Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Study Hall Together Too (2)
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As soon as we stepped into the mala tang shop, Seol-i broke into a beaming grin.
Is mala tang that great?
I glanced at her once, but Seol-i paid no attention to my look and just stared at the fridge stocked with vegetables and glass noodles.
"Haneul, hurry up...! Come on...!"
Seol-i started urging me on a bit, and unable to resist, I went with her to grab a bowl.
At the counter, the lady handed us one bowl and said,
"Just pick out what you want from over there and bring it back~ Add extra meat if you like~"
"Yes~! Haneul, quick...!"
"Yeah, alright."
I checked the price list even as she dragged me along.
Surprisingly, the meat prices weren't bad at all. If push came to shove, I'd treat Seol-i to some extra.
Not that I'd say it out loud—it might come off weird—but even compared to middle school, Seol-i had grown a little taller, yet she was still pretty short.
...Though it seemed like her nutrients had gone elsewhere, I decided to ignore that for now.
Anyway, she was still small and secretly on the skinny side. She looked like a stiff breeze could carry her off.
So yeah, she needed some meat.
Oblivious to my resolve, Seol-i was picking out vegetables and glass noodles.
"Chinese glass noodles~ Gotta have bok choy! Wontons too~ Tofu sounds good!"
She was packing the bowl to her tastes... but there wasn't much green in there.
"Hey, Seol-i."
"Hm?"
"Isn't one bok choy a bit too few?"
"It's not one! It's two!"
I double-checked the bowl, and sure enough, there were two pieces of bok choy, just like she said.
Not whole heads, of course. Just two leaves.
"...Hey, Seol-i?"
"...What."
"Let's add more veggies."
"N... No...!"
"I thought you'd gotten over being picky..."
"I'm not picky...!"
She hesitated a moment, then spilled what was really on her mind.
"...We're out, so I wanna eat a little freely."
That softened my heart a bit...
...But veggies were still veggies.
"How about a good bunch of mushrooms? You like those, right?"
"Yeah...! Mushrooms are fine...!"
"Lotus root?"
"Lotus root... that's fine too...!"
Lotus root got the okay... alright then...
"Crown daisy?"
"Crown daisy... just a little..."
"Napa cabbage?"
"Napa cabbage..."
Her voice got quieter with each one.
She was cute, peeking at me while clearly hating every veggie, but they had to go in. For my sake too, since I'd be eating with her.
For her health, at least.
I started adding veggies steadily, and Seol-i's face scrunched up with each one.
Feeling a little bad for her, I decided to give her some breathing room.
"Let's toss in some sausages too."
"Sausages...!"
"Yeah, sausages... and fish cakes."
"Yes yes! Fish cakes too! And wontons!"
In an instant, her face lit up as she started piling in her favorites.
She really is cute.
As she pondered how many fish cake skewers to add, I asked one more thing.
"By the way, Seol-i."
"Yeah, Haneul?"
"Wanna add some meat?"
"Meat? Isn't meat expensive...?"
"Nah, check the prices."
Seol-i looked at the list, blinked, then stared at me.
"That price... for real?"
"Yeah, for real."
According to the menu, top pork belly was 3,000 won per 100g.
"Just 200g of top pork belly. Sound good?"
She nodded right away.
Seol-i was practical with money, which made the cheap pork belly even more irresistible to her.
Anyway, with the bowl full of our picks, we took it to the counter.
They weighed it at about 500g, which came to right around 10,000 won.
"Could we add 200g of top pork belly?"
"200g top pork belly~ Got it~"
Including that, the total was 16,000 won. I pulled out a 20,000-won bill and handed it over.
The owner lady took it, gave me 4,000 won back, and asked,
"How spicy you want it?"
Seol-i checked the spice levels and answered immediately.
"Level 3!"
"Level 3~ Got it~"
Level 3 was about as spicy as those famously hot ramen packs.
We could handle it, but maybe level 2 would've been safer?
As I pondered, Seol-i thrust a bill at me.
"Haneul, here...!"
She was trying to hand me a 10,000-won bill.
"Ah, okay."
I took her money and gave her back a 5,000-won bill as change.
The moment she saw it, Seol-i puffed out her cheeks.
"...What's this 5,000 won?"
"What else? Change."
"It was 16,000 won."
"The pork belly's on me."
She glared at me fiercely.
Her face screamed, Don't make me a freeloader!
It was cute but kinda intimidating, so I caved and gave her 2,000 won back instead.
Seol-i took the 2,000 won and flashed a bright smile.
Then she grabbed my arm again and pulled me to the seat we'd eyed earlier.
The mala tang arrived right as I sat down. The owner lady brought it over herself, set it down, and turned up the heat.
"Eat it when it's bubbling good~"
"Yes~!"
"Yes, thank you."
We both nodded and thanked her.
Then, watching the mala tang bubble away, we started chatting.
"Haneul, I've got a question."
"Question? What?"
"You added all the other veggies, so why skip the cilantro and bean sprouts?"
"Bean sprouts would've filled us up too much... and you hate cilantro."
"You knew...?"
I nodded right away.
"We've eaten together a few times. I'd remember."
"A few" was generous; I could probably count them on one hand.
Our neighborhood, hers, and even around our middle school—there weren't any good mala tang spots nearby.
That's why, even knowing her tastes, we rarely came.
"If this place is good, let's make it a regular spot."
"Yeah yeah! Let's do that!"
Truth be told, the value here was average without the pork belly deal.
But for a meal around 5,000 won each, it was pretty solid.
These days, good luck eating decently for 5,000 won.
We kept chatting about this and that, then dug into the bubbling mala tang.
Oh, but there was one thing before eating.
"Seol-i, apron time."
"Ah, thanks~"
I grabbed two disposable aprons from the wall, set one in front of me, and tied one around Seol-i's neck.
"Haneul?"
"Hold still~"
Once it was on, Seol-i fidgeted awkwardly before breaking into a big grin.
She'd tied it without messing up—plenty to smile about. Even I'd smirk.
I was thinking that as I put on my own apron, when Seol-i stood up first to serve the mala tang.
But she picked up my bowl to scoop from the pot.
"Seol-i?"
"Hold on~"
She mixed in top pork belly, wontons, skewered fish cakes, glass noodles, and veggies evenly, then handed me a perfect bowl.
"Ta-da~ Eat up~"
I took the bowl and peered inside.
Just like before, it was packed with a colorful mix.
I teased her a little, not seriously.
"You didn't load extra veggies in mine, did you?"
"N... No...! Watch me fill mine...!"
Sure enough, she added some veggies to her own bowl too. Good girl.
Though her scooping was kinda clumsy. Precarious, even?
I stood up a bit and took her bowl, ladle, and tongs.
Then I ladled the broth and ingredients like a pro.
Bonus: I fished out all the pork belly for her.
"Here, dig in."
"Ah... Yeah, thanks...."
Seol-i accepted it politely, hands extended like she was receiving a gift.
I nodded at her and started on the bowl she'd served me.
Maybe because she made it, but it tasted way better than expected.
As I savored it, I glanced at her...
"...Haneul, ah."
Seol-i had speared a piece of pork belly and was holding her chopsticks out to me.
"...Seol-i?"
"Eat. Quick."
"......Ah."
I opened my mouth a little, and she fed me the pork belly.
-Nom nom
As I chewed, the savory pork flavor mixed with the mala tang's spice, blissfully coating my tongue.
Watching me, Seol-i smiled contentedly.
"Tasty?"
Stealing the question I'd been about to ask.
I nodded without hesitation.
The mala tang was definitely delicious.
Felt even tastier because it was from her.
Of course, I didn't say that.
Too embarrassing.