242 – Nymphs’ Day and Day of Pride #2
What kind of games can be fun when there are many people?
It was, of course, the Mafia game.
“Alright, morning has come. No one has died.”
I was quite good at being the host and narrator of the Mafia game.
With my skilled hosting, those gathered for the Chuseok holiday were now fully immersed in the game.
“Why has no one killed…? This is very suspicious…! I’m certain the Nymphoster is that muddy nymph Morales…!”
“This Inoi also thinks so…! Let’s just hit him…! Let’s catch Morales through a democratic vote…!”
“Hieeek…! I don’t understand why that Morales is being voted for constantly…! That Morales is a good nymph…!”
Morales was judged by the unilateral attack of the nymphs.
Of course, Morales was a quiet citizen.
This meant that the number of Mafia and Nymphosters was now greater than that of the remaining citizens.
The winner was Coris.
“In fact, the Nymphoster was Coris. It’s Coris’s victory.”
“Ahhh-! I don’t know what this Coris is talking about, but I won…! Honestly, I don’t even know how to play this Mafia game, but I won…!”
I see.
Everyone had a fun time, and as they experienced various events, the Chuseok holiday was soon coming to an end.
Mom and Irae, along with Barbar, said their goodbyes as they got into Dad’s car.
“Ido, take care. Make sure to eat all the food mom made!”
“Oppa, make sure to send the nymphs to our house next time…! It’d be nice if Barbar had a lot of friends too…!”
Everyone enjoyed a noisy farewell.
Where did Dad, the driver, go?
As I turned my head, I saw Dad waving at me from near the barn of that farm. Curious about what it was, I went to see, and Dad handed me a small envelope.
“What’s this?”
“Pocket money.”
Pocket money.
Isn’t this the first time since high school?
I felt awkward as I thought I had outgrown the age to receive pocket money.
So, I waved my hand and said, “Nah, it’s fine,” but Dad stuffed the envelope right into my pocket.
“Take it. There won’t be many days left where I can give you pocket money. There will come a time when even if I want to give you pocket money, I won’t be able to.”
Really?
In my opinion, my parents were still in their prime health.
Father spoke.
“And it’s not money for you to spend alone; it’s for you to use with the nymphs and ladies. Buy lots of delicious things. And the ladies who visit our house all seem pretty and have good personalities, don’t they?”
Saying that, Dad stole a glance at Seo Ye-rim, Yu Ara, and Tsukki, who were saying goodbye to Mom over there.
He must want to say something like when I’m getting married─.
“Ido, in fact, your dad was quite popular in the neighborhood when he was young.”
I had heard this story before.
Whenever the holiday season arrived, my uncle would always drunkenly say, “Ido, your dad brought home a different girlfriend every week.”
“Do you know why your dad married your mom out of all those many women? I’m going to talk to you man-to-man, so you’d better listen well.”
What on earth was he going to say?
I had no choice but to feel tense.
“To say it now, your mom couldn’t cook, nor could she do laundry, dishes, or cleaning well. Honestly, she wasn’t the best choice for a bride. Even now, she can’t do it, right? You know that well.”
“That’s….”
I didn’t know much about cleaning or laundry, but honestly, my mom wasn’t a good cook.
The biggest surprise I got when I entered boot camp was that the food there was actually better than the home-cooked meals my mom made, contrary to my prejudice that boot camp food was bland.
My not being picky about food was, in many ways, thanks to my mom.
Brring-!
At that moment, a car horn blared loudly.
“Dad! Hurry up! Quickly! I have to go back and do my homework! Homework!”
“Dear, let’s get going now!”
It was my younger sister Irae and mom calling for Dad.
Dad kept flapping his lips as if he wanted to say something but finally rushed towards the car.
I was left alone in my spot.
“……”
So, what was the reason he married a mom who didn’t fit the role of a housewife?
I felt like something important was interrupted, and I couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
Vroom-!
Dad’s old mid-size car left the village.
Many events took place, but this year’s Chuseok would likely remain a mostly joyful memory for me.
# # #
“Is it true that the villain organization from Japan, the ‘Psycho Shockers,’ are targeting me?”
In the house after the family left.
Tsukki was packing up while giving me various pieces of information.
This meant that my name, Haildo, had been placed on the bounty list of the villain organization known as the ‘Psycho Shockers’ in Japan.
The bounty placed on me was 50 million yen.
That’s roughly 500 million won in Korean currency.
More than all the possessions I had.
“This sounds important; you could have told me earlier. Did you stay at our house just to tell me this?”
“I thought it might be awkward to talk about this with your parents around. And I also wanted to experience the Korean holiday, so it was fine.”
Tsukki was more considerate than I expected.
If I had said that “Your son is being targeted by a villain organization!” in front of mom and dad, they would have undoubtedly worried a lot.
Tsukki spoke.
“I plan to stay in Korea until the Shockers issue is resolved as well. I heard there’s a spare room at Jin-A’s house, so I’ll probably stay there. Here’s my contact information in Korea, so feel free to reach out anytime if there’s an issue.”
Swish-.
I was able to obtain Tsukki’s business card.
Vroom-.
After that, Tsukki elegantly rode off on a stylish motorbike, swiftly leaving the village.
All that remained were Yu Ara, Seo Ye-rim, Lee Jin-A, and the nymphs.
“Everyone worked hard.”
I expressed my gratitude to Ye-rim and Ara, who had worked hard celebrating the holiday at our house.
Our family was generally quite nosy and unreserved, making them feel like real family, bustling about and asking questions rudely.
It would be nice to give them a gift in return.
So while I rummaged through the house to find something good, Ara spoke.
“I enjoyed it! I haven’t properly celebrated a holiday in years. I’ve always been busy with work… I’m sorry if I interrupted by dropping in suddenly.”
Ara was kinder than I had thought.
Soon after, Seo Ye-rim, who was listening to this, snorted.
“Haildo, you participated in our executive meeting and helped serve our families, so I did the same. But if you sincerely think that’s truly grateful, you should come to our place for Christmas this year.”
It seemed Seo Ye-rim’s family celebrated Christmas like a holiday.
They gathered as a family and threw a big party.
Very Western.
As I thought about this, I suddenly recalled Seo Ye-rim battling a D-class anomaly last Christmas. I had quite the trouble with those high heels all smeared with hornet queen’s juice.
Back then, Seo Ye-rim had skipped the family gathering to battle the anomaly.
Christmas.
There’s still time left, but I thought it would be nice to prepare gifts for the people I received help from this year.
Anyway-.
It was a lively Chuseok in many ways.
I hope next year’s Lunar New Year and Chuseok will be just as lively as today.
“Mhuhuh, with the majority’s consent, this Inoi will declare the opening of ‘Nymph’s Day’ tomorrow…! Everyone will return today, and we shall meet again tomorrow…!”
“It was very enjoyable…!”
“See you tomorrow…!”
“Everyone should expect…! The treasures and accomplishments collected by Morales will undoubtedly make him the top nymph next year…!”
“It cannot be…! No one can boast more than this Tairrenol…! I shall press down all of your short ears waiting for tomorrow…!”
Wow-.
The nymphs poured into the yard all at once.
It seemed the nymphs had enjoyed the holiday just as much.
# # #
“This Inoi wants to boast about the coin bank filled with lots of coins…! With this much, it’ll surely be enough to buy a small patch of land…!”
The Inoi shook a piggy bank filled with coins. The Inoi had a knack for collecting coins from here and there, and it said its dream was to buy “land” with the coins collected.
“No nymph could possibly own land…! This Inoi will become the building’s nymph by owning land…! I want to boast about this on Nymph’s Day…!”
The building’s nymph sounded like an intriguing nymph.
The Inoi now donned a scarf and a fur hat and dashed out into the yard.
A dark night’s yard.
Before it stood the snowman, Snowmanoi, which Inoi had made as its first snowman.
“This Snowmanoi is quite a significant accomplishment among the things Inoi wants to boast about…! I’m sure no nymph will have such a wonderful snowman to boast about on Nymph’s Day…!”
Indeed, it was a round snowman.
Suddenly, I asked the Inoi about something I had been curious about for a while.
“So, what exactly is Nymph’s Day for?”
At my question, the Inoi hopped up on a box as if it had been waiting for this moment.
Standing tall with its shoulders and chest puffed out, it spoke.
“Mhuhuh, it is a day for the grand festival of nymphs…! Originally, nymphs mostly hibernate in winter─, so a festival for the nymphs is held before winter arrives…!”
Would it be right to understand this as a festival that wraps up the year and promises a meeting in the next year?
The Inoi continued talking.
“Nymphs boast and receive evaluations for all the fun things or amazing collections that happened throughout the year…! The nymph receiving the highest score becomes the top nymph for the next year…! This Inoi wants to become the top nymph next year…!”
The top nymph.
It was said to be the nymph with the decision-making power in the nymph community. Most nymphs considered becoming this top nymph to be a great honor.
Is it like an S-ranker among nymphs?
“This Inoi is currently the top nymph…! But that’s only a temporarily appointed top nymph without going through Nymph’s Day…! Next year, I will become the official top nymph…!”
It was a fascinating story.
Even nymphs had traditional holiday cultures like Koreans’ Chuseok.
The Inoi, tightening its fist, said.
“There are many formidable competitors, so I’m not sure if I can truly become the top nymph…! But I wish tomorrow would come soon…!”
That night.
The Inoi rummaged through drawers or dashed around the living room until the sun rose the next morning.
And finally, the day of “Nymph’s Day” had arrived.
