I lay on the sofa and flicked the remote.
Channels whipped past at my fingertips.
The speakers filled with nothing but meaningless, noisy fuss from news anchors.
With each channel change, the blue curtain of Osaka's Permanent Gate and virtual footage of pointy-eared elves flashed endlessly.
Neotube's algorithm had long been plastered with provocative thumbnails about otherworld information and meeting the Elf Queen in person, and online communities had gone even further with keyboard battles in full swing.
The Japanese government's information disclosure had more impact than expected.
Just days ago, these were the same masses hoarding daily necessities, claiming the world was ending.
But now they were discussing otherworld tourist routes, popping champagne in anticipation of exchanges with elves.
People were ecstatic over the fragmentary glimpses the government controlled and released.
Unknown resources, beautiful sapient beings, and news of lost family members' survival.
A pretty wrapping. There couldn't be a more perfect fairy tale for a nation to maintain control without losing its grip and solidify public support.
But beneath it all, the public seemed to regard the otherworld as some El Dorado, a city of gold, completely oblivious to the bizarre monsters gradually devouring that world.
Official Gate entry had been suspended until the international power struggle was sorted out.
The United States, EU, China. The world's notorious old hyenas were probably huddled in back rooms, frantically carving up the pie of someone else's land.
—Clatter.
The sound of dishes clinking from the sink stopped.
"Puppy, have some fruit. The strawberries are pretty sweet."
Mom, who had approached at some point, naturally pulled my head onto her lap.
The soft sensation of a lap pillow. And the sweet strawberry scent tickling my nose.
I picked up a fork and speared one of the carefully de-stemmed strawberries on the plate Mom was holding.
"Why are you just lying there doing nothing?"
"There's nothing to watch. It's all either about me or about elves."
I bit into the strawberry while staring blankly into space.
Chew chew.
The juice of the ripe strawberry burst in my mouth.
Sweet and sour. As soon as I swallowed, I moved the silver fork again to stab the next piece.
I'm definitely a thirty-two-year-old man inside.
But watching myself docilely rest on a lap and pick at fruit, I looked exactly like a domesticated pet.
The biggest problem, if it was a problem, was that this damp, comfortable humiliation wasn't entirely unpleasant.
Mom gently brushed aside my silver hair and asked in a soft voice.
"Then shall we go on a date?"
"A date? Where would we go?"
"Just to the café right nearby to relax. Let's go get some fresh air."
I hesitated briefly. But it seemed like a better option than killing time counting patterns on the living room ceiling.
"Let me just finish the fruit first."
* * * * *
Preparing to go out was more exhausting than expected. The ominous feeling from the moment I opened the closet didn't prove wrong.
I'd tried to just throw on some light gray sweatpants, but there was no method on Earth to overcome Mom's firm determination to dress up her youngest daughter.
"Oh my, the weather's so nice and you want to wear something so drab? Come here. Let's put on what I bought the other day."
"Ah, seriously. It's just the neighborhood, let me dress casually."
My mild rebellion was mercilessly dismissed. What Mom held in her hand was a flashy pastel-toned piece of fabric.
What I ended up wearing was clothes with layers of lace that looked exactly like a princess's picnic outfit.
Looking at my appearance in the full-length mirror made me laugh hollowly.
A cute doll that looked ready to go on a picnic any moment stood there with vacant eyes.
My view looking down at the entrance threshold was still low, and the hem of my clothes fluttered below my knees.
After wearing this so much, I even felt strangely comfortable now.
Maybe it was because my body had changed to this state.
"I'm ready."
I shoved my feet into the round shoes from the shoe rack and left through the entrance.
As soon as I got on the elevator, I wrapped myself in a Perception-Obscuring Field.
Mom naturally held my small hand tightly.
A faint soap scent came from Mom as she slowly moved her steps to match my short stride.
No one paid particular attention to the mother and daughter who stepped out onto the street. The languid afternoon sunlight poured down onto the paved asphalt.
—Ding-a-ling.
A cheerful bell sound breaking the quiet stillness.
The distinctively bitter and savory smell of roasted coffee beans hit me. Sweet-looking desserts were displayed in the showcase.
"One iced Americano and one iced tea, please."
While Mom ordered, I scanned the café interior and claimed the most secluded window seat.
Sunlight pouring through the window illuminated the dust on the table in white.
It was peaceful. The scent of pure rest without any tension mixed in, something I hadn't felt in a long time.
It was that lazy comfort I'd felt three years ago during my unemployed days before the Gate Shock hit.
If those holes hadn't opened up, I might be staring at a monitor in my room right now, proudly calling myself a soldier of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
I wouldn't have experienced the grief of wailing over losing an account I'd invested in because the server got destroyed by monsters.
While I was having useless fantasies, Mom approached with a tray holding sweet chocolate cake and sat in the seat next to me.
Water droplets beading on the cold peach iced tea dripped onto the table.
"Say 'ah,' my puppy."
"...Mom, I'll eat by myself when we're outside."
"Oh my, you get it all over your mouth when you eat alone. Mom will take care of you, ah—"
"Ah—"
A firm gaze.
My age of thirty-two was instantly disarmed before Mom's eyes.
I ended up opening my mouth to receive the piece of cake on the fork.
The texture of soft whipped cream and rich chocolate filled my mouth completely. Sweet.
"Oh, this place's cake is pretty good."
"Right? I come here often with Ha-eun too."
My eyebrows twitched at those words.
That brat of a sister had been keeping this restaurant to herself. She whined about working overtime every day, but apparently had time to go around eating bread.
I resolved to reserve a solid knock on her crown when she got home from work.
The scenery outside the window gradually changed.
The laughter of students leaving school could be heard faintly, and the tired footsteps of office workers with loosened ties began to appear.
"Let's get going."
I drained the ice water remaining in my glass in one gulp and stood up.
* * * * *
On the way home after leaving the café.
The smartphone in my pocket emitted an irritated vibration. The caller ID showed Kang Ha-eun.
I pressed the call button and brought it to my ear.
"What."
—Oppa, where are you? Did you go on a date with Mom?
"Yeah. The café in front of the house—the cake was good."
—Ah, there? It's a bit expensive since it's handmade, but it's delicious. ...You're not coming back empty-handed, right?
Her scheme was obvious. When I remained silent, my sister's voice transformed into an even more urgent, aegyo-laden tone.
—Ah— Oppaaaa, Oppang! You're buying cake, right? I got worked to death at the company today and might die from sugar crash! Please!
"Don't make that disgustingly baby-talk sound. It gives me chills."
I shuddered and pulled the phone slightly away from my ear.
In the end, I had no choice but to surrender to her persistent whining. If I went home empty-handed like this, she'd obviously annoy me all night knocking on my door.
"Fine. Hang up."
I turned my steps back to the café I'd just left. I ordered generous portions of the rich chocolate cake for my sister and soft whipped cream cake for Dad.
The heavy paper box in my hand.
Sigh, there's no brother in the world like me.
* * * * *
—Beep-beep.
The door lock made a short mechanical sound and the heavy front door opened.
As soon as I stepped inside, my sister, who'd been waiting in the living room, burst out.
She spotted the white cake box in my hand and her lips stretched to her ears.
"Geez, you pig. Here, take it."
"Wow! Handmade cake! Thank you, thank you! My oppa's the best! Mwah!"
Ha-eun snatched the box and ran into the living room making a fuss. She roughly tore off the packaging ribbon, looking ready to stab a fork into it right away.
But that rampage was immediately suppressed by a cool voice.
"Ha-eun, you have to eat cake after dinner, okay? If you eat sweets now, you won't be able to eat dinner. Put it in the fridge."
My sister's hands, which had been about to open the box, stopped dead in their tracks.
She pouted her lips several times looking very disappointed, but obediently closed the box and took it to the refrigerator.
"Yeeees—"
Leaving behind my sister who turned away with a pitiful answer, I walked to the living room sofa and threw myself onto it.
As the soft leather texture touched my back, the drowsiness I'd forgotten came flooding back.
I hugged a cushion and lay face down, habitually turning on my smartphone. I scrolled through the community's real-time best posts board.
At some point, the direction of the buzz had shifted from the novelty of the otherworld or evaluating elves' appearances to praise for me, who'd been saddled with the grandiose title of Earth's representative.
One post stained with madness caught my eye.
[Kang Tae-ho, my love.]
[Kang Tae-ho, my light.]
[Kang Tae-ho, my darkness.]
[Kang Tae-ho, my life.]
[Kang Tae-ho, my joy.]
[Kang Tae-ho, my sorrow.]
[Kang Tae-ho, my pain.]
[Kang Tae-ho, my rest.]
[Kang Tae-ho, me.]
A bizarre fawning post that could be either a prayer or a curse. When I scrolled down to check the comments, public opinion was even more of a spectacle.
ㄴ You're not adding honorifics? How rude to our hero.
ㄴ Is Tae-ho hyung your friend? Where do you get off speaking casually?
ㄴ My love..? This bastard... likes silver-haired, red-eyed pretty girls! Officer, over here!
"They're spouting nonsense."
I furrowed my brow and tapped the screen off.
I turned my gaze and stared blankly at the ceiling.
While the tedious diplomatic negotiations between nations continued, this peace would be maintained precariously like a terminally ill patient.
Until the old hyenas including the United States and EU alliance finished their armchair discussions over the interests beyond the Gate and the secrets of dimensions and came looking for me again.
I had a gut feeling that the absolute time of rest granted to me wouldn't be very long.
"Puppy, dinner's ready. Come sit down quickly."
The sound of stew bubbling. The smell of freshly cooked rice and the savory scent of soybean paste tickling my nose.
At Mom's warm call from the kitchen, the heavy thoughts scattered like magic. I hopped down from the sofa and headed to the dining table.
"Thank you for the meal."
I climbed onto the dining chair and picked up my spoon. As I swallowed a spoonful of hot stew broth, my stomach, which had been tense, relaxed completely and warm heat spread throughout my body.
At least for this moment, I wasn't Earth's strongest with the world's eyes on me. Just an utterly ordinary family member for whom Mom's cooking was the most delicious thing in the world. No matter how international affairs turned, no matter when the next sortie would be.
Future me would handle the annoying stuff.
