21.
Seon-woo, who returned to his residence, blinked at an unfamiliar sight. Do-jin, who had been standing alone in the hallway, was now in the living room. It wasn’t just that. The two were even playing a game together.
“Success!”
After Hyeon-woo pulled out a wooden block from the wooden tower from where he was standing, Do-jin reached out his hand to pull out another piece of wood from the tower. Then, carefully, he began to push the wooden block in the middle with his hand. He didn’t know how the hell this happened.
“Hyung.”
“Uh, Seon-woo is here!”
Hyeon-woo waved his hand. Seon-woo approached Hyeon-woo and glared at the Jen-ga [1] placed between them. He prepared a number of games for Hyung to play with him whenever he was bored, but now Do-jin and Hyung were playing them. His stomach swelled up, upset. It would have been nice if he played with me first rather than with Do-jin.
“Were you playing a game?”
“Unn. It was more fun than I thought.”
“I’m glad you had fun.”
Meanwhile, the wooden tower Do-jin was just touching collapsed. Since an S-Class Awakened could clearly complete it without any problems, it must have been deliberately destroyed.
“I lost.”
“Again? You must be weak in Jen-ga.”
Could he really be? Still, seeing my Hyung smile made me feel a little better. Seon-woo sat down next to his Hyung and held out an envelope.
“What is that?”
“Profile sheet.”
“What for?”
Seon-woo explained the matter to Hyeon-woo, who had asked him to elaborate: The situation outside now, the movement of the people– this was the way he chose to solve it all with his Hyung.
“I’m sorry.”
After the explanation, Seon-woo spat out words of apology. Seriously, I didn’t have the face to see my Hyung. I thought I could protect him somehow, but in the end I only made it harder for my Hyung. If I had been a little stronger, this might not have happened. Hyeon-woo said, looking at Seon-woo who blamed himself.
“Stop apologizing. It didn’t happen because you wanted it, right?”
Hyeon-woo also expected this situation to some extent. Therefore, he knew Seon-woo did his best.
“But still.”
“If you apologize again, I’ll be angry.”
When Hyeon-woo spoke firmly, Seon-woo’s eyes were still tearful. Looking at their relationship, Do-jin hid the bitterness that sprouted. It was because whenever he saw him, he thought of Ye-won.
“Don’t cry. You’re still young.”
Hyeon-woo wiped Seon-woo’s reddening eyes with his finger. Then, he opened the envelope in his hand.
‘Profile Sheet, huh?’
Name, age, gender, birthday, hobbies, specialties, etc. One by one, he filled in the blanks. But the further he went, the more difficult it started to get.
“Hobby?”
Did I have a hobby? Hyeon-woo calmly stretched his neck by rolling it. Before going to the Demon Realm, I was too busy working hard. In the Demon Realm, I was too busy surviving, so I didn’t have any hobbies. I used to beat monsters or fight demons when I was bored, but that couldn’t be considered a hobby.
Perhaps the hobby requested here was more ordinary. Hyeon-woo scratched his head with a ballpoint pen in his hand. No matter what, nothing came to mind.
“Nothing comes to mind?”
“That’s right. What are your hobbies?”
“Me?”
“I just want to know.”
At Hyeon-woo’s words, Seon-woo put on a troubled expression. Seon-woo had lived as fiercely as Hyeon-woo. He didn’t have time to pursue his usual hobbies. Still, if I had to say it, there was one, but could I call it a hobby?
It was to follow the old memories with his Hyung. He bought the house they used to live in, kept the surroundings as it was, and sometimes went to sleep there.
“Reading.”
So, Seon-woo talked about his most ordinary hobby.
“Reading? What book are you reading?”
“Just some books from here and there?”
After hearing Seon-woo’s answer, Hyeon-woo asked Do-jin this time.
“What are your hobbies, Do-jin-ssi?”
Then, Do-jin, who was cleaning up the fallen Jen-ga, slowly raised his head.
“You want to know my hobbies?”
“Yes.”
Do-jin pondered or a moment before answering.
“There doesn’t seem to be anything.”
Like Hyeon-woo and Seon-woo, Do-jin could not afford to pursue a hobby. He had run himself ragged just finding his sister.
He didn’t come up with a good answer even when he asked people around him, so he was worried about what to write in the blanks. He thought while swiping the ballpoint pen with his finger that he really couldn’t think of anything in particular.
“If nothing comes to mind, shall we do something together?”
Seon-woo became interested by Hyeon-woo’s words.
“A hobby?”
“If we try together, we might be able to find something we like.”
“Good idea.”
“Then shall we go out?”
Seon-woo got up from his seat with Hyeon-woo. Do-jin hesitated for a while and then tried to back away, but Hyeon-woo caught him.
“It might come to mind more easily if you do it with a group of people.”
With that, Do-jin quietly joined.
He decided to try reading first. Fortunately, there was a library in the building that was Seon-Hyeon Guild's base. It was for the welfare of the employees. Only a few people actually used it.
“The library is so big?”
There was also a dedicated librarian. Once the three of them dispersed, they decided to find a book they wanted to read. Hyeon-woo hesitated for a moment, then approached the nearest bookshelf. When he returned after picking a book to read, Seon-woo and Do-jin were waiting for him.
“What kind of book is it?”
“This.”
『Monster Encyclopedia』
“And you?”
Responding to Hyeon-woo’s words, Seon-woo showed the book.
『History of Reasoning』
Then, the two naturally turned their gazes to Do-jin.
『Collection of Dutch fairy tales』
They didn’t know on what basis they chose such a book. All three seemed to have picked a book. Still, he decided to read it once and placed it back in the library. It was not a typical library, so there were cushions and blankets on the sofa where you could sit comfortably.
Seon-woo naturally sat on the cushion of the sofa, as did Hyeon-woo. On top of that, Do-jin put a blanket to cover them.
Then, the three of them had a reading session together.
‘Monster Encyclopedia, huh.’
The monsters discovered so far were classified according to their grade. And most of them were monsters that Hyeon-woo knew.
‘Ah, when this is cooked, the hands’ taste surprisingly good. And this guy is fast, so he’s good at being ridden on and playing with sometimes.’
Memories of the past, which were filled with violence came to his mind. Soon after, he quickly got tired. Hyeon-woo flipped through the book and glanced at his younger brother.
Seon-woo’s book was thicker than Hyeon-woo’s. There were no illustrations, and dense writing filled the pages. He naturally lost his interest. So, this time, he shifted his gaze to Do-jin.
Since it was a children’s book, the cover was colorful. Looking at it from the side, he found it quite interesting. Hyeon-woo’s head gradually leaned towards Do-jin.
Do-jin noticed him, who seemed to be interested in his book, after a while. He just picked it up and was reading it, but he wasn’t particularly interested, so he gave the book to Hyeon-woo. Then, Hyeon-woo’s tilted posture became more comfortable.
Flip Flip.
In the silence, only the sound of the paper flipping was heard. And after a while, Seon-woo got up from his seat. Then, he changed the book, and this time the cover was different from the earlier one.
It was a fairy tale book like Do-jin. But Hyeon-woo didn’t notice it. As Seon-woo’s forehead creased, the sound of turning the paper grew louder. Only then did Hyeon-woo raise his head and looked at Seon-woo.
“Have you read the book before?”
“Unn.”
“What book is this?”
『Collection of German Fairy Tales』
“Is it fun?”
“Hyung, would you like to see mine too?”
Seon-woo asked with a bashful smile as if relieved. Then, naturally, he intervened between Do-jin and Hyeon-woo and sat down.
Time passes so fast and quietly when you take your time to read.
“Ughaa!”
Hyeon-woo, who left the library, stretched out for a long time. Although children’s books were interesting, it was not a hobby he wanted to continue. Seon-woo seemed to have noticed that too.
“Then, shall we try something else next time?”
“What should we do?”
The three of them stood quietly for a while, then searched for hobbies on the Internet.
“Game.”
“That’s a pass.”
Even now, he plays games occasionally, but it was subtle to be called a hobby.
“Watching a movie.”
“That’s also a pass.”
“Cooking?”
“I’ve never done that. Shall we try that?”
The three returned to their living quarters on the top floor. Seon-woo put on the apron like he was familiar with it, and also put it on Hyeon-woo. Then, he pulled out the ingredients from the refrigerator. He seems to be very familiar with picking up a knife too.
Come to think of it, he even made tea for me from time to time.
“Are you good at cooking?”
“I can only do the basics.”
“Like what?”
“A light side dish and rice? What about Hyung?”
“Me too.”
In a house without parents, it was impossible to entrust young Seon-woo to cook, so it was always Hyeon-woo who cooked. He did cook then but seeing that Seon-woo was going to cook now, he was deeply moved. He has grown so much. While Hyeon-woo was impressed by his younger brother, he asked Do-jin too.
“Are you good at cooking too, Do-jin-ssi?”
“Ye-won said I was good.”
She did. In the Demon Realm, Ye-won would complain when she ripped off the corpses of tasteless monsters.
‘Do you know how good my Oppa can cook? Now, I have to eat something so tasteless here!’
Having that said, it seemed like he was really good at cooking.
The three of them divided their roles and started cooking. Seon-woo made the rice and soup, Hyeon-woo served light side dishes, and Do-jin was in charge of the main course. The ingredients were sufficient, and the kitchen was spacious, so the three of them were able to cook to the best of their abilities.
Bulgogi japchae, egg rolls with spinach, bean sprouts, stir-fried anchovies, and a beef stew to complement the rice.
“Do-jin-ssi is really good at cooking.”
Hyeon-woo, who had eaten Do-jin’s food, opened his eyes and admired it. On the other hand, the food Hyeon-woo made was subtle in taste.
—-------
Notes:
[1] Jen-ga - Game using wooden blocks. Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of 54 blocks.
------
Credits:
Translator: Hoshi Miya
Editor/Proofreader: Davine and Meimei
HM: Do-jin really can really cook. just like Ye-won said.
Davine:... Maybe this is how Hyeon-woo's stomach and heart are conquered?