[Happy birthday, Sua!] Our JKC Chicken offers a special discount coupon for customers who celebrate their birthday only once a year.….]

    7 a.m.

    After about three hours of nap, I opened my eyes trying to close them continuously and checked my cell phone screen, and there were a lot of text messages.

    Most of them were messages from companies that they would give coupons or rewards to you on your birthday.

    "It doesn''t mean anything. What?"

    It''s natural to be happy to receive birthday wishes, but Su-ah was strangely annoyed.

    I can''t give a clear reason, but I just got irritated.

    When I came back from washing my face to wake up, my eyes went to the calendar I put on my desk.

    The calendar on the corner of the desk was filled with phrases such as "Desperate Life," "Let''s not study hard to regret," and "I didn''t die because I slept a little," and was filled with X signs.

    And the very next week, there was a day when the red asterisk hit hard.

    It was the day of disclosure.

    "It''s only a few days until the announcement. You don''t have time to celebrate your birthday. This time... You have to stick to it no matter what.”

    How much trouble I''ve caused my parents so far.

    Ever since she walked to this monstrous Noryangjin that ate her sister, Sua had vowed to pass the examination confidently no matter what.

    But it didn''t take long before the commitment went out.

    It''s been almost 3 years.

    Sua knew the best herself.

    The fact that if you fail this exam, you won''t have next year.

    That''s why I decided to study harder.

    I saved my sleeping time, endured the bathroom, and went at once.

    It looked childish, but it couldn''t be helped.

    Because I knew all the other kids do that. I had to push myself harder not to fall behind.

    "Let''s look at the wrong answer notes we did yesterday. Today''s academy class starts at 1 o''clock, so we still have some time.….”

    I tried to get my mind together and sit down, but the letters glistened in front of me.

    My stomach growls!

    He even rang his belly clock without noticing it.

    Come to think of it, I didn''t eat anything for almost 20 hours.

    I searched the cupboard thinking that I wouldn''t be able to study if I didn''t put anything in my stomach, but there was nothing.

    All the chocolate bars and soy milk that I bought to save time for eating have run out.

    "Oh, come on. Please don''t do this."

    He had no choice but to hurry up and put on his clothes and cap, and went out of his room.

    I was familiar with the moldy smell on the stairs of Gosiwon.

    But since it''s my birthday today, I was thinking about taking some time to eat cup rice, so I shook my head and headed to a nearby convenience store.

    I was simply going to buy things like lunch boxes, triangular kimbap, and chocolate bars, but a new one was introduced in the lunch box corner.

    "This is... ..a birthday lunch box?"

    For a special day! A new product named Jung Sung-Dam''s Birthday Lunch Box.

    It was a lunch box with japchae and ribs, and the composition was strangely the same as my mother''s.

    "What''s this?”

    "Oh, sir. That''s a new lunch box that came in today. It''s a birthday lunch box, so it''s a little expensive, but it''s unique."

    As Sua was frozen for a while due to a wonderful coincidence, the part-timer who was guarding the counter explained.

    I tried to pay with my lunch box in a daze, but suddenly I got irritated again."Well, I won''t buy this. I''m sorry."

    "Huh? Oh, it''s okay. If you leave it there, I''ll bring it to you."

    Sua put her lunch box on the stand and left the convenience store as if she was running away.

    Perhaps because the stress of the disclosure was really extreme, it has been like this these days.

    Emotions often exploded like people with depression.

    "I shouldn''t have done this…….”

    My brain was so complicated that I didn''t feel like studying at all.

    I left the convenience store and walked recklessly along the straight road of Noryangjin.

    It''s definitely morning, and it''s bright. I couldn''t see anything because my eyes were black.

    How long did he walk like that? There was a familiar, delicious smell coming from the tip of my nose.

    "A safe day?"

    When I came to my senses, Sua was in front of the cart bar of the day.

    Did his body remember the way because he frequently stopped by "A Reliable Day" these days?

    Realising it had come a little far, I just tried to get back, but the smell of the sandwich was too strong.

    There was a taste on the tip of my tongue.

    A juicy sandwich.

    The moment you taste it, you forget the worries of the whole world.

    "Since I''m here, I''ll just eat and leave.”

    Sua, who thought so, trudged to stand in front of the day.

    Perhaps I was lucky, but there was hardly a long line all day.

    "Uh, uh, Sua, you here? It''s hard to study."

    "What? Oh, can I have the usual one? A mozzarella sandwich."

    Sua ordered her favorite menu and took her smartphone out of her pocket.

    I connected my earphones after I opened the online lecture with my habitual touch.

    I had to save every minute and second waiting for the sandwich.

    If I take a break now, I think I''ll fail the test. Then the anxiety continued to rise.

    In fact, there were so many such students next to the "Reliable Day" food truck.

    Students who order sandwiches and memorize English words or study online lectures from time to time.

    They were all his competitors.

    My heart sank again when I thought so.

    "Excuse me, Sua? Take this."

    "What? Oh, I''m sorry. I didn''t even know it came out...….Huh?"

    Sua, who was concentrating on the online lecture, came to her senses when she heard Haru''s voice.

    I looked up to get a sandwich and found something else in Haru''s hand.

    A square object wrapped in a pink cloth.

    A question mark was put on Sua''s face by itself.

    "Well, this is……?”

    "Happy birthday, Sua. I heard it''s your birthday today from the lady at the cup restaurant. It feels like we''re taking care of our food truck customers. It''s a birthday lunch box, so take it with you."

    What do you mean a lunch box?

    Su-ah''s eyes were wide open at the unimaginable gift.

    "Bird, birthday lunch? I mean, how could I...…. How do I get it? It looks like a lot. I''d rather give you money."

    Surprised, Sua hurriedly opened her wallet.

    I was going to take out all the bills I had, but there was only dust in my wallet.

    ''Oh, right. I ran out of money...….’

    Su A suddenly felt awkward.

    No matter how birthday it was, I couldn''t get this homemade lunch for free, so I tried to dissuade her as much as I could, but one day I carried it in her hand.

    "Don''t worry. Someone''s already paid for the lunch."

    "You''re paying for your lunch? Who?"

    "Just, there''s someone like that. If you''re grateful, please wash your lunch box and bring it to me, okay?

    A day when you say that and smile.

    With the usual smile, Sua was forced to return home with a lunch box.Sneak, sneak.

    Still, I felt bewildered and slowly opened my lunch box.

    The lunch box wrapped in a fine pink cloth was large.

    As many as three tiers, there seemed to be a soup with a thermos container.

    Visual beyond imagination.

    My mouth opened automatically and my nose opened wide.

    "Did you finish making this? Haru, you probably don''t have time because you''re always doing business. I''m sorry."

    It was a lunch box that I brought unexpectedly, but I loved the smell of the cloth as soon as I unpacked it.

    I thought about it for a while and opened the thermos.

    As soon as the lid was turned, the seaweed soup was still hot, and white steam rose.

    And

    "……Huh?"

    There was a very familiar, unforgettable smell.

    Seaweed soup with perilla powder and a deep scent of perilla oil.

    My home-cooked meal.

    "Huh?"

    I opened the lunch box just in case.

    Soon Sua could not help but be genuinely surprised.

    LA galbi and japchae that I''ve never tasted anywhere but home. And vegetables...….

    The home-cooked meal birthday table that my mother used to cook for me was still here.

    "What the hell is this?"

    Su-ah, whose mind went blank, sank down as if her legs were loosened.

    I opened the last lunch box with a slightly shaky hand.

    The third lunch box with fruits.

    But I saw something wrapped in a small wrapper between beautifully cut pears and apple-like fruits.

    It looks like a heart, so I think it''s a fortune cookie.

    Did Haru make it for me?

    I felt something ineffable and strange, so I took my hand there without realizing it.

    When I took off the wrapping paper of the fortune cookie, there was a sweet smell.

    Crunch! and squeeze the cookie in half.

    A piece of paper rolling out of it.

    Sua opened a piece of paper.

    "Haru oppa...….”

    Soon, all the emotions that he had endured unconsciously exploded in an instant.

    Tears poured out of my eyes in tears.

    Tears that burst once like water poured out of a dam with a hole did not stop.

    The flowing pieces of paper were written in clear letters.

    [Take your time, you''re already doing well enough]]

    A calm message.

    But for Sua today, it was a sentence that was more supportive than any other word in the world.

    There''s no time to sleep, no time to play, no future for those who fail the test, etc.

    Not compared to the many horses whipping themselves, which filled the desk.

    It was a very well-known horse.

    In the past, to my sister. For Seo-ah, it was something that she and her mother kept saying.

    Because Seo-ah at that time seemed so impatient time.

    But when Sua came into Noryangjin herself, she forgot.

    I just got impatient. She had forgotten what she had been trying to say to her sister.

    But now it''s only come back to mind.

    With the home-cooked meal that I missed so much.

    It appeared again in front of Sua.

    "Well, this isn''t the way it should be."

    Su-ah, whose face turned red, wiped away tears with her sleeve dance and jumped up.

    He brought a desk with a broken leg, and took out a rice bowl and a soup bowl.

    The soup was put in, the side dishes were moved, and the table was set up neatly.

    Seaweed soup and white rice.

    It was really the same as my mother''s birthday meal.

    After that, I started eating with a spoon and chopsticks.I ate galbi on white rice and japchae slurposedly.

    I choked up while eating like crazy and drank seaweed soup.

    "It''s delicious. Really, it''s so delicious...…hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Why is it so delicious!"

    To the point where my mouth is about to burst, my throat. I ate like that.

    It was so delicious.

    I was happy.

    That''s why I cried more.

    Why didn''t you eat well earlier, you idiot?

    Seo-ah was smiling at Su-ah like that.