LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 194
“`html
“….”
“Kana~ The meat is well cooked… Oh my?”
“What? Why?”
Da-eun, holding the meat tongs, chuckled softly.
At the tip of her downward gaze was my phone.
“You’re just staring at your phone. Do you like it that much?”
“Not really.”
“Well, you might want to come more often for Kana’s sake~”
“That’s not it.”
Is she telling me to stop looking at my phone and eat instead?
Of course, I knew Da-eun didn’t mean it that way, but I moved my hand to put away my phone.
…Just one more look before I do.
The sky and the lake, and three people standing between them.
A girl with black hair smiling brightly, and a silver-haired girl looking away, avoiding the camera.
In between the two women stood a girl with pink hair and eyes, making a peace sign with her fingers.
From their expressions to their actions.
They boasted diverse looks as varied as their hair colors, but that very diversity made the emotions captured in the photo even more vivid.
When Da-eun suggested taking a picture, I was hesitant at first.
‘….’
…Sometimes, taking photos like this isn’t too bad.
As time passes, memories fade, but looking at the photos allows you to feel today’s emotions once again.
Reflecting now, the impulsive decision to take off my hoodie and sunglasses doesn’t seem that bad.
“Oh come on, that’s a lie. You even changed your phone wallpaper.”
“You told me to! ‘Aren’t you tired of the default wallpaper? I’ll give you a photo of me to use as a wallpaper,’ you said.”
“…Pfft! Did you just mimic me? So cute~! Do it again!”
“No way. I won’t. And it’s not mimicking, it’s reenacting.”
“Ehh… That was cute, what a shame.”
Da-eun smacked her lips.
“But it’s been a while since I said that, and now you’re changing it? Doesn’t that mean I was right? I’ve said it more than once.”
“Did you know all this time?”
“Of course, I wished Kana would use my photo as her wallpaper, just like I did.”
“The meat’s burning. Hurry and eat.”
“Oh no, that can’t happen.”
Such a terrifying thing must never occur.
At Da-eun’s hurried words, she quickly moved the tongs, keeping her distance from Yuki, who was watching the situation.
Fortunately, the magic of the meat turning into charcoal didn’t happen.
It got a little darker, but isn’t it just how much flavor it got?
I picked a piece of meat sizzling on the grill and popped it into my mouth.
“You know what smoky flavor is? You’re so smart! …Ack!”
I had to punish Da-eun for trying to tease me again.
By the time the pieces of meat on the grill dwindled away, I snatched the tongs from Da-eun’s hand as she moved to grill new meat.
“I’ll grill it.”
“Huh? Are you serious?”
Da-eun, who had handed the tongs to me, looked a bit stunned but then smiled warmly.
“You’re so sweet for grilling it for me, thinking I can’t eat.”
“….”
Not that it was wrong, but hearing Da-eun say it makes me want to deny it so much.
And that “older sister” thing, too.
Just this morning, she wasn’t like this, but after meeting a female hiker near the mountain peak, she started calling me that at the end of every sentence.
“But Kana, can you actually grill meat? This looks easy, but it takes some high-level skills, you know? This is pretty expensive meat; it would hurt if you burn it.”
“What are you saying?”
I replied nonchalantly as I placed the meat on the grill.
“I can grill better than Da-eun.”
“Hey! You should call her ‘older sister,’ not Da-eun! Yuki, you hear me? Say something!”
“If I say something, will you challenge me?”
“…Just eat the meat.”
Even though she wouldn’t be satisfied with a challenge with me.
Yuki lightly ignored Da-eun’s grumbling and aggressively tore into the meat.
“Whatever… I know Kana can cook to some extent. I’ve eaten a lot from that world. But that was then, and this is now. You haven’t made anything for months; your skills could be rusty.”
“You won’t lose your skills just because you haven’t done it for a few months. And that’s because you told me not to.”
You were the one saying it was okay when I approached, looking like you needed help.
“I couldn’t help it! I promised I wouldn’t let a drop of water touch Kana’s hands.”
“…With who?”
“With myself.”
“….”
I stilled in disbelief, halting the grilling and just stared at her.
“Are you telling me I shouldn’t even wash my hands?”
“Not like that! It’s a metaphor for the promise that I won’t let you suffer! Even if a man shows up to take you away later, if you don’t promise, I’ll never let him have you!”
“Who said you could decide that….”
“As a guardian, I have that right!”
Such a pointless worry from the get-go.
Am I actually going to marry someone and start a family?
“….”
A man with eyes dripping with honey slowly approached.
He came up to me with a wide stride, and only after we were close enough to feel each other’s breath did he stop.
Then, he hugged me with strong arms built from prominent muscles –
“-Huh.”
And when we reached the part of the story, static interrupted, ending the scene.
Result of the director’s lack of imagination.
Or perhaps rejection.
I shook my head and firmly stated,
“That will never happen.”
“We’ll see. None of us knew that the day would come when me, you, and Kana would be peacefully grilling and eating meat together. Since Kana is still young, there’s enough time for thoughts to change.”
“…You think so.”
In terms of past lives, I’m not that young either.
The memories have mostly faded, and the memories I do have are dimmed, so it doesn’t mean much; still, it isn’t like it has no influence.
Not sure how to respond, I just mumbled something.
“Oh, is that what you mean? ‘I won’t get married and will live with my sister forever!’ right?”
“You didn’t just mimic me, did you?”
“Hehe… It’s not mimicking; it’s reenacting.”
“…When did I ever say that?”
“Just now. You thought it.”
“Ugh.”
With a deep sigh, I held up a piece of lettuce.
On the neatly laid-out lettuce, I placed rice, meat, and sauce.
One, two, three, four cloves of garlic….
As I was about to add the fifth, I noticed Da-eun looking at me with a strange expression.
As I blinked, Da-eun blinked back in sync.
“Why?”
“Just find it fascinating.”
“What is?”
“Watching Kana make wraps.”
“…?”
What on earth is she talking about?
I cocked my head and blinked again.
“For some reason, I’m feeling a national pride boost….”
“National pride boost?”
“Ah, I think I understand what you mean.”
Yuki, who had been quiet until now, chimed in.
“Well, Kana doesn’t look exactly like a Korean. Not fully Western either, but closer in appearance.”
That was what Yuki, who is half Korean and half Japanese, said.
“Exactly! That’s it!”
Da-eun clapped her hands.
“It felt like watching a foreigner eating wraps while visiting Korea!”
“…Foreigner?”
…I mean, I am from another country, but.
More like, I’m from another world, though.
“A foreign beauty who can’t get enough of the taste of Korean wraps. If a broadcasting station saw that, they’d be drooling!”
“I’ve never lost my mind like that.”
But is that how other people see me?
Looking down at my wraps for a moment, I placed another piece of meat atop the nicely browned garlic.
That garlic still seems like too much.
“Kana doesn’t dislike vegetables, does she?”
“I don’t.”
“Then why the wrap?”
“Come to think of it….”
At Yuki’s raised question, Da-eun who had been overly excited quietly shut her mouth.
Another garlic… No, let’s add two more.
Before I knew it, the size had grown massive, quite different from the original plan.
Thank heavens I got a large leaf of lettuce; otherwise, I might have had to layer on two smaller ones.
I rolled the lettuce up tightly and handed it over to Da-eun.
“Here.”
With all this talk of marriage and dating.
Instead of that nonsense, just eat.
It was a gesture that conveyed that intention.
However, Da-eun didn’t take the wrap I offered; she merely stared at it blankly.
“…Aren’t you going to eat?”
I tilted my head in question, and only then did Da-eun shake off her stupor and shiver.
“…Sniff. I’m so moved…. The day Kana gives her sister a wrap…”
“Alright, alright. My arm hurts, so hurry and eat.”
I brushed off her incessant older sister talk nonchalantly and exaggeratedly complained.
“If you don’t eat it, I’ll give it to Yuki.”
“…That can’t happen!”
Om!
Although I made the wrap larger than my palm, Da-eun managed to shove it all in one bite.
Thanks to that, her cheeks puffed up adorably, but it looked like she was chewing diligently.
I would have had to take a bite out of mine to fit it all in.
“You’re going to bite into the wrap, huh? How cruel.”
“What else can I do if it won’t fit?”
“Kana definitely is a foreigner.”
Yuki, hearing this, had a rare look of shock on her face.
While we talked, Da-eun’s throat visibly gulped.
Then, she stuck her tongue out, saying,
“There’s too much garlic…”
She said this with a pitiful expression, and I shrugged.
“I heard Koreans love garlic.”
It’s not like I’m sulking about it or anything.
“`