The Royal Taster?
The expression on Jin-dong-gi’s face was one of pure pity, as if he were looking at something that absolutely should not be eaten. Taken aback, Yoon-gi set the plum he had been holding back down. Immediately, Jin-dong-gi’s face returned to its original, translucent white hue, accompanied by a bright smile.
‘Huh?’
Yoon-gi picked up the plum again, just to be sure. Jin-dong-gi reacted instantly, reaching out to grab Yoon-gi’s wrist while shaking his head frantically. The spirit’s color shifted to a vivid red as a bonus. Yoon-gi repeated the action several times, picking up and putting down the plum, and each time, Jin-dong-gi’s color flickered in sync.
‘What is this?’
One thing was certain: the spirit clearly didn’t want him to eat the plum. Yoon-gi headed to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator, beginning to pick up various food items one by one.
‘No reaction...?’
He had started this thinking the spirit might be reacting to food in general, but unlike with the plum, Jin-dong-gi remained calm. He tried a tangerine. No reaction. He tried an orange and some grapes. Still nothing. But when he finally picked up a lemon, Jin-dong-gi reverted to his previous state—the red-faced spirit clutching his wrist and shaking his head in protest.
Yoon-gi was able to deduce one possibility.
‘Could it be?’
However, this was merely a hypothesis. To be certain, a visit to the dentist was in order.
“I’m going to head to the dentist for a bit.”
At Yoon-gi’s words, a few bodyguards naturally fell in behind him. He headed to a nearby neighborhood dental clinic, one he could easily walk to. The bell hanging on the door chimed as they entered. As Yoon-gi and his security detail stepped inside, every eye in the room locked onto them.
“Whoa! It’s Chairman Choi!”
“What? Chairman Choi is visiting this neighborhood clinic?”
“They must be really good at treating teeth here, right?”
As the room buzzed with whispers, Yoon-gi calmly registered as a patient and waited for his turn.
‘This is nice. I like this atmosphere.’
Yoon-gi sat on the sofa, closed his eyes slightly, and enjoyed the commotion.
About thirty minutes later, with a nurse’s trembling voice calling his name, Yoon-gi entered the treatment room.
“W-welcome, sir.”
The dentist’s voice was shaking, too. It was understandable; the chairman of the country’s top conglomerate was in his clinic. This was a massive stroke of luck and a golden opportunity. The dentist was determined to resolve whatever discomfort Yoon-gi had, no matter what it took.
“I just came in for a check-up.”
“A check-up? Ah, yes! Understood. Please, have a seat right here.”
The dentist guided Yoon-gi into the specialized chair, and once Yoon-gi reclined, the examination began.
“Open wide, please.”
“Ahhh.”
Since it was just a check-up, there was no dreaded whirring of the drill. However, once the exam concluded, Yoon-gi noticed the dentist wearing a slightly perplexed expression.
“It’s not looking good, is it?”
At Yoon-gi’s question, the dentist let out a soft “Hmm” and nodded.
“Yes, that’s correct. Do you happen to consume acidic foods frequently?”
“Yes, I’ve been eating plums quite often.”
“Plums? How so? Are you drinking plum extract mixed with water?”
Yoon-gi shook his head.
“No, I’ve just been eating them raw. Crunch, crunch.”
“Oh...”
The dentist’s expression became even more bewildered than before.
“So, it really was the plums.”
“Hmm... yes, that’s right. Actually, highly acidic foods aren’t great for your teeth. It’s not a critical state yet, but there are signs that it’s starting to deteriorate. From now on, I’d advise you to avoid extremely acidic foods like lemons or plums...”
“Do I have to avoid acidic foods forever?”
The dentist shook his head.
“Not at all. You seem to have naturally strong teeth. It looks like you’ve been eating them for a while, so just being careful from now on should be enough.”
“It runs in the family.”
“Ah, I see. That’s a relief.”
In truth, Yoon-gi had been chewing raw plums simply because he didn’t know any better. In his past life, he’d never had the chance to eat delicious fruit, so when he saw plums, they looked quite premium. Once he tried them, he found he liked the taste, so he started snacking on them raw. Who would have thought raw plums were bad for his teeth?
Even the smartest people sometimes make mistakes on the simplest things. In a way, it was a reminder that Yoon-gi was human, too.
“Anyway, thank you. I suppose I can head out now?”
“Pardon? Ah, o-of course! But, um, excuse me...”
The dentist hesitated, clearly wanting to ask for something.
“Ah.”
Yoon-gi nodded and signaled to his bodyguard. The bodyguard pulled an instant camera from his bag, and Yoon-gi stepped next to the dentist, draping an arm over his shoulder.
“Cheese.”
At the bodyguard’s prompt, the dentist smiled instinctively, and Yoon-gi flashed a V-sign with his fingers.
Click!
The camera whirred as a photo slid out.
“It’s fine to keep it in your office. But don’t add any unnecessary commentary like ‘Chairman Choi praised my skills.’ You understand?”
At Yoon-gi’s playful wink, the dentist regained his composure and nodded frantically.
“O-of course! T-thank you so much!”
Now, this dentist had a bragging right for life.
And it would surely serve as word-of-mouth marketing. When patients came in and asked, “Doctor, is that photo real?” he could proudly reply, “Of course it is!”
‘I’m never moving this clinic, no matter what happens!’
Thinking that Yoon-gi might come back someday, the dentist clenched his fist in resolve.
* * *
Choi Deok-bae was genuinely cheering, even shedding tears, at the fact that Yoon-gi could no longer eat plums. How much had he suffered every time Yoon-gi ate one? Especially those times when Yoon-gi accidentally let plum juice spill out of his mouth while chewing—whenever it passed through his spectral body, Choi Deok-bae couldn’t help but scream. Even if it didn’t have any real effect, he truly hated plums themselves.
“But I have one question,” Yoon-gi said with a serious expression, and Choi Deok-bae regained his composure.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Yoon-gi shook his head.
“No, not that.”
“That plums are bad for my teeth.”
“You didn’t know?” Choi Deok-bae looked at him with an incredulous expression.
“My Ah-won-geup-je (top-tier scholar knowledge)?”
“That Ah-won-geup-je is completely useless...”
Choi Deok-bae was about to get angry for a second, but seeing the laughter in Yoon-gi’s eyes, he changed his expression to a playful, mock-angry look.
“Of course, I’m joking. It would have been hard to know that as common sense in the Joseon Dynasty, unless you were from the medical field.”
“Is that so?”
In truth, while the Dongui Bogam described toothaches in detail, it attributed them to internal factors rather than external ones. Naturally, there was no mention of tooth decay caused by highly acidic foods. However, unless Choi Deok-bae had read the entire Dongui Bogam, he wouldn’t know for sure, and since Yoon-gi wasn’t particularly curious, the topic fizzled out.
“By the way, it’s fascinating. Is this an ability that tells me which foods are bad for my body?”
“Sigh...”
Choi Deok-bae, whose “old man joke” had failed, wore a dejected expression as if to apologize.
“Well... I understand. Yes... I understand...”
Only after Choi Deok-bae offered a sincere(?) apology did Yoon-gi burst into laughter.
“Well, I understand that sometimes you just want to make those kinds of jokes. Actually, isn’t the ‘dad joke’ a symbol of power?”
“Really?”
“It’s scary that it’s half-true.”
Yoon-gi shuddered slightly and walked out to the living room.
‘There’s a better way to check if something is good or bad for me, right?’
Yoon-gi picked up a decorative bottle of whiskey from the living room.
‘First, one bottle.’
He held a 30-year-old whiskey, but Jin-dong-gi showed no reaction.
‘Then, two bottles.’
Yoon-gi held two bottles in his arms. Still, no reaction.
‘Then, three bottles.’
Again, nothing.
‘What is this?’
Just as he was wondering, when he picked up the fourth bottle, Jin-dong-gi’s color finally turned red. The spirit placed a hand on Yoon-gi’s shoulder and shook his head frantically.
‘Oh... hmm... I was a heavy drinker back in my labor days, wasn’t I?’
Alcohol was a choice he made because his life was so painful. Perhaps he had managed to survive past the age of forty only because of the drink. However.
‘That part is definitely true.’
Yoon-gi thought of the “Dog Butcher.” In fact, the Dog Butcher’s influence was the main reason Yoon-gi had found it so easy to turn to alcohol. Children grow up watching their parents. Seeing the Dog Butcher live with a bottle in his hand, Yoon-gi had naturally followed suit. But even past forty, Yoon-gi hadn’t suffered from severe alcoholism. The Dog Butcher, on the other hand, had succumbed to it much faster and more severely. If he hadn’t been forced into sobriety by going to prison, he likely would have died a sudden, miserable death. Of course, in his current reality, he was suffering in a North Korean prison camp, so perhaps a sudden death would have been better.
“Oh, young master. Are you planning on drinking?”
At the housekeeper’s voice from behind him, Yoon-gi shook his head.
“No. I’m heading to my grandfather’s house, and I thought I’d take a bottle as a gift. It’s a waste of time to stop by the department store.”
“Oh, is that so? Then would you like a gift box?”
“Could you? Just for this one bottle.”
Thanks to Yoon-gi’s quick thinking, the housekeeper didn’t report back with a false rumor like, “Madam, the young master seems to be planning on drinking!”
‘Shall we call it a white lie?’
Yoon-gi naturally headed to his grandfather Choi Ki-hyun’s house.
“Oh, Yoon-gi!”
The moment Choi Ki-hyun saw Yoon-gi, he embraced him tightly, showing his love for his grandson.
“Have you been well?”
“Of course I have. You’re the grandson I want to see every day, even if I saw you yesterday!”
It was truly profound affection.
“Hmm? Did you bring whiskey?”
“Yes, I felt bad coming empty-handed.”
“Ho-ho, when you become an adult, your first drink should be this whiskey. Or are you planning to drink it now?”
“No, I think I’ll save it for my first drink as an adult.”
“Yes, yes! That’s the spirit!”
Choi Ki-hyun walked inside with Yoon-gi, still holding the whiskey.
‘Seeing as there’s no reaction, I guess it only reacts to me?’
At Choi Ki-hyun’s age, alcohol couldn’t possibly be good for his body. Yet, Jin-dong-gi didn’t turn red. This led to one conclusion: Jin-dong-gi only reacted to Yoon-gi. However, the situation changed slightly.
“Now, sit down.”
Yoon-gi followed Choi Ki-hyun’s instruction and sat on the living room sofa. Perhaps they had been having snacks, as there were various treats on the coffee table.
“You should have some, too. It’s quite delicious.”
The moment Choi Ki-hyun picked up a piece of yakbap (sweet rice with nuts and jujubes) to put in his mouth, Jin-dong-gi, now glowing a deep red, began to dance a wild frenzy behind Choi Ki-hyun’s back.