Yigyeom picked up the ballpen and scribbled the number 1 in the blank next to the pork cutlet. Kwon Taejung burst into laughter seeing how Yigyeom chose, after much dithering. Fuck, to think he chose a homemade pork cutlet. He wondered whether 20 years old were usually that cute.
“Are you okay with only one of those?”
“Yes…Do you also want one, Chief?”
“I ate so much earlier. Also…”
Kwon Taejung shook his head and with a hard stare, he traced the old-fashioned store. He thought he would rather just starve than eat something there.
“Then I’ll just order one.”
“Okay.”
Yigyeom looked at Kwon Taejung nodding his head before he carefully flagged the owner and then gave the order receipt with the pork cutlet checked from the menu.
“You always buy kimbap, but you’re buying pork cutlets today? We have delicious pork cutlets as well. Every day, my wife and I make those with our own hands. We are going to make it all tasty for you so please wait.”
“Okay~”
What was that, Yigyeom even drew out his answer to the owner’s words. Kwon Taejung watched Yigyeom who talked with a stretch at the end of his words, before taking a look at the steaming soup that was placed in front of him.
“Please have some udon soup.”
Udon soup? Kwon Taejung stared at the stainless steel soup bowl in front of him and immediately took notice of the smell and slightly blocked the bottom of his nose with his finger. He didn’t like the smell of the spicy udon soup.
“…Have some. It’s good.”
“I’m okay. You have yours. We came here because it’s your favorite, right?”
Yigyeom thought Kwon Taejung wouldn’t touch a thing there, and he was sitting really stiffly as he looked at everything as if it was filthy, he was the one who became uncomfortable. So Yigyeom would feel sorry for the owner if he expressed his uneasiness so he glanced at the kitchen and then took out the spoon from the utensils box and placed it in front of him. Before closing the box, he looked at Kwon Taejung. He darted his eyes at him, asking if he would really not have anything, the latter put his hands up defensively, as if saying it was fine.
“Don’t look at me and eat.”
Who could eat something comfortably after seeing Kwon Taejung sitting so reluctantly, as if he could run away at any moment? Yigyeom sighed a breath of resignation, and then scooped the udon soup with the spoon and blew it carefully. As the warm soup entered his mouth, the nervousness he held seemed to loosen a little. Yigyeom quietly scooped up the soup a few more times.
“Does this suit your taste?”
“Yes, it’s delicious.”
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.
“If you want to grab meals with me, you need to make your taste buds a little more luxurious.”
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“…”
Damn, look at that smile. Kwon Taejung, who was careful not to touch the table because it didn’t meet his hygiene standards, tapped the table with his fingertips. Yigyeom looked nervous and like someone who was extremely insecure.
“It’s funny.”
Yet, he looked like someone who was excited as well. Kwon Taejung whipped his head to look at the ‘House of Kimbap’ written on the door for no reason. The name sounded grandiose. Even if Kwon Taejung tried thinking about useless stuff, his ears which blushed at Yigyeom’s smile didn’t rub off easily.
“Homemade pork cutlet is here. Do tell us if you need more rice, we can give you more.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Enjoy your meal. Should I give the person who came with you some soup as well?”
Kwon Taejung looked at the boss who kept offering him soup, and then relaxed his crossed legs and shook his head, as he tried his best to muster a sweet smile.
“I’m fine because I just came from having a meal. There are many delicious meals here so I really want to come back next time to try it.”
“Oh, you must have come to buy this kid a meal. Make sure to come next time. There are many delicious meals in this restaurant so if you do come next time, try the omurice or stir fried spicy pork. The Rabokki is great as well, and my wife makes a great sauce to go along with it, which makes it even more delicious. If you like noodles, you can have bibimguksu…”
There was never going to be a chance of that happening, so if the owner didn’t shut his trap anytime soon, the atmosphere would be ruined and Kwon Taejung would be ticked off, leaving Yigyeom without an opportunity to visit the store again. Although it didn’t concern Yigyeom, and he could have endured a little, however, there was no need to make a mountain of a molehill.
Instead of being presented on the news as ‘retaliation driving’, he was going to be presented by the sons of Taesung Group who became ‘loyal customers’ so he tried to maintain his smile so that he was well-liked by everyone.
“I think I should come to try everything you have recommended. I’ll become a regular, I guess.”
“Then, that’s great! Do come, I’ll give you ramyeon, on the house.”
Kwon Taejung finished the conversation with the owner, while he was wiping down the table and then looked at Yigyeom, slicing the pork cutlet with a worn-out face.
As Yigyeom grabbed the fork and knife with both hands and sliced the pork cutlet into bite pieces, he looked cute. Kwon Taejung wondered if he was nervous because he was putting a lot of his strength into his hands.
“Hey…”
Yigyeom pierced through a bite-sized piece with his fork and held it out cautiously toward Kwon Taejung. He looked at the fork that was inched towards him and hesitated as he looked at Yigyeom’s hands. His mind was telling him not to have it but his heart was telling him not to embarrass Yigyeom.
“…”
If Kwon Taejung was his usual self, he would have of course followed what his mind said. No, he wouldn’t have let his mind talk even. But that day, something was different.
Yigyeom who offered a piece to the person who was sitting in front of him, Kwon Taejung thought he shouldn’t ignore Yigyeom’s sentiment. Yigyeom looked disappointed as Kwon Taejung didn’t show any response to it whatsoever, Kwon Taejung then pulled his wrist towards him and then gobbled the piece of pork cutlet.
Yigyeom would have suggested having some meal to Kwon Taejung once more, but he couldn’t expect Kwon Taejung to really eat what he had offered, so his eyes widened in surprise. Kwon Taejung met his eyes and chewed what he had in his mouth, and gulped it. It was more currency than he thought, and more delicious than he had expected. He understood why Yigyeom wanted to have this on a regular day.
“…It’s good.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. So, do have some more.”
“…Okay.”
As if Kwon Taejung caught him, another smile brushed Yigyeom’s lips for a moment. Kwon Taejung propped his legs under the table, leaned his chin forward, and looked at Yigyeom.
“Fork.”
“Huh?”
“I used that fork.”
“Ah…it’s fine.”
Of course, Kwon Taejung thought Yigyeom would have used a new fork but how causally Yigyeom used the fork with which he ate and put the piece of pork on his lips, Kwon Taejung’s eyes shook. It wasn’t that he was upset, but that his heart started thumping noisily when he saw how Yigyeom put the fork in his mouth. Did he usually eat from forks that others used? Or was it only him…?
“Is it good?”
“Yes, really really good.”
The expensive course barely touched Yigyeom’s mouth, but Kwon Taejung could not comprehend how Yigyeom could munch on a 6000 won worth of pork cutlet. He gave up on understanding because it wasn’t his field of expertise.
“Have some more. Slowly.”
“…Yes. Do you want to have some more?”
“No. You can have it. We only came here so that you can eat well.”
Yigyeom nodded once, dipping the fork into the cut piece of the pork cutlet. Kwon Taejung’s eyes scanned the old store for a while because Yigyeom might feel burdensome if he kept watching him eat, but then quickly lost interest and continued watching Yigyeom.
“…”
It was sweet and better than I thought, yet Kwon Taejung wondered whether it was really that delicious. He looked at Yigyeom quietly emptying the bowl, and then stood up from his seat and went to one corner of the store. He then opened the deep blue cup storage box and took a stainless steel cup from it, before pouring some water from the purifier.
Kwon Taejung returned to his seat and placed the cup in front of Yigyeom. Yigyeom looked at the cup, never expecting Kwon Taejung to bring a cup of water for him, and then darted his eyes at Kwon Taejung.
“Water is self-service.”
“…”
Kwon Taejung who sat opposite Yigyeom clenched his fist tightly and tapped on the table as if urging him to have some water. Yigyeom came to his senses and bowed slightly as if he was grateful, lifted his cup, and took a sip of the cold water. It was not his first time drinking cold water, however strangely, it felt refreshing and sweeter than usual.
After finishing the remaining pork cutlet, Yigyeom drank all the water that Kwon Taejung bought for him and put down the cup. Kwon Taejung sprung up from his seat, and went to the counter, as he took out his card and checked out 6000 won for the homemade pork cutlet. It was his cheapest and yet, the proudest purchase he ever made.
“Are you full now?”
“Yes, it was really delicious. Thank you for treating me to such a meal.”
Although Yigyeom said he would have kimbap because he liked it, thinking how he must have always wanted to have pork cutlets over kimbaps, Kwon Taejung’s fussy heart started palpitating again. Fuck, it had been a long time since his heart had a chance of expressing an opinion and he was shaking, freaking and flipping out all on his own. Kwon Taejung ignored the loud echo of his mind, as he opened the passenger’s door, before he walked towards the driver’s seat.
T/N: The place Kwon Taejung and Yigyeom are in this chapter is a snack restaurant (bunsik jib) where they sell similar street food which are very cheap and usually come with a receipt/checklist where they have to tick or mark items they want to order. To briefly describe the food they mentioned here:
1 Bibim Guksu: Bibim-guksu or spicy noodles, is a cold dish made with very thin wheat flour noodles called somyeon with added flavorings, is one of the most popular traditional noodle dishes.
2 Pork Cutlets (6000 won or roughly $5): Tonkatsu is a Japanese dish that consists of a breaded, deep-fried pork cutlet.
3 Rabokki (Ramyeon+Deokbokki): Rabokki is a type of tteokbokki, with added ramyeon noodles. It is a street food commonly sold in bunsikjip.
4 Omurice: Omurice or omu-rice is a Japanese dish consisting of an omelette made with fried rice and thin, fried scrambled eggs, usually topped with ketchup.
5 Udon Soup: The udon soup or broth is made of dashi (Japanese soup stock) seasoned with basic Japanese condiments -soy sauce, mirin, (sometimes sake), sugar, and salt.
Lovely but also super awkward
😊😊
This chapter makes me hungry 😁
Thank you for your explanation Nicotine