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Going from fighting one war to another… It felt too much like Korea. He sank even lower in the bathtub. Maybe that was why his transition from Kim Rok Soo to Cale Henituse was so easy.
This luxury that he got to experience, was the biggest difference. He could wake up, and see intact buildings that weren’t abandoned. It was possible to see people walking around the street without injuries, and pretty enough clothes. It was possible for him to live like he was living currently.
A sigh escaped his lips. He was still supposed to speak with his highness what their next plan was, now that the White Star was gone. He would need to make sure that the thought of him becoming a Prime Minister would vanish from everyone's head. This would all be so much easier, if so many people here weren’t bastards, crazy, or a combination of the two.
His mind was full of plans, with no end in sight.
The only thing that shut his mind off a bit was how hot the water was. He wanted to melt in the tub. To become one with it, and never have stupid thoughts again. Ron had, with a vicious face, kindly added some nice scents to the water. Usually he’d either teasingly add a scent that Cale didn’t prefer or leave it be. His family had been nagging him about looking tired, did even that vicious bastard think so? Was this his way of showing concern?
He stared at his own reflection on the water (so different from Kim Rok Soo, but he’d accepted that, that was what he looked like now. How would his Team 1 react? How could he convince Beacrox to cook Korean food without being suspicious?), till he heard a knock on the door that put a stop to his mindless thoughts. Small footsteps could be heard shuffling behind the door with some whispering.
“Yes?” He asked, his mind had already concluded who the footsteps belonged to, but he wanted to know why they came.
“Human!” Raon flew in, after opening the door, with Ohn and Hong following after him with excited faces. “Let’s go and rest at the Super Rock villa.”
“Sure, but why?” Cale was gladly ready to go there, but the kids had been having so much fun at the Henituse Estate. Cale had introduced them to his siblings (making a promise that their parents would know at a later date, just not yet), which made them hard to separate. Raon was disappointed that he was still the youngest, but he enjoyed showing off his magic to Basen and Lily. It was nice to see those two looking like kids, as their eyes shone when Raon made Hong float in the air. Any trick that Raon did had them clapping their hands.
He did tell Raon, Hong and Ohn to keep it a secret from his siblings that he let them participate in wars and battles with him. Basen and Lily wouldn’t handle that well, Cale imagined.
“You should rest, human!” Raon said, with a straight face. Ohn and Hong even agreed.
Cale raised a brow, his face saying, ‘But I have been resting?’ In disbelief. He couldn’t even say it with his own mouth, as Ohn started before he could, “Beacrox has been sulking in his own way, wanting to spend more time with the wolf kids at Harris village. And Choi Han has been dreamily looking outside. Cookie Prince has been busy perfecting his cookie recipe…”
It seemed that Ohn could go on and on. Cale coughed, “We can go of course.” Some of what Ohn said seemed exaggerated, but Cale shrugged it off. It wasn’t like Ohn to say some of the things that she said, but she must have a reason. “If you want we can even leave today.” He curled one of his fingers around a lock of hair, twirling it absentmindedly.
“Thank you, human!” The three happily happily run out of the bathroom.
When Cale got out of the bath, and finished drying his hair, the children had added that they wished to stay at the Super Rock villa for as long as possible. Cale didn’t know why they wanted to stay there now, they’d only mentioned others, but not their own reasons. Not that he’d object, staying too long at the Henituse made him feel like an imposter. He wasn’t actually their son. Yet he was treated so kindly.
“Young master, I notified the masters that we’ll be staying away.” Ron appeared in front of him without a sound. Vicious bastard.
“Good.” Raon, Ohn, and Hong would be happy to hear that, Cale thought idly, leaning his head on his hand, with his legs crossed as he sat on a couch.
“They said you must bid farewell to them.” Cale couldn’t help the goosebumps he got from Ron’s benign smile combined with his intense eyes.
Trying to not show how much his smile still affects him, he nodded, stood up and quickly walked towards his father’s study. He needn’t knock, as a butler already opened the door for him, and guided him to sit on the couch.
His father looked as rigid as ever. Cale could see right away that he’d finished his work prior to him entering the room, but for some reason, the man fiddled around with his papers. Placing them here and there. Acting like what he was doing was important. Finally, with a cough, he stood up, his hands on the table. Momentarily staying there as if he was regaining strength. It took him a moment to start walking over to sit on the other side of Cale.
“Son, I heard from Ron you’ll go travelling?” Maybe Cale was imagining it, but his father looked like a big sad puppy. Still powerful, but his head slightly downturned and his eyes looked bigger, somehow.
“Yes, I thought I needed some change of scenery.” Choi Jung Soo had demonstrated to him well enough how weak he is to such eyes, so he avoided the Count’s gaze and instead looked out of the window. Not showing too much, or too little emotion on his face, he remained hidden behind a mask for his own peace of mind.
In a strained voice his father replied, “...Alright. Don’t cause trouble.” It took the Count a second till he added, “It’ll worry your mother and me. Look after yourself.”
“Thank you.” He didn’t have to force the small smile onto his face, it came easily when he thought about how he wouldn’t have to attend the awkward family dinners anymore. They had improved much from the first one he shared with them, but now, for some odd reason they kept worrying about him on and on.
It felt like Team 1 fussing over him all over again, but now he couldn’t escape the dinners he was invited to. They were family dinners, and this time he was their ‘family’. He couldn’t even start to explain to the Count that he wasn’t his son. That he was actually a 36 year old man from Korea that got transported to this world, because of a deal between God and the 40 year old Cale Henituse who died in war. That would only get him sent to an asylum.
He was ready to get up, and leave, but when the Count noticed his slight movement the gears in his head started turning, with a small sweat bead appearing on his forehead. Probably wracking his brain for any ways to extend the conversation. Because that was something he’d started doing. Not that Cale understood his line of thought. Whenever Cale took a small walk around the Estate, and he’d cross paths with his father, he would be subjected to having very awkward small talk with his father.
For once, he decided to pity his father by initiating the conversation himself, “I’ll pick up souvenirs for the family, is there something you or mother would like? I already know what I’ll get for Basen and Lily.”
“Ah!” The Count clapped his hands, relief washing over his face. “You know your mother would enjoy art, and for me anything will do.” His rigidness was gone. All that was left was a caring smile.
“Great, I’ll get going now. Lest I depart too late.”
Though the Count was disappointed that their talk didn’t last longer, he also prioritized safety. “Yes, if you leave too late bandits may try to rob you.”
Cale didn’t understand how that was a concern. All the people around him were overpowered. But he didn’t let the Count see his real thoughts and left quietly with a wave.
Ron had already packed his things. His mother was away so he’d left a small note on her table. Making it so that the only thing he still had to do was bid farewell to his siblings.
With Basen and Lily hugging him at the same time, it was a wonder he didn’t suffocate. Lily was becoming stronger each day, and Basen wasn’t so feeble either.
Finally, their grips got weaker, and he managed to ruffle both of their heads. Huh, it even made him smile. “Don’t overwork yourselves. You’re both amazing already.”
Lily looked up at him with an awkward face. “Oraboni, please take a look in the mirror…”
“Lily!” Was all that Basen said with a shocked expression. He didn’t say that what Lily said was wrong, no, the problem was that she said it in an impolite way.
“I don’t overwork myself.” That was his cue to leave. Otherwise Lily might start engaging in a battle of words with him.
“Nya! The air is nice.” Hong said, sticking his head out of the carriage’s window like a dog might’ve in Korea. It was amusing how he pointed out buildings they passed that he thought were pretty. But he didn’t forget to add that their home was the best, definitely the best of them all.
Raon was already following in line. With a serious expression, he turned to stare at Cale. “Human! When we make it to the villa you have to rest!” His cheeks were puffed as he said it.
Cale raised an eyebrow, had he not been resting for the past week already? He’d only been a bother with getting out of bed late, leaving all the important work to his father, mother, and little brother. But there was no reason to object. He’d been dreaming of a slacker life for so long…
Now with a more hesitating tone Raon began, “We were thinking of going shopping…”
“That would be good. I promised my family souvenirs.” Cale nodded, propping his head onto his hand that was leaning against the carriage.
He didn’t expect Raon to look worried about what he’d said. Turning his head towards his sister hopelessly. Hong was staring out of the window acting like he wasn’t there. His comments about their surroundings ceased. Was he trying to avoid the situation?
Ohn slightly nodded in Raon’s direction, and said, “His highness said that you should rest.”
The mention of that bastard almost made Cale wear what Raon would call his scammer smile instinctively. Before it was out of wanting to stay guarded against him, but now it felt great to have someone so similar to him who he could bicker with.
“That bastard? What does us going shopping have anything to do with me having a rest?” His brows creased.
“He said that you could just send a servant.”
Cale eyed Ohn. To him, it felt like they were hiding something. He sat more upright as he said, “Ohn, and this goes to the two of you too, if you want to go shopping without me, then that’s fine. Just tell me why you’re telling me that I shouldn’t go shopping. Especially why you are bringing up his Highness.” He wore a small smile, hoping it would be encouraging. He wasn’t good at saying sappy things, but there was a small glimmer of hope that Choi Jung Soo’s sappiness had worn on him.
“Ah…” Hong stopped looking out of the window, his mouth was slightly open in surprise. Upon noticing that Cale was looking at him because of the sound that had escaped from his mouth he quickly averted his eyes. Choosing to stare at his feet that were dangling, still too short to touch the ground in his human form. “We do want to go shopping with you, but it’s true that we’d also like to do it without you.”
“Mm, but why don’t you want me to go shopping? Ohn tried to urge me away from it. Using his Highness as an excuse. Would you have used anyone?”
“Because we’d always like to go with you, Human!” His voice turned quieter, almost sounding embarrassed he said, “It makes us sad if we can’t go with you. And we couldn’t think of a good excuse… We would’ve used anyone for our excuse.” His head was still dropped low.
Cale examined Ohn and Raon’s faces, and they seemed to agree to what Hong was saying. Both of their faces had turned pinker
Cale nodded as he took in the information. “Well, what if one time we went shopping together so that I could buy souvenirs for my family and some ingredients for cooking, so that when you come back from your second shopping trip without me, you could eat something I’ve made.” He gave them a moment to process what he said, and then added, “Does that sound good to you?”
“Yes!”
The atmosphere was lively again.
But it didn’t take long till a question arose in Raon’s mind. He turned to look up at him with those big blue eyes. “Human, you can cook?!”
“...” He could understand why Raon might be surprised (Cale Henituse was a noble, afterall), but all that he could respond was a dry, “Yes, I can cook.” Accompanied by patting Raon’s head.
It would be a lie if he would say that the shocked face of Raon didn’t hurt his pride at all.
Their arrival at the Super Rock villa was nothing grand. Ron held the door open for them, with Choi Han, and Raon with his magic helping Beacrox carry their luggage.
He would’ve chosen to fall down on the bed first thing as he made it to his bedroom (why did it feel that each time that he saw his bed it had turned even softer than before?), but the kids didn’t allow him to fall asleep just yet. There was enough time left in the day to play!
Ohn had even pointed out that, “It’ll ruin your sleep schedule.” Looking him straight in the eyes as she said it.
That was a pang in the heart for Cale.
With a sigh, he asked. “Fine, what would you like to do?”
The children exchanged glances mischievously. Ohn then said, “Let’s walk, nya.”
Saying that, Hong and Raon took hold of his hands, pulling him outside of the room. Cale couldn’t hold back his shock, “Eh?” He eyed them warily, but they just kept on tugging him along, acting as if they didn’t notice his gaze. He wondered who they learnt that from.
They’d pulled him out into the gardens. Currently there was no one else but them there. The wind’s breeze felt nice on his skin, and the shining sun made him want to lay down like a cat.
He was shortly pulled out of his daydream of napping by Raon’s question, “What do you like, Human?”
“Food,” He took a short breath, “And rest.” They were kids after all, so he decided to play along. No matter how much he would’ve liked to become one with the bed or be like a cat. Or the fact that he was sure they knew the answer to the question.
“What about things?”
Hmm, it was hard to talk about things like that with their expectant looks, but thankfully he’d had a similar conversation like this before with his Team Leader and Choi Jung Soo. All answers were ready in his head, and he didn’t have to feel awkward answering. “Books.”
“Human… when there are no battles left, and no one left to help,” Ohn started, but Kim Rok Soo Cale didn’t think he’d live to witness such a day. He’d fight for it with all his might, but would it ever come?
“What will you do then?”
“I’ll be a slacker.”
Again, the kids exchanged glances, whilst looking at him weirdly. What was so wrong with his answers?
“Be more precise human!”
“Ah…” Was it like that again? Did he not explain well enough, and the people around him worried that he didn’t need them?
He’d fallen back into that habit… Of course, he could never see the world that he imagined, if he kept leaving people behind.
“I’ll start over again, then.” He coughed, regaining himself.
“I like food, especially eating it after I’ve done something hard. And if I could I would sleep in a lot more.” He felt his ears turning pink, but he tried to keep his face calm. It was good that his hair was a bit overgrown, it covered his ears nicely. If he wanted to be an adult that Ohn, Hong and Raon could rely on… then he should manage at least answering questions honestly.
“For books, I enjoy fantasy. Reading about worlds that are very different from mine especially.”
He’d been avoiding the kids' eyes, it came as an unconscious decision, and it didn’t help that they weren’t saying something. Cale decided to get it over with, and stopped avoiding their gazes.
…
Their eyes as they looked at him sparkled so brightly that it shocked him.
“Human! So you like fantasy? Are there many cool dragons like me in those books?” Raon started flying around his head excitedly.
“Yes, there are many dragons like you in the books I read.”
“But I’m still the best dragon, right?”
Instead of responding Cale patted his head. Funny kid.
“Do you like sour things?” Hong then asked.
“No, not even the lemonade that Ron keeps giving me.”
There was shock in Hong’s eyes and his voice wobbled as he asked, “Has grandpa Ron been bullying you…?”
At the unexpected claim that Ron had been bullying him Cale coughed. It wasn’t that wrong… “No.” Cale said in the end with a small smile. That would only worry them. It wasn’t even that horrible, as he knew that there were much worse fates that Ron could cause him than having fun in seeing how he drank a drink he didn’t enjoy at all every day.
Ohn observed him quietly as he answered more of Raon’s and Hong’s never ending questions. When they finally seemed happy with what Cale told them, Ohn said, “You didn’t answer my last question…”
“Well, my answer remains the same. If there are no more battles to fight, I will become a slacker.”
It took only one look from Ohn to get Cale to continue speaking.
“I’ll get that farm that I’ve been talking about, and I’ll sleep and read a lot.”
Ohn nodded, falling deep into thought. It was cute how she tilted her head slightly to the left, and how her hand held her leaning head. Such a serious face!
Now that the kids seemed satisfied, Cale hoped to go to sleep, but Ron manifested out of the shadows with his frightening face, as he was sharpening his knife. “Young master, it’s time for dinner.”
Ah, how had time passed so quickly?
Without waiting for Cale, Ron started walking to the kitchen.
“Of course…” Cale accepted defeat, his whole body slumping. He let Ohn and Hong climb into his arms, with Raon flying close behind Cale.
Again, Cale felt that the three kids were having some secret conversation without him. “What is it?”
“Nothing Human, nothing!” Raon exclaimed, pushing him from behind as he flew.
Making it to the kitchen, Choi Han was sitting alone behind the table, and Beacrox was still setting the last dishes onto the table.
Cale eyed Choi Han jealously. He’d just come back from a run, yet he looked so unaffected by it.
“Smells good!” Hong jumped off his hands. His mouth was watering. Ohn followed along, and Raon sat next to Cale.
Beacrox had made a variety of food— salads, steak, along with bread, and Cale could smell the heavenly aroma of the desserts that he hadn’t put onto the table yet. Not only that, whatever Beacrox made was always a feast for the eyes. He was lucky that Beacrox was one of his servants, and not a cook to a luxury restaurant that was always fully booked.
Eating went pleasantly, though his hand was more preoccupied with wiping the kids’ faces clean than eating.
Choi Han left to train the Wolf kids, leaving only the kids, Beacrox and him alone in the kitchen.
Cale was ready to go to sleep now. But again, Raon started speaking to Beacrox. “Mister Beacrox! Cale said that he’d like to cook.” His smile was genuine, but Cale did feel like Raon was trying to withdraw his rest from him.
Now he was subjected to Beacrox’s gaze that could kill. Did the thought of someone else using his kitchen bother him so much?
“Yes, I did want to use the kitchen a bit. To help recreate some of Choi Han’s town’s dishes.” He wasn’t lying as he said that.
Beacrox’s gaze… softened? But he firmly held onto a knife he’d been scrubbing intensely. It would become so spotless it could blind people when he finished.
“Leave it to me.” Beacrox said, focusing on the knife. When Cale didn’t respond, he asked, “You do have the recipe, right?” He looked up at him, with brows furrowed.
“I do, but I’d like to cook.” As Cale said that, the kids just stood up from their seats and left, leaving him behind.
“...”
Beacrox’s silence seemed to be saying, ‘but you can’t even cook.’
“Don’t worry about it. I know the basics of cooking.”
When Beacrox only sighed quietly and only kept cleaning the dishes, Cale added, “I’ll buy the ingredients.”
Beacrox nodded, face emotionless, as Cale left the kitchen. Damn, he couldn’t understand what that guy was thinking at all. Huuh, at least he knew that if he’d upset Beacrox he’d know it.
Cale didn’t have to walk far to find the children. They’d ran away to Choi Han. The Wolf kids seemed to be on break, as they were all either lying down, or drinking water, sweating profusely. With how beat they were, he was surprised how determined they still looked.
As he went towards them he heard Raon say, “Human said that he’ll be making food from your hometown!”
That made Choi Han choke. “... He did?” There was a small smile creeping to his face, that really showed his youthful side.
“Yes, he did. But what food do you think he’ll make?” The children creeped closer to him.
“Oh.” That left Choi Han quiet. His mind was blank, as he stood unmoving.
How could he say that he didn’t remember the food from his hometown? It felt too embarrassing.
A pair of footsteps. “Cale-nim!” He turned around to see Cale standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking so calm. Totally different from how Choi Han was feeling moments before.
He was saved…! Was all that Choi Han could think.
Cale went over to Raon, Hong and Ohn. Patting the three of their heads as he said, “Aiya, don’t fish answers out of Choi Han. Just wait patiently and you’ll see.”
“Human…!”
“I see that Choi Han was in the middle of training the Wolf kids,” He took a moment to look around them again. Just the mention of them made the Wolf kids sit up and look at him politely. “Let's leave them alone.”
Though the kids looked like they wanted to interrogate Choi Han for longer, they followed along with Cale back to their bedroom. It didn’t take long for them to gain new ideas on what to do.
It left him alone to think about his promise of cooking something for them.
Cale himself wasn’t sure what he was going to make yet. Fried chicken was something he considered, but did Choi Han even feel the difference between burnt, undercooked, and delicious? He worried it wouldn’t leave a lasting impression. Would it be exciting enough for the children to try? He wasn’t sure if there was anything similar to fried chicken in TBOAH. For how descriptive it was, food wasn’t mentioned.
Choi Han was young when he ended up in the Forest of darkness, very young now that he thought more about it. With that in mind he ended up deciding to go for something that one might eat in school. Lunch box themed food!
It was their day to go shopping together. Cale would need to buy some equipment for Lily’s sword training, and a new set of fountain pens for Basen, who had been too afraid to ruin the last fountain pen he’d gotten from Cale. Silly boy. It was more of a waste to not use it, than use it.
For his parents… Ah, he was thinking of giving some calming tea to the Count, and any art that caught his eye for the Duchess.
He’d also need to find ingredients to make some Korean food. A few dishes crossed his mind, but he’d have to hope that luck was on his side, and that there were equivalents to some ingredients he needed.
“Here, have your allowance.” Cale put the same amount of money into each of their piggy banks.
Hong and Raon happily exchanged glances.
Hong shook his piggy bank. “Did you hear it, did you? Mine sounds so full!” Hong exclaimed. His smile was big as he kept shaking it.
“Mine too!” Raon also started shaking his. “I’m worried that I won’t fit any more money in here, soon… Hehe!”
Cale asked, curiously. “Will you buy anything today?” This had been something he’d been wondering. They were so insistent about going shopping that Cale couldn’t help wanting to know what they wanted to buy so badly.
“No! We’re scouting the market today, and tomorrow we’ll buy what we need.”
“What a smart plan.”
“Hehe!”
After making sure they had everything they needed for this outing, Raon teleported them near the fresh food markets.
He found what he needed for his family quite quickly, leaving only mindless wandering around just for the fun of it.
That was when Cale realised that the kids were right when they said that they wouldn’t buy anything. They did however, make suggestions of what he should buy.
Ohn and Hong ran over to a sweets stall, but before following along Raon stopped, staring at a stall with lots of books that were settled on each other in a lackluster way. It was a miracle that the books looked to be in good condition, considering how the seller was treating them. His voice turned loud out of excitement, “Human, human, Rosalyn would be interested in that book!”
“Yeah?”
“Yes! She told me she’s been researching these spells recently.”
“Hmm, alright.”
Cale bought it. The seller quickly started to praise his choice of gift, but Cale didn’t need to hear that. He trusted that Raon’s judgment was right.
Walking along the children had needed apple pie after they noticed that it was on sale. They couldn’t continue walking without it.
They went over to a small park to eat their pie.
“Human, don’t you want something?” After a beat, Ohn added, “Something that isn’t a gift for someone else.”
“I’d like to read some books.”
His answer didn’t seem to impress them, but the conversation flowed easily.
He got all that he needed. And the kids came home with bright smiles on their faces.
Just when he’d been despairing how he would even be able to make any of the Korean food without doing a lot of preparation for ingredients that might not exist, he found a store that resembled a Korean one.
He supposes that if he had asked for ramen, the owner would’ve magically taken some out of his pocket (maybe even open some secret door, that opened to the biggest secret stash of traditional Korean dishes), and started speaking to him Korean.
That is how Korean it seemed.
He got all that he needed for cooking, and now if anyone asked he could talk about that store. He wouldn’t seem like a pioneer for making a sauce or some style of cooking that had never been done before. It was a foolproof plan.
Human had fallen asleep. Raon, Hong and Ohn quietly sneaked out of the bed, making sure that Cale didn’t stir awake.
“Aah,” a sigh of relief escaped their mouths. They’d managed to sneak into the human’s big walk-in closet, without waking him up.
Raon took out a piece of paper from his spatial dimension, and carefully unfolded it with his paws. Placing it in front of them, so they could go over what they’d written so far together.
In neat cursive, “Gifts for the human” was written at the very top of the paper. That was Ohn’s doing. Her handwriting was the nicest of the three, hence why she had been chosen for the writing job.
Then followed small stick drawings that depicted their ideas so far: a crude looking Cale, reading a book, Cale eating sweets, and Cale sleeping in bed. Previous ideas like lemon tea had been crossed out.
Raon was in charge of adding colour, and visual effects. He’d circled important parts like, “Human likes to read”, “doesn’t like sour foods” with red.
“...”
There was silence as they stared at their plan.
“Did you get any ideas on what gift to give him today?” Hong asked, looking over at his big sister and little brother with hope in his eyes.
“No.” Both Ohn and Raon replied, heads hanging low.
“Apple pie is too… basic!”
“And choosing a book for him is too hard.” Ohn groaned. Their plan of going shopping with Cale to see what he might like to get didn’t work out at all!
Cale, on the other hand, had chosen gifts for everyone with ease.
Hong observed his siblings quietly. Huh! Looking around the closet they were in he suddenly got an idea. “Didn’t human complain that the new clothes that Ron bought him were too fancy?”
“He did.” Raon replied. Still too sad at failing to connect the dots.
“We can get him something comfortable!” Hong chattered on, now gaining courage, “We know that he likes more simple clothes, and for colours black and white. And, and it should still be a bit fancy so he can attend the events that Cookie Prince forces him to attend!”
“That’s such a good idea!” Raon flapped his wings out of happiness, but was mindful of not making any noise. “But, if they ask us about his size?”
Ohn helped Hong out, who couldn’t think of an answer. “We can bring sample clothes with us.”
They exchanged glances, nodding. Ohn wrote their new idea down, Raon underlined it with red, and gently put it back into his spatial dimension.
“I’m so happy we figured it out, nya!”
“Right? Asking human, those questions felt weird!”
“I was scared he might know what we were scheming.”
Cale woke up with Raon, Hong and Ohn crawling on him. “What…?” He shielded his eyes. Ron, that vicious bastard, drew the curtains. The sun was shining so brightly it blinded him. He couldn’t even effectively hide his whole body under the blanket because of the three bodies on him.
“Human, you didn’t forget right? Today we’re going shopping, and you’ll cook something from Choi Han’s hometown for us!”
“How could I forget?” He chuckled, patting Raon’s head gently. There was no way he could forget. The children didn’t allow him to. Even as they drifted to sleep yesterday they kept muttering about it.
“Good!” Raon huffed. “Now wake up! You need to send us away.”
Ohn with a calm face and Hong, who seemed very excited, both agreed. “Yes, nya! Send us off!”
Cale was pulled out of bed, and into the kitchen, still in his pajamas. Seeing how badly the kids wanted to quickly go shopping he ate faster than usual. Not taking as much time to enjoy each bite.
It amazed him that eating Beacrox’s delicious food had become such a casualty that he didn’t even bat an eye at what he was eating.
“Done.” He said, wiping his mouth with a napkin.
“Good!”
He thought that Choi Han would follow them along for this shopping trip, but instead it was Ron who went.
Waving goodbye to them felt weird. He was happy for them, but there was an underlying emotion stirring inside him that he couldn’t name. Deciding that ignorance is bliss he didn’t think further about it.
He turned over to see Choi Han running towards him. He finished his morning running earlier than usual. “Cale-nim, we’ll be making Korean food now?”
“Yes , I’ll be making Korean food. You can still help.”
“How?”
“You’ll see.” He couldn’t just tell Choi Han that he felt awkward being alone with Beacrox. Surely, once he started cooking he could come up with some assignments for Choi Han. Ones that ensured that they wouldn’t burn the kitchen.
Beacrox was already waiting for them. There was an uneasy look in his eyes, but he hid it by sharpening his blade.
Finally, now that the childrens’ snooping eyes were a safe distance away could he take the ingredients out from his spatial dimension.
He would be making gyeran mari, a Korean egg roll that would be filled with beaten eggs, sesame oil, carrots, ham, and green onions.
With it he’d serve rice. He wanted to make more, but he wasn’t sure he had time. Sticking to less things to make would be safer, he’d decided.
At first as he was making it, Choi Han looked over his shoulder not recognizing it, but as he was adding finishing touches something clicked in Choi Han’s brain.
“... I have small memories of this!” His eyes looked with wonder at the egg rolls and rice.
Beacrox, now that the cooking process was over, finally let go of the tension from his body. Cale didn’t burn the rice, or the kitchen for that matter. Nor did Choi Han’s helping hand cause any catastrophes. Neither made any mistakes at all. Now it just left Beacrox curious, would this egg roll be good?
They didn’t have to wait long to eat. The table was made, and Cale had with the help of Choi Han managed to turn back the kitchen into its original pristine state, when they heard how the door was opened aggressively and the kids ran into the estate shouting, “We’re back human!” With so much vigor.
Cale and Choi Han went to greet the kids, and Ron and Beacrox fell into their own discussion.
Ohn, who was in her human form, was hiding a gift behind her arms. Cale could see the red paper wrapping. Raon and Hong didn’t try too hard to shield it from his eyes, considering they hadn’t hidden it into Raon’s spatial dimension.
It left him more curious. Was it for him? Ah… Was this the reason for why they wanted to go shopping without him? Cale suppressed a chuckle.
“Let’s go and eat before it gets too cold.”
“Yes!” At the mention of food, the three of them almost vanished into the kitchen.
They looked at the egg rolls and rice with interest.
“If you like it,” Cale said, as he sat down with them, “Then next time I’ll make something spicy.”
To his surprise they gobbled the food up. Even Beacrox looked a bit surprised.
“Do you want to help me make it next time?” He asked, smiling. It really did make him feel warm inside to see them like his food. Choi Han was even looking at him like he was a god. A weird response from him, but he could understand it partially. Choi Han couldn’t cook, and even if he could, his memories of Korea were so faded he hardly remembered anything. Only when they spoke about Korea did small fragments of memories pop up.
Raon asked, “Human, could we cook something for you next time?”
Oh, that surprised him. Cale didn’t know what to say in response. But seeing their desperately begging gazes he nodded, adding, “Only if Beacrox is kind enough to allow you to use his kitchen.”
“Thank you, human!”
Ohn suddenly gave something to him. It was the gift in red wrapping. Holding it, it wasn’t hard nor heavy, and as he shook it barely any sound was made.
He opened it with interest, but took care to not damage the wrapping too much.
It was a soft white sweater that seemed so comfortable to wear. He tried it on, it was exactly his size. Examining it more, it wasn’t too casual or too formal. Just the right balance of both.
“Thank you.” He said. Words couldn’t describe how he felt, but he knew that this would become his staple piece for when he was staying at home.
His family enjoyed his gifts, and even after that his vacation didn’t end. Alberu had firmly told him no, only saying that helping out with paperwork could be done once a month at most for him. His family was more extreme, putting him on indefinite ban from paperwork. Sure, he hated paper cuts, and working, but did he really need a ban for that?
The children had taken an interest in cooking, especially in Korean recipes to the joy of Cale and Choi Han. Only Beacrox wasn’t the happiest at his kitchen being used more by others now.
Now that they enjoyed cooking, the idea of starting a farm with him excited them. They advocated for having a farm almost as much as Cale did.
There still existed guilt that the farm wasn’t made together with his Team Leader and Choi Jung Soo, but the childrens’ cheerful faces helped him to not dwell on it too long.