If you’re thinking of sharing my content, please give credit where credit is due! It takes a lot of time and effort to create something, so it’s always appreciated when people respect that and acknowledge the source. Thanks for being a responsible and considerate sharer!
Bibell[Downstairs neighbor]
The sound of birds chirping could be heard.
«Ah, so noisy.»
The young man tossed and turned in his bed.
To some, it might have sounded like the welcoming sounds of the morning, but to the young man, it was nothing more than noise disturbing his deep sleep.
Whether he lay on his left side or right side, he couldn’t block out the noise coming from outside.
«Seriously, why are they catching bugs and making such a fuss from the crack of dawn? Get lost to some other house and let people sleep, please!»
No use.
The young man put on earplugs.
Only then did the noise disappear.
With a drowsy gaze, the young man lay back on his bed.
He couldn’t get any sleep the whole day yesterday because he was gaming until dawn, trying to finish the last stage.
He thought he would collapse until then─.
«I have to…get up and finish… I have to wake up.»
Playing games until dawn,
He couldn’t sleep.
The young man planned to wake up in the late afternoon and finish the game, leaving the last stage.
But right at that moment─
«Kim Min-ji, here we go!»
«You have to throw it really hard, or you’ll die by my hand!»
The noisy sounds of the children could be heard.
The young man, who was just about to fall asleep, frowned.
There was no doubt about who the children making noise in the parking lot were.
They were the kids who lived upstairs and their friends.
They often brought them here and caused a commotion.
«For God’s sake, please be quiet.»
The young man pressed his hand against his ear with the earplugs in it.
«Hey! Did you do that on purpose?»
«Huh, huh? I didn’t mean to do that.»
«Enough! It’s my turn now! You’re done!»
«Hey, Kim Minji. Just lightly… »
«Yeah! I’m doing it lightly! What are you gonna do about it?»
No matter how loudly the children were screaming, using earplugs or covering his ears didn’t help.
He couldn’t stand it.
Even patience had its limits.
«I’ll just…!»
The young man finally grumbled and got out of bed.
He had been enduring it, thinking of for the sake of the old man in the row house, but he couldn’t take it anymore.
The young man shoved his foot into any pair of shoes he found.
Just as he was about to open the door to go out and scold the kids making noise in the parking lot,
«Hey, you brats! This house isn’t just for you! I pay rent for this place too… Ouch!»
Something flew in and hit his forehead.
The young man couldn’t resist the force and fell back.
«…Huh?»
And Minji blinked with a throwing posture, holding the ball.
☆
«Ha, that sucks.»
«Sorry!»
The young man, the downstairs neighbor who introduced himself as Jung Geum-joon, rubbed his red, swollen forehead with an egg.
Minji apologized again and again, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.
«Hyung, Minji didn’t mean to do it.»
«That’s right, please forgive her!»
Minji apologized and Geum-joon sighed heavily, unable to do anything about it.
Eunha, who had been quietly watching, started to organize the situation.
Eunhyeok, who felt sorry for Minji, also intervened.
In a way, Eunhyeok was responsible for Minji’s mana ball to Geum-joon’s forehead.
Not long before, the kids had gathered in the parking lot to train their mana.
Eunha had given them two drills: one to form mana into a sphere and throw it, and another to deploy a barrier.
They decided to alternate roles, with one throwing and the other blocking.
«Now watch, hyung.»
«Sigh….»
The first team was Eunhyuk and Minji. Eunhyuk was the thrower and Minji was the blocker.
However, Eunhyuk was impatient and threw the mana ball before Minji could deploy her barrier.
Luckily, Minji wasn’t hurt, but she couldn’t help but light up and get annoyed with Eunhyuk.
And as soon as the roles were reversed, Minji used her mistake as an excuse to throw a huge mana ball.
Unfortunately, it hit Jung Geum-joon, in the forehead as he came out of the door just in time.
«Oh, my forehead. This is going to leave a bruise.»
Geum-joon grumbled as he rubbed his forehead with the egg.
No, it wasn’t just a bruised forehead.
This was an attack that should have knocked him out, not bruised him.
Eunha didn’t miss the moment when Jung Geum-joon deployed his barrier almost reflexively, just as Minji threw the mana ball.
Eunha looked down at Geum-joon, who was crouched in front of the shoe rack, grumbling.
He was his downstairs neighbor. As far as he knew, he was almost impossible to see during the day, and he always wore shabby training clothes and wandered around the neighborhood, which seemed to be a ghost town before he emerged from his room.
I thought he was just a recluse who hardly ever came out, but he is not a player.
He seemed skilled at manipulating mana, but Eunha was ambiguous as to whether he was a player or just an ordinary person.
Eunha was bothered by his identity.
He rolled his eyes and peeked around the room, avoiding his gaze.
«Good-looking oppa, I apologize too. I didn’t mean to do it.»
«Minji isn’t a bad kid. Don’t get angry, okay?»
Meanwhile, Seona and Hayang tried to make him feel better.
It was rare for Seona to put oil on her lips and speak like this.
«Good-looking oppa?»
«Do you know Hyun Bin by any chance? You look like Hyun Bin because you’re wearing the training clothes that Hyun Bin wore in a drama!»
«Ha, even though I look like this, I used to hear that I was incredibly good-looking before I left the house.»
The fox tongue was enough to make Geum-joon feel better.
Just a few compliments from Seona was enough to make him blush, even up the bridge of his nose.
Hey, does he really look like Hyun Bin?
Well…maybe the nostrils are similar.
I don’t care how much you say you’re doing this for me, it’s an insult to Secret Garden!
While Seona was relieving Geum-joon’s anger, the children, with the exception of Eunha, were talking to each other with their eyes.
Minji, who had been contemplative a moment ago, became contemplative in a different sense, shaking her head furiously.
«Ha, it can’t be helped. Hyun Bin is going to cry too, so I’ll forgive you this time. You guys, please play quietly. Let people get some sleep.»
Seona succeeded.
Geum-joon shrugged his shoulders with a smile.
All the children who looked at it couldn’t hide their puzzled faces.
«This is really going to make Hyun Bin cry.»
«Right? I’ve been handsome ever since I was born.»
Minji’s words had a different meaning.
Jung Geumjoon was the only one who misunderstood her words. The bridge of his nose kept rising without realizing it.
«But Hyung, you’ve been sleeping until now, right?»
«Ha, kid. You know, men have this myth that they have to stay up all night to complete it.» «A myth? What myth is that? Korean? Japanese? Chinese? Celtic? Hindi? Greco-Roman? Egyptian? Tell me a little more!»
«Uh, not that myth…. Well, it’s kind of similar, but….»
Out of nowhere, Hayang jumped up with a twinkle in her eye.
The pink ribbon tied in her hair twitched like bunny ears, touching her hair that covered one eye.
Geumjoon, on the other hand, panicked. After roughly shooing the kids away, he tried to get some sleep, but he couldn’t be bothered to deal with them anymore.
He needed to send them away quickly and get some sleep.
It’s not like they’re going to cause any trouble in the future anyway.
Jung Geum-joon decided to send the children away who were now chatting among themselves.
That’s when he opened his mouth.
«Hyung, staying up all night, is it because of a game?»
Eunha, who had been staring into the room, pointed to the game packages lying around the master bedroom.
«Hey, hey, hey! Who told you to come in here!»
Nothing but games. The house is a total pigsty.
He seemed to be just an ordinary person who was good at handling mana.
Well, even Bruno Ahjussi and Minjun-sik Grandpa surprised me, so there’s no way there’s another neighbor who seems to have something.
The room was also messy.
Entering the room even though Geum-joon hadn’t given him permission, Eunha picked up the package on the floor.
«How to survive in a doomed world?»
«Huh? That’s a popular game these days! Wow, Hyung, are you having fun with this?»
«Hey, you kids! Is this the master bedroom of your house?»
Eunhyuk rushed over and looked at the game package.
Just then, a game screen appeared on the computer monitor.
Without asking permission, Eunhyuk sat down in the chair and clicked the mouse.
«Are you for real!? Do you want me to beat you up!?»
«Hyung! Hyung! Let me do that too!»
Geumjoon ran down the hall, not caring that the egg fell to the floor and broke.
He grunted and grabbed Eunhyuk by the nape of his neck, who was fiddling with his computer.
Eunhyuk didn’t show any sign of pain even though he was dangling in the air.
This was nothing.
The daily rigorous training was more difficult.
He even turned on the computer with a spark in his eyes and urged him to play the game.
«What kind of game is this that you’re acting like this? Hmm… Jecheon Dae-sung? Huh? Isn’t this the name of Son Oh-gong from Journey to the West?» (1)
The kids who came into the room without permission were not just Eunha and Eunhyuk.
Taking advantage of Eunhyuk being caught, Hayang also jumped onto the chair.
She wasn’t afraid of reading material.
«Hey, hey, hey! You guys! Get out!»
«Please, Hyung. Can I play too?» «Huh? Solomon’s 72 demons? What’s this story?»
«Get out of my house right now! If you don’t leave, I’ll… Ah…»
Geum-joon, who was shouting at the top of his lungs, suddenly fell with a thud.
«Geumjoon?»
Eunhyuk, who had landed on his feet, moved him around on the floor.
He didn’t lose consciousness.
However, he had no intention of getting up, just blankly staring up at the ceiling.
«What’s up with you? Did you just play games without eating or drinking?»
Eunha immediately recognized the state of Geumjoon.
Geumjoon hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for days and was in a state of extreme hunger, his stomach sticking to his back due to emptiness.
He no longer had the strength to scold the kids.
Moreover, he was roaring so loudly that the kids could hear him asking for food from inside his stomach.
«Ah, I’m so hungry.»
Even until morning, his desire for sleep had overwhelmed his appetite.
But in the brief moment he dozed off, his appetite overwhelmed his desire for sleep.
«Guys, I’m really weak right now, so please leave. Just go.»
«Wait, wait, Hyung. Let me check if there’s anything to eat at home.»
Eunhyuk opened the refrigerator.
The fridge was completely empty.
There wasn’t even water.
«Do you want some tap water?»
Seona brought a cup with tap water.
Geumjeon gulped down the water she brought him.
«Oh, but I’m hungry too.»
Eunhyuk put his hand on his stomach.
He hadn’t had a snack since school ended, and his stomach was empty from training.
«Me too. I’m hungry.»
So was Eunha.
He was growing up. The age when you get hungry without even trying.
«You guys are hungry, so I’m hungry too!»
«I’m a little hungry too. Hayang, are you?»
«All kinds of stories. So who’s the strongest?»
Hayang hadn’t heard Seona calling out to her, and was deep into the game settings.
She pushed up her chair and stuck her face into the monitor, looking like she was trying to get into the game.
«I want meat.»
«Meat is good. I want chicken.»
«Chicken! I want chicken, too. They say chicken and beer go well together….»
«Minji, we can’t drink beer.»
The kids chattered amongst themselves.
Quenching his thirst, Geumjoon looked up at the ceiling and cleared his throat.
«Oh, I want chicken, too.»
That was the trigger.
The kids started to pile on.
«Hyung, I want chicken! Buy me chicken!»
«Hey, why should I buy you chicken?»
The first kid to speak up was Eunhyuk.
Geumjoon replied with an incredulous face.
«Hyung, please buy us some chicken.»
«You left your money with me? Seriously, kids are so scary these days. They don’t have anyone to bully, so they try to bully me.»
Eunha said it like it was a given,
Geum-joon shrugged it off with a nonchalant tone.
«Hyun-bin is going to cry, oppa. I want to eat our chicken.»
«…No. My money is precious.»
Minji pleaded, and Geumjoon hesitated for a moment.
Then, Seona interjected.
«I think you’re just as handsome as Hyun Bin, so you must have a very large bank account. Oh, I suddenly want to see Hyun Bin eating chicken.»
«Hmm, hmm. I may look handsome like Hyun Bin, but I don’t have that generous heart… Fine, although I find it a bit regrettable to spend my money, I’ll treat you to chicken.»
Geumjoon said with a satisfied expression, raising his chin.
And so, he didn’t know.
That outside his sight, the kids were celebrating and were shouting for joy.
But then another problem arose.
«Hey, but where are you going to take me?»
«Hey, where should we order from?»
Eunha threw a spark that could be a point of contention.
«Of course, let’s order from Goobne. Their barbecue chicken is so delicious. It’s also low in calories.»
The first one to respond was Minji.
«What are you talking about! You haven’t tried your favorite Snowing Chicken yet!»
Eunhyuk got angry and added fuel to the spark.
«Hey, guys, let’s not fight and order something we can all enjoy together. How about BBQ Seasoned and Fried Chicken Combo?»
Seona chimed in as well.
Hayang, still immersed in the game, said, «Me? What chicken do I want? Um… I don’t know! Just decide for me!»
She still couldn’t break free from the game.
«Hey, why fight over which chicken to order? Chicken tastes good anywhere, so just enjoy it wherever you order from.»
«Then No Eunha, you don’t care where we order from, right?»
«Oh, but I’m also tempted by potato fries. So, how about we order BHC chicken tenders that we can enjoy with our salad and potato fries?»
«Captain, we can order fries at Nene’s!»
«Isn’t that Snowing and Pickle fries? Let’s stick to BHC.»
«But what about the calories! What do we do about the calories?»
«Yes, next, Minji~ You can just have the salad.»
«I want the seasoned and fried chicken combo….»
«BHC probably has a half-and-half option. Where in the world is there a chicken place without a half-and-half?»
The kids said nothing.
Eunha was talking more than usual, and now he was talking about money.
The children exchanged glances.
Captain, you’re awake a bit today.
You’re really thinking about yourself.
Half and half is not the same thing.
«Huh? I like anything!»
In the end, Eunha was the winner.
The kids had to step back, watching Eunha passionately advocate his chicken preference.
Meanwhile, Geumjoon, lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling, said,
«I don’t care what it is, just order it already. Oh man, the sound of my precious money being spent is already ringing in my ears.»
Though he had no strength to move, he had enough energy to grumble.
Notes!
(1) Son Oh-gong: (손오공) is a character from the Korean classic novel «Journey to the West» (서유기 Seoyugi). Also known as the Monkey King, Son Oh-gong is one of the main characters in the story and is based on the mythological figure Sun Wukong from Chinese folklore. For example The God of high school, (one of my fav webtoons btw) the character Jin Mori is loosely inspired by Son Oh-gong and shares some similarities with the Monkey King.
While the webtoon is not a direct adaptation of «Journey to the West,» it incorporates certain elements and themes from the classic novel and reimagines them in a modern, action-packed setting, which has contributed to the webtoon’s popularity and appeal to fans of both martial arts and fantasy genres. (go and read it if you are most of the time bored like me) :))
If you’re thinking of sharing my content, please give credit where credit is due! It takes a lot of time and effort to create something, so it’s always appreciated when people respect that and acknowledge the source. Thanks for being a responsible and considerate sharer!
Bibell[Downstairs neighbor]
The sound of birds chirping could be heard.
«Ah, so noisy.»
The young man tossed and turned in his bed.
To some, it might have sounded like the welcoming sounds of the morning, but to the young man, it was nothing more than noise disturbing his deep sleep.
Whether he lay on his left side or right side, he couldn’t block out the noise coming from outside.
«Seriously, why are they catching bugs and making such a fuss from the crack of dawn? Get lost to some other house and let people sleep, please!»
No use.
The young man put on earplugs.
Only then did the noise disappear.
With a drowsy gaze, the young man lay back on his bed.
He couldn’t get any sleep the whole day yesterday because he was gaming until dawn, trying to finish the last stage.
He thought he would collapse until then─.
«I have to…get up and finish… I have to wake up.»
Playing games until dawn,
He couldn’t sleep.
The young man planned to wake up in the late afternoon and finish the game, leaving the last stage.
But right at that moment─
«Kim Min-ji, here we go!»
«You have to throw it really hard, or you’ll die by my hand!»
The noisy sounds of the children could be heard.
The young man, who was just about to fall asleep, frowned.
There was no doubt about who the children making noise in the parking lot were.
They were the kids who lived upstairs and their friends.
They often brought them here and caused a commotion.
«For God’s sake, please be quiet.»
The young man pressed his hand against his ear with the earplugs in it.
«Hey! Did you do that on purpose?»
«Huh, huh? I didn’t mean to do that.»
«Enough! It’s my turn now! You’re done!»
«Hey, Kim Minji. Just lightly… »
«Yeah! I’m doing it lightly! What are you gonna do about it?»
No matter how loudly the children were screaming, using earplugs or covering his ears didn’t help.
He couldn’t stand it.
Even patience had its limits.
«I’ll just…!»
The young man finally grumbled and got out of bed.
He had been enduring it, thinking of for the sake of the old man in the row house, but he couldn’t take it anymore.
The young man shoved his foot into any pair of shoes he found.
Just as he was about to open the door to go out and scold the kids making noise in the parking lot,
«Hey, you brats! This house isn’t just for you! I pay rent for this place too… Ouch!»
Something flew in and hit his forehead.
The young man couldn’t resist the force and fell back.
«…Huh?»
And Minji blinked with a throwing posture, holding the ball.
☆
«Ha, that sucks.»
«Sorry!»
The young man, the downstairs neighbor who introduced himself as Jung Geum-joon, rubbed his red, swollen forehead with an egg.
Minji apologized again and again, looking like she might burst into tears at any moment.
«Hyung, Minji didn’t mean to do it.»
«That’s right, please forgive her!»
Minji apologized and Geum-joon sighed heavily, unable to do anything about it.
Eunha, who had been quietly watching, started to organize the situation.
Eunhyeok, who felt sorry for Minji, also intervened.
In a way, Eunhyeok was responsible for Minji’s mana ball to Geum-joon’s forehead.
Not long before, the kids had gathered in the parking lot to train their mana.
Eunha had given them two drills: one to form mana into a sphere and throw it, and another to deploy a barrier.
They decided to alternate roles, with one throwing and the other blocking.
«Now watch, hyung.»
«Sigh….»
The first team was Eunhyuk and Minji. Eunhyuk was the thrower and Minji was the blocker.
However, Eunhyuk was impatient and threw the mana ball before Minji could deploy her barrier.
Luckily, Minji wasn’t hurt, but she couldn’t help but light up and get annoyed with Eunhyuk.
And as soon as the roles were reversed, Minji used her mistake as an excuse to throw a huge mana ball.
Unfortunately, it hit Jung Geum-joon, in the forehead as he came out of the door just in time.
«Oh, my forehead. This is going to leave a bruise.»
Geum-joon grumbled as he rubbed his forehead with the egg.
No, it wasn’t just a bruised forehead.
This was an attack that should have knocked him out, not bruised him.
Eunha didn’t miss the moment when Jung Geum-joon deployed his barrier almost reflexively, just as Minji threw the mana ball.
Eunha looked down at Geum-joon, who was crouched in front of the shoe rack, grumbling.
He was his downstairs neighbor. As far as he knew, he was almost impossible to see during the day, and he always wore shabby training clothes and wandered around the neighborhood, which seemed to be a ghost town before he emerged from his room.
I thought he was just a recluse who hardly ever came out, but he is not a player.
He seemed skilled at manipulating mana, but Eunha was ambiguous as to whether he was a player or just an ordinary person.
Eunha was bothered by his identity.
He rolled his eyes and peeked around the room, avoiding his gaze.
«Good-looking oppa, I apologize too. I didn’t mean to do it.»
«Minji isn’t a bad kid. Don’t get angry, okay?»
Meanwhile, Seona and Hayang tried to make him feel better.
It was rare for Seona to put oil on her lips and speak like this.
«Good-looking oppa?»
«Do you know Hyun Bin by any chance? You look like Hyun Bin because you’re wearing the training clothes that Hyun Bin wore in a drama!»
«Ha, even though I look like this, I used to hear that I was incredibly good-looking before I left the house.»
The fox tongue was enough to make Geum-joon feel better.
Just a few compliments from Seona was enough to make him blush, even up the bridge of his nose.
Hey, does he really look like Hyun Bin?
Well…maybe the nostrils are similar.
I don’t care how much you say you’re doing this for me, it’s an insult to Secret Garden!
While Seona was relieving Geum-joon’s anger, the children, with the exception of Eunha, were talking to each other with their eyes.
Minji, who had been contemplative a moment ago, became contemplative in a different sense, shaking her head furiously.
«Ha, it can’t be helped. Hyun Bin is going to cry too, so I’ll forgive you this time. You guys, please play quietly. Let people get some sleep.»
Seona succeeded.
Geum-joon shrugged his shoulders with a smile.
All the children who looked at it couldn’t hide their puzzled faces.
«This is really going to make Hyun Bin cry.»
«Right? I’ve been handsome ever since I was born.»
Minji’s words had a different meaning.
Jung Geumjoon was the only one who misunderstood her words. The bridge of his nose kept rising without realizing it.
«But Hyung, you’ve been sleeping until now, right?»
«Ha, kid. You know, men have this myth that they have to stay up all night to complete it.» «A myth? What myth is that? Korean? Japanese? Chinese? Celtic? Hindi? Greco-Roman? Egyptian? Tell me a little more!»
«Uh, not that myth…. Well, it’s kind of similar, but….»
Out of nowhere, Hayang jumped up with a twinkle in her eye.
The pink ribbon tied in her hair twitched like bunny ears, touching her hair that covered one eye.
Geumjoon, on the other hand, panicked. After roughly shooing the kids away, he tried to get some sleep, but he couldn’t be bothered to deal with them anymore.
He needed to send them away quickly and get some sleep.
It’s not like they’re going to cause any trouble in the future anyway.
Jung Geum-joon decided to send the children away who were now chatting among themselves.
That’s when he opened his mouth.
«Hyung, staying up all night, is it because of a game?»
Eunha, who had been staring into the room, pointed to the game packages lying around the master bedroom.
«Hey, hey, hey! Who told you to come in here!»
Nothing but games. The house is a total pigsty.
He seemed to be just an ordinary person who was good at handling mana.
Well, even Bruno Ahjussi and Minjun-sik Grandpa surprised me, so there’s no way there’s another neighbor who seems to have something.
The room was also messy.
Entering the room even though Geum-joon hadn’t given him permission, Eunha picked up the package on the floor.
«How to survive in a doomed world?»
«Huh? That’s a popular game these days! Wow, Hyung, are you having fun with this?»
«Hey, you kids! Is this the master bedroom of your house?»
Eunhyuk rushed over and looked at the game package.
Just then, a game screen appeared on the computer monitor.
Without asking permission, Eunhyuk sat down in the chair and clicked the mouse.
«Are you for real!? Do you want me to beat you up!?»
«Hyung! Hyung! Let me do that too!»
Geumjoon ran down the hall, not caring that the egg fell to the floor and broke.
He grunted and grabbed Eunhyuk by the nape of his neck, who was fiddling with his computer.
Eunhyuk didn’t show any sign of pain even though he was dangling in the air.
This was nothing.
The daily rigorous training was more difficult.
He even turned on the computer with a spark in his eyes and urged him to play the game.
«What kind of game is this that you’re acting like this? Hmm… Jecheon Dae-sung? Huh? Isn’t this the name of Son Oh-gong from Journey to the West?» (1)
The kids who came into the room without permission were not just Eunha and Eunhyuk.
Taking advantage of Eunhyuk being caught, Hayang also jumped onto the chair.
She wasn’t afraid of reading material.
«Hey, hey, hey! You guys! Get out!»
«Please, Hyung. Can I play too?» «Huh? Solomon’s 72 demons? What’s this story?»
«Get out of my house right now! If you don’t leave, I’ll… Ah…»
Geum-joon, who was shouting at the top of his lungs, suddenly fell with a thud.
«Geumjoon?»
Eunhyuk, who had landed on his feet, moved him around on the floor.
He didn’t lose consciousness.
However, he had no intention of getting up, just blankly staring up at the ceiling.
«What’s up with you? Did you just play games without eating or drinking?»
Eunha immediately recognized the state of Geumjoon.
Geumjoon hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for days and was in a state of extreme hunger, his stomach sticking to his back due to emptiness.
He no longer had the strength to scold the kids.
Moreover, he was roaring so loudly that the kids could hear him asking for food from inside his stomach.
«Ah, I’m so hungry.»
Even until morning, his desire for sleep had overwhelmed his appetite.
But in the brief moment he dozed off, his appetite overwhelmed his desire for sleep.
«Guys, I’m really weak right now, so please leave. Just go.»
«Wait, wait, Hyung. Let me check if there’s anything to eat at home.»
Eunhyuk opened the refrigerator.
The fridge was completely empty.
There wasn’t even water.
«Do you want some tap water?»
Seona brought a cup with tap water.
Geumjeon gulped down the water she brought him.
«Oh, but I’m hungry too.»
Eunhyuk put his hand on his stomach.
He hadn’t had a snack since school ended, and his stomach was empty from training.
«Me too. I’m hungry.»
So was Eunha.
He was growing up. The age when you get hungry without even trying.
«You guys are hungry, so I’m hungry too!»
«I’m a little hungry too. Hayang, are you?»
«All kinds of stories. So who’s the strongest?»
Hayang hadn’t heard Seona calling out to her, and was deep into the game settings.
She pushed up her chair and stuck her face into the monitor, looking like she was trying to get into the game.
«I want meat.»
«Meat is good. I want chicken.»
«Chicken! I want chicken, too. They say chicken and beer go well together….»
«Minji, we can’t drink beer.»
The kids chattered amongst themselves.
Quenching his thirst, Geumjoon looked up at the ceiling and cleared his throat.
«Oh, I want chicken, too.»
That was the trigger.
The kids started to pile on.
«Hyung, I want chicken! Buy me chicken!»
«Hey, why should I buy you chicken?»
The first kid to speak up was Eunhyuk.
Geumjoon replied with an incredulous face.
«Hyung, please buy us some chicken.»
«You left your money with me? Seriously, kids are so scary these days. They don’t have anyone to bully, so they try to bully me.»
Eunha said it like it was a given,
Geum-joon shrugged it off with a nonchalant tone.
«Hyun-bin is going to cry, oppa. I want to eat our chicken.»
«…No. My money is precious.»
Minji pleaded, and Geumjoon hesitated for a moment.
Then, Seona interjected.
«I think you’re just as handsome as Hyun Bin, so you must have a very large bank account. Oh, I suddenly want to see Hyun Bin eating chicken.»
«Hmm, hmm. I may look handsome like Hyun Bin, but I don’t have that generous heart… Fine, although I find it a bit regrettable to spend my money, I’ll treat you to chicken.»
Geumjoon said with a satisfied expression, raising his chin.
And so, he didn’t know.
That outside his sight, the kids were celebrating and were shouting for joy.
But then another problem arose.
«Hey, but where are you going to take me?»
«Hey, where should we order from?»
Eunha threw a spark that could be a point of contention.
«Of course, let’s order from Goobne. Their barbecue chicken is so delicious. It’s also low in calories.»
The first one to respond was Minji.
«What are you talking about! You haven’t tried your favorite Snowing Chicken yet!»
Eunhyuk got angry and added fuel to the spark.
«Hey, guys, let’s not fight and order something we can all enjoy together. How about BBQ Seasoned and Fried Chicken Combo?»
Seona chimed in as well.
Hayang, still immersed in the game, said, «Me? What chicken do I want? Um… I don’t know! Just decide for me!»
She still couldn’t break free from the game.
«Hey, why fight over which chicken to order? Chicken tastes good anywhere, so just enjoy it wherever you order from.»
«Then No Eunha, you don’t care where we order from, right?»
«Oh, but I’m also tempted by potato fries. So, how about we order BHC chicken tenders that we can enjoy with our salad and potato fries?»
«Captain, we can order fries at Nene’s!»
«Isn’t that Snowing and Pickle fries? Let’s stick to BHC.»
«But what about the calories! What do we do about the calories?»
«Yes, next, Minji~ You can just have the salad.»
«I want the seasoned and fried chicken combo….»
«BHC probably has a half-and-half option. Where in the world is there a chicken place without a half-and-half?»
The kids said nothing.
Eunha was talking more than usual, and now he was talking about money.
The children exchanged glances.
Captain, you’re awake a bit today.
You’re really thinking about yourself.
Half and half is not the same thing.
«Huh? I like anything!»
In the end, Eunha was the winner.
The kids had to step back, watching Eunha passionately advocate his chicken preference.
Meanwhile, Geumjoon, lying on the floor and staring at the ceiling, said,
«I don’t care what it is, just order it already. Oh man, the sound of my precious money being spent is already ringing in my ears.»
Though he had no strength to move, he had enough energy to grumble.
Notes!
(1) Son Oh-gong: (손오공) is a character from the Korean classic novel «Journey to the West» (서유기 Seoyugi). Also known as the Monkey King, Son Oh-gong is one of the main characters in the story and is based on the mythological figure Sun Wukong from Chinese folklore. For example The God of high school, (one of my fav webtoons btw) the character Jin Mori is loosely inspired by Son Oh-gong and shares some similarities with the Monkey King.
While the webtoon is not a direct adaptation of «Journey to the West,» it incorporates certain elements and themes from the classic novel and reimagines them in a modern, action-packed setting, which has contributed to the webtoon’s popularity and appeal to fans of both martial arts and fantasy genres. (go and read it if you are most of the time bored like me) :))
