I am back – Chapter 135

“Welcome!”

The pastor greeted us.

He didn’t bother to mention that we hadn’t come last week, nor did he emphasize the fact that we brought a new person along.

He just smiled as if he was genuinely happy that we were here.

“Oh, hello….”

Ga-young greeted nervously, her anxiety evident on her face.

“Oh my, thanks to A-yoon, the number of hands has increased tremendously!”

Auntie Han remarked as she saw Ga-young, her face slightly reddening.

What we were doing wasn’t particularly complex or difficult, so Ga-young could adapt easily. However, that didn’t mean it was easy. There was still a lot that needed doing. Though the existing group could manage reasonably well, having more people didn’t make things significantly easier or reduce the workload.

We carried food ingredients, washed vegetables, and stirred the soup like our lives depended on it to make sure nothing burned.

It was less about one person having a specific task and more about those whose hands were free figuring out what needed to be done around them, so there was plenty to find if one wanted to work.

At first, Ah-reum acted a bit uncomfortable with the curious gazes from others, but she soon began to focus on the work, seemingly too busy to notice anything else.

“Even with more people, there’s still so much to do. I wonder how busy it was before we got here.”

Kalia, who had arrived early and was already working, joined me by my side and remarked.

“Right? Since we just got here and there’s still this much work, maybe the amount for serving has increased?”

Most of the people working here were ordinary folks. There weren’t many who could easily carry a sack of rice in one hand or lift a boiling pot of soup. Everyone broke into a sweat carrying such heavy items and looked exhausted after doing the dishes.

We could handle those kinds of tasks relatively easily, but that didn’t mean we could split our bodies in half. If there were difficult tasks, we could manage them, but tackling two jobs at once was impossible. So, even with our addition, the amount of work didn’t really decrease.

“Is that child over there the one you mentioned?”

Pia, who had joined Kalia, asked curiously.

Despite working hard with her hands, her eyes were fixed on Ga-young. Ga-young was busy moving food ingredients while wiping the sweat from her forehead.

“Yeah, that’s Ga-young.”

“Ohh.”

Pia’s eyes sparkled with curiosity, and it didn’t seem to be just my imagination.

After all, Pia was the youngest among us. Kalia was older than me, and Dana was my age. Arna was significantly older than us when it came down to age, and even putting that aside, she was the oldest among us.

Of course, in Irrelaysia, it was rare for people to openly differentiate themselves based on age when conversing. When I first met Pia, she was a saintess and I was a hero. Initially, we exchanged honorifics and I wasn’t overly treating her like a younger sister.

The same went for Kalia when she first met Pia. Dana had addressed everyone on a first-name basis from the start, but that didn’t mean she differentiated based on age. It was only Arna who treated us as younger individuals from the beginning.

Though, Arna later felt immensely embarrassed about that fact.

Anyway, we treated each other as equals; it wasn’t that we considered Pia the baby of the group.

But did Pia think of herself that way—

—Ah, perhaps this is an extension of her previous request to use terms like ‘older brother’ and ‘older sister.’

Having no siblings herself, Pia once wished for someone similar to that. And ‘siblings’ doesn’t only refer to those older.

Maybe she showed interest in Ga-young because there was a possibility of being called ‘older sister’?

Well, actually Pia didn’t always use terms like ‘older sister’ or ‘brother’ with us. When there were many people around, she subtly addressed everyone by name, perhaps because she felt a bit shy to do otherwise in front of a large crowd.

By the way, Pia called me ‘older brother.’

At first, it felt very strange, but eventually, I decided to just be thankful for it. I mean, it’s nice to have someone who remembers my identity as a guy.

“Still, if you approach her too suddenly, it might backfire, you know?”

Dana, who had joined us before we knew it, remarked like she had seen through Pia’s thoughts.

“I-I didn’t think to approach her hastily or anything!”

But the way Pia stammered clearly showed her embarrassment, so I thought if Dana hadn’t said that, she would have really blurted out something to Ga-young.

“It seems like you’re a bit awkward when interacting with others. If we suddenly start talking to her, she might get scared.”

Finally, Arna, who had just joined our discussion, added her two cents.

“I-I’m aware of that!”

Pia blushed immense embarrassment as she replied.

…Hmm.

Well, there were similar kinds of conversations during our travels in Irrelaysia.

Like that time, when we all had something to say while Pia felt bad for a dead rabbit and then proceeded to enjoy eating its cooked form.

Truth be told, I wasn’t thinking of scolding Pia for doing something wrong; I just thought it was cute when she got embarrassed and her face turned red.

Thinking back, maybe we hadn’t only seen each other as equals.

There were times Arna led us as the older one, Kalia mediated between us, Dana had chats with me as a peer, and sometimes had squabbles with the younger Pia.

And we all found Pia adorable.

So I guess we just didn’t use terms like ‘older sister,’ ‘older brother,’ or ‘younger sibling’; we treated each other more like a family already.

“…”

Perhaps because of what had just happened, there was a wistful look in Pia’s eyes as she gazed at Ga-young.

…Well, I felt a bit sorry just leaving her like that, so I whispered to Pia.

“Anyway, we’ll properly introduce each other once the work is done, so it’ll be fine to get close then. Ga-young doesn’t usually act shy once she warms up to people.”

That was true. In fact, Ga-young acted awkward when we first met, but ever since we became close, she didn’t treat us awkwardly.

“And it’s not like we’ll just part ways after doing volunteer work. Who knows, we might even eat dinner together.”

“Really?”

In reality, there weren’t any other plans after this, but… I didn’t think we’d just part ways after the volunteer work. Surely, we would have dinner together at the very least?

Since the initial plan was to hang out together anyway.

“At that time….”

Pia sparked with determination.

Seeing her like that made us all stifle our laughter.

*

“Hah,” Ga-young sighed deeply.

“Were you very tired?”

My sister asked, handing a 500mL water bottle to Ga-young.

“Ah, no, it was bearable,”

Ga-young replied, but her tired face made it hard to believe that.

She did well to stick it out till the end.

I was worried talking more with others would tire her out, so I first greeted the pastor and led her outside, but she seemed to be a bit worn out for any outings.

Could we really stay together until dinner time?

…Hmm.

Still, just sending her off felt a bit disappointing.

“How about a cold drink?”

The weather was quite chilly, but we had worked up a sweat. A cool, sweet beverage would be the best for our tired bodies. Alternatively, caffeine would also do.

At my suggestion, everyone’s faces brightened up, including Ga-young’s.

“Then let’s go to a nearby café.”

Everyone nodded at my words.

However, finding a café that could accommodate all seven of us was not as easy as it seemed. Even on a weekday afternoon with few people around.

In the end, we failed to enter a well-known franchise café twice, and the last place we could go wasn’t a franchise café but was still neat and pleasant.

“…”

The issue was that our atmosphere felt a bit awkward.

Ga-young was still a bit uncomfortable around my companions, and my companions seemed to be contemplating how to talk to her quietly.

In this almost exploratory atmosphere, the first one to break the silence was my sister.

“So, how was the volunteer work? Was it enjoyable?”

“Ah, yes!”

Ga-young quickly answered.

“All the people there were really good, so I could work without any trouble!”

It seemed like there were many who helped out, thankfully.

“That’s good to hear.”

My sister responded with a smile.

Fortunately, thanks to the lively conversation that started with her smile, the atmosphere began to relax considerably.