A Familiar Face at the Door
The voices bickering back and forth were drawing steadily closer to Seona's Restaurant.
They belonged to the elderly couple who owned the building where Jungwoo had lived until just a few days ago.
After his wife returned from her trip with friends, the old man had set out with her to keep the promise he'd made to Seia.
Seia had said she would come visit them herself, but the couple couldn't bear to take up any more of her hardworking father's time while he ran the restaurant.
“There it is.”
“Seona's… Restaurant?”
They had known he ran a diner, but they hadn't known its name. Still, the name Seona stirred a faint memory from long ago.
“Seona… Isn’t that the name of Seia’s father’s wife?”
“That’s right. The name of the wife who passed on before him…”
“Sigh…”
The world could be so cruel sometimes.
For some reason, it always seemed like the kindest, gentlest people were the first to leave.
And the ones left behind had to live with that empty space right beside them every single day.
Sadly, those heartbreaking stories were nothing more than casual gossip to everyone else.
The people involved never wanted pity, yet others freely offered it, freely felt sorry for them, and freely spread their names around.
Jungwoo’s story was no exception.
The tragic tale had spread like wildfire through the small building where similar folks lived together, passed from mouth to mouth with ease.
Because of that, there wasn’t a single person in the building who didn’t know what had happened to Jungwoo’s wife.
They could only look at Jungwoo and Seia with pity in their eyes.
“Seia’s mother died giving birth to her, I think.”
It shouldn’t happen, but it was something that occurred more often than people liked to admit.
That merciless choice between a mother in poor health and her child.
Shockingly, Seia’s mother had chosen the baby.
She hadn’t simply been in poor health.
She had been suffering from an incurable illness.
When no choice was truly possible, she had still made the only one that mattered.
And so the mother chose Seia, and Seia remained in this world.
“Yeah, she left early, so she must have been a truly good person.”
“Tsk, why doesn’t heaven take old folks like us instead? So heartless, that sky.”
“Heh heh, if you’re in such a hurry to go, you go first, old woman. I plan to stick around and enjoy myself a little longer.”
“If you want to outlive me, you’d better quit drinking first. How can a man leave his lifespan up to luck?”
“Old woman. If quitting alcohol would let me live longer, then there’d be no point in living at all.”
“Listen to you. Don’t drink today, all right? Seia’s going to be there. You can’t drink in front of her.”
“Ahem… It’s a shame, but I suppose I have no choice.”
They kept up their playful quarrel as they walked, and before they knew it, they had arrived in front of the restaurant.
Through the window they could see Jungwoo and Seia.
Seia must have been taking a nap; she was lying across Jungwoo’s lap, sleeping soundly.
“Heh heh, she really is an angel.”
“Maybe it’s because we only have a grandson, but whenever I look at Seia, she feels like a granddaughter to me.”
As they moved to enter the restaurant, they noticed a small A-frame sign beside the door.
It looked like Seia had written it herself.
And at the bottom was a proud notice that she would be making the food today.
How could anyone see that and not smile?
Even though the couple was seeing Seia again after only a few days, it felt as if years had passed.
“Did you bring your wallet?”
“This old hag really thinks I’ve gone senile. I’m Lee Tae-baek. Lee Tae-baek, you hear?”
“Oh sure, just try not bringing it. Last time you forgot and I had to pay, you old fool.”
The couple continued their bickering right up until the moment they opened the restaurant door.
With a cheerful jingle of the bell, Jungwoo—who had been gently stroking Seia’s hair while she slept—turned his gaze toward the entrance.
“Ah, sir! Ma’am!”
“Have you been well?”
“Yes, thanks to you both. Hello, ma’am. Did you enjoy your trip?”
“Ho ho, of course. It was wonderful. Did we come at a bad time? It looks like Seia is napping.”
“Not at all. She hasn’t been sleeping much during the day lately.”
The couple had noticed it every time they saw him—despite having so little, Jungwoo never lost his smile.
At first, those who knew his sad story assumed he was forcing it.
After all, the person he loved had left him her final gift before embarking on her eternal journey.
But as time passed, they began to realize the smile wasn’t forced at all.
And Seia, who took after her father, greeted everyone she met with bright, energetic hellos.
This was the first time the couple had seen Seia asleep.
Watching the child who always wore a smile now sleeping so peacefully stirred something deep inside them.
Maybe it was because they had just been talking about Seia’s mother before arriving at the restaurant?
The grandmother’s eyes began to glisten with unshed tears.
“What a beautiful little thing…”
Not pitiful—beautiful. That was the word she used.
And Jungwoo was content with that.
“Mmm…”
Perhaps sensing the new presence and voices, Seia stirred and clutched Jungwoo’s leg tightly.
“What would you like to eat? There are menus at the table.”
“All right, we’ll take a look and let you know.”
Customers instinctively gravitated toward one of two spots.
One was the sunny window seat.
The other was the table closest to Seia’s personal seat.
On the other hand, Seia herself seemed to prefer the window seat most of all.
Whenever she had guided guests to their tables so far, she had always led them there.
The elderly couple also favored the window seat.
Since Seia wasn’t sitting in her special chair today.
Yet a pang of guilt crept in as Jungwoo wondered whether Seia’s preference for the sunny spot came from having lived so long in a basement apartment.
“Can we get bibimbap?”
Right on cue, the couple placed their order.
It was the perfect timing to cut off any deepening thoughts about painful emotions.
“Yes, of course.”
“Then one bibimbap, and for the old woman…”
“This man never changes. Shouldn’t you ask what I want first?”
“Heh heh, says the person who orders kimchi stew every single time.”
“Tsk. Seia’s dad, I’ll have the kimchi stew.”
“Understood.”
Jungwoo was about to stand when the old man waved his hand.
“No rush. Take your time making it. I’d like to watch the little one sleep a bit longer.”
Jungwoo didn’t know about other people, but for this couple at least, time was the most leisurely thing in the world.
There was no need to live in a hurry, and they never had.
These days they simply found satisfaction in what they could still see before death came, and in the gentle flow of time itself.
“Haha… I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
Even though the couple had said that, Jungwoo’s personality made it impossible for him to actually slow down.
Besides, he didn’t think it would be good for Seia’s upbringing.
Seia was undeniably part of the restaurant, and a restaurant was a place that took customers’ money in exchange for serving food.
Like it or not, the customer held the upper hand by paying.
The couple’s words had been considerate of Jungwoo and Seia, but they weren’t excusing him from doing what needed to be done.
“Seia, time to wake up.”
“Mmm…”
Seia squirmed a little at Jungwoo’s touch, then slowly opened her eyes when he gave her a gentle shake.
“Seia… was sleeping.”
“Haha, that’s right. Seia was sleeping. But while you were asleep, we got some customers.”
“Ah! Bibim-bap!”
At the word “customers,” Seia shot upright. When she saw the familiar grandfather and grandmother waving at her, her face lit up with a bright smile.
“Grandpa! Grandma!”
“That’s right, hahaha. Our Seia.”
“Did you sleep well, sweetheart?”
Just as the elderly couple saw Seia as a precious granddaughter, Seia saw them as her own grandpa and grandma.
Blood didn’t connect them, but that didn’t matter to Seia or to the couple.
“Sweetie. Are you really the one making the bibimbap today?”
“Yes! Me and Daddy are making it together!”
“Ho ho. It’s going to be delicious. Grandma and Grandpa haven’t eaten yet, you see.”
“Seia will make it for you right away.”
“Oh my, what a good girl.”
Because it was people she knew, Seia seemed even more excited than usual.
‘Come to think of it, it seems like a lot of older customers have been coming in lately.’
He had expected the “new opening” boost, but it hadn’t been as big as he thought.
These days, food made with magic stone–crafted cooking tools was all the rage—far more popular than traditional Korean dishes.
The ingredients Jungwoo used were ordinary ones you could buy at any market—pork, chicken, beef, and vegetables—but the ingredients for dishes made with magic stone tools were something else entirely.
They came from magic beasts that appeared inside gates.
And those magic beasts were sometimes used as cooking ingredients.
In a way, that was also why the prices at Jungwoo’s restaurant were so affordable.
Vegetables were still widely used, but consumption of pork, chicken, and beef had decreased somewhat.
Still, it didn’t matter to him.
He wasn’t particularly interested.
Those special ingredients couldn’t even be cooked without magic stone–crafted tools in the first place.
Jungwoo didn’t know how to prepare them, nor did he know what they tasted like.
A chef who didn’t even know the flavor of the ingredients in his own dishes?
It was truly unthinkable.
“Daddy! Let’s go quickly.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
One bibimbap and one kimchi stew.
For the bibimbap, all he had to do was fry an egg to place on top; Seia would handle the rest beautifully.
She had already prepared the bowls with the sauce and sesame oil.
That left the other dish—kimchi stew.
“How much kimchi do we have left?”
The kimchi at Seona's Restaurant was, astonishingly, made by Jungwoo himself.
He kept a separate batch of well-aged kimchi for dishes like kimchi stew, where it paired perfectly, while the side-dish kimchi was about a month old.
“Looks like I’ll need to make more kimchi soon.”
Judging by the amount, it wouldn’t last more than a few days.
‘Tomorrow’s my day off. Maybe I should make some kimchi then?’
He had hoped tomorrow would be a proper rest day, but it looked like he would have quite a bit to do.
He needed to make kimchi, and there were other things waiting.
He was planning to prepare a special gift for Seia, after all.
Well-chopped kimchi, meat, and of course the essential tofu.
The harmony of flavors created by kimchi, tofu, and meat was so perfect it could be called a holy trinity.
By the time the spicy kimchi stew had finished boiling and the individual flavors of the ingredients began to melt into the broth, the bibimbap—neatly plated and ready to eat—was set down in front of the couple along with the stew.
“Wow. So this is the one Seia made herself?”
“Yes! Me and Daddy made it together!”
“Ho ho. Well, Seia’s dad is already a skilled cook.”
“Thank you. Please enjoy your meal.”
They really were good people.
Not the kind who were generous simply because they had a lot.
Serving them was a form of repayment for Jungwoo.
He poured both gratitude and care into every dish.
Praise for the food kept coming.
“Still as delicious as ever.”
“It really is. Seia’s dad seems to have gotten even better than before.”
“Haha, you’re too kind.”
“I mean it. I think it’s better than what this old woman makes.”
“Then we should just keep eating here from now on.”
The couple hadn’t changed at all from the first time Jungwoo met them.
They bickered constantly, yet understood each other better than anyone.
Their praises for the food and their playful arguments alternated nonstop.
It felt like watching a sitcom.
Maybe that was why time seemed to pass even faster.
“Check, please.”
“You’re already finished? Why not stay a little longer?”
“We have somewhere else to go.”
“Ah, no, please. I’d like to treat you today.”
“Now, now. Treat us? At our age, if people see us going around getting free meals, they’ll talk.”
“But…”
“Just let us pay. You can treat us next time.”
“…Yes, I understand.”
The old man’s gentle smile seemed to say he would accept only the thought behind the offer.
“Old woman. Let’s go.”
“Always in such a hurry. Let’s watch Seia a little longer.”
“The little one needs her rest too.”
“Sweetie. Grandma will come play again next time, okay?”
“Grandpa will come again too.”
“Okay! Seeing Grandpa and Grandma made Seia really happy!”
“Aigoo, look at this beautiful child. Grandma was happy too.”
After hearing that, how could they not come back?
They gently stroked Seia’s head one last time before the couple left the restaurant.
Thanks to the bibimbap made with Seia’s own touch, Seona's Restaurant sold out of every last ingredient that day.
As soon as they got home, both father and daughter fell fast asleep.
With the comfort of knowing tomorrow was a day off, they slept deeply, without a single worry.