da-yeon, Min-ji, and I were full so we only had one piece each, but it was so good it felt like a shame I couldn't eat more.
Then people started cracking into the beer.
"This one goes out to our little Tti-yoon who can't drink... sorry."
Park Ji-hoon was being a smartass, waving a can of Sprite around, so I slowly set down my chopsticks, and he apologized at once.
Da-yeon didn't really drink unless it was a dark beer. Min-ji and Jun-su each tried it once and quit.
In the end, Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh also had only one can each and then stopped.
Around the time we were just killing time, watching the scenery outside,
Park Ji-hoon, Kim Tae-oh, and Jun-su went outside and eventually came back lugging the TV and game console from the storage shed.
Min-ji and Jun-su were tired and wanted to sleep. Maybe they decided to just crash here instead of going back to their rooms—Jun-su lay down on the sofa and Min-ji on the massive bed.
Still, maybe it felt like a waste to go to sleep right away—Jun-su had moved the sofa flush against the acrylic wall and was taking in the view of the gale-swept landscape outside, snow and all.
Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh must have been tired too, because they tidied up, turned off the lights, and headed out.
Kim Tae-oh was meticulously checking the door when something seemed to occur to him. He came back inside, stuffed the fire pit full of firewood, then followed Park Ji-hoon back to the igloo.
Da-yeon and I were enjoying the sound of crackling firewood and the wind howling outside.
"How is it?"
"Seriously... it's so amazing it gives me chills~"
It was a bummer that the heavy snow meant we couldn't see the stars, but...
The light spilling from the house and the igloo lit up the surroundings, and the warmth inside the greenhouse wrapped around my body.
I was chatting with Da-yeon, watching the scenery outside, and then I fell asleep.
Thrrrk!
Thrrrrk!
"Boss! Hurry it up, would ya!"
"Ya little shit, you've gotten big, huh?"
"Ahahaha"
Thrrrrk!
I opened my eyes to that familiar laugh and saw Park Ji-hoon outside, laughing while shoveling.
The snow seemed to have stopped, but they said it would pick up again this afternoon, as heavy as yesterday... I wondered if we'd be able to get home.
I moved carefully so I wouldn't wake Da-yeon, who was still sleeping. I climbed down and looked around, but Min-ji and Jun-su were gone.
Off in the distance, the two of them were running errands for Grandma.
I opened the fridge, grabbed some water, and drank it while staring outside.
Snow piled up to my waist...
The inside of the greenhouse was tidied up neatly. Someone must have added more firewood before leaving because it was still toasty inside.
My mouth felt stale because I'd fallen asleep without brushing my teeth last night. I put on my long padded coat and was about to go outside alone, then hesitated, wondering if I should wake Da-yeon.
Mm... what's the point of waking her up. A good deep sleep is the real healing...
I went into the house, brushed my teeth, showered, and changed clothes.
The moment I stepped back outside, I saw the bodyguards goofing around with Park Ji-hoon and Kim Tae-oh.
I casually packed a snowball and then hurled a straight fastball at Park Ji-hoon.
Park Ji-hoon turned around slowly after the snowball smacked the back of his head.
He quickly made a snowball and threw it at me at full power. Still, there was a limit to how fast you could throw a snowball—it wasn't a baseball—so I dodged it effortlessly.
But... it nailed my dad square in the face. He had been sneaking up from behind, trying to hug me.
There was a sound like an exploding shell, and the snow scattered everywhere, blasting into Dad's face...
Dad, who had been leaning back, collapsed straight into the snow.
"Dad?!"
A horrified Park Ji-hoon came running over. I nearly beat the shit out of Park Ji-hoon, but held back.
Dad opened his eyes and looked around.
He spotted me and tried to pull me down. I started to dodge his hand, then gave up. He pulled me into a hug and laughed heartily, but...
A trickle of blood started running from his nose.
"It hurts....."
The kitchen, which had to feed thirty-three people, was beyond hectic.
It would have been tough if Grandma had handled it alone, but the two chefs they'd brought really pulled their weight.
Wowed by Grandma's touch, the others had started cooking alongside her, and their teamwork was incredible.
Da-yeon and I also headed to the kitchen to help.
The chefs, who had refused help at first, nodded at Da-yeon's cooking skills—she was diligent with prep work and had an excellent palate. And my knife skills shocked them.
The sight of me covering all the necessary ingredient cutting by myself was more than enough to captivate the two chefs.
Shk-shk-shk-shk-shk!
A speed that put even the experts you see in videos to shame.
The speed at which I julienned radish beat an ordinary person going all-out with a mandoline.
After I shredded everything from onions to cabbage in under twenty minutes, the chefs were left speechless.
"All done?"
""Yes...""
I washed my hands clean and headed outside.
But Dad must have been ready to startle me again. He suddenly popped out, and on instinct, I nearly drove an open-hand sleep strike into him with my right hand.
The moment I raised my right hand, Dad panicked and raised both hands.
Then my left-leg high kick to the afterlife would've followed in a combo, and if I'd landed that on Dad, it would have been dangerous.
Physically... and humanely...
"What'd you come from doing?!"
"Helping with the food prep."
"Let's go see Roy and Rosa with Daddy!"
"They looked worn out from playing."
Dad showed me two gigantic marrow bones meant as treats for the dogs.
"Ta-da~"
"Maybe because their grandpa raises them like royalty, unlike our Alpha and Beta, they go berserk if you mess with them while they're eating. You know that?"
"Exactly why I'm gonna handle 'em for a good while before I give it to 'em~"
Dad and I headed together to the dog house where Roy and Rosa were.
Roy and Rosa spotted us and their tails started wagging furiously.
Normally they would've bolted out in joy, but they seemed so exhausted now that it was hard for them.
But the moment they caught a whiff of something with their ultra-developed sense of smell, Roy and Rosa charged at us.
"Paw."
Roy and Rosa both put a paw on my hand at the same time.
Maybe my hand was small, or their paws were big—they struggled to fit both front paws on my palm at once—but I gave another command.
"Other paw."
Rosa, who was on my right, strained to offer her left paw.
"Dad, you follow along too."
"Okay!"
I started giving Roy commands, and Dad gave Rosa the same commands.
"Spin." "Bang!" "High five." "Hind paw." "Tail." "Peace sign."
Roy and Rosa's expressions started gradually turning sour at the never-ending commands...
If they were actual people, it'd be the face right before cussing you out.
The kind of look that says, "Let's see what kind of crap you're giving us to make us do this."
But...
The moment they saw the bone as big as my forearm, their faces became utterly entranced.
"Heh... Kiss."
Their eyes were locked on the bone. They gave my face a half-hearted lick, and one ear just flapped once.
I kept petting them for a long while, and Roy, as if to say hurry up and hand it over, licked my face. I put the bone in his mouth. Dad, who had been mimicking me exactly, popped the bone into Rosa's mouth too.
I stroked Roy's head while he was eating. He glanced warily at me and started a low, faint growl.
"You. If you bite me, you're dog-meat stew on the spot. Make a good choice here."
Roy had the bone in his mouth, but the moment he sensed my bloodlust, he set it down for a moment...
I nearly sorted out the pecking order, like with Alpha and Beta, to make it clear who the boss was. I held back.
The igloo, now a perfect dome thanks to the packed snow.
Once we were inside, it had clearly solidified—only the lines of the blocks remained; the rest had hardened into one solid mass of ice.
"No chance of it collapsing now~"
Seeing the field cots set up, it looked like quite a few people had slept here.
There was also a pavilion next to the house, and it looked like they'd traded off shifts all night, having an intense barbecue party.
I asked where Da-yeon was, and they said she'd gone to see the rabbits, so Dad and I followed the path.
Seems she'd finished cooking and was petting the rabbits with Min-ji.
Rabbits that didn't seem to mind a human's touch.
Da-yeon had a baby bunny on her hand and was gently stroking it.
"Da-yeon!"
"Oh? Si-yoon~"
Da-yeon was squatting down, smiling brightly as she greeted us.
I handed the celery I'd brought to Min-ji and Da-yeon.
"They really gobble this up."
Min-ji and Da-yeon took the celery from me, their eyes sparkling.
We ate breakfast and then went outside.
"Anything to do before it snows this afternoon?"
"Wanna go ice fishing?"
"You want me to clear a path all the way there for you?"
"Oh, so you do get it?"
"Are you out of your damn mind? It's gotta be 500 meters to the lakeside; how the hell are we supposed to clear that?"
"He says it's impossible without even trying."
"Yeah, get lost~"
I spoke to Park Ji-hoon, who was staring at his own hand.
"Did you talk to your parents?"
"About what?"
"That you can't go tomorrow."
"Obviously."
"They said you did your physical. When are you enlisting?"
"... I get you're curious, but something about it hits different when you ask."
"Then don't say anything and get lost, how about that."
Park Ji-hoon gazed up at the clear sky, then said,
"Sooner than Tae-oh, maybe?"
"Is that necessary?"
"If I'm gonna make fun of him, I need to go and get it over with as soon as possible."
"Gonna be boring for two years, huh."
"You gonna miss me?"
"Yeah, get lost. I'll be slicing up steak while you're eating your army slop~"
"You son of a bitch..."
Da-yeon and I had decided to enroll at Hanguk University.
Da-yeon had been steadily practicing her writing and preparing for the essay portion since our second year of high school.
She had to prepare quite extensively, starting with the interview, to get into the business administration department at Hanguk University. For me, it was practically an express pass.
Maybe it was because I had a habit of writing out the essay questions as fast as possible so I could go to sleep early during exams...
I packed three sheets of manuscript paper from edge to edge faster than anyone else.
My handwriting clocks in at roughly 700 strokes a minute. I'd glance at the question and start printing without a moment of hesitation—no one around me could keep up.
And all of it in extremely legible handwriting that never smudged once.
To get into Hanguk University, which was famous for its follow-up interview questions, Da-yeon prepared tirelessly. But...
When I went to my interview, the vibe was kind of like, "Oh my, please, please grace our school with your presence," you know?
Kim Tae-oh and Park Ji-hoon ended up going to Ose University and Goguryeo University.
People were engaged in heavy labor from the morning, shoveling snow away.
Tae-oh, who had been focused on making something, called out to me.
"What?"
"They're saying let's build another igloo."
"Yeah?"
I took the blueprint in my head, refined it a little, and planned a sturdier and bigger igloo.
Everyone moved in perfect order under my command.
Digging into the frozen ground was the worst part. Park Ji-hoon, who had made this job look easy yesterday, was suddenly being reappraised.
Curious at the sight of people unable to even get a shovel into the ground, I tried to drive a shovel in myself, and nearly tore the skin off my palms.
That bastard. Every time he got drunk in the past, all he ever did was talk about shoveling dirt in the Marine Corps. Only today did I realize it wasn't bullshit.
When Park Ji-hoon gripped the shovel and started breaking ground, everyone around was impressed.
That dumb son of a bitch got high on the praise and started shoveling with gusto.
Park Ji-hoon really was ridiculously easy to handle.
Before we knew it, the igloo was finished.
We'd even used acrylic to make a window that could be opened and closed from the inside and outside.
Grandfather cut the acrylic for us.
Also installed were light fixtures and power strips.
Everyone was so hyped they started setting up the field cots.
Then bodyguards started scrambling into sleeping bags, each trying to call dibs on sleeping first.
I naturally lay down on Team 7's field sleeping bag.
"That's my spot."
"Bullshit. This once, I'm not backing down."
"That bed's mine, you know?"
Team 7 had started fighting over weird stuff, but I ignored them and talked with Da-yeon.
The scene was the same with Team 5.
The igloo quickly started warming up with everyone's body heat.
It was still chilly inside, but to anyone coming in from outdoors, it felt warm enough to make them marvel.
Just then, Han Tae-yoon, who had been on sentry duty until then, came inside.
Along with Jong-cheol, Han Tae-yoon had spent the most time with me, and he was the bodyguard I was closest to.
He must've been tired. After chatting half-heartedly with his colleagues, he started moving to go to sleep when he spotted me.
"Oh!? Hello~"
"You look tired."
"Haha. Not at all."
He said that, but he immediately unpacked his gear and climbed into a sleeping bag.
They normally avoided sleeping while I was around, so he must've been completely exhausted.
I heard he hadn't slept in about two days. Figures.
On top of that, sentry duty for Team 7 wasn't just a simple patrol. It meant lying concealed in the mountains, using binoculars and a sniper rifle to monitor the perimeter. The exhaustion would be even worse.
Watching Han Tae-yoon already fast asleep, a mischievous impulse struck me, and I casually sat down on his field cot.
He woke up the instant I touched him, but he didn't take off his earmuffs or eye mask, so it seemed like he was planning to fall back asleep.
I grinned, passed the camera to Da-yeon, and lay down on the cramped cot.
Han Tae-yoon had no idea who had lain down. He just shifted around, annoyed.
"I'm tired. Go away..."
Once I settled into position, Da-yeon snapped a picture of me, and a chorus of envious sighs rippled around us.
Maybe sensing something small squirming around, Han Tae-yoon abruptly lifted his head and ripped off his eye mask. When he discovered me, he nearly had a heart attack.
"Hurghk!"
His sudden movement pushed my light body backward, about to send me tumbling off. But even in his shock, Han Tae-yoon's reflexes were fast, and he caught me, supporting my back.
"Oh, thanks~"
I got up naturally and went outside with Da-yeon.
Did they say the pyramids were made by humans...?
Looking at the scene before my eyes, I could understand it.
That idiot Park Ji-hoon had made a sphinx in that short span of time.
He was crafting it while spraying water. Park Ji-hoon, always dead serious no matter what he does.
His trademark idiot charm was on full display.
Kim Tae-oh was sculpting the sphinx's legs.
The absolutely ridiculous thing was that Team 5 and Team 7 were always locked in a rivalry. But at this very moment, they were united, working on it together diligently.
Park Ji-hoon was continuously pouring water, letting it build up over time. Looked like he was trying to sculpt the face out of ice.
In the yard, Grandfather and Lee Gi-seok were drinking hot coffee and playing Go.
I'd explained many times that just because I did art didn't mean I was good at sculpting, but...
Apparently, I had a talent for sculpting, more than I'd thought.
We changed direction, going for a tiger instead of a sphinx, and started carving.
When I set the reference points and drew the lines, a few people would swarm in and rough out the shape. Then, those with good dexterity would refine the details. That was the system.
I climbed up a ladder and started working on the face in earnest.
Snow wasn't as sturdy as I'd thought, so the teeth kept snapping off. I started sculpting again, dampening the snow with water.
Dad and Lee Gi-seok, who had been talking, looked out at the yard and were shocked. Before they knew it, the Go game was completely forgotten.
Did I once say that once I start something, I see it through to the end?
At some point, what had been white snow had transformed into blocks of ice. A statue now stood there that would look just like a tiger once it was painted.
When I tried to go get paints from the shed, Dad stopped me in a hurry.
Exhausted, we dragged ourselves to the acrylic house, where we ate lunch and warmed up with dessert.
"I'm beat..."
Park Ji-hoon had started eating cup ramen. He chewed and stared outside.
"Isn't this prime sledding territory?"
Park Ji-hoon should not have said that.
The bodyguards' insane, hair-raising ability to spring into action...
After getting permission from Grandfather, they started cutting down a few trees on one extremely steep mountainside slope.
Team 5 and Team 7 were doing manual labor when they'd supposedly come here to heal...
They started competing against each other again, but everyone was smiling... Well... if they were enjoying themselves, that was what mattered...
Then, around evening, the sledding course was complete.
Honestly... it was fun as hell.
If we'd had snowboards, we could've really gone all-out.
The deep snow filling the jump section they'd built in one spot acted as a cushion.