Just Say You Missed Me
Kim Minseo had left work right on time today. Which meant she had been waiting in front of his door for over two hours.
"You should've gone back and come back later," Park Jaeyoung said. After all, she could have just stepped through a portal and been right back in the Association President's office.
"That's up to me," Minseo pouted, her reaction unusually sullen.
As Jaeyoung offered an awkward smile, Minseo waved her hands frantically.
"No, no! I think I'm just a bit cranky because I'm hungry. I skipped lunch to leave on time today. I'm absolutely not annoyed at you, Association President."
I should cheer her up with some delicious food.
On the way back, Jaeyoung showed her the pine mushrooms he had dug up. "Look at this. I dug it up in the mountains myself."
Minseo stared blankly at his face for a moment, then suddenly giggled. "I really can't hate you."
"Huh?"
"It's nothing. Let's go inside."
They went into the house.
"Take care of Porri for me," Jaeyoung said, handing the squirrel over to Minseo before heading into the kitchen to prepare dinner.
Pine mushrooms lose their flavor and aroma if washed. Jaeyoung carefully wiped the dirt off the surface with a paper towel and trimmed the muddy base with a paring knife.
First, he tore some mushrooms vertically to serve raw.
He mixed sesame oil and salt to make a dipping sauce, then took a bite. The more he chewed, the more the pine aroma and subtle umami spread through his mouth, with the sesame oil deepening the flavor.
"Minseo! Come try some of this."
Minseo walked into the kitchen holding Porri. "The aroma is incredible."
"Right?"
He handed a small piece to Porri, who grabbed it with both paws and nibbled on it. Its tail wagged gently, showing it was to its liking.
"But Association President, are we only going to eat it raw?"
"No, I'm going to cook now."
Jaeyoung took out a small iron pot. It was his first time making pot rice, but he wasn't worried. With the Cooking skill, he could perfectly replicate any recipe he knew.
He looked up the most-viewed recipe on YouTube.
Wash the rice thoroughly and let it soak in water for 30 minutes.
Jaeyoung followed the instructions.
While the rice is soaking, place kelp in cold water to prepare the cooking water.
He did exactly as told.
Bring it to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to low heat once it starts boiling. Simmer on low heat for another 10 minutes, then let it steam for 10 minutes.
After 30 minutes, he began cooking the pot rice. Controlling the heat—often considered the hardest part of making pot rice—wasn't difficult at all.
Cooking (A-rank)
3 Mana consumed.
Cooking was a skill. Just as the recipe instructed, once 10 minutes had passed on low heat, he turned off the stove and opened the lid.
He placed the pine mushrooms on top of the savory, steaming rice and closed the lid again. Now, all it needed was 10 minutes of steaming to be complete.
Beep!
He set a timer and reheated the leftover beef brisket soybean paste stew.
While the stew bubbled, he prepared a seasoned soy sauce to mix with the rice.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
While he was busy moving around, the 10 minutes flew by.
When he opened the pot lid, a cloud of steam billowed out. The rich aroma of pine blended with the subtle, sweet scent of freshly cooked rice.
"The smell is insane."
Turning his head, he saw Minseo leaning against the kitchen doorframe.
"Help me set the table."
"Of course."
They quickly set the table and sat down.
Jaeyoung took a spoonful of rice. First came the pine aroma, and as he chewed, the umami, sweetness, and subtle earthy notes harmonized beautifully.
When he wanted a bit more flavor, he added a spoonful of the seasoned soy sauce. The savory, slightly spicy sauce perfectly elevated the rice's umami.
"Good, isn't it?"
Minseo, her cheeks stuffed like a pouch, nodded vigorously.
Before he knew it, she had emptied her bowl and was about to stand up.
"There's still more," Jaeyoung stopped her.
He brought the pot to the table. When he opened the lid, a pale, warm scorched rice water welcomed them.
A spoonful offered a clean, savory comfort.
He scraped the bottom of the pot to taste the scorched rice. The crispy grains had absorbed the rich aroma of the pine mushrooms.
Jaeyoung and Minseo finished every last drop of the scorched rice water.
"Ah, that was a great meal."
"I'll do the dishes."
"Since you did so well last time, it's about time you made a mistake."
"Association President!"
"Just kidding. Thanks."
Minseo gathered the dishes and put them in the sink, while Jaeyoung sat in his chair and watched her back. Another day was passing.
The next morning, Jaeyoung woke up and slipped quietly out of bed. This time, he managed to leave without waking Porri.
He grabbed a red plastic basket and a hand hoe from the storage room and headed out to the garden.
As expected, the other crops had grown. But that wasn't all.
Appraisal (S-rank)
10 Mana consumed.
To his surprise, the lettuce now had a rank.
Jaeyoung doubted his own eyes. Lettuce having a rank? What kind of nonsense was this?
◈ Consuming this permanently increases max mana by 2.
◈ Restores 20 mana.
But no matter how many times he looked, the lettuce was indeed classified as an item. Its effects had even increased.
He took a bite, and the mana he had spent on Appraisal rushed back to fill him.
It was utterly absurd.
In times like this, he needed to ask an expert.
Jaeyoung pulled out his smartphone and scrolled through his contacts. As soon as he found the name he was looking for, he dialed.
She was someone who usually woke up at sunrise, so she should be wide awake by now.
"Oh, Oppa! What brings you to call so early? How's your playing-nature-boy going?"
"It's going pretty well."
"That's good."
"Anyway, let me ask you something. The lettuce grown from the seedlings you gave me is being classified as an item."
"What nonsense. In times like this, just say you missed me."
Jaeyoung let out a dry laugh. "I'm serious. If you come and see it, you won't be saying that."
"Send me your location. I'll head over right now."
Jaeyoung sent the location. Even though she was starting from Seoul, she was incredibly fast, so she would probably arrive by the time he finished a cup of coffee.
He went inside and was drinking an iced Americano when a sudden, thunderous noise erupted.
Thud, thud, crash, crash!
The roaring sound drew closer and closer.
As the noise grew louder, Porri, who was beside him, bristled its tail and claws.
Squeak, squeak, squeak!!
"It's okay, it's nothing."
Jaeyoung put his glass in the sink and went outside.
A giant bear was standing in front of the door, and a woman was holding onto its neck.
Lee Jia.
With red hair cascading down to her waist and wearing a white one-piece dress, she was one of the world's top Druids.
She was the person among Jaeyoung's acquaintances who knew the most about plants.
"Oppa, I'm here."
"Thanks for making the trip."
"Is the garden over there?"
"Yeah, that's it."
"Gomdori, wait here quietly."
Jia jumped down from the bear and walked toward the garden, with Jaeyoung and Porri following close behind.
Arriving at the garden, Jia appraised the lettuce.
"It really is classified as an item! How did you do this?"
"If I knew, I wouldn't have called you."
"Hmm, what could it be..."
Jia also appraised the spring cabbage and Cheongyang chili peppers.
"These are items too."
Crouching down, Jia scooped up some soil.
"The soil is ordinary, except for holding a tiny bit of mana. Something must have happened during the planting process."
"It wouldn't be me. Did Porri do it?"
"Is the squirrel's name Porri? Can you put it on my palm for a second?"
Jaeyoung placed the squirming Porri on Jia's palm.
A green energy flowed from Jia and enveloped Porri.
Squeak!!
"I see."
Squeak, squeak, squeak!!
"Got it. Thank you."
Jia set Porri down and looked at Jaeyoung.
"Porri says it did it."
"Really?"
Jaeyoung's eyes widened.
An ability to artificially grow crops classified as items.
In terms of rank, this was equivalent to an SSS-rank ability.
It was practically no different from an infinite supply of elixirs.
"Porri, can you do this even if the garden gets bigger?"
Porri shook its head.
"It's probably hard because of its mana capacity. Unless you feed it a massive amount of mana-boosting elixirs."
Jia stared at Jaeyoung and continued, "Don't you have elixirs to spare, Oppa?"
Jaeyoung and Jia sat facing each other on the L-shaped sofa. Between them, Porri was nibbling on an almond.
"So you're saying we should feed it elixirs?"
"Humans betray, but pets never do. There's no harm in investing."
Jaeyoung crossed his arms, lost in thought.
It was true that he had plenty of elixirs. At some point, no matter how much he spammed his skills, his mana never ran out. Since then, he had just hoarded any elixirs he obtained.
"There won't be any side effects, right?"
"Do you know how many elixirs my Gomdori has eaten? It's probably as much as the hunters sponsored by the Association."
Jaeyoung stood up and returned with a handful of Forest's Crystals.
◈ Consuming this permanently increases max mana by 100.
◈ Restores a large amount of mana.
Jia's jaw dropped.
"You had that many S-rank Forest's Crystals?"
"There was a time when I did nothing but grind the Forest Giant's Shelter. I got them back then."
Jaeyoung handed a Forest's Crystal to Porri. Porri sniffed it, grabbed it, and stuffed it into its mouth in one go.
Squeak!!
Watching Porri flex its tiny muscles, Jaeyoung and Jia burst out laughing.
"Isn't our Porri adorable?"
"It really is."
"Should I give it another?"
"I think that should be fine."
Jaeyoung handed another Forest's Crystal. This time, Porri snatched it without even sniffing.
"Another one?"
"Let's stop at five for now. It'll let us know if it can't eat anymore."
Porri continued to accept and eat the crystals, patting its belly with its paws right after finishing the fifth one.
"I think that's enough for now."
Jia smiled and added, "Now let's go outside and plant something. We can just use rapid growth."