episode_0121

“Here, this is a gift.”

After paying for his sunglasses and leaving the eyewear store, author Lee Young-woo casually handed something to me. Taken aback, I accepted it and found a shopping bag.

“I just bought it, so don’t feel burdened to use it since it’s not expensive.”

Use it? What is it?

When I took it out, it was a black baseball cap.

“You mentioned being conscious of people’s stares. If you only wear sunglasses, it’s obvious that you’re trying to show off like a celebrity. Of course, Do-yeon isn’t a celebrity, but she has that presence. So, I just bought it on a whim.”

Indeed, it was a practical design from a fast-fashion brand that wasn’t high-end.

“T-Thank you.”

Unexpectedly receiving a gift, there was a touching feeling that pierced my heart.

“But when did you go and buy this?”

“Well, actually…”

“Oh! Was it when you went to the restroom and left your seat empty for a moment?”

While I was busy choosing sunglasses, author Lee Young-woo suddenly went to the restroom for about 10 minutes. Logically, he must have bought it while choosing sunglasses because there was no other time he could have bought it.

“Haha, yes. At that time. Would you like to try it on quickly?”

At his urging words, I put on the baseball cap.

“How does it look? Does it hide your presence a bit?”

Saying that, I also put on the sunglasses that I had just paid for, with the receipt still fresh, costing 269,000 won.

Observing my appearance, author Lee Young-woo.

“To be honest… um…”

Suppressing the urge to look away, his eyes kept flickering down and then quickly back up.

He didn’t say anything, but I could understand what he meant.

“Ah… I see.”

“Yes… Well, it’s just that. Since most of a person’s impression comes from their face, and your face is mostly covered, it’s hard to recognize you. At least the impression that you might be a celebrity is gone.”

Well, that’s fortunate enough. My heart won’t shrink unless I undergo breast reduction surgery.

“Phew, anyway. I’ll gratefully make good use of the cap. Thank you so much. Hehe.”

Honestly, at my age, receiving gifts feels both close and distant. Whether it’s holiday gifts or gifts from business partners, receiving various gifts is a common thing as a member of society.

But are you really happy when you receive them? To be honest, it’s not really happiness, more like feeling good? That’s mostly where it ends. In short, it’s saying that there’s not much excitement.

Well, most of it was pretentious, so it was natural. Since the desire wasn’t to give a gift, but rather a ‘need’ to give, there wasn’t much joy in it.

Is there anyone who feels joy in giving and receiving gifts based on necessity? Isn’t it just like buying and selling things with money?

Anyway, that was society, and that was the gift.

Therefore, I was very grateful for the gift he offered.

“If you feel good giving it, then it must be a great gift.”

If the giver is happy with the gift, then it must be an even better gift.

Did his heartfelt intention have an effect? After that, the number of glances directed at me noticeably decreased.

Before wearing the sunglasses and cap, about 8 out of 10 people would glance at me, but now it’s only 1 or 2? And even then, it was mostly men, and their gaze was directed at my chest, not my face.

“The effect is definitely significant. I feel much more comfortable than before.”

“Haha, then that’s a relief.”

After briefly exploring the first floor with the eyewear store, we finally headed to the movie theater just 5 minutes before the movie started.

“Since you bought the meal, I’ll get the popcorn and drinks.”

“Pardon?”

I felt a strange thrill seeing his pleasantly surprised expression, as if he was asking what nonsense I was talking about.

“Oh, well. It’s just common courtesy. If one person pays for the meal, the other person buys the coffee.”

“Yes, yes? But that’s not really nece-”

“Anyway! Since I’m buying, think about what flavor you’d like.”

As I grew older, I found myself naturally losing the desire to have snacks while watching movies, or craving a specific drink. Maybe it was because I didn’t frequent movie theaters as much as before. But since I was here at the cinema for the first time in a while, indulging in some popcorn or squid legs wouldn’t hurt.

“But, what do you mean by flavor? Oh! Are you talking about caramel popcorn? I’m not a fan of sweet things, so I think a savory flavor would be nice.”

There was something pure about him, but at times he gave off an old-fashioned vibe, this author, Lee Yeong-woo.

I understand. I wasn’t interested in those things before either.

Well, in the end, it’s just random knowledge we pick up as we get closer to the younger generation.

“Nowadays, popcorn comes in various flavors. There’s cheese, onion, and even kimchi flavor.”

Honestly, I was surprised when I first heard about it.

Of course, as someone in the food industry, I was aware of food trends, but when I heard about kimchi popcorn, I thought they had crossed a line.

Just like how castella cakes and brown sugar products had their moment, there was a trend in the food industry where once something became popular, various food items followed suit, only to disappear shortly after. Shine Muscat grapes became popular, and then there were Shine Muscat-flavored chocolate pies, castella cakes, fruit pies, and so on, but now, they seemed to have disappeared.

With the introduction of a kimchi seasoning product, snacks sprinkled with that seasoning started popping up everywhere.

And the end result was kimchi popcorn.

When I heard the name, I thought it was a strange combination, but after trying it while watching a movie with the kids, I couldn’t help but be amazed.

It was understandable.

“Is it delicious?!”

The expression on his face now was exactly how I looked when I first tried it.

When Lee Yeong-woo first heard about kimchi popcorn, his expression was filled with disgust, but after actually trying it, all those prejudices disappeared, and he was simply amazed, casually picking up a popcorn kernel and examining it.

“Why is this…?”

Without even being able to utter the words “Is it delicious?”, he simply stared at me with a dazed expression, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar experience.

I thought about the birth of kimchi seasoning, the boom of kimchi seasoning products, and the trends and practices in the food development industry.

It may have been a trivial piece of information, but considering his request to me and the theme of the work he was currently writing – a story about food – it would surely be a helpful story for him as well.

“Well… you can easily find information like that with a quick search on the internet.”

He had once told me something. ‘A writer must be a jack of all trades,’ or something like that, right?

In the literary world, they may be called writers like themselves, but those who weave stories like them are not deep and narrow-minded people, but rather shallow and widespread individuals. In other words, the term ‘hack’ he mentioned refers to a tribe that diligently gathers various knowledge from various fields and neatly weaves them together.

Ultimately, his job is to blend all experiences, knowledge, and thoughts into one form called a work.

It was quite a fancy way of putting it.

Of course, the sight of him marveling at a single piece of popcorn and making a foolish expression was a bit… too familiar, but still.

“Indeed, there’s nothing quite like experiencing things firsthand. Thanks to you, I had a very good experience.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. But, I didn’t expect that a bucket of popcorn and two drinks would cost almost as much as a meal.”

“It’s also lacking in romance. I used to enjoy the smell of grilled squid, dried fish, fried sweet potato sticks, and silkworm pupae in front of the movie theater in the city.”

“Oh, and they used to roll up newspapers into cone shapes and serve snacks in them.”

“Haha, you know about that.”

Indeed, as people age, they tend to reminisce about the past. When old stories that are relatable come up, a warm feeling arises, and the conversation continued without interruption.

-Knock knock

“Excuse me. Could you please keep it down? The movie is about to start soon.”

Until someone in the back seat interrupted our conversation.

Feeling embarrassed for no reason, I quickly apologized and maintained silence for a moment, only to glance at each other.

“Kick! Cough cough.”

“Gah!”

Laughing for no reason, it was no secret that we pinched each other’s thighs to hold back the laughter. Me, and the writer Lee Young-woo.

And just as we barely made it through the crisis and the laughter subsided, the movie finally began.