Chapter 49 : The Super Monster Battle and the Budget Book

Fingers repeatedly pressing the back button, as if escaping the madness of the monster gallery.

For a moment, I forget about the controversy-shifting testimonies and rash comments that caused a stir.

Instead, as the head of a family of elementary school students, I prepare for the rainy season.

The top priority is to deal with the washing machine on the balcony, which is sensitive to water.

I bring a ladder from the corner of the balcony, placing it next to the washing machine.

I spread out a tarpaulin that has been rolled up, gathering dust, and climb the ladder with small steps, barely managing to cover it.

Since someone might be watching from the balcony, I refrain from making any hasty moves.

“Ugh, damn it…”

As soon as I cover the washing machine with the tarpaulin, a smell of nicotine and tar wafts through the air. Without realizing it, I pinch my nose and curse.

Lately, I’ve been keeping the door closed and the air conditioner on, so I don’t often have to deal with this annoying smell, but when it happens, it seems to come out of nowhere.

Maybe it’ll kill me with cancer soon.

At that moment, a thick stream of water falls from the air, seemingly from above.

It flows from the balcony above ours, heading toward our place and the floors below. The sound of the water splashing echoed with a sharp “whoosh.”

“Hmm?”

What is this, a flood on a clear day?

I stare at the spot where the water just passed, confused.

“Damn it, who the hell…!”

A loud shout comes from the lower-floor balcony.

“Go smoke outside!”

“Seriously, you’re a nuisance!”

Along with the man’s shout, voices from the people above can be heard.

Just like the old saying goes, the dog with shit on its fur scolds the dog with dirt on its fur.

In this case, it’s the shit-covered ones scolding each other, but… Anyway, the meeting between the upstairs floor’s noise-making crazy person and the balcony-smoking idiot had just happened.

I couldn’t help but marvel at the legendary encounter that left me breathless.

“Of…”

‘Is this the Super Monster Battle?’

“You bastards… what floor are you on!? Don’t run away, stay there!”

The sound of heavy footsteps coming from the upper floor was so loud it could be heard all the way to the balcony.

I couldn’t miss this interesting show on a boring day. I had to prepare to go upstairs to watch it, even if just in slippers.

However, just as I was about to open the door, a loud banging noise came from the other side, as if the door was about to be smashed.

“Where are you damn young punks, come out! Why aren’t you coming out!?”

‘Damn, why are they causing trouble here?’

The elderly man, who was supposed to go to the upper floor, was knocking on our door.

It’s not here, it’s one floor up, you senile old fool.

… I wanted to curse at him, but since I’m just an 8-year-old elementary school student living in this apartment, I couldn’t do much.

After securing the latch on the top of the door with a stick, I cracked the door open just a little bit.

The moment the door opened, it was pulled forcefully as if it would be ripped off with a clunk.

“Open up, are you opening or not?!”

“This isn’t it!”

The old man seemed strong enough to tear the door apart.

In a panicked voice, I told him through the gap in the door that this wasn’t the right floor.

“Hmm?”

Through the narrow gap of the door, a smoker on the veranda blinked his eyes as he checked the inside.

“Ah, sorry.”

That chilling gaze passed by quickly, and the crazy guy suddenly regained his composure. He muttered a brief apology before walking away from the door.

“What a dumbass.”

“…What’s going on?”

After the harsh voice of an old man stopped, Siyeon, who had been slightly intimidated inside the room, cautiously came out and asked.

Even the most confident first-grader would act the same if someone suddenly yelled in front of their house.

“Nothing, just the old man upstairs.”

I didn’t want to tell Siyeon about the fight between the upper and lower floors.

With a slight interest in the ongoing fight, I closed the door and quietly headed upstairs.

The old man’s temper hadn’t changed. Even before I reached the top of the stairs, I could hear him yelling.

“I’m just trying to smoke a cigarette in my own house! If you don’t like it, then move out!”

“Hey, we just want to water a plant in our house. What’s the problem?”

“You’re talking back to me? Who do you think you are, you little brat?”

“If my blood hasn’t dried up yet, I’d rather be dead! Just because you’re old, do you think you have the right to act like that?”

“What?!”

“Am I wrong? You’re acting like an idiot.”

It was so entertaining I felt like I should get some popcorn and watch.

“I have anger management issues! You better watch out, woman! I don’t even know what I’m gonna do!”

The old man was about to kick the door, clearly ready to punch someone, but when he actually faced someone, it seemed like his fists didn’t fly.

It was like one of those pictures where two dogs are barking viciously at each other through bars, but when the gate opens, they suddenly become calm.

It felt exactly like that.

“What’s all the noise in front of someone else’s house?”

Huh?

With the sound of a door opening suddenly, another voice joined the commotion.

It was the voice of a young, strong man. I thought this would be an interesting intervention from a third party.

But as soon as the man’s voice from next door was heard, the noisy old smoker and the woman complaining about noise from upstairs suddenly became silent, as if someone had hit the mute button.

What’s going on? Did someone put a muzzle on them?

“Neither of you are children, so why can’t you have a conversation without raising your voices?”

“No, she’s the one pouring water down to the floor below.”

“But didn’t you smoke on your balcony first? Actually, I’ve thought about coming down to talk to you a few times when I was working out with the window open.”

I was curious about what kind of person could make the angry smoker quiet, so I took a few more steps up the stairs to observe the situation on the upper floor.

“Oh shit.”

I couldn’t help but exclaim inwardly when I saw the healthy physique in front of me.

“In a shared building, you should think about the people living above you. There are designated smoking areas. You shouldn’t cause trouble just to suit your own convenience.”

The man who is presenting a reasoned argument has a physique that screams “monster-level” muscles, to the point where his tight shirt looks like it’s squeezing his body, making him appear as if he could compete in any bodybuilding contest. It’s no wonder that his anger management issues have transformed into a calm demeanor.

“You shouldn’t be spraying water on the lower floor, ma’am. What did the other floors do wrong?” His neat resolution of the issue made me think, once again, that people should focus on becoming strong. After all, they say a healthy mind resides in a healthy body. In this case, however, it seems that the saying “greater violence dominates greater violence” might be more appropriate.

Since that day, the cigarette smell that used to linger every time I stepped out onto the balcony has almost disappeared. Perhaps the smoker on the lower floor now feels threatened by his life, or maybe it’s simply because the rainy season made me less inclined to go out onto the balcony.

Even though the heavy rain falls, I still have to go to school. I recently bought a 20,000-won magical girl character umbrella, and I’m spinning it around like a top on the street.

“Yahh-!”

The raindrops bounce off the character umbrella and splatter onto my clothes.

“Don’t spin the umbrella.”

I stopped him from spinning it with such force that it would wet people passing by.

Rain boots or a raincoat are luxuries. The sneakers and clothes I already have are worn out in less than a year due to growth spurts, and I don’t need special clothes that can only be used in certain weather. As long as I have the character umbrella, I’m satisfied. Even if he asked for something, I wouldn’t get him something that would only end up unused and discarded.

Arriving at school without any issues, I changed into indoor shoes and sat down at my desk as usual. The damp socks, now soaked through, made me absentmindedly shake my indoor shoes under the desk.

The math problems from elementary school, which have long surpassed the summer vacation, seem to be moving on to the point where we’re learning two-digit numbers.

For example, there are 8 boxes of 10-fruit bundles, and then 2 individual fruits. Those kinds of problems.

‘The air conditioning cost nearly three hundred, and the computer cost nearly two hundred…’ In a way, I am doing math. Although it’s not the kind of math I thought I’d ever use, it’s sort of like math study, right?

Though it’s probably not something an elementary school student should be worrying about.

‘Is this a bit tight…?’

“Mary, what are you doing?”

While I was focusing on the budget book, my name was called.

With her long strides, Teacher Seola quickly walked to the back row, where I was sitting. In a class full of students with only a single book open, even sitting in the last row, the ones who stand out are those doing something unusual.

I had two books open on my desk—one being a pencil case and a thin math book, the other being a budget book, which caught Teacher Seola’s attention.

“Aha.”

“You shouldn’t be distracted during class…”

Before I could even react, my budget book was snatched from my hands by the quick hand of an adult.

What was written inside was calculations involving amounts in the millions and tens of millions. Right after, Teacher Seola’s confused expression asked, “Why does she have something like this?”

A short postscript (author’s note): An elementary student doing a budget book.

To be continued…