076 – Even Straw Sandals Have Pairs…! # 1
Crisp, crisp-.
Inoi was busy moving around since morning.
What is she doing?
“Inoi. What are you up to?”
I got up from my seat at the sound of Inoi rustling.
Inoi was bustling back and forth between the yard and her room.
It seemed like she was busy with something.
“What are you doing?”
“Muhuh, this Inoi…! has discovered something very interesting…! The owner of the house is going to see this thing…!”
Swish-.
When Inoi pointed to the yard, I saw an amazing creature.
It was a squirrel with silver fur that sparkled.
– Kkungkkung…!
It jumped high, spreading its membrane like wings and landed gently on my shoulder.
This unique sight.
I couldn’t forget it.
“Isn’t that a flying squirrel? Was its name Phey?”
It was a squirrel belonging to Madam Freya, who could be considered the leader of the elves.
It was an incredibly rare and wonderful squirrel—why was it in our yard?
“What are you?”
I asked.
Then the flying squirrel Phey barked Kkungkkung-.
I couldn’t understand what it was saying.
“I can’t figure it out even if I try.”
“I think it came looking for Kkungkkungi…! Just like even straw sandals have pairs, it seems it wants to meet the top squirrel Kkungkkungi…!”
You mean it embarked on a long journey by itself to find Kkungkkungi?
Could that be?
Suddenly, I thought of Cash, who had left for America.
She came like a storm, acted like a storm, and then disappeared without contact.
I sent her a text saying, “Did you arrive well in America?”
Cash didn’t even read the message, let alone reply.
Right.
I was completely taken aback.
– Kkungkkung…!
Pat-.
At that moment, our Kkungkkungi dashed out of the house.
It began to run around the yard with the silver-furred flying squirrel Phey, and it looked very lively.
Kkungkkungi.
I thought he only liked to fight, but it seems he was also sociable with such a pretty companion.
“Shouldn’t we send her back?”
The flying squirrel Phey was a precious being.
If the elves found out it was missing, they would worry.
Then Inoi spoke.
“Actually, a long-eared exotic came in a black car this morning and delivered a letter along with flying squirrel Phey…!”
“Really?”
Swish-.
Inoi handed me a letter.
It simply read, “Please take care of her for a while.”
I guess it means to take care of the flying squirrel.
“I see.”
It seems there was something busy happening?
With that feeling, we temporarily ended up taking care of flying squirrel Phey.
Kkungkkungi, excited, ran off with Phey, bounding through the fields and bushes, looking incredibly lively.
I thought he only liked fighting.
– Szzzz…!
– Ororong…!
Now that I look, Ahn Ahn and her beau, the obsidian honey ant Elizabeth, were also wandering around the fields of Primal Village.
A hot summer.
It was a season filled with pairs sticking together.
“By the way, the owner of the house…! I heard that she has a date with Core Ye-rim today…!”
“…”
That’s right.
Today I was supposed to go on a date with Seo Ye-rim.
I was already beginning to feel nervous.
I couldn’t even predict how she might pick on me and torment me.
# # #
Vroom-.
Lunchtime.
A car arrived in the yard.
It was a very long car, and the driver opened the door for me.
“Mr. Il-do, please get in. I will take you.”
“Oh.”
I squeezed my body into the expensive-looking car.
The car rolled smoothly and stopped right in the middle of the city, where Seo Ye-rim, wearing a refreshing dress, got in.
“You’re not late.”
“The car came to pick me up.”
“So what are we doing? I assumed you had planned something.”
Seo Ye-rim asked me.
I was stunned in various ways.
Since it was Seo Ye-rim who suggested the date today, I thought she would have decided what to do.
But it seemed she didn’t have much of a plan either.
“Well, we have no choice. Let’s go for lunch, so please drop me off at that place we always go to.”
“Understood.”
Swish-.
The car glided and stopped in front of a shabby soup restaurant.
It was a hangover soup place that boiled pork bone and vegetables.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you getting out?”
“No.”
That was unexpected.
I thought we would head to some hotel restaurant whose menu I wouldn’t even know about.
Swish-.
I had bone soup for lunch, and it was really delicious.
“How is it?”
“It’s a great place. The meat is thick and juicy.”
I should bring Inoi here later.
While I was thinking that, Seo Ye-rim spoke.
“I can make the same bone soup just like this.”
“Really?”
“I can cook a bit, you know. I just don’t do it! Isn’t this enough to be considered domestic?”
It was indeed impressive.
Are S-level Awakened good at everything?
Maybe since she was a manipulation-type ability user who dealt with fire, she was good at cooking.
Bee-be-beep-.
At that moment.
The smart watch that Seo Ye-rim was wearing on her wrist rang.
Swish-.
Seo Ye-rim answered the call.
Her face suddenly scrunched up.
“No, what? A T-rank rift again? What’s Cha Yura doing?”
From the sound of it, a T-rank rift seemed to have appeared again.
It seemed T-rank rifts were popping up frequently these days.
Recently, Cash, who had been an S-ranked Awakener in America, was dispatched to help with Korea’s situation.
After a big incident occurred, she returned to America, causing Seo Ye-rim to take on even more workload.
“You’re really a busy woman.”
I said to Seo Ye-rim, who hung up the phone.
Then Seo Ye-rim sighed deeply.
“Hey, wait at a nearby café. It seems like the rift opened around here, so I’ll finish and come back in two hours. In two hours.”
Swish-.
With that, Seo Ye-rim got in the car and zoomed away.
Suddenly, I was left alone in an unfamiliar downtown area.
“Well, I kind of expected this.”
S-level Awakened were busy people.
# # #
I decided to wait for Seo Ye-rim at a nearby café.
While there, I unexpectedly ran into a familiar face.
“Ari, right?”
“Oh! Senior!”
Yu Ara.
When I was standing in front of the café menu, she slipped into the café.
Yu Ara tapped my arm with her hand and smiled.
“What brings you here?”
“Me? I had an appointment with Ye-rim today, and after lunch, I found some free time. What about you? What a coincidence meeting you here. Weren’t you supposed to be a digital nomad?”
Yu Ara was enjoying her vacation and daily life as a digital nomad in Primal Village.
But seeing her in the city like this was intriguing.
Hehe- Yu Ara chuckled.
“I came here for work, and this is my short break! Korea really is small. I was a little sad that I felt like I’d be spending time alone, but it’s such a relief!”
I felt the same way.
We sat together in the café and chatted about various things.
One topic was about the flying squirrel Phey I met in the morning.
“Is it true that a squirrel is flying around?”
“It sounds completely cute! So did you bring home the flying squirrel this morning and came out to have lunch with Ye-rim? Did you also plan to have dinner together?”
“I thought so, but I got a message and went. I did say I’d be back in two hours, but I’m not sure if that’s possible.”
“If not, come back to the village with me. I parked my car nearby!”
That was a very good suggestion.
About two hours passed when Seo Ye-rim showed up at the café.
And she frowned when she saw Yu Ara.
“What? Why are you here?”
“I bumped into my senior here at the café. I heard you went to a T-rank rift and came back really quickly. You’re amazing.”
Swish-.
Yu Ara got up from her seat.
“Senior, I’ll take my leave now.”
Clip-clop, clip-clop-.
As Yu Ara disappeared with the sound of her heels, I wished we could have shared some old stories now that the three of us had met.
Swish-.
Seo Ye-rim kept staring out the café window until Yu Ara disappeared from view.
“How did she know to come here?”
“She said she was working and happened to drop by.”
“No, from what I see, that’s not it. It seems she came to mess with me on purpose.”
Seo Ye-rim made an absurd claim.
Are you saying Yu Ara traveled a long way just to mess with Seo Ye-rim?
What a strange story.
“Anyway, let’s get up too.”
Swish-.
I thought we could stay at the café a little longer, but Seo Ye-rim got up from her seat.
Now we were in a street bustling with young people.
Seo Ye-rim found a tarot café, but the atmosphere was unusual.
“What’s this place?”
“Haildo. You really don’t keep up. This is the tarot café that couples line up to visit these days! The lady here is called ‘Madame’ and is super talented!”
Tarot.
Fortune telling.
I don’t really trust these things.
But it seemed that Seo Ye-rim was more interested in such matters than I expected.
It was intriguing that a woman who could control fire like magic believes in tarot.
Swish-.
Soon, I found myself sitting at a black table with a peculiar crystal ball on it.
In front of me sat a woman with her hair wrapped in a black cloth, wearing dark eye makeup, and looked to be in her mid-twenties.
I was surprised at how young she looked, much younger than I expected.
Is this the talented fortune teller “Madame”?
The woman spoke.
“What would you like to know?”
“I heard this place could tell my love fortune?”
“Sure. That’s easy. Are you curious about how many children you can have?”
Swish-.
The woman shuffled her luxurious-looking cards placed in front of her.
Then she divided them into four rows and spread them out in a line.
She then gestured for me to pick one.
“Sir, please draw one card.”
Swish-.
I drew a card depicting a person playing a trumpet.
“Now, lady as well.”
Soon, Seo Ye-rim picked a card too, which depicted a woman wearing a crown.
“It’s the clown and the queen. Your compatibility is good. Also, lady, you will likely have three children.”
“Good compatibility…!? I will have three children…!?”
Seo Ye-rim was startled.
I was surprised too.
You can tell how many children someone will have from just drawing some cards?
It seems that this “Madame” was an Awakened as well.
Could it be that she has some kind of special “skill”?
As a fellow Awakened, I couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity about her ability.
“Can I get married too? How many children will I have?”
“You will… have twelve children.”
Twelve?
Am I made of crayons?
When I thought it was ridiculous, Seo Ye-rim frowned.
“What do you mean by that? Not three?”
