236 – Nymphs and Chuseok #2
Time flew by quickly.
Chuseok holiday.
Mom, Dad, Haildo, and Barbar visited our home first.
“Is the tailless Imp doing well…? I, Barbar Barnoi, cherish the Imp Inoi Inoi comrade even without a tail…!”
“This Inoi is not a tailless Imp but a Nymph of the ditch…! If you think about it, Barbar Barnoi sisters are Nymphs with tails…!”
Imps and Nymphs.
The sight of the two friends, seemingly alike yet different, greeting each other was quite a joy. Inoi treated Barbar like a Nymph, and Barbar treated Inoi like an Imp.
Each other’s subspecies.
No, perhaps it’s more accurate to say sister species?
“Barbar is kind! When she wakes up in the morning, she prepares breakfast well, and after eating, she even does the dishes.”
Mom laughed with a ho ho ho-
On Mom’s shoulder were two elite worker ants, Gyuji and Duji.
“Gyuji…!”
“Duji…!”
Looks like they’re doing well.
“They help with cleaning and laundry too, so I’m incredibly comfortable.”
Is that so?
No wonder she looked so good.
…Then does that mean my mom isn’t doing anything as a housewife now?
Psuu-!
At that moment, Haildo jumped into the bushes.
She had recently been to the Awakened training center, and her surprise attack stance looked quite impressive.
“Mom, look at this! This is Elizabeth!”
“Oro-long…!”
Haildo rummaged through the bushes for a while before capturing the queen honey ant, Elizabeth, and placing her on her palm. The queen ant sparkled like obsidian.
Mom looked extremely delighted to see Elizabeth.
“Hello! Can you send more honey ants to our home? The neighbor Eun-ju’s mom said she finds housework too bothersome. Can I just ask her?”
“Oro-long…!”
Quite chaotic.
At least Dad was calm.
Dad raised his head as if observing the tiger owls sitting in a nearby orchard.
“When I was young, there were owls living near the orchard too. Living in the countryside, I got to see various animals.”
“Hu, hu…!”
Anyway.
That was how the Chuseok holiday began.
Soon, my uncle from the Primal Village arrived, and I felt a bit intimidated.
“Hey! Il-do! Really been a long time! You little rascal! You’ve become a nephew now. Shouldn’t you at least come over to greet your uncle? Hmm?”
My uncle, who also worked as a professor like my dad, said he had recently become the university president.
While my dad had a somewhat calm personality, my uncle, who was two years younger, was quite boisterous. It made me wonder how sibling personalities could differ so much.
Soon, my aunt entered the yard with both hands full of items.
“Brother-in-law, how have you been? It’s been a while.”
My aunt was said to be the youngest daughter of a famous land magnate in Cheonan, raised without ever getting her hands wet.
My mom often called my aunt “a show-off!” but I liked her kind and graceful demeanor.
Isn’t that how a university president’s spouse should feel?
Swoosh-.
Soon, a man appeared behind my aunt, tall enough to match my height, flashing a shiny white smile.
“Uncle, aunt, how have you been?”
It was my cousin, Hajeong.
He was a year younger than me, excelling in studies and was quite the elite. That must be the key to his recently acquired foreign electric car!
My mom and dad also greeted my cousin with pleasure.
“Hajeong is here! How is it that the more I see you, the better looking you get? Didn’t you say you’re getting married next spring? Why isn’t your girlfriend here?”
“Yes. Galadriel likes the spring.”
Galadriel.
His girlfriend’s name was really cool.
When I heard from my mom that my cousin Hajeong was dating an elf, I was skeptical, but it seemed to be true.
Dating an elf.
That’s truly impressive.
By the way, my mom often called me to boast, “Hajeong graduated from Seoul University, you should at least graduate too—” or “Hajeong got a job this time—,” updating me on my cousin’s happenings.
So I wasn’t fond of Hajeong.
I mean, being compared every day isn’t exactly fun.
Lately, they’ve been giving me stress with comments like “Hajeong is getting married next spring, and what about you—.”
“Oooh…! They say it’s similar to the master of the house…! They must be cousins…! Just like Koryeiko and Kore Ye-rim being cousins, the master of the house and the cousin must resemble each other…!”
Inoi exclaimed in admiration.
It seemed that Inoi was fascinated that my cousin and I looked alike.
Inoi found Hajeong amiable enough not to be overly cautious. He was clearly someone admired by all but remained humble, never bragging.
That was the opposite of me, who enjoyed showing off.
“You must be the Nymph Inoi. And these are….”
“Kkungkkungi…!”
“Ahn Ahn…!”
“Bang Bang…!”
Kkungkkungi, Ahn Ahn, and even Bang Bang climbed onto Hajeong’s shoulder or head without any caution at all.
He has an elf girlfriend, a good job, a home, and even a car, and he has a good personality.
That’s just too perfect.
Surely there has to be some problem with him.
Perhaps he was small?
“Hajeong, isn’t Narae coming?”
My younger sister, Haildo, looked around.
By the way, Hanara is Hajeong’s younger sister and the same age as my sister Haildo.
Pop-.
Suddenly, something popped out.
“I’m here.”
My expression warped.
Her short hair was dyed violet, cut so short that I could mistake her for a boy, and wearing a leather jacket, she looked quite loud.
Should I say she looked boyish?
She seemed like someone trying to rebel against society.
“Uh… Il-do, hello.”
My cousin Hanara awkwardly greeted me. Having not seen her for over six years, I couldn’t help but frown, momentarily not recognizing my cousin.
The face I remembered was nowhere to be found.
How did she end up like this?
Did she get struck by lightning or something while walking down the street?
She used to follow Hajeong and me around, calling us “oppa oppa” with so much affection.
Soon, Hajeong let out a deep sigh.
“She’s been hanging out with bad friends, claiming she’s in a band or something. She drinks every day and comes home late. She even dropped out of university. You should talk to her; she doesn’t listen to anything I say.”
What?
Narae, who used to be so nice, turned out like this?
I had seriously asked my mom and aunt in the past, “Can’t we swap Narae with Haildo?”
I thought Narae, who was kinder and more well-behaved than the loud and trouble-making Haildo, would make a better sister.
When Narae was seven, she lovingly said, “I want to marry Il-do” and followed me everywhere.
Now, that sweet and cute Narae had become an anti-social band member hanging around bad friends….
The world really is hard to understand.
I have to say something.
“Hana-rae, you drink every day and come home late? You don’t listen to me or Mom and Dad?”
“No, it’s not… every day….”
Hanara’s face flushed; it seemed she knew it was embarrassing.
Soon, Hanara said, “You haven’t contacted me in years and haven’t shown your face on Chuseok or Seollal! Don’t act like a boomer and tell me what to do…!”
“Cough.”
Well, that was true.
In reality, I wasn’t in a position to speak loudly to others either.
Anyway.
With that, my relatives from my paternal side were all present, except for my aunt who was abroad.
# # #
“My son went on a trip this time and visited China. He said the Jjamppong he ate in China tastes different from Korean Jjamppong.”
When cousins gather, boasting about their children is a common occurrence.
Dad bragged about how he took me on a trip recently so I could participate in a Chinese martial arts competition, and I awkwardly stood up as I felt uncomfortable just listening.
Once I entered my room, Hajeong, who was tapping away on his laptop, spoke.
“Hyung, I heard you’re doing super well lately? My aunt calls every day to brag to my mom. Every time your name comes up in the news or TV, I even boast to my colleagues or friends. They’re all in a frenzy wanting to raise a Squirrel Beast— it’s quite troublesome.”
Is that so?
I rubbed my nose.
“Well, it’s just okay. But I guess I’m a bit famous lately. Have you heard of the legendary Haildo? Have you watched the 1004th episode of Animal Ranch and the first episode of A Rank Survival?”
“I watched them all. It was amazing.”
Hajeong had been admiring me since we were kids.
When we were in elementary school, I would give him my used game cards and items, and he would say, “Wow! Hyung is so cool!” with genuine admiration.
Now he had grown up to be a respectable adult.
“Muhuhuh, this Inoi’s contribution is significant…! Inoi has a duty to make the master of the house into a great hero…!”
“Yeah, Inoi’s role was especially big.”
Inoi proudly puffed out her chest, and Hajeong expressed his pure admiration, saying, “I don’t get what you’re saying, but it sounds amazing.”
Though it was a while since we last met, we shared a close bond, so the awkwardness between cousins wasn’t too bad. I asked Hajeong.
“You’re getting married next spring? How did you meet Galadriel? Do you know how surprised I was to hear you were dating an elf?”
“Um… my hobby is hiking, right? One day, I saw a woman who seemed lost on the mountain, so I helped her reach the summit. After that, we became close.”
That was quite a romantic meeting.
However, Inoi trembled and frowned.
“That’s a blatant lie…! Elves are nature’s fairies, similar to Nymphs…! It’s impossible to get lost in the mountains…! You’re definitely being deceived by an elf…!”
Inoi showed hostility toward the elf.
That was one of the few triggers that made Inoi act up.
Soon Hajeong chuckled.
“I know at least that elves aren’t known for getting lost in the mountains. But Galadriel is such a fun person. She’s sixty this year, older than my mom, but she’s great at things and a bit clumsy.”
“Sixty… hmm. I see.”
Elves are a long-lived race.
At sixty, they’re still quite young.
…However, it felt odd to refer to it as sixty. If they said she was one hundred sixty, it wouldn’t feel strange, but saying sixty just felt different.
“How about you? If you do well as an Awakened, don’t you have a lot of popularity?”
“Me? Well, I can’t say I have no popularity. Even so, I’ve received two confessions. Both times, there were circumstances, and I rejected them…”
“Wow, really? As expected, Hyung is amazing!”
I felt quite proud boasting in front of my siblings. My pride swelled up, my nose felt higher, and my shoulders lifted.
However, Hanara, who was petting Kkungkkungi, suddenly shouted.
“What? You received two confessions?!”
“Grrr…!”
The once peacefully sleeping Kkungkkungi suddenly bit Hanara’s finger in what seemed like a fit of rage.
Hanara shrieked, “Eek!” but thankfully, there was no blood. Kkungkkungi didn’t bite hard enough to draw blood.
Ding-dong-!
At that moment, the doorbell rang loudly.
As the master of the house, I headed to the front door, and there stood my junior, Ari, looking timid while holding a black bag full in her hands.
“Ari, what brings you here? Didn’t you say you were busy lately?”
“I got a little break. This is glutinous rice that my grandmother prepared herself. It would taste great if you steamed it into rice cakes. When making something like Songpyeon… By the way, are the relatives visiting?”
“Yeah. Wow, there are meat skewers, and sweet rice cakes, there’s so much! What should I do, I’m grateful for this! Do I have anything to give back? How about some fruit? Wait a moment. Since you said you were busy, I’ll be quick.”
I opened the refrigerator to prepare a gift for Ari.
At that moment, Mom, seeing Ari standing at the entrance, said.
“You said your junior is Ari, right? I’ve seen her name in the newspaper before! She’s such a lovely girl I thought would be a great daughter-in-law.”
“Is, is that so?”
“Don’t just stand there, come in! Il-do! When you have guests, you should at least invite them in!”
No.
Ari is a busy person.
But Ari said, “Then I won’t be modest….” and took off her shoes and entered, sitting in the living room.
Having relatives over during the holiday was already surprising, but it felt even stranger with Ari sitting there.
Soon, Morales came in behind Ari and said.
“Muhuhuh, the smell of a feast is wafting…! But I’m curious about what this tailed Nymph is…! A tailed Nymph? Such a thing cannot exist…!”
“Barbar Barnoi is not a Nymph but an Imp…! More importantly, you…! You look like you could be a wonderful Imp comrade…! If you asked the Demon King, you could become an Imp…!”
Ding-dong-.
At that moment, the doorbell rang again.
Curious about who it was, I checked the camera monitor by the front door and saw Seo Ye-rim standing there, crossing her arms.
