Chapter 41: I opened my bank account to avoid getting nagged during the holidays.

September. The time signaling the start of autumn.

But… what’s with this heat?

“If I didn’t have air conditioning, I would’ve been done for.”

I had just stepped out to grab a few things from the convenience store and nearly melted.

Is this really September? Maybe it’s because I don’t go outside much, but these days, September feels more like early summer.

I felt dizzy from the absurdly wrong weather, but only for a moment.

Soon, my thoughts drifted to the upcoming Chuseok holiday.

‘I really don’t want to go home…’

There’s a reason people feel more exhausted during the holidays.

Family nagging. And that includes both my paternal and maternal relatives.

Wow. Double the nagging.

But what can I do? Even if I don’t want to, I still have to show my face. It’s not like I can go my entire life without seeing them.

Compared to my older sister and younger sibling, I was always given less attention. You could say I had little presence in the family.

It’s a sad reality, but that’s just how it was.

‘Fine. Whatever. I’ll just go for the food.’

I did kind of miss Mom’s cooking. I’d set that as my goal and endure the visit.

…If only I could actually leave after just eating.

A deep sigh naturally escaped me at the thought of the upcoming holiday.

The universal suffering of young people in Korea.

The inevitable nagging during family gatherings.

Starting with, “Are you studying?”
Then moving on to, “When are you getting married?” and “Have you found a job yet?”

Just imagining it was already draining.

And now, as I sat on the bus, the collective sighs from other passengers only amplified my anxiety.

‘They’re comrades…’

Like me, these were people heading home to endure the same cycle of nagging. It was honestly kind of tragic.

Luckily, since I had just entered adulthood this year, I’d probably hear less of it.

But my younger sibling, Bo-mi, who was in her final year of high school, and my older sister, a senior in college, wouldn’t be so lucky.

My sister was diligently preparing for the civil service exam while attending university, but we all knew it wasn’t easy.

And I also knew there wasn’t much I could do to help.

My plan was simple: sit quietly and eat rice cakes.

There was no point in getting involved and having the heat turn on me instead.

Lost in these thoughts, I soon realized the bus had reached its stop.

I stood up, got off, and took slow steps toward home. My short legs didn’t help.

Being short had no merits. None whatsoever.

As I grumbled internally about my height, I suddenly found myself in front of my childhood home.

Well… home was just an apartment.

It had been months since I last visited, but strangely, I didn’t feel any attachment to it.

I didn’t have many fond memories here, and honestly, I never saw a reason to get attached.

Maybe it was easy to say that now, since it was all in the past.

With a shrug, I walked up to the third floor.

Standing at the door, I punched in the passcode.

The moment the door opened, the familiar scent of freshly made jeon (savory pancakes) filled my nose.

‘Wow. It’s been a while since I smelled this.’

“Who’s at the door? Bo-mi, can you check?”

A voice from inside called for my younger sibling, who groaned in response, clearly reluctant to get up.

“Ugh, I need to check if the study cafe is open later… Wait, are they even open during Chuseok?”

Muttering to herself, Bo-mi dragged her feet out of her room.

Even though I had seen her not too long ago, it still felt like it had been a while.

“Oh. Cho Gyeoul?”

“Hey.”

“Uh, uh… yeah.”

“……”

Silence.

We just stood there, staring at each other awkwardly.

“Bo-mi, who is it?”

Mom’s voice came from the kitchen, prompting a quick response from Bo-mi.

“It’s Cho Gyeoul.”

Meanwhile, I had already stepped inside, taken off my shoes, and entered the living room.

The place looked exactly the same.

Of course, in the grand scheme of my life, “a few months” wasn’t that long.

“Gyeoul came home?”

At the sound of my name, my head naturally turned toward the voice.

At the same time, the person who called out to me turned as well.

“Oh my, Gyeoul!”

“Hi, Mom.”

Mom rushed toward me, her hands still damp from cooking, as I gave her a small wave.

She hadn’t changed a bit.

Looking at her now, it was clear where my sister and Bo-mi got their looks from.

And, well… I could see traces of myself too.

‘Mom looks… kind of different, though.’

There was something off about how overly enthusiastic she seemed.

I wasn’t sure why, but getting such a warm welcome did make me feel a little good.

“You’ve lost so much weight, living all alone like that!”

“Mom, Mom. My place is only 30 minutes away…”

“I should’ve come over to cook for you sooner.”

…Yeah. She was way too enthusiastic.

Did she even hear what I just said?

As Mom reached out to examine me further, Bo-mi intervened to stop her.

Meanwhile, my older sister came out of her room, yawning as she walked toward us.

As soon as our eyes met, my sister spoke first.

“Oh… You’re here?”

“Yeah. Hi.”

She quickly averted her gaze.

Bo-mi had done the same earlier, and now my sister too.

‘Well, I guess that makes sense?’

While I had lived at home, both of them had treated me like I was invisible.

Just because we had gotten a little closer now didn’t mean all of that had disappeared.

But honestly, I didn’t really care.

If anything, I was just glad we felt a little closer than before.

I waved at my sister and turned to Mom.

“Where’s Dad?”

“He went to the market with your uncles. Said he was picking up snacks and drinks.”

“What about the kids?”

“They tagged along since he promised to buy them treats.”

So that’s why three people were missing.

No wonder the house felt so empty despite it being lunchtime.

That meant I was the last one to arrive.

“Anyway! Welcome home, my daughter! Come here, let me give you a big hug!”

“…You do know I’m twenty now, right?”

“You’ll always be my baby!”

So she says.

And since Mom was taller than me, I couldn’t even escape.

Seriously? Even here, I’m still the baby?

At this point, I was starting to question my identity.

Am I really just a baby…?

My sister and Bo-mi chuckled at the sight, and before long, Dad and my cousins returned home.

“Hah… My daughter!”

“Ah.”

Of course, just like with Mom, I had to endure a tight hug from Dad as well.

But strangely, the corners of my lips curled up.

Becoming a girl and seeing my family relationships shift… I actually really liked it.

I take it back.

“Let me go!”

“Hehehe, no way. Just let your mom enjoy hugging you for a while, okay?”

“You’ve been saying that for three hours now! I need to go to the bathroom!”

That was probably the loudest my voice had ever been.

Chuseok.

Like I said before, the holiday that makes every young person in Korea let out a sigh of exhaustion.

“So, Bo-mi and Min-ho, have you decided on a university yet?”

“I’m still thinking about it…”

“M-Me too, haha…”

“Hmm. You still haven’t decided? If you wait too long—”

Both of them awkwardly forced a smile as they turned their heads away.

Their pale faces looked pitiful.

‘Poor things.’

“And Gaeul, are you preparing well for graduation? Are you still considering the civil service exam? These days, being a public servant isn’t as great as it used to be—”

“Haha… Yeah, I know.”

Same situation.

The younger kids, at least, were spared from the adults’ endless questioning.

For now.

For some reason, I felt like I was included among those “kids” too.

“Cho Gyeoul, you live on your own now, right? What about university?”

Guess not.

“I took a leave of absence. I have other things to focus on right now.”

“Something else? Even if you have work, isn’t it a bit reckless to take time off—?”

It’s not that I didn’t understand where they were coming from.

They didn’t know my situation, so of course they’d be concerned.

But still.

‘I’m exhausted…’

Couldn’t they see my dark circles forming in real time?

“And living alone must be expensive. Rent isn’t cheap these days—”

‘Please…’

Help me…

I glanced at Mom with pleading eyes.

She was pressing her lips together, barely holding herself back.

She must’ve been itching to speak.

After all, she and Dad both knew our household was currently running on my income.

But she was keeping quiet out of consideration for me.

‘Should I just tell them?’

I mean, even my own family was supportive.

If I just showed them how much was in our shared account, maybe they’d finally shut up.

I leaned toward Mom and whispered.

“Should I just say it?”

“Huh? Are you sure?”

“I mean, it’s not like I’m making money from gaming or anything.”

…Not that she knew about my VTuber activities.

Only my sister and Bo-mi knew about that.

Honestly, it was kind of embarrassing.

“Huh? But you do make money from gaming.”

Bo-mi, who had been quietly listening, frowned and muttered.

And in that moment, I realized.

Oh. Here we go again.

At the same time, Mom’s expression became… complicated.

“I thought you were an illustrator?”

“…I’ll explain later.”

Yeah. This was going to be a humiliating experience.

Might as well die and get it over with.

But for now, I needed to shut the adults up.

I asked Mom to bring my bankbook and straightened my posture.

My sudden shift in demeanor made my sister and Bo-mi stifle their laughter.

But honestly, I was embarrassed too.

My face was probably turning red in real time…

But if exposing this could protect my sisters and cousins, then it was a risk worth taking.

Mom returned, covering her mouth as she handed me the bankbook.

Her shoulders trembled—she was clearly holding back laughter.

‘This could be a whole webtoon plot.’

“The case of the quiet niece secretly earning millions as a top illustrator.”

That’d be a killer title.

I opened the bankbook and skimmed through the past transactions.

‘They barely used any of it? I sent that money so they could actually spend it.’

It was obvious where my sister’s frugal habits came from.

Mom was the same way.

Despite the money I’d sent, she had hardly touched it.

It stung a little.

I let out a quiet sigh and held up the bankbook.

The adults, who had been eyeing it suspiciously, tilted their heads.

Their expressions read: So what?

The amount was high, but they didn’t seem to grasp the significance.

“I earned this.”

“This should be enough to justify taking a leave of absence, don’t you think?”

Silence.

Five seconds of pure, golden silence.

Damn. That felt good.