“The dishes are going to come one by one, but should I tell them to bring them all together?”
“It’s fine. I’ll have them as they come.”
“Alright, then. It’s also great to experience it as it is.”
After a while, the warm soup was brought to them. It was a seafood soup and it didn’t suit Yigyeom’s tastes slightly. Yigyeom was unfamiliar with the cheese salad and duck dishes that were presented, so he tasted little of them and didn’t like them much.
Kwon Taejung purposely came to the most casual fine dining of all the restaurants he frequented, however, he sighed quietly as he saw Yigyeom unable to eat properly and barely touching the steak. Even the scent of the truffle was foreign to him, so he couldn’t have it well.
“You don’t have to force yourself to eat.”
“…No. I can eat more.”
“There’s no need for that. If you get an upset stomach, I will be the one in trouble.”
At Kwon Taejung’s words, Yigyeom put down his knife and fork. The dishes were pleasing and pretty to the eyes because of the unfamiliar and unusual scent it had, it wasn’t easy to put it in his mouth.
“Sorry…you even brought me to such a nice place.”
“I thought you’d be very easy to handle, but you’re difficult.”
“…Yes?”
“No, just. It’s just not going my way. This never happened to me before.”
Kwon Taejung called the staff to clean the table, while Yigyeom looked at the peach sherbet and mousse which finally appeared.
“You have a sweet tooth, don’t you? You must like desserts, so try it.”
“Okay…”
Yigyeom nodded and lifted the small spoon, and took a spoonful of the sherbet which smelled of sweet peaches. As the sweet and aromatic smell of the peaches lingered in his mouth,he quickly felt better. It was delicious to the point he wondered whether such tasty meals even existed in this world.
“Is that delicious?”
“Yes, very.”
“You’re not just saying that because of me?”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“No, really…it’s really really delicious.”
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“…”
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Yigyeom’s face was not shadowed with embarrassment or shame but held a pretty face because he was really having a good time. It was also fun to see the kid who smelled of peaches, delve into a peach dessert like that.
“Should I order more?”
“No. I ate a lot. You even gave me yours.”
“I don’t really like the dessert here. It’s too sweet. But even so, it’s a relief that you liked them.”
“…It was really tasty. It is my first time eating something like this.”
But Kwon Taejung was a little upset seeing how Yigyeom couldn’t eat the meals well at a place he made him come to, however, he felt good seeing Yigyeom’s expression as he enjoyed having the dessert. Whether it was because of all the peach dessert Yigyeom had, he became red akin to peach so Kwon Taejung chuckled.
Yigyeom did not seem like a difficult kid to figure out, however, the questions Kwon Taejung had about him were hard to fathom and the answers were not easy to obtain. Whatever answers he thought of were incorrect, and the things he absolutely didn’t expect were the correct answers. But he felt satisfied, circling the question to which he finally found an answer.
“Let’s get going if you’re done.”
“Okay…”
Kwon Taejung wore the coat which was kept by the staff and led the restaurant while being guided by another staff member. All the restaurants he frequented already had his card information, so there was no need to pay separately.
“You’re actually still hungry, right? Is there anything else you want to have?”
“…Ah, it’s alright. I even had your portion, which was delicious.”
“That ice cream and the small mousse wasn’t even that filling. Don’t zip your lips up and tell me. I already took you somewhere I wanted to go, so now I will take you somewhere you like.”
Kwon Taejung and Yigeom went to the front gate of the hotel and as if their timing was just right, the car drove to the front and Kwon Taejung tipped the chauffeur a check after. The chauffeur was surprised and bowed to him, bending his waist, and continued greeting him until they left the hotel.
“Come on, tell me. What do you like?”
“…It’s really okay.”
“I wanted to eat with you but you ended up having nothing at all. You can tell me, it’s okay. There must be something you usually like eating, don’t you?”
Yigyeom quietly recalled what he usually liked having. The first ones that came into his mind were the small-sized cup noodles and triangle kimbap. The next one that came to his mind was the simple kimbap sold in street stores. There were times he would have jjajangmyeon or fried rice when he came to work at events. Yigyeom mentioned the one which was the most convenient to eat.
“…I eat kimbap often. It’s something you can have quickly, it’s good too…”
“Kimbap?”
Kwon Taejung briefly pondered about ‘kimbap’. To be honest, it was something he came to eat once a year, no scratch that, once in a blue moon. He never had kimbap because he didn’t go to school or picnics, so it wasn’t something that he cared for.
“Where do they sell those? Is there a place where they sell kimbap? Ah, I saw something like that when I had sushi.”
“…It’s in convenience stores, street vendors sell them too.”
“Street vendors? Oh, is it like those places where they sell ddeokbokki?”
“Yes…”
“Do you visit those places often?”
Yigyeom mulled over the meaning of the word, ‘often’ for a while. He sometimes went to street vendors to buy kimbap but it was only sometimes, but not often.
“…It’s…not to the point of often…sometimes…”
“Address.”
“There was one at the Hankuk University 3rd exit…but why are you asking that?”
“So that we can go there, of course. You should have it, don’t you?”
“I am really fine…”
“I mean, you do you, but I’m curious as well. I never visited street vendors.”
It wasn’t that Kwon Taejung was taught about the different standards of food, or that it wasn’t good to have street foods. But he was considerably fussy about food himself. Still, when he used to go to school, he never went to common street vendors.
Even bars and restaurants which sold meaty dishes for various gatherings failed to pass Kwon Taejung’s hygiene standard. So Kwon Taejung had rarely been to a restaurant where everyone sat down and ate together. When he worked, he always bought sandwiches or delivered hotel lunch boxes.
“Is it unhygienic?”
“…No. It’s an old stall but it’s clean. The owner there is a good person as well.”
“He is only good because he wants your money.”
Kwon Taejung turned left after seeing the ‘Hankuk University Entrance’ written on the sign, and began to drive straight. Yigyeom really wanted to tell him that there was no need to eat something else, but it seemed like he would not heed his words anyway. If it was a person who would listen to Yigyeom, saying several times that it was fine, would have given up already. So Yigyeom only looked at the unfamiliar settings outside the car’s windows.
“…”
What was he doing there? He couldn’t figure out what he was doing right then when he should have been working. However, what he couldn’t understand more was Kwon Taejung, who made a one-sided promise and looked really sad when Yigyeom failed to keep the promise and how he smiled with a warm face after that, which Yigyeom couldn’t take his eyes off. Yigyeom cast a furtive glance at Kwon Taejung driving in silence and then slowly lowered his head.
Kwon Taejung, having a troubled face, went inside the street stall beside the Hankuk Univeristy’s 3rd exit, which had a yellow sign welcoming him. Starting with the name, ‘House of Kimbap’, which Kwon Taejung didn’t like but he couldn’t leave a stall that he just entered so he walked to the seats that the owner guided him to. He expressed how it was unhygienic with his whole body and pulled the chair with his two fingers.
“You are here, kid? Just check the dishes you want and bring them up to me and I’ll prepare them for you.”
The owner put down the menu and order receipt on the table and went back behind the window, continuing to make the kimbap. Kwon taejung did not put his legs under the table and sat sideways, crossing his legs.
“What are you doing? Just check the things you want to eat.”
“…Then I’ll have the kimbap.”
“Hey, Yigyeom. There are like 100 things on the menu, so why are you going with kimbap? Just eat whatever you want. Do you only eat kimbap when you come here?”
“…Yes.”
“Why?”
“…It’s the cheapest…I can also gobble it up quickly, and if I’m in a hurry then I can keep it and eat it later on…”
Kwon Taejung held his tongue at Yigyeom’s words about money troubles, and then scanned the menu. The menu included items that cost less than 10,000 won, and there was so much of them that one would get tired just looking through them.
“Then order something you want to try from here.”
“…”
“Something you couldn’t try because it was expensive.”
Yigyeom thought about whether there was something like that. He settled that there was. Kwon Taejung hung one of his arms on the back of the chair and stared at Yigyeom, who was deep in thought. If he could, he could have ordered everything from start to finish. Even then, it wouldn’t have been worth a single course at the restaurant they were at a while ago.
“Don’t be self-conscious and choose. Hey, there is no need to overthink. It’s not even 10,000 won.”
“Then…I’ll have this.”
He’s so pure…
ikr…too cute ><
Thanks 😊