Chapter 2

#2. Back to the Stream (2)

"Kindergarten?"

"Yeah, kindergarten. You said you liked the yellow bus, right?"

Dali nodded.

"Uh-huh. Yellow bus!"

"I'll make sure you can ride the yellow bus with your friends."

Seol picked up Dali with one hand and muttered.

It was cold. It seemed best to go home now for Dali's sake.

"Want to go home first? I'll make you some paper butterflies."

Seol tilted her head back and frowned.

'When I checked yesterday, there were cheap colored papers scattered around the house. I'll play with Dali using those until the kids come, and then I'll cook...’

After that, she thought about sitting down and browsing web novel sites.

***

Softly.

Dali's breathing made the blanket rise and fall.

"Dali, are you sleeping?"

Seol turned her gaze from her phone to Dali, who was lying asleep, clutching paper butterflies and hearts.

"..."

She's so cute.

I don't know whose little sister she is, but she's just so cute.

"Long eyelashes, a straight nose, and a firm mouth."

Seol carefully turned on her phone camera and took a couple of pictures of Dali.

I need to leave a lot of photos of the kids.

"Ugh..."

"Alright, I get it."

If she took more, Dali would wake up and start whining.

Putting aside the cuteness, Seol checked her phone again.

"Of course, it's as expected."

Seol nodded. The site she entered was a web novel serial site called [Utopia].

Utopia was similar to her old memories but much worse.

'Well, that's probably because I serialized when the web novel craze was already in full swing.'

But now, in the past, it's 2018.

So there weren't many serialized novels, and it felt like a few popular authors were taking turns dominating the rankings.

Moreover, there was one more interesting fact.

'They're all hunter stories.'

Just stories about gathering people, getting weapons, and killing monsters.

Seol yawned while reading a few to find her groove and was surprised.

'Oh, this one!'

It's a famous work that was later adapted into a drama.

It was a new feeling to be able to follow its real-time progress.

'Oh... this one too.'

Several legendary works were vying for attention, showing off their writing to readers. After reading a few, Seol nodded as if making a decision.

"I need to start serializing too."

There was nothing to be afraid of.

'The market will definitely grow 100%, so no worries.'

She had serialized several times in the past.

She might have lost her rhythm when she switched to writing drama and movie scripts in her thirties, but it wouldn't take long to get it back.

After all, she had spent her whole life writing.

'When I first ran away from home, I wrote to combat loneliness. Later, I wrote to make money to survive. And when I felt lonely again, I wrote to keep from withering away.'

She could quickly regain her writing rhythm and sense.

Seol looked at her hands, which still hadn't developed calluses.

After leaving home, she had never once gone a day without injuring her hands, and after working at a logistics center, she had even injured her wrist, making writing painful.

'Even after the carpal tunnel surgery, it was still like that.'

Well, one thing was certain.

This time, she could do better than last time.

"Paper..."

Seol picked up a random piece of colored paper from the floor and scribbled on it with a pencil.

-Healing.

-Warm and refreshing.

-Expert knowledge.

-Family.

'The points I need to focus on...'

Seol's visit to the [Utopia] site revealed one thing.

'Healing and expert stories haven't appeared yet.'

So, now was the time.

The time to lead the genre and make a fortune!

'...What if I combine the two?'

Hmm... should I call it a healing expert story?

Stories about family, healing, and the protagonist's success would later become common, but they were rare at this time.

'I'll focus on family in my writing.'

Seol nodded.

She was starting to get a picture.

***

"Hah..."

Yoo Hee-chan, the third child, entered through the open gate after school. He saw garbage bags piled up, ready to burst, in front of the house.

'He didn't take them out again.'

It seemed there was more garbage than usual.

'Wait. The fact that the garbage bags are out means...'

He had cleaned, right?

Hee-chan quickly surveyed the various garbage scattered in the yard, and his eyes sparkled behind his glasses.

"Brother?"

It was impossible.

His brother, Yoo Seol, was not a good brother, to be honest.

Because he was family, he endured and tolerated the hardships.

'But yesterday and this morning, he was crying alone... Is my brother okay?'

Hee-chan, with a doubtful expression, squatted in front of the garbage bags and recalled the old Yoo Seol.

- Damn, you guys are making my life hard too!

- Listen to me. Stop being so annoying.

- This damn house...

Hee-chan's eyes slowly blinked.

Yoo Seol, his brother, was the one who contributed to his old-soul-like personality.

'...No. I shouldn't get my hopes up and be disappointed.'

There's no way my brother cleaned.

Yoo Seol didn't hit his siblings, but he often made the house atmosphere tense with his complaints and laments.

Yet, he would go out to work at dawn and return late at night, so Hee-chan couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

'That's why I never argued or said anything.'

Just then,

"Yoo Hee-chan. What are you doing there?"

"…?!"

Hee-chan, who was squatting in front of the garbage bags, turned pale and fell backward, landing on his butt.

"Brother?"

"…? Why did you suddenly fall? Is there something there?"

Seol, peeking out, looked like someone Hee-chan had never seen before.

A strange apron, as if taken from the back of a drawer, a rubber glove in one hand, and a spatula in the other.

...It was a sight he had never seen before.

'Ghost?'

No.

It's definitely my brother.

Yoo Seol.

'Has he gone crazy? Has he finally lost it?'

As Hee-chan got up awkwardly, Seol smiled and waved the spatula in the air.

"I made scrambled eggs. Wipe your butt and come in."

"..."

Hee-chan, standing there with dirt on his pants, eventually wiped his butt.

Hee-chan muttered as he climbed the old stairs leading to the house.

"...Brother..."

He seems crazy.

***

Seol sprinkled the remaining ketchup on the scrambled eggs for Hee-chan and Dali.

Dali smiled, showing her front teeth.

"Yum, yum!"

"..."

Hee-chan just looked at Seol and then at the scrambled eggs.

Yoo Seol was oddly proud, resting his chin and smiling.

'I don't have any, but it's fine.'

It felt bad to indulge in luxury alone while his siblings were around.

Besides, back then, he only fed them instant noodles.

He should have done something more back then...

'No, I was young back then.'

Now, just seeing the food his siblings ate made him feel full.

"Yoo Hee-chan. Eat quickly."

"..."

Hee-chan glanced at Seol again.

His brother in an apron was awkward. Usually, when he came home from school, his brother would be smoking in the backyard or the alley.

'Is the house really clean? Did my brother really clean it?'

Useless or dirty things were gone, making the house look empty but definitely cleaner.

"...I'll eat well, brother."

Hee-chan muttered and scooped the scrambled eggs onto his rice.

As he mixed it well and took a bite, he felt tears welling up but held them back.

Seol, looking at Hee-chan, bit her lip.

'Sorry, Hee-chan.'

I should have been a better brother earlier, and I'm sorry for realizing it now.

For a moment, only the sound of chopsticks and bowls could be heard.

Hee-chan asked cautiously.

"Brother. Aren't you going to work today?"

"Yeah. I'm not going today."

I had to clean the house, so I didn't even think about going out.

I probably need to clean until tomorrow, as I plan to dispose of all the old dust and items.

'When is Nara coming?'

Yoo Nara, the second child.

In my memory, Nara was sixteen, a third-year middle school student at this time.

'She's three years younger than me, so that's right.'

Nara was the only one who understood the meaning of Seol dropping out of school and was the most obedient to Seol back then.

- Brother, I'm sorry.

- Don't say that. Are you trying to make me feel weak?

- I'm sorry...

- Just shut up!

Seol, recalling the conversations with Nara, clutched her head.

I was always a complaining, scary brother.

'Even though I was responsible for the other three, I only lashed out because of the burden on my shoulders.'

Just then,

The door opened, and Nara in her school uniform came in.

"Hey, b... brother?"

Nara was first surprised to see Seol at home, then surprised to see the clean house, and finally, her eyes widened at Seol's apron.

"...Did you make dinner?"

"Something like that. You must be hungry after school."

"...I was going to make it, but why did you do it? You came home late last night and must be tired."

Nara quickly took off her bag, tied her hair up, and headed to the sink.

Seol, watching her, took the rubber gloves from Nara's hands. Nara, whose eyes widened, shook her head at Seol.

"Brother...?"

Girls her age usually don't do this, right?

Seol suddenly felt heavy and raised the rubber gloves high.

"...Why are you like this? I'll do the dishes..."

"Nara, go to your room and play with Dali."

"Huh?"

"I'll do it. I'll go out for a bit after I finish the dishes."

Nara, holding the whining Dali, blinked.

"Where are you going?"

"To a secondhand market."

"O... okay?"

Nara, who would say "okay" to whatever Seol said, looked pitiful and a bit sad. Seol scrubbed the dishes harder.

'...I'm not good with words, so I'll show you through actions.'

The strange thing was, being a successful author didn't mean you had to be good with words.

Except for public speaking or explaining something, the words you use in daily conversations with people aren't smooth and kind, like writing, without any extra fluff.

"Rest a bit with the kids. I cleaned the house this afternoon."

"...Brother."

Seol paused.

She knew what Nara was going to say.

"...Brother, I'm sorry."

"..."

In the past, I would have gotten angry. But not now.

In this new life, we will live differently from the past.

'I'll spoil you. I won't let you wither away like the past, which was meaningless and unfulfilled.'

So, Seol said,

"Clear the table and go to your room and close the door."

"O... okay."

The sound of the door closing echoed. Seol, listening to it, thought she could have been a bit warmer, but it didn't come out.

'I'm just not good with words.'

***

100,000 won, saved for a life-or-death moment. 50,000 won, scrounged up.

Seol headed to the agreed location with the money.

'In front of Han Yang Arts High School. This is the right place, right?'

Although she couldn't afford good equipment yet, she concluded that she needed a laptop to run document files to start serializing novels.

"Where is it?"

Just as she muttered,

Ding!

A text message arrived.

Arrived? Seol looked around. A male student of about her age was waving a paper bag in one hand.

'Is it him?'

Seol approached and greeted him, and the male student also greeted her.

He dropped out of school earlier this year. Seeing the school uniform he was wearing, Seol felt strangely uneasy.

"Are you the one buying the laptop? Check the item!"

"...Yes."

Unnecessarily cheerful.

Seol checked the item without a word.

'It runs well. The keyboard isn't damaged.'

It's heavy, has the minimum specifications, and looks old, but it shows signs of being used diligently.

Seol, noticing that a few keys were worn out, looked at the male student.

'You must have cherished it.'

Seol, pressing all the keys, nodded.

"I'll buy it. 150,000 won, right?"

This was the moment she acquired her first piece of equipment to start writing.

Oh.