WIRHIHWS 04

Episode 4

The food for dinner was, of course, the Korean beef set he bought from the mart.
Personally, he thinks you don’t need many side dishes when eating beef.
Strong seasonings actually ruin the flavor of the beef. Just having kimchi is enough.
Or should I make a quick-seasoned salad with a bit of red pepper powder?
He opened the refrigerator door.

“Oh, there’s just the right water kimchi? Then I won’t need the quick salad.”

Instead of a spicy red pepper powder seasoning, it was a watery kimchi made  with large slices of dried red pepper for a slight spicy kick and large chunks of cool radish.
Made in his father’s style, it was one of Yun Yeon-woo’s favorite side dishes.

“Then… there’s not much to prepare.”

Rustle!
He took out the soybean sprouts, green onions, onions, garlic, peppers, lettuce, etc., bought along with the Korean set at Hanaro Mart earlier.
He would make a cool soybean sprout soup , and the rest just needed to be washed clean and peeled.
He could skewer the vegetables and eat them as kebabs.
Lettuce was, of course, for wrapping.

‘The pot, where’s the pot… Ah, here it is.’

Since it had been so long since he was here, he didn’t even know where the pots were.
What other unfilial son is like this?
Shaking his head to cast off the negative thoughts, he filled the pot with clear water. Then he added a few dried anchovies from the freezer and about two small pieces of dried kelp, and closed the lid.

Click, click, click!
He turned the gas valve and turned the flame to high.
He had to wait a bit for the water to boil and the broth to form.
During the remaining time, he prepped the other ingredients.

‘The soybean sprouts are pretty good.’

Tsururut!
He tore open the plastic bag and took out the soybean sprouts.
Placing the sprouts in a silver stainless-steel bowl, he turned on the water.
As the cold water slowly filled, the skins and withered roots of the sprouts floated up.
He cleaned those off and simply rubbed off any possible skins on the bean parts with his fingers.
Setting the prepared sprouts aside, he finely chopped the green part of a large green onion and a pepper.
Then he took out about five cloves of garlic, pressed them firmly with the side of the knife, and bang! smashed them with his fist to mince the garlic.

‘Perfect timing, it’s boiling.’

The clear broth bubbled, emitting white steam.
Into it, he added the salted fermented shrimp (paste) from home, the minced garlic, soup soy sauce, and the soybean sprouts, and boiled it for 5 minutes on medium heat.

And the finishing touch!
He added the chopped green onion and pepper and simmered it on low heat.
If it seems a bit bland at this point, adding a little seasoning salt or MSG makes it better.

Another 5 minutes like that.
He scooped up a spoonful of the finished soybean sprout soup to taste.

“Hmm! Delicious.”

The soybean sprouts, still crisp and not soggy.
The thinly sliced pepper and green onion added a fresh color to the soup, pleasing to the eye.
The savory taste of the anchovies and kelp stimulated his tongue and nose.

“Haha. Was this soup always this delicious?”

Soybean sprout soup was a dish he often made and ate in the dormitory.
Because it could be made quickly, was good as a drinking snack, and for hangovers.
It was tasty enough back then too, but somehow.
The one he made now was incomparably more delicious than back then.

“Is it because I have leisure now?”

Well, when making it in the dormitory, his memories were mostly of boiling it quickly to fill his stomach before work, or making it with alcohol after work when he felt exhausted.
The difference between then and now was leisure.
Having worked without ever properly resting, he couldn’t understand it before.
Now he realized why people say resting is important.
He could feel happiness even in such small things.

“Ah, they’ll be here soon.”

Checking the time, it was already 6:20.
Yun Yeon-woo put the soybean sprout soup in the refrigerator.

And several tens of minutes later.

Beep beep beep!
The sound of the door opening was heard.

“No, I’m telling you today! Huh……?”
“Huh? What’s with the reaction? Did you see a ghost? Huh?”

His father and mother came in.
Simultaneously, they made faces as if they had seen a ghost.

“……Our Yeon-woo must have died.”
“I didn’t know he’d come back as a ghost……”

And with sad expressions, the two uttered nonsense.

“Really, is that all you say to a son who’s come home after so long?”

Huh, he smiled at that sight.
He had kept his visit a secret to see this reaction.
He was really glad he kept it a secret.

“I’m home.”

He approached the two with bewildered expressions and hugged them tightly.
Then his parents were startled but soon patted Yun Yeon-woo’s back softly with bright smiles.

“Oh, oh?”
“Welcome. Son, you really play mischievous pranks well, taking after someone.”

Clearly, even when he was discharged from the military, hugging both of them at once was very difficult.
But now, the two could fit into Yun Yeon-woo’s embrace.

It meant they had aged and grown thin.
His heart swelled for a moment.

“Let’s eat together after so long.”

Holding his father’s and mother’s hands tightly, he led them to the kitchen.
Their hands were wrinkled and rough.

“Wow! Yeon-woo, as expected, takes after his father, not his mother, so he cooks really well! He could sell this, it’s so good? Delicious, Yeon-woo.”
“Indeed. He must have inherited his grandfather’s cooking touch.”

His father laughed, showing his teeth.
Simultaneously, he naturally moved his hands.
Taking a well-washed lettuce leaf, he placed two roasted garlic cloves from the skewers inside, added two pieces of deliciously cooked beef, and wrapped it into a ssam.

“Son, let me feed you after so long.”
“I’m an adult now. Father, you eat more.”
“Ah! My shoulder feels like it’s going to fall off! If Yeon-woo doesn’t eat it, my shoulder will fall off!”

Playing such a joke, his father pushed the sam closer.

“……Then, I’ll eat it well.”

In the end, unable to refuse, he opened his mouth.
The roughly fed ssam.
He chewed the very hearty ssam filling his mouth.

Crunch crunch!
The texture of the lettuce, the aroma of roasted garlic, the tender meat, and even his father’s satisfied expression.
It was a flavor stimulating his eyes, nose, and mouth.
The lettuce, which must have been cold from refrigeration, felt warm for some reason.

“So son, what brings you down here? Did you take a vacation? Then you should have told us. We would have gone up. And this Hanwoo, wasn’t it too expensive? I feel sorry, as if we took your living expenses.”

His mother, who had been smiling while watching that, asked.

“You could say I’m on a very long vacation. And don’t worry too much about the price. It’s not even like I spent money on this level.”
“Long vacation? Son, were you fired by any chance?”
“I wasn’t fired. I resigned and came down.”

Yun Yeon-woo said as if it were nothing.
But hearing that, the two’s faces darkened.

“Ah, son. Did something difficult happen?”
“Huh? No.”
“You absolutely must not make bad choices!”
“……Huh?”
“Yes. Son! You absolutely must not have bad thoughts. Understood?”

With those words, his father and mother began a joint attack.
For several tens of minutes, he heard strange talk.
Listening, he realized the two had misunderstood something.
It seemed they had watched a documentary about youth depression or something similar.

“Son, they said if a person changes suddenly, they die.”

It seemed they were concerned that he, who had acted like he would work his whole life, resigned without a word.
You know how it is, like putting all your affairs in order before dying.
They seemed to have overlapped Yun Yeon-woo’s appearance with the documentary’s content.

“Haha… first, look at this.”

Well, then, there’s no choice.
Yun Yeon-woo opened his banking app and showed the screen to his parents.

[Account: 2,800,317,290 won.]

The 2.7 billion won won from the lottery, plus 100 million won saved by setting aside 1 million won per month since he was 22 while living in the dormitory.
In total, there was about 2.8 billion won.

“Ah, son… you saved a lot of money. 280 million…!”

His father’s pupils trembled.
Perhaps because he was in humanities, he was weak at calculating money.

“Ah, no. Honey, wait a moment, 2.8 billion…?”

On the other hand, his mother, who was in sciences, realized instantly.
Thus, her voice trembled even more.

“Ah, son, where on earth did you earn such a large sum…? Did you sell organs illegally or something? Money isn’t everything, son. If you did, if you did that, even now we can have surgery again…”
“It’s not what you’re thinking. It’s just that I won the lottery, that’s all?”

Smiling, he slapped! the winning lottery ticket onto the table and spread it out.
And he picked up a few pieces of the now slightly cooled beef and put them in his mouth.

Munch munch.
As he chewed the meat, his father, who finally grasped the situation, let out a sigh of relief.

“Phew! Yeon-woo! If that was the case, you should have said so earlier! So that’s why you came down. Certainly, with 2.8 billion, it’s better to rest down here than work.”
“That’s about right. I also came down to do the filial duties I couldn’t do before.”
“You being healthy and living well is filial piety enough. Don’t try too hard to be filial.”
“Yes, yes, then I won’t be filial.”
“Hey! I didn’t tell you to become unfilial!”

His father and Yun Yeon-woo’s banter.
Hearing that, his mother, who had been dazed, snapped back to her senses.

“……If that’s the case, it’s a relief.”

Saying that, she smack! hit Yun Yeon-woo’s back hard enough to make a sound.
Ah, is this why they call it ‘back-hitting’ ?

“Ouch! It hurts!”
“Unfilial sons need to be hit a bit!”
“Ah!”

Like that, he was hit on the back several tens of times.
It hurt, but thanks to the thought that it came from his mother’s worry, even that was enjoyable.
The warmth on his back was surely his mother’s affection, right?

“So, what do you plan to do here now?”

I want to try cooking.
Not running a store or anything, but just relaxing and learning to cook.

But he didn’t say that.
Because wanting to try something doesn’t mean you can just do it.
After all, Yun Yeon-woo’s skill is only at the level of a decent cooking live-alone person.
So he changed the subject.

“Right, Father. What happened to the old countryside house where Grandma and Grandpa lived? Did you sell it by any chance?”
“No, we didn’t sell it. Why, do you want to live there?”
“Yes.”

There was the clue about the spirits, but it wasn’t just that.
Honestly, now that he’s down here, he wants to rest comfortably, and he wants to try various things there comfortably without worrying about others.

“Son, it’s hard to say this. But the old countryside house is really tough to live in. The house is old, so there are many places to fix, and there are really lots of bugs. And the ‘countryside hospitality’ is all a thing of the past.”

He knows that well.
Unless it’s a recently built house, houses built long ago are difficult to live in now.
The insulation isn’t proper, so it’s hot in summer and cold in winter.
You might think, ‘Can’t you just endure with an air conditioner and boiler?’
But if the insulation isn’t proper, it’s not much different from trying to fill a cracked pot with water.
You waste money and it’s hard to live comfortably.

“But it’s okay. You seem to have forgotten. We have enough money for remodeling.”

But so what?
If you remodel well, you can make an old, decrepit house like a modern one.
You can even tear it down and rebuild it.
Still, the countryside house is full of old memories, so he doesn’t want to tear it down and rebuild.

“Ah, that’s right?”

At Yun Yeon-woo’s words, his father nodded.

“Then, I’ll ask my friend to handle the remodeling. He’s a reliable guy, so he’ll do it properly and cheaply.”

It seemed his father had an acquaintance.

“Yes, then I’ll leave it to you.”

Like that, the family meal after so long.
After finishing the drinking session with his father that lasted all evening.

The next morning, Tuesday. Yun Yeon-woo woke up early.
Today’s goal was to go see the countryside house.