episode_0520

“So what do we eat?”

“Well, let’s take a look. What is there?”

By the way, it’s called Koreatown, but it really has all kinds of things.

Is it because it is starting to get dark?

Thanks to the stores that turned on their neon signs early on, the street, which was ordinary when I first entered, was now taking on a punk feel.

‘huh? What, there’s an arcade too?’

It’s an arcade in 2099…

What will the arcade look like in 2099?

Are they all just virtual reality games?

Or, like the instant photo studio I just visited, it may have been deliberately decorated in a retro style to give off an old-fashioned feel.

As I was thinking that it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stop by there when I have time, since I had been able to see it for so long, I noticed that Dang So-so, who was walking next to me, was looking somewhere.

So I wondered where he was looking at like that… but he was looking at a snack bar.

A snack bar in 2099.

Well, if snacks are Korean food, they are Korean food…

“Are you interested?”

“Yes…?”

“No, you keep looking that way.”

“Ah… I’m just curious.”

“Are you curious?”

“Well… Once upon a time, when I was in school, the kids in the same class talked excitedly about going to Koreatown and eating snacks. When I saw that, I suddenly thought of that…”

That’s right…

“Are you good at eating spicy food?”

“···Have you already forgotten? On what land was our party originally based?”

“Ah.”

That’s right.

These noblemen originally lived in Sacheon.

And speaking of Sichuan, it is a region famous in China for its spicy cuisine.

“Maybe I can eat spicy food better than Gaga?”

“Hmm… Is that right?”

“Yes?”

“No, when it comes to Sichuan cuisine, it’s usually mapo tofu, right?”

“Right?”

“But it wasn’t spicy at all.”

Did my remark make me cry for a moment?

Tang Xiaoxiao’s right eyebrow twitched slightly.

“···That’s because Gaga hasn’t been to a proper home. And mapo tofu is the weakest in terms of spiciness among Sichuan dishes.”

“Is that so?”

“That’s right.”

“Then, should we just make a bet on what happened like this?”

“Bet?”

“Looking at it, it looks like they sell some pretty spicy food over there. I guess the person who eats it and drinks water first will get a wish from someone who doesn’t like it?”

He listened to my suggestion and thought about it for a while. No matter how much he thought about it, he didn’t think he would lose.

“···Did you promise?”

The party’s office asked that question back.

As if he had already won the bet.

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What a wish.

My heart was pounding at the sweetness of those words.

Tell me what to do.

She didn’t think she would lose the bet with Su-hyeon.

After that incident when I was young, I lived on mostly salads, but even before that, I often ate spicy food.

And… honestly, even if the food is spicy, is it really poisonous?

Among the poisons she ingested in the process of learning poison techniques?

Just taking a sip of it made me feel like my esophagus was on fire.

Compared to that, the guy who sells at this store that Su-hyeon and I just came in with is nothing more than a bird’s blood.

Honestly, this has no choice but to be like that… After all, it was made to sell to customers, right?

So it wouldn’t have been made to a level where it couldn’t be eaten.

And if so?

In the end, this fight was bound to be her victory.

‘What should I wish for…?’

So, it must have been a moment when I was quietly sitting in my seat and thinking about what to wish for.

“Ah, that’s right. It goes without saying, but internal attacks are also prohibited.”

“Of course.”

“Looking at your expression, you seem really confident.”

“It’s not that bad… I’m just used to spicy food.”

As I was chatting with Suhyun, who was sitting across from me, a serving robot came up to the table they were sitting at and started putting down the food they ordered.

It was at that moment that I was slightly embarrassed.

‘···???’

What is this?

What was the visual she had imagined in her head in the first place?

It was something red-colored.

When you think of spicy food, it often has that color.

But this one goes beyond red and even looks slightly black…

Just looking at it, it wasn’t food made to be eaten.

‘···I should have noticed from the moment I placed my order when the store asked me to fill out a strange consent form.’

What do we do···?

Just by looking at it, it looks like you will have health problems if you eat it…

However, you can’t avoid eating when your wish is at stake…

It must have been a moment when I was wandering around, clutching my chopsticks tightly because I couldn’t use my hands.

“Um···.”

Su-hyeon, who seemed to have never imagined such a situation and was letting out a sigh full of embarrassment, scooped up a bit of soup using the spoon she had already picked up and brought it to her mouth.

As he was thinking about whether he should have a bite right now… Suhyeon, who had been silent ever since taking a bite of the soup, quietly returned the spoon he was holding.

And then…

“I can’t do this. Let’s assume I lost.”

I shook my head and said that.

“Yes? Ha, but…”

“If it had been at a decent level, I would have said to keep doing it just for fun, but this… not this.”

Su-hyeon, who was saying that, was already activating her inner energy to protect her tongue.

As if that wasn’t enough, he even poured the milk he had ordered into a cup and drank it down.

“This is our first date. It’s a bit weird to ruin a first date just because of one wish.”

So, let’s pretend I lost and eat something delicious.

These words clearly convey how important Suhyun considers this moment.

My heart beat loudly at those words.

It was because I was happy.

I was glad to know that she wasn’t the only one who thought this moment was special.

In that sense, does Suhyeon know?

That there are people who feel this much joy in every word he says.

“Wow, it’s still spicy… What on earth did you put in it? Did you pour in the entire capsaicin solution?”

By the way… what should I wish for…?

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After taking just one bite, I realized that it wasn’t real, so I threw away the dish that would have been a total disaster in many ways if I hadn’t shouted GG. Although it was a bit spicy, I ordered another dish that could be called food, and filled my stomach. When I filled it up and came out, it had already become dark outside.

Thanks to this, the street, which was already crowded with many people, became even more crowded with neon lights coming from all directions and more people than before.

“There are a lot…”

“Sure.”

Is it because we live in a world where it is possible to jump across several continents in the blink of an eye as long as you have money?

Among the crowds filling the streets, there were people who looked Chinese or Korean, as well as people who looked clearly Japanese, and there was a fairly high proportion of Westerners.

With so many different races running around mixed together, it couldn’t have seemed that confusing.

“Oops, be careful…!”

“Ah, thank you.”

“What, with something that is nothing special.”

By the way… if the streets are this crowded…

“Where would it be better to go in?”

My original plan was to walk along the street to clear my stomach, and when I saw an interesting-looking store, I would go there and spend some time.

This was… not a level where I could move around comfortably.

“There are definitely a lot of people.”

“That’s right.”

No, usually, when you hear that a terrorist attack on a huge scale has occurred somewhere, don’t you try not to go around because you feel afraid of that fact…?

You don’t care that it’s happening on the other side of the world…?

Or maybe you’re doing this because you don’t want to pay attention…

“Anyway, since things have come to this, how about going over there sometime?”

“Where?”

“That’s it.”

I was pointing to the arcade I had been looking at earlier, hoping to avoid getting hit by people.

Dangsoso’s gaze, which was moving along my straight outstretched finger like that, seemed to shake significantly…

Hwaaa!

‘Yes···?’

Tang Xiaoxiao’s cheeks heated up.

I was inwardly tilting my head at Dangsoso’s incomprehensible reaction, but soon I realized it.

What the party saw.

Above the arcade sign that I pointed to, the impressive sign with a colorful neon sign… there was another sign shining with a bright red neon sign.

The sign that says LOVE HOTEL.