A Bowl of Warmth
Seia hadn't mentioned it, but there was one important fact that stood out.
She had never tried ttukbaegi bulgogi before.
Running the restaurant had one major advantage: it meant Jungwoo could prepare dishes that required a lot of hands-on work and a wide variety of ingredients.
Ttukbaegi bulgogi fell into that category.
After all, with only Seia and Jungwoo to feed, he could never make large batches. That meant he couldn't stock up on a diverse range of ingredients either.
“What’s on the menu today?”
“Today’s special, of course.”
“Ahh…! Ttukbaegi bulgogi!”
“That’s right. What do you think?”
Even as he asked, Jungwoo already knew the answer.
The dish itself carried an intensely aromatic scent. After serving the two customers earlier, the entire restaurant was now filled with the rich aroma of ttukbaegi bulgogi.
Seia had been sitting diligently, practicing her magic with fierce determination. But whenever the smell of a finished dish wafted through the air, she would briefly lose focus and simply stare.
“Daddy will bring it right over. Okay?”
“Yeees—!”
The thought of soon tasting a dish she had never tried before made Seia’s little feet kick excitedly in the air.
It didn’t take long for the mouthwatering aroma to fill the restaurant completely. Steaming white rice and a bubbling pot of ttukbaegi bulgogi were soon placed on the table.
“This one is really hot, so you must never touch it. Understand?”
“This one?”
“Yes. We keep it piping hot so the meat doesn’t cool down.”
“Mmm… then how do I eat it?”
All the tables at Seona’s Restaurant were built for adults. The special seat made for Seia was largely designed so she could eat comfortably. Still, a dish served in a scorching-hot stone pot could be a little dangerous for her.
“Then Daddy will feed you. How about that?”
“Hehe. Yes please!”
On the spoon piled high with white rice, Jungwoo added tender pieces of meat thoroughly infused with seasoning, along with colorful vegetables. Finally, he dipped the bottom of the spoon lightly into the sauce so the glossy broth could seep between every grain of rice.
“Blow, blow.”
He cooled it carefully so it wouldn’t be too hot. Meanwhile, Seia already had her mouth wide open, ready and waiting.
She held chopsticks in one hand and a spoon in the other, sitting perfectly still without moving a finger.
“Okay, here comes the airplane?”
“Aaaah!”
It was her first time tasting ttukbaegi bulgogi. Aside from the difference in seasoning, it wasn’t all that different from spicy stir-fried pork. The standout feature was its light, savory broth.
After emptying the spoon in one bite, Seia made an expression very similar to the one she’d worn the first time she tried chicken. Her big eyes grew even rounder.
She wanted to say how delicious it was, but that would mean stopping her chewing. So instead, she expressed her feelings through enthusiastic nods.
“Is it good?”
“Mmm-hmm!”
Seia kept chewing and nodding vigorously. The more delicious something was, the faster and harder her little head would bob.
Even though she hadn’t finished what was in her mouth, she grabbed Jungwoo’s sleeve as if urging him to prepare the next spoonful right away.
“Haha. Got it.”
From the first bite to the last, the pot gradually cooled from scalding hot to pleasantly warm. But that was simply how a father’s heart worked. Worried it might still be too hot for her, Jungwoo carefully fed her one spoonful after another until her rice bowl was completely empty.
“So, how does it compare to chicken?”
“Chicken…?”
Seia fell into deep thought for a moment. She had been perfectly content, her tummy full with just the right amount of satisfying food and flawless flavor. Now a monumental dilemma had been dropped in her lap.
“Mmm… the bulgogi is more delicious.”
“Oh, really? Daddy thought you loved chicken more than anything.”
At that, Seia shook her head firmly.
Of course, the chicken Daddy made for her birthday had been the best. The crispy coating, the juicy meat, the chewy texture.
Daddy worked so hard.
But Seia had also seen how he kept glancing at her while talking with the customers. She had never seen Daddy sweating like that in front of a vat of hot oil before.
The chicken had been delicious, but she hated seeing Daddy struggle. It wasn’t that making chicken was especially difficult; it was the sheer volume he had to prepare. Seia didn’t know that part, though. She only knew that Daddy had been tired, and she didn’t like it when Daddy was tired.
“Alright, now that we’re done eating—”
Jungwoo reached out to clear the table and start cleaning up.
“Nooo!”
Seia grabbed his hand in a panic before he could touch the pot. She clutched it tightly with both hands; her urgency was practically palpable.
“Huh? What’s wrong?”
“The ttukbaegi is hot!”
“Haha. So that’s why. Daddy’s fine. Look.”
He casually lifted the stone pot with one hand. She had said it was hot, but of course Daddy could handle it!
“Were you worried? That Daddy might get hurt?”
“If Daddy gets hurt, I’ll be sad. No hurting.”
What a sweet heart our daughter has.
With Seia’s lunch taken care of, Jungwoo decided to treat himself to a rare moment of rest. While there were no customers, he planned to enjoy one of his small hobbies that he hadn’t had time for lately.
Reading.
The book he had ordered online had finally arrived.
“I need some coffee.”
“Coffee? Is Daddy bleeding?!”
He had only muttered it while clearing the table, but apparently Seia’s ears were sharper than he thought.
“No, no. Coffee—the drink.”
“Is it yummy?”
“Hmm… it’s bitter.”
“Bitter?”
“It tastes bitter.”
“……?”
Was it the same word or something different? Jungwoo smiled at the question mark practically floating above Seia’s head and finished tidying up.
He had heard a new café had opened nearby. It was only about the distance of a quick market run from the restaurant, so he figured he could stop by on the way back.
“Seia, want to go to the café with Daddy?”
“Café?”
“Yeah. It’s a place that sells coffee.”
“Yummy stuff!”
Seia still thought “bitter” meant “delicious.” Well, he had no intention of actually letting her drink real coffee anyway. Caffeine wasn’t good for children.
Of course, there was a solution: decaf. Since Jungwoo used to drink iced Americanos like water, he decided to introduce her to that world too. Just lightly. Just a taste.
“Want to go?”
“Yes! Let’s go!”
Seia hopped down from her chair and was already waiting by the door. Jungwoo left a small note on the shop entrance and headed out with her toward the newly opened café.
The new café appeared as you walked toward the busier part of the neighborhood. It wasn’t in the heart of the bustling area, but there were many offices nearby, so it was usually packed during lunch with long lines.
Luckily, they had missed the lunch rush, and the café was quiet.
“Wow, only a thousand won?”
These days most places charged at least 1,500 or 2,000 won.
The familiar tinkling bell rang as they entered, followed by the café owner’s bright, cheerful voice.
“Welcome—!”
“Whoa, pretty big sister!”
“Hmm?”
The professional smile the owner wore for customers instantly melted into genuine warmth the moment she saw Seia and heard her words.
“Oh my, pretty big sister?”
Lunchtime.
The café owner called this period the “wave.” Like the monster waves that appeared in games. When exhausted customers flooded in, she would serve them in a daze, and one or two hours would fly by in the blink of an eye.
When work made time pass quickly, it only meant one thing: she was insanely busy.
It was a fair kind of alchemy—trading strength and mental energy to make time accelerate. The result felt like she was absorbing all the customers’ fatigue in exchange.
In the middle of that exhaustion, a little angel like Seia appeared and instantly swept away the fatigue of both the owner and her part-timers.
Ah, it was unfair. Some people had to spend time and effort to shake off tiredness, while others could erase it in an instant just by showing up.
“Seia came to drink coffee!”
“Hehe. Is that so? Pretty big sister will make it extra delicious for you.”
Hearing her say it so confidently made the owner wonder if it was okay for a child to drink coffee.
While Seia worked her magic on the café staff’s fatigue, Jungwoo finished ordering at the kiosk. One iced Americano and one decaf iced Americano.
Seia wouldn’t drink much. To her, it would probably taste like extremely bitter medicine. These days even medicine came in strawberry or other flavors, so this would taste even worse than medicine.
“Please wait just a moment.”
Jungwoo had once considered working at a café. Or even opening one. In fact, he had leaned heavily toward opening a café, but he had chosen a restaurant for one reason: so he could cook delicious meals for Seia.
“Two Americanos for your order. The one with the mark is decaf.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank youuu!”
The owner, receiving Seia’s energetic greeting, had an expression like she was melting and waved back with a dreamy smile.
They returned to the restaurant hand in hand. Fortunately, no customers seemed to have come while they were gone.
“Alright, shall we try it?”
“Yummy stuff—!”
Jungwoo kindly opened the coffee lid and showed it to Seia. The combination of black liquid and ice didn’t exactly look appetizing, but it reminded him of one particular drink.
“It’s like cola!”
“Similar to cola, right?”
“But coffee doesn’t have bubbles.”
“Bubbles? Oh, you mean carbonation. That tickly feeling in your throat.”
“Yes. Tickly throat.”
Seia wondered if it would taste similar to cola. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation.
Holding back a chuckle, Jungwoo poured a small amount into a cup so she could drink it easily.
He took the first sip through the straw. A refreshing clarity spread through his head.
“Ahh, that’s the stuff.”
Maybe because he drank it so enjoyably, Seia soon took a sip from her own cup.
“Ehh…”
Something was wrong.
She didn’t know exactly what, but she was certain something had gone terribly wrong.
“Ugh…”
“How is it? Bitter, right?”
“Bitter…?”
“Haha. Yes, it means it tastes bitter.”
“Ah…!”
It wasn’t that Seia didn’t know the word “bitter.” She simply hadn’t eaten anything bitter in a long time and had momentarily forgotten.
“What do you think? Can you drink it?”
“This… this is…”
At least paprika could be cooked in different ways to make it edible. But this was literally no different from water that had gone bad. Seia shook her head as if she had no choice.
“Seia will drink it when she grows up!”
“Haha. Okay. Then Daddy will drink this?”
Seeing how vigorously she nodded, it must have been quite bitter indeed.
“But finish everything in that cup. Then later Daddy will buy you something delicious from the café.”
“Really, really?!”
“Yes. Have you ever seen Daddy lie?”
“Never. Because it’s Daddy!”
Seia answered with a bright smile, but that smile didn’t last long. The moment she took another sip from the cup, her face scrunched up with a loud “Ptooey!”
Well, even that was cute. It was one of Seia’s many charms.