Chapter 46
Chapter 46
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Raison d'Etre (1)
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A little past one-thirty.
Business as usual, nothing out of the ordinary.
The lunch crowd has mostly cleared out.
The only ones left in the dining area are Song Jia in her school uniform and Yoon-seul.
Jia's rice bowl is spotless, save for a few softened onion bits swimming in sauce.
"Hee hee hee~."
- Huh?
"Hee hee hee hee~."
- What's got Yoon-seul in such a good mood today?
"Yoon-seul bought a car, with Oppa!"
- You bought a car?
"Yeah! Lots and lots."
- Lots... lots? How many?
"Hmm? Dunno. Super lots. Couldn't count 'em all even with all my fingers."
Song Jia's pupils tremble.
- Boss, you wouldn't happen to be a third-gen chaebol heir, would you? RUnnieng this place as a hobby or something?
"Never thought it'd come out like this. Truth is, the chairman ordered me to run this shop."
- The chairman?!!
"Yeah, my grandpa. Said it'd help the family image, so he set it up for me.
If you wanna get technical, it's more like a job than a hobby. But it's not exactly for scraping by."
Song Jia's eyes go wide, her lips curling down in a grimace.
She looks like a politician who's been utterly betrayed.
Probably the exact face Julius Caesar made when he got stabbed.
Et tu, Brute?
"Gonna decorate the car with Oppa later. That's why. Unnie come too."
- Decorate the car? You mean tuning it?
"Yeah, gonna take a quick break time to go tune it up. Jia wanna come?"
- Kinda feels like I just got played a little?
"What's there to play? We're just spending our own money anyway."
- True, but... but! I never thought of this place that way all this time.
"Then what'd you think?"
Even Yoon-seul looks curious as she asks Jia.
- I believed it was a shop run by kind-hearted siblings who pour their hearts into it every day, never losing hope amid the urban jungle! I didn't wanna know about any secrets like that.
"Hmm, whatcha saying...?"
Yoon-seul's comprehension hits its limit.
I've tangled things up too much.
"Come by next time with Su-young. You two come so often, I'll treat you to something delicious as thanks."
- D-Delicious... something?
Song Jia swallows dryly.
Gulp.
"Maybe Chateaubriand with truffle oil? Filet mignon's top-tier tenderloin, so it'd be a real treat."
- See, that's why they say it's good to have one rich friend!
In the end, she yields to reality, thumbs-upping with gusto.
Next to her, Yoon-seul has no idea what's going on but nods along a couple times anyway,
then pokes up her little fern-like thumb.
P.S. Apparently Su-young got busted today by the teachers for "sneaky behavior."
She was scaling the wall when their homeroom PE teacher happened to pass by.
Mid-climb, she got fully shot down by the Great Xenocider launched into the air (a busted chair leg wrapped in blue tape—her go-to weapon, she says).
- W-Wait, Teacher! L-Look! Song Jia's skipping school too! Can't you see her strolling out the front gate?
- Hey! Jia's got a sick mom right now. You got any excuse for hopping the wall?
- You know! Song Jia's full of it. Her mom's super healthy. I saw her yesterday!
- Su-young, who doesn't know that?
- Huh?
- I know. But that's how the world works. If there's a pretext, I can turn a blind eye. Grandma's sick again, little bro's home alone and needs watching~ Like that, every few days. You think I don't know? I do, and I let 'em go anyway. But you? You're just straight-up rUnnieng.
- Fair enough.
- Right? See? So take your licks.
- What kinda dad joke is that.
Something like that went down, from what I hear.
In the end, Kwon Su-young messaged Song Jia with her newfound wisdom: society's core principle might just be "pretext."
[Kwon Su-young: Makes school feel like a real educational institution in that sense.]
Kwon Su-young, convinced at a peculiar point.
"But they say corporal punishment's banned these days. PE teachers still got that tough-love vibe, though?"
- Nah, they don't hit anymore, even if they talk tough. Word is they used to swing a bit five years back. But mess up now, and it's big trouble.
Back when I was in middle school, PE teachers were straight-up terrifying.
Probably still are, but with some tweaks.
"Oppa! Oppa!"
"Yeah?"
"Car's here!"
Yoon-seul points at the truck visible outside the glass door.
The delivery truck's finally pulled up to the shop.
She's been waiting all day for this package, eyes sparkling extra bright.
"Sure enough, it's here."
- Food ingredients order?
"Nah, cars."
- Cars?
"Yeah!"
The siblings' voices overlap, and Jia's gaze automatically flicks to the corner where "Boong-boong No.3" sits all fancy-parked.
She scratches the back of her head as realization dawns.
- No way.
The delivery guy checks the items and sets down rectangular boxes coming up to my shin height, one by one.
"Oppa! Open it quick."
"Hold on a sec."
Vibe check: no customers rushing in anytime soon.
I grab a box cutter, slice the tape, and pull out the contents. Just like Yoon-seul said, cars—lots and lots, too many to count.
Jia takes a steadying breath and asks cautiously.
- So where's the truth start, and where's the lie begin?
"Everything you believe is true."
Cool line, I thought, but Jia glares daggers of resentment.
Ahem, ahem.
I clear my throat to brush it off and focus on Yoon-seul and the model cars.
"Alright! Yoon-seul, wanna decorate with Jia-Unnie and Oppa?"
"Yeah!"
- Fine, let's see what we can do.
Looks like Jia's in too.
Sorry for making her take my joke seriously.
Poor kid with no bangs—shadow of disappointment clouds her face.
I decide to comp her a soda.
**
- No customers, but the place feels bustling somehow?
"Isn't it great?"
- Not bad, actually. Thought model cars might be iffy at first, but they're adding nice clutter?
"Yeah! That vibe. You know, you know. Japanese ramen joints got figures lined up on shelves, right? Exactly that feel."
- Yeah, exactly.
"You know, you know!"
My sister nods knowingly, arms crossed beside me.
Does she really?
:)
Yoon-seul curls her lips up like a Western emoji.
Seeing that makes me glad we did this.
Model cars lined every which way on the wall shelves, bar counter corner, near the register—they hit the sibling geek spot.
Plus, posters of sleek sports cars zooming on tracks dot the blank walls.
"Menu board made it feel kinda empty before. Now it's full and fun."
- Kwon Su-young's gonna flip next time.
"Then let's surprise her—don't spill about the interior upgrade."
- Got it, lips sealed.
[Onui Tycoon!]
[Shop vibe upgraded from 'So-So' to 'Heartwarming.']
[Will positively impact future customer satisfaction!]
"Wonder how much."
Gonna have to watch over the next few days.
We finish sprucing up the interior, and Jia heads out. She's meeting Su-young today—gonna wait at that cafe first.
Thought no customers till break time, but an old acquaintance drops by.
- Not break time yet, right?
"Nope, still open. Have a seat at the bar table."
"Welcome!"
Yoon-seul greets with a belly bow, thinking it's a regular. But this one's got deeper ties to our shop.
- Pork stir-fry, one. Ho-yeon Hyung said whenever he comes here, order the pork first thing. Gotta try it.
"One pork stir-fry, got it."
"Hmm? Ho-yeon-i? Hmm... Red Hat Uncle?"
- Kid knows Hyung's name too.
"Not a kid, Yoon-seul."
- Right, Yoon-seul.
Kinda like Ho-yeon Hyung, kinda not—vaguely similar looks. But side-by-side, you'd buy family.
He's the owner of this slightly small, rundown commercial building where Onui Restaurant sits.
Yoon-seul was there last time we talked lease, but it was so brief, she's forgotten.
Treats him like a first-time customer.
"Uncle."
"Yeah?"
"Wanna soda?"
- Soda? Might order one when food comes.
"Then tell Yoon-seul, she'll get it."
- Gotcha. I'll tell Yoon-seul.
Felt it last time too: real mild-mannered guy.
Even bends down to listen when Yoon-seul talks.
Pork stir-fry's muscle memory now. When meat's perfect, scoop generously onto a plate.
0.5 times more than usual portions.
"Gotta take care of the guy we owe."
He startles when I serve it with complimentary rice.
- Pretty generous portion.
"Figured you skipped lunch, so extra for you."
- Hit the spot, starving... Thanks.
"We're the thankful ones."
The building owner chuckles sheepishly, "Nah, no biggie," sips water, then spots our little one.
- Yoon-seul, Uncle'll take a soda.
"Yoon-seul'll get it."
Solemn tone, like a general marching to war.
Nods slowly, heads to the fridge.
Ungh- ungh-
Hnnngh!
Epic effort just to open the fridge door.
Creeeak.
Door pops open; she wipes cold sweat,
Whew— deep breath.
Soda secured!
Totters over, hands it to the building owner with both hands.
"Hmm, bit of a workout."
- Looked it. Good job.
"Yeah!"
Juts her chin, nods a couple times, and exits stage left. Plops dramatically onto Boong-boong.
Turns back with a beaming grin—thinks she looks cool, I bet.
"Our little one's nailing the concept these days. Does this with other customers too."
- Adorable.
"Right?"
- Makes me wanna raise a daughter.
"Right?"
The two men click.
Building owner digs into his pork stir-fry.
Eating style's unique, though.
Most folks scoop pork over rice or eat separate.
He dumps all the rice into the pork and mixes it up.
"Shoulda made it a donburi. Just say the word next time."
- No need to go that far. This mixed is my style."
Mixing cuts eating time short.
Reminds me of Ho-yeon Hyung's method.
He said back in his peak busy shop days, he'd toss everything in a big bowl and shovel it down.
Relatives rub off, maybe.
- All done. Hyung was right—delicious. Gotta come more.
"Anytime. Throw in extra pork or whatever."
- No need, feel bad.
"Gotta do at least that to ease my mind. With the rent discount and all."
Purely a heart thing.
This building owner's basically a stranger—no blood ties.
Still, he cut rent 10% no hesitation.
Even if Ho-yeon Hyung asked.
Hyung's family, whatever their bond—doesn't make a direct pretext for the discount.
Like Su-young said, society's driven by pretext above all.
Made me wonder why.