Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Spicy
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Na Gang-in stepped into the PC bang kitchen.
Shin Eun-ha hurried after him and asked,
"Where should I wait? What are you going to make?"
"If you've come to a PC bang, grab an empty seat, stare at the monitor, and place your order."
"Pardon? Place an order?"
"This dish has a ton of meat in it, so it'll cost at least ten thousand won. You got the money, right?"
Shin Eun-ha panicked.
'He didn't bring me here for a special dish just for me... No, that's not it.'
Thinking back, Na Gang-in had never offered to cook for her first. She'd just followed him here.
'But I can't just order from the monitor like everyone else. That wouldn't be special.'
She wanted him to make something just for her.
She flashed a charming smile, batting her eyes playfully as she shook her head side to side.
"Oppa. Can't I eat without paying? Please?"
"Sure."
"Oh! Thank you!"
"We can't exactly kick you out for not having money, so pay for your meal some other way."
Yoon A-reum stared at the kitchen in awe.
"Wow, I've never seen a celebrity in person before, and now one's doing kitchen duty. That's a first."
Cha Eun-seo chimed in.
"First time for me too. That sister doesn't strike me as the type to do grunt work willingly."
Shin Eun-ha was peeling potatoes with a knife at one corner of the kitchen, rubber gloves on. She was working as a kitchen assistant in lieu of paying for lunch.
As she peeled, Shin Eun-ha grumbled,
"This isn't what I had in mind..."
Yoon A-reum asked Cha Eun-seo,
"What if the celebrity cuts herself?"
Cha Eun-seo wasn't worried.
"She must've handled knives before, so she should be fine, right?"
Na Gang-in scolded Shin Eun-ha.
"At that pace, when are you gonna get to the onions?"
Shin Eun-ha startled.
"Huh? Onions too?"
"Hey, watch those hands."
Shin Eun-ha sped up her peeling and muttered,
"Seriously, this isn't it..."
Na Gang-in prepared a braised meat dish. For the spice, he used fresh cheongyang peppers and dried red chilies instead of synthetic capsaicin.
Na Gang-in set the freshly made dish in front of Shin Eun-ha.
"Payment for your labor."
"What's this dish called?"
"Spicy Pork Stew."
She hovered her chopsticks over the dish before picking up a piece of meat first.
It started with a greasy savoriness paired with spice. Then came a deep, charred flavor, like something scraped from the bottom of a hot pan.
"Wow, this is delicious."
She picked out more meat. With each bite, the heat building on her tongue intensified.
She stuck out her tongue between her red lips and fanned it with her hand.
"Ahh, it's spicy."
Spicy, but delicious.
Next to it was a bowl of white rice—not packed neatly, but loosely scooped.
She spooned some rice into her mouth. As it hit her tongue, the heat eased a bit. Chewing brought out a clean sweetness.
She said,
"Eating it like this makes the rice taste even better."
Her chopsticks returned to the spicy pork stew.
Na Gang-in said,
"Eat a bit of everything."
"Okay!"
This time, she went for other ingredients.
Shin Eun-ha was a total carnivore.
But the other parts were tasty too. The potatoes she'd peeled so painstakingly soaked up the greasy meat flavors, turning spicy. The onions she'd sliced added a soft sweetness that tempered the heat.
Na Gang-in watched her blow on each bite and said,
"Reshoots must've stressed you out. This should help melt it away."
The stress he wanted to relieve wasn't from reshoots. It was from yesterday, when the Gangwon-do set collapsed right around her.
'She doesn't show it, but it might've left a scratch on her mind.'
Shin Eun-ha asked,
"Hey, can I have more rice?"
She wanted more spicy pork stew, but her tongue was on the verge of surrender. To keep fighting, she needed more white rice.
Cha Eun-seo quickly scooped some.
"Here, sister."
Shin Eun-ha dumped the remaining stew into a bowl and mixed it with rice, then took a spoonful.
Even like this, it was delicious. The rice neutralized the spice just right, spreading through her mouth.
Sweat beaded on her forehead. Fanning it felt like a cool breeze.
"Ahh, so good. My stress is just... gone."
She kept going until the bowl was scraped clean.
Then she gulped down the iced water beside her.
"That was amazing. Ahh, I'm so full. Too full to even breathe..."
Realizing how stuffed she was, reality hit.
In front of her sat two empty bowls and the completely cleaned-out stew pot. Generously portioned, and nothing left.
"What have I done?"
She looked at Na Gang-in in panic.
"What now? I have shoots tomorrow, and I ate way too much. I must be crazy."
Na Gang-in eyed her belly, assessing.
"Hmm. Definitely a bit pou—"
"Shut up."
"Work out. Cardio. If you start now and go till dinner, it'll flatten right out."
"I don't have the stamina for that long!"
"You ate that much stew and rice—you got a solid stamina buff. You can do it."
Cha Eun-seo delivered spicy pork stew and rice to PC bang customers who'd ordered lunch. Night-shift Yoon A-reum and college hacker An Seong-hwan helped out, then ate together.
An Seong-hwan said as he ate,
"I came because I heard Gang-in hyung was doing lunch today. Good call on skipping my dilemma earlier. Best decision ever."
Cha Eun-seo scolded him.
"You just here to eat free? No work?"
"Why pick on me? What about A-reum?"
Yoon A-reum, mid-scoop for seconds, turned her head and blinked.
She'd been crashing at a sauna since her place burned down.
Cha Eun-seo said,
"No, A-reumie, eat up. Eat a lot. Uncle said he wouldn't nag about your portions."
The next morning, Shin Eun-ha shot two more action scenes with Na Gang-in.
Afterward, Son Tae-min reviewed the footage. Shin Eun-ha watched too.
Son Tae-min marveled,
"Gang-in's the man. Nailed it in one take again? Thanks to you, we've got breathing room on schedule. Even time for editing now."
He shot by day, edited with staff by night, squeezing script tweaks from thin air.
Despite the grind, his eyes burned brighter than before.
"Thinking about that druggie almost tanking my film grinds my gears, but seeing it turn into something this good? Mood-lifter for sure."
Son Tae-min turned to Shin Eun-ha.
"This scene has Gang-in kinda covering your stomach. If it doesn't scream 'Eun-ha,' wanna reshoot just that bit? We got the luxury now."
She checked the scene. She'd felt bloated from breakfast after yesterday's feast, but he'd artfully hidden it.
She shook her head vigorously.
"No, don't reshoot. This is perfect."
"Yeah?"
"Gang-in oppa said it too—reshoot his action, and it loses that raw first-take feel."
"True."
Na Gang-in spent three or four hours a day total on set travel and shooting.
The rest: selling food at the PC bang, gathering intel—online and boots-on-ground.
Days passed like that.
The final reshoots: lead actor Kim Yu-chan catching a falling Shin Eun-ha.
But Kim Yu-chan sprained his wrist mid-take.
Son Tae-min sighed.
"Come on, Yu-chan. Not even a fight scene—just catching a fall. How...?"
Kim Yu-chan tried scratching his head with his right hand, winced, switched to left.
"Sorry. Tried flashy like Gang-in in the last scene and... blew it."
Son Tae-min turned to Na Gang-in.
"Gang-in, no time to wait for Yu-chan's hand. Last scene—mind subbing? Mask on, you two look alike."
"Sure."
Na Gang-in donned mask and shades, nailed the scene.
With Kim Yu-chan, Shin Eun-ha fell cautiously—no trust. He'd overacted, hurt himself as expected.
Now with Na Gang-in? She fell freely.
He caught her waist with his left arm, solid yet gentle.
Feeling it wrap her, she leaned into him a touch.
Son Tae-min yelled,
"Cut! Eun-ha, that starry-eyed look—perfect! That's exactly what I wanted before!"
Na Gang-in straightened her by the waist, removed mask and shades.
"You okay?"
Shin Eun-ha beamed.
"Yeah. Totally fine."
Son Tae-min jumped up, voice booming.
"Man, when that drug party blew up, I thought the film was toast. One week to reshoot all that druggie footage? Rag-city."
That news had crushed him.
Too many scenes; impossible in a week. Even if, quality would've tanked. Editing? No time.
Set collapse on day one too.
Other films? Surrender deadline or ship scraps.
But all fixed. Better than original.
Son Tae-min addressed the crew,
"Never dreamed we'd wrap reshoots two days early."
Release in two days—panic normally.
Yet he was pumped.
"I've got two whole days!"
Assistant director flattered,
"Not just fast— you made the story epic."
"Heh, Gang-in's action sparked ideas. Rewrote the script overnight."
Son Tae-min grabbed Na Gang-in's hand, shook vigorously.
"Na Gang-in! Thank you! I won't forget this!"
Na Gang-in shrugged.
"No biggie. Got paid to do it."
"Film with me again? Promise? I wanna do straight action now!"
He was romance-famous. No action releases.
Still, he boasted,
"Always wanted action noir. With you, it'll be killer!"
"I'm just a temp stuntie—what's with the hype...?"
Son Tae-min dramatically pointed at crew.
"Who's calling Gang-in a temp? You? You? Huh? You!"
Assistant director crossed arms in X.
"Not me!"
"See? No one!"