Seaweed Soup-1

“Would it be too negative to say that it’s just a repetition of the same pattern?”

The storm of incidents that had been raging subsided, and I quickly settled back into my routine.

Waking up in the morning to exercise, reading until lunch, and then exercising again in the evening.

Two months had passed since the day I rushed to the emergency room.

The autumn rain, which occasionally sprinkled and signaled the end of summer, no longer falls.

It must be a sign that the cold, dry winter is coming soon.

The surrounding scenery has changed a lot, and the temperature has also changed.

My jogging attire in the morning has also become much thicker than before.

Personally, I didn’t like wearing tight clothes, especially in my current condition, as it makes me uncomfortable. But Garam told me that exercising in the cold could narrow blood vessels and be dangerous, so I was forced to wear them.

If it’s that dangerous, I should just stop morning jogging…

Anyway, thanks to Garam’s constant management, my weight, which had been stagnant, dropped sharply again.

My weight is now teetering on the edge of double digits. I’m satisfied with barely avoiding triple digits.

I’ve been working out at the center again since last week.

Garam Fitness’s remodeling is complete. It just hasn’t opened yet.

“But hyung, have you had any problems lately?”

While waiting for our order, Ho-cheol asks.

I’ve been so preoccupied with Garam’s situation recently that I haven’t been able to focus on my main job. Ho-cheol caught me and suggested we get some work done, so we ended up meeting like this.

I thought I wouldn’t have anything to do since I left most of the work to Ho-cheol, but it turned out I still had some things to take care of.

So, I handled the backlog of work at my house early in the morning and came out for lunch like this.

When I told Garam that I would skip a workout because of Ho-cheol’s visit, Garam didn’t seem too happy about it…

“What problem?”

“Well, you know, Garam. She’s gotten a lot better, right?”

“Ah….”

The money was well spent, as the shabby-looking center has been transformed into a clean space.

Garam, who had been showing signs of anxiety, also looked noticeably brighter, as if she liked these changes.

Except for the occasional times when she noticed me ordering delivery food, she shows her bright side like before.

She seems to have overcome the previous incident well, and she was the one who brought up the idea of ​​broadcasting again. Rather, I told her to be cautious.

So, as a compromise, we agreed to run the YouTube channel again.

“Yeah, she’s gotten a lot better. She even said she wants to broadcast again.”

I took a sip of the water Ho-cheol poured for me.

“That’s a relief. I’ve never seen anyone around me with such problems… I thought it would be difficult to recover.”

“I guess it depends on the person.”

I picked up some kimchi with my chopsticks and put it in my mouth.

The fresh kimchi was very crunchy.

“And what about that…”

“What again?”

“Hana, isn’t it about time for her to come back?”

“Is it? It’s been almost two months. I guess she’ll come back soon? YouTube is okay for up to six months, but Oceania TV has a penalty on the settlement ratio if you’re completely out of the rankings.”

Whether she comes back or not, I picked up another piece of kimchi and put it in my mouth.

Wow, it’s really delicious. I haven’t been able to eat salty food lately, so it’s really hitting the spot.

“If she comes back, we can release the call records again. It’ll be a long time before she can broadcast normally.”

“Wow….”

“What?”

“Hyung, I’ve been feeling this lately, but you’re ruthless.”

“Ruthless? What’s wrong with giving back the same to someone who screwed me over?”

“Hehe….”

While Ho-cheol chuckled at my words, the food we ordered arrived.

I ordered kimchi stew.

The kimchi stew, which came in an earthenware pot, was topped with finely chopped green onions and neatly cut tofu.

“What did you order again?”

“I ordered seaweed soup.”

Ho-cheol answered, placing a green soup similar to seaweed soup in front of him.

“Hey, are your tastes older than mine?”

“What’s wrong with seaweed soup? My grandmother used to make it for me often.”

Is he pulling a ‘talula’ on me in a petty way?

“Just eat your food.”

As I stirred the kimchi stew with my spoon, Ho-cheol twitched his lips as if he wanted to say something.

“What is it now?”

I asked, licking the soup off the spoon.

“Hyung, do you know that?”

“Know what, you punk.”

“Ah, please humor me a little. There’s a saying that seaweed soup is given to unwanted guests.”

“Isn’t that the one where the steam doesn’t rise well, so you don’t know it’s hot and you get burned?”

“Oh, you know? As expected, experience.”

Ho-cheol smiled, raising his thumb.

“Just eat your food.”

He’s just saying useless things.

I picked up a piece of tofu, put it on top of the rice, and took a big bite.

After the meal, Ho-cheol suggested we play a game of bowling to digest.

I wondered if we used to bowl together, but since I don’t have any memories of it anyway, there’s no point in asking. I silently nodded and got into the car that Ho-cheol was driving.

Whether it was a coincidence or fate… the bowling alley that Ho-cheol took me to was the same one I went to with Garam before.

I didn’t feel like going there because I was embarrassed last time, but I wondered if there would be a bowling club today.

Well, they say ‘what if’ can get you in trouble.

Like last time, the quiet bowling alley had club members gathered in a secluded area.

Fortunately, the man who yelled at me wasn’t there.

Praying to the heavens that they wouldn’t recognize me, I picked out a ball near them.

“Has Seung-deok ajusshi not been discharged from the hospital yet?”

A talkative ajumma said.

“Yes, the injuries have all healed, but the mental damage is significant. When I visited him in the hospital last time, he couldn’t even make eye contact.”

“Oh dear, how could he have suffered such a terrible thing….”

“The world is so scary these days that I can’t even walk around properly at night.”

“Have they found out who did it?”

“They say it’s a woman… but it doesn’t make sense for a woman to pull out someone’s teeth with her bare hands… The police say he was so shocked that his memory is confused.”

“Well, how could a woman do that? Anyway, we should be careful too.”

Listening to the bowling club members’ stories, I found a bowling ball and returned to my seat.

“Strike!”

Even as Ho-cheol high-fived me for getting a strike, I felt uneasy.

After bowling, we headed to my favorite cafe.

It was at Ho-cheol’s suggestion that we needed to quench our thirst after working so hard.

We also needed to discuss future business (investment) matters.

I paid for lunch and the game, so I ignored Ho-cheol’s offer to pay for coffee and headed to the counter to order.

“Can I take your order?”

An unfamiliar employee greeted me.

“Two large iced Americanos, please. Here’s the coupon card.”

I handed over the card and coupon, and the employee awkwardly stamped the coupon after rummaging around for the stamp.

“Are you new here?”

I asked casually after checking that two stamps were on the coupon.

“Ah yes, I haven’t been here long.”

“Did the person who used to work here…?”

“I think they quit.”

“Do you know why they quit?”

I felt like I had to ask, so I asked, and the employee, with a strange look on their face, kindly answered me.

“The traffic accident? I think I heard that they were hospitalized.”

“Ah….”

I took the buzzer and returned to my seat.

“Hyung, is something wrong?”

“Huh? Why?”

“No, it just looked like your expression hardened a bit.”

Seeing Ho-cheol looking at my face, the seaweed soup he was blowing on earlier suddenly came to mind.