Steak
“Hnnngh.”
The sweet sound ringing in my ear startled me awake. It was still dawn, but the sky was beginning to brighten, casting enough light to make out the outlines of the room. The dining table from last night was still sitting there, exactly as it had been. My pants were nowhere to be found, and a certain morning monster was standing tall like a mountain.
And there she was, right by my pillow. The Blood God was sleeping, making cute little snoring sounds. In an incredibly defenseless state, no less… The pain in my lower body returned, sharp and insistent.
“Ah, I need to take care of one more round.”
The perfect material was right in front of me, after all. I poked her lightly with my finger.
“Lady Baek Ri?”
“Blood God?”
She didn’t react at all. I even playfully blew air into her ear, but she didn’t even twitch. Driven by a sudden surge of curiosity, I pinched her cheek softly.
Squish—
It felt just like a piece of mochi, stretching out effortlessly. …She was cute. It seemed she was the type to be extremely vulnerable to morning sleep. Through the gap in her parted jeogori, I could see the curve of her cleavage. I gently pushed the fabric aside. She wasn’t wearing a bra. Her plump, steamed-bun-like breasts popped out immediately, topped with adorable pink nipples.
My lower half refused to listen to my reason. The minimal conscience that told me not to touch a sleeping person and the reality that the source of this entire situation was snoring right in front of me began to clash violently. In the end, I succumbed to my desire. I exposed her breasts completely and, while kneading them… I ended up having a vigorous morning session.
Her face was once again covered in white.
A moment later, a powerful wave of post-nut clarity washed over me. My mind felt empty and dazed. …Truly, a man cannot live on desire alone. I cleared my throat for no reason and sat up, glancing at the Blood God, who was still fast asleep. Her face was a mess, yet she was still sleeping soundly, even snoring softly. …She really is an incredible woman.
I chuckled, wiped her face off, and headed straight to the kitchen. For breakfast, I decided on a refreshing, spicy dried pollock soup to help with the hangover.
A little while later, I set out warm rice, soup, and a few side dishes, carefully covering the table with a cotton cloth to keep the food from getting cold.
“She’ll eat when she wakes up.”
I muttered to myself, straightened my clothes, and headed to Sehwahu for work.
Today, there were only three teams of high-end guests reserved. Well, in truth, it was always three teams every day. That was the exact number of dishes I could make in a single day. Thanks to that, they said a small war broke out at Sehwahu just to secure a reservation with me. Fortunately, all three teams were clustered around lunchtime today. After the late lunch rush, I successfully finished all three banquets. The kitchen, once filled with the smell of oil and the scent of fire, had finally quieted down enough for me to catch my breath.
“You were the best today, Young Master Jin-woo.”
“The VIPs on the third floor were going crazy.”
“That merchant leader from the Western Regions looked like he was about to lick the plate clean.”
The kitchen gisaengs chatted with me, laughing. I waved my hand dismissively and untied my apron.
“You all worked hard. I’m heading out first.”
“Yes~ Get home safely.”
“You have to come to work tomorrow, okay?”
“If you try to run away, we’ll chase you to the ends of Luoyang!”
Leaving behind their playful farewells, I started my commute home much earlier than usual. In truth, even while working all morning, my lower body kept surging with energy, making it incredibly difficult. Perhaps because of the Blood God Elixir, I felt a burning sensation somewhere deep inside my body. Because of it, my focus kept drifting, even while I was chopping vegetables or shaking the wok.
…A woman who had completely ruined my peaceful daily life. Honestly, I was a little angry. But strangely… I also missed her a little.
Even while walking through the marketplace, my eyes kept drifting toward ingredients that were more expensive than usual. Fresh vegetables. Well-oiled fish. And even a large chunk of beef. …It seemed I was thinking of her subconsciously. The way her eyes sparkled while eating soybean paste stew. The face she made, on the verge of tears over a single piece of kimchi. The way the Blood God would shovel rice into her mouth, saying it was delicious.
I cleared my throat and shook my head vigorously.
“I’ve really lost my mind…”
And yet, in the end, I was holding a thick chunk of beef sirloin in my hand. …You crazy bastard.
“Lady Baek Ri!”
I burst through the door, feeling genuinely glad to see her. …But there was no one in the room. All that remained was the empty table, wiped clean without a single side dish left. That alone greeted me in silence.
“She could have at least done the dishes before leaving…”
Suppressing the sense of disappointment that bloomed for no reason with a bit of grumbling, I picked up the empty tray and headed slowly toward the kitchen.
Splash—
Splash—
Hearing the sound of water from somewhere, I turned my head slowly. It was coming from the kitchen. …Baek Ri-seol was washing herself in a large wooden tub. Perhaps because the water had just been heated in the furnace, white steam was filling the kitchen. Through the hazy vapor, her fair, naked body came into view. Her wet hair. Her slender waistline, those bursting breasts with pink nipples, and the precious parts hidden in the shadows.
I stared, lost in thought, before hurriedly coming to my senses. …That was a close one.
“Oh, when did you get here?”
Baek Ri-seol in the tub smiled brightly. Her wet red hair flowed down along her shoulder line.
“The breakfast was truly delicious.”
Her voice was filled with joy. I tried to act as if nothing was wrong and turned my gaze away.
“If you’re done eating, you should have done the dishes.”
“How can you just sit there washing yourself?”
“…….”
For a moment, Baek Ri-seol’s red eyes wavered in confusion.
“That… I never even thought of that.”
…Well, of course. A woman who was the Blood God wouldn’t know how to do dishes. She must have lived her whole life only eating food that was served to her. Maybe I had imposed my own mundane standards of living on her too much.
“Are you almost done with your bath?”
“When I woke up this morning, my facial skin felt so tight.”
Baek Ri-seol muttered, rubbing her cheeks in the tub for no reason.
“I had no choice but to take a bath.”
After hesitating for a moment, she added very quietly,
“I… am sorry.”
“Why would you be sorry, Lady Baek Ri?”
I shook my head, looking serious. …It was my fault for splattering all over her face like that. “Tell me when you’re finished. I’ll make you dinner.”
For a moment, Baek Ri-seol’s red eyes sparkled.
“I… am craving meat.”
“I knew you would, so I bought some expensive stuff.”
Baek Ri-seol, who had been staring at me blankly for a moment, slowly curled the corners of her lips upward.
“I… am so happy.”
The Blood God finished her bath and came out, wrapped in a large towel-like cloth. Small droplets of water dripped from the ends of her damp red hair.
“Aren’t you going to dry your hair?”
“I can just evaporate it with my internal energy.”
A faint heat rose from Baek Ri-seol’s fingertips. A moment later, her wet red hair began to dry, becoming fluffy as if by magic.
“It’s convenient… martial arts.”
I was genuinely impressed.
“I will teach you soon, so look forward to it.”
“Will I… be able to do it?”
Honestly, I had no confidence. Protagonists in martial arts novels learn easily, but I was originally just a culinary school student. Yet, Baek Ri-seol said without hesitation,
“You are the one who will be my husband.”
Her red eyes looked straight at me.
“I will make sure you can do it. So, you can trust me.”
“Today, I’ll make beef steak.”
I placed a flat iron wok, specially ordered from a blacksmith, over the fire. Whoosh— The furnace fire began to heat the bottom of the wok red-hot. I had already set the rice. Instead of a rice cooker, I had placed a thick cast-iron pot over the fire and was slowly steaming it over low heat. For reference, my kitchen had a two-fire-mouth structure. One for rice. One for cooking. It was the first thing I had modified after falling into this medieval Murim world.
“Ho…”
Baek Ri-seol looked around my small kitchen as if it were interesting.
“Did those strange dishes originate from those two small fire mouths?”
“It’s not strange. It’s the crystallization of modern science.”
“Another thing I can’t understand…”
First, I prepped the beef I had left out at room temperature. I carefully wiped the blood and moisture from the surface of the meat with thin paper I had purchased specifically for kitchen use. Sizzle— I poured plenty of soybean oil into the well-heated iron wok. Olive oil was obviously non-existent. Refined soybean oil was enough. I sprinkled coarse salt evenly over the prepped meat and generously ground in hocho (peppercorns) that I had bought at a high price from a Western merchant.
Suddenly, Baek Ri-seol’s eyes, which had been watching from the side, went wide.
“Isn’t that hocho very expensive?”
“They say it’s more expensive than gold of the same weight.”
“Hek—”
Baek Ri-seol’s red pupils wavered in shock.
“Why are you sprinkling such a thing all over the meat!”
“Because it’s delicious?”
I shrugged as if it were obvious. “Then what would you buy hocho for?”
“…That is also true.”
Baek Ri-seol nodded, looking strangely convinced. In the meantime, the pan was sufficiently heated. I placed the beef directly into the wok.
Sizzzzzle—!!
An intense searing sound erupted along with the hot flames. The start of a proper searing. One minute for the front. One minute for the back. I used high heat to fry the surface quickly, locking the juices inside. Following that, I stood the meat up with tongs and carefully seared the sides for thirty seconds each. A savory aroma began to burst from the browning fat layer.
Finally, I pulled some firewood from the furnace to lower the flames. And my trump card. I dropped a piece of suyu—yak butter—that I had painstakingly obtained through a northern merchant into the wok. Then, I added minced garlic and Western herbs that smelled similar to rosemary. Whoosh— The scent of melted butter and garlic spread all at once. I used a spoon to scoop up the melted oil and began to slowly baste the meat.
Sizzle— Sizzzzzle—
Inside the fragrant butter and garlic scent, the inside of the meat began to cook slowly. Before I knew it, Baek Ri-seol had come right up to my side, swallowing her saliva.
“Smells amazing, right?”
I chuckled and shook the wok once more. The hot, meaty aroma mixed with butter and garlic spread throughout the kitchen.
“H-hurry, let’s eat…”
Baek Ri-seol was staring at the meat with a look of pure intoxication. Not a trace of wariness remained in her red pupils.
“It’s done.”
I said as I transferred the steak to a plate. “Now, get ready.”
“Can you scoop some rice for me?”
“I’ll give you a lot.”
“Good. I’ll allow it, especially for today.”
A moment later, two plates of finished steak were placed on the table. Melted butter and meat juices flowed gently over the well-seared red flesh. And next to them, two dining daggers specially ordered from the blacksmith. A small meat knife with serrated edges and a small trident for picking up the meat were placed together. Finally, when I placed fruit wine made by mixing cornelian cherries and raspberries on the table—a perfect steak meal was complete.
Baek Ri-seol’s red pupils wavered noticeably.
“…This is heaven.”
Baek Ri-seol muttered with a look of pure bliss.
