Chapter 210

< Lucky (7) >

After finishing her observation of the incubator, Yoo Jin was carefully holding the towel nest with the egg inside. It was funny how she let her brother touch the egg without hesitation, but she herself was too scared to do so.

‘That’s Yoo Jin for you.’

She’s the type who would quickly pick up an egg that a hen isn’t sitting on, but wouldn’t dare touch one that a hen is incubating. Last year, she even chased away a hen that was pecking at the eggshell to help the chick hatch, thinking the hen was attacking the chick.

The chicks that hatched back then followed Yoo Jin around as if she were their mother, and now they’ve grown into big chickens. They’re all mixed in with the other chickens now, so it’s hard to tell which ones they are, but it was a fascinating sight to see chicks following a human like their mother.

‘I wonder how many of them we’ve eaten…’

We even caught a few when Chairman Yoo Myung-sun visited. We boiled them in a cauldron with elm bark, and the meat was tender and delicious.

Yoo Jin tilted her head as she saw her brother holding something that had appeared from the storage room.

It was a Styrofoam box that their dad used to catch octopuses, but it wasn’t being used anymore.

“Why the white box?”

“I’m going to put the incubator in here.”

Since it’s made of plywood, it should retain some heat, but to make sure it’s perfect, additional insulation is necessary.

“Will it get warm if you do that?”

“Probably. Jang Gun’s house has Styrofoam too, and it’s warm, right?”

“Hmm-, but Jang Gun’s house has it inside, right? Shouldn’t the white stuff go inside the incubator?”

Too sharp.

But Jin Hyuk had something to say.

“If I put Styrofoam inside, the light might get too hot and melt it. And the timer might break…”

Jin Hyuk mumbled while keeping an eye on his sister’s reaction.

Hmm-. Yoo Jin narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw, scrutinizing her brother’s reasoning.

“Okay.”

Phew-. It seemed like he had safely passed a hurdle.

“Isn’t it too small?”

“It should fit.”

He had checked the size before making it, so it should fit.

If it doesn’t, he’ll just make another one.

*Squeak-squeak-*.

As he pushed it in, the incubator made a loud friction noise as it went inside.

“Bro, how are you going to open the door if you put it in like that?”

Damn-, what would he have done without Yoo Jin?

The door was facing the wall of the Styrofoam box.

“I-I’ll just do it again.”

*Squeak-squeak-*.

He carefully took it out to avoid breaking the icebox, then put it back in with the door facing the open side.

*Huff-*. He bit his lip tightly and held his breath.

“Wow-! It fits perfectly!”

Yoo Jin, who had been watching with bated breath, clapped her hands.

“Phew-. Why is this so hard?”

Putting the incubator in was harder than cutting wood or hammering nails.

Maybe it’s harder to pull than to push.

He made a hole in the back of the icebox for the wire connected to the incandescent bulb socket to come out.

“Can you see the wire?”

“Yeah-. It’s coming out like a centipede from a tunnel.”

Yoo Jin, crouching low as if her head was touching the ground, closely monitored the progress. Thanks to her, the whole process went smoothly.

“Done.”

“Hooray-!”

Why is she so excited? Jin Hyuk couldn’t help but smile as he watched his sister jumping around.

He raised his hand to his sister, who was standing on her tiptoes and cheering.

“High five!”

“Yay-!”

*Clap-!*

Yoo Jin jumped up and slapped his hand.

Now, all that’s left is to connect the module.

***

When the world turned dark, Moon Seok-il returned.

“I went all the way to get this. Hmph-.”

“Thank you so much. We needed it urgently, and there’s no place in town that sells this.”

“Right. The seller there said that except for large incubators for poultry farms, you can’t find machines like this in the country. He said there are small incubators for educational purposes abroad.”

Jin Hyuk nodded, his eyes shining.

Moon Seok-il, who usually had a calm face when living in the countryside but seemed a bit darker after returning from Seoul, was now smiling happily.

“You seem to be in a good mood.”

“Not really-. Same as always.”

Moon Seok-il quickly changed his expression.

There was no need to mention that the knife he thought he had lost was safely stored in the console box.

He was indeed in a good mood.

Not just because he got his knife back, but also because the tension he had been living with had dulled, allowing him to sleep more deeply like ordinary people.

‘Even the fact that I thought the knife was in my pocket…’

Whether it’s a good thing or not, the unexpected event strangely gave Moon Seok-il a sense of belonging.

It seemed like he no longer needed to carry the knife around.

He used to habitually check if the knife was still in his pocket, but now he went on missions without that process.

‘My anxiety must have disappeared.’

Looking at Moon Seok-il’s smiling eyes behind his sunglasses, Jin Hyuk felt a strange sense of camaraderie and comfort. They resembled the eyes he saw when Yeom Byeong-taek was awarded a gold medal. Jin Hyuk’s eyes reflected in his friend’s eyes were smiling like that.

*

With the fire lit on the porch and spectators gathered around, Jin Hyuk’s second round of work began.

He inserted a temperature sensor into the small hole and sealed the gap with silicone.

His dad, who had returned from work, and his mom, who had come back from an outing, also showed interest.

“Where did you learn to make an incubator?”

“It’s in the tech books.”

Son Kwang-yeon nodded. He thought that middle and high school tech textbooks were full of endless knowledge.

“But Jin Hyuk, what kind of egg is this?”

“Don’t touch it!”

Yoo Jin shouted loudly.

“Whoa, you scared me. Okay-.”

“Dad, it’s a sparrow egg. My brother told me.”

Thanks to Yoo Jin, Jin Hyuk could save his words.

She’s a helpful sister in many ways.

“I’ve never seen a sparrow in person. What do they look like?”

“You’ve probably seen them in reed fields or acacia forests. They look like sparrows but have shorter beaks and longer tails.”

His mom, being from the countryside, explained in detail.

“Ah-. I think I’ve seen them near the reservoir. They were really tiny. So that’s why the egg is so small.”

His dad was a knowledgeable person, but his knowledge didn’t always match reality. He was like an encyclopedia without pictures.

He knew the theory of pruning tomato plants in spring, but his hands always fumbled, so he needed his mom’s help every year.

“Done-. Should it be around 37 degrees?”

He connected the module and turned the dial, which looked like a gear, to set the temperature.

Now, when it reaches the set temperature, the switch will turn off, cutting the electricity to the incandescent bulb.

“Wow-, 37 degrees. That sounds about right.”

“Is that for warm-blooded animals? Or cold-blooded ones?”

Seeing his parents respond enthusiastically, Jin Hyuk’s cheeks lifted involuntarily. It was like seeing another Son Yoo-jin, just in a different size.

Their family usually gathered at night to clap for baby Jeong-won’s antics. So, it wasn’t strange to see them getting excited over small things, but seeing them crouch together and put their heads close made his heart flutter. What’s so special about this little egg?

‘It must be the lucky egg.’

An egg that brings happiness.

I’ll definitely keep you alive!

“Bro! I’ll turn on the light!”

“Okay. Let’s go inside and turn it on.”

Carefully carrying the incubator, Jin Hyuk was followed by the rest of the family.

Except for one person.

When Jin Hyuk turned around, sensing something strange, his dad was muttering while looking at the egg in Yoo Jin’s arms.

“Hmm-, so it’s like a sparrow…?”

Ah-, dad.

Why are you swallowing your saliva…?

***

After debating whether to put the finished incubator in the utility room or Yoo Jin’s room, they decided to place it next to the fish tank. It was the most frequently visited spot and easy to keep an eye on.

Although Jang Gun and his underlings guarded the yard, you never know what threats might lurk outside. Mysterious things often happen in the countryside at night.

“I get keeping it inside, but shouldn’t it be placed where people can’t reach it?”

His dad made a smart remark, but Jin Hyuk wasn’t doing this because he didn’t know that.

“I forgot the stepping motor module.”

“Step what, what’s that, modules are for architecture and that’s…”

Son Kwang-yeon blinked in confusion.

This kid was increasingly using engineering jargon that was hard to understand.

“I think the egg needs to be rolled, but I didn’t think of that.”

Anyone who has observed a brooding hen would know. The hen uses her front legs or beak to roll the eggs evenly. He didn’t know exactly how sparrows brood their eggs, but he assumed it was similar to chickens.

But he hadn’t considered egg rolling when making the incubator.

If he had connected a timer to a stepping motor and installed it in the incubator, the egg rolling could have been automated.

Anyway, it’s too late now. If left unattended for too long, the egg might spoil.

So, he decided to do it manually.

“We’ll have to roll it by hand.”

“Who? When?”

Yoo Jin, who had been too scared to touch the egg, lit up at the thought of being able to touch it.

“Whoever. Rolling it morning and evening should be enough.”

The family’s eyes sparkled.

Son Kwang-yeon and Han Yu-young were no different.

They had been itching to touch the small, pretty egg, but Yoo Jin wouldn’t let them. Whether it’s good or bad, humans with strong curiosity naturally want to see and touch fascinating things up close.

But Jin Hyuk, who had been calmly letting them touch and examine the egg, wouldn’t let his parents near it. Such preferential treatment.

“Mom will do it. Just half a turn, right?”

“I’ll roll it when I get back from work.”

“I’ll roll it after school-.”

With so many family members, volunteers were overflowing.

As his parents and sister raised their hands, Jeong-won also raised his arm as if asking what was going on.

“Dad’s silly-.”

What’s with everyone, seriously.

Jin Hyuk quickly intervened.

“Let’s decide by rock-paper-scissors. Fair and square.”

*

An unusual tension filled the living room.

Mom and dad clenched their fists tightly because of Yoo Jin. Jeong-won kept stretching his hand out, repeating “jam-jam,” as if he knew what was going on.

It was like a fierce battle between masters.

Feeling the strange tension, Jin Hyuk didn’t even dare to breathe, swallowing his saliva carefully.

With no one breathing, the air seemed to have ended its life, and the living room was dominated by a quiet standoff.

As a drop of sweat rolled down dad’s sideburns, Yoo Jin’s loud shout broke the long silence.

“If you don’t throw, you lose!”

At this signal, the two adults also waved their fists.

*Flustered flapping-*.

“Rock-paper-scissors-scissors- the ant’s poop- the dog barks- the squirrel sings-.”

“Hey-, Yoo Jin-.”

“Yoo Jin, do it properly-.”

As they tried to say something, Yoo Jin’s eyes flashed.

The hand is faster than the eye.

“Paper-!”

What?

Mom and dad didn’t even move their fingers, still staring at their tightly clenched fists. Then, looking at their daughter’s wide-open hand, they realized what had happened.

Oops! They had fallen for the young master’s trick.

Indeed, in a battle between masters, the outcome is decided in a single second.

“Yay! I won! Hooray-!”

“Dad’s silly-!”

Jeong-won, sitting and bouncing, celebrated his sister’s victory.

It wasn’t a fair play, but mom and dad reluctantly showed sportsmanship and clapped.

‘Seriously. What’s the big deal about rolling an egg? Our family is crazy.’

Jin Hyuk, unable to understand their curiosity, wiped his face with a blank expression.

And so.

It was decided that Yoo Jin would roll the egg before bed on the first day.

Well, it wasn’t a losing bet for the parents.

After all, Yoo Jin had rescued the egg and even named it.

“Goodnight, Lucky-. See you tomorrow.”

*Click-*.

After flipping the egg, Yoo Jin closed the incubator door, fastened the latch, and pressed it firmly to make sure it wouldn’t open.

As everyone dispersed to their rooms and all the lights went out, only the fish tank light remained, softly illuminating the living room.

And so, the long day’s journey seemed to end… but Lucky couldn’t rest easy.

Before the long hand of the wall clock had even made half a turn.

After confirming that Jin Hyuk had gone up to his room on the second floor, the rest of the family gathered in the living room like sneaky cats.

“Is it working?”

“Huh? The light’s off. Did it break?”

“Nah-, our son made it. It probably turned off because it got too hot. Look at the thermometer here. 37 degrees.”

“Ah-.”

“How does it feel? Is it like porcelain? It won’t hurt to touch it once, right?”

“You agreed to roll it tomorrow before work, so just wait.”

*Whisper-whisper-*.

As Son Kwang-yeon and Han Yu-young, in their pajamas, hovered around the incubator, a *thud-thud-* and *swoosh-* sound came from the second-floor stairs.

“Hehe-. I should sleep next to Lucky.”

It was Yoo Jin, dragging her blanket down.

“Dad’s silly-.”

With his arms raised, whether in a cheer or a swipe, Son Jeong-won toddled over. Now, four family members, excluding the eldest son, had set up camp in the living room.

“Hahaha-. It’s been a while since all four of us slept together, daughter.”

“Dad’s silly-.”

Jin Hyuk, crouching on the stairs and watching the scene, let out a silent sigh. He had come out after hearing Yoo Jin’s door close, only to find his family sneaking around the incubator like thieves.

‘They’re not even kids…’

What’s so special about one egg?

But since he had brought his pillow, he might as well go all the way.

Jin Hyuk tiptoed down the dark stairs.

As he walked toward the coziest place in the world where happiness lay, the corners of his mouth curled up shyly.

He might not be able to monopolize his mom’s embrace like when he was a child, but nothing beats a good night’s sleep with the warmth of family.

‘It really is the lucky egg.’

It’s the first time the whole family has slept together since moving into this house.