I Became a Raid Boss

“…”

“Kana~ The meat is all cooked… Oh my?”

“What. Why.”

Da-eun, holding a meat tong, chuckled softly.

Her gaze, slightly lowered, was fixed on the phone I was holding.

“You keep staring at your phone. Do you like it that much?”

“…Not really.”

“Then I guess I should come here often for your sake~”

“It’s not like that.”

I knew that wasn’t Da-eun’s intention, but I moved to put my phone away.

…Just one last look before I do.

The sky, the lake, and the three of us standing in between.

A woman in black beamed brightly, another woman with silver hair avoided looking directly at the camera, feigning disinterest.

Between them stood a girl with pink hair and eyes, making a “V” sign with her fingers.

From expressions to actions, each of the three displayed as much variety as their hair colors.

Yet, perhaps because of this, the emotions captured in the photo felt even clearer.

When Da-eun suggested taking a picture, I hesitated at first.

‘…’

…Maybe taking photos like this isn’t so bad after all.

Memories fade over time, but a photo can bring today’s emotions back to life.

Even the impulsive decision to take off my hood and sunglasses for the picture now seemed like a great choice.

“Hey, don’t lie. You even changed your wallpaper to it.”

“Da-eun told me to. You said, ‘Isn’t it boring to stick with the default wallpaper? Should I send you a picture to use as your background?’”

“…Pfft! Was that an impression of me? Cute~! Do it again! Please?”

“No. Not doing it. I won’t. And it wasn’t an impression; it was a reenactment.”

“Aw… It was so cute though. Such a shame.”

Da-eun clicked her tongue regretfully.

“But wasn’t that ages ago? If you didn’t listen then but changed it now, doesn’t that mean I was right? And I didn’t just say it once or twice.”

“So, you knew this whole time?”

“Of course! I wanted Kana to use my photo as her wallpaper, just like I have Kana’s photo as mine.”

“The meat is burning. Just eat already.”

“Oh, no, we can’t let that happen.”

Such a catastrophe must be avoided at all costs.

At Yuki’s observation, Da-eun hurriedly moved the tongs.

Fortunately, the meat didn’t turn to charcoal.

Though it had browned a bit more than usual, it could easily be called “fire-grilled flavor,” right?

I picked up a piece sizzling on the grill and put it in my mouth.

“You even know about fire-grilling? Smart, aren’t you? …Ack!”

I made sure to “punish” Da-eun for trying to tease me while I ate.

By the time the meat on the grill had disappeared one by one, leaving no trace, I grabbed the tongs from Da-eun as she prepared to grill more.

“I’ll do it.”

“Huh? Oh? Really?”

Da-eun, looking momentarily surprised as she handed me the tongs, soon smiled warmly.

“You’re doing it because you’re worried unnie (sister) won’t get to eat? How thoughtful.”

“…”

While she wasn’t wrong, every time Da-eun spoke, I had an irresistible urge to disagree.

And then there’s that incessant “unnie, unnie” (older sister).

She wasn’t like this earlier, but ever since we met a hiker lady near the summit, she kept adding “unnie” at the end of her sentences.

“But Kana, do you even know how to grill meat? It may look easy, but it’s a pretty advanced skill, you know? This is expensive meat, so it’d be a shame to ruin it.”

“What nonsense.”

I replied flatly as I placed the meat on the grill.

“I’m way better at grilling meat than Da-eun.”

“You! What’s with the ‘Da-eun’? You should call me unnie! Yuki, don’t just listen silently. Say something!”

“If I say something, will you spar with me?”

“…Just eat your meat.”

It’s not like she ever felt satisfied sparring with me anyway.

Yuki brushed off Da-eun’s grumbling with a dismissive shrug and continued to voraciously tear into her meat.

“Well, well, well… I know Kana’s decent at cooking. After all, I’ve eaten plenty of her meals in that other world. But that was then, and this is now. It’s been months, so you might’ve lost your touch.”

“You don’t lose skills from just a few months of not cooking. Besides, it’s because Da-eun told me not to cook, remember?”

Every time I tried to help because she looked busy, she would insist she had it under control.

“Well, I couldn’t help it. I promised not to let Kana lift a finger for chores.”

“…With who?”

“With myself.”

“…”

The sheer absurdity left me speechless, and I froze mid-motion while placing meat on the grill.

“Are you saying I shouldn’t even wash my hands?”

“No, it’s a metaphorical promise to never let you suffer. Even if some guy shows up later saying he wants to take Kana away, I won’t let him unless he swears to the same promise!”

“Since when do you get to decide that…?”

“As your guardian, it’s my right!”

What a pointless worry.

Me, get married and settle down with someone?

“…”

Suddenly, in my mind, I saw a man with eyes dripping with sweetness approaching me.

He walked with strides much broader than mine, stopping just close enough that we could feel each other’s breath.

Then, with arms impressively toned with subtle muscles, he pulled me into an embrace—

“—Ugh.”

My imagination abruptly glitched, like a broken movie reel.

The cause? Either a lack of creative direction or sheer resistance to the thought.

I shook my head vigorously, banishing the lingering image, and declared firmly:

“That’s never happening. Over my dead body.”

“Really? None of us—me, Yuki, or Kana—could have predicted that we’d all gather around grilling meat like this. Kana is still young, so there’s plenty of time for her to change her mind.”

“…We’ll see.”

Not exactly young when you include my previous life.

Though most of my memories are gone or faded, they aren’t entirely meaningless. Their influence isn’t negligible either.

Unable to give a clear answer, I mumbled vaguely.

“Oh, or is it something like this? ‘I’m never getting married. I’ll live with unnie forever!’ Is that it?”

“Don’t tell me you’re imitating me again?”

“Hehe… Not an imitation, a reenactment.”

“…When did I ever say something like that?”

“Just now. In your head.”

“Sigh…”

With a deep sigh, I grabbed a lettuce leaf.

I spread it carefully, added rice, placed some meat, smeared some ssamjang, and topped it with garlic—one, two, three, four…

Just as I was about to add a fifth clove, I noticed Da-eun watching me with a peculiar expression.

Blinking, I looked at her, and she blinked back, mirroring my action.

“What?”

“It’s just… fascinating.”

“What is?”

“Seeing Kana make a ssam.”

“…?”

What’s that supposed to mean?

Tilting my head, I blinked again in confusion.

“For some reason, it gives off a sense of ‘national pride.’”

“National pride?”

“Oh, I think I get it.”

Yuki, who had been quiet the whole time, suddenly chimed in.

“Kana doesn’t look particularly Korean, does she? She’s not completely Western either, but her appearance leans more in that direction.”

Spoken like a true half-Korean, half-Japanese person like Yuki.

“That’s it!”

Da-eun clapped her hands together in realization.

“It’s like watching a foreigner in Korea wrap a ssam and eat it!”

“…Foreigner?”

Well, I am from another country.

Scratch that—I’m from another world altogether.

“A beautiful foreign girl swept away by the taste of Korean ssam—if a broadcasting company saw this, they’d be drooling for sure.”

“I’ve never been swept away by it.”

More than that, is that really how others perceive me?

I looked down at the ssam for a moment, then added another piece of meat over the perfectly browned garlic.

Though, in hindsight, the amount of garlic seemed excessive.

“Kana, you don’t like vegetables, right?”

“I don’t.”

“Then why a ssam?”

“Now that you mention it…”

Even Da-eun, who had been making a fuss earlier, fell silent at Yuki’s question.

…One more clove of garlic? No, two more.

Before I knew it, the size of the ssam had grown significantly, far beyond my original plan.

Thankfully, I grabbed a large lettuce leaf. Otherwise, I’d need to use two layered together.

I carefully rolled the ssam into a neat bundle and handed it to Da-eun.

“Here.”

Marriage and romance?

Instead of spouting nonsense, focus on eating.

That’s the message behind my action.

But Da-eun just stared blankly at the ssam I handed her instead of eating it.

“…Aren’t you going to eat it?”

Tilting my head, I asked, and only then did Da-eun snap out of her daze, trembling slightly.

“…I’m so touched… Kana made her unnie a ssam!”

“Yeah, yeah. My arm’s getting tired, so eat it already.”

I brushed off her renewed “unnie” mantra with exaggerated indifference.

“If you don’t eat it, I’ll give it to Yuki.”

“…That’s not happening!”

Chomp!

The ssam, larger than my palm, somehow disappeared into Da-eun’s mouth in one bite.

Her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk’s, but she chewed diligently, managing to work through the oversized bite.

If it were me, I’d have had to bite into it little by little.

“…Biting into a ssam? How could you do something so cruel?”

“If it doesn’t fit, what else can you do?”

“Kana really is a foreigner.”

Yuki looked genuinely horrified for once.

As we talked, Da-eun’s throat bulged dramatically as she swallowed.

She then stuck out her tongue slightly and complained:

“There was way too much garlic…”

Shrugging at her teary-eyed complaint, I replied:

“Koreans love garlic, don’t they?”

It’s not like I did it out of spite. Absolutely not.

—

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