Chapter 31

* * *

After making sure Kang Chan and Ari had gone outside, Park Sunhee fixed her gaze on her older sister, Park Eunju.

For some reason, Eunju felt unfamiliar today.

That was because she had never once closed her restaurant to come visit on Lunar New Year.

Kang Seongbok glanced between the two sisters, reading the room, then stood up from his seat.

“I ate a lot after so long, so I’m stuffed. I’m gonna go for a walk.”

Once he stepped outside, only the two sisters were left in the living room.

The one who spoke first was Park Eunju.

“Chani’s really grown up. Seeing him today, he even cooked tteokguk himself because he was worried you might be tired.”

“I know. People say going to the army changes you. Guess that’s true.”

“So he’s still going into cooking?”

“Yeah. Looks like it.”

“What about studying abroad?”

“He was planning to go to a culinary school in France, but after he got back from the army, it seems he changed his mind. He decided to go to school in Korea instead.”

Eunju nodded slowly with a gentle smile.

“That’s good. Feels like just yesterday you were feeling down about your son going to France.”

“Down, my foot. He’s all grown up now. Honestly, he’s kind of gross.”

Sunhee tried to act indifferent, but she couldn’t hide the smile tugging at her lips.

In truth, until before Kang Chan enlisted, he had been the textbook definition of a blunt son.

He had zero affection, and he rarely spent time with the family.

A son who used to be obsessed only with cooking had changed enough to help with housework and even cook tteokguk himself on Lunar New Year morning.

Sunhee didn’t show it outwardly, but she was proud of him.

Plenty of people struggle with filial duty even past thirty, yet her son was already doing it at just twenty three.

Eunju smiled faintly, then casually asked,

“But how did you bring the shop back to life? You were really having a hard time because business wasn’t doing well.”

“Ah… well.”

Sunhee slowly explained the process of how Chani’s Snack Bar became what it was today.

Adding new menu items, changing sauces, setting up delivery systems, and more.

As Eunju listened quietly, a flicker of surprise crossed her face.

“You and your husband are really something.”

“It wasn’t us… honestly, Chani’s the one who saved the shop.”

“What? Chani? No way.”

“I’m serious.”

Even though Sunhee emphasized it with a sincere expression, Eunju seemed unconvinced, as if she thought it was just a mother bragging about her son.

She understood her sister’s reaction.

To be honest, even Sunhee herself still found it hard to believe.

After being discharged, every idea Kang Chan proposed for the shop was ingenious, and every single one succeeded.

There was no telling where he had learned such sharp insight and polished business sense.

But one thing was certain.

Without his help, Chani’s Snack Bar as it existed now would have been impossible.

After talking like that for quite a while, Sunhee noticed that Eunju looked especially drained today.

Her sister’s face had seemed oddly dark for some time now.

Eunju was usually firm and energetic, so seeing her so deflated felt strange.

After watching her for a moment, Sunhee asked casually, pretending it was nothing.

“Unnie. Is something wrong?”

At her words, Eunju visibly flinched, then waved her hands exaggeratedly.

“What could be wrong. I just woke up early this morning, so I’m tired.”

“Who are you trying to fool. Are you really the type to look this drained?”

“Maybe it’s just age catching up with me.”

“Don’t brush it off like that. Tell me.”

When Sunhee pressed her, Eunju hesitated for a long time before letting out a heavy sigh.

Then, in a subdued voice, she finally spoke.

“The shop’s situation has gotten bad….”

“The set meal place?”

The moment she heard the cause, Sunhee understood instinctively.

There was only one reason Eunju’s business could be shaken like this.

The changing tastes of the younger generation, and the speed of trends.

Just a few months ago, Sunhee’s own snack bar had lost customers for the exact same reasons.

Pressing her lips together, Sunhee suddenly recalled a memory from a long time ago.

Back when the snack bar had first opened, when even securing customers felt overwhelming.

That was when the building owner had forced a rent increase, dumping the burden on them.

Everything went dark.

Her newborn son was tiny and fragile.

As her first child, there were so many things she didn’t know, so many things she feared.

As things worsened, days came when they couldn’t even afford diapers or formula.

Even so, Sunhee couldn’t bring herself to ask her parents or her only blood relative, her older sister, for help.

She thought telling her parents how much she was suffering after marriage would be like driving a nail into their hearts.

But one day, her sister, who had seen through everything, suddenly showed up.

She arrived without any notice, arms full of diapers and formula.

Then, without a word, she left behind an envelope containing a bankbook and a seal, and quietly left.

Others might not know, but blood relatives could understand without a single word.

Her sister’s help remained a kindness Sunhee would never forget for the rest of her life.

Without that help back then, there would be no snack bar today, and Kang Chan wouldn’t have grown up so healthy.

Lost in those memories, Sunhee sank into thought.

‘Isn’t there some way I can help?’

Her heart felt heavy.

She owed her sister so much.

That was when Kang Chan naturally came to mind.

‘If Chani were here, maybe he could help think of a solution together?’

She hadn’t realized it before, but even at a young age, Kang Chan seemed exceptionally sharp with an outstanding sense for business.

His ability to tackle problems in a realistic way had stood out, and hadn’t he just successfully revived the shop?

After thinking it over for a while, Sunhee warmly clasped Eunju’s hand and said,

“Don’t worry, unnie. I’ll try to think of a way.”

* * *

You might think playing with a little kid can’t be that hard.

But now I know.

I know how exhausting it is, how much energy it takes to play with a child.

The first few minutes with Ari were fine.

We sat on a bench in front of the house, wondering what to do, and I handed her a small toy. Ari seemed focused on it for a while.

But that peace didn’t last long.

Ari suddenly looked at me and asked,

“Uncle. Why is the sky blue?”

“Um… I don’t know.”

But that question was only the beginning.

“Why are mailboxes red?”

“Why do cats go meow meow?”

“How are babies born?”

As the barrage of questions continued, I became more and more drained.

That’s when I realized.

Kids’ curiosity is endless.

In the end, I came up with one way to break out of this situation.

“Ari, wanna go to the playground?”

“Yeah. I wanna go.”

Ari nodded with sparkling eyes.

If she ran around and played at the playground, maybe it would burn off at least some of her energy.

With a bit of hope, I started walking.

When we arrived at the playground, we sat on the swing. At first, Ari stretched her legs out and burst into laughter, clearly excited.

Could things really be this peaceful?

As I pushed the swing, I let out a sigh of relief.

“Hahaha.”

But that didn’t last either.

“Uncle. I’m cold. I wanna stop.”

Only then did I realize how sharp the wind was.

I had no choice. I figured we’d have to go somewhere indoors.

“Then let’s play inside. Is there somewhere you wanna go?”

“Yeah. Uncle, I wanna go to the amusement park.”

“The amusement park is too far. Let’s go next time.”

“Tch. When?”

“Um… Children’s Day?”

“Promise!”

“Yeah, promise.”

Breaking into a cold sweat, I hooked my finger with Ari’s ring finger.

“Then where are we going now?”

“…Good question.”

Where could I take a kid like Ari?

A kids cafe. A museum?

But because it was a holiday, most places were either packed or closed.

Stuck in a tough spot, I thought it over, then casually asked Ari,

“Ari, what do you like?”

Ari brought a finger to her lips and rolled her eyes around.

What was she thinking so hard about with that little head?

The sight was so cute that a smile naturally spread across my face.

After thinking for a long time, Ari finally smiled shyly and answered,

“Ari likes jelly!”

I was flustered that food came up, but then a good idea popped into my head.

“Then should we try making jelly together?”

“You can make jelly?”

“Of course. Totally.”

“Wow! I wanna make it. Ari wants to make it too.”

This might actually work out well.

Cooking was the one thing I was confident in.

I was sure making jelly together would become a good memory for Ari too.

After buying the necessary ingredients at a nearby mart, we headed to the shop.

Making it at home would be easier, but I didn’t want to interrupt the peaceful time the family was spending together.

The moment we opened the snack bar door, Ari took off her coat and ran all around the shop, her yellow dress fluttering.

She looked just like a little chick.

“Ari, wash your hands and let’s get ready to make jelly.”

“Okay!”

Neatly adjusting her dress with her small hands, Ari ran off to wash up.

Meanwhile, I took out the ingredients one by one in the kitchen.

To make proper jelly, you normally need more complicated ingredients.

But since today was about spending time with Ari, I decided to use a small shortcut.

Fruit juice.

Ari came back after washing her hands and looked around the kitchen with curious eyes.

I bent my knees to her eye level and spoke in a serious voice.

“Ari, there’s hot fire and sharp knives in the kitchen, so you always have to be careful. If you run around or mess around, something bad could happen. Got it?”

“Mommy says that all the time. Ari knows.”

“R-really?”

“Yeah. Don’t underestimate Ari.”

Her prim voice made me more nervous than ever.

Still, the jelly making process went more smoothly than I expected.

Ari followed my explanations well.

“This is called gelatin. When you put it in water, it gets soft and bouncy.”

“Really? Then does it turn into jelly right away?”

“No. First we make it soft.”

Holding the spatula, I carefully stirred in one direction.

Ari’s eyes lit up, and she raised her hand.

“Ari wants to do it too!”

“It’s dangerous. Then how about we hold it together?”

“Yes!”

Ari grabbed the spatula with both hands, my hand resting over hers, and carefully stirred the pot.

Her small, soft hands were full of effort.

So cute.

Of course, I was doing about ninety percent of the work, but Ari clenched her mouth shut and focused hard.

Then, maybe it got tiring, because she looked up at me with weary eyes.

“I’m tiiired. Ari wants to stop now.”

“Okay. You can stop now. Then shall we add the fruit juice? What flavor does Ari like?”

“Umm… Ari likes strawberry and grape.”

Matching her taste, I poured strawberry juice and grape juice into the pot.

Glug glug.

“Wow. Strawberry and grape!”

“Now if we pour this into the molds, it’ll come out in prettier shapes.”

“Me too. I wanna do it.”

Why do kids want to do everything?

Was I like this when I was little too?

“Then what shape do you want, Ari?”

“A teddy bear!”

“Here. Hold it like this.”

Before we knew it, the molds were filled with teddy bears, hearts, and stars.

Watching the molds go into the refrigerator, Ari bounced up and down.

“I wanna eat it fast. Hurry.”

The waiting felt long, but the moment I took the molds out, Ari’s face lit up.