Harang's First Ramen Party!
Han Jihye unni’s voice rang out from the front. “Wake-up time—!”
“Let’s party!”
“Eek! You startled me!”
“Startling me is informal. Anyway! Let’s party!”
Han Jihye shot to her feet from her seat and shouted, and every head in the room turned toward her.
It was a familiar flow. The kind that had lingered since the victory-party aftereffects from the day before.
“What party? We just had one two days ago…”
“That was Harang unni’s victory party. This one’s different.”
“Then what party is it? I said the same thing twice.”
“No one can refuse a request from the senior! Super!”
—THUD!
“…Kim Heejin, Superhuman.”
Kim Heejin responded in her usual military cadence, though her expression looked annoyed after Han Jihye’s head-butt.
Whether she liked it or not, the senior-junior bond was rock-solid.
“You’ve got dark circles, you know? Your credit score’s risen.”
“For real!?”
Yeon Byeori’s eyes shot open in surprise as she jolted upright. When I glanced at her, she was already awake, rubbing sleep from her eyes.
“…Really. I’ve paid back almost everything I borrowed from Hero Jihye unni.”
My voice roused her, and she tied her messy hair into one loose knot while speaking in that laid-back tone.
She acted like it was nothing special, but it was huge.
She had repaid the money to Han Jihye unni and raised her credit score.
That meant she had finally broken free from her addiction—the single hardest thing in the world! Yeon Byeori had done it!
“You’re truly amazing. Huh? So then you won’t even enter that site anymore, right?”
“I won’t. Harang unni’s right here seeing for herself, isn’t she? Back then I wouldn’t have let go of my phone even for a second. Nowadays it’s not quite like that.”
Compared to before, she was a celestial being.
But the phone still stayed glued to her hand. She was probably doing something else that caught her interest.
A stray thought started chasing its own tail. Honestly, I was curious. Exactly what was she doing?
“Do you do anything else besides that? Even if it’s not exactly the same as before, you seem to have your phone out a lot…”
“Yeah. I couldn’t just straight-up cut it off. I still keep my hand on it.”
“Still amazing. You’re not even looking at the site while staring at your phone.”
“Exactly. In that sense, I’m grateful to Harang unni’s little sister for telling me about those fun games.”
“Oh…”
“Harang is a handful. She’s already gotten twenty kills.”
I knew she loved me, but she was the type that died the moment I blinked.
“Then does this mean we’re just preparing after roll call today?”
“No? Last time was boring enough as it is? We’re changing the menu today.”
“The menu is different?”
I was genuinely curious. What did different menu even mean? Was there anything other than the frozen stuff from the convenience store?
Honestly, I didn’t care. The fact that we were all doing something together was what mattered.
“After roll call tonight, just wait here. Don’t go anywhere.”
“Where could we even go? It’s pitch black after roll call tonight.”
“No backtalk.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
That was the last word from Han Jihye unni after she poked my cheek.
The second party time had officially been set.
…
“Roll call over. Sleep schedule adjusted so there won’t be any issues with tomorrow’s duties. End of broadcast.”
The broadcast ended with its usual stern tone.
Sorry to the officer who had to hear that about our sleep schedule, but our night was just beginning.
“Ready?”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Oh! Harang unni’s got energy! Want to show us your determination?”
“Superhuman Seo Harang! I, your senior, will cook you a ramen that will satisfy everyone!”
“Awesome! Then let’s go!”
“Yes, ma’am!”
Han Jihye unni rustled through the things beside the station and pulled them out.
Two packs of ramen. Spicy stir-fried noodles that could make adult men cry, and the classic jjajang ramen. Ten bags total—five of each.
We headed straight to the dining hall… right next to the kitchen. A compact cooking area welcomed us, sized perfectly for our small number of members.
The seniors had already told me how big normal military kitchens were, but I had never been to another one.
It was an off-limits spot for normal soldiers, so if anyone asked why we were here—!
“Thank goodness. I thought the cook-assigned senior would say no.”
“Say no? We just had to boil the ramen. And even if I had stolen from the food warehouse, he would’ve probably been happy I didn’t.”
“You can’t steal from the food warehouse?”
“Say no? We just had to boil the ramen.”
The more I learned, the more I realized this was a world completely different from the one I knew. If the system’s lock opened based on rank, then Han Jihye unni had already unlocked the final level.
“Harang, are you okay with using the stove or something?”
“I have a general idea. I used one a few times when I was working over there. I can definitely handle it.”
Back when I and my sister lived off nothing but ramen, it had been the perfect fit. In other words, the optimal selection. The ramen genius. The successor born for today. The master of the Superhuman ramen shop.
It was a level of confidence I had never shown before, and I could tell the seniors felt relieved by my attitude.
“Harang, I’ll help.”
“It’s fine. Just sit back and relax while I take care of everything.”
“I don’t think I can sit comfortably.”
Jeong Seung-ah was the exception. Since we were in the same junior group, she seemed to prefer standing next to me rather than with the other seniors.
“Then can I get a little help?”
“Yes!”
Jeong Seung-ah flashed a bashful smile and followed me into the kitchen.
The other seniors waited in the dining hall. They were people who had already synced up with us, so there would be no awkwardness.
Ramen lives and dies by the water ratio, so I had to get the amount perfect!
…But that plan went out the window the moment I started boiling both the spicy and jjajang noodles.
I relaxed the tension in my shoulders as Jeong Seung-ah stepped in from the side, ripped open the ramen packs for me, and spared me the annoying task.
As expected, she was the ace. She didn’t need to say a word; she just found the right spot for everything.
I wanted to become just like her someday!
“Harang.”
Jeong Seung-ah spoke first, her tone unusually quiet.
“Superhuman Seo Harang?”
“Is something bothering you right now?”
“Bothering? It’s not at all! Being with you, Jeong Seung-ah Superhuman, is wonderful! Why would you ask something so sudden?”
“I don’t know, you just seemed a little distant…”
Even though I wasn’t distant at all and didn’t need to speak up, Jeong Seung-ah apparently felt otherwise. She still wasn’t ready to accept silence as a greeting.
“Honestly, I’m fine being quiet, but I thought Harang probably wouldn’t be.”
“No, I really don’t have that kind of thought.”
“That’s a relief… I was secretly a little worried. I was afraid bringing me along was too much of a forced thing.”
“Hey, it’s not like that. It’s fine.”
“You really are kind, Harang. Right? If we can stay together without feeling uneasy now, we can get even closer later.”
I didn’t catch the rest of her sentence. What did she mean by “together”?
When I asked what she meant, Jeong Seung-ah simply shook her head in that vague way. Since she didn’t seem urgent or flustered, I decided not to press.
“Speaking of which, Harang. Do you know? Our TO is short.”
“Oh, yes. Last workweek I could tell everyone was looking at me sideways. The seniors said it was okay, but the extra shifts were because of me…”
Before I could finish, Jeong Seung-ah’s meaningful words hit me. What could she possibly be trying to say while we were alone?
“Harang. Right now you’re monopolizing all the attention from the other seniors.”
“That’s right. Overwhelmingly so.”
“But a new junior who’s more interesting than you could come along, right?”
“Yes. I’m sure that will happen. It’s not like the number of people will stay the same anyway. Whoever comes, they’ll definitely catch interest.”
“Then what if that new junior takes away all the attention you’ve been getting until now? And you just become ordinary?”
“What do you mean?”
“Yeah.”
What would I do? I could just treat the junior nicely, same as always.
That hadn’t occurred to me, but Jeong Seung-ah clearly had. Her eyes were serious, as if she needed a serious answer.
“There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll treat you just as kindly and warmly as Jeong Seung-ah Superhuman does.”
“Like me?”
“Yes. Jeong Seung-ah Superhuman is my role model!”
Jeong Seung-ah blinked several times, then broke into a bashful laugh. It was a perfect answer.
“Thank you. Don’t worry! Even if a new junior comes, I’ll always be on Harang’s side!”
“As expected, you’re the direct senior!”
“Not exactly a direct senior and junior, but one who supports each other.”
“Like partners?”
“Yes! That’s right! Partners! Life partners!”
“Life partners…”
The word choice felt a bit much, but thinking about it, it wasn’t wrong.
We would be together for years, sharing everything. Even if someone quit, our bond would continue, right?
“…Is that so?”
“It sounds perfect!”
Jeong Seung-ah laughed again, this time with even greater satisfaction. The kind of junior who made her senior happy. If that wasn’t A-class, then what was?
By then the water had started boiling, and I began cooking the ramen.
Because I had precedent, I had worried ten servings might be too much, but Jeong Seung-ah said it was better to make a little extra than to run short, so I poured in everything.
…
“Harang really is good at this, huh?”
“The noodles look perfect. Everyone who can’t do it just gets distracted.”
“Oh, so you really did cook before?”
“When I serve you the noodle soup later, I’ll show you my true skill.”
Aside from that, the midnight snack party had been an overwhelming success. First time mixing spicy and jjajang, but they blended so well I never expected it.
The kimchi the kitchen staff had pulled out was the perfect side dish.
Compared to last week’s frozen party, this one was far more enjoyable, and I ended the day with a smile.