Chapter 102: Maesaengi Soup-1
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 102: Maesaengi Soup-1
"It’s just a continuous cycle of the same patterns."
Would saying that be too negative?
The frantic storm of events finally subsided, and I quickly melted back into my daily routine.
I wake up in the morning to exercise, read until lunch, and then exercise again toward the evening.
Two months have passed since that day I raced my car to the emergency room.
The autumn rain, which used to fall occasionally to signal the end of summer, has stopped now. It’s a sign that the cold, dry winter will soon arrive.
The scenery around me has changed significantly, and so has the temperature. Even my attire for my morning jogs has become much thicker than when I first started.
Personally, I’ve never liked tight-fitting clothes. I find them uncomfortable, especially in my current physical condition. However, I was forced into them after Garam told me that exercising in the cold can be dangerous because blood vessels constrict.
If it’s that dangerous, she should have just told me to stop the morning jogs...
Regardless, thanks to Garam’s relentless management, my weight—which had hit a plateau—took another sharp dive.
My weight is now hovering in the double digits. I’m just satisfied that I’ve finally managed to escape the triple digits.
Since last week, I’ve returned to working out at the center. The remodeling of Garam Fitness is complete; it just hasn't officially opened yet.
"But Brother, everything’s been okay lately, right?"
Ho-cheol spoke up as we waited for the food we ordered.
I had been so preoccupied with Garam’s situation lately that I hadn't been able to focus on my actual job. Ho-cheol had practically cornered me, insisting we sit down and handle some business, which is how we ended up here.
I thought there wouldn't be much for me to do since I’d left most of the work to him, but it turned out there were still things that required my attention.
So, we spent the early morning at my place clearing the backlog, and now we’ve come out for lunch.
When I told Garam I was skipping a day of exercise because of Ho-cheol’s visit, her reaction was far from pleased...
"What kind of problem?"
"You know, Garam. She’s doing much better now, right?"
"Ah..."
The money spent on the renovation was worth it; the once-shabby center had been transformed into a sleek, clean space.
Garam, who had been acting unstable, seemed to love the change. Her face has brightened noticeably. Except for the occasional times she catches me ordering delivery food, she’s back to her old, cheerful self.
She must have overcome the previous incident well, as she was the first to bring up wanting to start broadcasting again. I was actually the one who suggested we proceed with caution.
As a compromise, we agreed to restart her YouTube channel first.
"Yeah, she’s much better. She even said she wants to get back to streaming."
I took a sip of the water Ho-cheol had poured for me.
"That’s a relief. I’ve never seen anyone around me go through something like that... I thought it would be harder to recover from."
"I guess it varies from person to person."
I picked up a piece of kimchi with my chopsticks and popped it into my mouth. The fresh cabbage kimchi was incredibly crisp.
"And, uh... what about..."
"What now?"
"Hana. Isn't it about time for her to make a comeback?"
"I guess? It’s been almost two months. She should be showing up soon. YouTube is fine for up to six months, but OceaniaTV applies a penalty to the settlement ratio if you drop out of the rankings entirely."
Whether she returns or not, I didn't care. I picked up another piece of kimchi. Man, this is delicious. I haven't been able to eat salty food lately, so the flavor is really hitting the spot.
"If she comes back, I can just release more of the call records. She’s a long way off from being able to broadcast normally."
"Wow..."
"What?"
"Brother, I’ve been feeling this lately, but you’re really cruel."
"Cruel? What’s wrong with giving someone a taste of their own medicine after they tried to screw me over?"
"Haha..."
As Ho-cheol let out a dry laugh at my remark, our food arrived.
I had ordered kimchi stew. The stew, served in a stone pot, was topped with chopped green onions and neat squares of tofu.
"What did you order again?"
"I got the Maesaengi soup."
Ho-cheol replied, placing a bowl of green soup that looked similar to seaweed soup in front of himself.
"Hey, is your palate even older than mine?"
"What’s wrong with Maesaengi soup? My grandmother used to make this for me all the time."
Playing the family card, are you? That’s low.
"Just eat your food."
As I poked around the kimchi stew with my spoon, Ho-cheol’s lips twitched as if he wanted to say something else.
"What is it now?" I asked, licking the broth off my spoon.
"Brother, do you know the saying about this?"
"I don't know, you brat."
"Aw, come on, play along a little. They say Maesaengi soup is what you serve to a guest you hate."
"Isn't that because it doesn't give off much steam? You eat it without realizing how hot it is and end up burning your mouth."
"Oh, you know it! As expected of your years of experience."
Ho-cheol grinned, giving me a thumbs-up.
"Just eat."
Always talking about useless things.
I scooped up some tofu, placed it on my rice, and took a large bite.
*
After the meal, Ho-cheol suggested a game of bowling to help with digestion.
I wondered if we were ever the type of friends who bowled together, but since there was no point in asking about memories I didn't have, I simply nodded and got into his car.
Whether by coincidence or fate... the bowling alley Ho-cheol took me to was the same one I had visited with Garam.
I wasn't thrilled about being back at a place where I’d been humiliated, but I figured there was no way the bowling club would be there again today.
Well, they say "no way" is how people get caught off guard.
In the quiet bowling alley, the club members were gathered in the corner, just like last time.
Fortunately, I didn't see the middle-aged man who had yelled at me.
Praying to the heavens that they wouldn't recognize me, I picked out a ball near them.
"Uncle Seung-deok hasn't been discharged from the hospital yet, has he?" a talkative-looking woman asked.
"No. His physical injuries have healed, but they say the psychological trauma is severe. When I went to visit him the other day, he couldn't even make eye contact properly."
"Sigh, how could such a horrible thing happen to him...?"
"The world is so dangerous these days, I’m even scared to walk around at night."
"Did they find out who did it?"
"They say it was a woman... but realistically, it makes no sense for a woman to pull out a man's teeth with her bare hands. The police think he might be confused because of the shock."
"True, how could a woman do that? Anyway, we should all be careful."
Listening to the club members' conversation, I grabbed my bowling ball and returned to my lane.
"Strike!"
Even as Ho-cheol went for a high-five after hitting a strike, I couldn't shake a lingering sense of unease.
*
After bowling, we headed to the cafe I frequent.
It was at Ho-cheol’s insistence that we needed to quench our thirst after all that movement. It was also a good time to discuss our future business—investments and such.
Ho-cheol said he’d pay for the coffee since I’d covered lunch and the bowling, but I ignored him and headed to the counter to order.
"May I take your order?"
An unfamiliar staff member greeted me.
"Two large iced Americanos, please. Here’s my loyalty card."
When I handed over my card, the staff member fumbled around looking for the stamp before awkwardly pressing it down.
"Are you new here?" I asked casually, checking the two new stamps on my card.
"Ah, yes. It hasn't been long."
"What about the person who used to work here...?"
"I believe they quit."
"Do you happen to know... why they quit?"
For some reason, I felt compelled to ask. The staff member looked at me curiously but answered politely.
"A traffic accident? I think that’s what I heard. They said they were admitted to the hospital."
"I see..."
I took the vibrating pager and returned to my seat.
"Brother, is something wrong?"
"Huh? Why?"
"No, it’s just... your expression looks a bit stiff."
"Ah... it’s nothing."
As I looked at Ho-cheol watching my face, the image of the Maesaengi soup he had been blowing on earlier suddenly flashed before my eyes.