Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Memories at the Pork Noodle Shop
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I took a Polaroid photo of Daeun and me in front of the structure.
Daeun, holding the photo, wore the happiest smile in the world.
"You're really loving it."
"Yeah! Mommy cried looking at this picture too! So it makes Daeun happy!"
"If Daeun's happy, then Daddy is too."
I couldn't tell Daeun, who was gazing at the photo, the real reason her mom had looked at it.
Because it meant Hyorin had been going through such unbearable hardship at the time.
'It was probably because of me.'
Maybe it was all because of me.
Daeun was growing up day by day, but I was bedridden, with no thought of getting up, and my earnings couldn't keep up with the mounting hospital bills.
In the end, Hyorin had been just hanging on, day by day.
Swoosh.
I couldn't bring myself to look at Daeun smiling at the photo.
I was afraid I wouldn't be able to hide my expression and that she'd see it.
'I'm sorry.'
I was sorry, but there was no way to apologize.
I wanted to comfort her, but there was no turning back the time that had passed.
All I could do was regret the lost time and miss the Hyorin who had left...
"Hoo."
"Yeah, Daddy? Why the sigh?"
I felt like I couldn't let myself sink deeper into those thoughts.
With Daeun right there, if I kept dwelling on it, this happy memory might turn into a bad one for her.
"No, I'm just tired. It was a tough hike to get here."
"Daeun wasn't tired at all!"
"Wow, our Daeun really is amazing!"
"Hee!"
After cheering her up like that, I stood from my spot.
"Shall we head out then?"
At my words, Daeun stood up following me and asked,
"Then where are we going now?"
To her question of where, I raised my index finger and gave her a quiz.
"Hmm, want to guess, Daeun? After that tough hike, what do we need next?"
"Hmm! Chocolate snacks!"
"Buzz!"
At my "buzz," Daeun's expression changed in a funny way.
"Daeun eats chocolate snacks when she's tired!"
"You could eat chocolate snacks, but that's not Daddy's answer. Try again."
"Hmm! A cool drink!"
"Buzz!"
"Ah, what is it! Daddy, what is it? Daeun's curious! Tell me!"
Unable to guess, she was now trying to coax the answer with cuteness.
Normally I'd drag it out more, but after the hard hike, I gave her the answer quickly.
"Daeun, aren't you hungry?"
"Oh, right! The answer's food!"
"Ooh! Ding dong dang!"
"Yes!"
Even though I'd basically spoon-fed her the answer, she seemed thrilled just to have gotten it right.
"So we're going to eat, right?"
"Yeah, and this place is one Mommy and Daddy came to together too."
"What yummy stuff does Mommy eat!"
"It's gonna be super delicious."
"Really?"
At that, I looked at Daeun and asked,
"By any chance, does Daeun like noodles?"
-Of course, after a hike, it's noodles!
Hyorin's voice seemed to echo faintly in my ears.
The noodle shop was not far from the Saryeoni Forest Path.
We'd come here back when it was just Hyorin and me, but it always seemed crowded whenever we visited.
Well, it was right around lunchtime when we arrived, so that figured.
Ding-a-ling.
"Welcome!"
As we opened the door and entered, a busy server approached and asked,
"How many?"
"Oh, just me and my kid—two."
"Ah, two? This way, please."
She led us to a table in the middle of the shop.
Scrape.
We pulled out chairs and sat. Daeun looked around and asked,
"Daddy! Did you come here with Mommy?"
"Yeah, this is where Mommy and I came together."
"So what did Mommy eat here?"
To that, I pointed to one side of the menu and said,
"She had the pork noodles there."
Jeju noodles were different from the regular ones we knew.
Sure, there were anchovy broth noodles, but when it came to Jeju, it had to be pork noodles made with meat broth.
Right on cue, the server came over and asked,
"Can I take your order?"
"One pork noodles and one buckwheat pancake, please."
"Oh, do you need a kid's spoon and plate by chance?"
"Yes, please. And one soda too."
"Sure thing! Be right out!"
With the order done, Daeun kept glancing around and said,
"But there are so many people here."
"Yeah, Jeju's pork noodles are famous. Lots of folks like us stop by after the Saryeoni Forest Path."
"Like Mommy and Daddy."
Smiling brightly.
"Yeah, exactly. You saw the photo earlier, right? Daddy and Mommy were so exhausted we could barely move, but we got our energy back eating pork noodles here and kept going."
"Really? Does eating noodles here give you strength?"
Well, food gives you strength no matter what, but yeah, we'd actually powered through after eating here.
"Yeah. It gives you tons of energy."
"Really?"
Her eyes sparkling told me she was hungry after all.
As we chatted away like that,
Bzzz—
My phone suddenly rang.
I checked who it was—it was our poor reporter friend working at the hotel even on his day off.
"Daeun, Daddy's gonna take this call real quick."
"Who is it?"
"Uncle."
"Uncle! Daeun wants to talk too!"
"Got it, hold on."
At her words, I picked up and immediately handed her the phone.
"Uncle!"
-Whoa, what? Daeun! Hey, Daeun! Have you eaten? It's lunchtime now—wonder if our Daeun's had hers!
Sheesh, you'd think he hadn't seen her in months.
"Daeun's eating noodles right now!"
-Ooh, noodles? You at the pork noodle spot?
"Yeah! How'd Uncle know?"
Then Daeun paused mid-call and looked around frantically.
But of course, Jungeun Park wasn't here.
"Uncle, where are you?"
-Ah, what? I thought you were next to Uncle, Daeun. Uncle's at the hotel right now. Just finished work and called 'cause I missed you.
"Wow, Uncle's smart! How'd you know Daeun's eating pork noodles?"
At that, Jungeun lowered his voice mysteriously and said,
-Uncle knows everything our Daeun does! You know Uncle loves Daeun a ton, right?
"Yeah! I know!"
I smiled at her and took back the phone.
"Daeun, Daddy's gonna talk to Uncle for a sec."
"Okay, Daddy."
I took the phone back from her, but...
-But anyway, Daeun, where you headed after eating? Did Daddy say where you're going...?
"Me."
-Oh, you.
The temperature drop was stark, making me feel a bit miffed.
Well, I wouldn't want him talking to me like he does to Daeun anyway, so I let it slide.
"Why'd you call?"
-Just finished work. Thought if you're not too far, maybe we could meet up and hang.
I checked the time—it was around 12:30.
"You finished quicker than I thought."
-Quicker...? Today was supposed to be my day off, but I worked.
"Yeah, but weren't you supposed to be working all day?"
-What? Why do you sound like you wanted that?
"Nah, just kidding."
-Doesn't sound like kidding.
"So how'd you finish early?"
-My junior felt bad I was working on my day off, so he said if I just wrote the article draft, he'd handle the rest. So I did that and bailed.
"Nice junior you got."
-Yeah, he's the reason my workload's piling up, but he's a good guy. Oh, hold on... One bowl of ramen, please. Yes, yes, prepaid. Here's my card...
Guess with the time being what it was, he was calling from a restaurant too.
But his lunch choice... I said to him worriedly,
"Hey, have something else for lunch, not ramen."
-Had drinks last night and couldn't even properly sober up. Stomach's iffy, so ramen it is.
"Still, there are better options."
-Pfft, listen to Painter Lee nagging. Appreciate the concern, but no need to worry.
"Why?"
-Where do you think I am right now? Hotel restaurant. Not just any ramen—it's the fancy "Bomb Seafood Hangover Ramen."
Whoa... worry canceled.
Nothing beats a hangover ramen loaded with seafood.
Slurp, now I want some just thinking about it.
-Well, not as good as pork noodles, though.
"You should've come with."
Pfft.
He chuckled at that and said,
-Pass. Don't wanna hear your lovey-dovey stories over pork noodles.
"Lovey-dovey stories?"
-What, playing dumb?
What the heck was he on about? Then he said,
-You don't remember? The day after you got back from Jeju, we were drinking and you told me. About eating pork noodles with Hyorin...
At that, I jumped in shock and asked back,
"No, wait—did I really tell you that?"
-You didn't... forget, did you?
Even drunk, I couldn't imagine spilling that to Jungeun of all people...
'Ah, so that's what it was.'
The day after Jeju, I had gone drinking with him.
Exhausted from the trip, staying up late drinking—even in my youth, my body couldn't take it.
I'd thought I'd passed out cold, but apparently, I'd spilled the Jeju stories to him in the meantime.
Just then, Daeun, who'd been listening, asked curiously,
"Daddy, what happened when you ate noodles with Mommy?"
Ah... that was a story I didn't really want to tell. How'd it come to this?
Maybe hearing her, Jungeun laughed and said,
-Well, yeah, it'd be kinda embarrassing to tell Daeun. It's the exact same as that thing with your feelings.
This was all his fault, calling right at mealtime.
"It's like, Daeun..."
I figured I could dodge if I played it off well, but Daeun was already hooked on what happened that day, and there was no stopping her.
"Daddy! Daeun's super curious what happened then! Can't you tell me?"
She tilted her head cutely as she asked.
Man, how could I not tell her?
I tried turning away to avoid her gaze, but her follow-up plea was irresistible.
No god could refuse this.
"Daddy! Daeun's so curious!"
Ah, this was cheating.
With her lips pouted like that, there was no refusing Daeun's request.
In the end, I caved to her plea.
"First, let Daddy hang up."
"Okay!"
-Hey, I'll let you go then.
Click!
Ah, I'd tried to stall using the call with him.
Tsk.
'That's why quick-witted guys are the worst.'
Swoosh.
I pocketed the phone and glanced toward the kitchen.
Last-ditch hope. Maybe the food would come and change the subject... But the tables ahead of us hadn't gotten theirs yet.
"Daddy, Daeun's waiting!"
Whew, backed into a real corner now.
With a sigh, I resigned to tell the story.
The story of that day, which might be a bit embarrassing.
"So, what happened that day was..."
I began cautiously.