Ch.16I love you, Dad. Give me allowance. (1)

A man’s word is worth a thousand pieces of gold.

As a man of honor, Ban Do-young,

Even if I’ve become a BL character, I keep my promises.

Because a promise is a promise. Hmm.

“Welcome to Salinda Tonkatsu. Two student customers. Please have a seat at this table.”

The kid Doha-min and I visited a tonkatsu restaurant in town as promised before our blood donation.

When my bank balance showed 6,974 won, I was worried, but thankfully, we miraculously found a place selling tonkatsu for 6,500 won.

Considering a movie ticket costs 15,000 won,

solving the cost of two tickets with one tonkatsu is quite the bargain.

“Here’s your nostalgic King Tonkatsu. Where should I place it?”

“Ah, please put it in front of this guy. Thank you, owner.”

A steaming hot tonkatsu was placed on the table in front of Doha-min.

A generous portion of Western-style tonkatsu topped with sweet demi-glace sauce sat abundantly on the plate.

“By the way, will you be alright, student? Even a King Tonkatsu might not be enough for two growing students. Shouldn’t each of you order one to eat your fill?”

“Ah, I’m fine. I’m not really craving tonkatsu that much.”

That’s a lie.

There’s no man who dislikes tonkatsu.

Of course, no woman dislikes it either.

“Or you could order a simple side dish. Our Cajun salad is delicious too.”

“Hey now, owner. If you’re selling not just regular tonkatsu but King Tonkatsu for just 6,500 won, wouldn’t that make people suspicious of the taste? I’ll feed my lab rat here first, and if it’s delicious, I’ll order another one.”

“L-lab rat…?”

“Now that I hear it, that makes sense. You’re as smart as you are good-looking.”

“Right? Doha-min, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and try it.”

“Fair enough. Try it first, and if it’s good, order more and leave a good review on SNS. My wife’s tonkatsu is truly a work of art. Enjoy your meal and please leave a good review, students?”

The owner flashed a winking smile with a thumbs up before returning to the kitchen.

“Phew… finally he’s gone.”

I somehow managed to gloss over the fact that I had no more money.

Now once Doha-min finishes eating, I’ll make up some excuse and leave without ordering more.

Something like the meat wasn’t evenly cooked, so it’s disappointing.

“Cheap is nice, but I don’t really like restaurants where they talk to you while you’re eating. Don’t you think?”

“Ah, but he doesn’t seem like a bad person… He seems to have a good relationship with his wife too.”

“A restaurant owner is a good person as long as they cook well.”

“Um… by the way.”

Doha-min looked down at the tonkatsu placed in front of him.

“Why did you only order one for me?”

He asked me without picking up his fork and knife.

“I told you. I said I’d buy you a meal after the blood donation. I kept my promise.”

“No, but why just me… If you’re short on money, I can pay.”

“What? You said you didn’t have money. Don’t tell me you lied because you didn’t want to see a movie with me?”

“No, no…! It’s not that! Maybe you should put down your fork and knife first while we talk?”

Doha-min panicked, waving his hands.

I took a deep breath and put down the fork and knife I had taken out from under the table.

“I just feel bad eating alone… Even if it’s not enough for a movie, at least one meal…”

“That’s enough. How dare you try to make the great Ban Do-young into some freeloader who not only sucks other people’s blood to watch movies but also mooches meals.”

Breaking our promise to meet because of lack of money versus

forcing the meeting even if it meant throwing in the variable of blood donation.

Considering which option would damage Doha-min’s affection less,

I chose to keep the promise even if there were risks.

If our first appointment couldn’t be properly fulfilled,

it would surely crack the trust between us for future schedules.

After lecturing Doha-min about the importance of trust between us

over mango-flavored cola, what good would it do if I didn’t keep my word?

“Eat quickly. It’s going to get cold.”

Of course, it was a dangerous gamble.

A girl who said she’d pay for the movie suddenly takes you to a blood donation center on the day of the appointment without prior agreement.

Even the world’s most beautiful Ban Do-young could easily lose affection points with such behavior.

And then to have promised to pay but claim to have no money and try to mooch a meal?

If I were Doha-min, I would have delivered a karate chop to Ban Do-young’s neck regardless of who she was.

That’s why I couldn’t casually rely on Doha-min’s help here.

If only to prevent a karate chop from landing on the delicate neck of Miss Ban Do-young.

“You… you were saying you were hungry until just now. If it’s about money, I can pay—”

“Oh my, do you think I’m doing this because I don’t have money? Even for a growing student, this figure doesn’t maintain itself for free.”

The truth was simply that I didn’t have enough money,

but I rejected his offer using the diet excuse.

Well, it’s not entirely untrue.

This body is just something I’m borrowing until the ending comes.

I should use it well and return it properly to avoid criticism.

I don’t want to be held responsible if Ban Do-young becomes a pudgy middle-aged woman in 10 or 20 years.

“…Are you really doing this because of a diet?”

“Of course, why else would I drink only zero lime cola if I wasn’t so conscious about calories?”

“From what I can see, you don’t have anything to lose.”

“Pfft…!”

I couldn’t help but laugh at Doha-min’s unintentional flirting.

“What’s so funny?”

“Oh my. Are you trying to flirt with me?”

“No, I really think that…”

“I know, you wouldn’t say something you don’t mean.”

If it were the ‘real’ Ban Do-young, she might have been pleased to hear that.

If it were the ‘real’ Ban Do-young, that is.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay without eating?”

“I told you I am. What else could it be? Does our Doha-min want to turn the graceful young lady in front of him into a pot-bellied ajumma?”

“…There you go again, deflecting with jokes.”

“Heheh. I don’t want to be called a thug by Sahyang and Hyerang at school, so you eat a lot. Leave a good review as the owner said.”

I personally placed the knife and fork on Doha-min’s table,

then poured cold water into my cup and drank it.

“Ahh… the water here is the most delicious.”

“…”

Doha-min still hadn’t touched the plate in front of him.

“Why aren’t you eating? Is the meat not cooked properly?”

“…No.”

-Grumble

Doha-min got up and headed to the kitchen where the owner was.

A moment later, he returned with an apron to protect his white clothes and a side plate for the meat.

“What are you trying to do?”

Doha-min cut half of the tonkatsu in chunks

and then cut it again into bite-sized pieces.

“…Take it.”

Doha-min handed me the side plate he had brought.

On the plate were neatly arranged tonkatsu and salad.

It was slightly less than half of what had been on his plate.

“I didn’t put too much. For now… since you said you’re on a diet.”

“What are you doing? I told you to eat it all.”

“It’s okay, I ate breakfast.”

“Still, no. Do you really want to make me a thug?”

-Slide

At my somewhat forceful question, his hand that was slightly extending the plate started to pull back,

-Slide

but he silently pushed the side plate toward me while avoiding my eyes.

“…As long as it’s not just mooching, it’s fine.”

“Huh?”

“Then I’ll give you half of this, so grant me one favor. That way it’s not mooching, right?”

“Hoho… are you trying to make a deal with me now?”

“I-I don’t want to be treated just as a lab rat either. If King Tonkatsu is 6,500 won, then… the sauce might taste like mango cola. I don’t want to be solely responsible for that.”

“…That makes sense. Give it here.”

Persuaded by Doha-min’s logic, I pulled the tonkatsu he offered toward me.

“I guess there’s no choice. If you dislike being treated as a lab rat so much, I’ll have to share the responsibility with you.”

I took out a new fork from the table,

and put the tonkatsu we ordered together into my mouth.

“How is it…? Is water still the most delicious thing in this restaurant?”

“…Sigh, I was planning not to come back because the owner keeps talking to us. But now I’ll have to come again.”

The tonkatsu here was delicious.

Much more than I had expected.

.

.

.

“Thank you, please come again!”

We finished sharing the one tonkatsu and left the restaurant.

I honestly told the owner that it was delicious but we couldn’t order more because we were short on money, and promised to come back.

I couldn’t make up a petty excuse to a chef who presented such excellent cooking.

“The owner is a good person, right?”

“A restaurant owner who cooks well is indeed a good person.”

“Thank you… Thanks to you, I had fun today. I experienced something new and got a meal.”

“So, what’s that favor you mentioned earlier?”

“…Huh?”

I grabbed Doha-min’s shoulder and asked him.

Somehow, I felt that if I pretended not to know, this guy would leave for the station without mentioning the favor.

“I appreciate your effort in making up ridiculous excuses to feed me meat, so I’ll specially grant it. What exactly was the favor you wanted to ask me?”

“Ah… it’s nothing special, just something I wanted to ask.”

“What is it? Cup size? Chest measurement? Bra size?”

“Th-those are all the same thing! And that’s not what I was going to ask!”

“Heheh. If not that, then what? Don’t tell me you want measurements of an even more intimate part—”

“…Birthday.”

“Huh?”

At the unexpected answer that came out of his mouth,

I momentarily forgot what I was about to say and was at a loss for words.

“I told you my birthday, but I still haven’t heard when yours is.”

“Oh, oh…”

Honestly, Doha-min’s attack just now was a bit dangerous.

“Oh my…”

As expected of the protagonist.

I never thought the birthday conversation that started on the first day of school

would come back to kick me now.

“When is it? Can you tell me your birthday?”

“I won’t tell you.”

It was a good sign.

It meant he was developing curiosity about Ban Do-young.

But why?

I felt inexplicably petty.

I just didn’t like the feeling of being one-upped by Doha-min.

“It wouldn’t be fun to reveal such precious information for just half a tonkatsu.”

“Wh-what? You just asked me directly…”

“Heheh, I’ll give you a hint instead.”

The role of the attacker is mine, not yours, Doha-min.

To remind him of this once more, I whispered in his ear.

“…It’s ‘Virgo’.”

Try to guess it.

Before it passes by.