Before the Fox's Kindness
Before welcoming Bori, I'd placed a trivet on the table we'd used earlier and brought over the hot pot. As I moved the pot full of tteokmanduguk, Bori grabbed two soup bowls from around the house, along with a ladle for serving the rice cakes, spoons, and chopsticks, helping me set the table.
"I can do it."
"No way! This is maid work!"
Well. It had always been like this. I wasn't good at accepting help. More like, it felt awkward. I'd helped others plenty of times, but the occasions I'd directly received help? I could count them on one hand. At most, asking at the mart where ingredients were... or back at the factory, asking for help shutting down a malfunctioning machine. Come to think of it, that could've killed me or at least cost a limb if it went wrong. I got lucky there.
I'd chewed out the president like fire back then, and he ended up giving me a hefty settlement, so I couldn't complain more... 'Looking back now, if I'd known I'd get fired so unfairly, maybe I should've gone berserk and made the news.' Whatever. We're strangers now, and dwelling on it just sours my mood, so let's drop it.
I lifted the lid from the pot, and steam billowed up, filling my studio apartment with the rich aroma of beef bone broth and the savory scent of rice cakes soaking it in.
I ladled out a generous scoop into Bori's bowl first. The bowls were a bit small, so I could only give her one dumpling at a time. I wanted to pile in two, but it'd overflow... Then I filled my own bowl with rice cakes and dumplings.
"Sniff sniff... Wow, it smells amazing!"
"Doesn't it? Let's dig in. Oh, right."
I almost forgot something essential for tteokguk. I went to the fridge, grabbed the last bottle of sesame oil, pulled out a pair of vinyl gloves from the drawer and slipped them on, then took a pack of seasoned seaweed from the shelf.
"What's that?"
"Sesame oil and seasoned seaweed. I usually eat it with these."
I opened the seaweed pack, pulled out a couple sheets, and roughly tore them into bite-sized pieces with my gloved hand, sprinkling them on top as garnish. Then I drizzled in a spoonful of sesame oil, swirling it around. And there you have it—Daesung-style tteokmanduguk, complete. The bone broth was already hearty on its own, but the sesame oil and seaweed kicked up the umami even more. (By my standards.) The best.
"This is how I usually make it. Want me to do yours the same?"
"Ah, yes! Make mine just like yours, Daesung!"
As requested, I crumbled two sheets of seaweed into her bowl and drizzled on some sesame oil. Now it was really ready.
"Let's eat."
"Let's eat!"
We both said our thanks and went for a spoonful... or so I thought. But after saying it, neither of us touched our spoons first.
""...?"?"
We stared at each other, both wondering why isn't she eating? Why isn't he? Luckily, I caught on first to why Bori wasn't picking up her spoon.
"Ah, right. Go ahead. I was wondering why you weren't eating—you were waiting for me to start, huh."
"Ah, yeah! Heehee... I was taught it's polite to wait for the senior to eat first, or until they tell you to."
"I'm not that formal. Eat comfortably."
"Yes! Let's eat!"
Even if I'd given the recipe, we'd made this together, so seeing her fuss over me like that made me chuckle without realizing it. Anyway, we both scooped up a spoonful at almost the same time, blew on it to cool the heat a bit, and popped it in.
Even after blowing, the rice cakes held their warm glow, their chewy texture spreading perfectly in my mouth. And with it, the umami bomb of broth packed with garlic, egg, green onion, sesame oil, seaweed, and all sorts of ingredients...
"...Haaa."
Delicious. So delicious. The warm broth and rice cakes infused my flu-ridden body with energy like nothing else. I took another spoonful, this time topping it with some fridge-cold kimchi. The hot rice cakes met the cool kimchi, tempering just right, and the kimchi spice blended exquisitely with the bone broth base.
While at it, I sliced a kimchi dumpling in half with my spoon, and steam rose invitingly from inside. Perfectly cooked. I placed the half on my spoon, blew to cool, and ate.
"Heh... Hoo..."
Unlike the rice cakes, dumplings trapped heat inside their skins, so one wrong bite and you'd scorch your mouth. But after eating them so many times, I was used to the trap. I breathed out big around the dumpling in my mouth to cool it down. Once it was lukewarm enough, I chewed properly. The soft skin tore gently, and the well-cooked filling of meat and kimchi melted smoothly on my tongue.
"Ah, so good. Try the dumplings too, Bori."
Wait, was I eating too fast? Would it suit her taste? I glanced over to check if she was enjoying it...
"Mumph?!"
My worry was unfounded. Bori seemed heat-resistant—her cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk, and she was devouring it.
"Gulp. Sorry, I was eating so I didn't hear properly..."
"No big deal. You eat so well, it's nice to watch."
"Heehee, maybe 'cause we made it together, but it's so good."
I hadn't really made it myself, but seeing her enjoy it like that lifted my spirits too. Before long, the pot was scraped clean.
"Whew, that was great."
"That was great!"
I'd been unsure about the amount before boiling, but no way I could've finished it alone. Good thing Bori was there to polish it off...
"More than I thought. Thanks to you, we finished it clean."
"Ah, really? Honestly, it felt like I was eating your nourishing meal, so I had a bit of guilt..."
...Those puffed cheeks said otherwise.
"It's fine. Eating together made it less lonely for me."
"Heehee... If you say so..."
Bori scratched the back of her head, embarrassed. She didn't need to be that shy. Her hearty eating was just cute.
"Then I'll do the dishes..."
"Ah, no! You're the patient right now, Daesung!"
"But still, I..."
"No! Take your medicine and rest in bed!"
I'd given the recipe, but she'd done the cooking, so I figured dishes were on me. But Bori was adamant—no dishes, medicine, bed, rest.
"But you cooked. Dishes are the least I can do."
"If you weren't sick, I'd allow it, but you have a flu!"
"You need to eat well and rest to recover fast!"
Ugh, she wasn't wrong...
"...Alright. Then I'll shamelessly leave it to you."
"No problem! I'm your maid, right? Leave the housework to me, no sweat!"
With that, Bori gathered the dishes into the tteokmanduguk pot and headed off. I watched her go, knowing resistance was futile, then grabbed the medicine packet from earlier.
[Lunch]
I tore open the [Lunch] packet, poured the pills into my hand, and swallowed them down with water like candy.
'...So what now?'
Normally I'd do dishes, but Bori had that covered. I'd eaten, so better than morning, but the flu still sapped my energy for anything else.
...Best to just sleep. One nagging thought, though: was it okay to let Bori hang out while I slept comfortably?
Honestly, the only chore left was dishes. Once done, she'd be bored. Lying in bed under the warm covers, I watched Bori at the sink and asked.
"Hey, Bori. I think I'll nap now—is that okay?"
"Huh? Ah, yes! Sleep easy!"
From behind, mostly her plump tail was visible. How did it get so big and fluffy?
"It's just... only dishes to do. Worried you'll have nothing after."
"Ah, it's fine~! If nothing, I can nap on the floor too. Don't worry!"
No, that's exactly the worry. She's my maid, but the floor? No way. What could I do? Offer her the bed and take the floor myself? She'd never accept.
"...Ugh."
I sat up from the cozy bed, opened the wardrobe with the bedding, pulled out a mat and blanket suitable for the floor, and spread them neatly.
"Eh? Ah, no, rest, Daesung! I'm fine on the floor..."
Bori saw me setting it up mid-dish and turned urgently, but her wet, soapy hands kept her there.
"It wouldn't sit right with me."
I added a pillow to the mat and climbed back into bed.
"Was gonna offer the bed first, but knew you'd refuse, so this."
"Ugh, true, but..."
"I'm your employer. Least I can do."
"You always accommodate me, so now I accommodate you. Take it easy."
"...Can't argue."
Bori glanced over, then turned back to the dishes. Felt bad always receiving help like this. With that thought, I closed my eyes and drifted off.