Now that I'm outside my world: you'd think that my initial priorities would be checking the forums from AmbitionLark...
But...that wasn't the first thing I wanted to do after that crazy of an experience.
The first thing that will come to my mind will always be the fact that...
I spent 29 fricking minutes in the game?!
HOW?
Did I really spend so much time in a daze when I was looking at the mountain?!
Oh my goodness...don't tell me that it was actually when I was stuck in shock after she left...
Wait! No! That's not important now!
For now, it's exactly time for lunch!
Just exactly the time when...a certain special someone comes back to our house for a lunch break.
Instantaneously, I went to the kitchen and laid out the plates, utensils, and glasses that would be used for meals. It would be good if I could cook before they come, but I have to inspect every nook and cranny of this house.
I need to inspect it thoroughly and see for myself if there are any mosquitoes nearby that could infest the food I'm making.
It's a responsibility that's to be expected when your house is beside a river.
A few moments later, I started to work on cooking food.
I know, I know, some people will be out there to judge a man for doing such feminine behavior like cooking, but I'm a firm believer that a real man is versatile enough to do jobs such as this.
Think about it, without knowing how to cook, would you survive if you were castaway onto some deserted island wherein you are left to fend for and feed yourself?
No, you'd probably die of raw food poisoning...
Well then, back to the cooking!
The first step is to heat the pan with oil. I try to be conservative and avoid adding too much oil to this job.
I don't want this certain someone to travel and buy oil for us again. But then again— let's focus on the cooking.
The second thing to do is to mince the garlic and sauté it until it turns a shade of golden brown. I don't know about you, but I've always found garlic to be rather synonymous with onions.
Third, add the chicken to the pan and stir-fry it in the sea of sautéd garlic until it's fully cooked.
Fourth is to add the soy sauce, salt, and pepper into the pan, stirring the ingredients well to combine them.
Finally, the last step is to add the basil leaves and stir-fry for another minute.
And tada! I'm done cooking! All that's left is to serve with rice!
After I laid down what I had cooked on the table, a creak from the door resounded.
The only thing I can see from the small opening of the door is...
One, a cane sullied by dirt and debris.
Two, a woman with elderly but timeless features.
Three, a scene of her beautiful brown hair shining under the scorching sun.
There was no doubt...she was my mother who was entering the door with a crooked back and the same warm smile she would always greet me with.
It seems like even now my mother's beauty never fades...her hair, although unkept and a mess, is still dazzling.
However, her face immediately sours into a frown as she sees the food I prepared at our dining table. "You never listen...I've told you multiple times to leave the cooking to me," She says, as she sighs and lays down her cane.
Nonetheless, despite her warnings, I plan to disobey her again. "And worry you with the cooking when you already have arthritis? Ma, you have to rest." I respond in a fake snarky tone, the same one I use whenever my mother and I have conversations.
If my father were still here, she'd reply the same way she does with my antics. "You're just like your father."
But he's not.
So she never said that anymore.
"Bah- such a naughty child," She responds with a fake angry tone, as she digs right into the meal I cooked.
I take my bite, smiling as I see her expression when she bites the chicken. In moments like these, I remember my mother when she was younger...when she was happy.
As compared to before, mealtimes with her now comprise silence, of not speaking and only letting the atmosphere be riddled with sounds of either the crunchiness of the chicken, or the sounds of placing the rice in your spoon.
But I wouldn't say it has a cold atmosphere to it.
Times spent with her truly bring a sort of ambient feeling to the household. It makes me forget the current condition our house is in...with broken tiles and tainted windows.
It's quite shabby, yes, but we're not destitute.
We're just...in the middle class.
Well, used to be.
If anything, we're now nearing the lower class.
However, despite the calmness that I'm feeling right now...I have to ask my mother about what it means to be married. Of what it takes to become a good husband.
I'm stirring up turmoil...but it's for the sake of making sure I can play the game well enough to create a good investment from what I've spent!
"Father wasn't a good example of that," I think to myself, as I braced myself to ask a question.
I clenched my cup tightly as I took a breath.
Mother notices, eyes observant with a look that tells me to get whatever thoughts I have...off my chest.
So I did just that.
"Ma...how...how do you become a good husband?" I ask, looking at her puzzled, and immediately, she looks back at me with her confused face.
Moments after she ponders the situation, her voice takes on a completely different tone.
"You're planning on marrying a girl?! Who?! You had a girlfriend and you never even introduced me to her?!" She says, half-worried and half-expectant.
"N-no! I was just curious, since..." I speak up for myself, bringing up my cup in between us as an awkward stance of trying to defend myself.
She looks at the cup that distanced us: her expression changing from one of perplexity to one of amusement.
"Since...since father was never a great example of it," I follow up as I smile at her bitterly and looking at the half-empty cup in between us.
I set the cup down on the table awkwardly, seeing her face contort into a mix of various emotions, reduced to a single one in a moment's notice.
"Ah..." She keeps her silence for a moment, grabbing her cup of water as she takes a little sip and looks at me with a clouded look in her eyes.
It pains me to see her like this...but I must do whatever I can to lessen her workload.
Charming Beauties is the key to that. It's my cash cow.
"...just be a good man. Treat her well, with respect and kindness, mijo. Don't be too harsh on her, especially when she has her period." She mentions, looking at her cup of water half full.
"But of course...the most important value is to be loyal and to keep in mind that even if she might be a little confusing at times, in her heart, she will still love you," My mother smiles, looking at me with a slight smile...that turned to a wary one in a matter of seconds.
"Well, of course, that is only if the woman you're with is a good woman." My mother sighs, squinting her eyes at me.
She then finished her cup of water in one go, set it at the table...and stared at me suspiciously.
"...are you sure you haven't gotten a girl pregnant? You're not asking your mother for permission to marry her?" She questions, looking at me directly in the eyes, making me flush in response.
This time, I carry the spoon and fork in front of me to defend myself from such an accusation!
Mother! How could you think so low of me!!!
"Ma! It's nothing like that! I-" I sigh, looking at her with an embarrassed expression on my face as I heavily guard my chest with my spoon and fork.
She only laughs again in response, telling me that she's teasing me.
Seriously...these abrupt changes of mood are something that never changed...
The atmosphere lost its tension, and the ambience returned to what it was: comfortable silence in the midst of eating our meals.
I pour her another cup of water from the pitcher as we finish our meals together.
Now that it's ended...a comparison came into play: my resolve, my reason.
At this very moment, I've finally strengthened my resolve to play Charming Beauties seriously.
It might be a source of income for me, yes, but it could also be a way for me to prove to myself that I will not become like my father.
That I can prove to both myself and the world that I am a good man...
And I will be a good husband, no, I will be the best husband there is!
Well, err...virtual husband if it counts.