SYM 135

“Uncle had somewhere far to go, so I went.”

“You should have told Haneul!”

“That’s right. I’m sorry. I should have told Haneul, but I forgot.”

“Heeing. Unca. Don’t go now. Stay with Haneul.”

Haneul teared up and hugged me.

I felt an indescribable emotion at the small, warm body temperature.

“Okay. From now on, whenever Uncle goes somewhere, I’ll be sure to tell Haneul.”

“No, no, not that, don’t go. Stay with Haneul!”

Haneul clung to my side as if I were about to go somewhere right away.

Until Noona called me to eat, I had to carry Haneul around, stuck to my leg.

“Stop playing with Haneul and come quickly! I’ve already served the rice and soup!”

At Noona’s voice from the kitchen, I picked up Haneul and quickly got up.

“Wow, the bulgogi Noona makes is the best. If our Noona opened a Korean diner, it would be a huge hit.”

I kept praising Noona’s cooking skills, glancing at her.

Judging from her expression, she didn’t seem to have completely cooled down yet. But seeing her subtly push my favorite side dishes forward, I didn’t think she would get any angrier.

“Eun-hyeon, you’ve lost weight, probably because you suffered while traveling. Eat all your rice, don’t leave any.”

The rice Noona gave me was piled high on the bowl. I was already full, but I nodded. Even if I had to take a digestive medicine, I felt like I had to eat all the rice she gave me today.

“Well, well, it’s been a while since we’ve all gathered for a meal, let’s have a beer. Honey, you should have one too, it’s been a while.”

Brother-in-law took out beers from the refrigerator and placed one in front of me and Noona.

Naturally, we each took a glass and lightly clinked them together.

I don’t usually like alcohol, but seeing the bubbles rising from the cool beer, I swallowed hard.

Why does this feel like it’s been so long? Haven’t I had beer for a while?

“It feels like I’m full just from gathering together like this after so long, even without eating. You too, right? Stop being angry and tell me honestly.”

Brother-in-law lightly nudged Noona and smiled, and Noona chuckled as if she couldn’t help it.

Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief.

But knowing how worried Noona would be, why didn’t I contact her even once?

“Noona, don’t worry about me anymore. I’ll be fine wherever I go now.”

Noona, who was drinking beer, paused and looked at me.

I smiled at Noona.

“Actually, I was also anxious and worried when I couldn’t see Noona. I felt like something terrible would happen if we were apart…”

At my words, Noona stared at me silently.

“But Noona, now you have a reliable Brother-in-law and a cute Haneul by your side, right? Seeing that, I realized that worrying about Noona is no longer my responsibility.”

“What are you talking about? Does Noona getting married mean we’re strangers? We’re siblings by blood, no matter what!”

I nodded at Noona’s words.

“That’s right. We’re siblings. Not parent and child. I know Noona sacrificed too much for me. Thank you and I’m sorry. But now that Noona has a family, you can relax a little about worrying about me. I don’t want to be a burden to Noona. I’ll come to my senses and live well. Don’t worry.”

In the past, whenever we talked about this, we would always raise our voices and argue.

But now, we can talk calmly.

At my words, Noona didn’t say anything and just stared at me.

Brother-in-law put his arm around Noona’s shoulder and looked at me.

“Eun-hyeon, you’ve really grown up. Thank you for saying that. But Eun-hyeon, neither I nor your Noona have ever felt you were a burden. We’re family. We’re just grateful and happy to have you.”

Brother-in-law was a really good person. To the point where I didn’t have to worry about Noona anymore.

I filled Brother-in-law’s empty glass with beer and raised my glass.

We lightly clinked glasses in the air.

“I’m so grateful that Noona has someone like Brother-in-law by her side.”

“I, I’m going to put Haneul to sleep.”

Noona picked up Haneul, who was sitting in the children’s chair, and got up.

While Noona hurried to the room, I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

I could hear Haneul grumbling that he didn’t want to sleep.

“Your Noona is just shy. Don’t worry.”

“I know. Brother-in-law, thank you for everything.”

I smiled with Brother-in-law and emptied my beer glass again.

Haneul’s whining, Noona’s food, Brother-in-law’s low voice.

All of this made me feel like I had really come home.

Noona came out of Haneul’s room after a long time. By then, Brother-in-law and I had already finished washing the dishes.

“Let’s drink some more.”

“Noona?”

Noona, who rarely drinks, was suggesting we drink more. I asked back in surprise.

But Noona nonchalantly took out a few bottles of beer and wine from the refrigerator, and even set up snacks.

“I won’t interfere in your affairs as much as I used to, Eun-hyeon. You’re an adult, and I think I’ve been a bit too much all this time.”

That’s what Noona said while drinking a glass of wine.

I was really surprised. I couldn’t have imagined those words coming from Noona’s mouth.

“Noona…”

“Yeah, so, do you have someone you’re dating?”

“Huh? What’s with that all of a sudden?”

I was taken aback by the sudden attack and widened my eyes.

“You said you were relieved to see your Brother-in-law. Then you have to show me someone who can reassure you too. That’s the only way I can be relieved.”

“Ah, how can the story suddenly jump like that?”

The moment Noona said “someone you’re dating,” one person suddenly popped into my head.

Cheong-un.

At the same time, the memories of the past came back as if a seal had been broken.

Ah, but where is Cheong-un? Did I really return to reality?

My head was getting complicated, but I didn’t show it and looked at Noona.

“You don’t just leave your lover without saying anything like this, do you? You’ll get dumped if you do that. If you don’t want to get dumped, you have to diligently report to your lover where you’re going and when you’re coming back.”

“Hoo, no, that’s… I didn’t know it would turn out like this, so that’s why. I usually contact them well.”

“Oh? It sounds like you do have someone you’re seeing?”

I realized I had slipped up at Noona’s words.

It was difficult to say whether I had someone or not, so I avoided her gaze.

I was thirsty for some reason, so I just gulped down beer.

“Honey, it seems like Eun-hyeon really does have someone he’s seeing.”

Brother-in-law glanced at me and lightly nudged Noona with his elbow.

“Of course. Our Eun-hyeon has everything going for him. Of course he has someone he’s seeing. He’ll introduce them to us when the time comes. Don’t put unnecessary pressure on him.”

Noona pouted as if she didn’t like something, but she didn’t say anything more.

The last thing I remembered was Cheong-un giving me a jade necklace.

Without realizing it, I reached for my neck, and the necklace Cheong-un had given me was still there.

A roughly carved jade necklace.

He said this necklace would eat bad dreams and grant wishes.

“This time, it was because the story suddenly came up with my friends.”

“Friends? Which friends? I know all your friends, Eun-hyeon. Who did you go with? Do you think I wouldn’t have contacted your friends after you disappeared?”

At the word “friends,” Noona retorted as if she had been waiting for it.

I was at a loss for words and smacked my lips, looking away with an awkward expression.

Ding-dong.

“Huh? There’s no one who would come at this hour? Who is it?”

I glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost 1 a.m.

As Noona got up, someone knocked on the door again.

“Hello! I’m Cheong-un, a junior of Eun-hyeon hyung! Senior told me to come here, is Eun-hyeon hyung here?”

At the familiar voice from outside the door, my eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“…Cheong-un? Cheong-un?”