Jong-sik often, no, quite frequently, thought about his younger brother Jong-pal.
On the day marking one year since his arrival on the continent.
“Jong-pal must have graduated high school by now. He should take proper graduation photos, but I bet he’s stuck somewhere, lost in his thoughts as usual.”
He worried about Jong-pal being alone at his graduation ceremony.
“University must be tough, right? If I had known, I would have saved up for his tuition. No, maybe not. What’s wrong with a man working hard? If he had started working already, he might have established himself by now. Ah, who knows. Well, I guess I just miss Jong-pal’s kimchi fried rice.”
After a few years, he imagined Jong-pal as a respectable member of society.
And a few more years later.
“Will Jong-pal get a child? A girlfriend, maybe? Haha. Marriage? No way. He can’t even look a girl in the eye without blushing. How could he possibly have a serious relationship? Marriage is out of the question. Heck, I haven’t even got one yet!”
Whenever he missed him, he thought of various events that may happen to Jong-pal. It was his way of soothing the longing.
Jong-pal as a chef, Jong-pal as a corporate employee, Jong-pal with a girlfriend, Jong-pal still single, Jong-pal as a married man…
He imagined hundreds, thousands of versions of Jong-pal. But never did he imagine Jong-pal with a grown-up daughter standing right in front of him.
What’s more, she called him “Uncle.” Unbelievable, until she calmly showed him a photo of herself with Jong-pal.
What do you mean, he was an uncle?
Honestly, he still can’t believe it.
But didn’t even the Missing Person Center confirm it?
According to the paperwork, she is Jong-pal’s daughter.
“Uncle!”
“Uh, yeah.”
“I finished filling out the paperwork. We can go home now.”
“What about Jong-pal?”
“Actually, he can’t come right now, so I’ll explain on the way.”
And so, Jong-sik had no choice but to follow the girl in front of him.
***
On the way home, a strange silence hung between them.
“When did Jong-pal have a child? I’m sure he didn’t have a girlfriend.”
Jong-sik glanced at the girl and pondered, while Jong-pal’s daughter, Yeona, seemed to understand that look and spoke up.
“I was going to tell you when we got home, but maybe it’s better to say it now. You might have noticed, but technically I’m not my dad’s biological daughter.”
“…?”
“So, technically, I’m not his biological daughter… But I still see him as my real dad. And he sees me the same way. That’s why we legally sorted everything out.”
The guy who usually doesn’t show affection to anyone suddenly treated her like his daughter?
Jong-sik muttered.
“Eight years ago, I happened to help him. Since then, we started living together, and things ended up like this. Anyway, I may not be his biological daughter, but he’s still my dad…. And he’s your brother, so can I call you uncle? Or oppa?”
It had been ten years since he went missing.
At a glance, the girl seemed to be in her mid-teens.
It was hard to understand at first, but now it makes sense.
“I wonder if Jong-pal secretly took care of her while I was still around.”
Anyway, the important thing here is that Jong-pal considered the girl in front of him as his daughter. She was acknowledged by his brother, so there’s no need to distinguish between fake or real daughters.
And calling him uncle in the missing person report, and now this.
“If you are Jong-pal’s daughter, it’s natural to call me uncle. Whether it’s oppa or uncle, call me whatever makes you comfortable.”
Jong-sik nodded without further inquiry. He didn’t ask what kind of help he provided or how he ended up connected to Jong-pal.
Such a response made Yeona’s eyes widen for a moment. After a while, with a more relaxed expression, Yeona spoke again.
“Actually, people usually find it strange at first. Even if you say you’re family, they don’t easily believe it. So, I was planning to talk about it slowly when we got home…”
“What’s so special about family? If you live together and eat together, that’s family.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank you for what? I should be the one thanking you. You’ve been by Jong-pal’s side all this time.”
Yeona chuckled softly.
“Dad talked a lot about Uncle. I’ve seen Uncle’s photos so many times. But you really look exactly like in the pictures. You haven’t changed a bit.”
“Jong-pal talked about me?”
“Yes, a lot. Oh, we’re already here.”
Yeona stopped her steps and pointed to the building ahead.
It was a somewhat awkward, shabby villa, but to Jong-sik, it was still good enough.
“There it is…”
“Yes, it’s our home. Uncle. Welcome home.”
Jong-sik smiled warmly at Yeona’s words.
***
It’s cozy in a good way, shabby in a bad way. It has two rooms, one living room and one kitchen. Still, it’s not bad for two people. Of course, now there are three of them.
Jong-sik sat at the dining table, looking around as he contemplated. Meanwhile, Yeona, who had entered the kitchen, skillfully began to chop vegetables.
“When I look at you, Yeona, you have the same taste buds as my brother. My brother used to say that my kimchi fried rice was the best in the world.”
Her Dad, who always said he wanted to treat Uncle to a hearty meal when they met again.
But now that her Dad wasn’t here, it was her responsibility to treat Uncle well.
Yeona worked busily with her hands.
“If I had known, I would’ve bought groceries in advance.”
Her Dad’s philosophy was that kimchi fried rice only needed a fried egg on top, but still, it was disappointing.
A moment later,
A generous amount of kimchi fried rice was placed on the small table.
Five fried eggs adorned the hot, steaming fried rice.
It was enough to make one wonder if she was really the daughter of Jong-pal and not an adopted one.
Jong-sik glanced back and forth between the kimchi fried rice and Yeona with a slightly puzzled expression.
“It’s kimchi fried rice.”
“Uncle’s favorite food, isn’t it? Try it quickly.”
Yeona offered him a spoon.
Gulp.
“Jong-sik’s whereabouts and how he lived, there’s a mountain of things to hear about…”
He couldn’t bear it any longer.
And isn’t there a saying that even Mount Geumgang is a post-meal sight? Let’s eat first.
Jong-sik lifted the spoon as if possessed.
In this moment, it was just him and the kimchi fried rice.
With a satisfying “pop,” the soft-boiled yolk coated the rice in a reddish hue. Jong-sik scooped up a spoonful of the chopped kimchi and rice and brought it to his mouth.
“That’s it. This taste! This is it!”
Suddenly, fireworks exploded in his mind.
Rice, kimchi, and eggs—the beloved soul food that was always available with just these ingredients.
He missed this familiar taste so much because there were no vegetables like cabbage on the Eldar continent. Of course, there were substitute vegetables, but unfortunately, Jong-sik lacked any remarkable culinary skills.
“Soak the mugwort in salt, and what else was there? Ah, red pepper powder. Let’s add some spicy herbs and ferment the shrimp paste with purified poison shrimp. Let’s just do this much and try it. What’s wrong? Why is everyone’s expression like that? This is really delicious!”
He had asked renowned chefs on the continent for help, but they all shook their heads at his strange recipes. So, wouldn’t kimchi, after ten years, be ecstatic? And it was stir-fried kimchi at that. It was truly a perfect first meal upon his return.
“Does it suit your taste? Is it too spicy, perhaps…?”
The mountain of kimchi fried rice had disappeared, revealing the bottom of the bowl.
Jong-sik let out a long sigh as he set down his spoon.
“It was absolutely delicious. Koreans really know their kimchi.”
“Phew, I’m relieved. I was worried because I didn’t prepare much.”
“No need to worry. It was so delicious. Thank you for the meal. It really tastes just like the kimchi fried rice Jong-pal used to make.”
He patted his satisfied stomach and raised his thumb. Seeing Jong-sik unexpectedly refer to her as “my niece,” Yeona nearly burst into tears.
“He called me his niece! He’s really kind, isn’t he? I thought he would be so scary…”
Yeona, opened her mouth, looked at Jong-sik.
Seeing her like that, Jong-sik chuckled and asked, “Anyway, now that we’ve finished eating, can I ask you some questions?”
“Yes! Anything!” Yeona replied eagerly.
“Where’s Jong-pal? Did he go to work or something? I mean, it’s been ten years since I last saw my brother, and he just leaves his daughter alone like this?”
Yeona shook her head with a crestfallen expression.
“It’s not like that. Dad is currently on a long-term business trip. If only we could reach him, he would have come back even if he were on the other side of the planet. You have no idea how much he’s been waiting for, Dad.”
“A business trip?”
“Yes. He goes on them occasionally. This time, he was assigned to do some advance exploration of dungeons, so it’s taking longer than usual. He’s probably deep into dungeon crawling right now and will be back soon.”
Dungeon crawling, huh?
Jong-sik chuckled sarcastically before asking, “Dungeon exploration So, Jong-pal is out there hunting monsters?”
Yeona nodded.
“It’s unbelievable. Even that weakling is hunting monsters. Jong-pal has really grown up.”
“He’s not a weakling! And he’s even promoted to a C-rank hunter now, from D-rank….”
Yeona’s face turned as red as a beetroot as she trailed off with embarrassment. After all, there’s no child who can endure insults to their parents. Jong-sik stifled a chuckle and spoke up.
“Well, as long as nothing serious happens, it’s a relief. But did Jong-pal really talk about me a lot?”
“Yes. When he was young, he told us how Dad took care of anyone who bothered him. He even mentioned the time when Dad broke the teeth of the orphanage director and when he locked up someone named Hogutae in the bathroom….”
“He went into that much detail, huh?”
“And Dad’s first love….”
“He mentioned that too?”
“Wow. He told everything to a little kid. Why would he even mention that?”
Jong-sik muttered to himself, shaking his head.
“That? Oh, maybe because that sister got married and he cried…”
“That’s enough! That’s more than necessary.”
“But, Uncle.”
“What?”
“How have you been for the past ten years?”
That night, Jong-sik poured out to Yeona everything that had happened over the past decade, withholding nothing as he had with the missing persons officer. After all, there are no secrets among family.
And so, the two of them got lost in conversation, oblivious to the passing time.
***
Jong-sik had been back for a week now.
Time seemed to pass swiftly, despite there being nothing particular to do.
And it wasn’t just talk; there really was nothing to do.
All he did was eat, sleep, and repeat.
“Oh, wow. The smell of this soybean paste stew is incredible.”
He’d eat, sleep, and then…
[“Hello there! We’re the F-Rank Hunters. Today, we’re planning to explore an abandoned dungeon. We received a tip about it. They say it’s the lair of a Mind Mage, something we’ve only heard rumors about…”]
Using the phone Yeona had given him, Jong-sik could catch glimpses of the changed world.
In other words, he was enjoying the perfect life of a layabout.
And today was no different.
After finishing the dishes, Jong-sik lay down to watch videos while Yeona, seated at the table, pretended to study by opening her book.
That’s when it happened.
Knock, knock!
“Yeona, it’s me, Dok-yeon!”
“Just a moment!”
A middle-aged man knocked on the door, looking for Yeona.
At the sound, Yeona swiftly got up.
There was a hint of panic in her movements.
“Sir, could you please come downstairs to talk? I’d appreciate it.”
Even Yeona stepped outside to speak to the man.
‘Is this a conversation I shouldn’t be hearing?’
Of course, even if they moved, it wasn’t like he couldn’t overhear. As if to prove it, Jong-sik could hear the conversation between the man and Yeona.
“Do you know why I’m here?”
“Is it about the rent?”
“Yeah. This brat here!”
Even without hearing it clearly, Jong-sik could understand.
It seemed like the situation involved an angry landlord coming over because the rent was overdue.
Sighing, Jong-sik realized he didn’t know about this.
As he was about to get up, thinking that perhaps, as the adult, he should go out, he soon realized his mistake.
“Your dad still hasn’t come?”
“…No.”
“I knew it. I told you not to pay until your dad came. Why did you put the rent in? There are plenty of places that you need money. Since I came all the way here to collect it, you don’t need to give it quickly.”
“No! Of course, you should take it. My dad insisted on taking care of it. I can’t accept it. Sir, you’re struggling too.”
“What does this little brat know! And why only you guys! Ah, forget it. Adults will take care of this kind of thing, so don’t put money in the account! Got it?”
Despite the yelling, the content was warm and caring.
Jong-sik thought to himself, Jong-Pal, you’ve grown up well.
But aside from that, there seemed to be many places that needed money in this household….
It seemed like Jong-sik would have to end his laid-back lifestyle.
