I've Been Possessed, But What If I Get Pregnant First? - C24
#24
I turned my head, glanced at Kwon Taebeom, and awkwardly nodded. Grandma patted my head as if proud of me.
“By the way, what business does that guy have here?”
“Living toget-“
“I ran into him by chance in front of the house!”
I hurriedly covered Kwon Taebeom’s mouth and quickly answered grandma’s question. That ajussi was clearly trying to say he lives with me. When I gave him a pointed look, Kwon Taebeom slightly nodded.
“He said he wanted to eat grandma’s cooking, so I told him to come! Haha… H-, he was a regular customer!”
At my words, Kwon Taebeom slightly frowned and turned his head to say to grandma,
“Yes, what Yuwon said is correct.”
“You rascal. How long ago did I quit running the store! Just sit your butt down for now! Eat whatever menu I give you or don’t!”
Heek. As expected, our grandma was the strongest in this world. Grandma seemed to be the only one who could call Kwon Taebeom a rascal to his face.
I should never rebel against grandma. I rolled up my sleeves and followed grandma into the kitchen.
“It must have been hard studying, so go into the room and rest!”
“Still….”
“Tsk. Hey, you guy. What are you doing? Not taking the kid inside?”
“G-, grandma?”
Grandma not only kicked me out of the kitchen but also called Kwon Taebeom standing behind me “that guy” and ordered him to take me inside.
In the end, I was kicked out of the kitchen and came to the living room. I tried to secretly pick up wet wipes and wipe the furniture and stained floor, but Kwon Taebeom even took that job away from me.
Watching Kwon Taebeom’s back carefully wiping the old wooden table, I redefined the definition of “factory worker.” Is that behavior fitting for a factory worker? Is this character collapse?
“Ah…. the smell is delicious.”
The delicious aroma wafted from the window all the way to the living room. Although the neat set meals at Kwon Taebeom’s house were good, homemade meals were still the best.
At the sound of the rice cooker indicating the rice was done, I got up from my seat and headed to the kitchen. Glancing at grandma’s expression, I took out chopsticks and spoons and set the table. Fortunately, grandma didn’t say anything as she stirred the fluffy white rice.
“Eat it before it gets cold. You guy eat deliciously too!”
“Grandma, I’ll eat well!”
“I’ll eat well.”
The small portable table was filled with thick rolled eggs like bricks, spicy kimchi stew, and my favorite stir-fried pork. Grandma’s magic-like skill of completing so many dishes in a short moment made me exclaim in admiration.
“Wow-! As expected, grandma is the best! It looks really delicious.”
When I raised my thumb and grinned broadly, grandma stroked my cheek and gave a gentle smile.
“Taebeom, enjoy your meal.”
“Yeah. You too.”
I turned my head and whispered softly to Kwon Taebeom sitting right next to me. It was a challenge to decide which side dish to eat first because it was a feast that could bend the table legs. After a short deliberation, I picked up a thick rolled egg glistening with oil, dipped it generously in ketchup, and brought it to my mouth.
It’s going to be really deliciou-
“Ugh- ugh-.”
“Cha Yuwon!”
“Oh my! Yuwon!”
Why is my stomach like this? The strange fishy smell from the egg made my stomach churn. Grandma was looking at me with worried eyes from right across.
“I’m fine, just a moment of uneas- ugh!”
I deliberately tried to pretend to be more okay and opened my mouth wide, but the egg smell felt more nauseating than before. Even holding my breath, the smell permeating my nose was so strong that I gagged.
Oh, damn. This won’t do.
As soon as I had that thought, my stomach churned and an unbearable urge to vomit surged. I abruptly got up from my seat, hurried into the bathroom, and lifted the toilet lid.
“Ugh-“
“Cha Yuwon!”
“Goodness, my baby! What is going on!!”
Kwon Taebeom and grandma’s voices followed me from behind.
“Ugh- hic… ugh…!”
The rice I ate last night must have already been digested, as only bitter stomach acid poured out of my mouth, and an irresistible urge to vomit welled up. As I was holding onto the toilet and retching alone, Kwon Taebeom opened the door and entered the bathroom.
“Tae-, ugh, don’t come, ugh, in…! It’s di-, dirty, ugh-“
I waved my hand behind me, telling him not to come in, but Kwon Taebeom took a spot right behind me and slowly stroked my back.
“I’m fine, so don’t mind me and throw up.”
After holding onto the toilet and shedding tears for a while, my stomach settled to some extent.
“I’m o-, okay now….”
I rinsed my mouth and looked at Kwon Taebeom’s face reflected in the mirror, and his forehead was deeply furrowed. With a rather serious expression, it seemed he would call Dr. Choi here right away.
“I think I ate too much for dinner last night.”
Even though I know and Kwon Taebeom knows that nothing came out of my stomach to say that, I just laughed awkwardly and left the bathroom.
“Oh my, baby!”
“Grandma.”
“What happened? Did you overeat?”
“I ate dinner and went straight to bed last night…. Haha, were you very worried?”
“Phew. Then don’t be surprised, don’t be surprised! I thought this granny’s heart would drop, you guy!”
Grandma finally stroked her chest after patting my face that had regained some color.
“Grandma, I’m sorry…. I won’t do that again.”
“Oh my. How can a man be so frail, what use will he be? Tsk tsk.”
Grandma looked over my thin body and clicked her tongue.
“This won’t do. Granny will go to the herbal medicine shop tomorrow and boil you some frog and carp, so you’ll have to eat that to be of any use, this won’t do.”
Frog and… carp? Ugh, I almost died from the fishy egg smell, how can I eat that? I shook my head at the thought of the terrible taste of the herbal medicine, even just imagining it.
“G-, grandma! I was just momentarily like that. And Tae-, Taebeom stroked my back, so I’m all better now.”
I raised my hand to show my arm muscles to tell her not to worry, but the sleeve of the large hoodie followed my arm and hung down, making my thin wrist stand out even more.
“Grandma… but I don’t like frog….”
When I pouted my lower lip and looked at grandma earnestly, grandma let out a deep sigh.
“But you still have to eat it. How will you get married like this?”
I wanted to tell grandma, who was clicking her tongue and feeling upset, that the guy who wants to marry Cha Yuwon is right next to me.
“Anyway, I got it, you guy. By the way, I cleared the table while Yuwon was gone for a moment, what should we do?”
While I was fighting a tough battle in the bathroom, grandma must have cleared the table, as all the side dishes that had filled the table were gone. Grandma handed over the side dish containers she had packed with this and that to Kwon Taebeom, who was standing behind me, as if she felt sorry for clearing the table before he could eat.
“At least take this and share it with that guy with the black beard.”
“…Thank you.”
The flowery side dish containers looked so out of place in Kwon Taebeom’s hands.
“Pft.”
When I couldn’t hold back and burst into laughter, Kwon Taebeom’s gaze immediately turned to me. I barely suppressed my laughter until my cheeks puffed up and raised my head.
“Grandma, have you been well? Your face has gotten even fairer, did you eat the frog?”
“How could I not be well?”
When I linked arms with grandma and smiled affectionately, grandma patted my hand and laughed. I held grandma’s wrinkled hand and headed to the living room. Meanwhile, Kwon Taebeom, who had closed the window that was left open for ventilation, brought the fruit box he had left at the front door.
“Grandma, these are mangoes, strawberries, and watermelon! Taebeom bought them for you.”
“If you met in front of here, how do you know?”
“We-, well, I asked him, that’s why! Right, Taebeom?”
At my words, Kwon Taebeom nodded once, and grandma still looked at me and Kwon Taebeom alternately with suspicious eyes. My heart was pounding and I felt like hiccups would burst out, but I avoided eye contact while suppressing them.
Anyway, our grandma was no joke. I should have known from the moment the store name was [Scolding Grandma’s Authentic Famous Restaurant Branch 1]….
“Then, you go wash it and bring it.”
“G-, grandma…? I’ll just do it.”
“Tsk, stay still.”
Still, I felt even more restless at grandma ordering our factory worker gentleman around like a servant, telling him to do this and that.
“I told you I’m not sick at all…?”
“Yes, I understand.”
No, why is Kwon Taebeom acting like that again? I followed his back with an anxious face as he took the fruit with a solemn expression.
***
“Um… Taebeom, is it still… far?”
When it comes to using a knife, he should be more professional than anyone here, but even after 30 minutes passed, Kwon Taebeom showed no signs of coming out, so I stretched my head and called for him.
“…I’ll be right there.”
I think you said that 10 minutes ago too.
It seemed like he was doing something, but only the sound of running water was heard intermittently, so I was dying of curiosity about what the heck Kwon Taebeom was doing and how. Grandma told me to just leave him alone, asking why I was so curious, but I was still worried about the factory worker gentleman doing that in our kitchen.