Ch.140Mimosa 2

I flipped the meat meticulously, as if torturing an opponent.

At last, it’s complete.

A perfectly browned steak.

Asparagus drizzled with smooth olive oil.

And even store-bought demi-glace sauce—the most expensive one I could find.

My very first creation…

<Steak Tenderloin Made by Jeoksa>

Grade: ★★☆ (Average)

Effect: When consumed, gradually recovers 30% stamina over 1 minute.

Information: A steak Jeoksa made after much trial and error. The doneness is off and the cooking method is terrible, but it’s infused with sincerity made with Siho in mind. Isn’t this what a steak made by a father usually tastes like?

“…”

I didn’t say anything.

I simply handed the plate of steak to Siho in silence.

“Team Leader Han, what about me?”

The Vice Chairwoman asked me with her chin resting on her hand.

Along with a playful smile.

At work, she’s a ranker with overwhelming presence and reliability…

But today, she felt like a mischievous younger cousin interfering between Siho and me.

“This is Ilsim Penthouse, are there any available chefs right now…?”

I casually turned on my phone and called one of the restaurants I manage.

The Vice Chairwoman shook her head and spoke in a somewhat sulky tone.

“No, no—not catering! I want to eat a steak made by our Team Leader Han too.”

“I apologize, Vice Chairwoman. I didn’t prepare enough meat…”

“Vice Chairwoman, you can share with me. I can’t eat much these days anyway…”

“Oh my, no. Our daughter-in-law needs to eat well when she’s not feeling well.”

Only then did the Vice Chairwoman wave her hand, saying it was just a joke.

And she urged Siho to go ahead and eat.

“I guess I’ll head to Black Death Kimbap Heaven—”

The Vice Chairwoman, befitting a 30-year-old woman, was quick to read the room.

Despite looking so young, she winked at me with experienced eyes and pretended to take a call from Black Death as she went outside.

Thank you, Vice Chairwoman…

Thanks to her leaving, I could focus on Siho again.

I’m curious too.

How Siho will react to my first dish…

I’m more accustomed to handling human flesh than cooking like this, so it was surely clumsy.

Still…

I want to hear directly from her.

Siho gently brushed her hair back.

This revealed her slender neck.

I wanted to bite that plump neck hard.

But when Park Shin-ae’s mark wrapped around her nape became visible, that desire vanished completely.

“…”

Siho took the meat into her mouth with her elongated canines.

And at that moment…

The dullness in Siho’s eyes began to shine.

Having regained her light, she swallowed the meat and looked up at me intently.

“Is the taste okay…?”

My heart pounded as I asked.

Was this how Siho felt whenever she mixed cocktails for me?

I deeply regret dropping that glass on the floor and saying it was terrible the first day we met.

Soon her moist lips parted.

Siho spoke to me softly in a small voice.

“It’s so delicious…”

She covered her lips with the back of her hand.

She kept nodding as if it was still delicious after another bite.

“Really…?”

“Yes. This is the best meat I’ve ever had.”

I couldn’t help but chuckle at what seemed like a formal compliment.

I held back my laughter and firmly shook my head.

“I’m sure it is. It’s expensive tenderloin after all.”

“No…”

Siho hesitated as if trying to choose the right reaction.

As she struggled to express herself, her eyes eventually reddened instead of answering.

Finally, she spoke with a choked voice.

“Do I deserve to be this happy…”

My brow furrowed at her suddenly melancholic appearance.

I put down the tongs I was holding and knelt before Siho.

“What’s wrong…? Is it about yesterday again?”

Have I failed again?

I can’t even comfort my woman properly; I still have so far to go.

As I was feeling frustrated inside, I suddenly noticed her trembling lips.

And in that moment, a memory came to mind.

On the day I was scolded by my father, he grilled me a hamburger steak and said to my dejected self:

‘Surin, food has a mysterious power.’

‘It can melt even the hardest of hearts.’

‘And it can easily solve what seemed like impossible problems.’

Just as my father said, a change came over Siho.

She finally began to pour out with tears what seemed like a secret she would keep from me forever.

“Jeoksa…”

The kitchen that should have been filled with happiness became a sea of Siho’s tears.

I wiped her tears directly with tissues.

“Yes, cry if you want to. Let it all out and talk slowly.”

Only after using three tissues was she finally able to calm down.

Though she stopped crying, she was still hiccupping.

But unlike the emptiness of days past, her eyes had regained their vitality.

Eventually, Siho looked up at me intently.

And she spoke softly.

“Do you remember the night when everyone stayed over at my place?”

“Yes, you mean what happened on the balcony?”

“Yes…”

She wore an expression of liberation, as if trying to untangle a knot in her heart.

And with trembling hands, she clasped my palm.

“That secret from then. Can I tell you now…?”

“I’m ready. For anything.”

I interlocked our fingers.

And slowly kissed her cheek to reassure her.

Her eyelids trembled.

Siho cleared her throat and placed her other hand on her chest.

“Actually… the person inside here isn’t the girl named Han Siho.”

“Not Han Siho… What do you mean by that?”

My red eyes flashed.

Siho lowered her head as if frightened.

And mumbled in a small voice.

“I’m actually someone else who possessed this girl…”

“Possessed?”

“Yes… and Senior Jisu was my colleague before I possessed her.”

At first, I couldn’t understand what she was saying at all.

Possession… I’ve never heard of such an ability in my life.

“Then, are you saying the Siho who reminded me of memories with my father is different from who you are now?”

“No, that’s not it…! The Siho you knew then is still me!”

“How can I believe that?”

“It’s true, I’ve been possessing this child since long before I first met you.”

Perhaps due to the sudden information.

Siho felt unfamiliar to me.

But I clearly promised with my own mouth.

To believe whatever Siho said.

So I should believe her for now.

If I want to repay all the love I’ve received from this child.

I gripped our interlocked fingers tighter.

Then gradually, a soft light began to emanate from Siho’s hand.

I stared blankly at Siho, as if entranced by that light.

Her tear-filled black eyes rippled like the night sea.

I sank into that surface.

And gradually, I was able to glimpse her emotions, and her memories.

“—.”

At first, I just wanted to make money with cocktails, so I went to Ilsim.

And there, I met Jeoksa for the first time, with her beautiful face and intimidating eyes that didn’t match.

Her red eyes were very frightening at first.

Plus, her brutal ability to collect corpses…

I deeply regretted seeking her out.

I just wanted to run away.

But… when I peeked at her memories with Angelic Hand…

The moment I saw her love, regret, and longing for her father, I realized Jeoksa was human too.

And… I wanted to comfort her.

At the time, I thought healing her emotional wounds was more important than the guilt of deceiving her.

Fortunately, she began to heal little by little through my cocktails.

I thought everything was going well, but…

When did it start?

I got used to wearing stockings and reaching for alcohol with my small height…

But no matter how much time passed, I could never get used to the feeling of deceiving Jeoksa and Anna whenever I saw them.

No.

In fact, I might really be deceiving them.

Because I never told them that I peeked at their memories.

I just understood their sorrows and hardships and made cocktails accordingly.

At first, I was happy seeing Jeoksa and Anna happy.

But would they still like me if they knew I had peeked at their memories?

Moreover, if they knew I wasn’t just an ordinary girl…

But a failed male healer from a previous life, would they still understand?

Whenever that doubt surged like a wave, I was plagued with guilt.

Like walking precariously on a tightrope for a lifetime.

And finally, an event occurred that brought those feelings to a peak.

Senior Jisu…

My first love who gave me advice so I could survive.

She was alive.

Trapped in a glass tube as experimental material.

I wanted to save her.

I wanted to save her and take revenge on those who made us like this.

But it seemed impossible with just my meager strength.

So…

At first, I thought about asking Anna and Jeoksa for help.

They’re strong and they like me.

But… but…

That would be using them.

Even if I’m a possessor…

I love everyone I’ve met in this life.

I want to be happy with them forever.

To do that, I need to solve this myself.

I’ll save my senior with my own strength and be happy with everyone.

With that determination, I headed alone to the deep underground laboratory.

And…

“—.”

In the end, I was caught.

I rescued my senior, but I couldn’t escape.

The poison I made is being injected into my body.

Every time that cold liquid flows through my veins, my whole body shivers.

Is this how I’ll lose all my memories?

I was scared.

And at that moment, two people I never wanted to forget came to mind.

It wasn’t Senior Jisu whom I had just rescued.

It was Anna and Jeoksa who had always been by my side.

Their faces flickered in my mind.

Help me…

I don’t want to forget…!

“Han Siho’s memory ends.”

I came to my senses.

Yes, this feeling… I remember.

The day Siho first made me a Red Eye.

I unknowingly fell into a nap.

But that was an illusion.

It was the power of Angelic Hand.

I squeezed my eyes shut and slowly opened them.

At that moment, what I saw was a girl cupping her cheek with my palm.

Just as pure-faced as when I first saw her.

Despite peeking at her memories like a film, she’s still the lovable Han Siho to me.

“Jeoksa…”

“…”

“Will you forgive me?”

Siho mumbles in a plaintive voice.

That voice, barely squeezed out after clearing the lump in her throat.

Hearing that voice… my eyes reddened without me realizing.

I hadn’t cried since my father died…

Perhaps it was because I glimpsed the pain Siho had been through.

My chest ached unbearably.

Just like…

How Siho saw my memories and empathized with me, I was acting exactly the same way toward her.

“So this is how it felt.”

One doubt that had been imprinted in my body was finally resolved.

The reason I had liked Siho all this time.

I found the answer.

I didn’t like this child just because she was pretty.

A heart like my father’s that listens to others and empathizes with them.

That’s what I loved.

It never mattered who she was in her past life.

My mind calms.

I wanted to say this answer directly.

But…

Sometimes we substitute words that are hard to explain with a drink.

I learned that fact from a certain person.

From the small bartender at Moment…

“Siho.”

I whispered to her in a gentle voice.

By now, Siho’s light had transferred to my hand.

“I’ll make you a cocktail.”

‘Just like you did for me.’

I took out the cocktail ingredients I had bought.

And for the first time in my life, I poured a drink for someone else.

Although I knew nothing about bartending, it didn’t matter.

I was simply doing this for the girl who had made me happy all this time.

In a clean glass…

Pour about half of tangy orange juice. (1/2 of the glass.)

Then open a smooth bottle of champagne.

Carefully pour the champagne over the juice (1/2) so the foam doesn’t overflow.

Cut some orange peel from home for garnish…

<Mimosa>

Grade: ★★★★★ (Epic)

Effect: Permanently increases Composure by 20.

Information: A cocktail Jeoksa made after carefully researching online. Made for Siho who was very troubled after revealing her secret. And it’s a sincere answer to her confession.

Mimosa is a cocktail named after a flower.

And its flower language is… friendship and sensitive feelings.