A Melt-in-Your-Mouth Steak and the Cat's Secret Path
The butcher shop owner was making sous-vide steak for the first time as well.
Jungwoo had never seen the process before, either.
“Phew. I really hope this turns out right.”
“It already looks incredibly delicious.”
“Show Seia too!”
When Jungwoo held the steak out for her, Seia stared at it with a puzzled little frown.
It was only natural. The color was quite different from anything she had seen before.
“Is it stek?”
“Yes, that’s right. You’re probably going to be shocked once you taste it, Seia.”
“Then I’m going to be super excited!”
“Haha, good.”
With Seia’s eyes sparkling with anticipation behind him, Jungwoo finally began cooking the steak in earnest.
The actual searing wasn’t all that different from ordinary grilling. You simply had to cook it well. The key was to avoid overcooking and letting all the juices escape.
He seared it in butter until a beautiful crust formed, then let it rest. While it rested, he prepared a simple sauce and garnish. By the time the steak was ready, everything else was finished too.
Seia seemed to sense instinctively that it was done. She was already gripping a fork in each tiny fist, licking her lips in anticipation.
She must have caught the aroma—the rich, mouthwatering scent rising from the perfectly cooked meat.
“Here we go. Please try it and give me your honest opinion.”
“You should eat too, sir.”
“This little piece is enough for me.”
The butcher had taken the small end piece Jungwoo had sliced off to check the doneness. That was all he needed.
The moment the butcher took his first bite, his eyes widened in pure astonishment at a flavor he had never experienced in all his years.
“……”
“How is it?”
“J-just try it for yourself.”
“Let’s eat too, Seia.”
“…Yesss…”
Seia’s mouth was already glistening even though she hadn’t taken a bite yet. The smell alone told her this steak was at least as good as the last one—maybe even better.
The meat was so tender it almost seemed a knife wasn’t necessary. It was almost too soft to even call it tender.
Jungwoo tested it with chopsticks instead. With the gentlest press, the meat didn’t mash—it simply parted cleanly in the direction of the chopsticks.
Meat you could cut with chopsticks.
The cross-section revealed a perfect, even rosy pink that stirred the appetite at once.
For the first taste, he used nothing but a pinch of fine salt. He would have loved to add wasabi and whole-grain mustard, but those weren’t on hand right now. He’d have to get some later.
The very first piece went, of course, to Seia.
“Ah—”
“Aaaah—”
Seia opened her small mouth wide, clearly demanding it. Jungwoo slipped the generous piece inside.
It was large enough to fill her little mouth completely, but that was all right. Even without teeth, she could mash it easily with her gums, the roof of her mouth, and her tongue.
The moment it touched her tongue, the meat melted like cotton candy.
Was this really meat?
Seia’s expression flickered first with confusion and surprise, then her eyes squeezed shut as an overwhelming wave of rich, savory flavor washed over her.
Seia, who already loved fine food. Even in her five short years of life, this was a taste she had never encountered, and it sent delightful little shocks of pleasure racing through her whole body.
“W-well? How is it?”
At the butcher’s question, Seia opened her eyes and answered with solemn reverence.
“I-it’s delish… This is the bestest meat in Seia’s whole life…”
She looked almost like a priestess deep in prayer. The butcher smiled warmly at her almost sacred expression, deeply satisfied.
As expected of a master butcher. His skill with meat was truly unrivaled.
“You should try it too, sir.”
The butcher urged Jungwoo along, eager to hear his verdict. Jungwoo cut a generous piece for himself and took a bite.
The moment it entered his mouth, he completely understood Seia’s reaction. How could meat be this tender?
Saying it melted like ice cream was no exaggeration. It literally melted.
The meat did.
“Whoa… Sir, this is honestly unbelievable.”
“Haha. Is it that good?”
“It’s seriously delicious. Hurry and try it yourself.”
“Haha. All right, then I’ll have some…”
He had been a little nervous since it was his first time attempting the dish, but with reactions like these, the flavor was clearly a success.
The butcher picked up a hefty piece and ate it. His response was nearly identical to Jungwoo’s.
“Wow… This flavor is truly unbelievable.”
Until now, the butcher had believed the only proper way to enjoy meat was to grill it. Sous-vide might end with a sear, but the entire preceding process was what truly mattered. This was the moment his long-held beliefs began to shake.
Having rarely encountered such varied cooking methods before, this chance discovery had opened his eyes to an entirely new world of meat. He suddenly wanted to enjoy it in all sorts of new and different ways.
The only shame was that there wasn’t very much of it.
After that, conversation ceased entirely. The table was filled only with soft exclamations of “Wow” and “Mmm.”
Father and daughter polished off the entire plate in the blink of an eye. The butcher gazed at the empty dish with an utterly contented expression.
“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
“It was absolutely the best. Oh, right—I was supposed to treat you to a meal.”
When Jungwoo started to rise from his seat as if he had just remembered, the butcher waved his hand.
“No need. I ate not long ago. Treat me another time.”
“All right. Please do come by. I’d like to serve you the most delicious thing I can make.”
“Haha, I’ll take you up on that. It was a truly enjoyable time. I should be going now.”
“Thank you.”
“Thank youuu!”
With the butcher’s departure, only Jungwoo and Seia remained in Seona’s Restaurant.
“…How was it, Seia?”
“It was really… the bestest. The bestest…”
Seia’s expression had turned dreamy, like a girl recalling a lover who had gone abroad to study. Given how incredible the taste had been, Jungwoo thought he might be wearing a similar look himself.
“Then shall we relax and soak up some sunlight?”
“Hehe, yes please.”
Full belly, warm body, delicious food, and the best mood. The only thing left to perfect the moment was basking in warm sunlight and savoring the leisurely feeling.
And there was already a guest waiting to greet the father and daughter.
“It’s the kitty!”
The cat had already claimed its spot. Its fur looked even softer than usual; it seemed to have taken a thorough bath thanks to the nice sunny weather.
“Today I think it’d be okay to pet the kitty.”
“Wow!”
These days Seia only petted the cat when Jungwoo gave permission. He had never seen anyone raise a cat by letting it roam freely outside, so it had surprised him at first. But since this cat was used to regular human contact, it seemed perfectly fine to let her touch it as much as she wanted.
When Jungwoo and Seia appeared, the cat naturally made room for them. Once they sat down, it leaped lightly onto Seia’s lap as if that had been its spot all along.
“K-kitty!”
“Haha, the kitty really likes you, Seia.”
“Kitty, Seia likes you too!”
There was something about the cat’s silky fur that made you want to keep stroking it without thinking. Just as Jungwoo stroked Seia’s hair, Seia stroked the cat.
And Jungwoo stroked Seia’s head in turn.
Apparently the cat did not approve.
It bared its sharp little teeth and glared warily at Jungwoo.
“Hey… I’m Seia’s dad…”
“Nooo! Daddy is daddy!”
Seia wasn’t exactly scolding the cat, but her voice had never sounded more resolute. The threat was clear: if the cat didn’t stop hissing and showing its fangs at her father immediately, she would stop petting it so lovingly.
The cat reluctantly stopped its hissing, but it still refused to let Jungwoo touch it.
“B-but I’m the one who feeds you…”
“That’s right, kitty. Daddy gives you food, you know.”
The cat was unusually good at understanding words compared to other cats, yet it seemed determined not to understand this particular point.
“Seia, can you watch the kitty for a bit? Daddy will go get it something to eat.”
“Okay! I’ll keep petting the kitty!”
Leaving Seia happily stroking the cat, Jungwoo returned to the kitchen. Since it was a restaurant, there was naturally plenty of food suitable for a cat. He had also just come back from the butcher shop.
Giving the cat the same high-quality meat he had prepared for Seia’s steak seemed a bit much, though.
I’ll give it some once it stops hissing at me.
It was a rather petty form of revenge, but he figured it was fair. He couldn’t let it be petted if it kept acting that way, but he could at least stop the hissing.
Pork would be perfect. He had learned previously that raw meat should be as fresh as possible. He had lightly cooked it before. However, stray cats were natural hunters, and he had confirmed that fresh pork could be given raw.
And every piece of meat Jungwoo brought in was the freshest and highest quality available. Compromising on ingredients when serving food was simply not in his vocabulary.
He cut an appropriate amount of today’s fresh meat into cat-friendly pieces and arranged them on a plate.
Just as he was about to head back outside with the food—
“…Seia?”
Seia was nowhere in sight.
“Seia!”
The moment Jungwoo stepped inside to fetch the cat’s food, the cat leaped down from Seia’s lap and stared up at her intently.
It gently bit the hem of her pants and tugged, clearly trying to lead her somewhere.
“Why?”
Seia looked at the cat with curious eyes, but her curiosity quickly grew stronger than her confusion.
The cat was actually trying to get her to follow it. It was incredibly cute and interesting.
The cat’s tugging grew more insistent, and so did Seia’s curiosity.
“Daddy said not to follow strangers…”
But the cat wasn’t a stranger.
This cat contradicted every part of that warning. It wasn’t a stranger, and it wasn’t even a person. If it was a cat she already knew, then following it for a little while should be okay, right?
Having logically concluded that she wasn’t disobeying her father, Seia could no longer suppress her powerful curiosity and followed the cat.
The cat swished its tail invitingly and led her deeper into the alleyway, almost as if it were tempting her.
Little by little the alley grew narrower and darker. Even though it was still early evening and nowhere near night, the deeper they went, the darker the path became.
The one saving grace was that the cat matched its pace to Seia’s small steps.
The alley wasn’t as long as it felt. When they finally reached the end, the cat stopped.
Seia stopped as well.