CH 16

“Why do I feel like I keep being indebted to your house all the time?”

I dried my hair off with a towel and came out of the bathroom. Because of my dirty clothes and body, I had to be indebted to Baek Tae-beom once again, which I didn’t really like. Aside from the fact that this guy is going to be the villain in the future, I wasn’t comfortable getting help from a kid younger than me.

Whether or not he knew what I was thinking, Baek Tae-beom had a mellow look. No, actually, he seemed rather pleased.

“Is this what you wore when you were in high school?”

“That’s right.”

“But this is quite the size. What did you do in high school?”

“Yes?”

I spoke as I sat down on the chair. Baek Tae-beom asked back with his eyes wide open. It was rather cute, so I thought about how he must have been popular in the past.

“Didn’t you do any club activities? Like exercise or sports.”

“How did you know?”

“It’s obvious. How could you not have done it with that physique?”

What’s more, you’re the type of person who can’t say no easily. It was clear that he was caught by a friend and forced to do it. I slowly swallowed back those words beneath my tongue.

“I used to play basketball.”

“Did you do well?”

“Do you think I would have done well?”

Baek Tae-beom asked playfully. I got up and looked around the living room, which had the same shape as before, and pondered.

“I think you would have done great since you’re so tall.”

“I don’t think I was bad.”

I patted my hair dry with a towel. “Right?” I answered. And without a second thought, I opened the refrigerator door. I unconsciously did that because my throat felt dry.

I originally didn’t have such a habit of being rude in other people’s houses, especially opening appliances. I was embarrassed and tried to apologize, but.

This….

What caught my eye was the empty refrigerator that only contained some bottled water. I spoke without realizing.

“…Do you only drink water?”

“Yes? Ah, that.”

Baek Tae-beom felt sheepish as he got up from his seat and came to me. He closed the refrigerator door and somehow blocked it behind his large body, but I had already seen everything to see.

“Are you a fairy? Do you live only on dew?”

“No, that’s not what it is, Hyung. Listen, I just ran out of food, so I was going to go to the grocery store to buy food today. I’m really serious. Why are you looking at me like that….”

“Why am I looking at you like this?”

“It’s like you’re interrogating me with your eyes….”

Baek Tae-beom answered with a sullen expression, and I revealed the frown on my face.

“You know you have to eat well. You’ll be the one falling behind if you don’t.”

I said, poking Baek Tae-beom’s stomach. I felt firm muscles under his clothes. Baek Tae-beom trembled as if I was tickling him, but he did not step back from the refrigerator.

“I was wrong.”

“Wrong? …Wait a minute.”

And I raised the finger that was poking Baek Tae-beom with a sudden promising idea.

“Let’s go shopping now.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll cook for you.”

What a great idea. I can relieve the feeling of being indebted to Baek Tae-beom, and also feed Baek Tae-beom who was squirming around. Baek Tae-beom made a strange expression as if my words were really sudden, but my mind was already filled with thoughts of cooking.

It’s been a while since I last ate since I didn’t need to eat anymore. However, that doesn’t mean that my career, which is difficult to count on one finger, is going anywhere.

“Is there anything you can’t eat?”

“Can’t eat? Spicy… Wait. Are you really going to do it?”

“Let’s get ready to go out first.”

I said, drying my wet hair with a towel.

No spicy food. After selecting several candidates for the ingredients, it was easy to decide on the menu.

“Do you like eggs?”

“Eggs?”

“Let’s make omurice.”

(PR/N: so okay, Omurice is a Japanese dish consisting of an omelet made with fried rice and thin, fried scrambled eggs, usually topped with ketchup. It is a popular dish also commonly cooked at home. -from Wikipedia.)

Baek Tae-beom nodded his head with a puzzled expression.

That’s how Baek Tae-beom and I went out to the nearest supermarket to shop. The mart’s appearance was the same as usual. Despite scary monsters popping out, people dying quickly, and unknown events taking place, the peaceful-looking mart felt very strange.

I came with a cart, excited at the thought of buying groceries after a long time. I approached Baek Tae-beom and looked up at him, and said.

“Is there anything else you want to eat?”

“Hyung, are you good at cooking?”

“Well, I’m not bad at it?”

I answered confidently and smiled. He then pulled the cart and took the lead. I could feel the passers-by glancing at Baek Tae-beom, who stood out in many ways, but Baek Tae-beom’s gaze was solely fixed only on me.

“Look ahead while walking.”

“I’m looking. Let’s get the eggs first.”

Baek Tae-beom, who had a bewildered look, became excited as he was getting increasingly energetic. Rather, it was a face filled with expectation. Come to think of it, it must be the first time Baek Tae-beom went shopping with someone like this. And it was the same with me too.

‘…I think it’d be okay to do this more often.’

I thought so, and so did Baek Tae-beom. I thought that it would be less lonely going grocery shopping like this. I had a dumbfounded expression on my face when I caught Baek Tae-beom filling the cart with snacks.

“Are you going to eat all of that?”

“Do you not like sweets, Hyung?”

“…I don’t eat sweets.”

Baek Tae-beom then took some snacks out of the cart again. Before I knew it, we finished shopping, and I checked the cart out. It was full of items. Baek Tae-beom’s house had no cooking oil, so we had to buy new ones as well.

“Only I don’t eat sweets, why did you put them back?

“I don’t like junk food either.”

“Then why did you want to put them?”

“I was only going to buy them if Hyung liked them.”

“Why?”

Baek Tae-beom looked at my question as if it was strange.

“Aren’t you going to come to my house often?”

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling than The Sun: Did you hear? This guy is actually someone high-ranking. How can you just tell him to come to your house so naturally?]

It was normal to see Apollo spouting nonsense, so I ignored it.

“Not necessarily….”

I was about to answer dismissively, but my words ended up blurred by the end as I saw Baek Tae-beom’s expression. His eyes were like those of a desperate puppy. He was gradually learning how to use his features wisely. You know I’m weak to your face, now.

“…I suppose so.”

“Really?”

After we finished shopping, we came back home with lots of bags. Somehow, I ended up buying some useless things, but I thought positively because it would be better to have something rather than nothing at Baek Tae-beom’s house. Soon, we filled the refrigerator with the groceries and Baek Tae-beom sat on a chair with a face full of confidence.

“You should just watch now.”

“Can I really do that? Hyung is a guest here….”

“Uh-huh. I told you I’d do it for you.”

I stroked Baek Tae-beom’s hair messily and stood in front of the kitchen.

‘First… The eggs.’

I could feel the corners of my lips rising slowly. Come to think of it, if there’s not much I can do for you as your constellation, why can’t I just stay by your side as your reliable Hyung? I thought about it, and raised my head, thinking it was a very cool conclusion.

Microwave the instant rice, chop the carrots and onions, and pour oil into the pan. Every 10 seconds, I roughly answered the questions from behind my back like, ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘Can I help you?’ and continued cooking.

‘Salt… Where is it?’

Do I have to add salt? I usually skipped a few steps. Come to think of it, wouldn’t it taste good even if I don’t add any of those seasonings? Then, my gaze went to the starch syrup I bought earlier.

‘Wouldn’t it be more delicious if I put that in?’

I hummed whilst pouring starch syrup and stir-frying the vegetables. People say that adding butter to a dish enhances the flavor, so maybe starch syrup could be used in an analogous way. I added some ketchup, and stir-fried rice, transferring it to a plate. And then poured the egg mixture over the pan.

That’s how I made the perfect omurice.

‘Shall I draw too?’

I picked up the ketchup and slowly painted over Baek Tae-beom’s omurice. And with that finishing touch, I felt satisfied.

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: Is that an octopus?]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The End: What? It’s obviously a tiger.]

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: How is that a tiger?]

Ignoring Apollo’s bashing, I called Baek Tae-beom. Baek Tae-beom sat down and looked at his plate with a look of anticipation.

“Hyung, you’re really good at drawing.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, it’s an octopus, right?”

“…….”

What’s the point of the drawing anyway? As long as it tasted good. I begged Baek Tae-beom to eat quickly. Baek Tae-beom took a bite of the omurice with an excited expression.

And I saw his forehead wrinkle subtly.

“Does it taste weird?”

That’s weird. I’m sure I did it the way I usually did. I asked him with a worried look. Then, Baek Tae-beom raised his head with a bright smile.

“It’s tasty.”

“Tasty?”

“Yes. It’s really delicious. Aren’t you really good at cooking?”

“Is it that good?”

I took a bite of my omurice and tilted my head. I thought it tasted the same as usual. Was it that good? I don’t know much about starch syrup except that it was sweeter. On the other hand, Baek Tae-beom mechanically moved his hand to put the omurice in his mouth as if he was eating really delicious food.

[CH. Personal/One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun: Does that look like a face eating delicious food?]

[CH. Personal/One Who Knows The End: It’s delicious. Why do you keep insulting me whenever I do anything?]

[The constellation, ‘One Who Is More Dazzling Than The Sun’ grabs the back of your neck.]

“Since it’s so delicious, I’ll make it again next time. Tae-beom-ah.”

Baek Tae-beom, who stopped moving for a moment, smiled a little brighter and nodded with a mouth full of my omurice. He looked so cute, so I pushed my plate towards him too.

“Are you hungry? Eat this too.”

“H-hyung….”

“I’m not hungry.”

Baek Tae-beom, who stared at the omurice for a moment, made a happy expression. I also smiled contentedly.