“Ugh.”
“Are you okay?”
Naru approached as I was massaging my stiff neck. I stroked Naru’s head as she handed me a cup of cool water.
“Of course, I’m fine.”
“Really?”
If asked if that were true, the answer was no. Hearing words of dislike from a child I thought of as my own took a bigger toll than I expected. Perhaps it was more memorable because I had never heard such things in my past life. At my bitter smile, Naru sat next to me and patted my hand.
“Norani probably didn’t mean it.”
“I’m sure she didn’t.”
Norani, who had dropped a bomb on my heart, was holed up in her room. I could clearly feel Norani’s emotions in the occasional harsh sobbing sounds, which made my heart ache even more.
“It seems the shock of Grandfather passing away is still too much for Norani.”
“…I think so, too.”
It was inevitable. Even for adults, losing someone close is never something you get used to. For a child like Norani, the impact was bound to be even greater.
“But Tae-seong isn’t gone for good. He’ll come back later.”
“But to Norani, that feels like a long time away. It must feel the same as when Grandfather left.”
“…I suppose so.”
Tae-seong and Grandfather were different. How should I teach her this? As I pondered, an idea came to mind. I carefully reviewed and analyzed the idea. And then…
“…Naru.”
“Yes?”
“Is it okay if Norani stays away from the Spirit Realm for a few days?”
“Uh…”
Naru was taken aback by the question but immediately started counting on her fingers. After calculating for a moment, Naru spoke.
“Two days?”
“That’s not long.”
“But it’s longer than before. And, um… if Lady Yuae helps, it could be longer.”
“Yuae?”
“Since she has the opposite power of Norani. Wouldn’t it have less of an impact if she focused on suppressing the power? Ah, of course, it’s just a guess.”
Naru added the disclaimer just in case. I thought about Naru’s words for a moment before speaking.
“We won’t need Yuae’s help for this, Naru.”
“Okay.”
“Could you comfort Norani today? If you can, take her to the Spirit Realm for a bit, too.”
“What about you, Master?”
“I have somewhere I need to go for a moment.”
Fatigue from drinking all night remained, but I had to move to make the plan a success.
‘If I feel like I’m going to collapse, I’ll just go to Chachip and drink a few things with strong restoration effects.’
For now, I had to move.
“I’m counting on you.”
“Leave it to me.”
“I feel reassured knowing you’re here, Naru.”
“Hehe, it’s nothing.”
It felt like leaving my youngest daughter with my second daughter. Seeing Naru look at me with such sparkling eyes made me feel even more grateful. I stroked Naru’s head and stood in front of Norani’s door before leaving the house. The tightly closed door wasn’t locked. But I didn’t want to just barge in, because that would be like forcing my way into Norani’s heart. This time, Norani had to open it herself.
“Norani, I’m going out for a bit for some work. I made sandwiches and put them in the fridge, so eat if you’re hungry. If anything happens, tell Naru. Okay?”
“…Hmph!”
A small sniffle came back as an answer. My heart twinged at the sound, but I decided to remain calm. This was necessary. And soon, I would make that tightly closed door of her heart open.
“…I’ll be back, Norani.”
I tapped on the unresponsive door and turned away. Following the path along the rice paddies, I arrived at Master Ugi’s house.
“Master Ugi, are you home?”
“Hmm? Oh, look who it is. Isn’t it Chansung?”
“Oh, Lady Gisun.”
“Hohoho, what are you talking about, child? Just call me Ma’am.”
The person who came out laughing pleasantly wasn’t Master Ugi, but Mrs. Yoon Gisun. Mrs. Gisun, Master Ugi’s wife, was also a regular at the First House.
“Is the tea house not open today?”
“Yes. I pushed myself a bit too hard yesterday, so I’m a little tired.”
“A young man like you being so dramatic.”
“It’s not being dramatic; I’m genuinely exhausted. Do you know how many cups I made yesterday?”
“Well, since it was free, even I drank more than five cups.”
“You certainly drank a lot.”
‘So part of the reason for my muscle pain was right here.’
My lips twitched involuntarily. She grinned and patted my arm.
“So, what brings you here?”
“I came because I have a favor to ask of Master Ugi. Is he inside?”
“That man went out early this morning.”
“Pardon? The harvest is over, though.”
“The harvest is over. But you know that thing he does as a hobby.”
Master Ugi’s daily routine was almost the same as any other farmer: weeding the rice paddies all day, taking care of the crops, and coming home to rest. It was a monotonous routine in a way, but Master Ugi did one more special thing.
“Did he go to sell cars?”
“Yeah. He said a decent car came in today. Honestly, that man’s obsession with cars is a problem.”
Master Ugi ran a very small used car dealership. He used to do it on a fairly large scale, but at some point, he sold off most of the cars and kept it small enough just to cover maintenance costs with a few vehicles. Since there was almost no one to buy cars in a village like this, many people speculated it was just a hobby for collecting them. Perhaps because of that, Mrs. Gisun’s expression was full of dissatisfaction the moment Master Ugi was mentioned.
“I don’t know why he keeps doing that. It doesn’t make money, and maintenance and taxes are paid regularly. It’ll be a miracle if the engines don’t rust.”
“Oh, come on, there are people who buy from him every once in a while.”
“The fact that it’s only once in a while is the problem. He just can’t let go. He can’t.”
Mrs. Gisun clicked her tongue a few times and took out her phone. She seemed to be contacting Master Ugi, and the way she tapped the screen was practically aggressive.
‘…I feel like I’ve done something to make Master Ugi’s life harder.’
“But since you’re asking, are you looking to buy a car?”
“Not exactly. I was wondering if I could borrow one for about two days.”
“Rent? Hmm… In that case, should I tell him?”
“Pardon? Tell him what…?”
“My, it’s no big deal.”
Having finished her business, she put her phone away.
“I’m just telling him to let you use it.”
“What? No, that’s…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Those cars are just going to rust away if they sit there anyway. They need to be driven like this. Don’t you think?”
“Is… that so?”
I didn’t know much about cars, so I wasn’t sure.
“That’s how it is. And even if it weren’t, it is because I said so.”
‘Hmm, now I know for sure who the real power in this house is. It might be a stroke of luck that I met Mrs. Gisun instead of Master Ugi.’
“Thank you, ma’am. Next time you come to the tea house, I’ll give you plenty of service on the house.”
“Hohoho, then that Madeleine I had before? Can you give me more of those?”
“Of course. Should I just designate your visit days as Madeleine Day?”
“Look at you making a fuss. I like the sound of that, though.”
Mrs. Gisun waved her hand dismissively, but she clearly didn’t hate the idea. After a few more words of small talk, I headed to Master Ugi’s used car dealership.
***
“Is that you, Chansung?”
“Yes, Master Ugi. Um, first of all, I’m sorry.”
“Hmm? No, no need to be sorry. It’s not like my wife making a fuss about this is anything new.”
Master Ugi’s face was calm, but there was a hint of apology and bitterness. It was just a feeling, but the problem didn’t seem to stem simply from continuing the used car business. Was it something from the past? It seemed closer to a lingering regret. My tongue itched to ask, but I held back. I didn’t want to hurt Master Ugi’s pride for no reason.
“You said you’d use it for two days, right?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you planning to go? Oh, just fill this and this out.”
“I’m thinking of going to Seoul for a bit.”
“Seoul? Why, do you still have luggage there?”
“No, not for luggage. I’m planning to go on a trip to Seoul.”
A trip to Seoul. Seoul had been a workplace and a battlefield for survival to me. Hearing the word “trip” associated with that place felt quite strange even as I said it. Master Ugi nodded, unmindful of my inner thoughts.
“A trip is good. It’s best to travel a lot while you’re young. It broadens your horizons and changes how you think.”
“Is that so?”
“Of course. Alright, you’re finished. Come, follow me.”
I handed the completed paperwork to Master Ugi and followed him. Following him to an open lot, I saw about ten cars lined up. But those cars… weren’t just ordinary cars.
“Master?”
“Yeah?”
“Isn’t that an Audi?”
“Yeah, that’s right. It’s an Audi R8. That specific model was a limited release, so there are only three in the country.”
“And that’s a Benz…?”
“Right. It’s a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but it’s also a limited edition model, so it’s not for sale anymore.”
I didn’t really know what the letters and numbers after the car names meant. To me, a car was just a car. I could barely recognize the logos. But I knew one thing. Those cars cost a fortune. Having a rough estimate in mind, I asked Master Ugi cautiously.
“How much… is that one?”
“That one used to be around 2.3 billion won, but it’s dropped quite a bit now. Maybe 2.02 billion?”
“My goodness.”
From the outside, Master Ugi’s house wasn’t that big. Just a single-story Western-style house. Seeing how he farmed quite a large area of rice paddies, I guessed he made a decent amount of money, and I had wondered why he lived in such a small house. I think I just found the answer. All the money had gone in here.
“Master.”
“Yeah?”
“You and the misses fought a lot about this, didn’t you?”
“Haha, can we talk about that another time?”
‘That’s it. Now I see why she’s the one in charge.’
After shaking my head, Master Ugi stopped walking. In front of us was a car that made my jaw drop.
“Master Ugi.”
“Hmm?”
“You’re going to let me borrow this?”
“This is a Lamborghini, right?”
Master Ugi said it cost hundreds of millions of won, but the amount didn’t quite register. But one thing was certain: the price was even more staggering than the ones before. I rubbed my eyes and looked at Master Ugi.
“Are you really just giving me the keys?”
“My wife told me to lend you the best one. How is it? Is it okay?”
“I think this is a bit beyond the level of ‘okay’ or ‘not okay.'”
‘This shouldn’t end with just a Madeleine Day. I should make it a Madeleine Month and present them to Mrs. Gisun regularly.’
As I slowly stroked the car body, he handed me the keys.
“Handle it with care. It’s like my precious child.”
“Of… of course. If I crash this, I’ll have to be your slave for the rest of my life.”
“Don’t say that. If that happened, I’d be beaten to death by my wife first.”
‘Should I just make this the Year of the Madeleine?’
Putting aside the silly thoughts, I listened to several precautions from Master Ugi. Naturally, I had to hear him repeatedly plead with me to take good care of the car.
—
After carefully driving the rented Lamborghini home, I went straight to Norani’s room. The door was still closed, and Naru was standing in front of it, looking at the door with a mix of worry and sadness.
“Naru.”
“Oh, was that car sound you just now, Master?”
“Yeah, I borrowed it. Has Norani still not come out?”
“No, not a single step.”
“She can’t keep doing this.”
I stood close to the door so Norani could hear me. Then, I cast the bait loudly so she could hear clearly.
“Because we’re going to see Tae-seong.”
Now, the bait had been cast. Would she bite or not? While I was watching the door with a mix of anticipation and anxiety…
*Creeeak.*
“…What did you say?”
The door to Norani’s heart had opened.