Can I Live Comfortably Even If the Genre Gets Flipped? 19

When I threw both arms up in the air, Siri let out a long cry in the same tone as me. Moon Seyoung, who had been watching from the side, clapped her hands with a childlike “Waah!” before breaking into a cheerful smile and speaking up.

“Oh, right! I’m coming along too!”

“Excuse me?”

This time, I couldn’t help but be surprised. I had been thinking it would be nice if Moon Seyoung came along too, but I had been planning to casually ask Baek Hyunwoo about it sometime this evening or tomorrow morning. To think that it had already been decided that she’d be joining us.

“Really, hyung?”

“Hmm…… Well, for now, at least.”

“Not just for now — she’s coming with us from here on out. Hyunwoo said he’d give up a room. Right?”

“……Ha.”

Instead of answering, Baek Hyunwoo let out an undisguised sigh, but there wasn’t a person alive who didn’t know that was as good as permission. Moon Seyoung and I looked at each other and giggled, and my eldest brother, who had grown tired over just those few hours, said he needed some rest and left the dining area.

“Do you happen to know where we’re going?”

“Hm? I actually asked, but he wouldn’t tell me. Why? You don’t know either?”

“No.”

“Want me to go ask for you?”

“Hmm……”

I had asked her thinking she might be able to find out, but I didn’t want to dig through her to pry something out of Baek Hyunwoo by force. Since Baek Hyunwoo never lied, he also never talked about things he chose not to talk about, no matter what — so poking at it pointlessly would obviously just end up hurting both of our feelings for no reason.

“No, it’s fine.”

“Alright. I think there’s something kind of fun about heading somewhere without knowing the destination.”

“Haha.”

How can someone say something like that even in a world like this. Was it because she was the female lead? Or because she was someone who could cave in the heads of zombies with a single hammer?

Even in a world full of nothing but question marks, this one thing is clear.

Moon Seyoung joining us is more reassuring than anything else.

“Why are you taking things out without asking!”

“Because they’re not necessary.”

“I put them in because they are necessary!”

“They’re just taking up space. There’s no reason to carry them around.”

At Baek Hyunwoo’s words, Moon Seyoung’s face crumpled mercilessly beside him. She let out a string of disbelieving “Ha! Ha!” laughs, but my eldest brother didn’t even glance her way as he began rummaging through her things without any ceremony.

“This isn’t necessary either. This either, this either…… Why did you even pack this?”

What he pulled out while carelessly tossing things aside was dried seaweed. He was shaking it around absently, as if asking what on earth she was doing packing something so useless, and Moon Seyoung snatched it back from him in irritation.

“It’s a snack!”

“I’m taking it out.”

“It’s my bag that I’m carrying anyway — what does it matter to you? I won’t ask for help even if I need it, so stop touching my things!”

Why is dried seaweed a snack? I glanced back and forth between the chips I had been eating and the seaweed in Moon Seyoung’s hand. It wasn’t even the seasoned kind — it was a full bag of dried seaweed with “200 servings” printed in big letters on the outside.

Squeak.

“Fine, fine, you can have it.”

Won’t that just expand in your stomach if you eat it like chips? I feel like I saw something about that on a TV show once. I went back and forth on whether I should bring it up, then reached into the bag and held out a potato chip to Siri.

The bundle of tentacles spread open wide, revealing a round little mouth. When I slipped the chip in, a set of pointed teeth popped out and crunched it up eagerly. Eating well, I see. I smiled fondly, gave Siri’s bottom a light pat, and looked back over at the two of them.

“Why are you taking that out too!”

“How many times do you need to hear the word unnecessary?”

“I packed it because it’s necessary!”

Baek Hyunwoo had a real talent for creating things to regret. The day before yesterday he had gone out of his way to turn off the lights without asking, insisting he needed to sleep right there while Moon Seyoung was trying to read, and just yesterday, when she burned her fried egg, he had gone so far as to sharply criticize her, asking what on earth she had been doing all her life. Of course I hadn’t stood by and let it go quietly. I told him I was worried she might change her mind and not want to come along, and that I didn’t know why he kept bothering her like that, but he had just come back with something like “I’d appreciate that.”

But humans are creatures of adaptation after all — the first couple of times it got under my skin…… Now I had reached the point where I was looking forward to seeing what topic they’d bicker about next. The reason? Simple.

“If you’re going to pack anything, pack things our Sihyeon actually needs.”

“Oh honestly, if that was the reason, you should’ve just said so from the start.”

……It was because the two of them clicked in the strangest way. As if nothing had happened, Moon Seyoung and Baek Hyunwoo dumped the bag out completely and sat with their heads together, faces serious, and started packing things they thought I needed.

Dried sweet potato and beef jerky made sense since they were good for energy, but why were they packing a duck-shaped spoon? Even when I openly said “I don’t need those kinds of things,” neither of them seemed to hear me, and they began earnestly deliberating between a handkerchief embroidered with waves and one embroidered with flowers.

“What is wrong with those two, seriously.”

Pffft!

I clicked my tongue in exasperation and Siri made a sound that was almost like a sigh in my place. The sound was so cute that I was busy gently scratching her belly when Baek Hyunwoo stopped mid-packing and turned to look at me.

“Sihyeon, stop eating chips now. You’ve had too many.”

“……I just opened a new bag and barely ate half of it?”

“Siri, take it.”

Squeak!

“Hey, wait!”

The moment the words left Baek Hyunwoo’s mouth, Siri, who had been sprawled out getting pet, leaped up in an instant. Before I could even try to stop her, she snatched the bag of chips and, the moment she landed on the floor, shoved her whole body inside it and began scarfing down whatever was left.

“You said I could eat chips!”

“I said you could eat them, not that you could finish the whole bag.”

“……”

“Do you know how much instant food and junk you’ve had since we got here? You were scratching your arm in your sleep last night. Cut it out.”

Anyone watching would think I had been surviving on nothing but ramen and chips for every meal.

Buuurp.

Meanwhile, Siri, having polished off every last chip, waddled back out and let out a loud, satisfied belch. Watching her stretch her legs out contentedly with chip crumbs and grease all over her body, I felt a deep sense of betrayal.

“Hey, I’m the one who begged to bring you along. Do you even know who saved your life?”

Squeak-coo.

Siri lifted her front paw, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and pointed straight at Baek Hyunwoo.

“……”

Can’t argue with that.

Rather than fighting back any further, I shot her a glare and scooped her up. Time to give you a bath.

“Where are you going?”

“Bath.”

“I’ll come with you. We’re almost done, just wait a little.”

When I got up, Baek Hyunwoo spoke up right away and gestured for me to stay. His way of saying don’t go ahead without him.

“I’ll go and wait there.”

“What if you slip on the wet floor and fall? Just stay put and wait. We’ll go together.”

“Hyunwoo’s right.”

Moon Seyoung chimed in with a worried look.

“The human body is so fragile. Even little things can crack your head open or break a bone.”

Coming from someone who can cave in a person’s head with a hammer, that’s terrifying. I gave an awkward laugh, said mm-hmm, and sat back down.

True to Baek Hyunwoo’s word that they were almost done, I could see things winding down. When Moon Seyoung said she’d take care of the rest and pack it herself, my brother didn’t say thank you or please — he just gave an offhand nod and came over to me.

“Let’s go wash up.”

“I’ll be back in no time!”

We were leaving tomorrow morning, so today would be the last time at the bathhouse. I swallowed the bittersweet feeling and pushed open the glass door. Sure, there were probably bathhouses at other places too, but…… still, wasn’t the female lead the only one who had actually cleaned this place up so we could stay here like this?

The moment the humid air hit her, Siri cried out nervously in rapid little squeaks and ran off, but once we were in the bath, it didn’t take long before she came creeping back and leaped — plop — right into the water.

“Like it?”

Siri simply swayed her tentacles softly without a sound. Yeah, looks like you do. I teased her by gently pressing my finger on her and pulling it away, and she spat out a sharp little jet of water at me as if to say knock it off.

“You’re not scared?”

Baek Hyunwoo, who had been quietly watching, asked slowly. Hm? I blinked and looked up from where I’d been splashing Siri.

“Of what?”

“Siri.”

“At this point?”

I smiled and held out my hand, and Siri climbed up onto my palm and shook her head, sending the water clinging to her tentacles flying off with a flutter.

“She’s a bug.”

“Don’t say that. She just kind of looks similar…… What bug is this smart and cute? Right, Siri?”

Squeak.

As if in agreement, she stretched out her legs and leaped over to perch on Baek Hyunwoo’s shoulder. Then she gave a light stomp, as if demanding he take back the word bug.

“Hurry up and take it back, hyung.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Only when Baek Hyunwoo, as if he had no choice, apologized did Siri let out a squeak and leap back into the water.

After that, not much else was said. My brother sprawled out and enjoyed the bath at his leisure, and since I preferred moving around to staying in one spot, I went back and forth with Siri between the cold plunge pool and the sauna.

Every time I moved I got lectured to be careful or I’d fall, of course, but I let it go in one ear and out the other.

After washing up, I pestered my brother into getting a cup of ramen and a boiled egg each, then we headed back up to the jjimjilbang. It wasn’t even eight o’clock yet, but Moon Seyoung was already asleep. She must have been exhausted.

“We have to get up early tomorrow, so let’s sleep too.”

“What time are we leaving?”

“I want to be out before sunrise.”

We’d definitely have breakfast first, so I’d need to be up by five. I flopped down flat on the thin jjimjilbang mat and stretched out with a long exhale. Baek Hyunwoo covered me with a blanket and lay down beside me, and I turned to face him and said,

“Don’t be so mean to Seyoung.”

“I don’t do it for no reason.”

Yeah, loving someone can count as a reason.

But watching from the side, it looked less like the fresh romance of students or even the slow pull of adults feeling something out — it was more like a grade schooler poking at someone they liked just to get their attention.

“You might regret it.”

“That won’t happen.”

I don’t think so.

I let out a quiet giggle and pulled the blanket up a little higher. He shifted a little closer and patted my back slowly, then whispered, “Quit talking nonsense and get some sleep. If you stay up late, I’m not bringing any chips,” and I caved to the childish threat and closed my eyes right away. A low sigh spilled out above my head, but regardless, I drifted off to sleep with happy daydreams of the two of them growing into something more.