Inhuman Outing...! # 2
Inhuman Outing...! # 2
"Aagh! Hey! Who told you to cling to my arm like that!"
"I can't?"
She asked with an utterly innocent face, the little brat!
"People will get the wrong idea if they see us!"
A combo of a blonde kid and a black-haired high schooler—anyone would think it was shady. Our hair colors are so different, she doesn't even look like a little sister.
"Wrong idea? What wrong idea?"
Kitty said that and hugged my arm even tighter, like she was teasing me. This cheeky little brat, why is she so good at putting people in awkward spots?
She definitely knows exactly what she's doing.
"There is such a thing, damn it. Kitty, you little rascal, if you stick any closer, you'd better know you're getting the scolding of your life."
"You're so mean, Geun-cheol."
"What's so mean about it."
"Sniff, sniff."
Kitty pretended to cry as she said it, but she still didn't let go of my arm.
"To be honest, I never had a big brother, so I've always thought it would be nice to have one."
"And you projected that feeling onto me...!"
"Is that not allowed?"
"Well, I mean, you wouldn't get hurt if I flat-out said no, right?"
"Pfft, what's that? Geun-cheol. Be clear with me. For your information, if you reject me, I will get hurt."
"Okay, okay. I'll be your big brother. So to commemorate, let's go eat some meat."
"Meat?"
"If not Chinese, then meat."
It's still morning, but when it comes to eating meat, time doesn't matter. Actually, strictly worrying about what time you eat meat is the weird thing. Only a lunatic obsesses over what time they eat meat. Anyway, I was starting to want to grease my stomach, so I took Kitty straight to a pork belly place.
"Oh my god, Geun-cheol. I've never been to a place like this."
Sitting in front of a table with a hole in the middle like a bagel—where the round grill plate sits—Kitty looked around the restaurant and said.
Yeah, I figured as much. The kid is clearly from overseas. She wouldn't be used to Korean BBQ joints.
"What kind of sister never even took you to a BBQ place?"
"We never had a reason to come to a place like this together..."
"Heh heh heh, is that so? Hey, miss! We'd like to order."
"Yes."
"Two servings of pork belly and one soybean paste stew. And two bowls of rice and one cola, please."
"Yes."
It feels like I'm spending a fair bit of cash, but when would I ever get to grill pork belly at a restaurant these days? Sometimes you've just gotta throw down. Oh, next time I should treat Leona, Yu-ri, and Si-hoo to a meal.
I'm learning so much from them on so many fronts. If I didn't even treat them to meat, I wouldn't be human. That's a basic moral principle included in the standard curriculum.
"Now look. You see that hole in the center, like a bagel? They'll light a fire under there, put a grill plate on top, and then we cook the meat."
"I'm excited."
She looked happy.
"But I'm paying for this, so you, Kitty, have to do the grilling."
"I grill it?"
"Yep. The rule is, the one being treated does the grilling. That's basic etiquette."
If you're splitting the bill, you just take turns grilling. But when there's a clear party doing the treating, the one getting free food has to do all the grilling.
No one who doesn't know this kind of manners can possibly live a normal life. Seeing as this is her first time, I decided I'd have to properly educate Kitty.
Even if South Korea has become a superhuman society, that doesn't mean superhumans don't eat meat. Getting tossed into Korean society without knowing proper meat etiquette? Immediate burial. Out. Her older sister ought to have taught her stuff like this, honestly.
"Geun-cheol... in a situation like this, isn't it normal for the big brother to grill the meat and feed it to me?"
Tilting her head slightly, Kitty spoke as if she found that preposterous. The kid is so damn cute it almost swayed me, but I had to do what had to be done.
"Hey. You said this is your first time, right? So you need to learn proper BBQ etiquette while you're at it, first-timer that you are. You'll use this for the rest of your life. This is a skill too, a skill."
"I don't know about that kind of thing."
Just then.
"Here you are."
The server brought out the meat and lit the fire.
"Here. Pick up the meat with the tongs and put it on."
"Ho ho ho, young man. Making your little sister do the grilling, is that right?"
"Ma'am. This is all part of her education, really. A necessary step. Go on."
"Okay, Geun-cheol."
Still, maybe curiosity got the better of her. Kitty grabbed the tongs, picked up the meat with them, and placed it on the grill.
"When it's nicely cooked, flip it. Then you cut it up chunk-chunk with scissors and eat it."
"Mm, this is kind of fun. Grilling meat to eat it."
"Well yeah, you grill it. What, you boil it?"
"Do you boil it?"
"What?"
"No... Wait, you don't know boiled pork? Boiled pork slices?"
"Never tried it."
"What are you, a cavewoman?"
What the hell?
Now that I think about it, Kitty seemed a little short on common sense. Even if she's from overseas, you'd know that people grill meat or boil it to eat. She's not some special being who doesn't eat food; this is basic stuff.
—Tssssss.
Anyway, the smell of grilling pork belly is fucking amazing.
"Geun-cheol. Should I flip it now?"
"Are you trying to kill me with anticipation...! Hurry up and flip it...!"
"I'm gonna pass out, Geun-cheol."
—Tssssss.
Kitty grabbed the meat and flipped it. Is it because the meat quality is good? It's perfectly cooked.
"Heh heh heh."
While I was grinning, the soybean paste stew and rice came out.
"Let's eat rice too."
"Okay."
I immediately took out a clean spoon and scooped some stew into my rice bowl. You know how it is—when you only order one stew, no one wants to see some bastard dunk their own spoon straight in. You've gotta use a fresh spoon for that.
"Kitty, eat up."
"Thanks, Geun-cheol. You saved me, looked after me, and fed me. I feel like I can really rely on you."
"Now that I think about it, I guess so. So, Kitty? What's your real name?"
"You're curious about my name?"
Kitty said that and smiled like she was enjoying herself.
"Yeah. I'm curious. You're a foreigner. I figured that out. When did you learn Korean?"
"Umm... that's a slightly difficult question. As for my name, I think you'll find out gradually, Geun-cheol."
"Not telling me again. I even bought you meat and you still won't tell me?"
"You'll find out soon."
Well, if that's how it is.
—Scoop.
I took a big spoonful of the fluffy white rice well-soaked in the soybean paste stew broth... It was exactly that quintessential BBQ-joint stew flavor. This is the taste. The taste that stabs right at a Korean's tongue.
"Ah, Geun-cheol. Should I cut the meat now?"
"Good. Let's see your skills, Kitty. If you cut the meat nicely, you'll become prettier later on."
"Is that a thing?"
"Yep. It's a Korean proverb, so remember it."
I've never heard a proverb like that in my life, but Kitty, having stored my words in her memory, will probably try to cut the meat herself every single time from now on.
"Geun-cheol. You're trying to sweet-talk me with fancy sayings, aren't you?"
"The kid's sharp."
Seems like no one's going to be able to make a little girl who plays with dogs disappear without anyone noticing around here.
"Let's start eating."
I grabbed a piece of the meat that Kitty had neatly cut and ate it straight. Of course, eating the first bite plain, without adding anything else. The first bite must always be eaten plain—screw the wrap sauce, screw the scallion salad. These days, there are jerks who start wrapping it in lettuce with sauce or whatever from the very first piece, and it's a habit I will never be able to understand.
"Woah! The meat is killer!"
This place is fucking delicious!
"Is it tasty?"
"Yeah! It's even tastier because you cut it, Kitty! You hurry up and eat too!"
"Okay."
Kitty picked up her chopsticks and stared at the meat.
—Nom.
She took a polite bite.
"Ah. It's good. Geun-cheol."
"Right?"
"Yeah."
It must have been seriously delicious, because a placid smile settled on her face.
"As expected. This is a really fun experience."
"Let's try more experiences. There are tons of great restaurants around."
"Hoo hoo hoo, Geun-cheol takes such good care of me. You really do seem like my older sister."
Wait, didn't she say I reminded her of her sister last time too?
"Speaking of which. What exactly did you tell your sister about me?"
"That was a joke, Geun-cheol."
"Don't bullshit me. This is an important issue. If your sister suddenly wants to see me, I'll have no idea how to explain myself."
"Mmm, wouldn't you just tell her honestly?"
"You think so?"
Well, I don't have anything to feel guilty about. I can just say it boldly... Still, given what I've heard, Kitty's sister seems like a powerful Awakened. It could get troublesome in various ways.
—Om nyom nyom.
While I was thinking that, Kitty started gobbling up the meat at a faster pace. This cheeky little thing, chomping away when an adult is sitting right here. But since she's cute, I'll let it slide... I'd better eat fast too.
And so, I polished off the meat deliciously together with Kitty.
"Ah. That was really delicious, Geun-cheol."
After we finished and came out, Kitty latched onto my arm again.
"As expected, I really like you, Geun-cheol."
She looked up at me as she said it, and I got the feeling that in a few years, this kid's going to be going around ensnaring men left and right.
"Then when your sister gets the wrong idea, make sure you explain things well."
"Geun-cheol, you worry too much. Weren't you the bravest person in the world?"
"Still, I think your sister is scary. I just get this vibe from her on an instinctive level."
"Hmm, instinct, you say?"
"Yeah."
That's exactly what I'm picking up.
"Anyway, Geun-cheol. Isn't there anything else we could do?"
"Something else. How about we hit a PC café first?"
"Okay. That sounds good. Are we playing that Left 4 Dead thing again?"
"This time, let's try something else."
We headed straight into a PC café.
We'll snack a bit at the PC café, play some games, then go to a pool hall and shoot some pocket ball. There's nothing better for entertaining a kid like this.
—Slide.
We sat down at a couple's seat and turned on the computers. Logged in, topped up our time. What game should we play this time?
"I don't really know what to pick. Geun-cheol, you choose."
"Then... Ah. This one."
I searched for games, and it looked like a new RPG had just come out. As for accounts... yeah, I had my ID on the site, plus the ID linked to the search portal. I could use two.
"Kitty. Want to try an RPG?"
"What's that?"
"It's a game where you raise a character."
I created accounts right there, and I even handled Kitty's computer to log us into the new game, Blood and Weapon. So they've got games like this in this world too.
Once the patch was done, we entered the character creation screen.
"Hmm?"
"Okay, Kitty. See the stat window and the appearance window on the side? Set those to the numbers you want."
"Stat window?"
Kitty moved the mouse and clicked the plus and minus signs in the stat window. This must be a game where you allocate your own initial stats. Who'd have thought there'd be an online game like this nowadays. It's retro, so it feels fresh.
"Hm."
But a stat window, huh.
I mean, if I just shout "Status Window," a certain window pops up right in front of my eyes. To compare it with the game character's stat window on the monitor, I silently shouted "Status Window" in my mind and brought up my personal window.
—Ding.
[Kim Geun-cheol - Status Window]
"Geun-cheol."
"Uh, yeah? What?"
Ah shit, you scared me. I just opened the Status Window and she talks to me?
I immediately looked at Kitty.
"Huh?"
Kitty was staring intently at me.
"Kitty, what's up?"
"..."
She didn't say anything. The moment I thought that, Kitty reached out her hand and waved it near my eyes—wait!
"Kitty?!"
"Geun-cheol. There's a flying bug above us."
"A f-flying bug?"
"Huh? Is something surprising? Hoo hoo hoo."
Kitty laughed like she was enjoying herself... but no.
"Tch."
Never mind.
It's nothing.
"No. Nothing at all. So, Kitty. What about the character?"
"Ah. I want to change this to a girl character."
"Okay. I'll change it for you. But what about the stats?"
"If I raise Magic Power, I become a mage, right? I'll raise Magic Power."
"Looks like you got the hang of it."
And so, we made our characters with Kitty and logged into the game. Since I'm playing this for the first time too, I figured we'd go through the opening prologue and then do some party hunting afterward.
"Geun-cheol. It's started."
"Just follow the guide from here. Then we'll meet up and hunt monsters together."
"Is it going to be like those zombie things from last time?"
"Nah. The world setting is different, so different ones will show up. Like monsters."
"The world setting is different?"
Kitty tilted her head at that.
"You know. You can think of it as each game having its own setting and world. That was a world where zombies show up. This one is, how should I put it, more of a fantasy world."
"So it's a different world."
"That's right."
"I understand."
Alright, let's just play the game.
