Since then, my life has become quite colorful.
Of course, it’s not like any grand events have occurred.
It’s just that there are more people around me now.
While I’ve been working, I often spend time with Noona, but sometimes Yuri Noona drops by too. Occasionally, her husband, Park Hyunseung, joins her.
It seems her maternity leave, which literally lasts until the end of her pregnancy, gives her plenty of time to move around, which is a relief.
“Though I spend more days resting at home.”
She said she doesn’t feel too exhausted yet, but she can tell her body feels heavier with each passing day.
I’ve heard that the period of most rapid growth in a person’s life is when they’re in their mother’s womb.
Well, it makes sense. Going from a single cell to a fully formed human being within a span of just ten months of course, growth would be dramatic day by day.
When Yuri Noona visited, she’d often chat about what’s been happening in her life before heading off. Things like what happened at home, mistakes her husband made, or gifts he gave her.
Sometimes, she’d briefly mention my mom too.
Most of the time, it was in passing, like, “Oh, your mom’s been doing well these days.”
“So, are you living with your friends now?”
“Yes.”
Yuri Noona often struck up conversations with me as well. True to her personality—friendly and disliking ignoring others—she didn’t leave me out just because she was chatting with her friend.
“Do your friends go out to work during the day?”
“Uh, well…”
I was about to say, “They’re from overseas,” but stopped mid-sentence.
If I said they were here for travel, it’d make sense that they weren’t working. Unless it’s a working holiday, foreigners visiting for tourism can’t legally work here.
However, the four people currently staying in my house are all Korean, at least legally speaking.
Technically, they’re not unable to work they’re just not working. Saying it like that might sound odd, but… to others, they’d look like jobless freeloaders.
Even though each of the four has their responsibilities in Irelhesia, there’s no way to prove that here.
If I said they weren’t working, it might come across strangely.
Especially to Ayun Noona, who’s been concerned about me since I first arrived here. She might think those four are just leeching off me.
But outright lying didn’t feel right either.
I’d been in this other world for five years. Maybe their tasks won’t take that long, but I couldn’t imagine them wrapping everything up and returning in just a few days.
“For now, um…”
I ended up giving a vague answer.
“They just came up from the countryside…”
I added that flimsy excuse.
“Oh, I see.”
Fortunately, Yuri Noona didn’t take my words too seriously.
“Well, it’s tough to find work these days. Coming up to Seoul makes sense.”
“Right?”
As I said that, I glanced over at Ayun Noona. She was staring at me intently.
…Hmm.
It seems she doesn’t see things the same way Yuri Noona does.
Looks like I need to have a proper talk with those four and coordinate our stories.
If I explain they’re paying rent to live with me, that might be believable enough.
*
Yuri Noona’s visits usually happened in the morning. She would arrive around ten o’clock, stay for an hour or two, and then head back. Her house likely wasn’t close by, but the way she made it seem like she was just casually dropping by was probably her way of leaving before the store got too busy.
I was genuinely grateful for her thoughtfulness.
When many people were coming and going, her sitting and chatting with Noona would make the bakery feel even more hectic. At the same time, sitting idly while visiting would feel awkward too.
To be honest, having someone come by and chat while you’re working could sometimes feel like a distraction. Yuri Noona, being as perceptive as ever, probably acted with all that in mind.
“Hello!”
Around the evening, Seo Ga-young would arrive at the bakery.
The day after her interview with Noona, Ga-young had come back with her mother.
“Please take good care of my daughter.”
Her mother had placed a gentle hand on Ga-young’s shoulder and said this cautiously.
At that moment, every assumption I had made about Seo Ga-young completely fell apart. She hadn’t come here without her parents’ knowledge, nor was she being mistreated by them.
Her mother, with her hand on Ga-young’s shoulder, looked incredibly kind and loving.
“…..”
Noona and I briefly exchanged glances before nodding at the two of them.
In the end, we didn’t know her reasons for applying, but we no longer had a good reason to refuse her.
From that point on, Ga-young started working part-time at the bakery, coming in every weekday around 6 PM except for our day off on Wednesdays and staying until we closed.
“I’ll do it!”
Whenever I tried to lift something heavy, Ga-young would rush over to help.
She must have thought it wasn’t too heavy when she saw me carrying it alone. But after attempting to lift it herself a few times, she seemed to realize it wasn’t so easy and eventually settled for just assisting me.
Not that I minded.
She never slacked off, nor did she have an unpleasant personality. Even though we hadn’t explicitly told her to come at exactly six, she always showed up right on time, got ready quickly, and began working.
The hour after six was one of our busiest times, so her help was honestly a great relief.
I was curious about why Ga-young was so diligent, but Noona and I decided not to ask. We figured that if it was something truly important, she would tell us eventually.
“Good work today!”
She didn’t bother us with unnecessary chatter, nor did she share much about herself. To be honest, it was a bit strange how little she talked about her personal life. With her cheerful demeanor, she gave the impression of someone who’d enjoy casual conversations, but that wasn’t the case.
She simply came at her set time, worked until closing, and left promptly.
She would often leave so quickly after work that we didn’t even have the chance to suggest walking together.
Still, there wasn’t anything particularly suspicious about her, and her presence gradually became a part of our daily routine.
*
And when I returned home the delicious smell tickled my nose.
Objectively speaking, neither I nor the other party members could be considered professional chefs.
However, that didn’t mean any of us were terrible at cooking. Of course, among us, I was the least talented.
I could barely manage to grill meat over a fire, but the others were much more skilled.
Fia had learned to cook while working in relief efforts, and Arna was incredibly gifted at peeling and preparing vegetables to a perfect tenderness.
Dana, with her meticulous nature, memorized recipes precisely and recreated them with great care.
As for Kalia, cooking had been part of the etiquette lessons she received in her childhood.
Living the life of adventurers, we didn’t often get opportunities to cook outdoors. The fire and smoke could easily reveal our location to enemies.
But on the rare occasions when we had the chance to taste each other’s cooking, I was always genuinely impressed by their skills.
“Oh, you’re back!”
It seemed like Dana was in charge of dinner today.
She looked perfectly at ease, wearing an apron adorned with geometric patterns she had somehow acquired, a ladle in one hand. It was like something straight out of a painting.
When I stepped into the living room, Kalia, Fia, and Arna were spending their time in their own ways.
Kalia was watching the TV with keen interest in international affairs.
It didn’t seem like she had any ambitions to gain power here, but she was curious about how this world, with its nearly 200 nations, operated.
Fia was reading the Bible. She couldn’t read Korean as fluently as Dana could, so she was reading from pages Dana had translated for her earlier that day. In fact, what she held in her hands was a sheet of paper, though the Bible itself was open in front of her. Most likely, aside from the numbers, she couldn’t make much sense of the text.
It seemed Fia found the religions of this world rather fascinating.
Arna had brought in more plants. She was carefully tending to them by the window, and they were all desert plants, like cacti and succulents.
These were plants she’d never seen in her own world, and she mentioned wanting to look for similar ones in Irelcia’s desert if they ever returned.
The three of them turned their gazes toward me.
“You’re back?”
“Oh, welcome back!”
“Was it a tough day?”
Each greeted me in their own way.
Smiling, I nodded at the three of them, then followed Dana, who had come out to the entrance, into the kitchen.
In a large pot, a meat stew was bubbling away.
Galbitang, perhaps?
Seeing the recipe book opened to the galbitang page, I was pretty sure that’s what it was.
Dana had once said the best way to gauge your reading ability was to follow written instructions and make something from them.
And among such methods, the least life-threatening one was cooking at home, she had added.
After all, trying to mix potions on a whim could lead to explosions.
…Still, I wish she’d refrain from conducting chemistry experiments at home.
“That looks delicious.”
Even as these thoughts crossed my mind, I said it with genuine sincerity, and Dana nodded with a satisfied expression.
“It is! I already tasted it myself. It’s almost ready, so go wash up first!”
“Alright.”
The house was bustling, a far cry from the quiet emptiness it had known not long ago.
Some might dislike such liveliness, preferring solitude.
But for me… having entrusted my life to these four people over the past five years, I wasn’t one of them.
Just knowing the four of them were here in this house was enough to bring me peace of mind.
Smiling earnestly, I set down my belongings and headed toward the shower.