Flashback: The Professor's Reluctant Date
"What? You weren't paying attention?"
Don't talk nonsense.
"Don't talk nonsense."
Huh? It's polite, but my inner voice came out right away. It felt like the strange restraints were slowly loosening.
"You were paying attention, though…"
"I clearly told you not to talk nonsense."
"Got it."
He immediately shut his mouth. She turned her head to glance once more in the direction Yoon Ayoung had gone.
What the hell are you doing?
"What are you doing?"
"Pardon?"
"You keep looking over there. Is there something there? Was Ayoung that pretty?"
She shot the words at him in a cold, biting tone. Surprisingly, this was almost entirely her own will speaking.
"Pardon…?"
He tilted his head, looking genuinely puzzled after hearing her. She knew damn well he'd been staring in the direction Ayoung had gone, yet here he was pretending otherwise.
"No. I was just looking for a restaurant."
"Pardon?"
"For real. We moved around a lot bowling, right?"
Is it true? She couldn't erase the suspicion from her eyes.
"Ah, but."
"Yes?"
"You were paying attention after all."
Ah. That's when she realized it. Even without much experience, she could tell. This was completely… the reaction of a woman watching her boyfriend get distracted by another girl…
"Haha, no need to look at me like that. It's cute, though. I like it."
Cute? This bastard calling a woman over ten years older than him cute… He's so vulgar, rude, the worst in every way.
God, I want to kill him.
"Oh, there's a Chinese place over there. Do you like Chinese food by any chance? Jajangmyeon? Jjamppong? Udon?"
"It's okay, not great or bad."
"Wanna eat there? Or should we look for somewhere else?"
She was hungry after all that walking. So this time, she obediently followed him into the Chinese restaurant.
"Welcome!"
A middle-aged man who looked seasoned greeted them warmly. The wrinkles etched into his face and the burn scars on his wrists and arms gave off the vibe of a veteran chef.
"Aigoo, what a pretty couple!"
"Y-Yes…?!"
Do we look like that? Sure, I look young, but… I know it. I look young, but not that young—like the college students in my classes. Still, to look like lovers with a guy over ten years younger… Ah, this is embarrassing, that's why! Embarrassing!
"Thank you."
She was dying of embarrassment, but he just grinned like an idiot and sat down, opening the menu.
"What'll you have?"
"Just jajangmyeon."
"Oh, this is a set. Wanna add tangsuyuk while we're at it?"
"I don't eat that much."
"Really? Darn, I was gonna get the A set."
She glanced at the menu. The A and B sets offered jajangmyeon and tangsuyuk at a decent price.
Looking at his build… he probably eats a ton.
"Get the set."
"Pardon?"
"Sigh… I said get the set. I'll eat some tangsuyuk too."
She'd pick at a piece or two and clear it. He could stuff himself or throw away the rest for all she cared.
"Thanks for being considerate."
Huh? Considerate? This?
This bastard toying with me?!
"This… is considerate?"
"Yeah. It's considerate. Ordering more than you can eat yourself, for someone who wants to chow down. I'll enjoy it."
Everything's considerate to you, you moron.Without that weird power, you couldn't even touch a woman…
She recalled Yoon Ayoung's reaction right then. He probably could've… No way he couldn't. Hate to admit it, but his face is handsome.
"What're you thinking about?"
"Nothing, just… Ayoung. I mean…"
"Jeez, I don't know this Ayoung or whatever. I've got someone way more attractive right in front of me."
"Pardon…?"
"The professor's more attractive. Prettier."
What? Why's he coming on so strong all of a sudden? Planning to reveal his dirty intentions…?No, he'd have done it already if that were the case…
"You must like it. Your face is red."
What? Like it? My face is red? No way. Hearing that from a trashy guy who manipulates people with his weird power? Not happy at all—just disgusted.
"Ah?! N-No…! It's just hot!"
"The heater?"
"Yes! The h-heater… yeah."
"Got it."
Phew, close call.
No. Wait. What am I doing, backing down like this? Why do I feel relieved when he lets it go? This makes me look like some desperate girl!
Two bowls of jajangmyeon and tangsuyuk arrived. As she was mixing hers vigorously, he scooped up a huge chopstickful and slurped it down.
He eats well.
"Mmm, delicious."
After one bite, he grabbed some onions and danmuji, chomping away heartily.
"Wow, this is good!"
"……"
He scooped another big bite, and their eyes met.
"Not eating?"
"Pardon? Oh…! Y-Yeah, gotta eat!"
"Dig in. The jajangmyeon here's really good."
"Yes, yes."
She took a chopstickful too. As she did, she watched him eat. He really did eat well. Was this why so-called mukbangs were popular?
Strangely, watching him eat didn't disgust her.
"Not eating? Just watching your boyfriend chow down makes you full? Hahaha!"
Huh?
The owner's hearty laugh snapped her back to reality. To a third party, she must've looked like a girlfriend admiring her heartily eating boyfriend.
Annoying!
She ground her teeth, glaring at him as he ate. Their eyes met, and she flinched, quickly dropping her gaze and quietly eating her jajangmyeon.
She had no idea why she was acting like this.
"Whew, I'm stuffed."
He'd polished it all off, the pig. Unlike her, who'd only eaten a few pieces of tangsuyuk before setting down her chopsticks, he'd scraped the sauce nearly clean.
"It was good, right?"
"Yeah, I guess… decent."
"If a picky person like you says 'decent,' that's a perfect 100."
He tore off some tissues and gently wiped the corner of her mouth.
What're you…?
Thump, thump, thump. Her heart raced. She didn't know why. Shame? Anger? She couldn't tell. Why was her heart pounding like this?
"Ah, you had some sauce on your mouth. Thanks for the meal~"
"All good? A handsome guy eating well makes my heart feel full too. That's ten thousand won."
"Pardon? Isn't the set twenty thousand?"
"Service."
He winked back at the owner, just like with Ayoung, and held out his phone.
"Twenty thousand received. Oh, and boss, I saw an ashtray outside—quit smoking. Think positive, don't stress, and stay healthy with some moderate exercise."
"……"
Just for show? It'd be reasonable to think so. If not for the precedent with Ayoung. What the hell was this guy?
Offering a discount but using his power anyway to make him pay full price? He didn't follow normal logic at all.
After eating, they wandered a lot more. They sang karaoke at a coin noraebang, and for the first time ever, she went to a game center and tried claw machines.
"Ah, we couldn't get it after all."
He sighed deeply at the prize he couldn't snag despite emptying his wallet. Wrong position after inserting the coin, weak claw, these bastards are scamming… Exaggerating a bit, but his yelling was kinda funny.
This is fun…?
Fun. This was how people had fun. Thinking back, she'd bled from the nose studying to become a professor, studied and researched even after, and at home alone: workouts, yoga, pilates… A life completely devoid of entertainment.
To chase her dreams, she'd naturally excluded it all.
It's cold.
It was already getting dark outside, the air even chillier, so she asked.
"What time is it?"
"Dunno? What time… Whoa, 8 PM?"
She was more shocked than he was looking at the clock. Had she really lost track of time having fun? Without even eating dinner?
"Oops. Time flies when you're having fun—it's almost time to head back. What now, go home?"
"Yes."
They went back to the house. As soon as they entered, he put water on to boil, pulled meat and kimchi from the fridge, and spices from the cupboard.
"What're you doing?"
"Ah, making dinner."
"I get that—what're you making?"
"Kimchi jjigae."
"Why pull out fish cakes for kimchi jjigae?"
"Pardon? Ah… um…"
"Move."
Sigh. She pushed him aside lightly. Chopped the meat, sliced the kimchi to the right size. She made kimchi jjigae often when bored, so her body moved on autopilot. Sauté the meat, add kimchi, minimal seasoning for maximum flavor.
She hadn't studied cooking professionally, but she had hundreds of repetitions under her belt. It showed in her veteran-chef-like movements.
"Whoa…"
The kimchi jjigae bubbled vigorously in no time, and he marveled. She felt a bit proud for no reason.
Hmph, acting big when you can't even cook.
"Here, try it."
She scooped a bit of broth from the boiling pot with a spoon, holding her hand beneath it, and brought it to his mouth.
"Gasp?!"
His eyes widened the moment he tasted it.
"D-Delicious! Amazing! Whoa!"
"Tasty?"
She beamed. It felt really good seeing him enjoy it.
"Yes! Yes! Totally! Incredible! You should sell this for money. Open a restaurant."
She poked his side with her elbow.
"Don't overdo it… Eat up."
She ladled the finished kimchi jjigae and set it on the table with rice.
"I'm serious. Ga-eun's kimchi jjigae made for me—I'll enjoy it."
Huh? Her unconscious smile vanished.
Come to think of it, this was totally… a wife serving dinner to her husband after a long day!
Realizing it gave her chills, but strangely, no anger rose. She just blankly watched him eat.
Had he done something? She'd published countless papers and become the youngest professor, but she couldn't solve this puzzle. What was that guy thinking, turning her like this?
He was surely plotting some massive scheme or thinking something huge she couldn't fathom.
Whoa. Fucking delicious. How does kimchi jjigae taste like this? Hands down the best I've ever had.
Sob sob, sorry Heena. But food ratings have to be objective.
"Slurp."
Man, the broth is killer! I demolished a bowl of rice in no time with this five-star-hotel-level kimchi jjigae.
But her expression looked off. Was she sick?
"Ga-eun, you okay? Hurt anywhere?"
"Huh? No."
She didn't seem that off… No obvious pain, so probably fine.
"Alright. Whoa, this kimchi jjigae is seriously good!"
"……"
Ga-eun's subtle expression nagged at her, but this jjigae was too damn good to dwell. No other thoughts. Well, one: Han Ga-eun-style kimchi jjigae is the best!