Grandma's Kimchi Class and a System Error

Welcome to Bok-ja's kimchi-making class.

I was a little excited.

Ever since I'd awakened in this body, I'd gladly eaten anything anyone made for me—but this was my first time actually making something with my own hands.

Which meant I was about to learn to create delicious food myself.

"Ahem."

Grandma Bok-ja strapped on a rubber apron and pulled pink rubber gloves up past her elbows.

"There we go. Now you do the same."

I followed her lead and put on my own gear. Grandma filled a big silver pot with water and set it to boil. Before long, the sweet potato greens inside began to soften, their skins peeling away.

"Next, you peel 'em and scrub 'em nice and clean."

Splash, splash—

Scrubbity, scrub—

That was a sound no plant should ever be able to make.

"Is... is that how you scrub them?"

"Course it is! You get lazy about it and you'll be chawin' on dirt!"

Mrs. Seo Bok-ja glared and scoured the stems with fierce determination until every one of them came out clean and bare, ready to go.

"Now we chop 'em. Nice small pieces, easy for eatin'."

Snick, snick.

With every sweep of her knife, Mrs. Seo Bok-ja sent the stems falling apart into neat five-centimeter chunks.

"I made the seasoning paste ahead of time, while the greens were boilin'."

So saying, Grandma Bok-ja brought over a bowl of the stuff. The tangy aroma was simply divine. Kimchi made with that was guaranteed to be delicious. My shoulders were trembling.

"Wh-what the—"

Startled, I peeled Bong-gu off my shoulder, where he'd been hanging on for dear life. Drool was streaming from the corners of his mouth.

"Wipe your mouth, Seo Bong-gu."

"Snnnrf—kyu......"

Grandma Bok-ja chuckled at the sight of us and squatted down beside the basin where the sweet potato greens had been soaking. With her gloved hands, she began working the seasoning into them, coating each stem thoroughly.

"There's plum extract in this here paste, so it comes out tangy an' sweet all at once."

Listening to her explain, I watched the ordinary stems gradually transform into kimchi before my eyes.

"Your hands are incredibly fast, Grandma."

"Ain't nothin'! I've been doin' this for decades."

Truly a master. What a waste that such ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠talent had gone unnoticed all these years. The realization struck me all over again.

"Um, excuse me......"

"Hm?"

"Weren't we supposed to make it together?"

"You're too slow. Wouldn't be any use."

You could at least let me try once......

"There. All done."

And so Grandma Bok-ja concluded her hands-on class—which was to say, her one-woman kimchi show.

"I'll pack this up for you to take home, and about the sweet potatoes——"

"I'll bring you one fresh from today's harvest right now."

"Mm, that's the way. Good, good."

With a satisfied smile, Grandma Bok-ja handed me a kimchi container roughly three times the size of Bong-gu. I accepted it and went on to inspect the remaining fields. Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary, though I'd need to revise the manual to cover growing crops with fertilizer. I'd have to put out a notice about it starting tomorrow.

"Heavier than I expected."

Every step I took, the seasoning in the container seemed to slosh and sway. The smell had been to die for earlier—paired with boiled potatoes or sweet potatoes, it would be the perfect meal.

"Kyaaaoo? (This is kimchi?)"

"That's right. We'll try it at home."

"Kyuut!!"

The little guy looked absolutely thrilled. But that container was strictly off-limits.

"Not for you."

"......! Grrrok!! (Why not!!)"

Honey badgers can eat just about any natural food, toxins included, but salty things were a hard no.

"Instead, I'll boil some sweet potato greens and drizzle honey on them. You can be satisfied with that."

"Gururuk...... (I, Seo Bong-gu, am running away from home......)"

"Hey! You are not running away from home!"

Phew. After coaxing and cajoling the little drama king, I finally got him home. The house was still empty—Dad had gone to look at a building to register as the company office, Grandpa was at the village hall, and Mom had apparently gone grocery shopping.

I washed up and headed straight for the kitchen.

"Potatoes first."

I started to boil the water with magic, then stopped. We'd bought a state-of-the-art water purifier when we moved in—high-efficiency, dispensing both hot and cold water. I hurried over, drew some hot water, and set it to boil. Before long it was bubbling away merrily. I set the steamer basket on top and laid the sweet potatoes and potatoes on it. Ten minutes of gentle steaming and—done!

The fragrant steam wafted through the kitchen. I lifted the lid and pulled out the boiled sweet potatoes and potatoes, then cast a cooling spell on the sweet potato green kimchi Grandma had given me to chill it nicely.

"Now, if I put these two together——!"

"Kyee, kyuuu!! (Me too, give me mine too!!)"

Oh, right. I still had to boil Bong-gu's sweet potato greens. While they cooked, I poured honey onto a plate, then fished out the softened greens and chopped them finely.

"Gotta cut them small enough for Bong-gu to chew easily."

Then I rolled the chopped greens around on the honeyed plate. The honey coated each moist piece in a smooth, glistening layer.

And with that, Bong-gu's honey-glazed sweet potato greens were complete!

"Ahem. Thank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you for the food!"

"Time to eat!!"

First, I'd taste the kimchi on its own. Bong-gu and I each put a bite of our respective dishes into our mouths.

"!!"

Sweet! But tangy too, and delicious!

Some kind of indescribable flavor was blooming on my tongue. Where on earth was that taste coming from? A subtle, profound depth I couldn't begin to pin down.

"Mmm——"

Next, I'd savor the mild, natural taste of the potato alongside the kimchi.

"Haap."

......

Astonishing. The fluffy, mealy texture of the plainly boiled potato—mild enough to taste bland on its own—melded perfectly with the crisp crunch of the kimchi.

Trembling with gratitude, I took my final bite: sweet potato and kimchi together.

"Mmph——!"

Wow. This was it. This was the peak. The combination of sweet potato and kimchi was simply unbeatable. The tangy aroma of the kimchi layered over the sweetness of the potato—yes, my best pick was officially the sweet potato and kimchi set.

I was still savoring the flavor in a daze of delight when my vision flashed and a system window popped up urgently before my eyes.

Clunk.

I was so startled my chair rocked beneath me. This was an unexpected harvest. The fact that it was labeled an error meant even the system hadn't known about it. Sure enough, ever since eating, my body had felt somehow smoother in its movements.

I swung my arm in a full, wide circle. My shoulders, which had been a little knotted from studying for exams, rotated freely and easily.

"This is huge."

An effect that loosened tight muscles. Strength wasn't the end of the story for muscles—maintaining suppleness and flexibility mattered just as much. That was what reduced the risk of injury during activity and widened your range of motion. It was exactly why you were supposed to stretch before and after exercise.

And all you had to do was eat, and your muscles would soften? This was an absolute jackpot.

So sweet potato greens were sellable magical crops too. If I'd known, I'd have trimmed and packed them all up for sale ages ago.

But the surprises didn't stop there. System windows kept popping up.

"Cough—hk, khh, haccK—!!"

I nearly choked for real, I was that shocked. And how could I not be?

Double the effects? The special crops' effects, doubled? Eat them together and they doubled??

"Ji-on! You okay??"

Even Bong-gu, who'd been blissfully chewing his honeyed greens beside me, shot up in alarm. He scrambled to cling to my leg and check on me.

"Ji-on!!"

"Cough, I'm fi—, I'm fine."

Fine? I was beyond fine. I was in the best possible state right now.

"Haha......!"

Unbelievable. Apparently the heavens really were on my side.

"It seems the universe has decided to sweep money my way."

"......? Only trash gets swept up and brought to you."

Bong-gu explained, puzzled. In everything he'd seen in his life, the only things ever swept up off the floor were dust and garbage.

"Mom sweeps a lot and throws it away. It's trash."

He was remembering a few days back, when he'd been rolling around on the yard and nearly gotten swept up in Mom's broom. She'd scolded him until he was streaming tears and snot, saying he'd get all dirty.

"Hahaha. Trash, huh."

I sat back down and stroked the little guy's head. A discovery this good couldn't just slip through my fingers. I was going to put it to work.

"Our company's next product just decided itself."

Sweet potato green kimchi. It looked like I'd be leaning on Grandma Bok-ja's expertise once again. And it seemed about time I got in touch with that other someone too—the man currently in charge of sweet potato sales.

Park Byung-gyu, head of Songgye Nonghyup.

I checked the clock—seven o'clock had already come and gone.

Clunk—

The sound of the front gate opening reached us.

"Ji-on, are you home?"

Mom came in smiling warmly.

"I ran into someone I know at the market and got caught up chatting, so I'm late. Have you eaten?"

"Ah, I boiled some potatoes and sweet potatoes, and I put out the kimchi Grandma Bok-ja gave me. Let's eat together."

"Oh my, she gave you kimchi? I'll have to make something to thank her."

While ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Mom and I were talking, Dad and Grandpa trickled home one after the other.

"Somethin' smells sweet in here?"

"Ji-on boiled sweet potatoes for us."

"Well I'll be! I'd best see if he steamed 'em proper, like I showed him last time!"

Grandpa grinned and fetched the boiled sweet potatoes and potatoes, and soon the whole family was gathered around the table, eating them with the kimchi.

"My, it's already nine."

Between talk of my exam results and endless chatter, two whole hours had slipped by.

I went to my room and started preparing for tomorrow. Pulling out my workout clothes, packing my bag—oh, and remaking the manual. I'd need to add a section on growing crops with fertilizer.

One thing led to another, and before I knew it, my bedtime alarm was ringing. The announcement said it was past eleven.

"Ah, that's right—I still need to contact Branch Head Park Byung-gyu."

It was far too late to call, so I'd have to settle for a text message.

Inside the branch office on the second floor of the Songgye Nonghyup Han-gaero Mart, in the branch head's room, a man sat glaring pale-faced at his mobile phone.

It was none other than Branch Head Park Byung-gyu.

Ever since receiving that text message the day before, his mind had been in a state of indescribable turmoil.

Why?

Simple.

Because something had gone wrong.

......A problem has emerged in the sweet potato sales process.

The kind of problem that could not be solved on his own authority.

Park Byung-gyu swallowed dryly.

The hours kept ticking by, and it was already nearing four in the afternoon. Soon it would be time for the farm owner, Seo Ji-on, to get out of school. The call would come.

Right on cue, before long, his phone began to ring.

Trrr—

Trrrr—

He screwed his eyes shut and picked up the phone.

"Yes, thank you for calling. This is Park Byung-gyu, head of the Songgye branch."