episode_0005

Even though I walked slowly, I arrived at the izakaya quickly.

Even though I arrived about 10 minutes early, the store wasn’t locked.

I carefully opened the door and went in, and the owner was already preparing the ingredients.

“Why did you come so quickly?”

“It’s only been 10 minutes?”

“I won’t give you more money for coming early. You’ve lost 10 minutes.”

Without even giving me a chance to say hello, the boss looked at me and spoke rudely.

Even though I didn’t ask, the boss put a container full of chopped vegetables in the refrigerator.

“Want to try this?”

“What is it?”

Suddenly, the boss handed me some fried food.

Unlike fried squid or shrimp, it was flat.

One bite and the oiliness seeps out.

I almost got burned, but the taste of the oily fish flesh was exquisite.

“How is it?”

“It’s perfect for my taste that likes oily food.”

“Really? I should put that on the menu. I guess opinions will be divided.”

Even though I said that, the boss was satisfied because I said it was delicious.

“It’s a pollack. I tried frying it and it was good.”

“Okay, then. Can I serve this as a side dish for the servings?”

“Why waste your money? Do you know how expensive fish is these days? Just the price of flounder has gone up by 8,000 won per kilogram since last year.”

Wow, I was wondering why the price was so expensive, but it turns out the cost itself is no joke.

I was so surprised that I quickly swallowed the fried mackerel.

It was really delicious, rich and oily.

Do you like frizzrat too?

I don’t know why I suddenly thought of the saint.

“It’s good that you came early. You can get some mackerel from me. Well, this is the privilege of kitchen workers.”

“There’s not much left to prepare the ingredients. I’ll finish it up.”

“Please. I’ll prepare rice. Is pasta okay?”

People who work in the kitchen eat as soon as they get to work.

Instead, you have to stay in the kitchen and work from the time the store opens until it closes.

“The pasta the boss makes is so delicious.”

“You seem sincere, but why are you so soulless?”

Yes, that’s right.

The reason why people don’t approach me even though I’m always smiling while working is probably because of the feeling the boss mentioned.

Although I rarely answered sincerely, even when I was honest, the other person didn’t seem to trust me very much.

It was the same in this world.

‘What you say is true, but I don’t trust it.’

The first thing that comes to mind is something the saint did to me.

I need to practice smiling more, I’ve been smiling all over the house since yesterday.

The boss also finished preparing the meal in accordance with my preparation of the ingredients.

Today’s menu is Neapolitan pasta.

It was on a whole other level than the pasta covered in ketchup you buy at the convenience store.

Add grated cheddar cheese on top of the pasta noodles and bowl, and you have a sophisticated dish that goes well with the sourness of ketchup.

“Just looking at the way you cook next to me, it seems like you do it very simply, but it tastes better than the typical pasta. It’s always amazing.”

“Your omelet recipe is like that to me. It’s not that different from the Japanese omelet recipe I know.”

The owner rolled the noodles with a fork and put them in his mouth, then covered his mouth with his hand.

“But I think I know. If you put your mind to it and study hard for a day, your scrambled eggs will be right up my alley.”

“My only pride, please give me one more month.”

“Why? You quit after a month?”

“That’s not it.”

For me, the boss was the most comfortable person.

She says that she originally had no intention of opening a restaurant, as she moved to Japan to learn Japanese cuisine based on sashimi because she loves cooking and drinking.

He once confessed to me in passing that he just learned how to make it because he wanted to enjoy it on his own, and that he only started making it when he drank with people around him, but everyone seriously encouraged him to do so.

The CEO of Cool Beauty had a cool personality, but for some reason, whenever he said those words, his face showed a great sense of longing and wistfulness.

Anyway, for a store that started because of a recommendation, the owner was an incredibly hard worker.

However, he is a person who does not care much about others other than the store and himself.

Manage part-time workers appropriately and manage customers appropriately.

This clearly shows that the line is here, and anyone is accepted freely as long as they don’t cross it.

Instead, he was merciless when it came to crossing that line.

The part-timer was fired on the spot after paying a month’s salary, and the customer was kicked out without receiving any money.

So, although both the part-time workers and the customers were lax, there were no real problems.

For me, who has a hard time being concerned about what other people think, the boss was a really adult-like and comfortable person.

Of course, this is only a story about when I kept the line.

In the first place, crossing the line that you were told not to cross is inhumane.

“The part-time workers said they’re going to go play at a pension for two days starting tomorrow.”

“Oh, really?”

“He asked me to go too, what about you?”

“No one asked me to go. Even if they asked me to go, I wouldn’t go. Resting at home is the best.”

The answer was immediate, without any hesitation.

The president also nodded and said that he had thought about it carefully.

“If I go there and confess wrongly and then get a call saying they can’t come out after the break, I’ll be the only one in trouble.”

“There is no one to confess to.”

“The opposite is also true.”

“… Me?”

Are you serious?

The boss glanced at me, then avoided eye contact and picked up a pickle with a fork.

“You don’t know how clever women are. There are many who use dating as a means to make their lives easier right now.”

“Will dating me make your life easier?”

“It depends on how well you make a slave. Even in my 20s, I occasionally heard about people who gave their livers and kidneys to women because they met the wrong woman.”

You’re in your 30s.

I didn’t know because it was so short.

It was not a good habit to extract information from what the other person said.

“Those kinds of women don’t move with pure emotions like love, but with their heads, so they don’t give in at all.”

“That’s the same for men too.”

“… You are right.”

Why are you feeling bitter again?

It’s only been two months since we started working together, but the boss has been showing me a lot of weaknesses.

If it gets too much, it might make me uncomfortable, but I’ve never let it get any worse than this.

After we finished eating the pasta, I naturally washed the dishes and the boss went out to smoke a cigarette for a while.

After confirming that the boss had left, I quickly finished washing the dishes and took out a bottle of soy sauce from the kitchen.

Pour a little and dip your little finger in it to taste.

A sticky, yet sweet and salty taste spread across the tip of my tongue.

A deep flavor, similar to Japanese ponzu, but distinctly different.

There are so many dishes I would like to learn from the owner, but if I had to pick just one, it would be this special homemade soy sauce.

I couldn’t figure out how it was made just from a quick taste, so I cautiously put my pinky finger in again.

“You can tell by taking a bite.”

The owner, who had just finished smoking a cigarette, came into the store.

“You would never know it if you just ate it. I worked hard to make it.”

“Can’t I make it if I try hard?”

“Don’t be so cheeky.”

I quickly shut my mouth at the sharp voice.

Anything to do with cooking was an absolute no-no for the proud boss.

I was taking a quick look around and noticed that the boss was not wearing an apron, so I unconsciously asked.

“Boss, what brand of clothes are you wearing now?”

Then the boss looked at me with a sullen face, put on a black apron, and scolded me.

“Don’t like me.”

No, but why is it connected like that?

—

Maybe it’s because it’s Saturday, but I was busy today and time passed by so quickly that I didn’t even have time to open my eyes.

However, unlike yesterday, it closed at dawn.

“Can we meet at 10am tomorrow and go shopping?”

“Where do you want to meet? Wouldn’t it be somewhere around here?”

“I’m grilling the meat. No one can touch it.”

When I came out after cleaning up the kitchen, the part-time workers were gathered in front of the store and were still talking about their trip to the pension.

The boss said he would be out for a bit, and the part-timers were so busy talking among themselves that they didn’t even notice me.

Okay, let’s just quietly disappear like this.

“Jinhyeon-ah! Are you going?”

When I turned around at the sound of her calling, it was Seyun.

Because I suddenly called out loud in the middle of the night, all eyes were on me.

“Oh, I have to go.”

He smiled at me, but I was just tired because I had just finished work.

“Choose a place and send me a KakaoTalk message. I’ll go!”

“Okay, okay, we have to leave early tomorrow too, let’s go!”

Seyun waved to the people and then ran to me.

What the heck? Why are you coming to me?

“Are you going this way? I’m going the same way.”

“Aha.”

“Let’s go together.”

He speaks as he pleases, but then walks ahead.

I also moved and followed along.

“Jinhyun, what are you doing tomorrow?”

“Rest.”

“Don’t you want to go on a trip with us?”

“I have extreme MBTI I, so outside activities are difficult for me.”

“Really? I got Extreme E!”

I feel like I brought up MBTI for no reason.

They’ll talk about their personality types, such as whether they’re systematic or spontaneous.

I wonder how this is any different from the old days when people used to classify personalities by blood type.

“I didn’t even hear you say let’s go, so it’s kind of like that.”

“If you want to go, should I tell you?”

“I said I am… .”

“Still, since you’re good at cooking, I think it would be good to go together.”

Well then, that’s right.

I wondered why he recommended it, but it turned out he needed someone to go and make some snacks.

You think this isn’t the first or second time I’ve been through something like that?

There was a time when I went to a university MT and only diligently prepared food, but I ended up just eating snacks in the corner.

“I’m going to rest.”

“What are you going to do to relax?”

“Just doing some shopping.”

“Shopping? I need to buy clothes too, but can’t I go next week?”

Se-yeon, this is the problem.

Because it is so clingy, you say it without thinking much, but it makes the other person misunderstand.

Here, the word opponent obviously means the opposite sex.

“I need this right now because I’m throwing away all my clothes.”

“Really? That’s too bad~.”

But it’s impossible for me.

I have a very good grasp of the subject matter, so I don’t make such mistakes.

Since I’ve already done it, there’s no need to do it twice.

“Go with your boyfriend, with your boyfriend.”

“I don’t have a boyfriend. We broke up.”

This is not good.

Since the other part-timers will know that she’s single, she might get attacked with unpleasant confessions on her trip tomorrow.

Fortunately, it’s none of my business.

As I continued on my way, chatting moderately, I found myself in front of the house before I knew it.

“I can get out of here.”

“You live here. Do you live alone?”

“Living alone since college.”

“Can I come over and play later?”

“I’m having a hard time because I’m extremely I.”

“It’s too bad~.”

It’s a shame, but the MBTI shield was quite effective.

When I rejected someone like this, the other person didn’t feel too bad.

I turned around to go home.

Seyun also raised her hand at the signal to go.

I was about to wave my hand, but then I noticed her outfit.

“Seyeon-ah.”

“Why?”

“Which brand of clothes do you buy?”

“Um, department store or Labelly?”

That’s not a brand, it’s an online and offline platform.

It wasn’t the answer I wanted, but I was still relieved.

That kind of strangely off-topic answer is a woman’s way of giving advice.

Advice not to try to know more about yourself and not to make any mistakes.

I felt relieved.

“I’ll go.”

“Yeah! Thanks for bringing me here.”

Take me? If we really want to be specific, isn’t it the opposite?

Why don’t we just walk together and I go home first?

She’s the type of girl who instinctively only says things that men would like.

After waving my hand roughly, I walked home without any hesitation.

Anyway, if you go straight down this alley, you will reach the villa where I live.

Before opening the front door, I glanced at the outside and saw Seyun standing there blankly, looking in my direction.

… No, you must be on your phone.

It’s excessive self-consciousness.

I shook my head to shake off the useless thoughts and went into the house.

and,

“… What is it?”

I found Prisrat fast asleep in my bed.