I drag the little plastic cart behind me, its wheels already squeaking like it regrets every life decision that led to this moment.
Ivy walks beside me, one hand holding her snack bag, the other gripping the hem of my jacket like a tiny duckling who's decided I'm her mother goose.
Vesper trails a few steps behind us, head tilted all the way back, staring at the fluorescent lights on the ceiling like they're divine scripture written across the heavens just for her.
"Alright," I mutter, pulling the cart forward with the energy of a man on a mission. "We need food. Real food. Nutritious food."
I stop.
Blink once.
Then slowly turn toward the snack aisle.
Ivy gasps like she's seen the promised land. Vesper covers her mouth with both hands. "These… colorful bags," she breathes. "They hum with temptation."
I ignore both of them and start grabbing. Chips. More chips. Then the spicy ones. Then the massive party sized bag I have absolutely no occasion for. Each one slams into the cart with increasing conviction.
Thud. ThUD. THUD.
Ivy giggles behind me. "Dad is going crazy…"
(I'll ignore that.)
Vesper nods slowly, gravely. "He is entering a ritual trance."
I didn't stop.
Chocolates. Cookies. A variety pack of candy. Three energy bars I've never tried and probably never will.
By the time I finally straighten up and look at the cart, it looks less like a grocery haul and more like a shrine built to honor every terrible food decision ever made by mankind.
I place a hand on my hip, surveying my work with the quiet pride of a general who just won a war he had no business fighting.
"Perfect," I whisper, slightly dead inside. "We're set for… at least two days."
"What are you talking about, DAD?" Ivy asks, tilting her head. "We're gonna survive for one thousand years!"
I ignore the 'DA#' again.
(It's fine. I'm fine.)
Vesper looks genuinely overwhelmed, but also somehow impressed, like she's witnessing a mortal ritual she doesn't fully understand but deeply respects.
Then my brain caught up with my hands.
"Wait." I stare at the overflowing cart. "Do I need like… actual food? Milk? Eggs?"
Ivy nods quickly. Vesper nods slowly, elegantly, as if she's been waiting for me to arrive at this conclusion on my own.
I exhale so hard it feels like it shaved a year off my life. "Alright. Milk and eggs. Then we're done."
***
The milk was cold and heavy and responsible. The eggs are fragile, much like my sanity at this point. I set both carefully into the cart, look at Ivy, then at Vesper, then at the mountain of junk food threatening to avalanche onto the floor, and I thought— (yeah. Yeah, this is fine. Good even. Totally normal grocery run.?)
"Just one more thing," I nutter.
I turn the corner into the next aisle.
And there they are.
Sausage versus hotdog. Two legendary items. Two breakfast philosophies. Two destiny laden packages staring back at me under fluorescent light like they've been waiting for me specifically.
I squint at the sausage pack first. "Sausage is… fancy. Elegant. A rich man's breakfast. Easy to cook, dignified on the plate." Then I shift my gaze. "Hotdog is fun. Chaotic. Explodes if you cook it wrong, which is honestly part of the experience."
I stand there for a full five seconds, genuinely pondering the moral weight of this decision.
Ivy tugs my jacket. "Dad… you okay?"
"No."
Vesper leans in close behind me, voice low and reverent. "This battle… it is shaking his soul."
I inhale. Exhale. Then reach out with both hands and grab one of each. Sausage in my left, hotdog in my right, held up like I'm dual wielding a weapon in a grocery store. "They shall decide their worth at home," I announce.
Ivy claps. Vesper bows her head like I've just issued a royal decree.
(Good enough.)
We walk to the counter, my cart practically wheezing under the weight of its contents.
The cashier— 'Lila,' calm and professional as always, glances up and gives me a small smile. "Good evening, Mr. Si Hon."
"Evening, Lila." I start unloading everything onto the belt.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
A full snack ritual, witnessed by fluorescent light.
Then I reach for my wallet and pull out my card.
Lila stays composed.
But behind… the other cashier— the one sitting in the corner on break, halfway through a cup of noodles— suddenly goes completely still.
Her chopsticks froze mid-air. Her eyes blow wide. She started trembling in her seat like she'd been struck by something holy.
"Is this…" she whispers, barely audible. "Is this the moment? Am I finally going to witness… the power… of Mr. Si Hon's card?"
Her coworker elbows her sharply. She didn't even flinch.
I swipe the card.
Beep.
Silence.
Then she gasps like she just watched someone pull a sword from a stone. "OH. MY. GOD. IT WORKED."
I glance over at her. "Ma'am, it's literally just a card." I smirk and slide it back into my wallet. "My card. (⌐■-■)"
She stared at me with the energy of a woman who has been changed forever. "Yes. THE card."
Ivy muffles a laugh behind me. Vesper tilts her head and whispers, "What occurred? He merely exchanged a small flat artifact for these goods."
Yeah. Something like that.
***
I turned around after paying and immediately noticed both of them had stopped moving entirely.
They're standing side by side, frozen, staring at…
The slushie machine by the exit with the exact expression people reserve for witnessing something that breaks their understanding of the universe.
Ivy has both hands pressed flat against the transparent tank. "Dad… it's MOVING…"
Vesper took one slow step closer, eyes wide and glassy, voice dropping to barely above a whisper. "The liquid… it spins eternally… yet never falls… is this— is this magic?"
"It's just sugar and ice."
They both turn to look at me. The betrayal on their faces is immense. Like I just told them Santa isn't real and also that gravity is a lie.
Then Ivy recovers first, bouncing on her heels with her whole body. "Dad, can we get one?! The blue one!! It looks like it'll make my tongue fall off!!!! I need it!!"
Vesper turned back to the machine, hand hovering near the glass like she's afraid to spook it. "The red one calls to me," she murmurs. "It hums. It whispers."
I squint at her. "Are you hearing voices." It's not even a question at this point.
She nods, completely serious. "Yes. And this one sounds like—" She pauses.
Thought about it. Then… "BBRRRRVVVVMMMM."
(ಠ_ಠ, That's the coils, but whatever. I'm not having this debate.)
"Alright," I sigh, already moving toward the cups. "In. One. Condition."
Ivy sparkles instantly. "What is it, Dad?!"
"Stop calling me Da#."
Her whole face collapses like a building being demolished in slow motion. "But… you agreed earlier."
"When?"
"You said no when I asked if you were okay. That means yes."
I stared at her. I genuinely stood there and stared at her. That is the most unhinged logical work I've ever encountered in my life and she believes it with her entire heart and soul.
I opened my mouth. Close it again. "Just don't call me Dad and I'll buy both of you slushies." I said instead.
She dropped her head dramatically. "Okay," she mutters, quiet and tragic, like I've taken something precious from her.
She'll be back to it by tom***ow. I already know.
Ivy grabbed a cup, plants herself in front of the blue machine, and pulls the lever with the confidence of someone who has absolutely no idea what they're doing.
"FWOoOoOSH." It said. Blue slush explodes out of the nozzle like a water element that's been waiting all day for this exact moment. "W-WAAHH!!!! ( ≧Д≦) IT'S ATTACKING MEH!!!" She shouted, though that was a bit cu—
I reached over and gently corrected her grip before she floods the entire floor. "You tilted too far, kid."
"It caught me off guard!!!"
"It's a lever."
"A SCARY lever!!"
Meanwhile, Vesper approached her machine the way a high priest approaches a sacred altar. Slow. Deliberate. Both hands raised slightly at her sides.
She hovered her palm over the lever for a full three seconds, eyes half-closed, like she's asking for permission.
Then she pulled it. Smooth, steady, perfect. Red slush flows down in a clean arc like it genuinely chose to behave for her.
Her breath catches. Her eyes go glassy. For a second I genuinely thought she might cry. "It obeys my will," she whispers. "This red frozen nectar… is a blessing upon this realm."
"Hah… yea, cool ಠ_ಠ."
I filled my own cup a minute later. Blue. Classic, as always.
I took a sip the moment we stepped away from the machine and the brain freeze hit me instantly like a truck. "Agh— UGH! Uh! U!! I want to die."
Ivy whips around with zero sympathy. "Ahjussi, you're so weak!"
Vesper nodded in quiet agreement. "A mortal flaw. Insufficient brain capacity."
"Shut up," I hissed, and took another sip like the absolute idiot that I am.
We walk toward the exit together. One hyper child clutching a blue slushie like it's a trophy. One barefoot goddess cradling a red one like it's a holy relic and One man with a blue normal slush, and a brain freeze that's probably permanent.
The automatic doors slide open and the night air hits us, cool and quiet and smelling faintly like rain.
Ivy skips ahead a little, slushie raised, announcing to no one in particular that she now has superpowers.
Vesper walks beside me for once, not trailing behind, sipping her drink with an expression of someone experiencing genuine, unguarded wonder.
It's a lot of chaos for one grocery run. But honestly? It's not bad.
Then something prickles at the back of my neck. Faint, like a thought I can't fully grab onto.
I slowed my steps slightly, eyes scanning the parking lot without really knowing what I'm looking for. Something. Something I was supposed to do. Something I was supposed to remember. Something that was—
Ivy turns back and waves at me from a few steps ahead. Vesper glances over, waiting.
I shook it off.
(Probably nothing.)
(Probably.)