Fiery Hana and the Perfect Pork Bone Soup
Hey! Pig bone soup or what! ……………
“Groooan……”
Silence Man lay crumpled on the ground, moaning weakly. His metal suit was dented all over, especially the helmet.
The girl with flame-orange hair grumbled as she slung her guitar over her shoulder.
“Ugh, seriously! They were a pretty decent band. You totally ruined the show!”
She didn't kick Silence Man's head—thwack—but gave it a couple light taps with her foot.
She seems like just a civilian…
At least, that's how it looked. Leather jacket, ripped jeans, shirt emblazoned with what seemed like a rock band name in bold red letters. Total Hongdae street rock fan vibe.
Is rock making a comeback with the kids these days?
Just ten or fifteen years ago, hip-hop was all the rage, as far as I remembered. Trends must cycle around, or maybe this girl just had old-school tastes. That bright red electric guitar was pretty unique too.
But—
Taking down a D-rank villain in a metal suit with her bare hands… no, with a guitar? Does that even make sense?
Silence Man's suit looked pretty cheap, to be fair. Generously speaking, it was about medieval armor level. Without firearms, it wouldn't be easy pickings. Even a longsword wouldn't scratch it readily.
Compared to that, a guitar's just wood and metal strings—an instrument not exactly built sturdy for use as a club. Yet this girl had swung it around and beaten Silence Man into the pavement like it was nothing.
Hmm. If it were me…
In my metal suit, bare-handed strikes would be tough. Sure, tackling him down and locking in a grapple would subdue him easily, per the original plan. So, in simple terms, her striking power outclassed even a movie junkie like Superman-level me.
…Not my problem anyway.
She might be an unregistered Awakener or something, but it didn't matter. No bonus pay for snooping.
No way she's an unregistered villain, right? Haha.
Government salarymen like me don't meddle in nonsense. The villain was down, my mission complete. As for the flame-haired girl… I decided to ignore her. Someone would probably give her a brave citizen award later.
I whispered into the earpiece plugged in my ear.
“Lee Jin-ah.”
“Anyway, villain's subdued. Thanks to… civilian assistance around.”
“Yeah. He got beat down by a citizen before I even arrived.”
“Surprising, but true.”
Lee Jin-ah went quiet for a moment, then burst into laughter.
“Mm.”
I approached the fallen Silence Man and cuffed him. Police arrived soon after. I handed him over.
“Good work.”
“You too.”
The cops loaded Silence Man into their car and drove off. Job done.
Let's see…
I checked the time. 11:30 a.m. Lunchtime.
I spoke into the earpiece again.
“Lee Jin-ah.”
“Since I'm out, gonna slack off a bit before heading back today.”
Laughter tinged her voice.
“Hey, even I cut loose sometimes. Got a problem?”
“Grab lunch at some good spot.”
Her voice pitched up a bit.
“Friday lunch is on me, remember? Call it even.”
“Yeah.”
I cut the comms and pocketed the earpiece.
Alright, what to eat.
Hongdae Street's packed with options. Ramen, curry, udon, kimchi jjim. Happy dilemma.
Tap tap.
Someone nudged my shoulder.
…Huh?
I turned. The flame-haired girl stood there, guitar on her back, grinning ear to ear.
“Nice suit, ajusshi. Government type?”
“……”
This kid—barely out of diapers—and she's banmaling a stranger. I let it slide. She helped take down the villain, after all.
“Yeah.”
“Ooh, knew it! The vibe screamed it.”
She grinned wider. Then—
Whoosh.
She latched onto my arm.
“Sweet! I helped catch that villain!”
“Hey, what the—”
“You gotta give something to the girl who wiped her nose without touching, right?”
Ugh.
Headache incoming. Lee Jin-ah, Han Sol… why are young women these days so casual with skinship? In this world's forty-something ajusshi body, it's a real hassle.
I tried pulling away, but she was stronger than she looked. Clung tight.
“Nothing to give? Buy me food then. I'm starving.”
“Mm……”
What now. Whether she sensed my dilemma or not, she dragged me off by the arm.
“Won't ask for fancy stuff. Know a killer pig bone soup spot! C'mon.”
You're dragging me before I even agree?
But refusing seemed like it'd cause a scene. No choice but to follow.
…………
Eventually, I got dragged by the flame-haired girl down Hongdae alleys for nearly ten minutes to a pig bone soup joint, arm still in her grip.
What am I even doing.
Passersby stared. Forty-something ajusshi being pulled along by a twenty-ish girl. Objectively sketchy. Hope they don't mistake it for rental girlfriend or something.
“Here!”
A rundown shop deep in the alley appeared. Faded sign, narrow entrance. But inside, the rich aroma of boiling pork hit me. Not bad.
“Sit!”
I sat at an empty table, facing her. She propped her guitar by the chair and flashed a grin.
“I'm Yeom Hana.”
“Got it.”
Her name drew my eyes straight to her hair. Orange. But not plain orange—deeply crimson-tinged, like actual flames. Fitting nickname.
And her eyes matched her hair perfectly.
Yeom family name. Flame hair, flame eyes…
Something popped into mind. Yeom Baljak An—red-haired, red-eyed tsundere schoolgirl swinging a sword in uniform.
Yeom Hana's Yeom (廉) was different kanji, she swung an electric guitar instead of a blade, and no tsundere vibes. But…
…Come to think of it, that's a twenty-year-old anime too. I'm really getting old.
Bittersweet pang. Nostalgia for two-decades-old media proves the years.
“I see. But don't worry—you can relax. I'm twenty, full count!”
“Relax about what?”
“Even if weird misunderstandings happen, I'm not a minor. So feel free to buy me food and hang out!”
“……Hah.”
Her logic: since she's over twenty, no worries buying her meals. Peak rationalization.
“So, ajusshi's name?”
“……Han Kang.”
“Age?”
“Forty-five.”
“Puhaha!”
Yeom Hana roared with laughter.
“Totally an ajusshi! Super ajusshi!”
Her booming laugh filled the shop. Nearby customers glanced over.
“But it's fine. I don't care about age!”
“Yeah.”
This brat…! Even if I am an ajusshi, enough with the ajusshi spam already.
Still, the rudeness borders on charming at this point.
Absurd, but not unpleasant. No malice—just pure innocence.
…I'll think of it that way. No point getting mad; hurts me more.
“Ajumma! One pork hock, two special pig bone soups, and blood sausage please!”
Yeom Hana bellowed at the owner.
Scratch 'charming.'
Freeloading and ordering extras like pork hock and blood sausage? Shameless.
Pork hock, special soups, blood sausage. With prices these days… easily over forty thousand won. Good thing my ajusshi wallet could handle it without pain.
And hey, it's on me anyway. Young folks eating hearty is nice to see.
True to its Korean fast food rep, the soups arrived in under five minutes.
“This place is legit. Try a spoonful!”
Yeom Hana scooped from her bowl first.
Uncannily ajusshi-like.
Speech, mannerisms. But food first.
I grabbed a spoon, pulled over the shrimp paste, dissolved some into the broth. Adjusting the flavor, about to scoop—
“Hey!”
Yeom Hana suddenly reached over.
“Ajusshi doesn't know how to eat. Wasted all those years!”
She snatched the radish kimchi bowl—
And dumped the entire brine into my soup.
“Gah—!!”
Red liquid spread over the milky broth.
Y-You little…!
I opened my mouth to snap—then stopped. She beamed at me, innocent as could be, face screaming I did ajusshi a solid.
…Forget it.
Anger evaporated. Can't spit on a smiling face. Like a tail-wagging pup gazing up expectantly.
“Thanks.”
“Right!? This is the real deal!”
Yeom Hana thumbs-upped.
Ends up the same in your gut anyway.
I stirred in the kimchi brine, scooped a spoonful. Put it in my mouth—
“Oh… ooh……!”
Flavor exploded on my tongue. Greasy richness coated it first—thick, porky nuttiness. Then the kimchi's tang surged up. Chili heat pierced the oil, filling my mouth. Fat and acid clashed, neutralizing each other without losing edge. The pork intensity got crisply reined in by the brine.
“Keurgh—”
A groan slipped out. Pure ajusshi sound.
“Ooh, that's ajusshi incarnate!”
Yeom Hana clapped.
Urk.
Yeah, I'm an ajusshi. Can't deny it. But harping on it every sentence? Rude.
Not that I'm offended or anything.
“I'm an ajusshi, so quit with the ajusshi bit.”
“Aw, don't get mad! I'll tone down the ajusshi calls, ajusshi.”
“……”
Apologizing while saying it again. I almost retorted but gave up. She wouldn't listen anyway.
I kept scooping the soup.
Tastes damn good.
No lie.