Chapter 72
Even if I tried to forget what happened that night, I simply couldn't. There was no way I could easily forget hearing a man ask if he could kiss me. No, how many times in his life would a grown man experience something like that?
The scene of Baek Eun-seong kissing the back of my hand kept replaying in my mind, but I shook my head, desperately trying to brush away the afterimage. Rather than wasting time dwelling on something like that, it would be more beneficial to research ways to return to my original world.
Letting out a deep sigh, I glanced at the clock and realized it was already time for the Academy to end. Thinking it might be over, I made a call, and instead of a cheerful voice, a soft one greeted me.
"Hello?"
"Where's Baek Ha-min?"
"Ha-min is washing his hands right now... You can tell me instead."
"I don't need you."
"Ahaha."
Ignoring Baek Eun-seong's laughter, I hung up the phone. Not long after, I heard a knock at the door. When I opened it, Baek Ha-min rushed toward me with a bright smile. I scooped up the child and asked the uninvited guest who followed behind.
"Why did you come together instead of coming alone?"
"In case something happened."
At Baek Eun-seong's words, I tilted my head slightly and looked outside. The entrance to Baek Eun-seong's house was visible not far away. His house was right next door—what could possibly happen? I wanted to slam the door shut right in his face, but since we were neighbors, I let him in and moved to the living room.
"Uncle, did you miss Ha-min?"
Did I miss him...? Pondering the question, I rubbed the space between my eyebrows.
This morning, I had tried to sleep in for once, but Baek Ha-min kept banging on the front door. I muttered, "I can't hear you, I can't hear you," while pressing a pillow over my ears, but a morning glory sprouting from the ground tickled the soles of my feet.
Startled awake, I had no choice but to open the door and bid farewell to Ha-min, who was waving his hands excitedly, saying he was heading to the Academy. Less than eight hours had passed since then—how could I miss him?
Yawning and sighing at the same time, I rummaged through my pocket, and Baek Ha-min's eyes sparkled.
"Is it a present for Ha-min?"
"No."
"Eung... Then can I guess what it is?"
"Whatever."
Baek Ha-min grabbed my hand, wondering if it was jelly or a toy, constantly glancing at my face for clues. Meanwhile, Baek Eun-seong took a seat beside me. I rubbed my stiff neck and answered Baek Ha-min's twenty questions.
"Correct! Ppani's slippers!"
"I told you it's not Ppani."
"Then what is it?"
"Seeds."
When I opened my hand, Baek Ha-min's face quickly filled with disappointment before brimming with curiosity.
"What kind of seeds?"
Sitting between me and Baek Eun-seong, Baek Ha-min examined the black seed from various angles.
Watching Ha-min stare at the seed for a long time, drowsiness crept up on me out of boredom. Eventually, I leaned my head against the backrest and closed my eyes briefly when I felt someone stroking my hair with a soft rustle.
"What."
"Have you had dinner?"
"Not yet."
"If you haven't, let's eat together."
I opened my eyes and looked at Baek Eun-seong's hand before pulling away slightly.
Let's think positively, Seong Do-hyeon. There are people who turn into dogs and bite others whenever they drink. Compared to them, Baek Eun-seong was quite well-behaved.
After finishing my mental control, I nodded as nonchalantly as possible.
"Then, please wait a moment."
Baek Eun-seong stroked Ha-min's hair, who was staring at the seed without moving, before returning to his own house. Watching his retreating figure, I touched my hair that Baek Eun-seong had just stroked.
'Hmm.'
What was that? Did he treat me the same as his nephew?
Feeling strangely displeased, I was about to cross my arms when Ha-min suddenly looked up and started bouncing on the sofa.
"I know what this is!"
"Calm down and sit down to tell me."
"It's that thing!"
"I told you to sit down and tell me."
When my voice turned stern, Ha-min obediently sat on the sofa and raised the seed of Hawanu high.
"This is a fossil."
"What?"
Baek Ji-seong, that scamming bastard!
Unable to contain my anger, I jumped up from my seat. Then I immediately called Asil and had him find out where Baek Ji-seong was so I could crush him.
Seeing me grinding my teeth, Baek Ha-min backed away for a moment before waving his fist holding the seed left and right.
"But I can grow this!"
"...You can grow it?"
Catching my breath at Ha-min's words, I calmed down and sat on the sofa as the child patted.
"You said it was a fossil."
"Yeah. That's why I can grow it, but I need Uncle's help."
"What kind?"
I could do anything. To return to my original world, what couldn't I do? I waited for Ha-min, who was scooting backward on his butt while looking at me with shining eyes, to speak, but the child shook his head and pointed in an unexpected direction.
"Not Uncle, Uncle Eun-seong!"
At those words, I tucked the child under my arm, opened the front door, and stepped outside. When I knocked on the front door of the house exactly five steps away, Ha-min, who had been fidgeting and turning his body, reached out and opened the door.
After stepping inside the entrance, I couldn't help but bite the soft flesh inside my mouth at the sight before me.
It was because Baek Eun-seong's house had the exact same layout as ours.
Since it was the same building built by the same person, it couldn't be helped that they were identical, but I couldn't help feeling tense, worried that I might mistake it for our house, let my guard down, and make a mistake. As I stepped inside, I covered Ha-min's mouth. The entire house was filled with smoke.
"You stay here."
The child nodded and curled up, covering his nose and mouth with his hands. As I looked around the smoke-filled house, Asil guided me to the kitchen. I immediately threw open the windows to disperse the smell.
"Baek Eun-seong."
"Ah, you're here?"
"You knew, so why did you do that."
Rubbing the back of my neck, I answered curtly and surveyed the disastrous kitchen. Seriously, I waited for a while after being told to wait, and when he didn't come, I wondered if he had died somewhere—turns out he was playing with fire. I pushed Baek Eun-seong aside as he tried to salvage the burnt lump of meat and asked.
"Steak?"
"...and mashed potatoes..."
Turning around at those words, I saw properly boiled potatoes on the island table. He boiled the potatoes well, so why did he cook the expensive meat so terribly? At my gaze, Baek Eun-seong smiled with only the corners of his mouth raised and pointed his thumb.
"I heard that you can tell if it's cooked or not by the sensation here... Since I had to give Ha-min fully cooked meat, I ended up grilling it a bit too long and it turned out like this."
"Is that so."
No matter how I looked at it, it seemed more than just 'a bit too long'... With a sigh, I picked up the meat along with the frying pan and placed it in the sink, then grabbed the intact meat and boiled potatoes and headed back to my house.
Then I seated Baek Eun-seong and Baek Ha-min, who had followed me like ducklings, at the dining table and handed Ha-min a bowl of potatoes along with mayonnaise.
"Can I put as much as the potatoes?"
"Only half."
"Should Uncle do it?"
"Ha-min will do it."
Pushing away Baek Eun-seong's hand, Ha-min squeezed the mayonnaise and began mashing it thoroughly with a spoon. After perfectly fulfilling the role of sprinkling salt on the meat as well, he peeked around asking if there was anything else he could help with.
"Now go sit down."
"Yeah."
"And what did you mean earlier about needing Baek Eun-seong?"
"Ah!"
Ha-min, who had been kicking his legs while sitting on the chair, held out the seed of Hawanu to Baek Eun-seong. Watching with curiosity about what he would do, I suppressed the scream that was about to burst out.
"Look, Uncle."
It was because Baek Ha-min split the seed in half in the blink of an eye. I was so shocked that I forgot to breathe and collapsed onto the floor.
I went through so much to get that, and he just... splits it in half. My head spinning, I pressed my forehead when I felt a soft warmth behind my back.
"Hunter Seong Do-hyeon!"
"Uncle, are you okay?!"
Carefully supporting my body, Baek Eun-seong adjusted his posture so I could lean against him comfortably. Thanks to that, I caught my breath and looked down at Ha-min's hands through my dizzy vision.
The cross-section of the seed was pitch black. If I hadn't known it was a seed, I would have mistaken it for a stone.
"Uncle, make a flowerpot."
"A flowerpot?"
Even with a face that seemed to ask what I was talking about in this situation, Baek Eun-seong steadily made a flowerpot and handed it to Ha-min.
"No, a bit bigger."
As the flowerpot's size was modified according to the child's request, Ha-min carefully filled a bowl with water.
"Fill this with soil."
"Soil?"
"Yeah. I'm going to plant this."
Baek Eun-seong looked at me as if asking for permission, and I nodded with a bewildered face. It's a seed, so it needs to be planted, right?
But didn't they say it was a fossil? Can the two of them grow it...?
Instantly filled with hope, I watched Baek Eun-seong fill the flowerpot with soil. Ha-min stared at the crumbly-looking soil, made a small furrow, and placed each half of the split seed inside.
"Uncle, you know. It needs seeds, right?"
"Yeah."
"Then it'll take about a month until the fruit bears, but if me and Uncle help, it'll grow within a week."
At those words, I ruffled Baek Ha-min's hair wildly. Eung, don't...! Whining and squirming, instead of running away, Ha-min snuggled into my arms.
Unable to resist his childish antics, I patted his bottom, and when my eyes met Baek Eun-seong's, he smiled broadly.
What, why is he smiling like that?
"Hunter Seong Do-hyeon."
"What?"
"Now you need me, right?"