Little Guest (2)
I couldn't stop here.
I picked the story back up where I'd left it, using it as my excuse.
If the bond I'd forced across from my past life only reached this far, then from now on I would have to carry it forward differently.
So I had to keep talking.
"So, about that. If this isn't me overstepping… would you be willing to bring Yeon-hee here this weekend?"
"Pardon?"
"We're throwing a small party at the new restaurant."
"A party?"
"Yes. A party. Everyone cooking something delicious, bringing food, and just having a good time together."
"And why would we…?"
"Because I never properly treated Yeon-hee that day. I feel like I never got to say everything I was grateful for, and it still bothers me."
"That's…"
"I'm asking you. Please."
I bowed my head low.
Then, without waiting for an answer this time, I turned and left first.
Good enough.
I didn't care if it was forced. I didn't care if they thought I'd lost my mind over a coincidence.
I'd rattled it off like a machine gun, but I'd said what I needed to say.
Was it an imposition? Probably.
But just this once, it felt good.
And then—
Maybe… maybe it isn't just her. There might be others out there too. Haha. God, I really hope I'm not going crazy.
A strange mix of gladness and melancholy settled over me.
"Oh, hyung?"
"Let's finish up together."
"Sure!"
I came back to reality.
Jin-woo was cleaning the restaurant alone without a word of complaint. That kid was one of my landmarks in this life.
I gave his shoulder a light clap of thanks.
"Must've been rough doing it by yourself."
"Not at all! Well, hyung keeps the kitchen so clean there's hardly anything left to wipe down."
"Flattery won't get you a raise."
"Ah, busted. Dang it!"
"Heh…"
In that little exchange, I was able to close out the day.
The restless feeling that had dragged on for more than a full day was gone.
Somehow, it just felt like things were going to work out.
The day of the "small" party arrived.
We stepped into our restaurant. With a little hideout corner now set up on one side, the place had transformed into something completely new.
This was a real restaurant.
"Wow. It looks amazing."
"You saw it yesterday."
"I can look as many times as I want. I've finally got my own shop!"
My own shop. Why did those words hit so hard, with that little electric thrill?
"You're right. It is our shop."
"Man, at the start I had no idea where to even begin!"
"But once we got it fixed up, doesn't it feel great?"
"It really does! I love it!"
We bustled around setting the place up.
There were plenty of tables. The ones we'd bought for the opening were already installed, so all we had to do was arrange them so everyone could sit together.
The moment the last chair was in place—
"Alright, let's test the burners for real and make sure they work!"
Whoosh—!
The flames leapt up.
"Whoa…! I was worried because we put it together so fast, but it actually works!"
"I told you they were solid. Haha."
The rest of the equipment worked perfectly too. Perfect.
"What should I do?"
"Boss, you're on drinks!"
"Right! Coffee's the only thing I'm confident in, but I'll give it everything I've got this time."
"I already know it's going to taste amazing without even trying it!"
"Haha. Thanks."
Everyone moved in a cheerful scramble.
Boss Jang and I took the cooking. The coffee-truck owner—no, Woo Guk-won hyung, as I'd decided to call him—handled the drinks.
The clatter of pots and utensils rang out in a pleasant rhythm.
"Oh-ho… look at this place."
"Ah! The elders are here!"
"Oh, the landlords have arrived."
"Haha. Landlords? What nonsense. I only lent you the space. Just the space."
"That's right. You two are the ones who made it look this wonderful. Hoho."
In the middle of the busy preparations, the two elders walked in hand in hand.
They still made such a lovely pair that a smile slipped out of me unbidden.
"Um, I'm here! Wait. I thought I got here pretty early—why is everything already done? I was supposed to help…"
"You're here? Sit down. You're a guest today too."
"Ooh. First-guest treatment?"
"Want me to take it back?"
"I'll sit here quietly like a good little potato!"
"Heh…"
Jin-woo arrived, and then the regulars we'd invited earlier began to show up one by one, settling into the seats we'd reserved for them.
"Here you go, elders. Special army stew, just for the two of you."
"Oh-ho-ho! Something this precious!"
"Of course. And for our other guest, the ultimate konjac dishes."
"Wow!"
"Jin-woo, stamina food for you?"
"I'm a guest today. No hard labor required."
"Planning to just leave when it's over?"
"Ugh… trapped already. How unjust."
"You can work that injustice out while you clean later."
I'd prepared dishes that suited each of their personalities.
That alone was enough to light up the whole room.
Of course, we had to take care of ourselves too.
I brought out the surprise gifts.
"Here, Boss."
"Hss…!"
"Alright then—Woo hyung. This is for you."
"What is it?"
"Coffee beans. Hawaiian Kona, no less!"
Hawaiian Kona.
One of the so-called three great coffees of the world.
These days the price was whatever the seller decided to name.
I'd managed to get my hands on some of it. Not first place at the competition, but still an award-winner.
For reference, the first-place beans go for thousands per kilo.
Even this much had put a serious dent in the budget.
There was no way Woo hyung wouldn't know what they were worth.
"What…! How did you—!"
"I couldn't get a lot. Boss Jang here pulled some strings."
"Hoo…"
Wonder piled on wonder.
"Hey, why is he 'Woo hyung' and I'm still 'Boss Jang'?"
"It hasn't stuck yet?"
"Make it stick! Come on, Woo hyung—doesn't this smell incredible?"
"I know! I haven't even roasted them and the aroma's already gorgeous!"
"Right… Stabilize them first, then roast a batch and pass it around."
"Tonight?"
"Come on, one cup won't hurt!"
"Alright then—let's put some muscle into it!"
Boss Jang was busy pumping Woo hyung up.
I poked him in the back.
"Hm? What? Don't tell me there's one for me too?"
"As you can see, both hands are empty."
"Ugh… that's a shame!"
Disappointment washed over the face that had been glowing with anticipation.
Before it could settle in completely, I gave him a little smile and led him away.
"Why the kitchen? Is there more food coming out?"
"There is. If we're going to serve this later, we need to make it in advance. Honestly we're already a little late. Haha."
"What is it?"
"You're doing Hong Kong-style dishes, right? Then this can't be missing. Hong Kong pudding."
"Pudding!?"
"Heh. Watch carefully."
What I handed Boss Jang was a recipe.
A special one, at that.
Hong Kong-style egg pudding.
The method itself was simple, but the flavor changed completely depending on which ingredients you added and how you balanced the amounts.
Common enough in Hong Kong, still rare in Korea—exactly what I'd prepared.
This is ginger pudding. Black sugar on top.
A recipe that used ginger with exquisite precision to control the set, and black sugar instead of white to lock in the flavor.
As soon as we started making that distinctive Hong Kong pudding, a fine fragrance drifted through the air.
It took more work than expected.
The recipe itself is that delicate.
Even with the prep I'd done ahead of time, I still had to walk him through every step.
"Alright, it looks easy, but you have to watch the set carefully, and the black sugar too."
"Yeah. Doesn't look as simple as I thought."
"Right? But don't worry. I'll teach you until you've got it. This is my gift to you, Boss Jang."
"Man…! Thank you. A recipe. I never even thought of something like that."
I kept explaining for a long while.
In the meantime everyone else was already enjoying themselves.
It was a lively party, people savoring the food and letting themselves go.
Some took the time to linger over the aroma of the coffee Woo hyung had made.
They were all in the same place, yet living different moments of time.
Different generations, different lives—but for this stretch of hours, the warm space they'd prepared together and the even hotter cooking made them one.
And then the highlight of the evening arrived.
"Hello!"
"…Hello."
Yeon-hee came in with a little bow.
Beside her stood the one I'd been waiting for, looking at me with an awkward expression.
In this moment, the best gift I could give the two of them was simple.
"Welcome!"
A welcome warmer than any I'd ever offered.
You could call it a happy accident.
This isn't what I prepared the recipe for, but still.
I had a gift ready for the two of them sitting there so stiffly.
As soon as they started eating, I brought over the pudding that had just finished setting.
"I think you'll like this."
"Wow…!"
"Isn't this pudding?"
"Yes. Hong Kong-style pudding, no less."
"!!!"
It was the dish that person had loved most in the previous life.
Would the taste still be the same this time around?
"It's delicious!"
"…It really is."
The eyes that had already been wide with surprise grew even wider.
The atmosphere bloomed warm and bright from there.
A good long while passed.
Good people made for good hours.
While everyone chatted quietly among themselves, I finally had a free moment and drifted over to sit beside her.
In the middle of a few ordinary exchanges, the conversation turned to Yeon-hee, who had fallen asleep right there next to us.
"Doesn't her parents worry when she stays out this late?"
"…There aren't any."
"Ah."
That part was the same. In the previous life, Yeon-hee's parents had also died in a sudden accident. A parting she never saw coming. She became an orphan overnight.
The moment the person sitting in front of me heard the news back in Hong Kong, she chose to come to Korea.
Same as before. She was determined to get to Korea no matter what.
What differed was the method.
During the apocalypse, monster outbreaks had forced her to cross all of China on the way back.
She arrived far too late to ever see Yeon-hee again.
This time it was the opposite.
She had made it back to Korea quickly.
That was why the two of them could be together now, unlike before.
"So you're raising her alone?"
"Yes. And I probably will from now on too."
"…That's a serious decision."
"It's natural for me. My older sister raised me the same way when I was little."
One thing had changed.
This time she had succeeded in taking Yeon-hee in.
Someone whose sense of responsibility was already solid now found herself shouldering a child—but her eyes looked firm.
"That must be hard."
"Hard? Not even a little. If anything, I'm the one learning so much from Yeon-hee. I like it this way."
Before long the conversation deepened.
We talked for a long time about the dishes Yeon-hee liked.
Maybe it was the drinks talking.
With her face flushed pink, looking almost shy, she began to tell me the feelings she'd kept hidden.