Chapter 8
“Manager.”
“Why?”
“Why do you always tell me not to get married?”
Today is Wednesday, and I have work.
There are hardly any customers on weekday mornings, so I usually kill time chatting with the manager.
“Are you getting married soon?”
“No.”
I already am.
“Well… there are plenty of reasons.”
“Just tell me one.”
“One? Well, if your wife gives you the signal regularly, then every night…”
“Something else.”
“What’s with you being so serious? You’re the guy who’s never even dated anyone.”
It’s not that I didn’t want to. I just couldn’t…
Forget it.
“You can’t break up once you’re married.”
“You can get divorced.”
“That’s not an option you get to choose.”
The manager let out a brief, wry chuckle and continued.
“No one gets married intending to get divorced.”
“Why is it so hard not being able to break up?”
“Because you have to keep trying to adjust yourself to someone you can’t leave.
Ah, that doesn’t mean I regret marrying my wife, of course.”
“Then…”
“In the end, marriage is something you come to want, and then do. I’m saying you should enjoy yourself as much as you can before then.”
Then… what should I do if I’ve married someone I’ll have to part with within a year?
Someone I’m certain to lose, no matter what, unless luck is on our side.
Someone I’d still see for the rest of my life because we’re bound by blood, even if I got lucky and they survived.
What should I do?
“……”
I couldn’t bring myself to ask that, so I kept quiet.
Ding—
“…Welcome.”
My greeting came out a beat late, my voice catching in my throat. It sounded awkward.
It’s not that I don’t want to work, but today I really, really want to go home.
***
“Hello.”
‘What, what? Your honey called you first?’
“Yeah. I’m off work.”
‘Is something wrong? You sound so down.’
I called my sister right after leaving the shop when my shift ended.
Just like last night, her voice was bright and cheerful, full of laughter.
It was a little reassuring that she didn’t sound like someone who was sick.
“I’m just… tired. I’ve been working.”
‘Tired? Have you eaten…?’
“Food? No, not yet.”
‘Th-then! Just come straight home. Don’t eat anything on the way, and don’t buy anything, either.’
“Just go straight there?”
‘Yeah. Absolutely! Abso-lutely! Don’t eat anything!’
She was being so emphatic that there had to be something going on.
Could it be… that Sis had made dinner?
That couldn’t be it. Sis knew all too well how disastrous her cooking was.
“All right. I’ll come straight home.”
The elevator I’d called arrived, and its doors opened.
I squeezed myself in among the people already inside.
“I’m in the elevator. I’ll hang up.”
‘Okay! Hurry home, honey~’
“All right, Si—”
I was about to say Sis, but stopped.
I quickly glanced around the elevator.
I didn’t know anyone there.
“…All right, honey.”
I hung up before I could hear Sis’s reaction, which was sure to be a big fuss.
I need to get used to it, too.
Before it’s too late.
***
“I’m home.”
Crash—
“Eek! N-no! Wait! You can’t come in yet!”
What a mess.
The noise was coming from the kitchen.
This felt ominous, but I had to go in just to find out why she didn’t want me to.
“Why? What is it?”
“N-nothing! It’s nothing!”
As soon as I took off my shoes and stepped into the kitchen, Sis and I made eye contact.
Sis was standing in front of the sink, wearing her usual clothes with just an apron over them, but she had quite the housewife look about her.
But why… was the sink full of water?
“Is it clogged?”
“……”
“I won’t get mad, so tell me.”
“…Yeah.”
“Move aside for a second.”
The first thing I did after getting home was unclog the sink.
I’d done all kinds of odd jobs in the kitchen at my part-time job.
So this much was no big deal.
“What were you doing when it got clogged?”
“Well… um.”
“Just tell me. Be honest.”
“This is kind of… how do I put it? I feel like a wife who’s about to get beaten.”
“What are you talking about…?”
At least she wasn’t feeling down, if she was still saying weird things like usual.
I rolled up my sleeves and reached into the sink full of water to pull out the drain strainer.
As expected, the drain strainer was full of stuff.
Green, orange… colorful vegetable peels.
“Of course it’s going to clog if you peel vegetables and throw the scraps in here.”
“Ah, I know! I do know that. I just forgot this once.”
“So, what were you trying to make?”
I belatedly glanced over the chaotic kitchen.
There were chopped vegetables on the cutting board and a big pot on the stove.
And in the middle of it all was an opened bag of thin wheat noodles.
“Noodles?”
“Y-yeah. Janchi-guksu.”
“Why all of a sudden? If you wanted some, you could’ve asked me to pick it up.”
“Because the wedding’s tomorrow… And I heard it was really easy to make.”
That’s right. The wedding was tomorrow.
I’d forgotten.
“Still, I-I know how to make it now, okay? Hurry up, wash your hands, and sit down. The noodles your big sis made are tonight’s dinner.”
“It’s the night before the wedding. What if you get an upset stomach?”
A sharp glare.
I dodged Sis’s piercing stare and ran off to the bathroom.
I slowly washed my hands and went back to the kitchen. Sis had already turned on the heat and put the noodles in the pot.
“If you boil them too long, they’ll get mushy.”
“I know that! Go sit over there, honey! And wait.”
“Y-yes.”
I was worried, but it was probably better not to interfere right now.
I sat down at the table, the only tidy spot in the chaotic kitchen.
A neatly arranged spoon and chopsticks.
I didn’t even look at the pile of medicine packets beside them.
Instead, I noticed a little dish of seasoned soy sauce and dipped a little in to taste it.
“Keh, keh. Cough, cough.”
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
“Ah… It’s nothing.”
It was spicy and salty.
Of course soy sauce was salty, but… the proportions of the minced garlic and the other ingredients were seriously off.
“Hmm… Okay. Good.”
Sis, holding the timer, lifted the cooked noodles out of the pot.
At least she must have studied the recipe, because she took the noodles to the sink and rinsed them properly in cold water.
Next, she mixed store-bought soup base into the pot and brought it to a boil.
She didn’t hesitate at all. It was proof she’d practiced several times.
“How is it? How is it?”
“I haven’t even tried it yet. How would I know?”
“I mean, the wife who’s cooking.”
“I’m worried.”
“N-not your sister cooking! Your wife!”
So she did know that I got nervous whenever she cooked.
“Try it first.”
“O-okay. Wait in anticipation.”
She put the noodles in a bowl, then slowly poured in the warmed broth.
Then she topped it with the carrots and zucchini she’d chopped. That was it.
“Here! Eat.”
“What about you?”
“Your big sis is full just watching her husband eat.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m serious!”
“Anyway… I’ll eat.”
“The soy sauce! You have to add the soy sauce.”
“Oh… right.”
How thoughtful of her.
Instead of spooning a little seasoned soy sauce into my janchi-guksu, Sis just dumped it all in.
“Did I put in too much?”
“…No, it’s fine.”
I couldn’t exactly ask her to make another bowl.
I apologized to my stomach in advance, then picked up my chopsticks.
I lifted some noodles and took a bite.
“……”
I could feel Sis watching me from beside me, her expression unusually tense.
And then I felt the texture of the noodles, so overcooked they’d lost their chewiness.
The broth was far too salty because she’d gotten the proportions wrong, and the seasoned soy sauce was bitter and pungent.
“D-does it taste good? How is it?”
“…It’s edible.”
“Really? Really?”
“Yeah.”
If we were ordinary siblings, this would be the point where I’d get a scathing critique or a reproach.
But right now, at least, we’re husband and wife.
I can tell a little lie like this. No—I have to.
“Hey, do you know why janchi-guksu is served at weddings?”
“I don’t.”
“So the couple’s bond will last as long as the noodles. So you’re not supposed to break the noodles when you eat them, okay?”
If our bond lasted longer than a year, we wouldn’t be husband and wife.
We’d go back to being ordinary siblings.
…So what? That’s only natural.
This is just pretend-married-couple cosplay.
Before we’re husband and wife, we’re siblings.
“I’m looking forward to the wedding.”
“I’m nervous.”
“Really? You don’t look nervous at all on the outside.”
“That’s… because I take after Dad.”
I take after Dad’s stoic nature, so my feelings don’t show much on the outside.
But inside, even if it was all pretend, I was pretty nervous with the wedding coming up.
I couldn’t afford to make a mistake, especially for Sis’s sake.
“Anyway, you’re really not eating? Aren’t you hungry?”
“Not ‘Sis.’ ‘Honey.’”
“…You’re not eating?”
“Tch, seriously.”
“If you’re hungry, I can go buy you something. Or we can order delivery.”
“I’m fine! I, um… I tasted quite a lot while I was checking the seasoning.”
Sis patted her stomach and grinned.
Then she gently rested her head on my shoulder and leaned against me.
“You really do take after Dad.”
“Why?”
“You’re stoic, but you’re good at lying!”
“What lie?”
“This… Look at you, acting like it’s nothing! You’re such a sly fox, a fox.”
I had no idea what she was talking about.
I took another bite, and before I knew it, all the noodles were gone, leaving only broth.
Good job, Lee Hyunjun.
“Thanks for the food.”
“……”
Sis silently looked down at the bowl with nothing but broth left, then turned her gaze back to me.
“…Want me to give you a kiss or something?”
“What are you talking about? That’s gross.”
“You’re so cute I could die, my little brother? No, my husband.”
“Go to bed early tonight. You have to get up early tomorrow.”
“It’s fine! My honey will wake me up!”
“What if I sleep in, too? Take your medicine, set an alarm, and go to bed early.”
“Oh, then why don’t we just sleep together?”
“That’s a bit much.”
No matter what, there are lines we shouldn’t cross.
By finishing this spicy, salty janchi-guksu without leaving any behind, I’d done enough husband duty for one day.