🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 4
The food for dinner was, of course, the Hanwoo beef set he bought at the mart. Personally, I think you don’t need many other side dishes when eating beef. Strong seasonings actually ruin the flavor of the beef. Just some kimchi is enough. Or maybe I should make some geotjeori (fresh salad) with just a bit of red pepper powder? I opened the refrigerator.
“Oh, there’s exactly some mul-kimchi (water kimchi) here. Then I won’t need the geotjeori.”
Instead of a spicy red pepper seasoning, this was nabak mul-kimchi—made with large pieces of dried red pepper for a hint of spice and big chunks of refreshing radish. It was made in his father’s style and was one of Yoon Yeon-woo‘s favorite side dishes.
“Then… there isn’t much to prepare.”
Rustle!
I took out the bean sprouts, green onions, onions, garlic, peppers, and lettuce I had bought earlier at the Hanaro Mart along with the Hanwoo set. I’ll boil a refreshing bean sprout soup and just wash the other vegetables and peel them. I’ll put the vegetables on skewers to eat them as kebabs. The lettuce, of course, will be for wraps.
‘A pot, a pot… ah, here it is.’
Since it had been a long time, I didn’t even know where the pots were. Truly, where else could there be such a “bad son”? After shaking off the negative thoughts, I filled the pot with clear water. Then I added a few dried anchovies and two small pieces of kelp from the freezer and closed the lid.
Tick, tick, tick!
I turned the gas stove valve and cranked the heat to high. I have to wait a bit for the water to boil and the broth to come out. While I wait, let’s organize the other ingredients.
‘The bean sprouts look pretty good.’
Rip!
I tore open the plastic bag and took out the bean sprouts. I put them in a silver stainless steel bowl and turned on the water. As the cold water filled up, the husks and withered roots of the bean sprouts floated to the top. I cleared them away and lightly rubbed the bean parts with my fingers to remove any remaining skins. I set the finished bean sprouts aside and chopped the green onion leaves and peppers. Then, I took out about five cloves of garlic, pressed down hard with the side of a kitchen knife, and—Bam!—hit it with my fist to mince the garlic.
‘It’s finally boiling.’
The clear broth bubbled, letting out white steam. Into it, I added the salted shrimp (saeu-jeot) we had at home, minced garlic, soup soy sauce, and the bean sprouts, then let it simmer for 5 minutes on medium heat.
And for the finishing touch!
I added the chopped green onions and peppers and simmered it on low heat. If it feels a bit bland at this point, adding a little flavored salt or MSG (Mi-won) makes it even better.
Another 5 minutes passed. I took a spoonful of the finished bean sprout soup and tasted it.
“Mmm! It’s delicious.”
The bean sprouts were still crunchy and hadn’t gone limp. The thinly sliced peppers and green onions added a fresh green color to the soup, making it a joy to look at, while the savory taste of the anchovies and kelp stimulated my tongue and nose.
“Haha. Has this always been such a delicious dish?”
Bean sprout soup was something I often made and ate in the dormitory. It was quick to make and good as a side for drinking or for a hangover. It was good back then, too, but somehow… what I made now was incomparably more delicious.
“Is it because I have peace of mind now?”
Indeed, when I made it in the dormitory, most of the memories were of boiling it quickly to fill my stomach before work, or making it with alcohol when I felt like I was dying of exhaustion after work. The difference between then and now is “leisure.” I couldn’t understand it before because I had worked without ever properly resting, but now I could realize why people say resting is important. I could feel happiness even in small things like this.
“Ah, they’ll be here soon.”
Looking at the time, it was already 6:20 PM. Yoon Yeon-woo put the bean sprout soup in the refrigerator.
And several tens of minutes later.
Beep-beep-beep!
The sound of the door opening echoed.
“No, I’m telling you, today—! Uh…?”
“Hmm? Why the reaction? Did you see a ghost? Eh?”
His father and mother walked in. Simultaneously, they wore expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
“…It looks like our Yeon-woo has died.”
“I never imagined he’d come visit us as a ghost….”
They both muttered nonsense with sad expressions.
“Geez, is that all you have to say to your son who’s home for the first time in ages?”
A smile spread across his face at the sight. I kept my visit a secret just to see this reaction, and I’m really glad I did.
“I’m home.”
I approached the two flustered people and gave them a tight hug. His parents were startled at first, but soon, with bright smiles, they gently patted Yoon Yeon-woo’s back.
“Uh, uh?”
“Welcome home. Our son, I wonder who he takes after to be such a prankster.”
Clearly, even when I was discharged from the military, it was hard to hug both of them at once, but now both of them could fit into Yoon Yeon-woo’s arms.
It meant they had grown that much older and thinner. For a moment, my heart felt heavy.
“Let’s have dinner together for the first time in a long while.”
I held my father’s and mother’s hands tightly and led them to the kitchen. Their hands were wrinkled and rough.
“Kya! Yeon-woo doesn’t take after his mom, but after this dad—he’s a great cook! This is good enough to sell. It’s delicious, Yeon-woo.”
“I agree. He must have inherited his grandfather’s touch for cooking.”
Father laughed, showing his teeth. At the same time, he moved his hands naturally. He took a well-washed piece of lettuce, pulled two roasted garlic cloves off a skewer, added two pieces of perfectly cooked beef, and made a wrap.
“Son, let me feed you for the first time in a while.”
“I’m an adult now. You eat up, Father.”
“Ah! I think my shoulder is going to fall off! If Yeon-woo doesn’t eat this, my shoulder might just fall off!”
Making such jokes, Father pushed the wrap further toward him.
“…Then, I will eat well.”
In the end, I couldn’t refuse and opened my mouth. The wrap entered roughly. I chewed the very substantial wrap that filled my mouth.
Crunch, crunch!
The texture of the lettuce, the aroma of the roasted garlic, the tender meat, and even my father’s satisfied expression—it was a taste that stimulated my eyes, nose, and mouth. The lettuce, which should have been cold from the refrigerator, somehow felt warm.
“So son, what brought you down here? Did you use your vacation time? You should have told us; we would have gone up to see you. And wasn’t this Hanwoo beef too expensive? I feel bad, like we’re taking away from our son’s living expenses.”
Mother asked while smiling at the sight.
“You could say I’m on a very long vacation. And don’t worry too much about the price. This isn’t even spending money.”
“A long vacation? Son, did you get fired?”
“I wasn’t fired. I quit and came down.”
Yeon-woo said it like it was no big deal. However, hearing that, both of their faces darkened.
“O-oh, son. Did something difficult happen?”
“Huh? No.”
“Making a bad choice is absolutely forbidden!”
“…Pardon?”
“That’s right, son! You must never have bad thoughts. Got it?”
With those words, Father and Mother began a joint attack. For several tens of minutes, I heard strange things. Listening to them, I realized they had misunderstood something. It seems they had watched a documentary about depression among young people.
“Son, they say if a person suddenly changes, they die.”
It seemed to weigh on them that I had acted like I would work for the rest of my life, but then quit without a word. You know how it is—like someone settling everything before they die. Seeing me like this, it seemed they overlapped my image with the contents of the documentary.
“Haha… first, look at this.”
I had no choice. Yoon Yeon-woo opened his bank app and showed the screen to his parents.
[Account: 2,800,317,290 won]
There was about 2.8 billion won in total: 2.7 billion won from the lottery and 100 million won he had saved by living in a dormitory and saving 1 million won a month since he was 22.
“S-son… you saved a lot of money. 280 million…!”
Father’s eyes trembled. As expected of someone from a liberal arts background, he was weak with money calculations.
“N-no, honey. Wait, 2.8 billion…?”
On the other hand, Mother, who was from a science background, realized it instantly. That’s why her voice trembled even more.
“S-son, where on earth did you earn such a large amount of money…? Did you illegally sell your organs? Money isn’t everything, son. If you did that, even now, we should go back for surgery….”
“It’s nothing like what you two are thinking. Just a regular thing like winning the lottery?”
Laughing, I slapped the winning lottery ticket onto the table. Then I picked up a few pieces of beef that had cooled slightly and put them in my mouth.
Munch, munch.
As I chewed the meat, Father finally grasped the situation and let out a sigh of relief.
“Phew! Yeon-woo! If that was it, you should have told us earlier! So that’s why you came down. Certainly, with 2.8 billion won, it’s better to rest and live down here than to work.”
“That’s the idea. I came down to show the filial piety I couldn’t before.”
“Just you staying healthy and doing well is filial piety. Don’t try too hard to be filial.”
“Yes, yes. Then I won’t be filial.”
“Ahem! I didn’t say you should become a bad son!”
Banter between Father and Yoon Yeon-woo. At those words, Mother, who had been staring blankly, regained her senses.
“…If that’s the case, then I’m relieved.”
Then, she slapped Yoon Yeon-woo’s back hard enough to make a smack! sound. Ah, so this is why they call it a “back-smack”?
“Ow! That hurts!”
“A bad son needs to get hit a bit!”
“Aaargh!”
I got hit on the back several dozen times. Even though it hurt, the thought that it was an action born from my mother’s worry made even that enjoyable. The stinging sensation on my back must be my mother’s affection, right?
“So, what are you going to do here now?”
I want to try cooking. Not running a shop or anything like that, but just resting comfortably and learning how to cook.
However, I didn’t say those words. You can’t necessarily do something just because you want to. After all, Yoon Yeon-woo‘s skill level is just that of a person living alone who’s “okay” at cooking. So, I changed the subject.
“Oh right, Father. What happened to the old country house where Grandmother and Grandfather used to live? Did you sell it?”
“No, I didn’t sell it. Why, do you want to live there?”
“Yes.”
There was the clue about the spirits, but that wasn’t all. Honestly, since I was down here, I wanted to rest comfortably and try various things without worrying about what others think.
“Son, I hate to say this, but living in an old country house is really hard. The house is old, so there are many places to fix, and there are so many bugs. And the idea of ‘countryside generosity’ is all a thing of the past.”
I know that very well. Unless it’s a house built recently, houses built long ago are hard to live in today. They aren’t properly insulated, so they’re hot in the summer and cold in the winter. One might think, can’t you just endure it with air conditioning and a boiler? But if the insulation isn’t right, it’s not much different from trying to fill a pot with a hole in it with water. You waste money and find it hard to live comfortably.
“That’s okay. You seem to have forgotten, but I have plenty of money for remodeling.”
But what about it? If you remodel it well, even an old, worn-out house can be made like a modern one. I could even tear it down and rebuild it entirely. Still, the country house is filled with old memories, so I don’t want to tear it down and rebuild it.
“Ah, that’s true.”
Father nodded at Yoon Yeon-woo’s words.
“Then, I’ll ask my friend to do the remodeling. He’s a trustworthy guy, so he’ll do it cheaply and properly.”
It seemed Father had an acquaintance just for this.
“Yes, please do.”
And so, it was a family meal for the first time in a long while. After a night of drinking with his father.
The next morning, Tuesday, Yoon Yeon-woo woke up early. Today’s goal was to visit the country house.
