Opening (3)
Watching the first customer’s pleased expression, Kang Yeon broke into a bright smile. Taste was a given, of course, but cooking dishes that let the eater feel true happiness had always been his dream. He believed it was the path that could wash away the bloody karma heaped up from the road of slaughter he had walked through the martial world.
A good start.
Once he confirmed that Nang Hyeon had finished every last scrap of the tonkatsu, Kang Yeon stepped out of the kitchen and approached. He waited a moment while Nang Hyeon was still lost in the rapture of that flavor.
At last—
“Haa… Perfect…”
When Nang Hyeon finally surfaced from his daze, Kang Yeon asked,
“How did it taste?”
Nang Hyeon looked at him and kept pouring out admiration.
“I think every tonkatsu I’ve ever eaten until now was a fake.”
“Of course. We’re the original, after all.”
The pride packed into that single word “original” drew a genuine gasp from Nang Hyeon. He could not help but marvel at the young chef who had created something this delicious. He was suddenly certain that Kang Yeon’s presence would trigger a massive upheaval among the inns of West Lake.
He was also certain that he himself would become a regular here.
“Ah… Would it be possible to try another dish as well?”
Kang Yeon answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Of course. A martial artist’s appetite is different from an ordinary person’s, after all. What would you like to order?”
“Hmm… Among the things I saw earlier, I’d like to try the one called hand-pulled spaghetti.”
On the standing signboard by the entrance—inside the formation array—there had been all sorts of dishes he had never seen before. When he had only looked at the illusions, they were completely unfamiliar and he had no confidence in their taste, so he had not even considered ordering them. But after confirming the flavor of the tonkatsu, he simply could not let them pass.
“An excellent choice. I’ll have it ready for you right away.”
As Kang Yeon headed for the kitchen, Jo Hwan asked,
“How was the reaction?”
“The absolute best, of course. More importantly, we just got another order. Hand-pulled spaghetti this time.”
“Ohh! At last we get to unveil a new dish.”
The competition to decide which dishes the inn would sell was already over, and Jo Hwan himself had been blown away by the new recipes Kang Yeon had created. The thought of finally presenting one of them for the first time sent a chef’s excitement surging through him.
“Yes. Then please make the noodles first. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Got it.”
Jo Hwan began boiling the noodles while Kang Yeon started preparing the sauce for the hand-pulled spaghetti—in other words, spaghetti. The base was the most fundamental of all: a sauce made from tomatoes, the fruit known as xihongshi, into which he would stir well-browned minced meat.
Whoosh.
Fierce flames roared up from the stove. Kang Yeon set a wok on the fire. Once it was properly hot he began stir-frying the meat.
Sizzle. Sizzle-sizzle.
The flames swallowed the meat that had been dumped into the searing wok as if trying to devour it whole.
Flick. Flick-flick.
Kang Yeon shook the wok with rapid, precise movements, searing a smoky charred flavor into the meat. This was Chinese-style spaghetti. Once the meat was perfectly cooked he poured in the prepared tomato sauce. The juices that had come from the meat met the tomato sauce and began to bloom into a deep, rich savor.
“Good. Very good.”
While Kang Yeon finished the seasoning for the hand-pulled spaghetti, Jo Hwan skillfully completed the noodles. He plated the perfectly cooked pasta and poured a generous amount of the special sauce over it.
“Done. Seol-ah, take this to the customer.”
Jo Seol, who had been waiting, set the bowl on a tray and placed it in front of Nang Hyeon. Confronted with the real thing for the first time, Nang Hyeon hesitated for a beat.
“Looking at how red it is, this must be properly spicy, right?”
“Not at all. Surprisingly, it isn’t spicy in the slightest.”
“Is that so??? How fascinating.”
Nang Hyeon first sniffed the new dish. A completely different fragrance from anything he had eaten before rose to meet him. As a martial artist, his sense of smell was especially keen.
“Oh? The aroma is truly excellent.”
“The taste is good too. Please try it. Enjoy your meal.”
Jo Seol stepped aside so Nang Hyeon could eat in peace. He looked down at the hand-pulled spaghetti and drew a deep breath.
“Hoo…”
Slurp.
The moment the first bite entered his mouth, Nang Hyeon’s eyes went round. It was a flavor he had never experienced. Bright acidity and the rich savor of meat juices filled his mouth. The texture of the noodles was a little firmer than what he was used to, yet it was utterly delicious.
Slurp. Slurp.
Nang Hyeon wolfed the hand-pulled spaghetti down. It was only his second dish, yet he polished it off in an instant. Even the sauce was so good that he scraped the bowl clean.
“Haa? How is this even possible?”
Having finished every last bit, Nang Hyeon could not stop marveling. After the tonkatsu he had thought he was full enough—yet that had not been true at all. The hand-pulled spaghetti had opened an entirely new world of flavor to him, and he already knew he would be coming to this inn often for quite some time.
“Looks like this one pleased you as well?”
Kang Yeon approached after watching him finish and asked. Nang Hyeon’s eyes sparkled as he looked up.
“Immensely. I truly enjoyed it. It seems an incredible chef has appeared in West Lake.”
“There are plenty more delicious dishes waiting, so I hope you’ll favor us often from now on.”
“Yes, I intend to. I don’t think I could stay away even if I wanted to—for several reasons.”
It was not only because the food tasted good. Even while he ate, a pure, subtle energy had been gently circulating through him, lightening his entire body. Any martial artist would have felt that fullness. A place that served food of such incredible flavor and helped increase one’s inner energy? This was a spot that demanded daily visits without mercy.
Kang Yeon read those thoughts and gave a meaningful smile.
“Is that so? We’re always happy to have you come often.”
“I really will come often. Ah, and it looks like customers are going to pour in before long… Please don’t forget that I am Customer Number One. No matter how many people come, you must always save my seat.”
“Yes, I’ll be sure to remember. And since you are Customer Number One, I’ll even prepare a special seat just for you.”
At Kang Yeon’s words Nang Hyeon let out a relieved breath and smiled contentedly.
“Thank you. I’d love to try the other dishes as well, but my stomach is far too full right now, so I’ll come back another time.”
“Yes. We’ll be waiting.”
After settling the bill, Nang Hyeon left the inn.
“Yeon-oppa, the customer’s reaction was really good. And that man is famous.”
“He is?”
Kang Yeon privately wondered whether Nang Hyeon was a fairly well-known martial artist. He had known the man was a martial artist from the moment he stepped through the door. Even a master who had returned to simplicity and concealed his realm could not hide the true depth of his power before Kang Yeon; someone of Nang Hyeon’s level was nothing special.
Moreover, he had watched Nang Hyeon gain a small achievement from the Ten-Thousand-Year Warm Jade coated on the inn’s walls.
To Kang Yeon those things were merely decorations for the inn, yet to someone else they could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Of course he had considered that they might help martial artists, but it was not something he particularly cared about.
“Mm-hm. He’s very well known among the inns of West Lake. He’s a gourmet.”
Jo Seol explained about Nang Hyeon.
Kang Yeon’s eyes went round at her words.
“What? Then he was an incredibly important customer?”
It meant that any evaluation of food that left Nang Hyeon’s mouth carried influence over many people in West Lake—almost the same ripple effect as a professional food critic.
“That’s right. But he seems completely smitten with our cooking, so I don’t think we need to worry.”
“So does that mean customers will start flooding in now?”
“Yep. Word that Nang Hyeon visited our inn will spread soon enough, and the moment he comes back again… well, after that it’s game over.”
Kang Yeon grinned and nodded. The same kind of publicity had existed in the modern world he once lived in. It was both amusing and strangely heartening to see that people were the same wherever you went.
“He’ll definitely come back.”
Kang Yeon smiled as he thought of Nang Hyeon.
Once you’ve tasted that internal energy, there’s no way you can stay away.
The first day’s business closed quietly. A few more customers came after Nang Hyeon left, but not many. West Lake truly overflowed with inns, and the West Lake Number One Inn—having been closed for some time—was still little more than an unknown place.
“Haa~ So this is how the first day ends.”
Standing in front of the inn after finishing the late-night business, Jo Seol could not hide her disappointment. Long experience had already taught her that the first day of business was rarely a roaring success.
It simply left a lingering ache in her heart.
“Now that Yeon-oppa is back, things will gradually liven up.”
After gazing at the night street for a moment, Jo Seol stepped inside the shop.
Creak.
When she opened the door and entered, a refreshing energy swept over her body. Kang Yeon stood in the center of the inn. Clear, cool energy swirled around him.
Whooosh.
That energy was thoroughly cleaning the entire interior. Wind and water qi blended in perfect proportion, rendering the inn immaculately pure.
“Wow…”
Jo Seol’s eyes sparkled as she watched. Kang Yeon’s ability looked truly incredible, yet because she knew little of the martial world she could not grasp just how extraordinary it was. All she could sense was that he was completely different from the martial artists she had seen at the inn before.
Martial artists are strong, but I heard none of them possess powers like this.
She sat to one side and quietly watched Kang Yeon clean the inn. He never explained anything in detail, so she was only left wondering what he had done while he was gone. Still, she had decided not to dig too deeply; whenever she asked, the only answers she ever received were a playful “I went and saved the world” or a firm “Don’t ask any further.”
But he said that once I master the breathing technique completely, he’ll answer one question…
Jo Seol clenched her fist and vowed to perfect the breathing method. Kang Yeon walked over to her.
“What’s with the clenched fist? Making some grand resolution?”
“I’m not telling you either.”
Kang Yeon gave a short laugh.
“You’re learning pretty well.”
“But if Oppa keeps cleaning like this every day, I won’t have anything left to do…”
She was the inn’s only waitress. One of a waitress’s main duties was, after all, managing the inn. Yet when Kang Yeon could clean the place with a mere flick of his fingers, her work had dwindled considerably.
“The person who can do it easily should do it. Once customers start pouring in, you’ll be the busiest one of all. Right now you’re the only waitress we have.”
“Excuse me? This body of mine used to work at Ilyeong Inn, you know. No matter how many customers crowd into our place, it won’t be a problem at all.”
Kang Yeon grinned at her confidence.
“At least you’ve got spirit. Then shall we check how far you’ve come with the breathing technique?”
Jo Seol flinched and answered,
“F-fine.”