Grand Opening
The next day, we finally opened our noodle shop at the foot of Mount Hua.
More precisely, it was closer to a food stall. The inside of the cart had been converted into a kitchen, and along the outside we'd mounted a long wooden counter so customers could sit on high stools and eat right there — a kind of omakase seating. We'd set the prices high enough that not just anyone could take a seat.
Two or three customers at most. In exchange, they could watch everything happen right in front of them: the noodles going into the boil, the broth being ladled, the toppings arranged one by one.
Beside the cart, we'd even put up a large shade canopy. Underneath it sat a few prefabricated tables and three or four folding chairs.
Every piece was the latest camping gear, made by the Dokgo Clan and an old craftsman named Cheon Gija. I'd been pretty surprised the first time I saw them. Instead of heavy, cumbersome wooden furniture — modern-style pieces that folded and unfolded.
I liked the craftsmanship so much that I ended up buying every single one I laid eyes on.
Baek Ri-seol folded and unfolded a chair a few times, an admiring look on her face.
"These are really convenient..."
"We should use them if we ever open an inn, too."
I nodded, pleased.
"See, this is why the money should go to the people who actually invent things."
Meanwhile, Dong-gwi had already understood his role perfectly.
A large advertising sign hung around the guy's neck.
Banquet Noodles · Mixed Noodles · Today's Premium Special
Dong-gwi, wearing the sign, was peacefully grazing on the grass nearby.
And it was surprisingly effective. Martial artists heading up Mount Hua began stopping one by one.
"What's with that donkey?"
"A noodle shop?"
"Siksin Somyeon?"
Soon customers started gathering. Most of them, however, took one look at the prices on the standing signboard, their faces hardened, and they turned right around.
"Is this guy insane?"
"Thirty coppers for a bowl of noodles?"
"One silver tael would feed you at an inn for days!"
I calmly kept pulling noodles. Honestly, I had never planned on taking poor customers in the first place.
What we were after were the martial artists and clan scions coming and going from Mount Hua. The types who valued face and experience more than money.
And people like that, the moment they catch a whiff, absolutely cannot just walk past.
Sizzle—
The smell of richly simmered broth. The aroma of seasonings frying in chicken fat. And the distinctive nutty wheat scent of freshly pulled noodles.
A moment later, a young man in white martial robes finally sat down with a scowl on his face. The plum blossom pattern at his waist. A disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.
"Hmph."
He put on a deliberately indifferent face.
"If it doesn't taste good, I'll flip the table."
I snorted a laugh and wordlessly started boiling the noodles.
The well-kneaded strands unfurled smoothly into the boiling water with a soft splash.
Meanwhile, Baek Ri-seol — her hair black now that she'd deactivated her Blood Embodiment — quietly began bringing out tea.
A warm cup was set down in front of the young man with a soft tap.
"What would you like to order?"
The young man in white looked at her face, pretending not to care, then his eyes widened slightly.
"The young lady's beauty is quite something."
Baek Ri-seol smiled sweetly and cut him off on the spot.
"Don't try any cheap lines."
"...Ahem."
The young man coughed, embarrassed, then straightened his posture for no particular reason.
"...I'll have the one with broth."
Baek Ri-seol nodded and turned naturally toward me.
"Honey."
"One banquet noodles."
Instead of answering, I lifted the lid off the broth pot.
A rich aroma billowed out in a sudden rush.
And the young man's expression, catching that smell, wavered ever so slightly.
A moment later, Baek Ri-seol quietly approached carrying a tray. On it sat a bowl of banquet noodles still sending up curls of steam, alongside a serving of fresh kimchi she'd tossed herself that very morning.
Between the bright red seasoning, the cabbage still looked like it had life in it. The scent of sesame oil rose faintly as well.
Baek Ri-seol smiled and set the tray down in front of him.
"Enjoy."
The young man swallowed for no reason. Then he took chopsticks from the utensil holder and, with a very careful expression, smelled the noodles again.
The rich broth. The nuttiness of chicken fat. The scent of green onions and garnishes — all of it rushed in at once.
The look in his eyes changed in an instant. And then—
Slurrrrp—
He suddenly started inhaling the noodles like a man possessed. His chopsticks moved faster and faster. He even gulped down the broth, devouring everything in a frenzy.
And then, the moment he put a piece of the fresh kimchi in his mouth, his eyes went wide.
"What is this—"
Crunch. Spicy. Sweet. Refreshing.
He started scooping up noodles again as if he'd been put under a spell. Slurp. Slurp.
The time it took for one bowl of banquet noodles to vanish was exactly one minute.
Baek Ri-seol, who'd been watching from the side with the tray in her arms, asked with a grin.
"Going to flip it?"
The young man, momentarily speechless, looked down at the empty bowl. It had been scraped clean down to the last drop of broth.
A beat later, he coughed and looked away.
"...Give me a bowl of the mixed ones too."
The corner of Baek Ri-seol's mouth lifted.
"Additional orders are prepaid."
The young man wordlessly set down a bundle of coins. Clink. A full sixty-five coppers. Hard to believe this was the same guy who'd been cursing the insane prices just moments ago.
I snorted a laugh and this time took out the mixed-noodle sauce. And at that moment, the martial artists who'd been secretly watching from behind started sidling toward the seats.
One of them, without the slightest sense of tact, plopped himself down right in the omakase seat.
Without even stopping my hands as I boiled noodles, I said calmly,
"You can't sit there."
"Why not?"
The man asked back, incredulous.
I pointed with my chin at a small sign hanging there. I'd deliberately written the letters very small. Honestly, only the ones with some sense needed to notice it.
The martial artist stared blankly, looking from the sign to me and back again.
"...Why would a noodle shop have something like that?"
I answered without missing a beat.
"Because I don't want to work facing another man."
A brief silence fell.
Baek Ri-seol, who'd been listening from behind, finally burst out with a snort of laughter.
"Honey, you're way too honest..."
The martial artist stood up with an incredulous look on his face. But strangely, nobody could get too angry.
Because even at that moment, the smell of broth kept spreading like mad.
The Mount Hua Sect man eventually rose from his seat with sauce smeared all over his mouth. Then, putting on a deliberately solemn expression, he clasped his fists in a martial salute toward me and Baek Ri-seol.
"That was an excellent meal."
Hard to believe this was the same guy who'd been cursing the prices just a little while ago.
Baek Ri-seol forced herself to hold back a laugh and returned the salute.
"Please come again."
The Mount Hua Sect man looked at the mixed-noodle bowl one last time with lingering regret, then slowly headed up toward Mount Hua.
And seeing that, the other martial artists couldn't hold out any longer.
"I'll take one too."
"The mixed ones."
"What's the special?"
"Can I get extra kimchi?"
That day, Siksin Somyeon completely exploded.
Slurp. Splash.
"Whoa..."
"What is this taste?"
"The wheat flavor is still alive."
"This pickled vegetable is insane."
Even the ones who'd been cursing the prices at first changed their tune the moment they took a bite. Some guys would drain the broth completely and then silently set down extra coins.
I boiled the noodles. Baek Ri-seol handled serving and the register.
And around the time the sun reached its peak, Baek Ri-seol opened the cash box and her eyes went round.
"...Honey."
"Just this morning."
She swallowed hard.
"...We made three silver taels."
Baek Ri-seol still couldn't quite believe it, fidgeting with the silver coins.
I snorted a laugh and flipped the standing signboard. Tap.
The martial artists still waiting in line started murmuring.
"It's already over?"
"It's not even noon yet!"
"What kind of noodle shop runs out of ingredients?"
I casually waved them off.
"A business that gets greedy goes under."
"Come again tomorrow."
Some of them looked genuinely disappointed. One guy even declared he'd line up first thing in the morning.
Baek Ri-seol watched all of that and eventually burst into giggles.
"Honey."
"I think you really have a talent for this."
I shrugged.
"That's just what happens when the food's good."
Then I gave a light kick to the rear of Dong-gwi, who was dozing with the sign still around his neck.
"Hey."
"You worked hard too."
Hi-hing—
Dong-gwi brayed very proudly. Even though he hadn't done a damn thing.
I snorted a laugh and turned toward Baek Ri-seol.
"Let's eat something and rest a bit too."
"It's break time."
Baek Ri-seol was still clutching the silver box, her eyes sparkling.
"What about the afternoon service?"
I tapped the empty broth pot.
"We're actually out of ingredients."
"I misjudged the demand."
The noodles we'd prepared today were already almost gone. The broth was scraped to the bottom. The fresh kimchi had been cleaned out down to the last scrap of cabbage.
Baek Ri-seol finally couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
"That's because your cooking is too good, honey."
I coughed for no reason and swept my hair back.
"Well."
"I am pretty good."
"Let's just have a bowl of noodles here with what's left and pack up."
Baek Ri-seol immediately started moving. She took down the folding canopy, skillfully collapsed the prefabricated tables and chairs, and stacked them neatly inside the cart.
"These are really convenient..."
She fidgeted with a folding chair a few more times, still admiring it.
"I bet these would sell like crazy to people in the martial world."
A little later, having finished for the day, we settled back down in the shade beside the cart. I took out the remaining ingredients and slowly started boiling noodles for the two of us.
Bubble, bubble. The smell of leftover broth spread faintly once more.
I boiled the noodles and portioned them into bowls, then hesitated.
"There's a lot of noodles."
Baek Ri-seol, as if she'd been waiting for that, snatched up her chopsticks.
"I'm going to eat a lot, honey."
She naturally sat on the ladies' side, and I perched on the cooking-station stool, and we started eating across from each other.
Slurp.
A moment later, Baek Ri-seol suddenly pointed at the top of her mixed noodles.
"Honey."
"There's a boiled egg on the mixed noodles."
I casually drank my broth.
"That's just for you."
Baek Ri-seol's eyes went round for a moment. And then the corners of her mouth slowly curled up.
"...I love you."
I coughed for no reason and just slurped my noodles.
But honestly. I was a little fluttery too.
It was around the time the meal was almost over.
"Excuse me..."
"I'm sorry, but would a single bowl of noodles be possible?"
A slender, clear woman's voice. I stopped my chopsticks and slowly raised my head.
White martial robes engraved with the Mount Hua Sect's plum blossom pattern. Neat black hair falling to her waist. And an atmosphere that was somehow calm, yet finely drawn.
At a glance, she was a quite beautiful swordswoman. Moreover, her qi was clean. Probably around a second-generation disciple of the Mount Hua Sect.
I casually drank my broth and said,
"Business hours are over."
A very faint disappointment flickered across her face. At that moment, Baek Ri-seol, who'd been eating noodles beside me, suddenly cut across my words.
"One bowl should be fine."
Then she patted the seat across from herself.
"We already packed up the canopy."
"Please sit here."
"...Thank you."
The swordswoman sat quietly in the omakase seat, looking slightly relieved.
I glanced at Baek Ri-seol. She was slurping her mixed noodles with a completely unbothered expression. The corner of her mouth was lifted ever so slightly.
