ReLife Player

[Midsummer Barbecue]

Mr. and Ms. Giulietta, who live on the third floor, are naturalized citizens of Italy.

Ms. Julieta is a woman of noble beauty, like a flower on a cliff, but in reality she is like a wild flower. She doesn’t seem to have ever gotten her hands dirty, but she cooks food and shares it with her neighbors, and she listens to classical music but dances to EDM.

She also has a childlike and innocent personality, which sometimes leads her to come up with out-of-the-blue plans.

«We’re having a barbecue!»

This was one of those days. Julieta came to the door without knocking and threw a party unannounced.

«Hey, Julieta. What are you doing today? Barbecue?»

Her mother, who hadn’t realized it, greeted her politely.

«Euna’s mom. It’s a barbecue, we’re all grilling meat in the yard!»

Julieta rambles on about the barbecue.

Her mother, who held her hand, wasn’t surprised by her story, as she was used to by now. In fact, she even chimed in.

«Barbecue?»

«Hi, Euna! Do you want to have a barbecue with your Unnie?» (1)

«What’s a barbecue?»

«It’s when you grill meat outside. It’s delicious, right?»

«Yes! It sounds fun! I want to eat!»

It was very easy for Julieta to get Euna’s attention. Euna, who was struggling with her summer vacation homework, reacted quickly.

«Big sister Julieta, on this hot day?»

Eunha, who was taking care of his younger sister, Eunae, who was born this year, had a negative opinion: he didn’t want to leave his lovely sister’s side.

Of course, Eunha’s opinion was not accepted.

There was no way that the two people with the «think before you act» temperament would leave him alone.

«Haa….»

«My wife is sorry.»

«No, Mr. Bruno.»

It was Julieta’s husband, Bruno, who comforted him as he was dragged out into the yard.

Bruno. He was the kind of man who could kill you just by looking at you. No one would believe that he was an ordinary office worker when they saw the way he swaggered like a bear hunting salmon in Alaska, the slit in his left eye, and the scars on his thick forearms.

When Eunha first saw Bruno, he too suspected him of being a gang member.

But despite his appearance, Bruno is a man who is skilled enough in the kitchen to clean, bake bread and cakes while wearing a pink apron.

«Mister, can I help you with anything?»

«…I need you to set the plates at the table.»

«Sure, okay.»

The yard was already set up for several people to sit.

Eunha began to set the dishes on the table where Bruno pointed.

Meanwhile, Bruno placed meat, sausages, corn, and mushrooms on the hot grill.

The sizzling smell of the meat cooking on the grill was incredibly appetizing. Swallowing hard, Eunha set the setting the table.

It was really hot.

The sun was setting, but the nearly 30-degree heat hadn’t abated. Eunha and Euna, who were standing close to the grill, were drenched in sweat. They wouldn’t have been able to stand it if their mother, who was taking care of Eunae at home, hadn’t brought ice water.

«Yay!!! Summer!!!»

Julieta was drenched in sweat as well. Her sweaty light green dress revealed her body, and she was shouting as she raised her arms as if she had just raided Eunha’s house.

«Uh, hi, Eunha.»

«Huh, you’re here too?»

Eunha was in the middle of shovelling some overcooked meat into his mouth when he heard Julieta call out from behind him and frowned.

«It’s you and… Mukminji.»

There stood Minji, the girl he’d run into so many times during his summer vacation, and behind her was Hayang. Wearing a straw hat, a white dress, and sandals, she looked like she was on a summer vacation alone.

«I came to Minji’s house and they were having a barbecue….»

Hayang didn’t have to say a word to know what was going on. Just like Eunha, she had been dragged by Julieta, who had appeared out of nowhere.

«Long time no see. How have you been?»

«I’ve been bored at home. and you?»

«I’ve been, uh, helping my sister with her vacation homework, so-so. You haven’t eaten yet, have you? There’s meat here.»

«Mmm? Vacation homework? uh? ah, thanks.»

Hayang tilted her head at the part about helping Euna with her vacation homework.

She has no idea, that Eunha is taking care of Euna and Eunae at the same time, so he can’t even enjoy his summer vacation.

Realizing that this would be a long story, he pushed the meat from his plate into his mouth.

«Delicious!» she exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.

Even Bruno, who was grinding on the griddle, was so happy that the corners of his mouth lifted.

Of course, if you didn’t know him, you’d probably freak out and run away.

But instead of being afraid of him, Hayang was eating the meat he offered her.

«I also have shaved ice, if anyone wants to eat shaved ice, come to this big sister!»

Julieta, who had brought a shaved ice machine from somewhere, shouted, and the children, who were sweating in the heat as if they had been waiting for the moment, rushed over.

Minji was among them, scrambling for shaved ice. Eunha, who didn’t want to wait in the long line, nibbled on a large sausage.

By the way, who are these two….

Eunha thought as he watched Bruno grilling meat and Julieta handing out shaved ice to children.

Before the regression, Eunha, who lost his family at the age of 6, was raised by his grandmother. His memories of his childhood are still fuzzy, and he has no recollection of Julieta and Bruno.

So when he first met them, he was surprised.

Julieta glides through the crowd with a tray of food. Despite the fact that she looked unsteady as she moved with the food on her plate, she never lost her balance. She was using her mana to keep her balance.

After the End of the Century Destruction, ordinary people began to actively manipulate mana. However, those who were not accustomed to mana still clung to their old ways of life, and the only people who did were those born after the End of the Century Destruction.

The situation was probably no different in Italy. Nevertheless, Julieta was not only comfortable with mana, but also utilized it in her daily life. Her casualness in distributing mana was something that few players could do.

«Uncle Bruno, I want more meat!»

«I want corn! Corn!»

«Okay.»

Bruno was even nicer than Julieta.

Eunha hadn’t forgotten the shock he felt when he first met him.

People spill mana unconsciously. Players might try to keep it contained in their bodies to hide their skills or to stay alive, but they couldn’t control the small amount of mana they shed unconsciously.

Being able to control even the unconscious realm meant that you had a lot of power as a player.

However, Bruno had been grinding the mana in his body to the point where he couldn’t find the mana he was unconsciously shedding. Even Kang Hyun-chul couldn’t control his mana, but he, a mere office worker, was controlling his mana perfectly.

The small scars on his forearms or the scars across his eyes were not unusual. As a pre-Regression player, Eunha could tell that the scars were the result of battle.

Of all things,

«Eunha.»

«What?»

«Eat more.»

«…Yes, I will.»

Bruno was aware that Eunha was watching his mana. Even though he hadn’t made any effort to show it.

This makes me think that Bruno is the equivalent of the Twelve.

It was hard to believe that these people were naturalized in Italy. They were living upstairs until now.

Eunha was in turmoil. People of this caliber had never been known before the regression.

«Eat more.»

«…Thank you.»

Eunha, who had been observing the two of them, released the mana in his hand, and Bruno nodded and looked away from him.

It wasn’t just the neighbors who were coming to the yard. No wonder, the smell of grilling meat was everywhere.

«Huh?»

Eunha, who had been enjoying the barbecue, tilted his head as he spotted someone among the people wandering the yard.

I don’t think. I act before I think. I think after I act.

Clutching her newly acquired skewers in both hands, Euna pushed her way through the crowd.

«Hi!»

«Uh-uh, mmm uh?»

Eun-hyeok, who had been lurking, flinched as she approached him with the skewers.

He still had his toy knife, even though it had gone out of style. A band-aid on the bridge of his nose and a toy knife strapped to his back with a string, it reminded me of a typical prankster.

«What is it?»

Eunhyeok, who didn’t recognize Euna, hesitated and stepped back.

«You’re Eunha’s friend, right? I’ve seen you in kindergarten before.»

«Eunha? No Eunha? Who’s friends with him?»

That’s right. I’ve never been friends with him either.

Euna remembered Eunhyeok, which is why she thought he was Eunha’s friend and came to see him unexpectedly.

But neither Eunha nor Eunhyuk thought of each other as friends. They would be entering elementary school next year, and they were still fighting over nothing, so there was no way they could be friends.

«No Eunha….»

«Yeah, it’s been a while. Why don’t you stay here and eat some meat with me? Julieta brought a lot of it.»

«Who says I’m going to eat the meat you give me…. Ouch!»

«If it’s Eunha’s friend, it’s my friend! You should try it! Uncle Bruno grills meat so well!»

It was indeed Euna. Without any hesitation, she put the skewers in his mouth as soon as she saw Eunhyuk. Eunhyuk, who had his mouth full of skewers at an unexpected time, choked and tears streamed down his face.

It was a hilarious scene for Eunha who was watching.

«…Delicious.»

Eunhyuk barely swallowed the meat, but he was hooked on the charm of barbecue.

«Isn’t it delicious?»

«…Yum!»

He admits honestly.

Already, he was being led by Euna towards the grill where the children were gathered.

And in the middle of it, Eunha grabbed Euna’s hand.

«Huh? What?»

Euna asked with sauce around her mouth.

Eunha wiped the sauce off her finger and said, «I’ll come too. Don’t just eat alone.»

«Yeah! Let’s eat sausages this time!»

Euna was happy as Eunha held her hand. Eunhyuk looked at them from behind, and chuckled to himself.

Who would dare to hold their sister’s hand so boldly?

Eunha and Eunhyuk were already able to fight just with their eyes. After losing the staring contest, Eunhyuk confidently rushed towards the table.

«Hmph! How childish…!»

For a moment, Eunhyuk was overwhelmed by Eunha’s atmosphere. Eunhyuk regained his senses and stuffed his mouth with meat as a way to vent his frustration towards Eunha.

«Oh? Choi Eunhyuk, you’re here too?»

«Uh, hey Eunhyuk….»

«What? Were you here too?»

He gave a lukewarm response to Minji and Hayang. His cheeks were already so stuffed with meat that there was no room left.

«You’re still carrying a toy sword around. You’re not a child anymore.»

«Hmph, don’t come crying to me later asking me to help you.»

«You won’t have anything to ask for my help with!»

«Hey, hey, don’t fight…Julieta unnie! Minji and Eunhyuk are…!»

A year later, the kids’ relationship hadn’t changed. Now it was Minji and Eunhyuk fighting with chopsticks.

Hayang, caught in the middle, couldn’t do anything about it.

«Oh, that’s what I was grilling!»

They weren’t the only ones in the meat fight.

There was no business before the meat. Euna joined the fray, battling with the two of them, trying to get one more piece of meat.

«Ugh, take that one….»

Childish. Childish.

Eunha gobbled it up while the three of them fought chopsticks in the air.

Mmm, delicious. It’s ripe because my sister set it aside.

«Aaah! Eunha, you! That’s what I left for me to eat!»

«No Eunha, are you still human after what you did?»

«You bloodless, tearless bastard!

Hey, that doesn’t mean it’s the end of the world.

The price he paid for stealing a piece of meat was too much. The three of them glared at him in unison.

In times like this, it’s best to run. Eunha wielded his sword with his shield, keeping his distance from his enemies.

Meanwhile, Julieta was feeding Bruno meat with a smile on her face.

«Here, ah~»

«…You were like that when you were younger.»

«Oh, me?»

«It seems like just yesterday, at the banquet where all the families were gathered, you were arguing with the heir to the Myron family over meat.»

«…Yes, it was. It was a long time ago, how well do you remember it?»

«Because I’ve been watching you since you were a child.»

«Bru….»

«…Julie, you don’t regret this choice, though, do you? If you could go back now, you’d be….»

«No, I like it now, Bru, I’m so happy to be with you.»

«Julie….»

«Bru….»

With or without the others, the couple was lost in their own world. Already, their faces were close enough to kiss as the sun set.

The girls, who were watching a scene from Beauty and the Beast, squealed and watched with their eyes lit up.

Yeah, let’s pretend we didn’t see it. Let’s pretend we didn’t hear it.

I didn’t want to know what was going on between Bruno and Julieta anymore. If I intervened, I’d be caught in the crossfire.

«Yeah, I’ll eat while I can, but when?»

There had been times when he’d had to survive for weeks on a few days’ worth of food while rebuilding a city that had been destroyed by monsters, and he’d learned the lesson of eating while you can.

So eat. When you can. As much as you can eat.

«Choi Eunhyuk, you’re not going to give up that seat? Don’t you know about ladies first?»

«The person who gets there first gets the seat. Why would I give it up?»

«Hehe, I hope we can have another barbecue later. Right?»

«Don’t fight, everyone. I’ll share my meat with you…»

On one side, the kids furiously fight over the meat,

«Bru.»

«Julie.»

On the other, a couple filming Beauty and the Beast.

It was one quiet day after another.

Eunha shook his head at the noise and gulped down his soda.

Even though it was evening, the cicadas were still chirping loudly.

Some houses had their windows open and the sound of the television was leaking out.

It was a very hot and noisy day.

«…Let’s go inside.»

If I’m the last to leave, I’ll have to help clean up.

It was hot, so he decided to run a cold bath.

Eunha went home, out of sight of the others.

«That’s mine!»

«You’re the one who ate it first!»

«This is mine, you can’t touch it!»

«Everyone, everyone, don’t fight~!»

It was a very hot and noisy day indeed─….

☆

『─Urgent breaking news. At 4pm today, there was an appearance of a monster goblin of the seventh rank near University Road.

The Mana Management Bureau considered the 30 or so goblins to be of the 6th rank, and ordered the local clans to deal with them immediately.

The Mana Management Agency in Seongbuk-gu assumes that the escaped goblins are likely to hide in residential areas and has decided to deploy players near the area.

Residents living nearby are advised to be cautious of goblin sightings and refrain from going out unnecessarily, and immediately report any sighting of the monster.』

Notes!

(1) Unnie: The Korean word “unnie” refers to an “older sister.” You’ve probably heard this one before on TV or on social media.