Chapter 40
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 40
After rummaging through the shelves for a while, Dokyun finally spotted a ramen packet on the far-right shelf.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me…’
A yellow package with blue lettering. Dokyun’s eyes narrowed.
‘Jinsun…’
It was Jinsun, the ramen world’s most notorious letdown.
For a moment, Dokyun found himself questioning her taste. He let out a low groan and picked it up.
“Ugh…”
Rustle.
He scanned the rest of the shelf, but there were no other kinds of ramen in sight.
‘Guess I have no choice.’
This was the only thing he knew how to cook, so he had to make do.
‘Alright…’
Dokyun pulled out three packets, cradled them in his arms, and scanned the kitchen for a pot.
‘Okay, start with the closest cabinets.’
Just as Dokyun was about to open the nearest cabinet to check inside…
SLAM!
The sound of a door slamming open echoed through the room.
Startled, Dokyun whipped his head toward the noise. Standing naked in the bedroom doorway was Eun-ah.
‘Whoa, whoa…!’
How scandalous.
Dokyun quickly averted his gaze from her naked form, and a voice came from her direction.
“H-Honeybee…?”
Her voice was trembling.
“Ah, you’re awake?”
Dokyun asked in a cheerful tone, his eyes still turned away. He heard the sound of footsteps rapidly approaching.
Eun-ah rushed forward and threw herself into his arms. Dokyun kept his gaze fixed on the ceiling as he welcomed her.
“I was trying to make some food before you woke up… You’re up early, huh?”
“Mmhmm…”
Her reply was a mumble. Feeling her breath hitching against his chest, Dokyun spoke in a gentle voice.
“Did you have a nightmare?”
“N-Nooo…”
Eun-ah buried her face in his chest. After answering, she stayed like that for a moment before speaking again.
“I-I woke up… and y-you weren’t there, Honeybee…”
“Ah.”
“S-So…”
Hearing her words, Dokyun reached out one hand and patted her back. He could feel her breathing slowly begin to steady.
“It’s not like I can go anywhere.”
“Mmm…”
He patted her back for a little longer. Once her breathing had completely calmed, he felt her tilt her head up to look at him.
Feeling awkward, Dokyun carefully spoke.
“Um, Eun-ah?”
“Yeees…”
“Maybe you should… put on some clothes…”
“Ah.”
He felt a flinch against his chest, followed by the subtle warmth of her rising body temperature.
“J-Just a second…”
“Yeah, take your time. I’ll get this started.”
“Okay…!”
The warmth left his arms. After confirming her footsteps were fading away, Dokyun let out a huge sigh and straightened up.
“Haaa…”
It had been a hectic morning.
‘Wait, this is no time to be spacing out.’
He had to find a pot. Snapping back to his senses, Dokyun scanned the kitchen again and started searching likely places.
‘Why is this kitchen so damn big?’
Was this a cooking studio? The kitchen was huge, filled with every kind of utensil imaginable, from ones Dokyun recognized to others he couldn’t even guess the purpose of.
Sighing, Dokyun continued his search until he spotted a perfectly sized pot in the corner of the bottommost shelf.
‘Found it!’
He felt like he’d just finished a treasure hunt.
‘Water…’
His head shot up. There was a water purifier right across from him.
As Dokyun walked over to the purifier and started filling the pot, Eun-ah, now dressed, sidled up right next to him.
“R-Ramen…”
“Yeah, ah.”
Replying to her, a sudden question popped into Dokyun’s head. He looked down at her and asked.
“Eun-ah, you can’t handle spicy food, can you?”
“Hmm…?”
The way she craned her neck to look up at him was adorable. She was so short she barely reached his shoulder, so she had to stretch her neck all the way back.
She looked up at him, then back down at the ramen packets next to the pot. Finally understanding his question, she shook her head vigorously.
“Th-That one’s for my sister…”
“Ah.”
Her sister. He remembered her saying she stopped by sometimes.
‘Thank god.’
Jinsun was just unacceptable.
As Dokyun breathed an internal sigh of relief, Eun-ah had already moved to a cabinet he hadn’t checked and pulled out a ramen packet in a bright red wrapper.
“I-I eat this one…”
Jinmae. The spicy version from the same brand.
“Excellent choice.”
“Hehe…”
When Dokyun patted her head with a look of deep satisfaction, a silly giggle escaped her lips.
“Alright, just wait a bit. I happen to make a killer bowl of ramen.”
“Okay…!”
He’d lived alone for over five years. He might not be a master chef, but he was confident in his ramen-making skills.
‘First, the soup base.’
You had to put the powder in first to let the broth fully develop its flavor.
The clumps of ramen powder dissolved on the water’s surface, dyeing the pot’s contents a vibrant red.
‘Next, the dried flakes.’
Just as Dokyun tore open the flake packet to pour it in…
“Ah…!”
A small gasp came from beside him.
He turned to look at her and saw her fidgeting with an anxious expression.
“Hm? What’s wrong?”
Eun-ah’s lips parted as if to speak, but she just shook her head slightly.
“I-It’s nothing…”
Dokyun simply smiled back at her smiling face and dumped the flakes into the pot.
He waited for the water to come to a rolling boil, and just as he was about to add the noodles…
“Th-That’s not how you’re supposed to do it…”
Unsolicited advice came from his side.
Dokyun turned his head and saw her staring intently at the pot, a look of clear discomfort on her face.
“Huh?”
“Th-That… that’s not how you do it…”
She repeated herself, looking up at Dokyun, then said, “Just a second…” and opened the fridge to pull things out.
“Th-These first…”
Dokyun looked at what she was holding. There were green onions, an egg, garlic, and even seafood—a wide variety of ingredients.
“Ah.”
Did she have some kind of cooking philosophy? These were ingredients for a serious meal.
While Dokyun stood there dumbfounded, Eun-ah moved quickly, adding the ingredients one by one to the pot to enrich the broth.
No wonder she felt compelled to intervene.
Feeling awkward, Dokyun stared blankly at her back. Soon, she had finished cooking and turned to him with a smile.
“I-It’s ready, let’s go eat…!”
Her bright, somehow triumphant expression seemed to make him feel small.
Dokyun raised a hand and ruffled her hair. He watched as her expression softened and she nuzzled her head against his hand.
“Heeheehee…”
Pfft. A laugh escaped him.
‘Well, as long as the result is good.’
They carried the finished ramen to the table, sat down, and began to eat.
“Thanks for the food.”
“Okay…!”
He could see her sitting next to him, staring at him intently.
He was supposed to be the one cooking, but the end result was the same as always.
Dokyun gave her a small smile, picked up his chopsticks, and took a bite of ramen.
A spicy flavor spread through his mouth, enhanced by the refreshing umami of the seafood.
‘This is delicious…!’
Had the stuff he’d been eating all this time not even been ramen? Dokyun turned his head to look at Eun-ah beside him.
As she watched him with a beaming smile, he felt like he was seeing the face of a celebrity chef from a TV show superimposed over hers.
“This is good. Seriously.”
“Hehe…”
Her face, flushed with pleasure, looked different somehow. She was clearly much smaller than him, but in that moment, she felt twice as large.
‘Ah…’
A thought suddenly crossed his mind: Maybe I could just live like this. He was happy eating, and she was happy watching him. Wasn’t that a pretty ideal setup?
‘No… that’s not right…’
Human dignity. Must always remember that.
I can’t live as a poop-making machine.
Dokyun steeled his resolve once more and spoke to the girl watching him.
“You should eat too, Eun-ah. The noodles are going to get soggy.”
“Okay…!”
Nodding at his words, she picked up her chopsticks and began to put small bites of noodles into her little mouth.
The way she chewed and swallowed looked like a hamster.
He stared blankly at her until their eyes met. Her eyes, curving into crescents as she smiled, captivated him.
A warm feeling spread through his chest. Feeling a pleasant tremor, Dokyun offered another smile and continued eating.
One bite, then another. As he kept eating, he soon saw the bottom of the pot.
It was another satisfying meal.
Feeling pleasantly full, Dokyun thanked her.
“That was delicious. You went to all that trouble, so I’ll do the dishes.”
“N-No, it’s okay…”
“No, I’ll do them.”
“R-Really, it’s fine…”
They bickered for a moment over who would do the dishes. After stubbornly refusing, she found a suitable compromise.
“Th-Then… let’s do them together…!”
“Ah, okay.”
“Hehe…”
Her smile was so bright. He noticed a lock of her bangs sticking up like a little horn from sleeping, and he let out a small laugh. She blushed bright red and smoothed it down, which made his heart flutter.
“Shall we?”
“Yes…!”
There weren’t enough dishes to require two people, but they finished them together anyway. As he was drying his hands, he felt a poke on his side.
“Hm?”
He turned his head to see her staring intently at him.
“What is it?”
“J-Just a second.”
She took a step closer and puckered her lips.
“Nnngh…!”
She must have wanted a kiss. The sight of her standing on her tiptoes with her lips pushed out was endearingly pathetic.
She was so short that even on her tiptoes, she could barely reach his shoulder. He found her struggling amusing and his lips twitched. Seeing that things weren’t going as planned, she started to pout, looking frustrated.
“Hmph, hmph…!”
“Pfft…!”
“D-Don’t laugh…!”
She tapped his chest with her little fists. It looked like she might actually cry if he laughed anymore, so Dokyun apologized and bent down to her height.
“Alright, here.”
Once Dokyun lowered himself, Eun-ah shot him a quick glare before shyly approaching and pressing her lips to his.
Chu.
He felt the touch of soft flesh.
He peeked his eyes open and saw her face, lips twitching as she tried to hold back a smile.
Seeing that made his heart flutter again, and he pressed his lips to hers a few more times.
Chu. Chu. Chu.
When Dokyun pulled back and straightened up, Eun-ah threw her arms around him and started letting out little giggles.
“Heeheehee…”
Her silly-sounding laughter tickled his ears. The sweet atmosphere felt a bit awkward, and he shifted uncomfortably. Feeling a stir in his stomach, he quickly spoke up.
“We should wash up now. We got all sweaty during the night.”
“Ah.”
Her face turned red again. He wanted to tease her for having lewd thoughts, but he was in the same boat, so he couldn’t really say anything.
After fidgeting shyly for a moment, Eun-ah pulled away from his embrace and tugged on his sleeve.
“L-Let’s go…”
“Okay.”
He could feel that her skin, where it brushed against his, was flushed. The heat transferred to him, making something simmer inside him.
Dokyun chuckled at the sight of her with her head bowed low, then followed her toward the shower.
The soft, tender atmosphere lingered as they went into the shower room. As they undressed, their eyes met again, and his skin grew hot.
Slowly, slowly. She drew closer.
“H-Honeybee…”
“…Yeah.”
Her voice was moist, heavy with suggestion.
Their fingertips touched.
What more is there to say? They did it again, right then and there.
They washed up, but with a different kind of water.
And so, a week passed.