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Chapter 18
“What does ‘roughly’ mean.”
“Can you give a more precise example?”
Preferably in multiple-choice format, with the correct answer narrowed down.
“Hmm.”
Yeo Jaekyung thought for a moment before answering.
“Anything?”
But Seotaeju’s mind only grew more complicated.
‘What does “anything” even mean?’
He had asked for multiple choice, but instead got a subjective essay.
Worse, the scope of the question had expanded to the entire realm of food.
For about five seconds, Seotaeju’s mind spun more actively than ever before.
‘“Roughly” means approximately, or something close enough to estimate. Obviously it doesn’t mean you can just shove in literally anything when someone says “let’s just eat anything”…’
What am I supposed to do with this? It felt like his head might explode.
In the end, Seotaeju reached a conclusion.
“Yeo Jaekyung. Let’s go there.”
He smiled proudly, as if he had found the perfect answer.
“Pick whatever you want, something that serves a bit of everything, something ‘roughly anything.’”
He congratulated himself for what he believed was Solomon-level judgment.
“At a buffet.”
Leaving the crowded streets behind, the two soon arrived at a luxurious hotel restaurant.
He thought he had found the perfect solution to “roughly” and “anything” in the form of a buffet.
Surely this would satisfy the picky Yeo Jaekyung.
But once the meal began, Seotaeju felt something was wrong.
Clack.
He set down his fork harshly while watching Yeo Jaekyung, seated across from him, eating.
“Yeo Jaekyung. Do you not like the food?”
“What are you talking about?”
She looked up from her plate.
“I don’t have any complaints.”
“Then why is someone without complaints picking rice grains off one by one with chopsticks?”
He voiced the suspicion he had been holding in.
“You’re not treating each grain like a pill, are you?”
“No? I’m just eating like I always do.”
“No, I saw you drinking water every time you picked up a grain of rice.”
He spoke sarcastically.
In fact, she really was eating in a way that defied common sense.
Seotaeju teased her.
“What, did they teach you how to fix broken street signs and repair broken streetlights, but not how to eat properly?”
Yeo Jaekyung slammed her chopsticks down and glared at him.
Seotaeju met her gaze head-on.
“You should enter a competition. Like ‘World’s Worst Way to Eat a Meal.’ You’d definitely win first place.”
“Or you could upload a video. Title it ‘The Woman Who Eats the Worst in the World.’ A company might even hire you for an ad if you’re lucky.”
“You’re annoying.”
“I’m just stating possibilities.”
He shrugged.
Yeo Jaekyung glared at him and let out a sigh.
“I just don’t have a big appetite. My digestion is weak.”
It was a lie.
It was true she didn’t eat much, but the real reason was her obsessive fear of gaining weight.
What she had taken from the buffet was only a small portion of greens, konjac salad, and pumpkin porridge.
It was the same strict diet she had followed all her life.
Even now, she had to maintain control.
Seotaeju looked at her like she was some kind of research subject.
For some reason, her inability to eat properly bothered him.
Was her stomach upset?
Or was it that there wasn’t a single thing she liked among all this buffet food?
It irritated him.
‘Last time she ate tteokbokki, she didn’t seem like this…’
He recalled their previous meal.
“You seemed to really like tteokbokki last time, didn’t you?”
At that, Yeo Jaekyung flinched.
“That was…”
She couldn’t continue.
“That was what?”
He pressed like an interrogator. She eventually answered.
“…It was my first time trying that brand of tteokbokki.”
Seotaeju looked at her in disbelief.
“You mean you had that tteokbokki for the first time? That’s literally the number one snack brand in Korea.”
“Wow, is it that weird to meet someone who’s never tried it?”
“Yeah. It is.”
Even I’ve eaten it.
Forced by Jo Ga-bin, who insisted it was trendy these days.
“I wanted to try it before, but I didn’t really have the chance. I guess I got a bit excited then. Please forget how I acted.”
Yeo Jaekyung replied, her face slightly red.
“Forget what? Is eating food deliciously some kind of crime?”
Seotaeju responded as if it were absurd.
At that, Yeo Jaekyung stiffened.
For her, eating deliciously felt like a crime.
Seeing that she couldn’t answer, Seotaeju clicked his tongue and stood up.
“Anyway, while I’m gone, make sure you eat everything on your plate. If you leave it… Santa won’t bring you any gifts at Christmas.”
Yeo Jaekyung glared at him with chopsticks in her mouth, looking completely unimpressed.
They locked eyes for a while before Seotaeju finally looked away first.
Grumbling, he headed off to get a new plate.
“…A grown adult eating like a bird. It’s distracting.”
A research subject. Just a research subject.
He muttered as he filled a plate carefully for her.
He picked out foods that she had eaten slightly faster earlier—pumpkin porridge, konjac salad…
Without realizing it, his plate began filling with things she might actually manage to eat.
He examined each buffet dish carefully as if conducting an analysis.
“What else would she be able to eat…”
He sighed internally.
‘At this rate, there’s no point in coming to a buffet.’
Honestly, she was so high-maintenance.
Annoyingly so.
Yet for some reason, her inability to eat properly kept bothering him. It lingered in his mind.
‘Strange.’
Why was it so irritating to see her barely take a single bite?
As he carefully added pumpkin porridge to the plate, he returned to the table.
When he looked toward where Yeo Jaekyung was sitting, he paused.
She was staring at something.
He began walking over but stopped.
‘What is she looking at?’
Her gaze had been fixed on one spot for a while.
Seotaeju followed her line of sight.
‘That is…’
Sushi.
What she had been unable to take her eyes off was a stack of sushi being eaten by a man and woman at the next table.
One of Seotaeju’s eyebrows rose.
‘Oh?’
He turned around and changed direction.
Striding firmly, he headed straight toward the Japanese food section.
Thud.
The sound of a plate being placed in front of her made Yeo Jaekyung lift her head.
“I’m back.”
Seotaeju smiled and spread his hands above the plate.
“Yeo Jaekyung. I specially selected this for you.”
She looked at him suspiciously, then at the plate. Her eyes narrowed.
It was filled neatly with various kinds of sashimi and sushi, arranged like a full Japanese course meal transferred onto one plate.
On the side plates were mustard sauce, soy sauce, pickled ginger, and even mini udon.
He had even added Korean dishes, bringing three plates in total.
‘Perfect.’
Seotaeju sensed success when he saw her jaw twitch.
Her eyes lit up at the sushi.
But despite her expression, she still rejected it immediately.
Squeak.
She pushed the plate away and glared at him.
“What is this? Why are you doing things I didn’t ask for?”
Squeak.
Seotaeju pushed it back toward her.
“Why do you think?”
He smirked.
“Have you heard the saying ‘the rich get richer’? I’m here to get my money’s worth at this buffet. So eat more. Properly. With full effort.”
Squeak.
She pushed it away again.
“I’m already full. I don’t think I need this.”
Squeak.
“You’ve eaten three bites of konjac, a small handful of greens, and half a bowl of pumpkin porridge. Do you really think that’s enough calories for an adult woman?”
Squeak.
“I’ve had enough. Thank you.”
Squeak.
“From my perspective, your protein intake looks severely lacking. Eat more. There’s plenty here—tuna, salmon, flounder. Full of vitamins too.”
As the back-and-forth seemed endless, Yeo Jaekyung finally raised her brows.
“What are you trying to do?”
“What do you mean what? I’m just eating together with you. Don’t you know Korean warmth—sharing rice soup, all dipping spoons into one pot of stew? This is just plate sharing.”
He lifted his chin arrogantly.
“You said you wanted to get closer to me, didn’t you? That’s what this is. Friendship. People bond by eating together. Ever heard of ‘sharing a meal under one roof’?”
With his ridiculous reasoning, Yeo Jaekyung let out a hollow laugh.
Her gaze flicked to the plate.
The sushi looked glossy and fresh.
She swallowed unconsciously.
The image of her strict breakfast diet resurfaced, making her even hungrier.
‘How did he know I wanted sushi…?’
She shot him a sidelong glance.
“I’m not eating it. Absolutely not.”
“Really? Not even a little?”
She refused, but it had no effect.
No matter how sharply she glared at him, he wasn’t even slightly fazed.
Seotaeju picked up a shrimp sushi topped with tender fish and popped it into his mouth.
Watching him, her mouth slightly opened.
‘That looks good.’
A thought she had always forbidden herself from having slipped in.
She was startled internally and quickly hardened her resolve.
‘What am I even thinking…’
But another thought slowly crept in.
‘…Maybe just one or two bites would be okay?’
As if reading her mind, Seotaeju spoke firmly.
“If you don’t eat it, I’ll eat it all.”
At that, Yeo Jaekyung’s chopsticks slowly moved.
“…I’ll just taste it.”
“Sure. Just taste it.”
Seotaeju replied with a sly smile.
‘Cute.’
He thought it absentmindedly, then flinched at his own thought. He cleared his throat and slid the plate closer to her.
