The dungeon smells like chicken. - Chapter 5

Sena, who had been baffled, looked at Michael. Michael, pale, shook his hands. Noticing her gaze, Sejun grumbled.

“It wasn’t me who said it, you know? The iron rusts and the leather armor molds. It’s common sense.”

“Yeah, you’re so smart.”

Sena, taken aback, snapped at him, and Sejun began to whine.

“Ah, come on, just give it back to him quickly. Do you know how expensive it is? You can’t afford to replace it if it gets damaged.”

“Jun, the lady is worried about your safety.”

Michael hurriedly intervened. It was not only surprising that he had dropped the formalities, but also that he now affectionately called Sejun “Jun.” Sena said sharply.

“Fine. Put the sword and armor back in your room. But you can’t take out or swing the sword. Using a sword without permission here is illegal.”

“Yes, miss.”

Michael sent a worried look. Sena, annoyed by that too, turned her head sharply.

“Sejun, don’t stay too long. Go to bed early so you won’t be late tomorrow.”

“…Okay, sis.”

Sejun, hesitant, looked around. Seeing that, Sena felt her behavior had been childish.

Sena hurried out of the basement.

She fled to the kitchen and brewed some herbal tea to calm herself. As she stared blankly at the steaming cup, Sejun approached her cautiously.

“Sis, are you mad?”

Seeing her sullen brother made her feel a pang of guilt. Sena spoke, trying to steady her voice.

“I’m not mad. Are you hungry?”

“No.”

Sejun, fidgeting with the items around him, watched her nervously. After a long pause, he spoke hesitantly.

“You know… the guy can’t go back to his world because the door’s gone. Can he stay with us?”

“Huh? Hey, sis!”

Actually, Sena had guessed what Sejun was going to say as soon as he started hesitating. She responded to her brother with a common-sense reaction as his guardian.

“We don’t know him well. He could be dangerous.”

“He’s not dangerous. He’s really nice. He’s not dangerous at all,” Sejun said solemnly. Sena smiled bitterly at his childlike words. Annoyed, Sejun snapped back.

“He said he was grateful that you saved his life. He said he wanted to repay you. You know he’s not the type to hurt us. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have introduced him to me.”

Sena flinched at the accurate point. She, too, didn’t believe Michael would do anything bad. If he had intended to, he could have done so when they were alone.

“I just…”

Sena sighed deeply. She fiddled with her cup and said,

“I don’t like that things keep happening that I can’t understand.”

It wasn’t entirely honest. Sejun seemed to sense it, giving a half-hearted look.

“He doesn’t seem like someone you can’t understand. He seems a lot better than those jerks you dated.”

“Hong Sejun.”

“Okay, okay. But sis, you don’t plan on kicking him out, do you?”

Sejun asked with a sly smile. Sena, glaring at him, said,

“Just because he has nowhere to go doesn’t mean he can behave badly or be rude. If he does, I’ll kick you out instead. Got it?”

“Got it! Yes!”

Sejun, thrilled, ran out of the kitchen. Soon, there was some chatter. Sena shook her head, unable to do anything.

The next day, Sejun woke up without needing anyone to rouse him. Watching her brother clatter downstairs, Sena sighed inwardly.

As soon as he arrived, Sejun greeted Michael noisily, then clung to Sena.

“Sis, what’s for breakfast today? Galbi stew? Bibimbap?”

“Galbi stew for breakfast? Seriously?”

Sena hit the annoying brat lightly on the head and took out perfectly grilled items from the pan.

Between three slices of bread, she placed sliced ham and cheese, spread some strawberry jam, and dipped them in egg wash to make golden-brown sandwiches.

She cut the hot sandwiches in half, arranged them nicely, and plated them prettily. She made quite a lot, grilling four sandwiches for Michael alone.

“Take these to the table.”

“Huh? Not rice?”

“Some people don’t like the smell of rice.”

“Why? Rice is delicious.”

Michael, helping Sena set the plates, looked up, curious about what rice was. She turned away, pretending not to notice.

“Sejun, get the milk and put some jam in a bowl.”

“I’ll do it.”

Michael eagerly volunteered. Sejun grinned and asked him,

“Do you know how to use the fridge?”

“Fridge?”

“Look. This is a fridge. You open here to get drinks, and this is where water comes out. And if you open this door—”

After that, the two of them got absorbed in explaining and opening and closing the fridge door.

Sena felt herself getting irritated. She had cleaned the fridge recently, but still, she didn’t like others peeking inside it.

She unintentionally raised her voice sharply.

“Hong Sejun, you’ll be late again.”

“Oh? Got it. Let’s eat, it’s best when it’s hot.”

Sejun hurried to get the jam and poured the milk, making a fuss. Michael, sensing the tense atmosphere, glanced cautiously at Sena.

She pretended not to notice and sat down. Sejun, oblivious, chattered on.

“Michael, how is it? Tasty?”

“Yes.”

Michael answered while cautiously watching Sena. He seemed unsure if he was even tasting what he was eating. Sejun bragged cheerfully to him.

“Our sister is really good at cooking. Her cooking videos are super popular too—”

“Sejun.”

Sena called out coldly to her brother. Sejun, startled, looked at her. She nodded toward his plate.

“Eat.”

Pouting, Sejun started eating the sandwich again. After that, no one spoke until the meal was over.

Sena stared blankly at her plate. Her half-eaten sandwich lay there.

Sejun had finished his, but Michael, like her, barely touched his food. Sighing, Sena covered her face with her hands.

‘Enough, Hong Sena. Stop acting so immature.’

Hearing a small noise, she looked up to see Michael standing there. He seemed to have just returned from seeing Sejun off. Sena asked weakly.

“Did Sejun leave well?”

“Yes.”

There was a brief silence. Both hesitated, then spoke almost at the same time.

“Um—”

“Let me—”

Michael said, “Please, go ahead.” Sena sighed softly and spoke.

“I’m sorry.”

“For being so petty. To be honest, I was a bit hurt that my brother got so close to a stranger so quickly. He hadn’t been talking to me much lately.”

Michael looked embarrassed. Sena felt her cheeks flush.

Suddenly, she remembered her ex-boyfriend’s accusations.

-How can you be so obsessed with your brother? It’s a sickness, a mental illness. You should take better care of me than your brother. Then I’ll treat him better too.

Back then, she thought he was barking nonsense, but maybe he was right about it being an obsession.

Sejun was her only family, her little brother. She might have been too clingy without realizing it.

As she brooded, Michael spoke.

“Jun said something similar.”

“What?”

“He said I shouldn’t get too close to his sister, that he’d be watching me.”

Sena blinked in surprise at the unexpected words. Michael added with a gentle smile.

“Yesterday, when we talked, he kept asking how I met you, if I did anything inappropriate, what we talked about, and what I thought of you.”

“Oh.”

“I thought you two were such a lovely sibling pair. I was envious.”

Sena was taken aback. She never imagined Sejun would ask such questions. She thought they only talked about his world.

“Didn’t he ask about anything else?”

“He was curious about the politics, history, and culture of my world. Answering his questions was really challenging. I’ve never met such a clever kid. It felt like talking to a renowned scholar.”

Sena’s face softened at the praise for her brother. She smiled bashfully.

“He’s particularly interested in those things. Thanks for being patient with him.”

“No, Jun is kind and a good kid. He helped me more than I helped him.”

Michael spoke earnestly, his voice carrying a reassuring sincerity. Sena looked at him for a moment before speaking.

“Sejun asked if Michael could live here with us.”

“Ah…”

“I’d like to ask the same. If you haven’t changed your mind, I hope you stay with us. Not as a servant, but as a friend to me and Sejun.”

Michael’s face lit up.

“Thank you so much.”

Sena smiled, pleased to see his joy. Then she noticed the almost untouched plate.

“By the way, you barely ate breakfast. Let me make you something simple.”

“No, that’s okay.”

Michael, flustered, shook his head. When Sena asked, “Aren’t you hungry?” he hesitated a bit.

His face reddened as he cautiously asked,

“Um, can I have more of the leftover sandwiches?”

“Didn’t you like them?”

“No, they were delicious…”

“Then you didn’t eat because you were worried about me?”

When she asked playfully, Michael’s face turned beet red. He fumbled and hung his head.

Sena sighed softly.

“Next time, don’t worry about me and eat as much as you want. I won’t scold you over food, no matter how upset I am. Even dogs aren’t disturbed when they’re eating.”

Michael nodded obediently. Satisfied, Sena poured

him some juice.

“Here, sit down and eat as much as you like.”

Michael eagerly devoured the remaining sandwiches. Sena, sipping her juice, watched him eat.

‘He eats so well.’

Watching him eat made her happy as a cook. She wished her picky, short-appetited brother would learn from him.

Michael finished the remaining sandwiches while she drank a single glass of juice. Sena marveled internally.

‘At least we won’t have any food waste.’

After the meal, Michael naturally helped with the dishes. Standing side by side, washing the dishes, felt oddly comforting. Sena quickly spoke up.

“Um, Michael.”

“Please, just call me Michael.”

“Okay, Michael. If you’re not busy today, could you help me with something?”

He agreed without knowing what it was. Sena, adding a bit of mischief, said,

“It might be really tough.”