She opened her eyes due to sensing a presence. In her hazy vision, she saw Maru opening the door with his jersey in hand. He pulled the door slowly so that it wouldn’t squeak before going outside. Gaeul looked at the closed door for a long while, thinking that she had to get up. She had opened her eyes, but she still felt like she was in a dream. She put away the duvet and sat up. When the cold air touched her skin, her drowsiness disappeared in an instant. She went out to the living room after making the bed. She had a look at the dogs sleeping underneath the sofa before turning around to look at the kitchen.

It was 6 a.m. There was still about half an hour before the sun would rise. Gaeul turned on the lights in the kitchen and started cooking. She referred to a blog for a meal recipe on her phone while preparing the ingredients. The menu was egg drop soup, stir-fried chives and shrimp, sliced radish spring rolls, and bulgogi. Sliced radish spring rolls were tedious to create, so she focused without getting distracted. While chopping up the vegetables, she checked the time. She had to start cooking the soup in time for Maru’s return from...