The phone rang.

“Hey, Sua?”

“Unnie, are you okay? How are you feeling?”

Sua’s voice was full of concern.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Were you really short-handed because I didn’t come in?”

“No. Strangely enough, it was really quiet today. It was so slow that I almost felt guilty just standing around.”

“Why would you feel guilty? It’s not like it’s your fault things were slow.”

“The manager was really worried about you. I bet she feels bad for working you so hard all this time.”

“I work you guys pretty hard too. That’s nothing new.”

“I’ll admit that! Unnie, you can be pretty strict. But we’ve improved a lot because of you. Nobody has quit since you became assistant manager, right? That proves we’re growing well thanks to all the whips and carrots you give us.”

“My Sua’s all grown up.”

“You sound better than you did this morning?”

“Yeah. I slept really well, so I’m feeling better.”

“Why did you suddenly get sick?”

“What else would it be in winter besides a bad cold? I’ll be at work tomorrow, so don’t worry.”

“Then… am I still coming over to your place?”

“Of course. I bought plenty of groceries for you, so come over and eat everything.”

“Hehe, I love that. Bye.”

The call ended.

I got up and headed to the kitchen.

Maybe it was because I had been hit by the cold wind so hard. To shake off the chills creeping through me, I turned on the stove.

When I was sick, nothing was better than seaweed soup.

Before long, the rich, nutty aroma of perilla seeds began to fill the tiny room.

* * *

“Ah, I’m stuffed. This is even better than the food at the restaurant.”

Sua patted her stomach and leaned back deeply in her chair, looking thoroughly satisfied.

“I’m glad you liked it.”

“How did you know I love japchae? And you made it so well too. The marinated bulgogi was amazing. Unnie, you should stop eating seaweed soup all the time and eat things like this too.”

“I eat more than well enough, so don’t worry.”

“Oh, here we go again. You’re always saying you’re living just fine. How am I supposed to believe you when I can’t verify it?”

“Stop worrying about other people for no reason and take better care of yourself.”

“You’re always telling me to live selfishly when you don’t even do that yourself. It makes no sense.”

Sua wagged her finger, then even shook her head as she continued.

“It really makes absolutely no sense.”

“Did I say that?”

“Yeah. ‘Don’t trust men too much. Don’t get unnecessarily attached to people.’ Things like that.”

“It’s not wrong.”

“Why isn’t it wrong?”

“…Because if you get hurt, you’ll be the one who suffers. You’ll be the one who has a hard time.”

At my casually spoken words, Sua’s gaze wavered slightly.

“Don’t worry about that. I’m tougher than I look.”

“Good. I’m glad you’re strong. Shall we have some fruit now?”

“Our stingy Haena actually bought fruit?”

“I splurged a little since it’s been a while since Sua came over.”

“Hehe, then I should come more often.”

“Sure. You’re the only person who ever comes over, so you’re welcome anytime.”

“Why am I the only one who comes over? That’s seriously so sad!”

She looked ready to start nagging again.

Before Sua could switch fully into lecture mode, I hurriedly picked up a banana to shut her up.

“Here. I picked these bananas really well. Try one.”

“Is the banana really important right now?”

“Yeah, it is. Just try it. Here!”

“Ugh, fine. Let’s eat. Ah—”

The yellow peel came away smoothly, revealing the appetizing fruit inside.

After taking a bite, a sweet smile spread across Sua’s lips.

“Mmm, sweet.”

“But Unnie… don’t you think it’s strange?”

“What is?”

Sua stopped chewing and looked at me with an unusually serious expression.

“Have you noticed that someone who should be around hasn’t been showing up lately?”

“Not really…”

“Do you seriously not know, or are you pretending not to?”

“Sorry. I really don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You know—the guy who always strides in around lunchtime. The handsome, tall one.”

“…”

“You’re quiet, so you do know who I mean.”

Sua could be surprisingly persistent.

“He hasn’t come by for three days now. Do you think something happened?”

“Maybe he got a girlfriend. Why are you paying attention to something like that?”

“A girlfriend? No way! Team Leader Kim, Mr. One-Woman Devotion himself?”

“Don’t concern yourself with every little thing that man does.”

“Unnie, sometimes it feels like you don’t just dislike Team Leader Kim. You seem to dislike rich people in general.”

Sua had struck right at the heart of it.

“You noticed correctly. So please stop trying to set me up with him.”

“Why? What exactly is the reason?”

“People like that think differently from people like us.”

“How are they different?”

“Do you really want to hear it?”

“Yeah!”

I continued in a low, subdued voice.

“People like that think the world is easy, and they look down on everyone else. They don’t know humility. They’re wrapped up in arrogance and pride. The love they give is noble, but the kindness they show people like us? It’s all hypocrisy. All lies.”

At the dryness in my voice, Sua roughly set the banana in her hand down on the table.

“Unnie!”

“You think they’ll feel sorry later? That they’ll regret it? No. They won’t. They won’t spare even the tiniest bit of pity. Do you know why? Because they’re afraid that pity will become a chain around their ankles.They’re afraid it’ll ruin their lives, and even the hand clinging to their ankle feels annoying and filthy to them. So they don’t even touch it. They just stomp it off and walk away. Whether that toy lives or dies, they don’t care. Maybe they even hope it dies.”

“Unnie! Why are you being so… extreme?”

“Did I shatter your illusion?”

Sua’s already wide eyes grew even larger.

“Even if a small number of people are like that, are you really saying Team Leader Kim is one of them? When you haven’t even properly gotten to know him?”

“He’s no different. The wrapping is all that changes.”

“Was your ex-boyfriend… someone like that?”

“…”

“What! You really dated someone that terrifying?”

“It was a dream from the past.

A nightmare I never want to have again.”

“Unnie!”

“There’s no need to take it so seriously. I’m just telling you not to fall for that kind of foolish temptation.”

Sua stared at me blankly for a moment, as though she had lost the words to respond.

“It’s up to you to judge for yourself, but take what I’m saying to heart. A long time ago, I got punished for not listening to someone.”

“Who?”

“Someone who worried about others before herself. She was a really good unnie.”

Her face flashed through my mind, and a dull ache spread through one corner of my chest.

“You’ve never said a single word about any of this before, and now you suddenly drop a bomb on me like this, Unnie?”

“I’m just telling you to be careful. That doesn’t mean I’m saying you shouldn’t date, so don’t take it too seriously. Does that sound completely contradictory?”

“Yeah. Totally! You say you don’t want love, but then you tell me to go for it. Isn’t that way too contradictory?”

“You’re different from me. I want you to have a beautiful love.”

“What is this, seriously?”

“It’s late. Let’s wash up and go to bed.”

“Why sleep? We should stay up and have more fun.”

“You’re such a child. What, should I read you a bedtime story?”

“Yeah. Preferably one with a handsome prince in it.”

I pinched Sua’s soft cheek.

The fierce wind battered against the window.

Tonight, I felt like I might fall asleep more easily than I had yesterday.

* * *

“I could buy you something even better.”

“Today, I wanted jajangmyeon.”

Seunggyu answered with jajangmyeon sauce smeared all around his mouth. The sight was so cute that I smiled without realizing it.

“But where are the other kids? Why did you come alone, Seunggyu?”

“The two of them went to a PC café.”

“They’re not out somewhere taking money from people again, are they?”

“Hehe, no. Ever since they met you, they don’t do that anymore. They even told me not to tell anyone they used to do stuff like that. They said it’s embarrassing.”

“It’s nice to see you getting along with them now. You’ve really grown up.”

At my praise, Seunggyu shrugged proudly and crunched into a piece of pickled radish.

“You’re the one who made a decent person out of me, Noona. Turns out those guys are softhearted too. Idiots. I don’t know where they learned that weird stuff and thought they should actually do it.”

“Oh, you’ve gotten a lot more manly.”

“You told me, remember? That the only person who can protect me is myself. Once I started thinking that way, there wasn’t much left to be afraid of.”

Before I knew it, Seunggyu had become stronger.

“That’s right. Your greatest enemy in this world is yourself, and the person you can rely on most is yourself too. If you trust yourself and keep moving forward, one day you’ll realize you’ve become someone truly great.”

“But there’s one thing that won’t go the way I want.”

“What?”

“My height! I can try hard at studying, but I don’t see any sign that I’m going to get taller.”

I burst out laughing at the unexpected worry.

“If you eat well and exercise a lot, you’ll grow more. Don’t give up already.”

“Noona, do you have a lot of money?”

“I don’t.”

“Then why do you keep buying me things like this?”

“I just want to.”

“You don’t even have much money, so why do you keep treating me? You’re kind of strange, Noona!”

“If I’m strange, are you going to stop seeing me?”

“N-No, not that. You’re strange, but… I think you’re a good person.”

“Thanks. Even if I’m strange, call me when you’re hungry. I’ll keep buying you food until I become unemployed.”

“Then what if you do become unemployed?”

“Don’t call me then.”

“I hope you never become unemployed.”

The boy was genuinely worried about the possibility of me losing my job.

“Noona, are you married?”

“I’m not planning to.”

“Why? Aren’t you supposed to get married? And have babies?”

“You should definitely get married, Seunggyu. A kid who looks like you would be cute.”

“Only me?”

“No. Siho and Juseong should too.”

“Ah!”

I laughed.

“Just eat your jajangmyeon. It’s getting soggy.”

Right.

What was I saying to a growing boy, anyway?

I reached for a tissue, then stopped.

The sauce smeared around his mouth only looked cuter the longer I stared.

Even the crisp crunch of the yellow pickled radish between his teeth was adorable.

* * *

A message notification chimed.

[Sir, this is Seunggyu. So you’re saying I should text you here, right? Hmm, hmm. So, what we ate was… chicken. Chicken! Coke really is the best with chicken. Then… done. Is that how I’m supposed to end it?]

I smiled.

Another message came in.

[Hello, sir. I am Kim Juseung. Of course, I’m sure you remember me. Today, we ate pizza very thoroughly and very deliciously. Then take care. That will be all.
-Kim Juseung-
Ah, nice and clean.]

I burst out laughing.

‘This kid is hilarious.’

Another notification chimed.

[Sir! Do I really have to text you like this when you’re busy? Why? Why do we have to share our secret with Noona with you too? I’m not angry or anything. It’s just… I feel like I should protect Noona. This is Siho.]

‘Protect me, huh? Not bad.’

Another message arrived.

[Hi, sir. Today we ate samgyeopsal, but these guys ate so much that the bill was huuu~ge! They’re such pigs. But for some reason, Noona just kept smiling. Anyway, bye. Ah! A few days ago, I ate jajangmyeon alone with Noona. Jealous, right? Hehe.]

Another notification chimed.

[Sir! Seriously! Totally! This is huge! We have a problem…! Noona said… she has no money now, so she told us not to contact her anymore. What!!! ㅠㅠㅠ.]

[She said she’ll contact us again after she gets paid next month. I think she’s serious. ㅠㅠㅠ.]

[But, sir? How long do I have to keep texting you like this about what we ate with Noona? It’s so annoying. Still, I’ll keep doing it. For some reason, I feel like I should… Anyway, that’s all.]

Another message arrived.

[Hey, Kim Juseung! Do we have homework?]

Then another.

[Ah! I meant to send that to my friend, but I sent it to you instead. Sorry, sorry!!]

Another notification chimed.

[Sir? Do you know when Noona gets paid? Anyway, bye.]

I laughed.

‘Should I send them a gift or something?’

For my cute little allies.