Chapter 96
Chapter 96
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 96
Chapter Title: Wrap Party
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Na Gang-in set a sealed container filled with his homemade dishes down on the table in the single hospital room.
"You wouldn't touch something tasteless like this, right?"
High schooler Lee Yeon-ji quickly rummaged in the drawer and pulled out some disposable plates, lining them up on the table.
"Aw, come on. I'll do all the errands. Here, chopsticks too."
"You sure know where the plates are."
"Hospital rooms are all pretty much the same."
"Just two sets of chopsticks are fine. We already ate."
Lee Yeon-ji grinned broadly.
"Heehee. Good thing. It looked like a small portion anyway."
The mixed stew simmered dish was just enough for about two servings.
Na Gang-in had brought only the mixed stew to avoid burdening the patient's body.
- In the battlefield, they prefer the spicy mixed stew version.
"At the PC bang, they liked both."
- Of course. I made both.
Yi Bo-ra was the first to scoop some food onto her plate, then picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks and tasted it.
Her eyes widened round.
"Whoa, why is this so delicious? The rumors about your cooking skills being insane are totally true. Eun-ha, you've been hogging all this tasty food by yourself?"
Shin Eun-ha smirked slyly.
"Heh heh. Jealous? I get it pretty often."
"Nah, not jealous at all. I'm gonna start hitting the PC bang regularly to eat it too."
"Huh?"
"Eun-seo told me everything. I even asked her to reserve me a fixed seat. She'll text me on days when Na Gang-in's dishes are on the menu there."
Shin Eun-ha waved her hand dismissively outward.
"Hey, scram. Don't come."
Lee Yeon-ji scooped food onto her plate from the side and started eating.
"How good does it have to be for Bo-ra unnie to go that far... Whoa!"
Her eyes went wide too.
"It's seriously delicious! Mister, how do you make food this good?"
"Just dump in a ton of MSG."
"Huh?"
The AI Jeon Ji-in spoke up.
- You have to use the exact amount at the precise moment, combined with other seasonings, to maximize the effect. Dumping it in blindly won't give you this flavor.
"Just a figure of speech. I used just enough seasoning to make it perfect, and controlled the heat just right too."
"So you did everything just kinda moderately and casually. Wow, but it's still seriously good."
"Uh... that's not wrong, but it kinda feels off?"
"Heehee."
Yi Bo-ra was an actress. Actresses had to watch their figures. Once she was discharged, she'd be in the spotlight with photos everywhere.
Normally, even if she overate for a day, she could just work out to burn it off.
But she'd been stuck in the hospital room for days without exercising. The calories piling up were no joke.
'It's really delicious, but if I eat too much now, I won't be able to handle the aftermath.'
To cut calories, Yi Bo-ra tearfully rationed small bites of the dish.
Lee Yeon-ji was different. She was a high schooler. High schoolers ate a ton by nature.
The high school girl devoured 80 percent of Na Gang-in's mixed stew. She even mixed in the rice he'd brought and wolfed it down happily.
After scraping the container clean, Lee Yeon-ji leaned back in her chair.
"Whoa, I ate so well. It's been ages since I ate this good."
Na Gang-in chuckled.
"Watching you eat, it seems like you always chow down like this."
"Heehee. How'd you know?"
True to her word, Yi Bo-ra was discharged that very day.
The next evening, the wrap party for the drama Blue Sky kicked off.
Yi Bo-ra's manager said,
"For today's wrap party, a bodyguard will stick with you. That way, both you and the company can relax."
The kidnapping had been the work of two scammers, who were already caught. A bodyguard wasn't strictly necessary.
But the agency wanted to prepare for any what-ifs. Yi Bo-ra felt more at ease with one too.
Still, she had one worry.
"Won't it look weird if a big burly guy suddenly tails me? I don't want rumors that I'm scared. I want to show everyone I'm fine."
"That's why I pulled strings at the company for a female bodyguard. She looks like a regular person—you wouldn't guess she's security at first glance."
"Whoa, what's gotten into the company? They're not usually this attentive."
"You got a ton of news coverage from this incident. If something else happens, who do you think takes the heat? The boss thinks it all affects the stock price."
"Yeah, that makes sense. No wonder they're being nice. They really hired a legit bodyguard, right? Not some actress practicing the role?"
"Of course. She's a tough one to book—we barely managed."
Yi Bo-ra's bodyguard was Min Young-hee, one of the Total Fist Dao trainees.
In the car heading to the reserved restaurant for the wrap party, Yi Bo-ra asked,
"They say you're super famous in the security world. How good are you, exactly?"
Min Young-hee replied,
"I'm pretty decent at punching."
"Pardon?"
Min Young-hee raised her fist.
"Really good at punching."
"Ah... I see."
The car arrived at the destination. Min Young-hee and Yi Bo-ra got out and headed toward the restaurant.
A few people were gathered out front—reporters covering the wrap party.
"Hey, it's Yi Bo-ra!"
They swarmed her.
"Yi Bo-ra-ssi! We heard you were in the hospital—have you been discharged?"
"Any lingering effects?"
Yi Bo-ra's face paled.
She seemed fine normally.
But after that ordeal, there was no way she had zero trauma. She was okay most days, but any mention of the incident made her heart race.
The moment Yi Bo-ra's expression stiffened, Min Young-hee read the situation.
She smoothly pushed the reporters aside.
"Make way."
When she pushed or pulled with her hands, the reporters were effortlessly moved.
"Huh? Whoa?"
They weren't shoved roughly—just enough to clear a path for Yi Bo-ra and Min Young-hee.
Yi Bo-ra followed gracefully behind, impressed.
'Wow, famous bodyguards are on another level.'
Min Young-hee parted the crowd in seconds and ushered Yi Bo-ra comfortably inside.
Yi Bo-ra's eyes sparkled as she asked,
"But your skills are no joke. How do you create just the right space through a crowd like that? That's why you're famous."
"I'm not really known for this technique."
"You were amazing, though?"
Min Young-hee had always been good at this sort of thing.
But today, shoving people aside felt easier than usual. She pulled approaching ones in using their momentum to flip them back, gave a light push to those resisting. People moved exactly as she intended.
She clenched and unclenched her fist, thinking,
'Training Total Fist Dao against the master made dealing with civilians a breeze. My technique's definitely improved.'
Feeling the results made her crave more training.
'Even basic drills give instant results like this—what if I master proper Total Fist Dao?'
She knew where it led.
'Could I reach the master's level? Even half would be insane.'
Shin Eun-ha approached their spot.
"Bo-ra, you made it?"
Seeing Shin Eun-ha instantly relaxed Yi Bo-ra. She teased right away like always.
"Hey, why's a cameo crashing here?"
"I'm more than a cameo—I appeared plenty."
Shin Eun-ha had filmed multiple fight scenes against Yi Bo-ra in the drama. Viewers loved how realistic their clashes felt.
Shin Eun-ha shot back,
"And what's wrong with cameos showing up? You got your cheap labor out of me—least you can do is buy me meat."
"Who said anything? Just asking. Anyway, looks like you came to check on me. See? I'm super healthy."
"Didn't come for you."
Shin Eun-ha turned to Min Young-hee.
"What's Young-hee-ssi doing here?"
"Working."
"Oh? For Bo-ra? Wow, Bo-ra's got connections."
Yi Bo-ra asked, surprised,
"What? How do you know her?"
"My network's killer, remember? I know Young-hee-ssi a bit."
Min Young-hee glanced around the room and asked,
"Is Master Na here by any chance?"
"No, not yet. He'll come a bit later."
Now Shin Eun-ha whispered,
"Is this one of those private gigs you do when you're not on government contracts?"
She freelanced without distinction between government subcontracts and private jobs.
"Yeah. Private work varies, but I do bodyguard stuff sometimes."
Yi Bo-ra cut in from the side,
"What's this about? You're talking about my bodyguard—how come I'm the only one out of the loop?"
"Gang-in oppa taught Young-hee-ssi martial arts. I was there too."
Yi Bo-ra blinked.
"You went to stuff like that?"
"Bored, so I tagged along."
"Lucky. I wanna learn that too... Ah!"
She asked Min Young-hee,
"Um, do you grab wrists or hold waists while teaching martial arts?"
"There was a guy who tried that on me once. Not anymore. Oh, I left her right arm intact so she can still use a spoon."
"Ah... Got it. Ah! For couples, it's okay though, right...?"
"If you're talking about Master Na, we're not a couple yet."
"Aw, you're not, but... Can I learn that martial art too?"
Yi Bo-ra's real goal wasn't Total Fist Dao.
Min Young-hee shook her head firmly.
"No. A normal person would die trying to keep up with that training volume."
"Can't you go easy on me?"
"Master Na doesn't know the word 'easy'."
"Tch. It seemed like a good idea."
Shin Eun-ha snorted.
"Think that's why I didn't train with Young-hee-ssi? I figured I'd collapse and die like the others."
Min Young-hee looked back and forth between Yi Bo-ra and Shin Eun-ha.
Then she sighed.
"Hoo."
'I thought it was just the goalkeeper, but there's a defender up front too. I took this Yi Bo-ra gig hoping for a chance to probe.'
Min Young-hee knew Na Gang-in had rescued the kidnapped Yi Bo-ra. That's why she'd hoped something might happen on this job.
As Sun Tzu said, know yourself and your enemy, and you'd win a hundred battles without peril. No need to start a fight without odds—avoids defeat too.
Her strength was way outmatched against these two.
She made a tactical call.
'Probing now is a guaranteed loss. Time to retreat.'
The Blue Sky production team had rented out a fusion sashimi restaurant with stylish interior decor.
Its signature dishes were sashimi and cold seafood plates made with fresh catches. There were warm options for sashimi haters, but the seafood was the star.
Blue Sky had topped all broadcasts in its time slot that day. In the drama category, it led all currently airing shows.
Finale hadn't aired yet, so ratings could climb higher.
High ratings, no flops in the cast, bonuses already paid—mood was sky-high.
Everyone laughed, enjoyed, ate, and drank.
Yi Bo-ra sat in one corner, joining the fun but not eating heartily.
Those who knew her recent ordeal tiptoed around her—no one offered drinks.
The only one ignoring that was Shin Eun-ha.
Shin Eun-ha plopped down in front of Yi Bo-ra, munching sashimi, and asked,
"Hey, sashimi killer, why just spectate today? You used to devour it, saying it doesn't make you gain weight."
"Well..."
Yi Bo-ra fiddled with her chopsticks and said,
"Coming here today, raw stuff suddenly feels a bit burdensome."
Shin Eun-ha snorted.
"You? If we gathered all the fish you've eaten, we could fill an aquarium in the Yeouido building."
"Hey, I haven't eaten that much."
"Oh, here comes the animal lover. Guess no more beef for you?"
Yi Bo-ra backpedaled instantly.
"No, wait? It only hits me with raw stuff? Cooked is fine?"
"Totally making it up as you go. No standards. Then why skip other dishes?"
"Just no appetite. Ah, I want some hot soup."
"Order spicy fish stew then."
"If I get spicy stew now, won't it kill the vibe?"
Everyone here knew she'd nearly died. The party had been delayed because of it—no way they didn't.
Yi Bo-ra wished they'd treat her like nothing happened. Only Shin Eun-ha did.
Na Gang-in arrived late to the wrap party. Walking toward Shin Eun-ha and Yi Bo-ra, he overheard their talk.
Na Gang-in said to AI Jeon Ji-in,
"Show me the soup dishes from Field Tactical Cooking."
At the PC bang, he mostly made stews or rice bowls.
A list of various soups scrolled up in semi-transparent text before his eyes.
- Providing hot soup to soldiers returning from cold-weather combat reduces battle stress.
Na Gang-in selected one.
"This one should do."
- Lacking spices and seasonings.
"Gotta get 'em from the kitchen."