Chapter 148
Chapter 148
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 148
Chapter Title: A Sizzling Heart-to-Heart
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Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle.
Everyone fell silent as the meat grilled on the hot plate.
*What a funeral atmosphere.*
Hyun Ye-won was still pouting, and Baek Jae-ha was rubbing his eyes, looking exhausted.
I wondered if I'd dragged them here for nothing, but I still placed slightly cooked pieces of beef on their small plates one by one.
For the record, Hyun Ye-won and Baek Jae-ha had offered to grill, but they backed off when I asked if they could do it better than me.
Of course. Meat should always be grilled by the best griller. Especially beef, not pork.
"Here. Dig in quick. Beef is best when it's just a touch underdone."
"......Thanks for the meal."
Hyun Ye-won picked up her chopsticks first. She dipped a piece in the sauce and popped it straight into her mouth.
"Gasp!"
Her eyes went wide.
Her reaction was exactly as I'd predicted, so I grinned at her.
"How is it? Delicious, right?"
"Yes! Incredibly so!"
Hyun Ye-won's eyes sparkled as she spoke.
"It melts in your mouth so smoothly. Beef is tender to begin with, but I've never had it this good. Is it high-marbling? Hanwoo?"
"Yes. Hanwoo."
"Wow...!"
"But it's not just the Hanwoo that makes it delicious. The real key is this touch."
I held up the tongs in my hand.
"I'm a master at grilling meat, you could say."
"Wow. Totally. It's so good!"
Seeing her enjoy it made me swell with pride. Not flattery—genuine admiration from the heart.
"How good is it?"
Baek Jae-ha finally started eating too, a little late. He tried a piece I'd placed on his plate.
"......!"
"See? Delicious, right? Delicious!"
Hyun Ye-won was buzzing with excitement, like she couldn't hold back from sharing the thrill.
"It melts the second it hits your tongue! By the time you try to chew, it's already so tender—no chewiness at all—and this nutty savoriness coats your whole mouth. It's unreal!"
"Yeah. It is."
Baek Jae-ha responded calmly, but his eyes were still round with surprise.
Sizzle.
I flipped the cooking meat pieces over and casually said,
"How about it? Delicious enough to blow all your worries away in one bite?"
They both froze at my words. They must have just realized they'd been moping in front of me. Feeling a pang of guilt?
Pretending not to notice, I continued.
"That's why I love food. Sure, running a business means profits matter most. But at the deepest level, it's all driven by a love for good eats."
This was the honest truth.
"Who doesn't feel better after a delicious meal? A satisfying one lets you push daily worries aside and focus on the moment."
"......"
"In this tough world, how precious is that?"
Take me, for example.
Delicious food brings instant joy and happiness. Then curiosity kicks in—how was it made?—and before you know it, you're analyzing ingredients, losing track of time.
Rent due next month, payroll, net sales—those fade away. In front of great food, you feel like a kid again.
Everyone's had that experience at least once.
"No matter how exhausted or beat you are, your stomach still gets hungry. The harder life gets, the more good food offers that moment of solace."
I smiled, and they stared at me blankly for a second.
Baek Jae-ha broke into a grin first, responding cheekily.
"Haha. Sis is the same as ever~."
"S-S-Sis?!"
Hyun Ye-won jumped in shock, glancing back and forth between me and Baek Jae-ha. I could guess what she was thinking.
"It's not like that, so don't worry. Jae-ha, watch your mouth."
"Yessir."
He said it in a tone that showed he hadn't gotten it at all. Still in his rebellious phase?
"Bear with us. He's not much younger, so he keeps trying to act buddy-buddy."
I keep telling him to behave at the office. I sighed deeply, and Hyun Ye-won looked like she had a lot to say, hesitating.
Sure, the company's still a mom-and-pop operation, barely scraping by. But a new hire calling the boss "sis" repeatedly doesn't look good.
I was thinking I'd have to scold Baek Jae-ha properly again when—
Hyun Ye-won, who'd been glancing nervously with trembling hands, suddenly blurted out.
"W-What about me?!"
"?"
What?
I stared blankly, and she added, her face flushing red,
"Can I call you sis too?!"
"Huh?"
But you're a girl.
"Oh, not sis—unnie!"
She realized her slip and corrected herself quickly. But a bigger issue remained.
"Well, sure, no problem, but..."
I couldn't hide my confusion as I continued.
"Aren't you older than me, Ye-won?"
"Oh. Right. I forgot."
"?"
How do you forget that? I tilted my head, and she mumbled something about cool people being unnie material—hard to follow.
Whatever. Titles aren't important. Just let it slide.
I placed more meat on their plates and pressed on.
"Feeling better now, at least?"
"Ah. ......Was it that obvious?"
"Yeah. Super obvious."
"Sorry."
Hyun Ye-won bowed her head.
"......There's this person I really, really hate. I've always thought I was different from them. Swore I'd never become like that."
Vague, but it was clearly about the Hyunmu chaebol family.
"But."
She clenched her fists tightly in her lap.
"That person's traits were inside me too."
"......"
"Once I saw it, I kinda... gave up, I guess. Like, I'm not so different after all. Made me question what the point of everything I've done was."
Her profile, as she muttered, radiated undisguised bitterness.
It hit me suddenly.
Before her regression, Hyun Ye-won must have had a similar experience at some other company.
*So that's why she left Hyunmu, ran to another firm, then came crawling back.*
How painful those times must have been. Repeatedly confronting the deep-rooted mindset in her bloodline.
When she finally admitted she wasn't different and returned—what was going through her mind?
*That's why you had that face before the regression.*
Emotionless, parched, eerily cold—not quite human.
Forcing herself into the ill-fitting suit of Hyunmu, grinding herself down to fit that mold.
"That person told me, 'No matter what, your roots don't change.' I sneered back then, vowing to live better just to spite them. ......Now, I'm not so sure."
Half self-mocking. I placed my hand over hers.
"!"
Looking straight into her startled face, I said,
"You're different."
"......Huh?"
"Different. You and that 'person' you mentioned."
"Yes?"
She looked baffled. Of course it sounded random. But I was dead serious.
"You're at least aware that you have some of 'that person's' traits. That's only possible because the real you is different from them."
"......!"
"If that mindset was truly yours, you wouldn't even notice anything off. The fact that you're agonizing over it, hurting like this...... that's proof you're different."
I spoke with full conviction. Because I truly believed it.
Hyun Ye-won was different from the rest of Hyunmu.
Because when I was in danger, you couldn't hold back—you secretly reached out.
While everyone else was out for blood, ignoring my pleas and turning away.
You were the only one who risked exposure by sending that anonymous email.
You didn't help openly, but seeing the secret info you sent gave me quiet comfort.
That I wasn't wrong. That Hyunmu had scripted my downfall from start to finish.
That alone gave me the strength to keep going.
To avoid total collapse.
"......Really? I don't know......"
She said, voice trembling.
"I've been taught that way since childhood, raised that way. Can I really go against it now?"
Her eyes welled up, ready to spill over at the slightest push.
I answered without a flicker of doubt.
"Yes, you can."
Even after over ten years at Hyunmu, you hadn't lost that warmth.
That alone proved you were fundamentally different.
"I'll make it happen."
My vague hunch had solidified. Hyun Ye-won was writhing in pain, on the verge of tears.
She wasn't the only victim suffering from Hyunmu.
"I'll help you."
Just as you helped me before the regression.
This time, it was my turn to save you.