The Freshly Caught Squid Sashimi Crunched with a Satisfying Bite
The Freshly Caught Squid Sashimi Crunched with a Satisfying Bite
By the time Lucas left the restaurant empty for the chicken farm work, it had been days since Michelle's last visit.
To explain why, the story has to reach further back.
Specifically, to the moment she first met Andrea — that insufferable elf who works there.
"I'd love to eat there every day myself. There has to be a way."
She envied Andrea. Quietly.
-My apologies. I've clearly failed in training my staff. I'll make sure nothing like this happens again.
The fight between the two women had started as a childish argument over whether fish or meat was superior, and it had ended the moment Lucas took the customer's side — Michelle's side.
Brief as it was, it felt good.
It meant the chef capable of making food this delicious had acknowledged her palate. That much was undeniable.
It was a craving for recognition that transcended species.
True, she had only won because of the distance between customer and staff. That wasn't enough.
'Not enough.'
Yes, she'd beaten her — but that was it.
Unlike Andrea, who practically lived at the restaurant, Michelle came once every two days, or once every three, and that was all.
And even then, at awkward hours — neither quite morning nor quite midday.
The fact that Lucas opened the doors for her before real service began was something she was deeply grateful for, but she didn't want to be a constant imposition.
One day she wanted to walk in during the busy hours and eat like any other customer.
No — she wanted to eat there every single day.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner — all of it filled with his cooking.
She wished that man would cook for her alone.
She knew full well that was greed.
She was a mermaid. Lucas was human.
The feeling defied species, but overcoming it meant facing too many obstacles.
Abamama, who despised land-dwellers. Her race. Her status as a princess. And Lucas himself — content with his life cooking in that little restaurant.
She had already had her proposals refused more than once.
'I can't take him by force.'
Had she ever felt so unwilling to let someone be taken from her?
She had never once indulged greed for anything. As the Sea King's daughter, a princess of the ocean, she could have anything she wanted — so she'd never needed to be possessive. She gave to her people as generously as she could, and all her life she'd been known as the kind, good-hearted mermaid princess.
Now was different.
She wanted to monopolize that man.
For the first time in her life, she felt greedy for something.
'I want to make his cooking mine.'
But she couldn't drag him to the Dragon Palace. She knew she couldn't crack his stubborn resolve alone.
'In that case.'
She'd come up to land herself.
If she built a forward base close enough — somewhere she could comfortably live and travel to the restaurant from — she wouldn't need to spend hours making the trip.
'I'll build a villa close enough that I can eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner there.'
She wouldn't be able to monopolize his cooking completely — but at the very least, couldn't she become a special guest?
A guest above the ordinary customers who came once a day. A guest unlike that arrogant employee, someone capable of truly discussing gastronomy with the chef himself.
And then, over time, an emotional bond would form. He'd be swayed by her sincere words, come down with her to the Dragon Palace, meet Abamama, become the palace's official chef, and spend every day with her.
"Kyaaaa!"
The fantasy alone made her giddy.
Already, her stomach felt full.
So she decided to build a villa in a small village near Viscount Britten's territory — her forward base.
She planned to add a small lie for Abamama.
If she said she wanted to observe the lives of other sea creatures beyond the palace, Abamama would surely grant it.
'It's absolutely not because I want to run away from home.'
And then, in the not-so-distant future, once she'd convinced Lucas and brought him to the palace —
Abamama would eat this man's cooking and be forced to acknowledge it.
'He's not the sort to dismiss a capable person.'
This was fundamentally a talent-scouting mission.
Truly. Nothing more.
"Abamama, I am now an adult. I wish to watch over the lives of our people beyond the Dragon Palace."
"So, having come of age, you wish to experience new things. Very well — where would you like your villa?"
With the Sea King's blessing and the funds he provided, she set out.
She poured money into building a livable villa in a small village not far from Viscount Britten's domain.
She bought an abandoned mansion and turned it into her own hideaway.
She installed a tank for seawater and purification systems to keep it clean, ensuring she'd never run short while staying there.
The kind of construction that would normally take ages. But Michelle had gems that could solve anything, and she demonstrated the wisdom of a certain sage: if you can't solve a problem, check whether you're simply not spending enough.
'I'll come find you soon.'
She missed Lucas's cooking desperately, but she endured a surprisingly long fast, thinking of the near future where she'd eat it every day.
She suffered withdrawal — hunger pangs, everything else tasting like ash, eating less and less — but it was bearable.
She told herself it was all part of the trial that would make her a special guest.
'It's fine. The Dragon Palace's bland food is enough to get me through.'
And then came the day her forward base was finally complete.
She headed for the shore where Lucas came to fish in the early morning.
There he was.
'Ah. He came again today.'
As Michelle watched Lucas with longing eyes after so long apart, a strange woman entered her vision.
'Who is that?'
A suspicious woman with ash-gray hair long enough to cover her eyes.
Slightly hunched, pressed close behind Lucas — clinging to him to a bizarre degree.
The unpleasant energy radiating from her made Michelle's eyes narrow automatically.
What is this?
Why am I this angry?
Every time Lucas moved, the woman flinched and plastered herself to his arm, trembling.
Michelle's stomach dropped.
"What are you?"
Watching from beneath the water, Michelle unconsciously emitted an ultrasonic pulse — and summoned a swarm of squid.
Ultrasound was a mermaid's racial ability. The power to manipulate nearby fish and compel their behavior. A technique meant for the sea's guardians, the mermaids, to fight ocean monsters alongside their allied fish.
The squid nearby instinctively surrounded her to protect the sea's guardian.
And through that swarm, fishing hooks came streaming down. The squid were caught and hauled upward.
That was why.
Lucas had caught nothing but squid.
'Why am I acting like this?'
She didn't understand her own rage.
One thing was certain: she did not like seeing Lucas with that nameless woman. Not one bit.
'She's suspicious.'
The strange aura pouring off her felt deeply, viscerally wrong.
The moment Lucas left, Michelle scrambled after them.
So fast she was nearly breathless.
And now —
She looked around the restaurant.
The woman with that foul aura was nowhere to be seen.
"What I always have... would that be alright?"
"I caught a lot of good squid today. Shall I make something with that?"
"Yes, please."
"By the way, what kept you away so long?"
She couldn't bring herself to mention the forward base. That would require far too much explaining.
"...Things came up. I'm sorry."
Deceiving Lucas over and over weighed on her.
"Do you like hoe? Sashimi?"
"Hoe?"
"Yes."
"I've never heard of that dish before."
She felt a spark of anticipation.
What was coming?
Lucas set down a tray.
"Fresh squid sashimi, made from squid that were alive minutes ago."
She looked.
"Kyaaaa!"
Raw, sliced translucent squid sashimi.
"Wh-what... what is this?"
"The squid sashimi I mentioned."
"Ah... aah..."
Michelle was embarrassed by her own shocked reaction.
A predator eating prey in nature always happens raw. Only intelligent races use fire to cook.
Eating something raw wasn't foreign to her.
The surprise was simply that a dish she'd never expected had appeared in a restaurant.
"A lot of people can't handle raw fish at all. If you're uncomfortable with it, I can prepare something else —"
"No. It's fine. I can eat it."
Refusing would be an insult to Lucas as a chef. More than that, it would be an insult to the squid who had willingly given itself for this dish.
So she would eat it.
She was startled by the unfamiliar menu, but she had every intention of eating it.
After so long without his food, her body was desperate.
I want to eat it fast.
Put it inside me.
Fill my stomach with Lucas's cooking.
Her insides kept urging her on.
"Ahem. It really did come out instantly. Lucas, I'm not eating your own portion, am I?"
"Haha, not at all. Sashimi is one of those things — slice it and it's ready that fast."
"Is that so?"
She studied the platter.
The body and legs of the squid, sliced into thin strips, lay gleaming with a translucent sheen. Beside them, just-washed vegetables asserted themselves in vivid greens. Slivered gallek, and sauces she recognized — ssamjang and soy sauce from a previous visit, plus a red seasoning made from gochujang.
"I simply eat it as it is?"
"Yes. Dip it in the chogochujang — the crunch and chew should hit just right. You can also wrap it in lettuce and gallek. Both work."
She lifted her chopsticks, placed a piece of squid body thick with chogochujang onto a lettuce leaf, just as Lucas suggested.
Then layered a slice of garlic and a thin pepper ring dabbed in ssamjang on top.
She wrapped it and put it in her mouth.
Crunch.
The crisp snap of the lettuce, the savory depth of the ssamjang hitting her tongue, the sharp bite of garlic and the heat of the pepper, the firm pop-and-crunch of the squid body. Then the tangy, spicy chogochujang, and finally the distinct scent of the sea — that unmistakable fresh-squid fragrance lingering at the back of her palate.
Crunch. Crunch.
"Ah..."
Delicious.
The sea scent she'd known her entire life sang in her mouth.
Had squid always been this delicious?
That this could be such an incredible food — it was astonishing.
She dunked another strip of the body deep into the chogochujang.
Sluurp.
She slurped the finely shredded squid as if it were noodles.
Crunch-crunch-crunch.
A simpler flavor, but the way the texture burst and popped in her mouth was delightful.
"It's delicious."
"Good, right? The fresher the squid, the better. If you handle it without breaking the innards, the flavor stays clean."
"Aah..."
She closed her eyes and savored it.
It was exquisite.
A flavor that numbed her tongue and sent a shiver down her spine.
And then — a faint pang of guilt.
If she hadn't gotten angry, would the squid have been caught?
Would some other fish have been caught instead?
She was, effectively, the reason this squid was on the plate.
If she hadn't lashed out, a different fish would have been caught.
Which meant... eating fish was fine?
'No. That's not what I —'
Some fish would have been caught regardless.
She didn't need to feel guilty.
So right now — just taste it.
The squid sashimi was delicious.
The springy body. The chewy resistance of the suction cups with every bite. The stimulating tang and heat when dipped in chogochujang.
But the peak was the wrap.
The moment the squid sashimi, harmonized with all those vegetables, entered her mouth —
'The harmony of mountain and sea...'
The mountain's greens and the ocean's squid met in perfect union.
Perhaps — perhaps the ancient hatred mermaids held for land-dwellers could be resolved like this, too.
"Shall I prepare one more?"
"Is that alright?"
"Of course. After the gems you've given me — it's the least I can do."
Lucas pulled another squid from the bucket.
As Michelle ate, she caught the squid's eye.
She looked away.
'I'm sorry.'
She couldn't hear the squid's voice.
The moment she stepped onto land, a mermaid lost the ability to hear fish. Even if she'd been underwater — no, she wouldn't have heard it. Or rather, she wouldn't have listened.
Because she'd learned the truth.
The law of nature.
"This time, I'll make mulhoe — a cold spicy raw fish soup."
Chop! Chop!
She watched quietly as the squid transformed into fresh sashimi in Lucas's hands.
His practiced touch, turning squid into something so delicious — it kept stealing her gaze.
Then, abruptly, the scene from the shore flashed through her mind.
The woman with the ash-gray hair.
The one who clung to him so persistently.
"Lucas, do you perhaps have a lover..."
She was about to ask about the gray-haired woman she'd seen that morning.
"Boss, I'm all done!"
Andrea emerged from the kitchen, beaming.
And behind her, shuffling awkwardly — the same woman from that morning.
"Huh?"
The unpleasant feeling surged up again.