Chapter 36: Aunties

Bodam shot up at the voice coming from outside the front door, which had no soundproofing whatsoever.

His face, which had regained some vitality thanks to the sweet and sour juice, was filled with a bright smile.

“Yoon Bbodam—!”

“Auntie!”

His second aunt, with striking red lipstick and red nail polish, threw her arms wide and rushed toward Bodam.

Bodam, too, scampered towards his oldest aunt, who always dressed in flamboyant styles, running a clothing store, and hugged her.

“Bodam, it’s been a long time. Oh my, why did you lose more weight?”

His youngest aunt, who followed in, asked in surprise.

Her two chubby children, a boy and a girl, who resembled a miniature Bodam, roughly kicked off their shoes and ran in.

Bodam was even more surprised to see his young cousins, who had grown so much since he last saw them.

“Is that Yul-ri and Yoon-suk? Why are you so big! I wouldn’t recognize you outside.”

“Kids usually grow fast. Our Bodam should have grown fast too when everyone else did.”

His oldest aunt, who always teased him playfully, regretfully missed having Bodam’s cheeks to pinch.

He was briefly subjected to their nagging about how much weight he had lost.

“Oppa is sick. Let’s sit and talk.”

Bomi said, returning after washing the hands of Yul-ri and Yoon-suk, who were giggling.

Bodam was touched by the sudden use of the title ‘Oppa.’

“Sick?! Where?”

“Are you not feeling well?!”

“It’s just a cold, a cold. I’m fine.”

His ears rang from his aunts’ loud voices asking where he was hurt.

Lee Tae Hwan’s and Min Ji Oh’s loud voices were only annoying to hear, but his family’s loud voices, even if chaotic, were only good.

The smile spread across his face kept getting wider.

“Bomi, when you eat, stick close to Oppa and feed him too. He’s lost too much weight, it’s not good.”

“Exactly. I wonder if he’s going to disappear at this rate.”

His aunts, who naturally sat on their designated spots under the sofa after making Bodam sit in the middle of it, looked at him with pity.

‘He must be having a really hard time with work,’ they thought, clicking their tongues.

“Yul-ri, Yoon-suk. How have you been?”

His cousins, who each held a yogurt drink in their mouths and ran to the sofa, nodded.

They were shy around Bodam, whom they hadn’t seen in a long time, but they stuck close to him, so it seemed they remembered him.

It felt like just yesterday they were crawling around, but it was amazing that they were already walking and running on their own.

The two, who were consecutive in age like him and his sister, fortunately had a good relationship.

Unlike him and his sister, who fought and bickered from this age, the children were very gentle.

“Let’s order something really delicious today. Is Bodam very sick? Does he have to eat porridge?”

“No. I can eat anything!”

“Mom said she went grocery shopping.”

Bomi, who was taking out and washing a melon from the fridge, said to her aunts who were looking for delivery apps.

His aunts and Bomi each peeled and ate a melon before and after meals.

Everyone had an incredible appetite.

“We can eat it tomorrow. Unnie must be tired, so let’s order food today. How about it, Bodam?”

“I like everything!”

He wanted to eat his mom’s cooking, but seeing Yul-ri and Yoon-suk perk up their ears at the mention of delivery food, he replied brightly.

Following his cousins, who opened their small mouths wide and cheered excitedly, Bodam also smiled and clapped.

“Then let’s have chicken. Chicken.”

“Chicken! Chicken!”

Bomi, who had rushed over, sensing the smell of delivery, quickly recommended her favorite menu.

Naturally, it was also a dish Yul-ri and Yoon-suk went crazy for.

His oldest aunt waved her hand, opposing the children singing ‘Chicken, chicken.’

“Bodam’s here, so we should eat something better! What’s with chicken?”

“Unnie, chicken costs as much as jokbal these days. It’s over 20,000 won.”

His oldest aunt, who rarely ordered delivery food, was appalled, asking if they were going to come and fry a whole raw chicken themselves.

She seemed genuinely surprised after looking at the ridiculously expensive prices of delivery food these days.

Bodam, who had been quietly watching them, smiled gently and took out his phone.

“Is chicken and jokbal enough?”

Stars twinkled in Yul-ri and Yoon-suk’s eyes as they looked up at the adult who earned well.

***

The air was hot all around due to the fire-spewing monster that had caused a huge commotion.

The fire Espers were agitated and running wild, while the ice and water elementals were exhausted and receiving guiding.

There was a fire Esper in Jo Yeon’s team as well.

The perfectly fine perpetrator, his face flushed and sweating profusely, excitedly went to help with the aftermath of the Gate.

“What the. Are you kidding me? Is this all the water we get?”

Ga Bi, looking at the water bottles and food boxes provided to each team, flared up in anger, dumbfounded.

Although many support teams gathered, Zone 3, which had a low danger rating, had very poor supplies provided by the Center.

There was no choice but for people to grumble and complain everywhere.

“Noona. Drink this.”

Jo Yeon, who was sitting on a thin cloth on the warmly heated ground, handed Ga Bi his share of water.

His entire body was drenched in sweat, like someone who had just showered.

Ga Bi told him to drink it himself, saying she was fine, and carefully took small sips of her own water.

She stood by, not wanting to even touch the hot ground.

Ga Bi, looking around the site while waiting for the next Gate to open, said, “It’s a good thing we didn’t bring Yeon Yeok. If he was a Guide, he would have passed out from the heat.”

“Yeon Yeok roast.”

Na Un, who was lying straight next to Jo Yeon, responded quietly.

Ga Bi, ignoring his joke, took another sip of precious water and looked at Jo Yeon.

He was buried in his phone, grinning even in this heat.

“What are you looking at? Let me have a laugh too.”

Ga Bi, approaching with interest, tilted her head while looking at the phone screen Jo Yeon showed her.

It was just food photos.

Various delivery foods completely filled the table without any gaps.

“Is this funny?”

Jo Yeon chuckled again, showing the next photo to the puzzled Ga Bi.

Only then did Ga Bi also smile brightly with a welcoming face.

A familiar face was standing, holding sweet and sour pork because there was no place to put it.

“It’s Bodam! My goodness, his face has gotten so thin!”

“Let me see too.”

Na Un, who had been lying like the dead, also got up and showed interest.

He narrowed his eyes and pointed at Bodam’s cousin, asking, “Is this Bodam?”

“Why did he get so young?”

“You shut up and sleep. But why did they order so much food? Is it a retirement party? It looks like enough for everyone in the neighborhood to eat.”

“Bodam’s family will probably eat it all too. Bodam eats a lot for how thin he is.”

Bodam, who had lived a struggle with food alongside his sister, secretly had a strong appetite.

Even though he often skipped meals, he knew his habit of stuffing his cheeks until they were puffed when he did eat.

Recently, at a fancy restaurant, the empty plate Bodam had cleared after eating bread was no joke.

“Is that his sister? She’s pretty. Exactly like Bodam with long hair.”

“They look alike, don’t they?”

“Once she gets her cheek fat back, she’s a spitting image. She’ll be very popular.”

“She really hates it when people say they look alike. Even though they look exactly the same.”

“The babies are so cute too. It seems everyone in that family was born with candy in both cheeks. I want to bite them, bite them.”

The two enjoyed looking at the photos Bodam sent, smiling contentedly.

They were so excited that most of the photos were out of focus and blurry.

Even with the out-of-focus photos, the happy and boisterous atmosphere of the dining table was conveyed.

“Bodam? Guide Yoon Bodam?”

“Yoon Bodam?”

Hearing Ga Bi’s voice, who was making a fuss about how cute the photos were, Espers from nearby gathered.

They swarmed like bees at the name of Guide Yoon Bodam, who was currently the center of much discussion.

Jo Yeon, putting away his phone, only gave a polite nod and then openly turned his back on those approaching.

He made no attempt to hide his unwillingness to converse.

Whatever it was, the talk of Bodam circulating everywhere made him uncomfortable.

“Attack Team 3 still has a Guide vacancy, right? Usually, they’d replace him immediately, what’s going on?”

“That Guide lasted the longest this time. Maybe there’s some lingering affection.”

“Lingering affection, my ass. They were in a mess.”

When Ga Bi, who had also fallen silent following Jo Yeon, showed no sign of providing interesting gossip, the gathered Espers eagerly chattered among themselves.

Whenever they had free time during work, they were busy flapping their mouths about other people.

“Kang Yi Jun was amazing. My friend was in charge of the gate next to him and saw it live, he’s insane. I knew he was crazy, but I didn’t know he was that much.”

“Was he immediately taken into custody? Will his family just stand by?”

“What are they gonna do if they don’t stand by? He broke more rules than you can count on two hands, there’s no way they’d just let it slide.”

The chattering Espers returned to their places on their own.

Jo Yeon, who wasn’t interested in them, found his expression automatically crumpled at the continuing conversation.

“Kang Yi Jun is at the medical center now. They say he’s not well and is enjoying himself in a private ward.”

“Wow. So they’re not just standing by, they’re doing all that, huh.”

An Esper who had an acquaintance in the medical team babbled on.

Jo Yeon, sharply tuning his hearing, focused on that Esper’s voice.

“It makes no sense that he’s quarantined due to a lack of guiding when he hasn’t even been imprinted. Are guiding machines and medicine just for show? While they’re getting better treatment, what the f*ck.”

“It’s all a show to delay his custody. If it were us, wouldn’t we be immediately confined on the spot? Today, the silver spoons are still shining brightly, f*ck.”

“Anyway, only the rich or those with rare abilities get pampered so f*cking much. The world is going to hell in a handbasket—.”

The Esper, who couldn’t finish his sentence, froze with his mouth open.

In front of their eyes, an Esper with a lot of money and a rare rank was walking towards them.