Chapter 36
Chop chop chop—pop it right in with your mouth wide open. The rhythmic slicing sounds nice. I've always had plenty of cooking experience due to family circumstances. As comfortable as I am with cooking, I've handled kitchen knives with skill from way back, but after my time in Astasia, it's no exaggeration to say I've mastered prepping ingredients. The onion pieces piling up with each slice are probably uniform in thickness without me even needing to check. My blade sense is overflowing without any extra training. Since the kitchen is pretty much the only place on Earth where I can wield a knife openly, those fond memories of honing my chops came flooding back, and I eagerly gave Yoo Seol-ah a knife-skills lesson. She caught on fast thanks to her natural talent, but she got irritated for some reason, so here I am handling it myself.
The ingredients were neatly prepped in no time, and for tteokbokki, the sauce is key. I added a bit of oil to the frying pan and tossed in some gochujang, prompting a question from Yoo Seol-ah.
"Why just gochujang?"
"Frying it lightly makes it less cloying. Stir this for a sec."
I handed her the spatula and mixed gochugaru, sugar, and soy sauce on the side. Standing side by side in the kitchen like this feels oddly couple-like. No need to go that hard, but seeing Yoo Seol-ah stirring nonstop brings a smile to my face.
A moment later, I dumped the first-stage sauce into the pot with the broth I'd boiled earlier, added the prepped ingredients as it bubbled up, and the tteokbokki was nearly done. Just simmer and adjust the heat for soupy tteokbokki perfection.
"Smells amazing..."
"Try the broth."
I scooped a bit onto the spatula tip, blew to cool it, and held it out to Yoo Seol-ah.
"Eek...? ...Ahh~"
She froze for a second, then blushed faintly, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth. ...That pose is kinda lewd? I just wanted her to taste the broth—why close her eyes?
A twinge of mischief hit me, so I rerouted the spatula and tasted it first.
"Ah...?"
With her mouth still open and nothing happening, she finally opened her eyes.
"Tastes great. As expected of me."
"......Hey."
The second she saw what I'd done, she bit her lip and glared. How could I not tease her with a reaction like that? Still, it had to suit her taste too, so this time I properly fed her a bite.
"...This is seriously good."
"It'll taste even better once it reduces a bit more. The rice cakes help thicken it with their starch."
"Definitely delicious. Smells so good I feel full already."
A sudden intruder's voice made us both turn. There stood Lee Seo-yeon, leaning against the kitchen entrance wall, watching us fondly. She even patted her nonexistent belly.
"You two are so lovey-dovey it's making me stuffed..."
"What lovey-dovey?!?"
She denied the "lovey-dovey" part but let "you two" slide without protest—kinda funny. She'd left it all to us but must've come to check just in case.
"Came to see if you needed help, but the smell says you're good."
"No real help needed, but got any bean sprouts?"
"Yeah, right fridge. Stir-fried bean sprouts?"
"Yep. Any meat's fine..."
"Thin pork belly. Got that too."
No need for long talks between cooking pros. With Lee Seo-yeon popping in and out, we got back to grabbing ingredients.
Stir-fried bean sprouts. Top five in my most-made dishes, hands down. If we're talking confidence, it's number one. Oyster sauce, sprouts, and meat—that's it. Magic dish with near-zero fail rate. Tastes great for beginners, even better for pros, salty enough for rice pairing. The true perfect food, right?
"Yoo Seol-ah, watch and learn bean sprout stir-fry."
"That good?"
"Ha..."
Never had it? No way. Time to gift her an unforgettable first bite, turning her into someone who can't live without my version.
"Once you try this, no going back."
"...That good?"
"You'll see. I'm starving, so I'll whip it up quick."
I had her rinse the sprouts while I prepped the oyster sauce base. In another pan, I sautéed minced garlic, then added the thin pork belly. Key point: lots of pepper when it's half-cooked. Yoo Seol-ah was already losing it to the nutty pork aroma. For her size, she's a surprisingly big eater— no resisting this.
Toss in sprouts and seasoning, max heat with furious wok tossing, and done. My wrist used to hurt from wokking, but now it's a breeze. Added the leftover onions and green onions, then scooped a portion onto the spatula and silently offered it to Yoo Seol-ah.
"......"
No one could resist that intense aroma and look. Even my picky sister fell long ago. Yoo Seol-ah seemed hesitant to just open up in front of me, but her wavering eyes and gulping throat said she was done for.
Now open wide nicely and take a bite, Yoo Seol-ah. Addiction starts the moment you do.
"...Mmm."
Unable to fight instinct, she shoveled the whole spatula of pork-bean sprout stir-fry into her mouth and started chewing. The crisp crunch carried over. High heat quick-fry preserves the sprout snap. Lee Seo-yeon's kitchen fire is extra fierce, letting the wok impart perfect char.
After the gulp, she snatched chopsticks from the holder. About to go for seconds—but nope.
"Hey, the others are hungry too. Wait and eat together."
"...But it's seriously insanely good..."
She licked her lips with lingering regret. She doesn't swear much usually, but my stir-fry breaks her.
I yelled for Lee Seo-yeon again.
"All done—grab some trivets downstairs."
"Coming~"
Tteokbokki was heavier, so I carried it; Yoo Seol-ah took the sprout pan. Heading to the dining table, Lee Seo-yeon and Doyun hyung appeared, setting wooden trivets down. Soon utensils and drinks were ready, and we each grabbed our booze of choice.
Tteokbokki sat there, but everyone's chopsticks went for the sprouts first.
"...Way better than mine? What are you, Baek Sion?"
"Sion, this beats that 20,000-won izakaya version I tried once. For real."
"......"
Praise poured in as one person silently demolished it.
"Yoo Seol-ah, pace yourself or you'll choke."
"......Got it."
...Plenty of ingredients left—make more? Lee Seo-yeon popped a tteokbokki rice cake, savored it thoughtfully, then tilted her head.
"Tteokbokki's great too, but the sprouts are pro-level, not just recipe-following. You cook a lot?"
"Parents worked late a lot, so yeah, since I was a kid. Had a little sister, so I handled meals."
"Explains why it's so good. Maybe even better than mine."
Couldn't just feed her instant ramen and frozen stuff every time, so my skills grew naturally.
"You have a little sis too? How old?"
"High school senior now. Arts high school—if nothing changes, she'll probably come to our uni next year."
"For real? Must be super talented. Music or art?"
"Music. Composition."
"Cool..."
My sister Baek Sia, unlike me, fell for Dad's persuasion and dove into music early. She always asks why I don't do it too, but I never wanted music as a job—what can you do?
"Not drinking much tonight?"
Excluding Yoo Seol-ah, we three hold our liquor well, but aside from our one can each, only two more remained. Beer at one can apiece—not even soju—meant no real intent to get buzzed.
"Nah, we'll drink plenty. But too full now, can't later."
"Later? Where?"
"Gaming room, remember? Means fridge stocked with booze, drinks, even ice cream."
Fridge in the room? She really packed every dream amenity.
"Eat then game there?"
"Yeah. Got something prepped."
"Oh right, you mentioned wanting to do something. What?"
She called us 'cause she was bored, so she had plans.
"You two had fun, so I installed it too. Ordinary Everyday Sex Life."
"Pfft!"
Yoo Seol-ah, mid-sip of her 3% fruit booze, choked like crazy. I wasn't unfazed either.
...Gonna play an eroge? But mentioning it to us meant not solo. It's well-made, sure...
"Never played eroge, no clue. Help me out."
"...Yoo Seol-ah's a total pro, though?"
"What bullshit!!..."
She's protesting, but it's true. She 100% cleared all three routes. I barely finished one and couldn't hit 100%.