noveltune Chapter 76
Chapter 76
From cheese-stuffed pork cutlets to chicken and fish cutlets, the variety was extensive, even if the "King Pork Cutlet" wasn’t particularly large. It felt like they’d gathered every kind of cutlet the shop had to offer.
"Ugh..."
Gyeoul looked down at the food, most of which was still untouched. The towering rice barely had a few spoonfuls taken, and the soup bowl’s depth hadn’t lessened by even a centimeter. Her stomach already felt like it was about to burst—it was a total defeat.
“Ugh...”
Eating so much food was its own form of torture. Sighing heavily, Gyeoul pulled out her wallet from her pocket. She had no choice but to pay the fine.
‘All the money I made in the dungeon today is gone...’
Expenses were piling up, and wasting money like this felt irresponsible. Considering the rent and the debt she still owed Yeoreum, it put her well into the negative.
‘I’m making money, but there’s never enough left over.’
She let out another sigh as she opened her wallet. Inside were unorganized bills and coins.
"One hundred thousand won..."
Pooling all she had—ten-thousand and one-thousand-won bills, even coins—she barely scraped together one hundred thousand won. She hadn’t yet sold the goblin mana stones, so this was all she had.
“Um, excuse me...”
Raising her hand to signal for the check, Gyeoul accidentally knocked over her coin pouch with her elbow.
Clatter—!
The coins spilled across the floor, some even rolling under a nearby couple’s table.
"My... my money..."
Gyeoul dropped to her knees, picking up each coin. Some nearby patrons, understanding how precious each coin was to a child, helped her gather them up.
“Here, you dropped five hundred won.”
“Here’s a hundred won.”
“Thank you...”
Gyeoul bowed her head gratefully to those who helped. With her sharp eyesight, she noticed a few coins still missing.
She crawled along the floor, retrieving the fallen coins one by one, eventually reaching the couple’s table.
“M-my money...”
Gyeoul’s fingers fidgeted as she hesitated, realizing she’d have to reach under their table.
“Oh, is it under us?”
“Yes... yes, it is...”
“Let me get it for you; just wait a moment.”
“No, no, it’s okay...!”
Not wanting to impose, Gyeoul quickly waved her hands and crawled under their table herself.
"Um..."
"Hm."
The couple watched as the poor child crawled under their legs, triggering a strange sense of guilt despite it not being their fault. Awkwardly, they glanced at each other, while Gyeoul remained focused on finding her coins under the table.
Softly, her tail brushed against the woman’s legs, and her alert ears pressed against the man’s legs as she searched. Thanks to their matching shorts, they could feel the softness directly. Completely oblivious, Gyeoul remained focused on finding the scattered coins.
“Um...”
“Hm.”
It was wrong, but they felt oddly comforted by it. The two bit their lips simultaneously.
“Ah.”
Did she finally find it? Gyeoul’s tail perked up. The woman could sense her emotions through the soft touch.
“Did you find it?”
“Yes. I found ten won.”
“For... just ten won...”@@@@
“Yeah. I came to show you how adults play.”
“Yes! Levinas has been waiting for this!”
Levinas’s eyes locked onto the bags slung over Jinhyuk’s shoulders, laden with at least four more in his hands.
“Is that play equipment?!”
“Yep.”
Jinhyuk placed the bags on the sofa, and from one, he poured out an avalanche of snacks.
“Whoa!”
“Goodness...”
Levinas’s eyes lit up with delight, though Sophia looked somewhat taken aback. Adults didn’t usually approve of kids eating so many snacks.
“So much chocolate! Do you like chocolate?”
“No, I don’t care for sweets. They’re for you guys.”
“Wow! It’s my chocolate!”
Levinas crouched down and clutched as much chocolate as his small hands could hold—five pieces max.
Seeing his happiness warmed my heart, though I worried about the excessive amount of treats.
“Isn’t this a bit too much...?”
“It is.”
Jinhyuk dumped another bag filled with comic books—all child-friendly, clearly for Levinas.
“This makes me look like a bad influence...”
“One day won’t hurt. Adults do this, you know.”
Actually, no. Both Sophia and I were right here, not endorsing this. But the alliance had encouraged us to let them play, so I went along with it.
“Sophia, you should join too.”
“...I’m fine.”
“Come on, sometimes you have to play with the kids.”
“Hm...”
Sophia hesitated, then stepped out of the massage chair, considering Jinhyuk’s words.
---
“Guys, I’m home!”
With a smile, Yeoreum entered, her heart already beating in anticipation of seeing the kids.
Wondering what conversations awaited, she eagerly stepped into the living room, only to be taken aback by a surprising sight.
“Hehe.”
Gyeoul was lying down, reading a comic book. Levinas, with chocolate smudged around his mouth, was forcing Sophia to eat more sweets.
“S-stop, I can’t eat anymore...”
One day, and things were already like this. She wondered why.
Yeoreum glanced around and spotted Jinhyuk, sitting on the sofa with a serious expression, observing the kids and Sophia.
“You...”
“You’re back.”
“Did you do this... Jinhyuk?”
“Yeah. Doesn’t it look nice?”
It did—if you ignored the aftermath.
Gyeoul, noticing Yeoreum’s shocked look, muttered to herself.
"Played enough for a lifetime...”
A lifetime’s worth of playing. That mutter made Yeoreum shiver, as if she wouldn’t want to play ever again. And surprisingly, she was right.