Chapter 6: Children Who Can Be Seen

Hyeon Ung set down the rusk he’d been holding and rushed over to the watermelon stack.

He inspected a watermelon carefully, then picked up another to examine it.

He repeated the process several times.

Only after thoroughly checking the stacked watermelons did the two of them turn to face each other.

And then.

“It’s you.”

“It’s gotta be you. You rascal.”

“Me? It’s obviously you, with those glass marbles for eyes.”

“You bastard.”

“Cheh.”

“Whoa, whoa! Why are you two fighting all of a sudden?!”

Startled by the twins suddenly bickering and grabbing at each other, No-Rani let out a frightened squeak.

I hurriedly hid No-Rani behind my back and stepped in between the two.

“You idiots! What are you doing in front of the kid?”

“Ah…”

“Uh… sorry. But it was kinda annoying, you know?”

The two quickly admitted their fault, but their eyes were still brimming with irritation and anger.

They always seemed on the verge of tearing each other apart, but wasn’t this a bit much?

Hyeonseo approached No-Rani, kneeling to meet her eye level.

No-Rani, still shaken, clung to my leg and hid herself halfway behind me.

“Sorry. Did we scare you?”

“Mm, it’s okay! I fight with my big sister and Naru all the time too. Grandfather says the closer you are, the more you fight.”

“Haha.”

At the word ‘close,’ Hyeonseo’s expression soured.

Hyeon Ung’s face was much the same.

These two act like they’re not close, but it’s all an act.

Since they couldn’t really say much in front of a child, I stepped in.

“So why were you two fighting all of a sudden?”

“Ah, it’s because that guy didn’t handle things properly.”

“Me? No, you’re the one who messed up.”

“Wanna bet? Loser has to buy fertilizer bread?”

“Pfft!”

It’s heating up again. Is this a gambling den or something?

I gave each of them a light flick on the forehead and scolded them.

“If you keep fighting in front of the kid, I’ll make sure you can’t drink tea anymore. Now explain what’s going on.”

“Cheapskate.”

“Sigh. I’ll explain.”

“We got into it because we misclassified the watermelons.”

Hyeon Ung picked up a watermelon from the stack beside him.

“What do you think of this one?”

“Hmm. Looks tasty? The stripes are clear.”

“There’s a white sheen of dew on the skin, too. I’d have to check the sugar content with the meter, but this one’s special.”

“Oh.”

“This one too, and this, and this. Basically, everything here is special.”

All the watermelons stacked nearby were special.

Now I understood why they’d fought.

“So, the reason you two fought is because you wanted to sell these specials as feed?”

“Yeah.”

The twins faced each other again and growled.

They looked like they wanted to go at it, but held back for No-Rani’s sake.

No-Rani was proving to be a remarkable restraint.

“Hm… so that’s how it is.”

I had my doubts, but let’s leave it at that and change the subject.

“At least you realized in time. Instead of tossing them, you can sell them.”

“Yeah, it worked out in the end.”

“Good. Here, eat the rusk you brought. It’s sweet and crispy, turned out really well.”

I soothed the two and shoved some rusk into their mouths.

They seemed to have a lot to say, but in the end, they just ate the rusk I gave them.

“It’s good, right?”

“Yeah, not bad.”

“Did you make this yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“Ssol, you’re great. Not like Grandfather.”

With the watermelon incident behind us, the two seemed to calm down.

Naturally, the topic shifted back to No-Rani.

“By the way, this kid’s pretty cute.”

“Where’s her mom? Still in Seoul?”

“Yeah.”

“Huh?”

What are these two talking about?

The twins blinked like goldfish and asked,

“She’s not your kid?”

“Do I look like her dad?”

I guess I can’t blame them for my suspicious behavior.

But for it to look that way from the outside is a bit shocking.

Hyeonseo looked back and forth between me and No-Rani, then became flustered herself.

“No, it’s just, she follows you around so well. I thought it was obvious.”

“And you look alike. You and her.”

Do we?

I’ve never thought about it, looking at No-Rani.

Now that they mention it, maybe there’s a resemblance.

No-Rani, after tapping on a watermelon for fun, came running over.

“Mister, are you going to take the watermelon?”

“Later.”

“Then, that one and that one! Can I take them?”

“Wait. Those two—can we take them?” I asked the twins.

They narrowed their eyes at me.

What now?

“That conversation sounds exactly like a father-daughter talk.”

“Are you not aware?”

“That’s even weirder.”

“Can you cut the nonsense? Can we just take those two or not?”

“Do as you like. Ah, let’s just check the sugar content.”

Hyeon Ung immediately stood up and brought over the sugar content meter.

He checked the watermelons No-Rani had picked and whistled.

“Wow, look at that sugar content.”

“Look, 15 Bricks?”

“Is that high?”

“If it’s 12 Bricks, it’s Premium Watermelon. This one’s above that.”

“Mister, this one!”

No-Rani tapped a few more watermelons, as if she had an eye for it.

Sure enough, every one she picked had top-tier sugar content, even among the Premium Watermelons.

At first, the twins were surprised, but by the fifth watermelon, they clutched their bellies.

“You realize the total for all those is over 200,000 won, right?”

“For five?”

“These are all premium, and they could sell for an even higher price. Over 40,000 won per watermelon.”

“Geez, my stomach hurts. How does she keep picking just the best ones?”

No-Rani, not caring about the twins’ stomachaches, just kept tapping the watermelons and picking out only the tastiest-looking ones.

Her innocent expression was so bright, the twins were speechless.

They just stared at me with sullen faces.

“You’re not going to go back on your word and not give them to us, right?”

“You’re like someone sucking the blood of a farmer’s hard-earned work.”

“Can you not paint me as some sort of crook?”

“Take them, take them. But make us some watermelon juice, okay?”

“That much? Sure.”

Since I got this many watermelons, that’s the least I can do.

If it tastes good, it might be worth getting watermelons from the twins’ farm in the future.

It’s a win-win: they get a buyer, I get new drinks to sell.

“I don’t have a car, so bring them to the Yangjibareun Tea House when you’re done.”

“Yeah, yeah. Sure, boss. Really making us work for it, huh.”

“Alright, get lost now, will you? We have to get back to work.”

A whistle blew in the distance—it seemed break time was over.

Not much of a rest, and now it was back to the grind.

“Good luck. Ah, can No-Rani come play again sometime?”

“Come by anytime. See you later.”

As the twins bickered off, No-Rani waved her hand at their retreating backs.

“Busy.”

“Should we go, too?”

“Yeah!”

I took No-Rani’s hand and walked back the way we came.

A quiet, peaceful path.

Once I made sure no one was around, I asked No-Rani,

“That thing with the watermelons earlier—that was you, right?”

“Heehee.”

No-Rani flashed a brilliant smile.

These were the watermelons the twins were about to throw away. She’d turned them into something worth selling.

Normally, that would be impossible.

And another question remained—No-Rani herself.

I’d always just assumed No-Rani was a child from a family that moved to this village.

A cute kid who often visited Grandfather’s shop.

But the twins didn’t know about her.

Of course, it’s possible they just never ran into her since they came to the tea house at different times.

Still, in a small village like this, not knowing each other? That didn’t make sense.

“No-Rani, where are your parents? What do they do?”

“Mm. Don’t have any.”

No-Rani tossed out the heavy, shocking fact of her parents’ absence as if it were nothing.

Maybe it was because I’d been too shocked by all that had already happened—I didn’t feel as surprised as I should have.

I just quietly checked the things I needed to.

“Then where are you staying? Last night, where did you sleep?”

“Here and there? Last night, I slept over there in the flower field.”

“…You shouldn’t lie.”

“It’s true! I really slept in the flower field!”

No-Rani insisted with her whole body that she was telling the truth.

There aren’t any orphanages or child care facilities in this village, but sleeping in a flower field?

It sounded like the kind of tall tale a child might make up, but she seemed completely sincere.

“No way…”

“It’s true! It’s true!”

Assuming No-Rani was telling the truth.

If she’d slept in the flower field, the No Ran-i’s Dress she was wearing should’ve been dirty.

But her dress was as clean as if it had just come out of the closet.

And her hair, nails, and skin were all in good condition.

There’s no way a child living outdoors could look like that.

“Darn it! It’s true… It’s all true!! Huhuhuhuhu!!”

No-Rani, upset that I didn’t believe her, burst into tears.

…That’s my fault.

“Sorry, No-Rani. I believe you.”

“Meanie.”

“Mm… I’m sorry.”

I patted No-Rani’s head and took out the last Cookie I had.

She grumbled, but still nibbled away at the Cookie.

Even as she ate, she didn’t look as bright and sparkly as she had earlier.

Watching her, I decided to change direction.

“Want to take a walk before we go back?”

“Mm.”

Her answer was a bit grumpy.

Still, she didn’t let go of my hand, so I figured her mood was improving.

We kept our hands linked and headed toward the town center.

There weren’t many people around.

I figured if we wandered a bit, we’d run into someone who knew No-Rani.

If not, I could try the police or the Ku Cheong.

That was my plan, but in the end—

“There’s no child here named No-Rani.”

There wasn’t.

Even though No-Rani was right beside me, the person in front of me insisted there was no such child.

At least, not in this village.

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Unbelievable…”

I checked the missing child reports just in case, but there was nothing there either.

And then—

“This kid? Never seen her before.”

“Oh, isn’t that the grandson from the Yangjibareun First House?”

“Wow, he’s already grown up and has a kid?”

“These days, people marry and have kids late, but good for him. He’s done it!”

As we walked around, the misunderstanding about us being a family just grew.

It felt awkward to deny it, so I just gave a bashful smile—which only made the misunderstanding worse.

“No-Rani, is it okay if people think I’m your dad?”

“Mm? That’s fine!”

After finishing her Cookie, No-Rani was in a much better mood as we walked around.

She was back to her energetic self, calling for more snacks.

“Are you really okay?”

“Mm… It’s a Secret!”

“What secret?”

“There is one. It’s a Secret between me, Grandfather, and you.”

Why’s Grandfather coming up now?

Suddenly, I remembered Grandfather’s request, written in the Recipe Book.

Be Happy together with the children who come here.

No-Rani is definitely one of those children.

I don’t know if she’s a psychic, a magician, or something even more extraordinary.

And there must be other kids like No-Rani out there.

What a situation.

“Happy, huh…”

To me, happiness is having a home to return to, and people there to welcome me.

It’s having time to spend with good people.

That’s happiness for me.

“No-Rani, what do you think happiness is?”

“Hmm, right now.”

“Right now?”

“Yeah! There’s tasty stuff, and it’s fun!”

All the sadness from before seemed to have vanished—No-Rani’s face was as bright as the sun.

Seeing her happiness, my thoughts became even more certain.

“No-Rani, isn’t it cold sleeping in the flower field?”

“Mm… I pick things up at night.”

“Right.”

Even in summer, it gets chilly at dawn.

Sometimes it feels like late autumn or early winter.

Even kids with higher body temperatures would find it cold.

If she keeps staying out there, she could get really sick.

And if No-Rani stopped coming because she got sick, I know I’d worry a lot.

So—

“No-Rani, do you want to stay at my house?”

“Huh?”

“My house is big. There are lots of empty rooms.”

There are plenty of empty rooms in that big house.

Rather than letting them sit unused, giving No-Rani one seems like a good idea.

Even if it’s not grand, at least it’ll keep her safe from cold, heat, and rain.

No-Rani’s eyes sparkled.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Honestly, the house is too big and too quiet. I don’t like it much.”

If I weren’t so big, I wouldn’t say such things.

No-Rani thought it over and asked,

“If I stay at your house, can I eat lots of Soya?”

“Not just Soya, you can eat lots of other things, too.”

“Then I want to go!”

Hmm… It does feel like I’m luring a child with food, but so what?

As long as No-Rani’s happy, that’s all that matters.