With quick movements, she made a fruit salad. Next, she busily prepared spicy and sweet pollock salad, and as she was working, she sensed a presence and turned her head.
Frank was leaning against the kitchen door with his arms crossed. Since they had had a rather serious conversation yesterday, Lola felt uncomfortable and awkward meeting his gaze.
After swallowing hard, Lola tried to ask calmly.
“Um… Is there anything you need?”
“Has the patient woken up?”
Even though the investigator must have reported the patient’s condition, he stubbornly pressed for answers, showing that he was quite persistent.
“The patient is still in a coma. We need to conduct detailed tests to know if there are any other conditions.”
Frank’s lips twisted slightly, as if he was forcing a bitter smile.
“Perhaps it would be better for that man if he never wakes up. Then he could completely avoid the prosecution investigation.”
“……”
“There are some human scum that should have been eliminated from society long ago. Don’t you think it’s a waste of tax money to support such people, sister-in-law?”
While she understood his impatience, there was no need for him to speak so harshly to her.
However, despite her discomfort, Lola responded politely.
“I’m sorry I can’t help you, Prosecutor. When the patient wakes up…”
Lola paused as she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen. Just as the footsteps seemed to stop, a sharp voice questioned her.
“What are you doing here?”
“What are you doing here?”
It was Dylan.
His gaze towards the two people in the kitchen was icy cold. It was understandable; Lola had been in the kitchen for quite a while, and even Frank, who had left, hadn’t returned for a long time. At first, Dylan thought Frank might have gone to the bathroom and didn’t pay much attention.
He had come to the kitchen to help Lola, who was laboriously preparing food by herself.
But why was Frank in the kitchen?
There seemed to be something between the two of them.
Dylan’s sharp intuition, characteristic of a prosecutor, was ringing alarm bells.
She was visibly flustered, and Frank’s attempt to appear nonchalant seemed a bit awkward.
Dylan felt strangely irritated and uncomfortable.
“I just wanted to drink some bottled water. And I had a few questions for your sister-in-law.”
Frank shrugged his shoulders lightly and replied casually.
“What could you possibly want to ask Lola?”
Even under Dylan’s sharp gaze, which never let anything suspicious slide, Frank remained calm.
Lola, trying hard to appear unfazed, turned back to finish preparing the food.
“I was just asking how to make an appointment with a psychiatrist.”
“Why a psychiatrist? Are you sick?”
“Yes!”
Dylan still didn’t drop his suspicious gaze.
Frank picked up the dish that Lola had prepared and started to walk away first.
“I’ve been suffering from insomnia for quite a while now.”
“Is insomnia trending like a cold these days?”
Dylan followed Frank, speaking sarcastically. It could have been offensive, but Frank remained expressionless.
“Why? Can’t you sleep?”
“Yes!”
Instead of sympathizing with Frank’s insomnia, Dylan clicked his tongue in annoyance.
“So this time, I’m going to get proper treatment.”
Dylan found Frank’s words still suspicious but didn’t press for more details for the moment.
******
The men’s eyes widened in surprise at the table filled with food. There were spicy chicken wings, seasoned pollack, onion fritters, potato fries, and fruit salad.
“Wow! What a windfall!”
“Wow! Amazing!”
“Thank you for the meal, sister-in-law.”
Each of Dylan’s friends exclaimed in awe, unable to close their mouths. Even Frank, who usually had a stoic demeanor, showed an expression for the first time.
“I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste.”
“I love this kind of food. Dylan is really lucky.”
Tadeo, who was giving Lola a thumbs up, turned to Dylan and said. “Hey! You’re lucky to eat delicious food for free every day.”
“Uh!”
As always, Dylan’s response was boring and trivial.
Seeing Dylan’s consistent attitude, Tadeo shook his head with a smile, as if he couldn’t help it.
“Thank you for the meal, sister-in-law. It’s so delicious.”
“Yes. Please eat a lot.”
Lola smiled brightly.
“Good job. You should eat quickly too.”
Dylan said to Lola in a small voice.
“Yes, dear.”
Lola picked up a piece of chicken feet with her chopsticks and placed it in Dylan’s bowl. As Tadeo watched this small action with interest,
“Hey! Aren’t you in the middle of a hot romance? Is it okay for you to be out like this? Doesn’t your girlfriend mind?” Andy asked with concern.
Tadeo’s situation wasn’t much different from Dylan’s. He just hadn’t brought it up, but he was living with his girlfriend.
“Hey, sister-in-law.”
Tadeo, who had shrugged off Andy’s concern, suddenly turned his gaze to Lola. As she was drinking juice, Lola looked puzzled when Tadeo called her.
