Ch.8 We're Married? Since When?
Translator: Isabel
Editor: MochiMochi
First published on Ainushi.
Hup, Ji-On held her breath on reflex as the distance between them shortened. It seemed as if the tips of their lips would touch. The two were squished against each other inside the zipped up jacket. The nervousness Ji-On felt from the kiss in the morning came back alive as Dae-Shik turned back into a human. It feels so weird. First off, my heart's acting strange. It's pit-pating like crazy. The overreacting heartbeats sound like drum beats resounding in my ears. The blood in my body seems to be heating up and causing heat flashes. There's an aura of dizziness residing in my temples.
"Umm, will you pull this down?"
Dae-Shik pointed at the zipper behind him as he spoke. Ah, right, he's still in my jacket. Ji-On stretched out her arm as if hugging him and pulled down the zipper. Dae-Shik, wearing a grey training outfit, took a step away from her.
"That's a relief. I think it's better for me to be a human right now."
Ji-On dazedly nodded her head. Ah, then he won't noisily bark like when he was puppy a while ago. Dae-Shik spoke in a low tone as he lightly flicked her nose.
"Why do you suck at grocery shopping?"
Huh? That means? The trap hidden inside this warm voice? Yes, it's true. While puppy Dae-Shik did not have a say, human Dae-Shik was ready to have a say in everything now.
"It's because my account sucks!"
Ding! As Ji-On regained her senses, she spoke with a surprised voice.
"Still, that doesn't mean you can suck at taking care of your pet."
His voice was still warm. However, his words meant that he was going to shop full throttle now. He was going to conquer this market!
"A p-pet should match its owner's lifestyle!"
"Can't the owner match the pet's standards? Like an inverse conception?"
You're telling m-me to match your standards? A dog's standards? Suddenly, Dae-Shik strode towards Ji-On. He lifted her up, folded her in half, and put her into the cart.
"W-what are you doing?"
Ji-On, who had abruptly been put into the cart, struggled to get out, but as if playing whack-mole, he placed her randomly popping out limbs back into the cart.
"No, go back in, Ji-On!"
Similar to a while ago. When Ji-On was trying to stop Dae-Shik from coming out of her jacket.
"Uah, uahh! No!"
Heedless to her cries, Dae-Shik leisurely pushed the cart and started shopping. Suddenly, the roles of master and serf changed. Ah, I can't believe I Felt excitement for this kind of bastard. Ji-On felt resentment towards her easily moving heart. This bastard didn't feel anything from this morning's kiss. I was the only one whose heart pit-pated. Ugh. Unfair. As Ji-On used all her strength to glare at Dae-Shik… she was carted away.
"Oh?"
Having seen all this from afar, the landlady's eyes enlarged. Did she see? Did she see Dae-Shik's transformation? Did she catch on? Did she know that the dog Ji-On was temporarily taking care of was actually a weredog?
"Ji-On had a boyfriend?"
Thankfully, Ji-On had her back to the landlady, so she wasn't able to see him as a dog. However, she did see Ji-On. And she saw when some tall guy patiently placed Ji-On in the cart and pushing her away. Even the squabble of the two puppy-like couple was cute.
'Wait, isn't this suspicious?"
The curious landlady decided to follow them… the first place Dae-Shik decided to go was the meat corner where he was humiliated. He smiled as he reached for the beef he targeted before.
"No! What did I tell you before? My account is empty."
Ji-On, who was put into the cart, waved her arms to block the beef from entering the cart. Dae-Shik put on a relaxed grin and spoke to the butcher.
"Sir. Did you know this young lady stole and ate the dog's food this morning?"
"Huhuhuh, you're kidding."
Hul, you're tattling to the butcher? Ji-On flew into rage.
"How is cereal dog food? It was mine in the first place!"
"I'm telling you, this lady truly will eat a dog's leftovers if she's hungry."
"Huhuhuh, that's not possible."
You dog-bird, that was left over when you were a human!
"Anyways, karma. Sung Ji-On, shouldn't you repay the cereal you stole?"
"Wait, who repays cereal with beef?"
"You haven't heard? Revenge is self-serve and repayment is thrice-served?"
There was a rhyme like that? Why haven't I heard it? The butcher gave a huhuhu laugh as if their quarrel was cute and spoke.
"This beef is really delicious. Affectionately grill and eat this for dinner tonight."
Urg, eventually the beef rolled into Ji-On's cart.
Wow, it's back-breaking to feed and care for a dog.
The place Dae-Shik arrived at as he aimlessly pushed the cart was,
"Wow, they sell clothes at the market. Do commoners buy clothes from here?" It was the market's clothing corner.
"Did you buy clothes from here too? Ah, no wonder you had a market aura."
"That isn't true. I bought my stuff online."
"Same, same."
Haa, this jerk. I don't know what kind of golden spoon he was before, but I'm sure he was an extremely annoying person.
"Sung Ji-On, you should be very thankful. I can't believe I'm buying clothes at a market."
This time, a few t-shirts, jeans, etc. flew into the cart. He might as well open a clothing store. Ji-On raged once more.
"No more. My brother, Jun-Oh's, size is similar to your size. I'll ask him to send his hand-me-downs."
"Hand-me downs? Hand-me-downs? You're telling me to wear that kind of clothing?"
Dae-Shik exaggeratedly shook his finger back and forth as if that was impossible.
"Remember, you're only tem.por.ar.i.ly staying until you find your place. So why do you need so many clothes?"
A blue clothing caught on the angry Ji-On's shoulder. Huk! This! I-it's trunks! Man panties! Ji-On's face instantaneously reddened like a red paprika.
"Why, do you want me to wear hand-me-downs for this too?"
Unlike the flustered Ji-On, Dae-Shik was constantly laid-back.
"Or should I just go around bare?"
This time, Dae-Shik grabbed puppy clothes. He wants to even buy dog clothes now? Ji-On rose her voice and refused.
"Yeah! Live naked! It's alright for you to go around naked!"
On top of everything, It was a Canadian goose down padded dog jacket. Even if it was a fake, what dog deserves a Canadian goose down jacket. Even I haven't been able to wear one in this cold weather! However, perhaps it was because her voice was too loud, she started hearing the whispers around her.
'Oh my, she said to live naked. Those newlyweds are quite passionate.'
'The female is quite aggressive. She's no joke.'
Uh, how shameful. Why does it feel like the more I talk the more I lose? Dae-Shik quietly covered his mouth and acted innocent.
"Oh my, Sung Ji-On. You're that type of person? I see."
Trickle1. Eventually, the dog jacket fell into the cart as well. However, Ji-On's troubles did not stop there.
"Electric razor? Shaving cream? We bought that already."
"When? I didn't buy any."
Ji-On dug her head into the filled cart to find something and came out with dog brush.
"Isn't this enough to care for your hair3?"
"Huhuhu, you think that's enough?"
Ah, Ji-On realized. Men are dog-like beings that require daily hair care. Thus, men are dogs. This man is a dog!
'Hey, you dog bastard!'
Ji-On wanted to curse him out.
"They say that another item was added to the human basic necessities."
What else do you want to buy now?
"It's a necessity phone!"
The cart had somehow arrived at the market's cell phone stall. What doesn't this damn market sell?
"What's the newest phone here?"
The newest phone for a dog. They say a dog's life is the high life. It must mean to be fated with the newest items. What a rogue.
"Ah, this one. I'll check how much discount I can give you for this product. What is the name of the account owner?"
"Sung Ji-On."
Dae-Shik's voice was so natural. Ji-On, who was lifelessly lying in the cart, sprung up again like a zombie.
"What? You're trying to steal my identity now?"
"Isn't this also the responsibility of an owner?"
Ah, this master title is filled with heavy responsibility and compulsion, but no respect or special treatment. If possible, I want to let it go. Especially this bratty, troublesome pet. Fine, whether it's my account or my identity, take it all. I will willingly give it to you. Hey! The despairing Ji-On's eyes turned bright when her eyes fell on the furniture corner!
"Wa! This is just what we need!"
Ji-On found a Rakuraku2 bed! Dae-Shik's expression also became bright.
"Yeah. The small size is perfect for you!"
"What are you saying? The Rakuraku is yours."
Ji-On yelled with a tone of unbelief.
"Even though I'm 187cm? My feet will poke out if I sleep here."
"Cut off what pokes out. Or sleep in the cardboard box. You slept fine yesterday."
"I was dying from back pain!"
"You're living in my house, using my phone, and buying everything with my card. Why doesn't our super inferior sir just shut up and use what this owner buys him?"
"You're superior since you're buying?"
"Why do you even ask something so obvious?"
Ji-On raised her chin even higher as she spoke.
"In South Korea, the rich are superior!"
Whoosh- Suddenly a frigid wind blew across. Suddenly, Dae-Shik's facial expression became serious. What are you doing, so scary.
"Sung Ji-On, you are going to regret saying that."
Mm, although it seems that I boasted too much when I don't even have much, I can't back down now.
"Why? What? You keep adding to the cart when you don't even have a cent. You, a dog!"
"You are going to have to bow down to me later. Me, a dog!"
Wh-what is this confidence? Ji-On suddenly became worried. What's this? Why do I feel like I'm going to regret just like what Dae-Shik said? Unlike the wishy-washy expression on Ji-On's face, the peeking landlady's suspicious expression turned into confirmation. Men's underwear, shaver, and even a folding bed. This is definitely suspicious.
"Is Ji-On living… with a man?"
From the landlady's perspective, this was a very reasonable suspicion. Didn't she suddenly bring home a dog last time? Now she's shopping with a man. This is a bit strange. The lady decided to trail them a bit more. Shashashak4… a bit later, Ji-On, who had alighted from the cart, struggled with bringing a huge box from the toy section.
"What's this?"
Ji-On spoke confidently as if she had an amazing plan to answer Dae-Shik's question.
"Have you heard about camouflage tactics?"
"What?"
"Our5 Dae-Shik, have you even gone to the military?"
"I… should have?"
"How do you know? You can't remember."
Dae-Shik squinted his eyes and tried to recall his disappeared memories. First off, just from the word military, his expression scrunched up. Don't feel good.
"I definitely came back from enlistment. I'm sure based on the feeling that I would feel wronged if I had to go again."
"But you haven't slept on the floor before?"
"I probably even slept in the air."
"That's good. Can a person who's even slept in the air, not sleep in a Rakuraku?"
Ah, a mistake! I had said that I couldn't sleep on the floor last time. Dae-Shik briefly grumbled before stretching out his hand to receive the box.
"Give it. Women shouldn't hold heavy stuff."
"No need. Since when did you treat me like a woman?"
"What can I do even if I don't want to acknowledge it? I saw that everything was there earlier."
Huk! It's better not to say this. While Dae-Shik was flustered, Ji-On widened her eyes like a startled bunny's eyes and scrunched up her body.
"What do you mean earlier? Did you see something earlier?"
I didn't see, I felt. N-no. This isn't right.
"Did you look while I was changing?"
"What, do you take me as a pervert?"
"Then what did you see?"
Does Sung Ji-On really not know? Does she not know that I can still see and feel like a human even when I'm a dog? It seems that she doesn't seeing as how she hugged me so tight while coming to the market.
"Earlier, you!"
Dae-Shik shut his mouth just as he was about to protest. Saying "I felt something fluffy when you carried me here!"… would prevent her from ever carrying me again. T-then wouldn't I be in danger? You know, I could get stepped on or lose my owner because I'm so tiny. I-it's not that I want to be carried by Sung Ji-On. For my safety, it's better that I don't say anything. She may have been at ease when I'm a dog, but our relationship may become awkward if she sees me as a pervert in the future.
"Give me the box. What's in here that you call it camouflage tactics?"
Dae-Shik changed the topic by stealing away the box and shaking it.
"What is it? Don't change the subject."
"Why aren't you replying? What's in the box?"
Ji-On closed her mouth tightly. Dae-Shik followed Ji-On's expression and closed his mouth as well. Dae-Shik stacked the box into the cart and pulled Ji-On.
"Come here, Sung Ji-On. Let's finish shopping."
"You still have stuff to buy?"
At that moment, an interesting smell wafted through the air. Oh? This smell? Dae-Shik lifted his nose to the air and sniffed like a dog.
"Oh! We still have one very important thing."
Dae-Shik grabbed Ji-On's hand and pushed the cart in a direction.
"What are you doing? Hey! Where are we going?"
Bam! Dae-Shik arrived at the sale corner! They were selling limited time pork feet sets. Dae-Shik spoke as if in a trance.
"Ji-On. You can put back the beef from before."
"Really?"
"Instead, let's buy pork feet!"
As people started gathering, the salesman excitedly yelled into his microphone.
"Finally, we will start our Sam mart's New Year Special Sale! Today's product is this pork feet set!"
Dae-Shik, Dae-Shik? Did you lose your mind? Ji-On shook her hand in front of his face bht his gaze was already stuck on the pork feet. His pupils followed the pork feet every time the salesman shook it while explaining. Gosh, you like pork feet that much? He's definitely a dog.
"I'm sure you know from seeing the price, but this special sale is not given to just anyone. Getting support from the government's birth rate improvement plan, the remaining five sets will only be given to lovey-dovey newlyweds! I'm sorry, but "oldlyweds" are disqualified."
Do-doong6, Dae-Shik's determined gaze turned to Ji-On.
"Hey, Ji-On. Weren't there a lot of people who said we looked like newlyweds a while ago?"
"Huh? What are you saying?"
Newlywed? Sweetness resonated just from thinking about the word. Do we even fit that? Even though we fight and bicker all day?
"What newlyweds. More like eternal enemies."
What newlywed couple steals each other's cereal and feeds each other dog food. Ji-On shook her head and put on a weak smile.
"No, someone said we looked like newlyweds a while ago. Didn't they say you were aggressive? Or did they say you were fierce? Umm, when was that?"
While Dae-Shik and Ji-On were hesitating, one by one the packs were being sold. They said there were only five packs left.
"Oh, are you for sure newlyweds? How many years have you been married?"
The couple in front of the mart salesman replied.
"It's our fourth year, but we don't have a child yet."
"I'm sorry, three years is the max for newlyweds in my standards. I will give this pork feet set to a more affectionate and fresh newlywed couple."
"Us!"
In the crowd, a husband shouted and raised his hand. He proudly gained the second to last pork feet set as he kissed his wife's cheek.
"Now, there is one last pork feet set left."
Suddenly, there was tension in the market. There was anxiety from the 'final product'. The competitive spirit rose up from the depths of the heart.
"Who will get this final pork feet set?"
Dae-Shik, with an expression of unease, smacked his lips…
"Us!"
In the end, he grabbed Ji-On's hand and raised his hand. Thus, Ji-On's arm went up as well.
"We got married last week."
We got married? When? La, last week? The shocked Ji-On looked up at Dae-Shik. However, Dae-Shik's tenacity towards the pork feet set looked pretty serious.
"We already live together."
At that moment, Ji-On's heart skipped a beat. It's true that we live together but… newlyweds. Do others really see us as newlyweds?
"We are newlyweds!"
Dae-Shik yanked Ji-On and hugged her at the waist.
"Right, Ji-On?"
Dae-Shik grinned down at the surprised Ji-On. Suddenly, his face shone like the morning sunlight again. Ahh, it's a problem that my heart melts everytime he's like this. This brightness. This sunshininess. At that moment, across the floor, the landlady's eyes turned round. What? Newlyweds? Living together? Ji-On was unaware of her gaze and was only dazedly looking up at Dae-Shik.
"Are you able to kiss on the cheek, our newlyweds? We just had a couple who kissed on the cheek."
The salesman goaded them to display affection. Cheek kiss? Wait, do we need to go that far for one pack of pork feet? It's a big problem if we kiss. We'd be giving a surprising show here. Ruff, ruff. While Ji-On looked at the salesman with a troubled face, Dae-Shik gave a loud reply.
"Instead of that…!"
Translator's Notes:
Trickle is the sfx of her invisible tear rolling down. Rakuraku is a Japanese folding bed. She actually uses fur. Fur in Korean can mean the hairs on the human body, such as facial hair, leg/arm hair, and underarm hair, as well as animal fur. Shakshakshak is the sfx for someone scurrying. Ji-On uses "our" as a way to treat Dae-Shik like a little boy instead of a grown up man. Many Koreans do not consider males men until they come back from the two year mandatory army enlistment. Do-doong is a sfx that is similar to the "dun-dun-dun" used when something important is about to happen.