I Returned, and Now I See Strange Things-Chapter 16: A Happy Moment

The conversation they had while happily eating ice cream was an optimistic one.

Things had nearly gone to hell, but in the end, it looked like it was going to be a success.

They wouldn’t know the exact view count until the edited video went up, but the online communities were already buzzing. Judging by that, it looked like the numbers would be good. That made her feel like the struggle hadn’t been in vain.

In the middle of that, Hyesung suddenly spoke with a serious face.

“Noona... so about that... what exactly did you do back there?”

Hyeyeon seemed curious too, her ears perking up.

Well... was there anything particularly special?

“I told you at the time, didn’t I? The ritual was missing the spirit summoning part, so I added that in... and that’s probably why the ghost showed up?”

Hyesung still looked uneasy, while Hyeyeon looked delighted.

“Unni, was that a real ghost?”

“Hmm... probably?”

It was safe to call it a ghost.

Sure, there were types of ghosts... but if you tried to break them down, there were way too many categories.

...If you had to divide them, it’d probably be something like friendly spirits and hostile spirits.

Ghosts generally existed because they had lingering regrets, after all.

Judging by the way the thing muttered ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) something right before it disappeared, this one likely had some kind of unresolved grudge too.

With a face full of excitement, Hyeyeon asked,

“Could I ever see one too?”

Well...?

Maybe if you went to Entera and lived like a dog for a while, you could start seeing them too, Hyeyeon.

“That, I’m not sure about...?”

Her disappointment was written all over her face. With those dark circles under her eyes, she looked even more dejected.

Her expression resembled a depressed cat—it made Ayun laugh.

Still... maybe it was better she couldn’t see them.

There was no benefit to it, only stress.

You guys... should stay away from this stuff.

“So ghosts really exist, huh...”

Hyesung still sounded unsure.

...The fact that he was still wavering even after experiencing all that was honestly kind of impressive.

Well, maybe it was natural. If you couldn’t see it with your own eyes, of course it’d be hard to believe.

But whether Hyesung believed or not really didn’t matter to her.

What he thought didn’t matter as long as he paid her well.

At some point during their conversation, the ice cream had disappeared.

Licking her lips after tasting such rare luxury, she saw Hyesung wave over a server to order more.

“Could we get some more ice cream here...?”

Quick on the uptake—she liked that about him.

It made her feel reassured.

Like, no matter what happened, this guy would clean things up.

When the server brought another round of ice cream, her mouth curved up on its own.

She felt good.

Around the time she was halfway through her second serving—

“So about the next content...”

Hyesung brought it up.

He was already planning the next episode?

She really thought—it’s true, not just anyone can be a streamer.

So let’s just keep things going like this.

With the ice cream spoon in her mouth, she responded.

“What are you thinking of doing?”

“Um... do you know the story of the White Tiger?”

“Tiger? As in... an actual tiger?”

Hyeyeon, who had looked a bit down earlier, chimed in.

“It’s like a monster people say shows up in the mountains─”

Judging from how excited she got explaining it, you could tell she was genuinely into this stuff.

From the sound of it, it seemed more like a monster than a ghost.

Putting it in Earth terms, it felt closer to a yokai or some kind of cryptid.

Apparently, it was a fairly recent rumor too.

...It sounded pretty questionable, honestly.

If something like that really existed, wouldn’t it have been exorcised a long time ago?

Felt like Hyesung had chosen it as a break from ghost-hunting—because ghosts freaked him out too much.

In other words, he’d picked something that was probably nothing.

Which would be a problem.

If nothing happened, there’d be no views.

“Hmm... is there nothing else?”

Just as Hyeyeon lit up, ready to spout something, Hyesung cut her off.

“Let’s go with this one this time! We’ll have to head out to the countryside, but there’ll be good food there and everything—it’ll be great!”

She blinked at him, and he let out an awkward chuckle.

“Of course I’ll cover all the expenses!”

She gave him a wide grin.

“Alright. Hyeyeon, you’re coming too, right?”

“Ah, yes, of course. I have to come, right?”

And just like that, their next destination was decided.

***

Not long after, Hyesung transferred the money.

It looked like she wouldn’t have to worry about money for a while. Still, it wasn’t a stable income yet, so she’d have to save as much as possible.

That said... she splurged a little.

“Package for unit 404!!!”

Perfect timing—it had arrived.

The delivery man’s voice sounded a bit annoyed, for some reason.

Still, she was in a good mood, thinking about finally having white rice for the first time in a while.

When she opened the door, the courier set the box down.

“...Are you Ms. Bo Ah-yeon?”

...Still couldn’t get used to that name.

Couldn’t they have at least given her a more decent-sounding name? Or at least a proper family name...?

Ugh.

Complaining wouldn’t change anything anyway.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“Want me to bring it inside for you?”

“Oh... sure, that’d be nice.”

Despite the irritated tone, the service was surprisingly good.

Did she mishear it?

It wasn’t that heavy to begin with, so she wouldn’t have cared either way, but hey—kindness was kindness.

Back in Entera, she would’ve refused. But now that she was back on Earth, she figured she might as well start getting used to these little courtesies.

The delivery guy cheerfully carried the box inside and strolled off.

In many ways, it felt like a great era to live in.

A single-serving rice cooker ordered just yesterday had arrived today, and a kind deliveryman brought it all the way into the house.

...A pretty quick turnaround for someone who just a little while ago had been whining about how Entera might’ve been the better place to live.

Well... you know how people are—different when they go into the restroom and when they come out.

It’s only natural for your evaluation to change depending on what’s right in front of you.

She tore open the rice cooker box and decided to try making her first bowl of rice.

[Is that the rice cooker you were so excited about yesterday?]

“Yep.”

She also opened the bag of rice she had lugged home with great effort the day before.

The feeling of raw rice after so long was satisfying. Cool and slightly rough to the touch.

Let’s see... One cup should be enough for a single serving, right?

She used the measuring cup that came as a bonus with the rice cooker and scooped up one cup of rice.

She rinsed it well under running water, adjusted the water level, and put it in the rice cooker.

It had been so light that the courier’s offer seemed like overkill. She easily lifted it and plugged it in.

Now all she had to do was press the “cook” button and wait.

She had considered using a pot instead, but that seemed a bit too advanced for a beginner.

And besides, the rice cooker wasn’t even expensive.

With a heart full of anticipation, she waited for the rice to cook.

According to the manual, it should take about twenty minutes.

As she hummed in front of the cooker, waiting, a message came in.

It was from Hyeyeon.

– Unni, you know we’re leaving the day after tomorrow, right?

– Yeah

– I’ll pack the clothes, so you just bring yourself

– Thanks

– ^^

Somehow, that smile felt loaded with implications.

Come to think of it, hadn’t she mentioned there were a few haunted places she wanted to visit?

If there was time, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to tag along.

While she exchanged messages with Hyeyeon, the rice cooker began to release steam.

She placed Ignis on the stovetop and started boiling ramen.

Today, she was going to indulge in the luxury of white rice soaked in ramen broth.

Just imagining it made her mouth water.

Fluffy white rice soaked through with rich ramen soup.

It was definitely going to be amazing.

Once the ramen was done, she set it on the sink. Right then, the rice cooker gave a cheerful beep signaling it was ready.

She opened the lid, fluffed the rice with a spoon, and turned the rice cooker off. Once the rice was cooked, its job was done.

Next, she opened the fridge and pulled out a pack of kimchi she’d splurged on at the convenience store.

Seeing it on the counter almost brought tears to her eyes.

To think—after struggling just to eat plain ramen, now she was eating it with kimchi and mixing in rice.

...Now this was what you called luxury.

Sure, the meat Hyesung had bought her last time had been incredible—but that was a special occasion.

It wasn’t something she could have all the time.

Well... she’d stored that taste in her memory, and sometimes she recalled it—but every time she did, her stomach would ache, so she tried not to think about it too often.

Anyway.

Now was the time to focus on the feast in front of her.

Since returning, ramen had been her staple.

But adding kimchi made even ramen feel special.

In the past, she’d slurp up the noodles and soothe the regret with leftover broth.

Not anymore.

She opened the rice cooker again and dumped in about half of it.

As she stirred the rice to soak up the ramen broth, she pulled out a plastic bag from the discount store.

She put the remaining rice in the bag and stored it in the fridge.

That would be for tomorrow.

Next, she washed the rice cooker thoroughly and left it upside down to dry.

Then she scooped up a spoonful of rice soaked in ramen broth.

Rice, broth... a bit of garnish on the spoon.

And to top it off—carefully, delicately—kimchi.

Perfect.

She put it in her mouth and bit down.

The ramen broth burst with savory flavor, the rice gave off a soft sweetness—

And the kimchi added a crisp crunch and just the right tang.

It was, without question, the ultimate bite.

[...Gulp.]

Someone swallowed audibly, but... who cared.

They couldn’t eat it anyway.

“It’s already all gone...”

As always, happy times ended too quickly.

As she washed out the now-empty pot, she thought to herself:

...Hope this next video blows up too. I want to buy something delicious again.

Wishing for something to go wrong on a trip that was supposed to be uneventful, forgetting how much of a pain the last time had been—

It was a simple little wish.

This chapt𝒆r is updated by frёewebηovel.cѳm.