Winter Steaks and Grandpa's Tales
It was winter. For a brief moment, the chat felt frozen solid. How's that! I planned this from the start!
One by one, the chats started rolling in—people knew when to show some humility. Then came the donations.
Whoa. Saying it outright like that? I glanced at Grandpa's face. Please don't be hurt...
Grandpa caught me looking and grinned like a mischievous kid before opening his mouth.
"Eherhe, ha! Of course it's weird! I named 'em all on purpose like that!"
Huh? Grandpa's reaction was surprisingly positive. On purpose? What did that mean?
"Eherhe, a name ain't nothin' special, right? If the one callin' it puts heart into it, that's all it takes. But wouldn't it be better if it's a cool name?"
"Oh... yeah, you're right."
"That mutt of mine hears nothin' but 'Yellowy' or 'Whitey' like some country stray. But call him Alexander, and he'll think he gotta live up to the name—gets all proud and fierce. Same for people or dogs. A name makes the man... or the mutt."
"Mmm, makes sense. But Grandpa, they're not people, they're..."
"Hey now!"
Ahem, just sayin', no one said anything. Anyway, seemed Grandpa's weird pet naming had some deep meaning behind it.
As our unexpected banter dragged on, suddenly white smoke billowed from the covered BBQ grill.
I slowly lifted the lid. Perfectly grilled tenderloin steaks. The short rib eye on the side was more than halfway done.
"Grandpa! Time for meat!"
"Comin'~"
I transferred two well-done tenderloins onto the cutting board. Thud. The hefty chunks jiggled like pudding. Juices from the seared surface dripped onto the board.
While they rested, I whipped up a steak dipping sauce and portioned some wasabi into a small dish. Now just slice and eat.
I halved a tenderloin. The knife glided in without resistance, revealing a mouthwatering pink cross-section.
"Whoa, cooked to perfection!"
"Right? Looks insanely good."
"Gettin' to eat grub grilled by my grandbaby—livin' large, I tell ya!"
"Heehee, I'll do it more often."
Holding up the cross-section to the camera, the chat exploded again.
"Pffft, looks tasty, right? Even I'm excited—been ages since I had tenderloin."
I sliced the rest into bite-sized pieces and plated them up, leaning them artfully against each other.
"Here, Grandpa, you first. Ahh~"
I picked up a piece with chopsticks and fed it to him. He chuckled happily, popping it in his mouth. Then his eyes went wide.
"No way... never tasted beef this good in my life. Melts right on the tongue~"
"Heeheehaha! If you can't hold back, whatcha gonna..."
Huh, did I see that wrong? That was Im Nana, right? The TTS read out an ID with the official mark—real Nana Channel. Wait, yesterday too, and now today...? Was she really busy?
"...Nana, aren't you working?"
"...Just wait."
I excused myself to Grandpa and immediately called Im Nana on my smartphone. After a few rings, it connected.
[Uh, yeah. Areum?]
"Nana. Aren't you working?"
[J-just finished! Worked my butt off and got home!]
"Hmmm... really just got in?"
[Yeah! Just walked in, haven't even showered!]
Who walks in and jumps straight to streaming and chatting instead of showering...? Though she probably did work— if she was just chilling, she'd have been spamming dumb chats since the stream started. Hmm, yeah. Sure.
"Haven't eaten dinner yet, then?"
[Yeah... gonna shower and eat...]
"Hold on."
A fun idea flashed through my mind. After a full day of work, she'd be starving, right? I remembered her casually mentioning skipping lunch... probably just a light salad for breakfast and empty stomach till now. Show her this perfectly grilled steak in that state?
Kya. Fun just thinking about it.
I tapped the screen to switch to video call.
"Check your phone screen, Nana."
[Huh? What'd you send?]
The screen switched, and a slightly flustered Nana appeared on video. I gave a little wave; she waved back.
[What the~ sudden video call?]
"Look closely. Focus."
[Huh? Okay, got it.]
She'd see my serious face on her screen. Off-camera, my hands busily topped a piece of meat with wasabi, folding it in half for a perfect bite and picking it up with chopsticks.
"Here, ahh~ Try it. Aaaahn~"
[Holy... Ah, Areum...?]
"Oopsie, my bad. You can't eat it, Nana. Guess I'll have to. Haaam!"
The chopsticks swam through the air into my open mouth. Chewing the meaty mouthful, the intense, savory pressure enveloped my tongue.
"Mmm~! So good! This is insanely tasty—is it 'cause I love meat?"
As I savored the bite, Nana on screen looked like I'd stolen the steak right from under her nose—totally stunned. Her reactions are always top-tier, huh? That's 1.8 million sub YouTuber quality?
[...Areum, you're dead meat.]
"...Mmm~ So good~"
[Waaah! I'm eating meat too! Meat!]
Click. Things were getting too rowdy—I hung up without hesitation. Hmm... definitely karma coming my way... But hey, fun now is what matters, right? She'd probably rage on her channel a bit and call it even.
I turned to see Grandpa beaming contentedly.
"Grandbaby, who's that gal?"
"Oh, that's Im Nana. We met because..."
Seemed curious, so I explained how we met. Camping in Gangwon, snowman... er, quinzhee, she's a good person.
Grandpa looked satisfied hearing her saga.
"Good friend, eh? Y'all get along so nice—warms the heart~"
"Yeah? If friends... yeah, she's a friend. Didn't wanna end it as just business."
"Bring her sometime. Remember old man Chunsam down the road? Tell him, he'll butcher a whole pig for ya."
"Ahaha, got it. She's busy, so not sure when."
"Right, then let's eat."
"Yes, dig in."
Short tenderloin mukbang over, I pulled out the long-smoked short ribs after their long grill time. Dark brown, mouthwatering just looking. Bone and meat separated softly, still pink and juicy inside.
Wearing oven mitts, I grabbed a hot rack and slid the meat off. It came away clean with no resistance. Grandpa and I gasped in unison.
Tearing by hand seemed faster than slicing. I portioned it onto our plates.
"Whoa, this too is perfect."
"Wow, first time seeing short rib meat pull off the bone like this..."
Short ribs weren't super trendy yet, and no reason to lug them camping, so new for me too. One bite: softer and milder than expected.
...But uh oh. Stomach's stuffed. Grandpa okay?
"Grandpa, enough meat?"
"Nah~ Old man's belly's burstin' already."
"Ugh, me too, way too full..."
"Heh? Then feed it to Alexander."
Gasp. This pricey short rib... Wait, no—it's my gift to Grandpa. His call. Plus, the scraps I tossed earlier weren't enough; Alexander III drooling pitifully.
Grandpa smiled satisfied and stood.
Night had deepened.
"I'll head in first—take yer time~"
"I'll be right in. Let's clean up together."
"Sure, sure~"
He took some trays and dishes inside. Time to wrap up and rest... long drive, cooking—tired.
"Alright, everyone. You heard? Stream ends here. Wanna chat more with Grandpa, help clean."
"Hmm, I'll make up the time on the road tomorrow or when I arrive—no worries. Good night, everyone!"
Viewers grumbled goodbyes and trickled out. I waved farewell and hit end stream.
Tablet off, the countryside house fell silent again.
Inside, dishes done and tidied, we sat side-by-side on the living room sofa. Warm boiler heat made my body melt. Then Maximus appeared, clinging to my leg. Couldn't resist—scooped him up for cuddles.
Savoring his puppy scent, Grandpa spoke first.
"Looked like things are goin' great—makes this old man happy~."
I gazed at the drowsy Maximus in my arms.
"Yeah... got lucky. Really."
"Ain't luck, grandbaby—yer hard work payin' off."
"Mmm... you think?"
"Heh, so enjoy it to the fullest."
"Yeah, trying to."
Silence settled. Tick-tock. Only the wall clock's second hand filled the room.
But it wasn't awkward. So comfy, I could doze off.
Stroking the nearly asleep Maximus, I asked Grandpa again.
"Grandpa. Maximus... really okay if I take him?"
"Heh, he likes ya best. Won't even pretend for me—straight to you."
"...Yeah?"
I buried my face in his tiny head. Warmth seeped through soft fur.
"Ah... Grandpa. One more thing I'm curious about."
"What?"
"...Always wondered—your dialect... it's kinda mixed from everywhere, right?"
"Eherhehehehe!"
Always bugged me, but never asked! Grandpa laughed heartily and explained.
"When this old man was fifteen or so, sold a bit o' pa's land and wandered the country as a peddler. Picked up dialects everywhere—stuck like glue."
"Oh... first time hearing that."
"Told folks I met, 'Wanna make big money~' They said buy land in Gangnam. Back when it was barely 10 mil per pyeong. Believed 'em hook, line, sinker~"
"Whoa... sharp folks. They buy too?"
"Heh, turns out they didn't buy a square foot! Laughed my ass off later~ Eherhe!"
...So, gullible ears? But it hit jackpot... sold later, bought Pangyo... Was Grandpa a beast investor or just lucky listener? Hard to tell.
Anyway, stop thinking. Might ruin the cool image.
...It was winter.