episode_0183

(2) ― One Mind Salvation Church Paradise

Glossy white rice and red kimchi stew.

Egg rolls topped with ketchup, bulgogi, and braised mackerel.

Warm steam was rising from the table, which was quite elaborate for a simple lunch.

“Whoa – It took a little while, right?”

Ha Chae-kyung returns to the table with a small sigh.

I shook my head, taking the silver spoon she held out.

“Not at all.”

“I’m glad. I’m still in the learning stage, so my hands are a little slow.”

She smiled softly as if she was glad and looked around the table she had completed with proud eyes.

“Of course… … I can’t guarantee the taste either.”

At her playful ending, I also swung the table again.

A fragrant smell fills the surroundings along with the rising steam.

“Well, I don’t think food that smells this delicious will fail.”

“Oh~ One such brave taster came today too.”

Ha Chae-kyung neither confirmed nor denied, but kept a mysterious smile on her face.

Plates of food pushed towards me little by little.

The sight of her looking at me with curious eyes made me stop using my chopsticks strangely.

“… … Are you feeling anxious all of a sudden?”

“Not at all~ Are you sure I would give Guwon something to eat and die?”

“I feel more anxious when you say that?”

“What should I do? Now, if you eat it, you will die, and if you don’t eat it, you will die~”

Ha Chae-kyung narrowed her eyes and stared at me in a stern tone.

That intimidating expression didn’t really fit her image.

Thanks to this, a smile naturally forms on my face.

“For some reason, I feel like I have to say that it’s delicious even if it’s not delicious.”

“A~ Still, the evaluation must be calm. You know that everything I said earlier was a joke, right?”

Of course, it’s a bit of a joke.

I didn’t know if she was joking or serious until the end, so I ignored her words and picked up the bulgogi with chopsticks.

Ha Chae-kyung’s eyes, who were looking forward to it, gradually followed the bulgogi toward my mouth.

The warmth you feel as soon as you put it in your mouth and the unique savory texture of the meat.

Every time you chew the meat, the salty soy sauce-based seasoning spreads evenly throughout your mouth.

gulp-

Swallowing sounds that come from a completely different place than my esophagus.

As I continued chewing the meat and looking ahead, I saw Ha Chae-kyung staring at me with a very nervous expression.

“… … Um.”

I deliberately let out a long sigh and tilted my head.

“Why, why?”

“… … Um.”

“No taste? Oh, no… … . I put everything I needed to put in… … Soy sauce, sugar, starch syrup… … .”

Ha Chae-kyung started checking the recipe, counting on her fingers with an anxious expression on my anxious reaction.

I ate another piece of bulgogi to show off to Ha Chae-kyung, who was getting more and more sad when she saw me not reacting.

“It’s delicious?”

“Ah… … what! You were surprised!”

At the belated tasting review, Ha Chae-kyung screamed in a high-pitched voice that was not typical of her.

Then, she breathed a sigh of relief and immediately put out her lips and made a confident expression.

“Is that so? It’s so delicious, right?”

“It’s delicious, but it’s not really delicious―”

“It has to be that way. This is a dish I have practiced a lot. It’s really delicious, right?”

“… … okay. It’s so delicious.”

“Hehe― Don’t worry about the amount and eat plenty. There is still a lot left in the pot.”

Ha Chae-kyung looked toward the kitchen behind the table with a proud expression.

As she said, I noticed that there was a fairly large pot left there.

“And try eating something other than meat quickly. Try the soup, the braised mackerel here, and the egg rolls… ”

I look at Ha Chae-kyung with new eyes as she offers food in a triumphant voice.

It turns out that the dinner invitations that were always offered to me were not just empty words.

“I never knew you were this good at cooking.”

“Hehe― It’s a shame, but it’s a hobby I started relatively recently.”

“Then it’s even more surprising?”

“Hehe― Guwon, try learning when you have time. It’s simpler and easier than you think.”

“… … Me?”

“Yes.”

I imagined myself cooking with her firm affirmation.

Me chopping vegetables neatly with a kitchen knife and seasoning the soup with a serious expression.

uh… … There’s something about it that doesn’t suit me to the point where it’s creepy.

“It’s okay even if you don’t have to cook. hmm… … . What I mean is, we need a hobby.”

“… … Hobbies?”

Ha Chae-kyung smiled softly as she looked at me, who still couldn’t find the context of what I was saying.

“Do you know what you naturally realize the more you learn to cook?”

She continued, looking down at the table filled with her food once again.

“Just a teaspoon of salt or a teaspoon of sugar can make a world of difference in taste. This is not an exaggeration, you really have to be careful with every drop of vinegar.”

As she emphasized, she used her fingers to express something very subtle.

“In order to find a delicious taste among so many difficult tastes, you are bound to experience failure.”

failure.

“The failure that I was normally so afraid of, the failure that I hoped would never come to me. There is nothing wrong with cooking. Sometimes I feel happy because I think I learned something else.”

Isn’t it really amazing, Mr. Guwon?

She pointed to the table with a gentle gesture.

“I experienced such scary failures twice today, but it’s okay, right?”

Minguk’s mother, who always stood up like a roly-poly, shouldn’t-

It was Ha Chae-kyung’s secret that no one knew.

“Don’t worry too much. Even if it doesn’t have to be cooking, you will definitely find a way to solve your unspoken worries.”

Her sincerity is clear on her smiling face.

I looked into Ha Chae-kyung’s eyes and wondered why she was comforting me like this.

A hallway at noon naturally comes to mind.

The thoughts that continued there without being able to let go or hold on to them.

‘Oh my, Mr. Guwon?’

One step, one step.

Her eyes, approaching with a bright smile, come to mind again.

‘You’re here! I was already going to invite you to lunch!’

Even at the moment he approaches me and at the moment he speaks to me.

‘Have you eaten yet?’

Her eyes were busy examining my face.

“I understand why you are called mother.”

“… … Yes?”

“Certainly the wisdom of elders cannot be ignored.”

“… … .”

It was a remark that acknowledged Ha Chae-kyung’s wisdom, but it didn’t get the response I expected.

Instead of smiling humbly, saying it was too much praise, the smile that never left her lips disappeared and her cheeks became even redder.

“… … I’m not that much older.”

“Ah… … .”

I could automatically tell what mistake I had made from the dissatisfied tone.

“Well, if you look at it at face value, it doesn’t matter at all if he is your younger brother.”

“… … .”

“No, really. If they saw us for the first time, everyone would think I was your brother, right?”

“… … .”

Although it was a fuss to appease her, the words were quite sincere, and her brusque face was gradually softening.

At the end, I couldn’t help but let out a small smile when I saw him nodding his head, albeit slightly.

“… … Why are you smiling?”

“No, now I think it would be funnier to say, ‘I’m glad I relaxed.’”

“… … Puheap—!”

When I exaggerated what she said when she was in her religious guise in a slightly comical way, she eventually couldn’t hold back her laughter and her stern expression relaxed.

I covered my mouth and spoke to her laughing.

“Now that we know everything, let’s set aside formalities and talk comfortably.”

“… … Why do you use polite language when you want to talk comfortably?”

“Because you are the elder.”

“… … Ugh—!”

Her face turned red again as the joke continued once more.

The eyes gradually narrow and the lips purse as if filled with dissatisfaction.

“Ah― But thanks to Chae-kyung, I think things have become a lot easier. I think I found the hobby that Chaekyung mentioned.”

“… … yes? You found it right now?”

“Yes.”

I laughed lightly, pointing to the table as she did.

“Brave taster.”

“… … Ah.”

“I evaluated Chae-kyung’s cooking, had lunch, and talked about things that I couldn’t tell others.”

“… … Ugh-”

A quiet voice came to me as I was appraising myself for having a perfect plan.

She lowered her head with a redder face than before and stammered.

“Ah, these are the only dishes I’m confident in right now… … . Well, to Mr. Guwon-”

… … I don’t have anything to cook for you tomorrow.

After finishing what I wanted to say, I saw her lowering her head more deeply.

It’s not just because of the impressive display you showed me today-

It’s not because of its attractive shell that everyone wants-

The magic of being possessive just by being together and talking to each other.

Instead of breasts that stand out more thanks to the body shaking with shame-

A sparkling inner self that I want to color with my own color right away, contained deep within.

A woman who shined like that was in my hands.

He thought of me as the only person who understood and walked the same path as himself, and his heart was wide open, relying on and being relied upon.

However, what would happen if Ha Chae-kyung were to discover the faith recovery room?

What kind of expression will they look at me other than the benevolent smile they have now?

The fact that I am worried like this shows that she does not yet belong to me.

“It’s okay.”

“… … .”

“Experiencing small failures in advance is Chae-kyung’s hobby.”

“… … Ugh―”

It becomes clear what I need to do before destroying numbers 4, 5, and 6 of the fair.

I nodded as I looked at Ha Chae-kyung, who nodded with a very red face.

okay.

While taking a moment to catch her breath, Seong Ga-eul solidifies what she can do.

Let’s strengthen what I can.

It’s not like I can apply an efficient administrative system right away just because I’m struggling.

Interior design that only I can do.

“Still, will it come a little late tomorrow?”

“… … Well, if you don’t use some respectful language, you won’t be able to – ”

“Will you come late?”

“… … Yes.”

It was time to catch what I couldn’t grasp yet.