Chapter 97 – The Miraculous Bidet

Won Deok-sam was completely dejected by the siblings’ sharp reaction.

In the midst of that, he did not forget to quietly carry and set the soup bowls and rice bowls as Hee-na instructed.

Rice, soup, grilled fish, and a couple of side dishes. A simple dinner table was quickly set. The siblings and the kidnapper gathered around a single table.

Hee-na, who had been exuding a cold energy all along, only then softened her expression slightly and offered the food.

“Enjoy your meal.”

‘One cannot have a meal in an uncomfortable atmosphere.’

This was the philosophy of Hee-na’s family dinner table.

“Thank you. I will eat well, lady.”

Won Deok-sam picked up his spoon and chopsticks while subtly reading the siblings’ expressions.

Clatter, clatter.

The sound of quiet eating continued.

Although the atmosphere was colder than usual, Hee-na’s culinary skill was still outstanding in the midst of it.

‘The sandwich earlier was delicious too, but what on earth is this taste…?’

Won Deok-sam, who had been reading Hee-na and Hee-won’s expressions intently, also moved his utensils with his eyes wide open at Hee-na’s cooking skills.

Although his mouth was swollen and it was difficult to chew the rice and side dishes, the food tasted so marvelous that the rice went down smoothly.

At that sight, Hee-na’s cold heart softened somewhat.

‘He eats heartily at least.’

Seeing him eat without a single complaint while saying ‘ouch, ouch’ because of his swollen cheeks and mouth, she even felt a sense of pride.

“Thank you very much for the delicious meal.”

Moreover, a polite compliment… Hee-na’s lips twitched.

‘Hearing compliments on my cooking skills always makes me feel good.’

“Well, as long as you don’t do anything foolish, nothing major will happen for a while.”

Hee-na snorted and turned her head away.

Noticing that Hee-na’s mind had softened somewhat, Won Deok-sam tactfully flattered her.

“Of course. Doing anything foolish? I have no intention of doing that at all. Come, come, then I will do the dishes.”

“That’s a bit…”

Hee-na shook her head disapprovingly.

Unless it was someone as close as Kang Jin-hyun, she was reluctant to leave her kitchen to a complete stranger.

‘I need to do it myself for my proficiency to rise.’

However, Hee-won cut in first.

“Baduk-i, Osaek-i. Monitor if this guy does the dishes properly. If he doesn’t do it right, you can give him a slap.”

“But!”

“You need to rest a bit. You barely slept yesterday because of worry, didn’t you?”

Correct! Correct! Agree with the landlord’s kin’s statement!

Baduk-i also pushed Hee-na’s back gently with its bouncy head. It seemed to mean she should go into her room and rest. Hee-na, unable to resist the urging, let out a deep sigh.

“Okay, I get it. Instead, you must watch that person carefully, brother.”

“Understood. I’ll watch carefully to see whether he breaks the dishes you like or not.”

Amidst this, Hee-won cracked a joke.

“You know that’s not what I meant!”

Hee-na poked her brother’s flank hard and ran into her room as if escaping.

She thought she heard a shout of “Hey, Lee Hee-na!” from behind, but she didn’t care.

* * *

The kidnapper, that was Won Deok-sam, was confined in the remaining room used as a storage.

As there were concerns just in case, Baduk-i kept watch in front of the door of the room where he stayed.

Won Deok-sam, due to his track record of getting beaten harshly by Baduk-i, remained locked inside the room without even thinking of touching the doorknob.

Since Baduk-i did not leave the front of the door except during meal times, he was practically in a state of being locked in prison.

Despite being treated as an absolute criminal, Won Deok-sam did not find life in this house as painful as he thought.

On the contrary, he enjoyed it immensely!

“This is truly an innovation!”

Won Deok-sam, emerging from the restroom, let out a cheer.

Although mottled bruises still remained on his face, his expression alone looked as happy as if he had reached heaven.

“Mister, nobody asked about your restroom situation.”

Hee-won twitched the end of his eyebrow.

However, Won Deok-sam’s skin was thicker than expected.

“I propose this once again, but regarding that A-rank bidet. Could you please sell it to me? I can pay any amount. 1 billion? 2 billion? Just say the word. I can give it to you in cash, or in kind.”

Won Deok-sam highly coveted the ‘All-Purpose Bidet that Cures Constipation Upon Sitting (A)’ in the restroom of Hee-na’s house.

The All-Purpose Bidet that Cures Constipation Upon Sitting was a special item Hee-na drew during the early level-ups of ‘Home Sweet Home’.

Although it was A-rank, it was placed without much thought since curing constipation was its only function.

Hee-won and Kang Jin-hyun also did not seem to feel much impression.

But Won Deok-sam was different. He was extremely surprised by the performance of this all-purpose bidet.

No, it wasn’t just a matter of being surprised. He practically considered it a miracle.

“Constipation is practically an incurable disease! This is practically the greatest treasure in human history!”

He preached about the greatness of this A-rank all-purpose bidet, which even high-class lactobacillus could not keep up with. It was not a very appropriate topic to bring up at the dinner table.

Hee-na, who was eating warm Spam over white rice, pouted her lips.

“Can you please stop talking about the restroom at the table?”

“But isn’t this the only time I have to converse with you two? Shouldn’t I appeal properly now so you will consider selling that bidet to me?”

Contrary to his gloomy first impression, Won Deok-sam was quite a smooth talker.

Naturally, his skin was thick as well. After sharing a few meals with the siblings, he skillfully began to strike up conversations.

The food is delicious, the house is very cozy, thank you for letting a bad guy like me sleep in a proper place and feeding me, and so on…

As he initiated conversations filled with nothing but praise, it was quite hard to ignore him.

Moreover, ever since using the restroom once, he was completely infatuated with Hee-na’s A-rank bidet and kept talking about constipation, looking like nothing more than a chatty neighbor uncle.

“In my forty years of life, I have never properly escaped from constipation. To think I would experience such a sense of liberation, it wouldn’t be a waste even if I paid a thousand gold coins!”

Won Deok-sam highly praised the bidet while eating vigorously.

He worked sitting down for most of the day, and his meals tended to be poor. Consequently, his simple constipation had worsened into chronic constipation, causing him considerable suffering.

“Constipation is something that cannot be resolved even with overflowing money…”

He preached again about how much effort he had put into curing his constipation. It was a story no one particularly wanted to hear.

Finally, Hee-na threw up both hands and feet and waved a white flag.

“All right. I will sell the bidet to you on the day you leave here, Won Deok-sam, so let’s stop this talk.”

Since it was not an item particularly needed by Hee-na’s family anyway, it didn’t seem bad to sell it to someone who wanted it so desperately.

Won Deok-sam was overjoyed.

“Is it true? Thank you so, so much. I will make sure never to sell information about the two of you to others. If there is any information you need, just say the word. You have resolved my lifelong ailment, so there is nothing I wouldn’t do.”

‘Had I known it would be like this, wouldn’t it have been much more helpful to sell the bidet rather than making unfitting threats with precious mana stones?’

It was not unreasonable for Hee-na to think this way.

“I’m going to detach the bidet!”

Won Deok-sam ran to the restroom even while trembling in fear of Baduk-i, who was following Hee-won.

It was a great courage he could summon because his desperation to escape constipation was greater.

‘Had our first meeting not been so strange, I would have thought of him as a good-natured uncle.’

Hee-na shrugged her shoulders while washing the dishes squeaky clean.

‘He’s a really strange person… Or am I strange too?’

For having met as a kidnapper and his victim, their relationship felt strangely harmonious.

She had originally intended to treat him more coldly and fearfully, but she wondered if some strange affection had accumulated while sharing meals from the same pot.

‘Since he said he kidnapped me only because a system quest popped up, and he never originally had bad intentions…’

Hee-na tried to subtly make excuses for Won Deok-sam’s situation on his behalf, but then let out a deep sigh.

“What is this, he blended in so naturally? Just like Kang Jin-hyun… Are all high-ranking Awakened like this?”

Do high-grade Awakened lose their sense of shame instead of gaining high ranks?

While she was lost in serious contemplation, a scream of “No!” was heard from afar.

It was Won Deok-sam’s voice.

‘What is it?’

Out of curiosity, she finished washing the dishes and wiped her wet hands on her apron.

“Won Deok-sam, is something wrong?”

Hee-na peeked her head into the restroom where the A-rank bidet was installed.

Won Deok-sam was sitting slumped on the restroom floor with a dejected expression.

Beside him, Hee-won was scratching his chin while holding a screwdriver. Hee-won explained the situation on Won Deok-sam’s behalf.

“It won’t come off.”

“What? The bidet?”

“Yeah. There are no seams at all. When I tried to force it off, a system warning popped up.”

“What did it say?”

“It said if we keep trying to detach it by force like this, the item will be destroyed. It says this is a facility bound to ‘Home Sweet Home’.”

“Ah.”

Hee-na quickly understood the situation.

Perhaps because it came from the level-up probability draw of ‘Home Sweet Home,’ it seemed it could not be carelessly transferred to others.

“An item bound to space…”

Won Deok-sam lamented his situation.

“I thought I had finally met the object that would save my life! To think we have no fate together!”

The Homemaker of the Dungeon