The Heavenly Demon's Company Dinner (5)
Sitting down and taking off my coat finally let me feel somewhat alive again. If I had to summarize the day in a single word, it would be horrific. From the crack of dawn, Enry had dragged me outside and marched me through one clothing store after another. While she had me in tow, Enry didn’t show the slightest restraint. The way she kept shoving outfits at me made her look like a vengeful demon nursing a centuries-old grudge.
Thanks to her, I ended up trying on everything imaginable—even revealing pieces like short skirts. I desperately refused her suggestions, but Enry held every advantage. Once she put on that pitiful, teary-eyed face, I had no words left to argue. It did manage to soothe her anger, yet thinking back on the humiliation I endured today, it hardly felt like a fair exchange.
Sigh. If it were up to me, I’d smash her smartphone right this instant. That cursed device no doubt contained every mortifying moment I suffered throughout the day.
Maybe it was the absence of my pipe, but my hands felt restless. As I tapped idly on the table, a man handed me a menu. He looked middle-aged, with a fierce face that suited a booming laugh and a solidly built frame that suggested he had trained at some point.
“Go ahead! Order anything! I’m planning to drop every won of the tournament prize money right here!”
His voice told me exactly who he was. Bae Min-hwang. Among Enry’s teammates, he was one of the older members and served as their mental anchor. He was also one of the people who held a serious grudge against me. In the game he had loudly declared that if we ever met in reality, he would unleash every ounce of pent-up frustration on me. So why did he look so sheepish today?
“Hwaryeong-nim, you heard him, right? Uncle’s paying for everything, so let’s go with the most expensive stuff. How about starting with the galbi? It’s ninety thousand won per serving.”
The woman who had suddenly glued herself to my side was clearly Nabi-rin. She had probably been plotting to mess with me too, so why was she acting so chummy? Were the two of them scheming something together?
Hmm. I didn’t know what trick they were planning, but there was no real need to stay on guard. I couldn’t sense any outright hostility from them.
“Hey everyone! Why did we even come together if none of you are paying attention to me?!”
“You really don’t know?”
“Enry unnie’s face is way too familiar.”
“Honestly, it’s getting kind of old now.”
“That’s so mean!”
Amid the lively chatter, I calmly studied the menu. My first impression was simple: expensive. Every single item cost a fortune. The cheapest thing listed exceeded eighty thousand won, and most dishes hovered around a hundred thousand.
Well, if this were an ordinary restaurant, I might have accepted it. A single complete course for a hundred thousand won? I would have simply labeled it high-end and moved on. But this was a barbecue restaurant. Who on earth orders only one serving of meat per person? No matter how small the stomach, two servings was the minimum. For big eaters, the very concept of “one serving” had no discernible limit. Yet they were charging a hundred thousand won per serving?
What were they raising these cows on—elixir pills? Spiritual herbs?
Still stunned by the prices that shattered all my expectations, I looked up at Bae Min-hwang, the man who had boldly declared he would treat the entire table.
“Is something wrong, Hwaryeong-nim?”
“Bae Min-hwang. Are you truly fine with me ordering whatever I want?”
No matter how I looked at it, the numbers didn’t seem like something one should spend freely. If anyone here ordered to their heart’s content, it would easily devour an average salaryman’s monthly pay. Even if he had won the tournament prize, the cost here would be several times that amount. Was he really okay with it?
Bae Min-hwang laughed as though my concern was ridiculous, shrugged, and answered.
“Hwaryeong-nim, I’m the one who picked this place and offered to treat everyone. I can afford it—that’s why I suggested it.”
When I had been teaching him, I remembered him as someone who complained constantly and always looked for excuses to run away. Meeting him in reality, he seemed like an entirely different person. So this was the power of wealth.
“Whoa, Bae Min-hwang. That’s a proper corporate attitude.”
“Bunny, don’t I look cool?”
“Of course! There’s no one cooler than the person buying the meat!”
“Right? Right?”
“Uncle, you’re being treated like a total pushover right now.”
“I know! But it’s fine! I volunteered to be the pushover!”
“...Ah. I see.”
Hearing them talk like that, it seemed I didn’t need to hold back. Good. Then I would find out exactly how remarkable this meat was—the kind that required such absurd prices.
Soon after we finished ordering, an employee entered the room carrying the meat. Every piece glowed with a beautiful pink hue. The white marbling threaded through it looked like rivers drawn across a pink landscape, turning what might have seemed dry into something rich and abundant.
The employee refused to let us grill the meat ourselves. Tongs in his right hand, scissors in his left, he ruled the grill like a sovereign. The only thing I was permitted to do was watch his tongs move.
The meat hit the hot plate with a loud sizzle—a sound that seemed to announce it was becoming delicious. I swallowed involuntarily.
“Can we eat it now?”
When the color began turning brown I asked, but the employee shook his head firmly. Haa. This was pure torture. The aroma of melting fat filled my nose. A sound like heavenly music reached my ears. Yet I still couldn’t touch the meat! Was this how a dog forced to “wait” felt? When I had watched it on my tube, I thought the dogs were simply admirable. Now I realized they possessed superhuman patience.
After a stretch of time that felt both instantaneous and eternal, the employee finally set down his tools.
“You may eat now.”
The moment permission was granted, I moved my chopsticks like a ghost and picked up a piece. In my mind I wanted to greedily snatch several slices and devour them like a pig, but that would have been far too uncultured. When eating something this expensive, one must savor each bite. I dipped the meat in sauce and slowly placed it on my tongue.
The intense aroma of beef and the burst of rich juices needed no further explanation. That alone proved why the price was justified.
How did one raise cattle to taste like this? The moment I marveled and began to chew, I was shocked again. It melted. The meat literally melted in my mouth.
“It’s good, right?”
To Enry’s question, I could only nod. It had simply been grilled on a plate—how could it be this delicious? Back in Murim, no matter how nobly the cows had been raised, none of them could even approach the level of this meat. Was it a different breed? Or was the difference somewhere else? I couldn’t guess, but right now that wasn’t important. What mattered was getting as much of this meat into my stomach as possible.
Nabi-rin watched Hwaryeong move her chopsticks without the slightest pause. Seeing her eat was genuinely entertaining. Where else could you witness a woman with such a noble, elegant impression making a soft, squishy smile while her small lips moved nonstop? The truly fascinating part was that even though Hwaryeong ate extremely quickly, it never looked greedy or sloppy. Normally, eating at that speed would evoke feelings of messiness or gluttony, yet with her it didn’t. Even while her chopsticks flew, she maintained perfect etiquette. Fast and urgent, yet graceful at the same time—a truly contradictory sight, but Hwaryeong made it work.
As Nabi-rin observed the scene, she suddenly felt a pang of regret. If only Hwaryeong-nim had revealed her face, I would have suggested she do mukbangs. She didn’t know for sure, but the topic would have exploded.
“Now that we’ve filled our stomachs a bit, shall we order some drinks?”
When the first batch of meat had vanished into everyone’s mouths, Bae Min-hwang suggested alcohol. Na-hee and Bunny—who lived for drinking parties—immediately agreed. Nabi-rin felt the same. She had come more for the drinks than the food anyway. The star of the gathering, Hwaryeong, seemed not to hear a word as she continued devouring meat with laser focus.
“Hwaryeong-nim.”
Even when Nabi-rin called, Hwaryeong didn’t turn her head. Is she so focused on eating that she can’t even hear us?
“Hwaryeong-nim?”
Only after the second call did Hwaryeong finally look up.
“What?”
“You’re drinking with us, right?”
“Alcohol? Do I have to?”
The clear reluctance in Hwaryeong’s voice made Nabi-rin chuckle. So she’s weak to alcohol? Perfect.
“Are you weak with drinks?”
“No, it’s not that. Alcohol just doesn’t taste good.”
“What? There are so many delicious drinks these days. Just try one.”
“No matter how good it tastes, it’s still alcohol.”
Despite Hwaryeong’s clear refusal, Nabi-rin persisted.
“If you’re weak to it, just say so. We won’t push you.”
“I told you I’m not weak.”
“Aww, no need to act tough. There’s nothing wrong with a girl being weak to alcohol.”
“She’s right, Hwaryeong-nim. If you can’t drink, you don’t have to.”
“It’s not that I can’t. It’s that I don’t.”
Seeing Nabi-rin’s teasing, Bae Min-hwang—who had read the room—jumped in to provoke her. The two streamers, both famous for their sharp tongues, gave Hwaryeong no room to escape. The situation had been framed so that refusing to drink would be taken as proof she was weak. Hwaryeong let out a long sigh.
“Fine. I’ll try it once. But if it doesn’t taste good, I won’t touch it again.”
“Hwaryeong, are you sure?”
Enry tried to stop her, but Hwaryeong had already made up her mind and refused to take her words back. Watching her, Nabi-rin gave a sly, sinister smile.
You have no idea, do you? That I’ve been waiting for this day the entire time. Hwaryeong-nim. All the suffering and humiliation you put me through while tormenting me—I’ll repay every last bit of it right here, tonight! I’ll get a humiliating video of you drunk and throwing a fit no matter what it takes!
Although Enry frequently shared meals with Ara, she had never once drunk with her. It wasn’t deliberate avoidance. Both of them simply preferred visiting a café for sweet desserts over going out for drinks. Therefore Enry had no idea how well Ara could hold her liquor. She had assumed that since people strong with alcohol usually sought it out constantly, Ara probably wasn’t that strong. But Enry’s prediction turned out to be completely wrong.
“This fruit makgeolli is pretty good. Should we order more? Everyone’s okay with that, right?”
“...More?”
Ara was strong. Even as the people who had urged her to drink dropped one by one, she remained completely fine.