“Woooowww!”

Seo-woo dashed around the yard, clearly thrilled. Perhaps intrigued by the soft texture of the grass, he even bounced around barefoot.

Kang! Kang! Kang!

Yeoksam was no different. With an excited expression, he leapt and bounded across the grass.

“Don't copy me!”

Seo-woo scolded him with a deliberately stern look.

Kang! Kang! Kang! Kang!

I wasn't copying, okay?

Snorting in mock offense, Yeoksam lay down and started rolling around on the grass instead of hopping.

Rolling to the left, rolling to the right...

The soft sensation of the grass must have felt amazing, because he looked happier than ever.

“Is that fun?”

Seo-woo asked, and Yeoksam made an indifferent face, then scratched the back of his neck with a hind leg without answering.

“Are you sulking?”

Kang!

And if I am?

Seo-woo pulled something out of his pocket. A piece of candy.

“I’ll give you this instead.”

Kang Kang Kang Kang! Kang Kang Kang!

I’m a Hell Hound... What do you take me for!

“Then I’ll give you this too.”

This time, he pulled out a sausage from his other pocket. It was a cheap sausage, barely worth a thousand won, but to Yeoksam, it was different.

He had once tasted that sausage before. It was a flavor beyond description.

Kang!

As Yeoksam barked cheerfully, Seo-woo smiled brightly and handed over the candy and sausage.

Then, he began to roll around the grass together with Yeoksam.

“Puhuhuhuhu.”

Rolling was a lot of fun. Especially when it was with Yeoksam—it was even more fun.

“Lee Seo-woo!”

Yeon-jun, having just finished unpacking, shouted when he saw Seo-woo covered in dust.

Seo-woo and Yeoksam, who had been rolling around laughing hysterically, froze in place.

“……”

“……”

Dad didn’t usually scold him, but sometimes he did. And Seo-woo had a feeling that this was one of those times.

And Yeoksam realized something too—that his little master rarely scolded him, but judging from the expression on his face, he was really mad this time.

Yeoksam made the first move. He barked and pushed Seo-woo down with his front paws.

Kang Kang Kang Kang! Kang Kang Kang!

Not to be outdone, Seo-woo pointed at Yeoksam and shouted,

“I didn’t wanna do it! But Yeoksam! He kept saying let’s play... he just kept saying it...”

Kang Kang Kang Kang!

Absolutely not, little master!

Watching the two kids trying to shift blame onto each other, Yeon-jun let out a chuckle.

“Seo-woo, do you want jajangmyeon? Or something else?”

“Jajangmyeon!”

“Alright.”

“...Then can I keep playing?”

After a moment of thought, Yeon-jun answered,

“Only if you stay inside the yard. Don’t go outside, okay?”

“Yes!”

Kang!

Smiling faintly, Yeon-jun turned back into the house.

“What did he say he wanted to eat?”

“Jajangmyeon.”

“All settled then. Six jajangmyeons and one large sweet and sour pork should do, right?”

“Yeah.”

While Seo-jun went to place the order, Park Yeon and Doo-shik came down the loft stairs. Park Yeon’s face was full of disappointment.

“You don’t like it?”

“Well, it’s not that I don’t like it, it’s just...”

After a pause, Park Yeon continued,

“You said it was like a palace, so I had high expectations... but it’s smaller than I thought.”

“Ah... small?”

“Ah, I don’t mean Adam as in Adam and Eve, alright?”

He suddenly burst into laughter over his own dad joke.

“I think I’d rather stay where I was living.”

“...Isn’t that place even smaller? If you’re uncomfortable living with us, you really don’t have to be. We have plenty of rooms.”

“It’s not that. I’ve just gotten used to that room.”

Yeon-jun nodded at Park Yeon’s resolute tone. What could he do if the man didn’t want to stay?

And then—

Ding dong!

The jajangmyeon had arrived.

Or so he thought.

“What brings you here, teacher...?”

Yeon-jun, wallet in hand, walked to the front door and was left speechless at the unexpected figure standing there.

It wasn’t the delivery person. It was Lee Ra-hee.

“Hello!”

She gave a polite bow.

Yeon-jun returned the greeting with a slightly displeased look.

“Yes. But how...?”

“Well... you see, ah! I heard you moved.”

“Yes.”

“And... as your father must know, environment is really important for children, right? So as Seo-woo’s homeroom teacher, I thought I should check out what kind of environment he’ll be in now... Um, you know, kind of like a home visit?”

As she babbled, her gaze wandered over Yeon-jun’s shoulder.

“...Hello.”

Oh goddess, my goddess Lee Ra-hee.

“Ah, yes. Hello...”

“Then I’ll be going.”

“……”

“Doo-shik.”

“What.”

“Let’s go back upstairs.”

“No. I like it here.”

“...Shut up and get upstairs.”

Grumbling, Doo-shik followed Park Yeon upstairs. Somewhere along the way, Park Yeon had realized something.

That whenever Lee Ra-hee stood in front of Yeon-jun, her heart pounded wildly—just like his own.

And so...

‘This is when a real man steps aside.’

Of course, in his heart, he wanted to be like those villains in dramas and interfere, but he wasn’t that kind of guy.

With a bitter smile, Park Yeon shut off his hearing. He didn’t want to listen to the conversation downstairs.

Not because he still had feelings for Lee Ra-hee—

Just... just... just...!

Sigh, never mind.

“We’re a bit chaotic, huh?”

“Sorry?”

“Our family, I mean.”

“Ah? Oh no. You seem like a great family.”

“By the way, what was it you said earlier? Did you say this was a home visit?”

“Yes! As Seo-woo’s homeroom teacher, I wanted to see what kind of environment he’ll be living in.”

“You must really love children.”

“Sorry?”

“It’s rare to see a teacher who cares this much. It’s not easy to go this far unless you really love kids.”

“Ah, yes. I love them. I love them soooo much!”

When Yeon-jun smiled softly, Rahee’s face turned red like a well-ripened persimmon.

And then—

Ding-dong!

The delivery had arrived.

“Well, I’ve checked where and how Seo-woo is living now, so I’ll be going.”

“Since you’re here, why don’t you eat with us?”

“But...”

“Waaah! Teacher!”

While she was hesitating, Seo-woo suddenly jumped into her arms.

“Teacher, did you come to see me?”

“Hm? Ah, yes. Teacher came to see our little Seo-woo. Have you been well?”

“Yup!”

Giggling, Seo-woo grabbed Rahee’s hand and pulled her toward the table.

“Where’s Park Yeon?”

Seo-jun asked as he saw Doo-shik coming down the stairs.

“He said he’s not eating.”

“Not eating? But it’s jjajangmyeon?”

Seo-jun was surprised. Park Yeon had once refused to eat it, saying the black sauce made it look like demon food. But after actually trying it, he praised it endlessly.

There were even times he sang songs about jjajangmyeon, asking when they’d eat the devil’s food again. And now, after all that waiting, he said he wouldn’t eat. Ridiculous.

Though bewildered, Seo-jun quickly understood the reason through Doo-shik’s explanation.

“Yes, he suddenly said his stomach hurts.”

“Hm... Well, that can happen.”

And so, the first meal in the new house began—with Rahee joining them as well.

When Yeon-jun returned home, Seo-jun, who had been sitting on the new sofa, asked him,

“Did you see the teacher off properly?”

“Yeah. I walked her to the front of the police station.”

“The police station? There’s no bus stop there, is there?”

“It’s not far from the bus stop. The teacher said she was almost there anyway, so I just left her.”

“What if something happened to her?”

“It’s right in front of the police station. What could possibly happen? More than anything...”

“More than anything?”

“Ha, damn. Maybe something I ate earlier didn’t sit right. I really had to poop, couldn’t even make it to the bus stop.”

With that, Yeon-jun hurried to the bathroom.

Watching him go, Seo-jun chuckled.

‘Is he pretending not to know or does he really not know…?’

Well, either way, he’d manage somehow.

After moving, Seo-jun’s steps on the way to the shop from the new house were light, like a farmer heading out to weed the fields.

Seo-woo especially loved the new place. He could run around the yard, and he was oddly pleased by the fact that the bathroom didn’t have any windows.

Seo-woo had been so excited he didn’t go to bed until after ten last night.

Instead, he wandered the house full of joy. And Yeon-jun had been the same.

Recalling the two of them smiling so happily, a smile naturally formed on Seo-jun’s lips. He looked up at the sky.

‘Is it already autumn?’

Just a few days ago, fluffy cumulus clouds floated above, but now soft, wispy clouds had taken their place.

‘Time really flies.’

Time had crawled in the Demon Realm. One year felt like a hundred, and a hundred like a thousand.

But here on Earth, it was different. It had already been nearly six months since he returned, but it still felt like just yesterday.

When he thought about it, a lot had happened and many connections had been made. Still, it all felt so short.

‘That must mean I’ve been happy.’

He hoped it could stay this way. No one getting sick, no one getting hurt—just everyone being happy.

It must really be autumn, judging by how sentimental he was getting. Smiling to himself, Seo-jun picked up his pace—then stopped.

Yep, it was definitely autumn again.

‘Bungeoppang.’

There was already a street vendor in sight. Seo-jun headed toward the bungeoppang cart without hesitation.

Nothing beats bungeoppang in the fall.

“Welcome.”

Seo-jun gave a slight bow and glanced over the bungeoppang on the grill shelf. There were two types.

One filled with custard cream, and one filled with red bean paste.

‘No need to even think about it.’

Seo-jun was conservative when it came to food. That’s why he preferred the original spicy tteokbokki over the soupy kind.

And, being consistent in his tastes, he believed bungeoppang should be filled with red bean paste.

Custard cream… just felt like a weird hybrid.

“Could you pack thirty thousand won worth of the red bean ones?”

“Sure, thirty thousand won worth.”

While the vendor packed the bungeoppang into a bag—

Seo-jun’s eyes caught the steaming fish cakes nearby.

‘Technically, they’re called eomuk, but...’

Somehow, these skewered fish cakes always felt right to call “odeng.”

Seo-jun picked one up.

“Did you just put these in?”

“Hm? Oh... the fish cakes?”

“Yeah.”

“Some burly guys came by earlier and ate them all. These are the only ones that are cooked—please have these.”

“No worries.”

Seo-jun smiled faintly.

Just like there are dip-eaters and pour-eaters for sauce, fish cake lovers were divided too.

Well-cooked fish cakes VS barely cooked ones.

Seo-jun preferred the latter.

He dipped the fish cake in soy sauce and took a bite. The characteristic firmness of undercooked fish cake came first, followed by the savory burst of fish meat flavor.

‘Delicious.’

A smile crept across his face from the flavor.

He stood and continued popping fish cakes into his mouth.

“...You must really like fish cakes.”

With his mouth full, Seo-jun looked at the vendor, puzzled. The man pointed at the skewers stacked on the stand.

At some point, a pile of empty skewers had built up.