Living Dangerously with a 999-Year-Old Gumiho – Chapter 42

Seojin quickly opened the door.

Outside stood Seojin’s parents, their faces lit up with smiles.

The friends all greeted together.

“Hello!”

Seojin ran to her parents and hugged them tightly.

“Mom, Dad, it’s been a while!!”

Her mother warmly embraced Seojin, rubbing her head gently.

“I missed you so much, Seojin! How have you been?”

Seojin acted carefully to keep her tail from sticking out. Thanks to Yoonhwa’s invisible magic, the tail wasn’t visible, but she was a bit nervous about it being felt during her parents’ hugs.

Her father joined in the hug, patting Seojin’s back.

“I missed you too, Seojin.”

At that moment, Yoonhwa, watching from a distance, let out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Thank goodness, the magic is holding up well.”

After finishing the hug with her parents, Seojin introduced the nine-tailed fox.

“Mom, Dad! This tall friend here is my new friend I told you about!”

“Yoonhwa!”

Seojin’s parents looked at Yoonhwa with curious gazes.

Her mother stepped forward and warmly said, “Oh, it’s Yoonhwa?”

“You’re really beautiful~ and so tall!”

“I wish Seojin was as tall as you.”

Yoonhwa’s face flushed with her mother’s compliments.

“Thank you… Haha… I’m just… ordinary!”

Seojin grabbed Yoonhwa’s hand and pulled her toward her parents.

“Yoonhwa is shy!”

Seojin’s father reached out to Yoonhwa with a smile.

“No need to be shy. At this point, you should have some confidence, right?!”

Yoonhwa’s tension gradually eased with the kindness of Seojin’s parents.

“Th… thank you..!!”

Seojin’s parents entered the house with bright smiles.

Her mother admired the living room as she looked around, showering praises.

“Did you clean up so well because we were coming~?”

Her father nodded and replied, “Seojin wouldn’t clean up by herself?”

“Did you make your friends do it? Haha.”

“Hey, if anyone gives Seojin a hard time, let us know!”

Seojin answered her parents’ jokes with a playful expression.

“Oh, come on, that’s not true.”

“We all cleaned up together. Seriously!”

Yoonhwa let out a slight giggle as she said, “Yeah, I helped Seojin~!”

“We all worked as a team.”

Her mother smiled proudly, saying, “Good job! I’m so grateful to see you cleaned up for us.”

Her mother furrowed her brow slightly as she noticed Choco circling Yoonhwa, wagging his tail.

“Seojin, who is this puppy?”

“Do you have a puppy?”

Seojin stroked Choco as she replied, “Oh, this little guy is Kangtae’s puppy!”

“His name is Choco.”

“It seems like he has a special bond with Yoonhwa.”

Her mother smiled at Choco, “What a cute little one~.”

“Does he like Yoonhwa? He’s getting really close.”

“Is this puppy a male?”

Kangtae replied with a big smile to his mother’s question, “Yeah, Choco is male.”

Kangtae said a bit jealously as he noted how affectionate Choco seemed with Yoonhwa, “Choco used to like me the most…”

“Now he likes Yoonhwa better?!”

Yoonhwa couldn’t hold back her laughter at Kangtae’s words and responded, “Of course, he likes you more, Kangtae~.”

“The reason Choco is cuddling with me is probably that I’m new and intriguing!”

Everyone burst into laughter at Kangtae’s jealous joke, and the atmosphere felt much lighter.

Choco seemed to get even more excited at the sound of everyone’s laughter, wagging his tail vigorously.

Seojin brought in a tray with tea and cookies into the living room.

“Mom, Dad, here’s some tea and cookies.”

Her mother accepted the tea with a smile.

“Thank you, Seojin. It’s special since you prepared it yourself.”

Her father picked up a cookie and said warmly, “When did our daughter become so thoughtful~?”

Seojin shyly grinned and replied, “Well, this is just basics!”

Her mother took a sip of tea and looked at Hyun, asking, “Hyun, are you doing well with your performances these days?”

“I want to see your cello performance again.”

Hyun awkwardly smiled and answered, “Yes, I’m working hard.”

“Actually, Yoonhwa has helped me prepare for an even better performance.”

Seojin’s parents showed interest at Hyun’s words.

Her mother looked at Yoonhwa, asking, “Oh, do you play an instrument as well?”

Yoonhwa laughed a bit, seemingly flustered, and replied, “Oh, I can’t play an instrument.”

“But I can do magic.”

Her father asked with interest, “Magic? That sounds intriguing!”

“Can you show us some?”

Yoonhwa hesitated before gently agreeing, “Okay, if it’s something simple, I can show you…”

Yoonhwa decided to lightly show her magic in front of Seojin’s parents and friends.

She began gathering faint light at her fingertips.

The light gradually grew, softly illuminating the living room, and little orbs of light floated above, sparkling like stars.

The friends were used to Yoonhwa’s magic and weren’t too surprised, but Seojin’s parents opened their eyes wide in admiration.

“Wow, you really look like a magician!”

“I didn’t know you could do this.”

Her mother exclaimed in astonishment.

Her father added with a smile, “That’s amazing, Yoonhwa. Are you making money with this magic in your performances?”

Yoonhwa hesitated at her father’s question. She had used her magic during a performance with Hyun in the past.

“Actually… I have performed once with Hyun.”

Yoonhwa said softly, smiling.

“I created the atmosphere with my magic, and Hyun played beautifully.”

Seojin’s parents looked at each other in surprise.

“Really? We would have loved to see that performance.”

Her mother expressed her disappointment.

“Make sure to invite us next time!”

While the friends and parents were talking, Choco quietly dozed off in a corner of the living room.

Her father spoke up, “So, Yoonhwa, is your profession a magician?”

Yoonhwa was taken aback by the question about her profession.

“J… job…? What is that…?”

Yoonhwa felt confused inside.

Hyun, noticing Yoonhwa’s bewilderment, answered instead, “Yoonhwa, well, it’s more like a hobby…?”

“She’s thinking about performing with me to earn some money.”

Her father nodded at Hyun’s explanation, saying, “Ah, I see. So it started as a hobby and now you’re thinking about performing?”

“That’s really cool!”

Her mother, this time looking at Kangtae, asked, “Kangtae, aren’t you working at the fruit store today?”

Kangtae replied brightly, “No, today is my day off. I’m spending time with my friends.”

“But are your parents doing well?”

“I need to go visit them sometime.”

Kangtae responded positively, giving updates about his parents, “They are healthy, and the store is doing well.”

“Thanks for asking!”

Her mother looked at Yoonhwa again and asked, “Yoonhwa, you’re really tall. Are you the same age as Seojin?”

Yoonhwa seemed to ponder for a moment.

“I can’t say I’m 999 years old…”

She racked her brain and replied, “Oh, I’m… 25 years old!”

Seojin’s parents looked at each other in surprise.

“Really? You’re younger than Seojin.”

“But you seem more grown-up than Seojin~.”

Seojin’s face flushed at her mother’s comment.

“Mom! Not in front of my friends…”

Seojin’s parents and friends burst into laughter at Seojin’s embarrassed reaction.

The laughter filled the living room, creating a warm atmosphere.

As they were nibbling on cookies and chatting, around three o’clock, Seojin’s father suddenly spoke up.

“Oh, by the way, we bought a car!”

The friends looked at her father with wide eyes.

“A c-car?!”

Seojin exclaimed loudly, “Wow, really, Dad!? You bought a car?!”

“Did you drive it here today??”

Yoonhwa looked puzzled, not knowing what a car was.

“A car…? Is it an expensive thing?”

Her father answered, beaming with pride.

He spoke even more energetically, “Yeah, I parked it right in front of our house.”

“Do you want to go see it?”

Seojin’s eyes lit up in excitement as she replied, “Yes!!”

With excited expressions, the friends and Seojin went outside.

In front of the house stood a shiny new car.

Seojin and her friends gasped as they circled around it.

Yoonhwa carefully examined the car. To her, this machine felt like something from an entirely different world.

Standing in front of the brand-new car, which Seojin’s father boasted about, it was the latest model, with shiny chrome details and stunning colors.

“Look at this, isn’t this car amazing?”

“It’s the latest model. Have you ever seen a car like this?”

Her father spoke enthusiastically.

“It might look like I’m bragging…”

“Bragging is right! Haha!”

Her mother chimed in cheerfully, “And there’s a radio in it so we can listen to music while driving.”

Yoonhwa found all the explanations fascinating and enchanting.

As she lightly touched the car’s shiny surface with her fingertips, she was captivated by its mechanical beauty.

Hyun quietly approached and whispered an explanation, “Yoonhwa, a car is a machine that moves with an engine.”

“It’s a means of transportation that allows you to go fast.”

Yoonhwa nodded in wonder at Hyun’s explanation, her eyes sparkling.

“Oh, that’s so amazing! Humans are really smart!”

Her father guided Yoonhwa and the friends toward the car, saying, “Well then, shall we go for a short drive in this car?”

“Are you all ready to hop in?”

The friends looked at each other and nodded enthusiastically.

“Wow, we really get to ride it?!”

Seojin exclaimed excitedly at her father’s suggestion, “Let’s go quickly!!”

Hyun’s eyes also sparkled with excitement. “Driving would be great..! Thank you!”

Kangtae momentarily forgot about Choco, immersing himself in the joy of riding in the car.

“This is going to be a really special experience. Thank you!”

Yoonhwa gently expressed her gratitude, “Thank you..!!”

“Alright, have a seat. This car is pretty spacious, isn’t it?”

Seojin’s father proudly stated, “It’s not cramped at all, even with six people! You can sit comfortably.”

As the friends hopped into the car, they marveled, “Wow, it’s really comfortable!”

“It’s way more spacious than I thought!”

Everyone onboard watched as Seojin’s father sat in the driver’s seat and started the engine.

As he revved up the engine, the car began to move smoothly.

“Alright, we’re off!”

As Seojin’s father carefully drove the car, the scenery outside began to shift and move.

The car glided smoothly along the streets.

The faces of the friends were filled with excitement and wonder.

Seojin reached out her hand outside the window to feel the breeze.

“Wow, I’ve never moved this fast before…!”

Hyun quietly gazed out the window, appreciating the changes in the scenery.

“It’s amazing that we can move so comfortably…”

Kangtae showed interest in the car’s interior features.

“By turning this, you can move the window..!!”

Yoonhwa couldn’t hide her amazement at the speed and movement of the car, quietly muttering to herself.

“The fact that we can move this fast is truly astonishing…”

“Human inventions are really incredible…”

Her father, gripping the steering wheel, proudly declared, “This is the advancement of technology.”

“Thanks to this car, we can go farther and faster, right?”

As Seojin’s father drove around the town, people began to gaze at the car one by one.

In this town, it was quite rare to see a car, so their expressions were filled with curiosity and amazement.

“Look! People are staring at our car!”

Seojin said in an excited voice, “This feels like being famous!”

Some townsfolk waved and greeted them, and children pointed at the car in amazement, whispering to one another.

As they left town, Seojin’s father increased the speed a little.

A gentle breeze wafted through the window, tickling everyone’s faces.

“This is such an amazing experience…”

Hyun marveled, “Seojin’s father paused the car for a moment and looked back at the backseat.”

In their eyes sparkled the light of adventure.

“Do you want to go to the city?”

Her father asked with an excited voice.

Seojin and her friends exchanged excited glances.

“City?!! Yes, yes! I want to go! Let’s go!”

Seojin said.

Yoonhwa found all of this new and exciting.

The concept of a city was completely foreign to her.

“The city… can we really go there..!?”

Her voice mixed with curiosity and a bit of apprehension.

Her mother smiled warmly and said, “I think it’ll take about five minutes to get to the city?”