By Zephyria 
“Haa, I’m not late.”
The man who spoke triumphantly was Kim Ju-won. He was dripping with sweat and gave a victorious smile. At that moment, the alarm rang, signaling exactly six o’clock.
“It was a close call.”
Ki Jae-eon pointed to the clock without even looking at it. Nevertheless, Kim Ju-won maintained a confident attitude. His beaming face seemed to say, ‘What does it matter how many minutes or seconds are left! The important thing is that I did it.’
‘He barely succeeded and he’s showing off.’
Ki Jae-eon snorted silently with a “you’re so great” expression.
But no matter what, it was hard to deny the fact that Kim Ju-won had passed the test within the time limit. Okay, you won. Congratulations. Consider it a lifelong achievement. Ki Jae-eon shrugged and indifferently accepted his defeat.
“Looks like you weren’t just playing around.”
“It’s all thanks to having such a great teacher.”
“……”
“You didn’t forget the promise, did you?”
Kim Ju-won gave a mischievous smile.
Promise.
Yes, I know what he’s talking about.
‘Are you scared of what I’ll make you do?’
It was the content of the bet we made before the test.
I wonder what he’s going to make me do? Ki Jae-eon quietly waited for Kim Ju-won’s instructions.
The fact that he worked so hard to achieve this must mean there’s something he wants to make me do. Hmm, what could it be? Make me kneel and apologize for ignoring him all this time, or……
“You want money?”
“Huh?”
“Ah, did I say that out loud.”
“No……. Do I look like that much of a thug? In the first place, wouldn’t that be Evil Aura?”
Kim Ju-won raised one eyebrow and pouted his lips. He grumbled unhappily, as if asking what I took him for.
“Then you want me to apologize?”
“Did you do something you need to apologize for?”
“If you want a verbal fight, I’m willing to oblige.”
“I’m not good with words, so that’s a bit…”
“……”
“And I can’t get angry or curse at you anymore.”
“Why? You can if you want to.”
“I don’t want to, so I won’t. Instead-.”
Kim Ju-won swept back his sweat-soaked hair and strode towards Ki Jae-eon. The fact that the guy, who had already grown so much, was standing in front of him blocked his view and made him uncomfortable. Ki Jae-eon looked up to face the thug-like face. The experience of being looked down upon was unpleasant as always. Just because you’re two or three centimeters taller, don’t act so cocky. And you’re so much younger than me.
Before the displeased Ki Jae-eon could warn him not to look down on him in such an unpleasant way.
“I’m going to drop the honorifics.”
Kim Ju-won said in a cheerful tone, twitching his cheek. His relieved expression was quite infuriating.
“What?”
“And-.”
“Wait a minute, why is there an ‘and’?”
“I didn’t say there was only one wish.”
“I didn’t say there were two either.”
“Then we should go with what the winner says.”
“That’s a stretch.”
“Okay. Then I’ll make the second wish a one-time thing.”
He had already dropped the honorifics and was being stubborn.
“……Haa, what is it.”
If I didn’t accept, it seemed like we would be arguing all day, so I finally decided to take a step back. I just wanted to listen roughly and end the meaningless argument.
But the second wish that this idiot came up with was truly absurd.
“Let’s eat.”
He brought his face close and asked to have dinner.
He worked so hard to pass the test, and all he wants is to drop the honorifics and have dinner? What a poor negotiator. If it were me, I would have made a more practical or vengeful wish to establish a perfect hierarchy.
“Are you kidding me?”
“Instead, this time, the condition is to stay seated until the end of the meal.”
No getting up first. Promise? Kim Ju-won turned around, leaving behind a firm request to keep the promise. Then, he opened the tightly closed door with a refreshing “End-!” He shouted. It was a thunderous voice as if he had swallowed a train’s firebox. In response, a sigh of disappointment came from all directions, “Ugh!”
“In the end, it’s Kim Ju-won……”
“I wanted to find it!”
“I don’t know anything, I’m at my limit……”
“Ugh! It’s finally over~.”
“I’m hungry……. I’m dizzy…….”
“Did anyone else open the door? I couldn’t solve it even though I scraped together everything I had.”
“We opened one.”
The chattering of the children soon filled the main office.
In order to keep his promise with Kim Ju-won, he reluctantly attended the late dinner. But in reality, he was the only one eating among all these people.
‘No, if you include the kitchen Aunt, then there are two people.’
I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even laugh. What is this really? Is he playing with people?
Ki Jae-eon twitched his lips and then slammed the chopsticks he was holding on the table with a thud!
“Hey.”
He called Kim Ju-won, who was sitting next to him, with a blunt voice and sharp eyes. But there was no answer.
Of course.
“……Hee-eum, keeo…….”
He was nodding off like a sick chick.
Not only Kim Ju-won, but all the children were like that. Some were chewing on a piece of kimchi for ten minutes in a daze, while others had half-dilated pupils.
It was because they had used every last bit of strength to break the Barrier.
It was truly a total mess.
“Haa…….”
It was already a lost cause for dinner, and just as I was about to get up from my seat due to the waste of precious time, the sleeping guy grabbed my hand like a ghost to stop me from leaving. Judging by the high temperature of his touch, he must have been sleeping…… His senses are so sharp.
“If you’re going to be like this, just sleep, why did you come out?”
Ki Jae-eon glared at the dreamland reservationists unpleasantly. I don’t understand why they’re stubbornly holding on. Ugh! There’s even a guy dipping his hair in the braised side dish. I can’t stand to watch.
“Hey……!”
I really don’t want to deal with it, but I quickly reached out because I saw a guy trying to bury his face in a bowl of steaming soup. It was a half-unconscious action. To be honest, even after putting the bowl away, I wondered why I did that.
“Eueueum…….”
“……!”
But before I could resolve my question, another problem arose. This time it was chopsticks. He could poke his eye out like that. You idiots, really! Ki Jae-eon sighed and snatched the chopsticks from the child’s hand.
While I was struggling alone like this, I suddenly heard a pleasant laugh from somewhere, “Haha!”
Someone’s going crazy…… and you’re laughing?
Ki Jae-eon’s crooked gaze turned diagonally. There, the restaurant Aunt was sitting.
“Oh my, haha!”
“……What’s so funny?”
“Eung, no.”
The Aunt scanned the children with a “I really can’t help it” nuance, then slowly stopped laughing.
“I expected this to happen.”
“……”
“I was going to delay the meal time a bit because they looked so tired. But the kids came in droves and said, ‘No, you can’t, you can’t.’ Hahaha! When I asked why, Ju-won said he promised to bring Jae-eon no matter what. He said that even if families fight, they should resolve it while eating… He was so anxious that if I delayed the time, your mind would change and you wouldn’t eat.”
“……”
“So Jae-eon, don’t hate the kids too much. I understand your confused feelings, but… that’s just my greed.”
She gazed at the grimy children with warm eyes.
“Everyone likes you a lot.”
“……”
“It’s not a lie. They really like you a lot.”
Her words were somehow stinging and bitter.
She didn’t intend to give a pointed remark, but it was.
‘They, like me, a lot……’
Ki Jae-eon repeated her words in his mind and scanned the children. The emotions in his eyes looked surprisingly soft and complex.
‘They, like me.’
That was the moment.
[Like]
“……Ah.”
Someone I had pushed beyond the realm of thought for a while suddenly came to mind.
The guy who secretly scribbled our name compatibility in his own childish diary without anyone knowing.
A childish confession.
Once again, an unwelcome wave arose in my calm heart. Ki Jae-eon frowned and looked around.
‘…He’s not here.’
Come to think of it, he didn’t seem to be there from the beginning.
That cocky brat.
“Excuse me-.”
“Oh my! Look at my mind!”
Just as Ki Jae-eon was about to ask about Ahn Seo-myeong, the Aunt suddenly jumped up from her seat and shouted.
“Seo-myeong!”