Chapter 19 – Chapter 2: Girl at the General Store – 2
Kokkio-.
I woke up to the sound of a rooster crowing.
It feels like there is a heavy burden on my shoulders.
My body is so stuffy that it’s hard to stretch.
I couldn’t sleep well last night.
Because I toss and turn all day thinking about Tia.
“Cough-. Cough.”
I coughed and stood up.
I put on some clothes and left my aunt’s house.
It’s early morning.
It’s only now that you can enjoy the quiet village with the cold air.
Because soon people will wake up one by one.
Step on the hard frozen ground and go down the hill.
Sabak. Sabak.
We arrived in front of Tia’s house before we knew it.
The wooden door was tightly locked.
Unfortunately, I still don’t know the password to this wooden door.
“…”
I waited for a while, but the house was quiet.
Am I still sleeping?
I went to the window.
Just like last time, I glanced inside through the gap between the thick curtains.
There is Tia.
As I watched the blanket on the bed rise and fall, it seemed like I was in a very deep sleep.
Knock.
I intentionally knocked on the window loudly, but Tia didn’t move.
Thump.
This time I tried hitting the wall. Nevertheless, Tia does not move and sleeps soundly.
Thump!
The moment you hit a little harder. Finally, there was a weak response.
Tia woke up from her sleep, ruffled her messy hair and raised her upper body.
She sits blankly for a moment, then raises her arms up.
“… !”
Ah.
I hastily looked away.
Her face lit up.
Ahaha… It was like that.
Tia always slept well naked.
That means she wears nothing.
She said that she feels uncomfortable when she sleeps with something on, so she often tosses and turns her body…
Well, she has always been picky about her sleeping habits.
Of course, I have never seen it in person.
She never asked in the first place and wasn’t even curious. It was just something he told me.
Anyway, it’s a bit of an unusual sleeping method, but I’ve never had any trouble with it.
Tia was keen at night and woke up at the slightest sound.
That’s why she always greets me dressed properly, whether it’s at night or in the morning.
But maybe it’s because I’m particularly tired today.
Tia seemed to have no idea that I was beyond her window, and pulled up the blanket with her naked body.
She then pours out the water from her pitcher and drinks, showing off her pure white back.
I’m kind of embarrassed because I’m just looking at it.
If you call Tia through the window now, something will fly out right away with a scream.
It was when I was trying to gently move my feet in a hurry to return to the front door.
Crash!
The window was opened.
“Ha-I’m tired-.”
Tia sighed and rested her chin on her window sill, then made eye contact with hers.
“Oh.”
“Ah.”
It froze for a moment.
As expected, Tia screamed and covered her breasts.
“Ri, Ritz? “Why, why are you here?”
“No, I tried to wake you up because you didn’t wake up…”
“Get out quickly!”
“Sorry!”
The window slammed shut, and the curtains were drawn.
My heart is pounding.
Oh, Tia definitely has breasts too.
I calmly pondered the beautiful outline that I was lucky enough to see.
Some time has passed.
As I was waiting quietly in front of the wooden door, Tia, wearing her clothes, walked out.
The guy opened the wooden door with a tired face.
“… Come in.”
When you enter the room, you are greeted by warm air.
Hmm. Strong apple smell.
This must be the heat that Tia got all night long.
His eyes were half closed, as if he was still asleep.
“… “What’s going on in the morning, Ritz?”
“I just want to ask you something.”
“Huh…”
After the last incident, our relationship became a bit awkward.
Tia came to visit me and opened the door, but she doesn’t seem to have any intention of talking to me.
“Did you not sleep? “She still looks sleepy.”
“Yes.”
If you don’t notice even when you knock on the wall, you must be exhausted.
Tia got up from her seat and headed toward her kitchen.
“Wait a moment. “She’ll make something.”
As she passed by, he picked up her string and put it in her mouth.
She deftly grabbed a strand of her hair with both hands and quickly tied it up with the string she was holding.
Gulp.
The back of her face that is revealed when she ties up her hair strangely makes her heart beat.
This time, she hung her apron around her neck and wrapped it around her slim waist.
After slightly rolling up her sleeves, she took out the embers from her furnace that had been burning all night and lit them.
Grumbling-!
I crack the eggs I received yesterday into a cast iron pan.
Tak-tak-tak-.
Then she cut various vegetables with a knife and shook her pan skillfully.
The sizzling sound of cooking and the fragrant smell spread all the way here.
Chi-Ik-.
“…”
It was my first time seeing Tia preparing breakfast.
She didn’t really think she would be good at housework. That was purely my imagination.
She had just woken up, her hair was messy, and her eyes were still a bit sleepy.
Nevertheless, she cooks with meticulous care.
It looks like…
She was like a mother.
She said, “I didn’t have a mother, but if I did, this is probably what it would feel like.”
If I marry Tia later, I will be able to see her beautiful back every day.
I will wake up to the sound of cooking for me, the sweet voice calling my name, and the fragrant smell, and greet a new morning in Tia’s warm arms.
And if we have kids, it’ll be a bit noisy.
Maybe because Tia is carrying her baby, she might have a bulge.
Anything.
Just by imagining it, I could conclude that it was the happiest life.
Dalgak.
Tia served stir-fried vegetable eggs.
“Sorry. You waited, right? I made it simple…”
“No. Thank you so much. I’ll eat well.”
I tried it by stabbing it with a fork.
Of course, it tastes like this.
The best dish that Tia is proud of.
Tia’s warm touch seems to soothe my hungry heart.
“How are you?”
“It’s delicious.”
“Hehe- Then I’ll take a shower.”
“Huh. Come back.”
While Tia left for the stream. I filled my stomach and leisurely looked around the house.
I checked it last time, but it was a lot different from before.
If there’s anything new that stands out, it might be that there’s an unfamiliar pillow in the corner of Tia’s bed.
What is that? It wasn’t like Tia was sleeping on her pillow just now.
I reached out my hand and felt her pillow. It was very fluffy and soft.
I realized it right away. This is silk.
It was a very expensive pillow filled with cotton inside.
I had a doubt.
Why is something like this in Tia’s house?
Moreover, Tia didn’t even cut it and just placed it against the wall. It’s as if she isn’t something she uses.
I can hear the sound of the guy who went to the stream coming back.
I took my hand away again and sat down on the chair.
Tia came in, shaking out her hair with a dry cloth.
“Uuuh-. The water is too cold.”
“Because it’s winter. It can’t be helped that her hands are cold.”
“Ritz. She said earlier that she wanted to ask me something. “What is that?”
“Ah.”
At that moment, yesterday’s events came to mind. The bright red hair I saw at the general store.
“Tia, where did you go yesterday?”
“Yesterday-? Huh. “She went to the village below.”
“For what reason?”
Tia looked at me for a moment, then looked away again.
“… “I was wondering if I could find Ruev.”
“Really?”
Are you still concerned about that?
I’ve earned hate, but I can’t help it.
Even ten people had nothing to say about it.
“Tia. By the way…”
My mouth doesn’t come off easily. But she had to ask.
Because there shouldn’t be a single lie between us.
“Did you, by any chance, go to the general store yesterday?”
I wondered if there would be a different reaction.
Surprisingly, the guy nodded obediently.
“Yes.”
“But why didn’t you tell me that?”
“That’s right, because people hate Uncle Posao…” . I can’t say I’ve been there…”
“You also hate Uncle Posao, right?”
“Uhm-.”
Tia shook her head.
“… No. To that extent.”
Oh my god.
I really didn’t expect to hear those words from Tia’s mouth.
It was Tia who made me tremble just by being with her, refused out loud the moment I spoke to her, and even asked me not to do business with Uncle Posao.
Just like her aunts, I thought Tia would hate Uncle Po Sao forever.
“Ritz? “What’s wrong?”
“Ah. No. Just… I was a little surprised. “I never thought you would go to that general store again.”
“Ritz said the same thing-.”
Tia looked out her window with a faint smile.
Her soft eyes seemed to be looking in the direction of the general store.
“I’m fat, I’m lazy, and I’m frustrated. “He’s a nicer guy than he looks.”
“Ah… Really?”
Now that I think about it, I did say that.
Everyone has a misunderstanding about Uncle Posao. When you get to know her, I thought she was a good person.
But at that time, she said it out of anger because of the Luyev incident.
Although that guy is nice, I don’t know exactly what kind of person he is.
Nevertheless, for some reason, I could feel a strong trust in Tia’s voice.
After talking to Uncle Po Sao in person, she seemed to have concluded that he was truly a good person.
“Well, then… I’m glad. Now I won’t have any trouble getting caught between the two of you.”
“Hehe- that’s right!”
What… Did she somehow become okay?
She thought it would be difficult to talk to Tia because of the Luyev incident, but when she brought up the story of Uncle Po Sao, her mood calmed down surprisingly quickly.
She thought it went well, but at the same time felt a little uneasy.
Have I become too accustomed to the villagers’ reactions?
The sight of that fat old man and the cute, smiling girl facing each other, smiling and talking at a close distance… It seemed so foreign.
Tia. Anyway, wouldn’t it be better to keep some distance from Uncle Posao?
If someone else saw it… Your reputation could be ruined.
… No. Now I have to talk about something else.
For no reason, I feel even more depressed.
“Oops. Tia.”
“Yes.”
“I want to return this, no matter what.”
The moment when she reached into her pocket and took out a pocket knife.
Dalgrak, dalgak, dalgak!
An irregular noise occurred behind us facing each other.
Tia raised her head in surprise, and I froze as well.
Dalgak- Clap!
The noise of something heavy going down was the sound of the code on the wooden door being unlocked.
“… Huh?”
Tia, greatly embarrassed, stood up from her seat.
Step by step. Step by step.
Someone is walking up.
The time was as slow as eternity, yet it felt like a moment.
Sigh…
The door opened, and a man appeared.
A huge body that blocks the morning sunlight.
A large herb bag hanging on the shoulder.
Unique breathing where you exhale sharply.
And even the slurred speech.
“Huh-. Phew-. Oh, it’s hard to come up…”
That person…
“Posao… Uncle?”
… It was.
