238 – Nymphs and the Harvest Festival #4
Top 3 things adults don’t want to hear during holidays after the 5th Industrial Revolution.
The third was, “When are you going to get a job?”
The second was, “When are you going to get married?”
“Since we’ve come to play on the holiday and are grilling meat, sitting together and having a chat, it seems we’re quite close. So, which of those two ladies is your marriage partner? Just tell your little aunt.”
My little aunt spoke to me with her narrow eyes opened wide.
She was usually a quiet person, but sometimes she could be very direct and mischievous. I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed.
Kek-.
I did wonder why the question about marriage hadn’t come up.
The cheerful atmosphere suddenly became quiet.
Even the imp Barbar and Illinois, who had just been throwing fists at each other, sat quietly in their places, and both Inoi and Morales settled down as well.
The attention was directed toward me.
I liked having everyone’s interest and attention, but for some reason, the current atmosphere felt rather awkward and uncomfortable.
It felt like I was trapped.
My little aunt spoke again.
“No, don’t say anything. Let me guess. It must be that short-haired lady, right? She’s gentle and smiles a lot, just the style that Il-do would like—.”
The little uncle, who had a blunt personality, interrupted while looking at Ari.
“No. Isn’t it Ye-rim? I know well the preferences of the men in our Ha family.”
This was quite troublesome.
Seo Ye-rim and Yu Ara seemed to find this situation unfamiliar and awkward as they paused their activities and awkwardly smiled with the corners of their mouths.
Hana-rae, my cousin, who was eating meat, blushed deeply and tugged at my little aunt’s arm.
“Mom! Don’t you know that you can’t talk about such things when relatives gather these days…!? If you’re going to talk like that, you should at least give us some pocket money…!!!”
Hana-rae was definitely one of those new-gen kids.
She was the embodiment of Generation ZZ beyond the MZ generation.
But thanks to her, I felt relieved.
Chiiiyik-.
At that moment, steam billowed from the steamer, and Inoi raised their hand high.
“It’s definitely time to prepare the sweet rice! I, Inoi, am very excited to be making that ‘Songpyeon’…! Let’s hurry and make it…!”
Indeed.
Today we decided to make Songpyeon with the rice that Ari brought.
Originally, the day for making Songpyeon was supposed to be tomorrow, but Inoi was very keen about making it, and the adults agreed, so we moved the schedule up.
My mom clapped her hands.
“Great! Ye-rim and Ari can help make Songpyeon too!”
Making it together?
I looked outside.
It was already dinner time.
Shouldn’t everyone be heading home…?
But my mom laughed heartily.
“If it’s too late, you can stay over! There are many rooms here!”
“No, mom, the owner of this house is Ye-rim.”
Anyway.
Soon, Ari laughed brightly.
“Shall we stay over then? I’ve already had a drink of ginseng liquor earlier, so it might not be safe to drive. It’s a bit rude, but I’ll stay….”
Ari is going to stay?
Hearing this, Seo Ye-rim poured a glass of Inoi’s homemade ginseng liquor and downed it in one go.
“I can’t drive after drinking either.”
“Muhuh, no problem…! I, Illinois, am a very good Nymph with a Class 1 general license…! The best driver of the Illinois car donated by Lee Joon-Hun…! I can drive for you…!”
Indeed.
Illinois was the only very good Nymph among the little Nymphs who could drive. However, Seo Ye-rim frowned and said to Illinois.
“You drank wine earlier too.”
“Thinking about it, that does seem to be the case…!”
That makes sense.
If everyone had a drink, there’s no helping it.
Shall we prepare blankets for everyone later?
Anyway, with that feeling, we ended up making Songpyeon unusually for dinner. But the interesting thing was that Seo Ye-rim was just standing there blankly.
“Do you not know how to make Songpyeon?”
“I don’t know. I’ve never done it before.”
Indeed.
The third-generation conglomerate doesn’t know how to make something like Songpyeon.
Soon my mom said.
“They say that making Songpyeon well leads to having pretty daughters. Let me show you. Try to follow along.”
My mom was a bit of a master at making Songpyeon. When she used to get bored at home, Dad had paid for her to learn cooking at a traditional culture center.
Soon, Barbar shivered with excitement.
“It’s true that the beauty and goodness of this princess stem from her mother’s skill in making Songpyeon…! There’s a correlation between Songpyeon and princess power…! This is a great discovery…!”
“Muhuh, I, Morales, also realized that making Songpyeon is important to artificially create cores…! Songpyeon is delicious…!”
The Nymphs and Imp Barbar kneaded and made Songpyeon quite well. It reminded me of the factory on the moon where rabbits stamp out rice cakes.
It was a truly heartwarming sight.
Especially Inoi excelled at it.
Inoi quickly kneaded the sweet rice dough, stamping out Songpyeon swiftly.
“No other Nymph can produce Songpyeon as quickly as I, Inoi…! I might evolve into the Nymph of Rice Cake…!”
What does Nymph of Rice Cake even mean?
I didn’t know, but the relatives clapped for Inoi, who proudly puffed out his chest.
Inoi, who looked very happy, spotted the steamed rice cakes next to Illinois and rejoiced.
“What is this…? The rice cakes are already baked…! As a Nymph of drugs, I will taste it first to see if there’s poison…!”
Illinois took a bite of the brown Songpyeon that had been cooked.
Within two seconds, Illinois furrowed his brow and got angry.
“Guahk…! What the Olympus…! Who made this disgusting bean Songpyeon…? This is nymph-hating…! It’s not a savory taste but a wanting to be tasty…! Call my lawyer…!”
So Illinois hates bean Songpyeon.
Morales also frowned.
“I, Morales, can tolerate most petty things, but I absolutely can’t stand bean Songpyeon…!”
Hearing this, Seo Ye-rim stopped kneading and panicked.
“What? Isn’t it normal to put beans in Songpyeon? I made it.”
Seo Ye-rim’s Songpyeon was uneven, crooked, and stuffed with a lot of beans.
Moreover, due to the magical power of her flame, it had automatically steamed and baked while she was making it.
In contrast, Yu Ara was a master of Songpyeon making.
“Ugh, why are Ari’s Songpyeon so pretty?”
Was it because she was a doctor who could easily perform sutures at the microscopic level? Yu Ara made the rice cakes elaborate and excellent enough to amaze my mom.
“Ari, when you get married, your mother-in-law will surely love you!”
“Really?”
Yu Ara chuckled.
Seeing this, Seo Ye-rim clicked her tongue at the bean Songpyeon in front of her. She then stretched her palm toward the bean Songpyeon.
I realized with my “wild instincts” that there was magic swirling in her palm. She must be planning to incinerate the bean Songpyeon!
“Wait. If you’re going to burn them, give them to me.”
I received the unsightly bean Songpyeon from Seo Ye-rim. Honestly, I liked bean Songpyeon. And the Squirrel Beast Kkungkkungi, who liked peanuts and almonds, also enjoyed bean Songpyeon.
“The shape is a bit off, but it tastes good.”
“…Really? Of course. Who made it?”
Seo Ye-rim, who had looked a bit dejected, seemed to regain her pride quickly.
Anyway.
With that feeling, time flew by quickly.
# # #
The autumn nights in the countryside can be quite noisy.
Croak, croak-.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-.
Hoo, hoo-.
All kinds of animals seem to be calling.
Listening to the sounds of various animals, I took out blankets from the big farm.
And I laid the blankets in a room that I didn’t usually use.
“Yu Ara, Seo Ye-rim. Is it okay for both of you to sleep in the same room? The other rooms are occupied by relatives, and this is the only one left for you. If it gets cold, you can turn on the heater, and if it gets hot, just use the air conditioning.”
In the end, Yu Ara and Seo Ye-rim decided to sleep in the same room.
After all, since they’re peers, they should get along well.
They say colleague love is love for one’s country.
“Are you guys okay even if the room is a bit narrow? Do you need anything?”
I also asked the Nymphs gathered in Inoi’s room.
Inoi’s room had Inoi, Illinois, Barbar, and Morales chit-chatting away, seemingly concentrated on something without realizing I had come in.
Looking closely, they were playing Hanafuda.
“Muhuh, this card filled with flowers, animals, and trees is a very nymph-friendly thing…! In that sense, Inoi will choose two cards and set a trap card, then end the turn…!”
Isn’t that Hanafuda?
Soon Inoi said.
“Muhuh, today is very enjoyable…! I wish every day could be this Harvest Festival…! I wish every day could be like today…!”
“Ahh-! The Muddy Nymph Morales is trying to pull the bottom cards…! The eyes of Illinois, once known as the Poker Chip of Chicago, are impossible to deceive…!”
“Hyek…! How did you know…!”
“Now let’s play this board game recommended by Barbar…! It’s an incredibly fun board game called ‘Dungeon and Demon’…! It’s a TRPG…!”
That’s right.
Everyone looked happy.
I was worried if a lot of people would come by and be annoying or burdensome, but the Nymphs looked to be in good spirits, so I was relieved.
How about the small animals?
Kkengkeng…!
Kkungkkungi seemed to have had a good time after eating lots of bean Songpyeon.
The Honey Ant Ahn Ahn and Bang Bang were already fast asleep after eating rice cakes smeared with honey. Kalilnoi… couldn’t be seen.
Kalilnoi usually disappears without a trace.
Anyway.
With that feeling, everyone spent the first night of the holiday.
And the next day around six—
I woke up to the lively commotion.
“Oh wow, Harvest Festival is very fun! People are gathered! This is Korea’s culture! I, Casey, am happy because I have a big family! It’s very heartwarming to have a big family!”
“Do you know what holidays are, you American with a short history? Our town in Sicheon always celebrated the Chuseok in the autumn…! Do you know how great this holiday is?”
Is Casey, the American, and Tang So-hae, the Chinese, at my house?
Am I dreaming?
“In Japan, instead of Chuseok, we enjoy Obon in the summer. We honor our ancestors’ spirits and build towers to dance around while doing Bon Odori.”
There was also Tsukki, an S-rank Awakened from Japan.
I was happy to see her after a long time, but… what on earth is going on?
I suddenly felt dizzy…!
