Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: How to Make a Regular Customer (2)
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“Hahaha! That was just a joke to make you laugh. You must’ve been caught off guard because it wasn’t funny enough.”
On the contrary, it was so hilarious that I was the one caught off guard.
“Gramps, what’s ‘rejuvenation’?”
“Rejuvenation means getting young again.”
“Young again?”
“Does it feel that way?”
“You got a good deal coming to our place, Gramps. You gotta come back.”
“I’m not sure if I should.”
Nom nom.
Crunch crunch—
Once again, the plates were scraped clean.
Seeing the satisfied looks on their faces after the meal put my mind at ease.
I’d experimented by using the sauce from the eggplant fritters on the donburi as well, and it seemed to pair nicely.
No matter how much my cooking skills had improved, I couldn’t always be confident about the flavor, texture, or overall satisfaction.
Especially with dishes I was just testing out.
“Oppa, yummy!”
“Tasty? Good thing.”
“I ate so well it felt like rejuvenation.”
I had no idea what kind of flavor “rejuvenation-level tasty” even meant.
Still, it felt like praise, so I was in a good mood. Their expressions made it obvious. They’d really enjoyed it.
The sharp eyes that had peered at me like a critic were now crinkled and slightly drooping. Proof they’d smiled while eating.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you.”
“But it’s surprising that this isn’t even a main menu item. It’s not on the menu board either.”
“It really was just a test dish. Come September or so, I might add it officially... but right now, I haven’t even figured out a reliable source for the shrimp.
I don’t want to put it on the menu recklessly.”
“Caution always leads to good results.”
Yoon-seul had hopped down from her stool at some point and was gathering up her own plate along with the customer’s, heading toward the kitchen.
I tried to take over for her, but she waved me off and scampered away—dodo-do.
“Yoon-seul can do it!”
“Whoa! Okay, then just be super careful not to trip in the kitchen, got it?”
“Yeah! Super careful~.”
Only then did she slow her pace.
From dodo-do—
To plop plop plop.
Her stride had gotten shorter.
“Ugh, what if she trips once and goes splat.”
“Oppa can take good care of her, right?”
“...Yeah. I have to take good care of her. Without her getting hurt or scarred.”
Yoon-seul set the plates by the sink and came back out of the kitchen. Much slower this time.
“Oppa said be careful. Super careful.”
“That’s right, good job.”
“You put a stepping stool by the sink for Yoon-seul?”
“Yeah, I wanted to handle everything until she got bigger. But as you can see, she really wants to help me out.”
“Oppa all alone would be tiring.”
“But keeping Yoon-seul from getting hurt is more important, right?”
“Yoon-seul no hurt. Oppa precious.”
“Aigoo, yeah, I gotta keep Yoon-seul safe. But when Oppa’s not around, you have to be careful too, okay?”
“Yeah!”
Her responses were always so adorably perfect.
“I’m done eating, so I’ll head out. Shop opens soon, so I should rest a bit.”
“You can stay longer if you want. Whatever’s comfortable.”
“Huh? Gramps leaving?”
“Yeah, I don’t want to take up space in the restaurant too long.”
The elder picked up the bag that held his newspaper and slung it over his shoulder. He was getting ready to leave.
Then he slowly approached me.
“Here, take this.”
He grabbed my hand and forced something into it.
It was 30,000 won in cash.
Then he pulled his hand away and turned around, not even waiting for change.
“This is way more than the food costs! You gave too much!”
Even just the ingredient costs were under 5,000 won.
I’d planned to just take 5,000 and call it even.
They’d eaten so enjoyably, it put me in a good mood.
Plus, the restaurant satisfaction had shot up by 40, so I could already picture them coming back.
But 30,000 won for the food? It felt too burdensome to accept outright.
“I don’t feel like I only owe this place for the food. I interrupted your break, and I got to try something not even on the menu.”
“Even so, this is too much... At least take back two of these, sir.”
“No need. At my age, there aren’t many places to spend money anyway. And...”
He paused, then gently touched Yoon-seul’s cheek as she quietly listened to the adults’ conversation from near his legs.
“Truth is, kids these days don’t often chat warmly with old folks like me. Back in my college days, students would talk to me. But once you retire, you’re a total stranger.”
“Ah...”
He seemed to be feeling something deeply.
“But who knows how much time I have left? I’ve lived to the age I was meant to. So I just go for walks. Walks—san-chaek. The san from ‘scatter’ and chaek from ‘strategy.’ Just enjoying the scenery without a thought. Heh, ‘walk’ is actually a Sino-Korean word.”
“Gramps thinks lots.”
“Hm?”
“Gramps does newspaper work. Yoon-seul can’t do newspaper, too hard.”
At Yoon-seul’s innocent comfort, the elder just smiled in response.
“Anyway, I’m really grateful you welcomed me so warmly here. Young boss, use that money to buy Yoon-seul something tasty next time. That’s enough.”
With those words, as he stepped toward the door to leave, his back looked a bit lonely.
Then Yoon-seul grabbed the hem of his worn pants and tugged tug tug.
“Gramps! Come again.”
“Would it be okay if Grandpa came back?”
“Better if you come again. Next time Oppa’s pork stir-fry something. Yummy.”
“If Yoon-seul says so, I’ll have to come back for something on the menu next time.”
He said that and met my eyes.
Of course I’d welcome any customer who returned, but it was especially joyful if it was someone Yoon-seul liked.
“Come anytime it suits you. We’re open every day except Mondays.”
“Then... I’ll drop by occasionally.”
“Not just occasionally—anytime is welcome.”
[Onui Tycoon!]
[The customer is moved by the attentive service.]
[Retired College Professor: Restaurant satisfaction increased by 30%!]
[Total Satisfaction: 70%]
[Retired College Professor – Registered as Excellent Customer!]
And with that, the elder became our restaurant’s very first Excellent Customer.
His steps as he left the door felt much lighter to me than before Yoon-seul had grabbed his pants and told him to come back.
“Yoon-seul, when customers leave, should we change the goodbye from ‘Take care’ to ‘Come again’?”
“Hm? What’s different?”
“Looks like it makes a big difference.”
Thanks to Yoon-seul, I’d learned that.
Business was booming today.
Even though Yoon-seul hadn’t eaten any pork stir-fry or eggplant fritters.
Word of mouth might have started spreading around the neighborhood in just a week.
Returning to spring’s rejuvenation.
I realized the meaning of “tastes like rejuvenation” a little later.
A feeling like becoming young again.
For an elder facing old age head-on, that was the highest praise he could give.
That’s what I wanted to believe.
**
A night with a hazy moon halo. The sky was clear, hardly any fine dust.
A perfect night for a walk.
Yoon-seul had wheedled me into walking along Seongbuk Stream before heading home tonight, so that’s what we were doing.
“Oppa.”
“What do you want?”
“You figured it out.”
“Tell me.”
“Skewers pretty, wanna eat.”
“Saw them while riding your bike earlier?”
“Yeah, saw while looking today, wanna get on way home.”
“If Yoon-seul isn’t tired, let’s do that?”
“Yeah!”
Not a big deal at all.
Walking like this and then going home meant Yoon-seul conked out the moment she lay down, so it was convenient in its own way.
On days she had extra energy, she’d sometimes want to watch TV in the middle of the night.
Putting her to bed early was better for her growth anyway, so this worked all around.
Pulling the bike along with Seongbuk Stream at our side, I couldn’t help but marvel.
Cherry blossoms brightly decorated the night path. Petals rarely fluttered through the air on the breeze.
“The flowers are so pretty, right, Yoon-seul?”
“Pink.”
“Pink, yeah. Those are cherry blossoms.”
“Cherry what?”
“First time hearing it?”
“Hm... Don’t know.”
Not knowing meant she’d never heard of them, right?
It was surprising she knew about racing but not cherry blossoms.
Maybe it just meant she hadn’t been out much.
“Wanna go see cherry blossoms together the day after tomorrow?”
“Cherry? Go play?”
“Yeah, it’s playing. Flower-viewing outing.”
“Lotta skewers?”
“Yeah, lots of flowers. Way more than these. Lots of people too.”
“Yeah! Wanna go!”
“Decided then? Oppa and you work tomorrow, and the next day we go cherry blossom viewing—promise?”
“Promise!”
Seeing them on the way home like this was romantic enough, but a dedicated outing to view the blossoms would be nice too.
Cherry blossoms scatter at the slightest rain.
April slips away in the blink of an eye.
This year’s April was our first together with Yoon-seul, so making memories wouldn’t be bad.
After promising a cherry blossom outing with my little sister, a not-short silence followed.
But that quiet, fairly long moment felt reassuring somehow. My head emptied, my heart calmed.
It wasn’t awkward standing there with Yoon-seul lips sealed shut—it felt more comfortable than chatting, with a peaceful air drifting around us.
Thanks to that, I understood a bit of the elder’s feelings from that morning.
“So that’s why you went on walks.”
Grateful to Yoon-seul for letting me feel this precious empathy while walking the night path, I glanced down at her.
Her gaze was toward Seongbuk Stream.
“Oppa.”
“Yeah?”
“That’s Yoon-seul, look.”
Yoon-seul’s finger pointed at Seongbuk Stream.
And there she really was.
Not that Yoon-seul was reflected on the riverbank or anything.
The pure, bright moonlight flowed over the rippling water, shimmering faintly.
It felt purely beautiful.
Yoon-seul too.
The word “Yoon-seul” itself.
“It really is Yoon-seul.”
“Yeah, pretty.”
“So pretty. Our Yoon-seul is pretty too, huh?”
“Oppa pretty too?”
“Me too?”
“Yeah!”
No idea how to respond to that.
We walked quite a ways like that before heading home.
My calves ached, but my mind was far more at ease, so it was bearable.
By the time we got home and night deepened further, a notification pinged from Onui Tycoon.
It was the Sun.