[Ssapseonbi: Cleaning-nim! How did you get the Goldmess egg! I saw you posted it on the auction house.]
[Keyboard Cleaning: I have circumstances, so I think I can negotiate with Enter around Monday.]
[Ssapseonbi: Don’t worry about that. Thank you so much for putting in this effort. But about that egg. Are you really planning to hand it over to Enter?]
[Keyboard Cleaning: Yes, I stole it for negotiation purposes from the start.]
[Ssapseonbi: That’s a shame. You could name your price. What time Monday will you log in to negotiate?]
[Keyboard Cleaning: Probably after dinner.]
[Ssapseonbi: Then let me know then.]
[Keyboard Cleaning: Yes.]
Maybe because I’d mooched expensive and delicious food from Seongheon hyung, my conscience pricked even more. Revenge must not suit my constitution.
By the way, I looked carefully at the comment Seongheon hyung left.
“Nah, no way. There’s no way hyung would cry.”
Other users kept attaching crying GIFs under Enter’s comment. Among them, there wasn’t a single picture or drawing that resembled Seongheon hyung, but the more I looked, the more pitiful I felt.
“Seongheon hyung is really handsome though…”
My heart was defending Seongheon hyung, but it was about time for Keyboard Cleaning to make an appearance. I left a reply to Enter’s comment with my logged-in ID.
Enter: I’m not crying, and whoever posted the egg, send me a message. If you send it by today, even if not that price, I’ll pay you generously.
(Omitted)
↳Keyboard Cleaning: Forget the money, let’s negotiate on Monday
↳Ipyeonjineungyeonggukeseochweocho: Oh, the villain appears
↳HAPPY Soul: This guy’s also flustered so he’s talking normally
↳Enter: Hey, don’t be like that, call me now, sent number via message
As if a comment notification went out, Seongheon hyung replied immediately upon seeing my comment. And following that, the envelope icon at the top of the screen flashed and a message came—it was really from hyung.
The message had nothing else, just Seongheon hyung’s actual phone number written.
“…Hyung must be really angry.”
What should I do? After contemplating a bit, I pressed the message reply button. Worried that hyung might waste time waiting for my contact, I quickly wrote a reply and pressed the send button.
“I can’t make hyung wait.”
[To.: Enter
Don’t send messages, blocked you
From: Keyboard Cleaning]
* * *
Because of the disaster I brought upon myself, I had to live a life without internet on Sunday.
You might say I could just go to a PC room, but I only had 4,000 won left in allowance, so I held back. If the internet didn’t connect on Monday either, I’d have to go to a PC room, so I needed to save money.
“Mom, give me 50,000 won more allowance next month.”
“Tell your dad.”
Sunday afternoon, I tried to persuade Mom by massaging her shoulders while she watched a talent show, but it was useless. Having no choice, I approached Dad who was working on the tiller in the backyard.
“Dad.”
“What.”
“Can’t you just raise my allowance by 50,000 won starting next month? I’m graduating too…”
“If you’re graduating, you’re an adult, so I should cut your allowance, why are you asking to raise it? You should be giving us allowance.”
“I’ll be unemployed after graduation, how can you say that?”
“That’s why you should study. If not, retake the exam and go to that university, what is it, near your maternal grandmother’s place.”
“That school is on top of a mountain. What do you mean go to more countryside than here?”
“Tsk tsk.”
“Daaad, Dad. Hm? Daaaaad.”
“Huh? A grown kid acting like a baby.”
“You give Daesu hyung 500,000 won allowance.”
“Daesu helps with dad’s internet delivery.”
“I’ll do that too. Hm? I’ll print out delivery slips and package the dried persimmons, everything.”
“Don’t do that, follow dad and go prune branches. Get on the back.”
“If I do that, will you give me 50,000 won more allowance next month?”
“Yeah.”
“Yesss!”
Since I just came out, my clothes were thin. I was about to go to the 2nd floor to put on more clothes, but I wore Dad’s jacket hanging on one side of the tiller. Though it had dirt on it, it was very warm.
Keureureureurung─!
With a loud engine sound, the tiller rattled out of our house gate. I waved my hand while watching Ddanji barking toward the tiller.
It had been a long time since I rode the tiller alone with Dad. Maybe because it reminded me of old times, I was excited even though we were going to work. This winter was fortunate that it didn’t snow much. The surrounding scenery was nice, so I stood up and firmly gripped the top part of the trailer.
“Daeyoung-ah, if you stand and go like that, you’ll fall into the rice paddy ridge again?”
“That time it was because you didn’t see the hole and the wheel got stuck. So this time, if you see a hole, tell me in advance.”
“Okay.”
As I was admiring the scenery of snow sprinkled like sugar powder over the rice fields, a horn sound—Ppuang─!—was heard behind us.
If it were a sedan, it would have sounded concise like “beep!”, but echoing this much meant it wasn’t an ordinary car. Dad slowly moved the tiller to the side while looking back, and I also looked back while sitting down a bit.
Following behind us was an off-road pickup truck vehicle, with wheels and body looking like a giant dinosaur. It looked threatening enough to climb the rocks beside it, not just this flat ground.
And the person driving that vehicle was our dad’s friend and also Seongheon hyung’s father.
“Hey! Where are you going!”
“Oh! To the persimmon tree field.”
“What is there to do in winter?”
“Gotta prune branches!”
“Ah! Is that so? Daeyoung-ah, long time no see!”
“Ah, hello.”
I was always confused when I saw Seongheon hyung’s father. Because neither Seongheon hyung nor Jongheon hyung resembled ajeossi. Ajeossi had a full beard like he just came down from the mountains, and he was the shortest among Dad’s friends.
So I wondered if he might be a stepfather, but after seeing a photo of Seongheon hyung with his mother when he was young, I finally understood.
Seongheon hyung’s mother was such a beauty that she swept all the beauty pageants held in this region, but I heard she passed away one year before I moved here.
So Seongheon hyung was going through a very difficult time, but just when Daesu hyung and I moved here, he brightened up quickly. Ajeossi cherished me very much, reminiscing about that time. Seongheon hyung, who was depressed back then, seemed to regain vitality from the fun of teasing me.
“Where are you coming from?”
“Oh, I went to an off-road mountain group meeting.”
“Then you must be tired. Hurry and go.”
“No, let’s go together. I’ll help with branch pruning.”
“Do as you like. But there’s no pay.”
“Just buy me makgeolli.”
Since ajeossi knew our house’s persimmon tree field, he overtook us swiftly. I was secretly happy. One more hand meant my work would decrease.
Maintaining balance well on the rattling tiller, we soon arrived at the persimmon tree field. At the entrance, ajeossi’s pickup truck was magnificently parked.
After getting off the tiller, I bowed my waist once more to greet him, and ajeossi wrapped me in a hug with his robust arms.
“Oh my, our Daeyoung! Still a baby.”
“Hehe. I’m about to graduate high school soon though.”
“Huh? Already?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my, old enough to get married. Ah, what a shame. If our Daeyoung were a girl, I’d make you my daughter-in-law. How pretty it would have been if you married Jongheon or Seongheon.”
“Hehe…”
Dad, hearing that, immediately refuted while passing by that Jongheon or Seongheon would have hated it.
“Oh, I should hug Daeyoung tightly after so long.”
“Ah. Ajeossi, your beard is prickly!”
He showed affection by rubbing his beard against my cheek, but it felt like scrubbing my face with a scouring pad, so I dodged my face this way and that. But as if he found it fun, ajeossi only released his shackle-like arms after a long while.
“By the way, how admirable. Following dad’s work too.”
I was managing my expression to catch the rest of the praise when Dad interrupted.
“What’s admirable? He came to butter me up because his allowance ran out.”
“Huh? Allowance ran out? Then ajeossi should give you some.”
Dad said “Hey, what are you giving him” and stopped ajeossi from reaching for his wallet, and I stopped Dad like that.
“Dad! If ajeossi wants to give it! I should receive it to stimulate the domestic economy!”
While we father and son were bickering, ajeossi took out his wallet and pulled out a bundle of 50,000 won bills like pulling weeds.
“Here! Our Daeyoung!”
“Waaah!!!”
“Ehehey~! Jongsik-ah. You shouldn’t give kids allowance like that.”
I dodged Dad’s blocking attempts this way and that while swiftly snatching the money ajeossi was giving.
“Thank youuu!!”
I finished this tussle with a 90-degree bow and maintained maximum social distance from Dad. I didn’t count how many bills there were, but the thickness of the money folded in half was quite thick. At a glance it seemed to be at least 10 bills, making my heart pound.
‘This is the first time I’ve received this much allowance…’
To me it was such a shock that my hands trembled as I put the money in my pocket.
Seongheon hyung is lucky. He must have grown up receiving such tremendous allowance under such a father all along. If ajeossi gave me, another family’s son, allowance so readily, I was inwardly envious of how much more Seongheon hyung must have received.
Originally I was going to put it in my pants pocket, but worried it might fall out, I carefully put it in the jacket’s inner pocket instead.
“Daeyoung! Don’t slack off just because you got allowance from Jongsik, hurry and pick up the scissors!”
“Okay.”
As I picked up the scissors indifferently and drooped my shoulders, ajeossi came over and pinched my cheek. Ow! It hurt enough to bring tears, but of course I held back. Ajeossi smiled brightly at me like looking at a very very cute puppy.
“I’ll save the allowance ajeossi gave me.”
“Hey! Don’t save it. Spend it freely, freely. When you spend it all, ajeossi will give you more.”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
“Can’t I just become ajeossi’s son?”
Dad ignored it from the side saying I was talking nonsense, but there was sincerity contained within.
Seongheon hyung treats me well, and ajeossi gives allowance freely—is there any reason not to go? If it weren’t a joke, I wanted to change from the surname Bae to Gam. Gam Daeyoung. Isn’t the name pretty too?
