“Welcome, Noah!”

His face looked fine. There were a lot of things I wanted to ask, but I held back for now. It was the holiday, after all. Best to let him enjoy it comfortably. If Noah wanted to talk first, I’d gladly listen—but he didn’t seem to intend to. In fact, he looked a little uneasy.

‘So he’s not ready to talk yet.’

“We were just about to start making songpyeon. You came at the perfect time. You’d look great in hanbok too, Noah. Should I send for a set?”

At the suggestion that he should wear hanbok tomorrow, Noah hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

“Yes.”

“Any color you like? I think you’d really suit a robe-style one.”

He’d look good in anything, honestly. I guided Noah over to a chair by the table. On the table were balls of songpyeon dough and fillings. We’d bought a songpyeon-making kit, so the colored dough was ready, and all we had to do was stuff it.

“Do we just need to season the greens now?”

Myungwoo looked around, as if about to wash his hands. Yerim noticed and made a ball of water for him.

“If you need water, just say so~”

Next to Yuhyun, who was frying jeon, Myungwoo began preparing the greens. He left for a bit carrying the bowl of vegetables, and when he returned, they were blanched. I felt a bit guilty about using Ismuar like a kitchen assistant all the time.

Before long, we packed the finished jeon and greens into plastic containers and sealed the lids. Then we all sat around the table to start shaping the songpyeon.

There was no need to comment on Myungwoo’s skill, and everyone else was making cute little songpyeon with care. Then Yerim, apparently bored, began making hers bigger and bigger.

“Look, a rabbit.”

She held out a round, curled-up pink rabbit and smiled.

“That’s cute. It’d feel like a shame to eat it.”

“I’ll give it to you, Mister.”

Then she said she’d make Chirp and started rolling a big piece of dough. If it’s too big, it might not cook properly though.

“Hyung.”

Yuhyun handed me a songpyeon too. It was white. Hmm.

“A puppy?”

“Yeah. For you, hyung.”

“Thanks. You did great, it’s really cute.”

My little brother had good hands too. I placed the puppy next to the rabbit, and then a yellow songpyeon was shyly held out to me.

“Me too, this one.”

“Wow, a dragon? Is that you, Noah?”

“I didn’t make it thinking it was me, but… I wanted to give it to you, Yujin.”

“Thanks. It’s amazing.”

I placed the dragon next to the rabbit. I figured it was Myungwoo’s turn next, but he was just shaping a plain-looking songpyeon. Noticing my gaze, he smiled.

“You’ll want to eat mine the most anyway.”

With confidence that it wasn’t about looks, Myungwoo set his songpyeon down. They hadn’t even been steamed yet, but my mouth was already watering. It was just songpyeon, made from ordinary ingredients, but I knew it wouldn’t taste ordinary.

We placed all the shaped songpyeon in a steamer lined with pine needles. Myungwoo said he’d take them to the forge to steam and disappeared with the steamer. In the meantime, we cleaned up the rooftop garden.

“Oh right, Mister. Hyunah unni asked if she could take shelter here tomorrow.”

“Take shelter?”

“Yeah. She said she’d sneak off under the excuse of visiting the Breeding Facility.”

So she’s trying to escape the nagging.

“Of course she can come.”

Would we have enough food? I should take out some of the meat we got as gifts.

“Do you think the egg is still a long way from hatching?”

“Huh? Hmm, not sure.”

“I’m really curious what kind of spirit will be born. It won’t be a lizard like Iryn, right?”

-Of course not!

Iryn, who had crawled onto the back of my hand at some point, shouted.

-The reason Iryn looked like a lizard is because in this world, fire spirits are most commonly known in lizard form!

Most commonly known… you mean salamanders?

“So then would a water spirit be born looking like an undine? What do undines look like again?”

“They look like women.”

Yerim said, claiming she’d looked up info on water spirits.

“Kelpies are also famous, horse-shaped ones. A kelpie might be cute too, but…”

Her expression clouded a little. Seemed she didn’t like either option much.

“Iryn, do spirits always take the form that’s most famous in their origin world?”

-It’s because Yuhyun didn’t have any image in mind, hyung. He didn’t even know Iryn was being born. If he had, Iryn would’ve looked just like you! Because Yuhyun never thinks about anyone else but you.

A fire spirit that looks exactly like me… That’d be kind of…

“So would the water spirit be born in the form Yerim wants?”

Iryn puffed his cheeks in annoyance, then reluctantly nodded.

-Yeah. Hmph. Still don’t like it.

Then he ran off to Yuhyun. Yerim beamed at Iryn’s words.

“A form I want! Mister, what do you think would be good? A bear? A rabbit? It’s a spirit, so I could mix them, right?”

“Anything you want, Yerim.”

“It won’t hatch right away, right? I need to think. What about fairy wings? Soyeong unni said Mister’s new dragon is super cute.”

Excited, Yerim started listing off all kinds of animals. A water spirit named BunnyBunnyBear… that’s not going to cause copyright issues, is it? Just then, Myungwoo returned. He placed the freshly steamed, glossy songpyeon on the table.

“My rabbit ears!”

“My puppy tail…”

“My dragon tail too…”

The pink, white, and yellow trio each cried out as their creations suffered injuries. Still, we took all three and set them down on a plate.

“Let’s settle it with rock-paper-scissors.”

I quickly stepped in to stop them. The way they were staring me down made it obvious they were all waiting to see which one I’d eat first. If I left it alone, the garden might get half-destroyed. At the word “rock-paper-scissors,” Yerim rolled up her sleeves.

“Let’s make this fair, Han Yuhyun. Best of three.”

“Just do one round. The songpyeon’s getting cold.”

“Include me too!”

The three of them stood up and moved aside. The way they all clenched their fists looked like they were about to throw down for real. Hopefully the rooftop floor wouldn’t get smashed.

“Watch and eat, Yujin.”

Myungwoo handed me a plate with some regular songpyeon. If you could even call it “regular.” Just look at that glossy sheen. It had to be delicious. But no. …Maybe just one.

“If you’re late to throw, you’re last place no matter what!”

They were all so fired up they probably wouldn’t notice. Ugh, ugh…

“…Let’s just eat those songpyeon first.”

“Yeah. Mine won’t taste good if you eat it first anyway.”

Just then, I heard the sound of wind being sliced—and then a thump, as the floor slightly dipped. The aftermath of rock-paper-scissors.

“I practiced a ton with Hyunah unni!”

Yerim shouted as she revealed scissors. Yuhyun and Noah had both gone with rock. The two winners played again, and the final victor was Yuhyun. I guess even in rock-paper-scissors, high stats help.

“Here you go, hyung.”

Yuhyun proudly handed me the puppy songpyeon. It was delicious. Then came the dragon and the rabbit, in order. And finally, the one Myungwoo made… it was indescribably the best. I didn’t even know songpyeon could taste this good.

“Mister, it’s almost broadcast time.”

At Yerim’s reminder, we all headed inside. Noah hesitated a little, but didn’t reject Yerim’s beckoning hand. We put the food away in the kitchen and sat on the couch. Peace hopped up onto my lap, and I turned on the TV. Soon, a familiar face appeared.

[Fellow citizens, greetings. I am Chief Song Taewon of the Awakener Management Bureau.]

Whoa… stiff. He looked so stiff. He was always a bit formal, but now he was like a block of wood. He wore a dark, loose-fitting robe, but the chest area didn’t look loose at all. Just fitted. Perfectly.

“Chief Song really doesn’t suit broadcasting, huh.”

“Yeah. He’s staring at the camera too hard.”

[…Make sure your vehicles are equipped with emergency supplies in case of a dungeon break. In the event of a break, know your nearest shelter location in advance, and if you’re far from one, keep doors and windows…]

It sounded like he was reading a book. Judging by the lack of eye movement, he must’ve memorized it all. He gave a full explanation of Chuseok holiday safety tips and ended with a farewell. For some reason, I felt like I should applaud him.

“Did Hyunah’s part not make it to air?”

“Yeah, looks like it. Wow, people are pissed. The recording got leaked and now the broadcast station’s getting flamed for not airing it.”

Yerim said while looking at her phone. Seriously, why didn’t they air it? What was the big deal? She looked amazing in that robe.

Not long after, it was finally our turn. Yerim and I stood in front, with Yuhyun and Myungwoo positioned diagonally behind.

“Mister, you look nervous.”

“I look fine. Yerim, you were the one who smiled too much and got scolded.”

It wasn’t so much nerves as just awkwardness. On screen, I could see myself holding Peace. The hanbok I was wearing was a short-sleeved dapo. Since mostly the upper half would be shown, Yuhyun had said that a dapo that made my shoulders look broader would be best. He’d even given me both a regular hanbok and one matching his jacket-style outfit.

It did make me look a little bigger than usual… but standing between the other two, still, uh…

[Hello.]

I spoke. The other three greeted the viewers in turn.

[Are you enjoying your Chuseok holiday? I’m sure the sudden monster appearances startled many of you, but thankfully, it’s still a rich and joyful season, just like any other year…]

I handled most of the speech. Yerim chimed in with a few lines, Myungwoo added one, and Yuhyun stayed silent. We ended with me lifting one of Peace’s front paws and waving. That wrapped up the broadcast.

“Well, that came out alright.”

It was a little embarrassing. Still, the kids looked great, so I’d definitely be saving the recording.

On the morning of Chuseok, two memorial tables were set. One was arranged by Yerim herself, and the other, Yuhyun handled entirely while making me sit down. A small spark flicked from Yuhyun’s fingertips, and four candles lit up in an instant.

“I don’t know if I got the order of the dishes right.”

“It’s fine, it’s all about sincerity. Let’s give a bow and tell them we’re doing well.”

The three of us stood side by side and bowed. Peace and Chirp watched us, curious about what we were doing.

“After this, do we light the incense and pour the drinks?”

It was my first time properly doing this too. We finished the rites and cleaned up the table. It really felt like we’d completed something meaningful. Now then…

“Why is it all Mo!”

All four yut sticks had landed on their backs. Moon Hyunah laughed, scooping up the sticks with one hand.

“One more time!”

“This is totally just win-on-first-throw. Look—Mo again!”

Yerim and Noah had gotten a few different rolls at first, but that didn’t last long. Once they got used to it, everything turned to Mo—except for me and Myungwoo.

“Even if you get ‘Mo,’ no re-rolls allowed! Also, S-Ranks have to throw with their non-dominant hand and eyes closed!”

“My eyes are closed, hyung. Heave-ho!”

“Oh come on, again?!”

This was a scam. There was no winning like this.

“We do have hwatu cards, by the way.”

“That’s perfect if the kids drop out. Four players is fine, but should we call Chief Song?”

“Eh, he’s probably busy.”

“Coming here is-his vacation. He’s probably stuck playing bodyguard for higher-ups.”

That made sense. After hesitating a moment, I picked up my phone.

[Chief Song, we’re playing hwatu at my place—care to join us?]

He wouldn’t come just for that, of course.

[It’s 500 points. Unit’s ten thousand won. Four S-Ranks. Maybe even the Sesung Guild Leader will join. That’d give us about an 88% chance of a fight.]

Before long, he replied.

[Just to observe.]

Once he shows up, that’s all it takes. Moon Hyunah pulled a blanket out of her inventory and folded it out on the floor. I shuffled the hwatu cards smoothly.

“Myungwoo, you know how to play hwatu?”

“I know how to read the cards, but I’m not great at scoring.”

“Before Chief Song gets here—young master, you in?”

“Unni! I know how to play hwatu too!”

“What? Yerim, how do you know how to play hwatu?”

“It got popular in class for a bit last year.”

Unbelievable. Hwatu in middle school?

“Or should we just play by ourselves—do we have more cards?”

…I do, but should I even give them out? Yuhyun and Noah are adults, but Yerim’s still too young.

“Hunter Noah, do you know how to play hwatu?”

“Never heard of it before.”

Yeah, figured.

“What about you, Yuhyun?”

“No idea.”

I knew it. How is Yerim the only one who knows? Kids these days. Yerim pulled out a fresh deck of hwatu cards and, clearly smug, looked between Yuhyun and Noah.

“Okay, pay close attention to the pictures. They all have matches.”

…Even the way she laid down the cards looked seasoned. While Yerim taught them the rules, I explained the scoring system to Myungwoo. Then the doorbell rang. It was Chief Song. He really had just come from work—still in a stiff business suit.

“Chief Song! Just one round!”

He looked down at me with a heavy gaze, then scanned the rest of the group before opening his mouth.

“…No.”

“Don’t forget the gift set when you leave. If you do, I’ll have it delivered to your house myself. It’s cheap.”

“Han Yujin.”

That short call of my name held layers of mixed feelings. He probably had a lot on his mind. But today was a holiday.

“Aw, come on, Chief. Hurry and sit down already. With you, the point bet is 500 won! Without you, it’s five million!”

Moon Hyunah shouted. Five million was a bit much for me too. I’d lose my house over this. In the end, Song Taewon sat down under the condition that he wouldn’t bet money. The cards in his hand looked like miniatures.

Unlike the one-turn-kill chaos of yutnori, hwatu left no room for brute force, even for S-Ranks—especially for Chief Song.

“Discard! Another discard!”

Moon Hyunah burst out laughing. Song Taewon, having discarded two turns in a row, stared expressionlessly at his cards. His luck was truly awful. And nearby—

“Come on, Guild Leader! Don’t be stingy—wager a magic stone, an A-rank or higher!”

Yerim was trying to cash in big. Kids, Chief Song is literally right behind you.

We changed the rules and gave yutnori another go, ate some more, and kept trying to stop Chief Song from leaving. Before we knew it, the sun had set. We all rushed out to the rooftop garden to make wishes under the full moon. A huge, round moon hung in the sky.

Nothing fancy for my wish. Just… I hope things always stay like today. No one lost, and those who should return will all come back.

Then, a text came in.

[You said you’d bring me jeon.]

I chuckled at the message. So he’s awake.

[The kids ate it all. There are ingredients left—come cook them yourself. I’ll toast you some bread.]

You’ll have to cut off the crusts yourself.

And a little while later, though there was a bit of fuss, thankfully no one ended up getting hauled away by Chief Song.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep