Orphanage Graduation
“Hyung, you’re really leaving?”
“Hiiing…”
It was the day an adult stepped out of the orphanage.
Children had followed me all the way to the front gate and now clung to my clothes, their little hands refusing to let go.
“I’ll visit often. You can call me anytime, right?”
I tried to soothe the young ones with a gentle tone.
Among the children I’d lived with, the littlest ones were already wiping away tears.
Was that because they liked me so much?
Well, they really did follow me around.
“No… not on the phone. You’re not going to be able to eat the jajangmyeon I made anymore?”
“The jjigae oppa made the best food…”
“Without Hyung, who’s going to cook for us now…”
“You kids…”
It turned out they weren’t sad about me leaving—they were sad that I was leaving the food I’d cooked for them.
The emotion hit me hard.
But it was still wonderful.
My dream was to become a Chinese cuisine chef.
Knowing people would enjoy the food I made made me the happiest I’d ever been.
“I’ll visit often and cook for you. So please listen well to the director.”
“Yes! You have to come at least once a week.”
“O-okay, once a week is a bit… I’ll try my hardest to come.”
“Come on, everyone. Cheonsu has to go now. You can always call. Everyone has a phone?”
As the conversation stretched on, the director clapped his hands and tried to break things up.
The director of the orphanage who had taken such good care of me until now.
A good man.
I greeted him one last time.
“Cheonsu, live well out in the world. Become a Chinese cuisine chef no matter what.”
“Yes. Thank you, Director.”
“Alright. One last hug.”
“Yes.”
The director’s rough face came close.
He pulled me into a tight embrace and patted my back hard with his thick hands.
This man used to be a yakuza, judging by his fearsome face and build.
He probably had knife scars on his body too.
But despite that terrifying appearance, he was a good person.
Just looking at the bright faces of the children here compared to other orphanages was enough to tell.
The director held me for a long time, then slowly let go.
“Oh, here. Take this.”
I was about to leave for real.
But the director handed me something.
“What is this?”
“An anonymous donor said to give it to you since you’re leaving.”
An anonymous donor.
Only one person in our orphanage had ever been a donor.
Even the director didn’t know who it was.
But it was obvious he gave enormous support.
He took care of the orphanage facilities and even bought personal smartphones for the children.
So he was giving me a gift because I was leaving the orphanage.
“It’s a gift to mark your adulthood. Open it.”
I received the box from the director.
A rectangular wooden case, about the size of a small bag.
Just looking at it felt luxurious.
I carefully opened it.
“A Chinese cuisine set…?”
Inside was an incredibly high-end Chinese cuisine set.
Even I, who didn’t know much, could tell it was expensive.
“The donor heard that your dream is to be a Chinese cuisine chef and gave this to you. He wants you to succeed for sure. Treat it carefully.”
“T-Thank you. I must pass on how much I appreciate this beautiful Chinese cuisine set.”
“Alright.”
That was all the thanks I needed.
If only I could give the thanks in person.
But the anonymous donor never met the children directly.
He sent his gratitude through the director instead.
I carefully put the Chinese cuisine set into my bag.
“Then I’ll really be going. Kids, come visit me! I’ll call you!”
“Be careful!”
“You have to come make jajangmyeon!”
“Hwaaaaang—”
The last goodbye with the orphanage.
I waved to the children who had grown close to me.
My steps were heavy.
Some of them were crying.
They were the ones I had cooked for every single day.
Still, when you become an adult you have to leave the orphanage.
I smiled at the children and the director, waving goodbye as I walked backward slowly away from the orphanage.
The kids kept waving until I disappeared from sight.
*
Before leaving the neighborhood.
I stopped by the Chinese restaurant near the orphanage one last time.
“Hello, boss.”
“Oh~ Cheonsu’s here?”
Half-naked head and a generous, handsome face.
Just like always, the boss greeted me with the same relaxed smile.
“I’m leaving the orphanage today, so I came to say goodbye.”
“Really? Where are you going?”
“Just somewhere in Gwacheon-gu… I found a room.”
“Oh? Before you go, have a bowl of jajangmyeon.”
“No, I didn’t come to eat today…”
“It’s fine. Just sit down and wait.”
The boss forced me into a seat.
Then, whistling his usual tune, he started boiling the noodles.
I had planned not to eat at all today.
But since it was the last time… I might as well eat and go. It was actually good.
“Ha…”
I sat down and looked around the shop.
This was the same spot I had sat in hundreds of times since I was very little.
The first time I ate jajangmyeon here was in elementary school.
I think it was the day I first found out at school that I was an orphan, and the kids were bullying me.
That day I went home crying alone.
The Chinese restaurant boss saw me and brought me inside, then made me jajangmyeon.
The first time I tasted it, it was delicious.
After that, he always told me to come eat jajangmyeon whenever I wanted.
A poor child with no shame at all.
I came every day to get free jajangmyeon.
When I grew older and my head got bigger, I stopped coming out of guilt, but the boss would drag me in whenever he saw me passing by and feed me.
I tried to pay, but he never once accepted money.
Among the director and the anonymous donor, he was the one I was most grateful to.
“Here. Eat.”
While lost in memories, the boss placed a bowl of jajangmyeon in front of me.
Thick, glossy sauce with just the right amount of oil between jjigae and yunja.
The jajangmyeon that had sparked my dream of becoming a Chinese cuisine chef.
Like always, I took a photo first, then sprinkled a little chili powder and stirred the noodles vigorously.
I picked up a big bite with the slightly crunchy onions mixed in.
“Mmm~”
It was still delicious.
This wasn’t just words—this jajangmyeon was on a completely different level compared to other Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood.
How could the neighborhood Chinese restaurant boss cook this well?
I’d heard he won the Blue Ribbon every year.
Even with the Blue Ribbon, he never displayed it in front of the store.
He said he didn’t want too many people coming.
Of course, a few people who read the Blue Ribbon guide still came, but because the boss was so famous, the shop rarely got busy.
“Whoa… delicious.”
I finished the entire bowl in one go.
I scraped every last bit of the sauce.
This was definitely the best jajangmyeon I’d ever had.
After deciding to become a Chinese cuisine chef.
The small living allowance and part-time job money I received from the orphanage were mostly spent traveling between various Chinese restaurants.
After all, even though I was a dirt-poor orphan, I considered it an investment for my dreams.
Of course, the budget was tight, so I couldn’t visit famous hotel restaurants.
But among all the Chinese restaurants I’d tried so far, this place was still the best.
“Hmm…”
After eating, I took out my phone and started taking notes.
It was a habit.
Recording delicious food.
A way to study.
Even though it was the same jajangmyeon every time, the details changed slightly each time.
“Excuse me, boss.”
After writing everything down, I called the boss who was watching TV in the corner.
The boss didn’t take his eyes off the screen.
“I’m not taking any money.”
He must have thought I was trying to pay.
He always refused money like this.
I was grateful, but this wasn’t about money.
“It’s not that. You boiled the noodles a bit longer today. They look a little overcooked by about ten seconds.”
“…”
Of course, his food skills were amazing, but saying so would make my mouth hurt.
The boss ran the shop at a leisurely pace.
Sometimes he’d be on his phone while boiling noodles, and this happened often.
Of course, he knew how long to boil them.
He was just giving me extra anyway.
But usually it was only five seconds over. Today he’d gone longer, so I pointed it out.
“…”
“Just eat and leave once you’re done.”
“I’ll just have a glass of water.”
“Alright.”
The boss turned off the TV and went into the kitchen.
He always did this whenever I finished eating.
He was avoiding the bill.
But this time I had no intention of leaving without paying.
I opened my wallet.
“…”
Ten thousand won I had withdrawn from the ATM before coming.
I was about to take out the ten thousand won from my wallet when I paused.
The account balance appeared.
I would receive support money when leaving the orphanage, but it wouldn’t be much.
After renting a monthly house and handling everything else, I had about 250,000 won left.
If I paid ten thousand won here, only 150,000 would remain.
The new part-time job salary would come next month.
With 150,000 won in this city, living for a whole month was going to be tough.
“…”
Still.
But I took out the ten thousand won.
Then I folded it in half and slipped it under the jajangmyeon bowl so it wouldn’t show.
It was cheap compared to all the free jajangmyeon I’d gotten my whole life.
“I’ll really pay you back someday.”
I packed my things and stood up.
“I’m leaving now, boss!”
“Oh~”
Leaving the boss’s voice from the kitchen behind.
I departed from my beloved neighborhood.
***
“Whoa… it really is high.”
When I arrived at my new place, I immediately collapsed onto the floor.
It was a rooftop room on the top of the hill that even the local nickname “doldongne” could have described.
March was already hot, and sweat was pouring down my back as I climbed the hill.
Shashashak—
Right then, I heard the sound of something crawling near my ear.
I hurriedly lit the light and smashed the bug with my shoe.
“Got it.”
Given the neighborhood, I had expected bugs.
But the price made the space feel worth it.
A little rundown, and it probably leaked if it rained, but the kitchen was quite large compared to the price.
The kitchen equipment was old.
But if I fixed it up, it would be enough for practicing cooking.
“Ah… but I don’t have any money right now.”
But to practice cooking, I needed money.
I also needed to buy tools and ingredients.
Right now, I had nothing.
All I had was a blanket, a small bag of clothes, 150,000 won in the bank, and—
Oh, the Chinese cuisine set from the anonymous donor.
Still, luckily I had already found a job.
It was a dishwashing part-time job at a hotel Chinese restaurant.
It was quite far from home.
I had applied desperately anyway.
Even dishwashing at a hotel Chinese restaurant would let me learn something, so I thought it was worth it.
Luckily, the job offer came immediately, and I started tomorrow.
“Let’s do our best.”
I said it to myself, determined.
The view of Seoul from the rooftop room in the dol-dongne neighborhood was dazzling.
One day, could I open my own store here?
For now, I had to worry about dishwashing tomorrow.
“…”
Alright.
I had to get up early tomorrow.
Because it was a hotel Chinese restaurant, the kitchen day started early in the morning.
And since the commute would take a long time, I laid out just one blanket on the floor and went to sleep.
Praying that tomorrow’s first day would go well.
But the next day.
From the very first day, I messed up.
Even though I was just dishwashing, I said something I shouldn’t have.
“Excuse me, the frying oil temperature seems off right now…!”
“…”
“Huh? Aren’t you dishwashing?”