A Friend's First Visit
"Where is it?"
It was break time at school, and a crowd of friends had gathered around Choi Su-yeon. She had a naturally friendly personality and was kind to everyone, so it was no surprise that many students—boys and girls alike—liked to follow her lead.
"It's near the Sajeol Guild."
"Near the Sajeol Guild? That's not too far, is it?"
"Want to go after school?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure."
"I think I can go."
The friends' reactions were mixed. After all, Seona's Restaurant's menu wasn't exactly the kind of thing that instantly captured every student's taste buds. Still, when Choi Su-yeon recommended a place, it was always worth checking out. Her suggestions for restaurants in the city or the local arcade never disappointed.
"Then let's go after school. There's something there that's even more amazing than the food."
"Huh? Something more amazing than the food?"
It was a restaurant, yet something inside was supposedly better than the food itself. Her friends looked confused, but Su-yeon was confident. She was certain they would all feel the same way once they saw it.
Su-yeon's day felt different from usual. Everything seemed more energetic, like she was filled with extra vigor. Strangely enough, time seemed to crawl by even slower, as if it knew she was eagerly waiting for school to end.
"Choi Su-yeon."
The homeroom teacher's voice cut through the air.
"Come with me to the staff room."
"...Yes, ma'am."
The teacher wore a rather stern expression. She had come looking for Su-yeon the moment break began and had overheard the entire conversation about skipping self-study to visit some restaurant after school.
With evening self-study on the schedule, there wasn't much free time to spare. It was obvious the girl had no intention of attending tonight. The teacher couldn't simply pretend she hadn't heard such an open escape plan—especially after what happened yesterday.
This was the youngest homeroom teacher in the school, a woman in her late twenties who approached her students with warmth and friendliness rather than strict authority.
"Sigh... Su-yeon."
"Yes, teacher?"
"Why did you skip self-study yesterday? I'm not here to scold you for missing it, but you signed up yourself. You can't just decide not to show up like that."
Self-study—nighttime self-directed learning. It was an outdated system that had existed for a long time, but it was still a necessary part of school life. It existed for students who wanted to study late into the evening.
This version of self-study was quite different from how it used to be. Since dedicated teachers supervised the sessions, only a limited number of students were accepted. If Su-yeon had signed up, it meant another student who wanted to attend had been bumped because of her.
High school was a critical time, after all.
"Su-yeon, choosing to sign up for self-study means you've taken on a responsibility."
"...I'm sorry, teacher."
The teacher couldn't bring herself to say anything harsher. She knew a little about Su-yeon's family situation. It wasn't that her parents had forced her to skip, but the girl had come up with a rather adorable plan to head home late with a valid excuse—anything to avoid that somewhat stifling household.
"So, you were planning to skip self-study again today and go to that Seona's Restaurant place?"
"Y-you heard that?"
"I overheard while I was coming to find you. What kind of restaurant is it that you're recommending it to all your friends?"
"It's just... a really delicious restaurant."
"Well, wanting to share good food is a nice thought, but you can always go on the weekend instead, can't you?"
"......"
Su-yeon couldn't answer right away. Only on weekends? The idea felt like having her freedom stripped away.
"...Right. So you're not attending self-study today either?"
"Would it... be okay if I didn't?"
"Ugh... You know what? Just don't sign up for self-study anymore."
"What? B-but..."
"I won't tell your parents. In exchange, give me the exact location of this Seona's Restaurant. It seems like that's the real reason behind all this."
"R-really? Okay, I will!"
Su-yeon's face lit up in an instant.
She was already an excellent student who didn't need self-study sessions to keep up. The teacher understood that what students like her needed wasn't more study time, but a stable, supportive environment.
"You can go now."
"Thank you, teacher!"
The bell rang at just the right moment. Su-yeon gave a quick bow and hurried out of the staff room.
Seona's Restaurant, huh...
The teacher felt a spark of curiosity. What kind of place could make Su-yeon act like this? Was the food there unbelievably good?
She didn't know what kind of influence today's decision would have on the girl, but she had a feeling it wouldn't be a negative one.
"I should get going too. I'll be late."
The once-empty staff room filled with people again, emptied, and filled once more several times throughout the day. This time, however, when it emptied, it stayed that way.
Unlike yesterday, Su-yeon walked out of school with confident, purposeful steps. Sadly, only one friend followed her, but that was fine. Time would take care of the rest. She didn't even see it as a problem in the first place.
"Su-yeon. We're going straight there, right?"
"Yeah. Thanks, Chae-yeon."
Su-yeon's primary goal was to bring her friend Lee Chae-yeon to the restaurant. It would have been nice if the others came along too, but she had specifically targeted Chae-yeon for a reason.
Hehe. Success.
Whether she knew about Su-yeon's plan or not, Chae-yeon was brimming with curiosity about the restaurant her friend had recommended. Not many people knew about Su-yeon's wealthy family background, but Chae-yeon was one of the few who did. When someone like Su-yeon—a girl from serious money—recommended a restaurant, it was guaranteed to be excellent. And since they were going with friends, the prices were reasonable too.
"From the name alone, it doesn't sound like a fancy restaurant though."
"It's not that kind of place. You'll understand when you see it."
"Well, every place you've recommended has been delicious, so I'm really curious now."
Su-yeon had been dying to talk about the restaurant, about Seia and Jungwoo, but she held back. These were things her friend needed to experience for herself.
They walked along, chatting like any other pair of ordinary high school girls with the sunset glow and cool autumn breeze at their backs. Before long, they arrived near Seona's Restaurant. The signboard lights flickered on at just the right moment, easily catching the girls' attention.
"Is that the place?"
"Yep. What do you think?"
"Hmm... It looks pretty ordinary?"
It was more a look of surprise than disappointment. The closer they got, the more details that had been invisible from afar came into view.
"There's a sign for today's special over there."
"It doesn't say 'today's menu.' It says 'today is menu.' What does that even mean?"
Today is Menu
The A-frame sign had crooked, wobbly handwriting. Next to it sat a cheese-colored cat with lazy eyes, staring at the two students.
"Do they keep a cat here?"
"Hmm, I didn't see it yesterday. Maybe it's just a stray?"
The cat's demeanor was lazy yet somehow enlightened. It showed little wariness for a stray cat, but it was odd for a pet to be lounging outside instead of inside the restaurant.
Or maybe...
Su-yeon suspected the cat had also fallen under Seia's spell. She considered it a very realistic theory.
From the way the cat was looking at them, it seemed willing to let them stare but would absolutely not allow any petting.
"Su-yeon, the special today is tteokbokki."
"Oh, really?"
She had thought that someday they might get to try tteokbokki or other street food here, but she hadn't expected it to happen today. Yet here it was—the special of the day was tteokbokki.
Just then, the savory aroma of tteokbokki drifted out through the crack in the door. The smell seemed to spark Chae-yeon's appetite, because she immediately suggested they head inside.
"Let's go in now."
"Yeah. Let's go."
The moment they moved to enter the restaurant, they spotted Seia through the window, sitting on a tall chair. She was completely absorbed in something, so focused that she hadn't even noticed customers arriving right at the entrance.
"Whoa... what is that?"
"Seia."
"Seia?"
"Yeah. She's the owner's daughter."
"No way..."
It was exactly the reaction Su-yeon had expected. The mouthwatering aroma of tteokbokki that had been tempting them moments ago was instantly forgotten.
"What do you think? Isn't she super cute?"
"...Yeah. So this is what you meant by it being a special place?"
Su-yeon answered with a smile. Well, the smile pretty much said it all.
With a cheerful ding, the two girls stepped inside. The faint scent of tteokbokki grew much stronger. At the sound of the bell, Seia finally looked up from whatever she was doing and turned toward the door.
"Ah, Unni!"
"Hi, Seia."
Seeing a familiar face, Seia broke into a happy smile. The entire atmosphere of the restaurant brightened in an instant.
Su-yeon had seen it before and had built up a bit of resistance, but Chae-yeon had no such defense.
She's so cute...
Chae-yeon loved cute and pretty things just as much as Su-yeon did, and to her eyes, Seia was the cutest thing she had ever seen in her entire life.
Su-yeon glanced at her friend's enchanted expression and felt certain this was the signal that her plan was off to a successful start.
"Have you been doing well, Seia?"
"Yes! Today Daddy said he's making tteokboggi!"
"Hehe. I saw it written outside. Unni came to eat tteokbokki too."
"Weally? Then let's eat tteokboggi together!"
"Together?"
"Yeah! Daddy—"
Su-yeon wasn't entirely sure what "together" meant in this context, but she suspected it was the literal meaning.
Looking delighted, Seia stood up from her chair, turned toward the kitchen, and called out to her father.
"Seia, what is it? Ah, we have guests. Welcome."
"Hello."
"Uh... hello."
Chae-yeon, who had already been stunned by Seia, was now stunned again by Jungwoo.
"The person who suggested the tteokbokki menu has arrived. Will you be ordering tteokbokki?"
"Yes, that's right."
"It's almost finished, so please take a seat and I'll bring it out shortly."
"Here! Sit here!"
Seia guided the customers to their table with perfect timing. As expected, it was the seat by the window. Today, especially, this was the absolute best spot in the house.
The sunset painting the sky was beautiful, and the busy scenery visible through the window made them feel like observers watching the hectic world from just a step behind.
But the biggest reason was something else entirely.
It was the cat they had met before entering the restaurant. From this seat, they could see the cat's backside as it "baked bread"—that classic loafing pose cats made.
It definitely looked like a stray, yet its body was surprisingly plump compared to most street cats. Its round, solid-looking bottom twitched from time to time, as if proudly showing that the "bread" was baking nicely.
"Seia will take your order!"
"Hehe. You want to? Then..."
While Su-yeon was still thinking, Chae-yeon jumped in.
"Two orders of tteokbokki, please?"
"Yes! Two tteokboggi!"
Even though she had simply placed an order, Chae-yeon wore an incredibly satisfied smile.
"Daddy— two tteokboggi!"
"Got it, Seia. Well done—"
Seia was getting quite good at taking orders now. She glanced at her father for a moment, then quickly returned to her designated seat and resumed what she had been working on.