Chapter 226 – Episode 226 – Happy Mother-Daughter-Sister Rice Bowl (4)
Inside the house.
“Come on in. It’s a bit cramped, isn’t it?”
Yoon Na-eun, who had taken off her shoes and entered, said, looking at Jin-hyun.
He hadn’t refused her invitation to come over to her place.
The house was less than 10 minutes away from the café, so after watching Da-jeong and Yu-jeong chatting with Jin-hyun, they arrived in no time.
‘But does he really have that many questions?’
Jin-hyun had talked quite a lot, not just to Da-jeong and Yu-jeong, but to her as well while they were walking.
Was it genuine curiosity, or just to avoid awkwardness?
‘Well… heh.’
Either way, she didn’t feel bad, so Yoon Na-eun couldn’t stop smiling as they walked to her house.
Working all day at the soup restaurant, she dealt with a lot of difficult customers.
Even if someone was grateful to Da-jeong and Yu-jeong, if they weren’t a good person, she wouldn’t feel attached to them, but Jin-hyun was the opposite.
He looked around the entrance and the house, then smiled brightly and replied.
“No, it’s very clean.”
“That’s a relief. Make yourself comfortable.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Yoon Na-eun smiled at Jin-hyun’s polite greeting and then stood in front of the kitchen.
They had already had dessert at the café, but she couldn’t just not offer anything to a guest.
“Oppa, oppa! Come here. I’ll show you our room.”
“Huh? Where?”
“Here, here. This is my room with Unni, hehe.”
As soon as they entered the house, Da-jeong and Yu-jeong, who seemed very excited, took Jin-hyun to show him their room.
‘It’s a bit embarrassing.’
This house was nothing compared to his office.
They didn’t have enough money, so the two daughters had to share a room.
She had given the larger of the two rooms to her daughters, but it was still small for two people.
“Da-jeong, you need to wash your hands first.”
“Oh, right.”
“Ah, I’ll wash mine too.”
Da-jeong, Yu-jeong, and then Jin-hyun went to the bathroom to wash their hands.
She washed her hands in the kitchen, then put some fruit, including tangerines, on a plate and poured orange juice into cups.
She brought the snacks to Da-jeong, Yu-jeong, and Jin-hyun, who were chatting away.
“Eat this while you talk.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“Wow, tangerines!”
The three of them seemed to get along really well.
Honestly, there weren’t any game consoles or anything that kids these days enjoyed in the house, and there were very limited things to do, but the three of them seemed to be having a great time just talking to each other.
They spent time sitting on the living room sofa with the TV and the kids’ chatter in the background, and before they knew it, it was almost dinner time.
“Kids, what do you want to eat? For dinner.”
When she opened the door and asked, Da-jeong immediately asked back.
“Dinner? What do we have?”
“Well, we can order something, or I can make something? I can make stew or rice cake soup or something like that.”
“Ah, rice cake soup!”
When she answered Da-jeong’s question like that, Da-jeong’s eyes lit up and she grabbed Jin-hyun’s arm and shook it.
“Oppa, oppa. My mom is a really good cook. Especially her rice cake soup is super delicious.”
“Huh? Rice cake soup?”
“Yeah. Mom’s rice cake soup is really good.”
Even Yu-jeong chimed in from the side, making her feel a little embarrassed.
Jin-hyun nodded.
“Um, could I ask you to make rice cake soup?”
“I’m fine with it, but Jin-hyun, will rice cake soup be enough for you?”
“Yes, it’s fine.”
“Okay. Then wait a little bit.”
Yoon Na-eun said that and went back to the kitchen.
She stir-fried the meat, made the broth, and boiled the rice cakes and dumplings.
Finally, she added seaweed and garnishes, and then, just in case, she set out rice and side dishes and called the kids.
“Wow, it smells good.”
“Hehe, right? It’s even better when you eat it. It’s really delicious.”
“There’s more, so eat a lot.”
“Yes, we will eat well~.”
Clink- clink-
The sound of cutlery clinking filled the air.
Da-jeong and Yu-jeong were sitting on the right side of the table, and Jin-hyun was on the left. She sat in the middle and ate.
Usually, it was always the three of them eating, but just having four people made the table feel much more abundant.
Da-jeong and Yu-jeong also seemed much happier than when they ate with just the three of them.
It was truly a happy dining scene.
‘If my husband hadn’t been addicted to gambling and hadn’t left home, would it have felt like this…?’
That thought crossed her mind for a moment, but Yoon Na-eun shook her head.
It was all in the past now, no point in thinking about it. She was alone now.
The husband she had once loved was now just a source of resentment.
“Mom, Mom.”
“Huh? What is it?”
While they were eating, Da-jeong spoke again, as if she was urging her.
“You know, can’t we ask Oppa to sleep over tonight?”
“Sleep over?”
Yoon Na-eun unconsciously asked back at Da-jeong’s question.
But the answer was already there.
‘There’s no reason why not, right…?’
Come to think of it, this was the first time she had ever invited anyone else to this house, and since she had already invited him, there was no reason why not.
“Yeah, if it’s okay with Jin-hyun, it’s fine.”
“Ah! Oppa! She said it’s okay. Sleep over at my house tonight.”
“Hmm, should I?”
Da-jeong was excited and coaxed Jin-hyun, and Jin-hyun nodded.
‘But where should he sleep?’
It suddenly occurred to her, but she couldn’t have a guest sleep on the floor.
She would have to let her two daughters sleep in their room as usual, then she would come out to the floor and let Jin-hyun sleep in her room.
As she was organizing the bedding in her head, dinner was over.
“We ate well~. Wow, it was really delicious.”
“I’m glad it suited your taste.”
Yoon Na-eun smiled and nodded at Jin-hyun’s words.
He had really cleaned his plate, which meant that his words were not just empty compliments.
Feeling pleased, Yoon Na-eun happily cleaned up the dishes.
Jin-hyun had offered to help with the dishes, but of course, he was a guest. She refused.
Instead, she couldn’t stop him from helping her peel the fruit.
Honestly, at first, she was worried that he might get hurt, but unlike her expectations, he peeled them incredibly well, which surprised her.
“Hehe. Ta-da~ look. How is it? I peeled it into a bunny shape.”
“Ooh, Oppa. You knew how to do that too?”
“Heh. I’ve been a bit domestic since I was young-.”
“Domestic my foot, liar. You learned that from Su-jeong or Ria.”
“Noona, how could you say that?”
“Aish, what is it?”
She listened to the voices from the room with a pleased smile.
As she rested on the sofa with the TV and the kids’ chatter in the background, it soon became dark.
Yoon Na-eun prepared the bedding.
“Jin-hyun, you sleep here. It’s my room, but I’ll put out a new blanket for you.”
“Ah, yes. I understand.”
She moved the bedding she usually used to the floor and put out a new blanket in the room for Jin-hyun.
“Don’t talk too late. Da-jeong, you have school tomorrow, and Yu-jeong has work. Okay?”
“Okay, okay.”
“Yes~.”
Da-jeong and Yu-jeong were still sitting next to Jin-hyun in their pajamas.
It seemed like they wanted to talk a little more before going to bed.
‘They’re all grown up… they’ll take care of themselves.’
Yoon Na-eun thought that and lay down on the bedding she had laid out on the floor.
She closed her eyes and reflected on the day.
Her daughters’ happy faces. And the fact that the café owner was a good person. It was such a good day.
She relaxed her body and covered herself with the blanket, and soon sleep came over her.
“Is it Da-jeong’s turn today?”
“Yeah! Unni’s next time…”
What were they talking about?
Anyway, with the sound of the children’s happy voices in the background, Yoon Na-eun fell into a deep sleep.
******
Aah, haang-!
“Ugh…?”
Yoon Na-eun stirred and twisted her body.
She squinted and looked out the window.
It was pitch black night.
‘What time is it…?’
Did she wake up in the middle of the night?
Yoon Na-eun quickly turned on her phone and looked at it.
[ 1:54 AM ]
“……”
It was an awkward time.
She had fallen asleep around 11:30, so waking up at this time was strange.
‘I’ve been sleeping soundly without waking up in the middle lately…’
It was a strange thing.
She always woke up refreshed and in good condition, but now she felt groggy and like she hadn’t fully woken up…
‘Ugh… I guess.’
It felt like it was because she was used to sleeping in her room and suddenly came out to the floor.
Yoon Na-eun got up and went to the kitchen.
She thought she would drink a cup of warm water and go back to sleep.
Sip-
So she was about to get some hot water from the water purifier when she heard a strange sound.
Uhh, haah-!
She heard that strange sound again.
‘What is it?’
She had heard that sound when she woke up earlier.
The voice sounded like Da-jeong’s.
Could it be that she was still awake?
‘She has school tomorrow…’
She thought that Da-jeong was responsible enough to talk for a bit and then go to sleep, but it seemed like she was too excited because Jin-hyun was here.
‘I should tell her to go to sleep.’
She was worried that she might be late.
She quickly drank the warm water and went to Da-jeong and Yu-jeong’s room, but it was strangely quiet.
‘?’
She opened the door slightly and looked inside, but the lights were off and it was very quiet.
‘Oh, right.’
She thought she might have misheard, but she remembered that Da-jeong and Yu-jeong were definitely talking in her room before she went to bed.
She moved to the other room, and this time she heard the sound more clearly.
Haang, heuuuk-!?
‘Huh?’
The voice sounded a little wet. It sounded like she was trying to hold something back…
‘Is she sick somewhere?’
That thought occurred to her now.
If so, she was worried.
She was in so much pain that she was holding back her moans.
Haah, haang-!
The closer she got to her room, the louder the voice became.
When she looked at the door, she could see a faint light still shining through the crack.
‘She’s still not asleep.’
If she was sick, she had to go to the hospital quickly.
Tomorrow… no, today was still her vacation, so she could tell Da-jeong to take a day off from school and go to the hospital with her.
Yoon Na-eun, worried, quickly opened the door.
“Da-jeong, are you sick…”
Huh…!?
And.
Yoon Na-eun froze at the shocking sight that followed.
