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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Vine
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The early April wind was still chilly.
But it wasn’t too cold, carrying a hint of the warm spring breeze.
“It will get warmer soon.”
“Right, it’s spring after all.”
Gang-so nodded at Yoo Soon-tae’s words.
Yoo Soon-tae didn’t know about what happened to Koo Sang-ok. Because Gang-so hadn’t told him.
He just found it strange that Koo Sang-ok had been quiet, but he didn’t even consider the possibility that Gang-so had anything to do with it.
Gang-so smiled.
The young loan shark who gave Gang-so his business card called to thank him and told him about what happened to Koo Sang-ok.
It was a story that would make an ordinary person frown, but Gang-so didn’t even bat an eye and thought that it was a good decision to leave it to the professionals.
And the police came by and asked him if he had seen anything suspicious, mentioning the Byung-chil gang.
Of course, Gang-so said he hadn’t.
Clang-.
Just then, the door opened, and Lim So-young entered after dropping Ha-young off at kindergarten.
“I’m back.”
Lim So-young put down something she was holding.
“What’s that?”
“Cup ramen. We’ll eat it later as a snack.”
“Really? It’s been a while since we had cup ramen.”
“I…”
At Gang-so’s words, Lim So-young smiled.
“Shrimp-flavored ramen, right? I bought that too.”
“Ah! Thank you.”
One of the foods that fascinated Gang-so in this world was cup ramen.
He found it amazing that ramen, made by adding noodles and seasoning to boiling water and boiling for 4 to 5 minutes, could be made, but what was even more amazing was cup ramen.
Pouring hot water and waiting just 3 minutes to have noodles was something he couldn’t even imagine.
‘It’s a culinary revolution!’
And it tasted good, too.
Among them, Gang-so’s favorite was shrimp-flavored ramen.
And Soon-tae liked the spicy ramen.
“I was craving cup ramen anyway. I’ve been eating a lot of greasy food lately, so I’ve been craving ramen.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
At Gang-so’s words, Yoo Soon-tae smiled and said,
“You’ve become a true Korean, haven’t you? They say most Koreans are addicted to ramen.”
“Ramen addiction? Is that… a bad thing?”
When Gang-so asked with a flinch, Yoo Soon-tae chuckled.
“Well. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but it’s probably not life-threatening. I haven’t heard of anyone dying from ramen addiction.”
“Hmm.”
Just then, Lim So-young asked Yoo Soon-tae,
“Oh! Did you call her?”
“Call?”
“Tomorrow is April 5th, Arbor Day, so I told you to call Ji-eun.”
“…?”
Yoo Soon-tae still looked puzzled.
Gang-so tilted his head.
“Arbor Day must be the day for planting trees.”
“That’s right.”
“Setting a specific day to plant trees is an interesting custom.”
“Actually, Arbor Day has been around for a long time, but it was removed from the list of public holidays, and it was reinstated after the Great Cataclysm. Many forests were lost due to the battles against monsters.”
“I see.”
Just then, Yoo Soon-tae exclaimed,
“Ah! Camping! I forgot about that. Ha-young said she’s going on a tree-planting camping trip from tomorrow for two days and one night!”
“I have to go with Ha-young on her tree-planting camping trip. That’s why I told you to call Ji-eun… Do you remember now?”
“Sorry! I’ve been out of it!”
“Sigh! Hurry up and call her!”
At Lim So-young’s words, Yoo Soon-tae quickly called Kim Ji-eun.
Kim Ji-eun was the part-timer they had hired when Lim So-young went on her trip with the women’s association.
She was quick-witted, efficient, and a hard worker, so Yoo Soon-tae and Lim So-young liked her a lot and wanted to hire her again.
“Oh, oh… Okay. Thank you.”
A moment later, Yoo Soon-tae hung up with a bright face.
“She said she can come that day.”
“That’s a relief.”
Lim So-young went upstairs to change her clothes and came back down. Because it was time to prepare for the dinner service.
Today was another busy day.
That afternoon.
Clang-.
The bell on the door rang, and Lim So-young and Gang-so entered the shop with Ha-young.
They usually came home at 4:30, but today, they came back at 5, a little later than usual.
“You’re late today, huh?”
Yoo Soon-tae saw that Ha-young was pouting.
And Lim So-young was standing next to her with a tired face.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”
Gang-so answered his question.
“We went to more than ten stores today trying to find the trowel and watering can that Ha-young wants, but we couldn’t find them.”
“You’re talking about the things she needs to bring tomorrow. But the trowel and watering can that Ha-young wants?”
At Yoo Soon-tae’s question, Lim So-young sat down on a chair and patted her tired legs.
“Ha-young said she wants to bring a trowel and watering can with Jjong-i on them.”
“Ah! You mean that rabbit character?”
Jjong-i was a rabbit character from a children’s cartoon that was currently airing, and it perfectly matched Ha-young’s taste, as she loved rabbits.
Whenever the cartoon “My Friend Jjong-i”, which featured a rabbit named Jjong-i with unrealistically large ears and eyes, was on, Ha-young would watch the TV screen with unusual concentration for a child her age.
“So, there weren’t any?”
“No. They said they were sold out because it was a limited edition.”
Normally, a child Ha-young’s age would cry and beg to buy it right away, but perhaps because she was mature for her age, Ha-young only looked disappointed.
“So we had no choice but to buy a regular trowel and watering can.”
Lim So-young took out a trowel and a pink watering can from a black plastic bag.
Ha-young said in a small voice,
“It’s okay, Ha-young is fine.”
And she trudged up the stairs listlessly, and neither Yoo Soon-tae nor Lim So-young could feel at ease watching her.
How could one explain the feeling of parents who couldn’t get their child what they wanted?
‘Hmm…’
Gang-so also felt uneasy watching Ha-young, who said she was okay even though she wasn’t, and Yoo Soon-tae and Lim So-young, who were worried about her.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
It was time to start the dinner service.
“Have a good night!”
After the last customer left and Gang-so put up the ‘closed’ sign, he looked at the trowel and watering can on the table.
He was concerned about Ha-young’s dejected face.
‘Soon-tae doesn’t look so good either.’
That was natural.
No parents could be happy when their child was upset.
Gang-so turned his head and saw the Jjong-i character sticker that Ha-young had put on Gang-so’s door.
‘That should be… doable, right?’
Gang-so called for Yoo Soon-tae.
“Soon-tae, can you get me a piece of wood about the size of my hand?”
“A piece of wood? Why?”
“I’m thinking of carving a Jjong-i and attaching it to the handle of the trowel.”
“Carving a Jjong-i?”
Gang-so nodded at Yoo Soon-tae’s question.
“I’ve done some carving before.”
It was true.
In his world, the things he carved would become magical tools imbued with certain energies, whether fire or ice, and were kept as treasures.
But Yoo Soon-tae, who had no way of knowing that, just thought that he must have dabbled in carving.
“But I’d hate to trouble you…”
“Don’t worry about it. The peace of your family is my peace as well.”
“If you say so… alright.”
Yoo Soon-tae returned after a while with five or six pieces of wood the size Gang-so had requested.
“The owner of the carpentry shop gave me a lot of scrap pieces, saying he didn’t need them anyway.”
“Thanks.”
Gang-so took the pieces of wood and went into his room.
“Then, shall we begin?”
The model was the Jjong-i character sticker Ha-young had put on his door.
Whoosh-!
Gang-so’s hands glowed faintly, and soon a carving knife formed in his hand from white energy.
With the knife in his hand, Gang-so’s hands began to move quickly.
Whoosh, whoosh-!
The wood where his hand passed was smoothly carved away.
Gradually, the ordinary, palm-sized piece of wood began to take the shape of a rabbit, and before long, a carving of Jjong-i with a cute expression was completed.
“It’s finished!”
Gang-so examined the carving from all angles and then smiled in satisfaction.
“This should be perfect.”
Gang-so got up from his seat.
Rustle, rustle.
The wood shavings that had piled up on his lap fell to the floor.
But he didn’t have to worry about cleaning.
Cleaning was done with a flick of his wrist.
Gang-so used his energy to gather the wood shavings in one place, threw them in the trash can, and then went outside.
“It’s done.”
He showed them the Jjong-i carving.
“Gasp! Did you really carve that?!”
Yoo Soon-tae was surprised.
Even though it was a carving made of unpainted wood, the Jjong-i carving was full of life, as if it would start wiggling its behind and dancing any moment.
“Yeah, I carved it from the wood you just gave me.”
“Wow! This is amazing! I should show this to Ha-young quickly.”
Yoo Soon-tae quickly went upstairs with the carving.
“Ha-young! Look at this! Jjong-i is here!”
At the word “Jjong-i”, Ha-young, who had been looking dejected, raised her head and saw the carving in Yoo Soon-tae’s hand.
“Huh! Jjong-i? It’s Jjong-i!”
Ha-young jumped up and ran to Yoo Soon-tae.
Or rather, towards the Jjong-i carving in Yoo Soon-tae’s hand.
“It’s really Jjong-i! Where did you get this?”
“Gang-so carved it for you.”
At those words, Lim So-young exclaimed in admiration,
“Uncle Gang-so, you have golden hands!”
“I just carved it roughly.”
Gang-so rubbed his nose and said,
“I’ll attach this Jjong-i to your trowel, Ha-young.”
“Really? You’ll really attach this to my trowel?”
“Yeah, and I’ll attach it to your watering can too.”
“Kyaa-!”
At those words, Ha-young jumped for joy.
“The best! Oppa is the best!”
Ha-young hugged Gang-so and even gave him a kiss on the cheek, which she had never done before.
“Ahem, ahem.”
Gang-so cleared his throat, and Yoo Soon-tae chuckled at his reaction.
“Ha-young even gave you a kiss! She must really like it!”
“I see.”
Gang-so was feeling an indescribable emotion.
‘It was worth carving!’
Gang-so asked Ha-young,
“Is it alright if I don’t paint it?”
“Yes! It looks more special without color!”
“Then, alright.”
Gang-so turned around and went downstairs, saying,
“I’ll give you the carving as a gift.”
“Thank you, Oppa!”
Gang-so went back to his room.
In his hands were the trowel and watering can Lim So-young had bought, along with super glue.
Now that he had permission from Ha-young, his final client, it was time to transform the trowel and watering can.
Gang-so picked up the wood and again formed a small carving knife, carving even more smoothly than before.
Whoosh-! Whoosh-!
Soon, another version of the Jjong-i character carving was completed.
Gang-so continued attaching the carvings to the trowel and watering can.
First, he replaced the handle of the trowel.
He had carved the carving with the intention of replacing the handle from the beginning.
And he carved the second carving in bas-relief and attached it to the side of the watering can with super glue.
“This should be perfect!”
Gang-so went upstairs with the finished products, a satisfied smile on his face.
And Ha-young, seeing those items, exclaimed,
“This is unbelievable!”
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