오물오물 (omul omul) is apparently the sound you made when you’re eating while 냠냠 (yum yum) is a cute way of saying something is delicious.
bibimbap with excitement. “Meow, meow.”
“Mrow, mrow.”
“Mrooow.”
As I finished the bibimbap as much as I wanted, I could hear the cat crying through the window. There were as many as three today. There were two mottled little kittens beside the
cheese tabby
, which I always saw.
“What, did you bring the kids with you?”
“Mroow.”
“Come here. I’ll take care of your meal.”
Recently, uninvited street cats kept coming to my house. Perhaps as the largest and wealthiest-looking house in the neighborhood, seeing as I was always feeding street cats food and water, they always seem to come to me.
When I even bought a special bowl and welcomed them, the cats seemed to regard me as a pushover that was not wary of them and took good care of my food. Today, as I approached, I was shocked to see them crying, demanding to be fed right away.
“Now, now, it’s the food you wanted. Eat slowly.”
“Meowww!”
The mother and two cubs rushed toward the food bowl. It was cute to watch them lower their heads and eat the food.
‘Let’s take a picture, let’s take a picture.’
In exchange for feeding them, I took pictures of cute street cats on my phone and kept them. The cats were also quiet when they took pictures, maybe because I fed them. It was one of the small hobbies I got after coming down to the countryside.
‘Since we’re out, let’s take a look at the lettuce seeds planted.’
There was a small garden in the front yard, and I planted things that could be used as vegetables for wraps. Among them, lettuce was the easiest to manage and grow.
Lettuce didn’t have to be sprayed with pesticides because it doesn’t eat insects, and it is the most suitable for eating meat, so it was perfect for me to grow it as the first-pitch strike.
“It’s still small.”
Even though the buds sprouted, it was only cute to see the baby’s fingernails. As I smiled while looking at the garden, the street cats that were feeding looked at me with strange eyes.
“Do you know the joy of farming?”
Being alone, I was not ashamed of my sloopy voice. The cats, perhaps, understood me, uttered a discontented cry and disappeared leisurely, leaving behind the bowl of rice that had been eaten up.
“You scraped off every bit of food.”
Sooner or later, one might see street cats with chubby flesh. After watching them eat so well, I was a little worried that this place would become a famous spot for street cats.
‘Well… there won’t be a big deal. If it’s a big problem, I can ask the housekeeper ahjussi.’
I came down here alone, but I wasn’t alone. It was because of Secretary Choi, who was faithful and good at work.
Secretary Choi must have been very worried about me because he prepared a surprise gift.
ーTada! This is a special employment group for young master!
ーWhat is this? What employment? I’m gonna live alone. I don’t need it if I’m worried.
ーI know how determined you are to become a farmer! If you live alone in a rural house, there will be many problems.
I didn’t even ask, but Secretary Choi listed a series of difficult situations that could happen if I lived alone in a house.
ーWater might not be available due to a pump failure, wild animals such as elks and wild boars come down to ruin the field or threaten the house, and it is inconvenient because the internet is not available.
ーWhen that happens, are you sure you can handle it on your own?
ー…….
I couldn’t answer a question that seemed to have been prepared.
My body often hurts, that I’ve only seen how my parents do it, but I’ve never actually done it.
‘In addition, I focused only on farming, but I don’t know what to do when such an unexpected situation occurs.’
When I was pointed out an unexpected point, there was no choice but to close my mouth. Secretary Choi spoke to me in high spirits.
ーFor a young man who’ll be in that situation! These are the people I recruited. Ahem. Let’s all say hello!
ーNice to meet you, young master Seong Chan-young.
There were not many people recruited by Secretary Choi. All of them were people entering middle age or old age, and each was given a role to manage. Secretary Choi introduced them all as skilled veterans.
ーBut then these people will have to go down to the countryside together, is that okay?
ーThat’s all right, young master. We were also thinking of retiring and going down to the countryside, but we came here on the condition that you would pay for the housing.
They were people who were about to retire but had no retirement funds. With all due respect, Secretary Choi offered such people exceptional conditions and chose them as an employee to help me.
ーI gave you the check the president sent to cover your mouth, did you use it for this? Secretary Choi?
ーI lied to you, too. I wanted to pay you back wit an apologetic heart.
I could not refuse to take these people who were respectfully bowing 90 degrees at me. For a novice farmer, this was almost like a cheat.
‘So eventually, I agreed to pay the remaining salary and came down together.’
As I sipped and drank the remaining beer, I felt like I was getting drunk.
“I should go buy strawberry seedlings tomorrow morning.”
I wanted to buy strawberries, blueberries, and cherry tomatoes and plant them. Sooner or later, the time for rice planting will come, so I will have to buy rice seedlings soon.
‘Let’s do it step by step.’
Having left all the original gongs and Seong Chan-young’s family, I had no hurry. It was enough to enjoy a quiet and self-sufficient farming life as it was.
I had no idea, soaked in a dream. I had no idea that Chairman Seong and the gongs who soon heard my news would turn their worlds upside down and come to find me.
⚝ ⚝ ⚝
Baek Do-jun has been absent-minded lately.
One day, his mother nagged when she saw Do-jun, who stopped using chopsticks while applying grilled mackerel at the head of the table.
“Do-jun ah, what’s wrong with you? Strangely, there are times when a child is mesmerized these days.”
“Yes? Oh… I’m sorry. I guess it’s because I didn’t sleep well.”
“Did you have a nightmare? What kind of dream is it that your face is so dark? Making your mom worry about you.”
At his mother’s criticism, Do-jun faced her with a forced smile.
“I’m sorry. I won’t let you worry about this from now on.”
“Yes. Mom believes you. If you can’t sleep, go to the hospital with me.”
“……yes.”
The glossy white rice felt dry. It was difficult to eat food like chewing stones through your throat.
‘This is all because of Seong Chan-young.’
Baek Do-jun, who is not eating well-prepared food, recalled his nightmare that he has been having recently.
Secretary Choi is the MVP!!!
Istg, I had fallen for him the moment he said no to Chairman Seong because he had been bribed but dang, I wasn't expecting him to actually do this!!!! He's such a scene-stealer!💖💖💖💖💖