[Contest 2] The Wolves' Parenting Diary
4화_Nothing without you
여주
"Uh...ah..."
I woke up this morning, stretching and waking up. A fleeting sense of foreboding sent chills down my spine. But it wasn't the trio who had been living with me for some time.
I woke up in bed with an uneasy feeling and turned on my phone.
Today was Monday.
09:41 PM
Then, the clock hands, which were ticking away so quickly, became annoying. I hurriedly finished getting ready and ran out of the room.
Perception, that is.
As I came out dressed in a suit and skirt, I ran into Minhyun, who happened to be cleaning the house. Minhyun looked at my outfit and asked.
민현
"Uh... Where are you going today, Unnie?"
여주
"I have to go to work right now because I'm running late. If you're hungry, just boil some ramen from the cupboard and I'll be back soon."
민현
"...Have a nice trip."
Minhyun waved as I rushed out of the house without even a moment to say hello, but continued cleaning. Then, a thought suddenly occurred to me—
민현
"Oh, among us, only my sister can boil ramen."
I stamped my feet, worried about Bob, and then went back into the room. For some reason, it was because I wanted to find a solution with my siblings.
민현
"Hey... guys."
Then, all eyes turn to Min-hyun. Yeo-ju-noona just left for work, so we're the only ones home. They seem oblivious to this, and they just seem to be overjoyed.
성우
"Yoohoo, this is our world!"
다니엘
"Let's all stay up all night tonight."
민현
"What about staying up all night? That's not important... If Yeoju-nee isn't here-"
"There's no one to take care of our meals," he said. They were initially delighted, but quickly became serious and gathered around. The most important problem they faced was now.
성우
"...Then what should we do?"
민현
"I told you to boil some ramen, but does anyone know how to boil it?"
As expected, the silence was still there. Then, a more pressing issue arose. Suddenly, Daniel jumped to his feet and shouted.
다니엘
"If you go to the kitchen, you might find the answer."
Then, everyone quietly agreed and headed towards the kitchen.
다니엘
"Look, it says here how to boil ramen."
"Oh, the solution came faster than I thought," Daniel pointed to the tiny letters on the back of the ramen package. They seemed to read the letters, then tilted their heads in confusion.
성우
"But... 3/2? What does that mean...?"
다니엘
"How do you boil water..."
민현
"Hmm... I don't know."
We simply stared at each other and threw questions into the air. Even those questions, as if scattered through the air, naturally vanished and repeated themselves.
As anyone could have expected, they were considerably more than they thought-
It was stupid.
여주
"Uh, I wonder if you're eating now...?"
Sitting in one position for so long made my whole body ache. Sitting was a problem, but working while listening to my boss's nagging was incredibly difficult.
Then, as if reading my thoughts, my boss, carrying a large stack of documents, approached me from afar. As expected, my prediction was spot on. He came in clutching a stack of documents and spoke to me.
상사
"Miss, please finish this before you leave work."
여주
"N...yes."
I took the stack of documents from my boss's hands. The weight of them suddenly hit me, and I gasped, my back arching involuntarily. "What? When is it time to leave work? And you're telling me to sort through all this?"
06:52 PM
Looking at the clock on the wall, I realized it was already approaching 7 o'clock. Thinking back, I'm pretty sure I got off work around 7 o'clock.
Looking at the stack of documents, it was a massive amount, likely taking several hours to process. Although he didn't explicitly say it, the reason for giving them to me became clear.
This is just telling me not to leave work. But I still had to finish my work, so I sighed deeply, roughly tossed the papers onto my desk, and sat down. My irritation was growing.
But, as is the case with all parents, I had to earn money for the three musketeers who only had fun at home, so I quietly stayed in my seat and organized the papers little by little.
여주
“You must have eaten well, right?”
The female protagonist, who had lost all sense of complaint or self-concern, now worried about the three musketeers guarding the house. Little did she know that this was what a parent's "affection" was all about.
No, I didn't know because I was busy with the aftercare every day.
08:11 AM
여주
"Ugh... I'm finally done organizing... I'm going to leave work now."
The female protagonist finally called off work and stood up. However, contrary to expectations, all of her colleagues had long since disappeared. She was left alone in the office.
Have you ever seen such a damn boss? Unable to comprehend the absurd situation, the female protagonist anxiously scanned the notice board, filled with various notices, wondering if he'd been assigned another task.
"We're hiring remote workers. We're not hiring layoffs, so interested employees are encouraged to contact the CEO's office at any time."
Then, the female protagonist's resolve seemed to have strengthened, and she threw down the papers and headed to the president's office. She told him that even if she left the company, she wouldn't be fired.
08:47 PM
여주
"Guys, I'm here..."
Arriving home after work, I was struck by the sight. The sight of the three musketeers sprawled on the floor like dried squid was quite disconcerting.
No, what the hell was going on? Far from acknowledging my return greeting, the three musketeers were sprawled on the floor. Seongwu, who had originally been facing me, seemed to lack the strength to raise a hand, but instead simply rolled his eyes.
여주
"No, what the hell is going on..."
Then, Minhyun, who had collapsed, pointed to the ramen packet Daniel was holding, and his arm fell limply. A ramen packet that hadn't even been opened yet. No, he was holding on without eating it.
민현
"I don't know how to boil ramen... (thud)"
성우
"Sister... save me... (thud)"
Oh, come to think of it, I never taught them how to make ramen. So they were really just starving, unable to do anything? They were so dumbfounded that a hollow laugh escaped my lips.
Daniel had apparently collapsed a long time ago, and the other two had collapsed just moments before, so it was a total kill. As soon as I got back from work, I carried them all to their beds and tucked them in together.
...
As expected, it was a night filled with nothing but sighs.