By Zephyria Opening his eyes, Lee-eum saw Choi Won-joon lying next to him. Usually, he would have tried all sorts of tricks, but he must have been really drunk because he fell asleep as soon as he washed up, and he didn’t even stir all night, so Lee-eum even touched him to make sure he wasn’t dead.
He quietly came out of the bedroom and found a message from his Noona. She asked if Choi Won-joon was okay, saying that he must have overdone it since he drank everything he was given, and she took his side, saying his efforts were admirable.
She even attached her Hyung’s recipe for bean sprout soup, telling him to make it for him. Lee-eum, conflicted, changed his clothes and went to a nearby supermarket to buy the ingredients and returned. He roughly washed the bean sprouts, poured water, added the seasoning, and started boiling, but no matter how much he seasoned it, it didn’t taste right.
It’ll probably get better if I boil it longer. He left the soup on the stove and took out side dishes from the refrigerator and put them in bowls. He used to get indigestion when he ate breakfast, but he must have gotten into the habit of eating with Choi Won-joon.
Just then, the doorbell rang, and Director Lee appeared on the intercom screen. He hesitated whether to wake Choi Won-joon, but went out, and Director Lee greeted him and handed him a lunch box.
“I heard President Choi drank yesterday. The chef took special care to make pufferfish soup, as it’s good for hangovers. Please enjoy it.”
“You’ve come all the way here, come in. It would be better if we could eat together.”
“I prefer eating at home.”
He wasn’t wrong, and since he said it so firmly, Lee-eum couldn’t hold him back. Director Lee greeted him and disappeared without regret, and Lee-eum took the lunch box inside and put it on the table. When he opened the lunch box, the table he had set looked endlessly shabby.
Pufferfish soup is better than bean sprout soup…
He was about to clear away the instant rice when he heard footsteps behind him.
“You’re up early. You should have woken me.”
Choi Won-joon approached with only his pants on, hugged him, and rubbed his lips against his cheek, pecking him. Lee-eum pushed him away, disgusted, and Choi Won-joon looked at the table over Lee-eum’s shoulder with a puzzled expression.
“What’s with the instant rice?”
Then he went closer, found the bean sprout soup, and smiled.
“Did you make this, Darling?”
“Leave it and eat the pufferfish soup. There’s also tteokgalbi. No, put on some clothes first. Why are you walking around naked in someone else’s house?”
Choi Won-joon put on a shirt without complaint, took out a ladle, scooped a generous serving of bean sprout soup into a bowl, and sat down across from him. Without even looking at the lunch box, he placed the instant rice and soup side by side and bowed his head.
“Thank you for the meal.”
“I’m telling you to eat this instead.”
“What are you talking about? Bean sprout soup is the best for hangovers.”
He stubbornly picked up a spoon as Lee-eum tried to take the bowl away.
“It feels like just yesterday I was getting beaten up by Detective Kim, and now I’m getting a meal?”
He took a spoonful of soup, and Lee-eum looked somewhat nervous. It was far from the refreshing bean sprout soup his Hyung used to make. He put in everything he was supposed to, so what went wrong? He glanced at Choi Won-joon, who nodded and smiled.
“Wow, this is good. You eat that lunch box, Darling. Director Lee put in the effort.”
Lee-eum looked at Choi Won-joon with suspicion.
“Is it good?”
“Yeah. It’s amazing. It’s so good you wouldn’t know if one of us died while eating it.”
Choi Won-joon ate the rice and soup in silence, and watching him, Lee-eum wondered if he had a talent for cooking. Lee-eum picked up a tteokgalbi from the lunch box Director Lee brought and placed it on Choi Won-joon’s plate. Choi Won-joon smiled happily.
“This makes us feel like newlyweds.”
“I gave it to you because I didn’t want to eat it. Eating too much in the morning makes me feel bloated.”
“You still have to eat. People need to have a hearty breakfast to get their brains working.”
Whenever he said things like that, it felt like he was eating with his father back home. They have a lot of similarities. Come to think of it, it would be interesting to see the three of them, including Kim Mid-eum, sitting side by side and having a debate.
Just imagining it made him feel like he was choking on his food, so he quickly erased the scene from his mind. Choi Won-joon emptied the bowl, even the broth, and got up to clear the empty dishes. Lee-eum chased after him, snatched the dishes, and pushed him away, telling him to get ready for work.
After work, he soaked all the dishes in water to wash them later, and the bean sprout soup in the pot caught his eye. Was it really that good? Maybe I’m a cooking genius after all. Feeling proud, he picked up a ladle and tasted the soup, and Lee-eum couldn’t help but grimace.
It’s salty! It’s way too salty!
It tasted bland, so he kept adding salt, but he never imagined it would be this salty. Plus, boiling it non-stop must have made the saltiness even stronger. He said it was so good you wouldn’t know if one of us died while eating it, but it was just a taste that could kill both of us.
How could he eat this?
He frowned and turned around, and Choi Won-joon came out of the bathroom, saying there were no towels. Lee-eum went to him and examined his face.
“Are you okay?”
“About what?”
“I’m asking if your tongue lost its function because you drank too much yesterday.”
“I’m perfectly fine. Want to check with a kiss?”
“No thanks. Was the soup really good? It’s incredibly salty, like pure salt soup?”
“Really? That’s strange. It’s perfect for my taste.”
Does he eat salty food at home? If he eats like that every day, he’s likely to get adult diseases. Usually, wealthy families have strict dietary habits from a young age, right? Well, if that were the case, he would have eaten cucumbers and green peppers too.
“I’m going to take a shower, want to join me?”
Lee-eum shook his head firmly and waved him away. Then, in the gap when Choi Won-joon disappeared, he went into the bathroom in the living room, locked the door, and started brushing his teeth. The salty taste still lingered in his mouth. It wasn’t his business, but if he had time, he was thinking of advising Choi Won-joon to go to the hospital.
❖ ❖ ❖
Kim Chun-sam woke up early in the morning, did some simple exercises, and after breakfast, went to the living room, took a dry cloth, and wiped his bust. Hoo- He breathed on it to make sure there were no fingerprints, and his wife, Shin Young-hee, who was coming out of the kitchen, saw him and laughed with a dumbfounded expression.
“Do you like it that much?”
“Of course. What other children would make something like this for their father’s seventieth birthday?”
In fact, he was very happy because it felt like his children were acknowledging the life he had lived, rather than the value of the gift. Kim Chun-sam always felt sorry that he couldn’t be with his children when they were young, and he tried to become a more respected and wonderful father.
The media was talking about a lot of corruption within the police, but Kim Chun-sam swore that he had never received even a ten-thousand-won bill during his active service. That was Kim Chun-sam’s belief and pride, and it was something he told his children to uphold until their ears bled.
Kim Chun-sam put down the dry cloth and went to the sofa to read the morning newspaper. He turned on the TV as a habit, and the news was in full swing.
【This is a white porcelain jar found in an 18th-century tomb. It has a rare and unique pattern, which attracted a lot of attention at the time of excavation. However, 20 years ago, this jar was stolen. Its whereabouts have been unknown for a long time, but recently, news has been reported that it was auctioned off at a high price at an overseas auction house.】
【Was the person who won the bid Korean?】
【Yes, that’s right. However, the company that conducted the auction said that they did not know it was a stolen item, and that it was a secret auction with a small number of people, so it is difficult to reveal the identity of the successful bidder. In response, an official from the Cultural Heritage Administration said in an interview that they would take measures to ensure the prompt return of the item, as it is a valuable asset of the country.】
Thud, the remote control in Kim Chun-sam’s hand fell to the floor. Just then, his wife came out of the kitchen with tea. She put the cup on the table, and there were lemons floating in the transparent cup.
“Have some. The lemon syrup tastes amazing. Where did you say you got this?”
“…….”
“Honey?”
Kim Chun-sam barely moved his head and looked at his wife. Shin Young-hee, seeing her husband looking shocked, asked what was wrong, and Kim Chun-sam jumped up and ran to the kitchen.
“What’s wrong with you?”
Kim Chun-sam hurriedly searched every corner of the kitchen. The syrup, where’s that lemon syrup? Then Shin Young-hee opened the refrigerator and took out a long glass bottle. Kim Chun-sam’s face hardened when he saw the lemon syrup in it.
“Not this, I’m talking about the jar you put the syrup in!”
“Ah, that?”
“Yes, that!”
“It broke.”
Kim Chun-sam’s mouth dropped open. What?
“I dropped it slightly while transferring the syrup, and it just broke. It seemed old. I guess I’m getting old too, my wrists are getting weaker. But should I throw it away for recycling? Or should I wrap it up tightly and put it out as general waste?”
Kim Chun-sam couldn’t say anything with his mouth wide open. He belatedly came to his senses and asked where the jar was, and she pointed outside, saying she had put it there. He rushed out and saw the jar lying next to the door, broken in half.
With a doubtful heart, Kim Chun-sam pieced together the broken fragments. He realized that it was the same shape as the one he had just seen on TV, and his legs gave way, and he slumped down on the floor.
“What’s wrong with you? What is it? Is this expensive?”
“…….”
“Honey?”
Kim Chun-sam burst into laughter, “Heo, heo heo.” His wife looked at him worriedly as he laughed like a madman. When she asked if he was okay, he jumped up and shouted.
“Chairman Choi, that damn bastard!”
Just as he was suspecting that everything was Chairman Choi’s scheme, he heard the sound of a car in the distance. The sound grew closer and closer, and soon a black sedan stopped in front of the gate. Soon after, the back door opened, and long legs touched the ground first.
Kim Chun-sam recognized who it was at a glance and jumped up from his seat. As he stomped towards Choi Won-joon, Choi Won-joon greeted him politely.
“Hello, Father. How have you been?”
“You! What are you doing here! Why did you come!”
Choi Won-joon smiled with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
“Actually, I left an item at my parents’ house, and my mother unknowingly gave it to you, Father.”
“What…?”
“It’s a porcelain I unknowingly won at an auction, and it’s causing me trouble because of it.”
“…….”
“I need it to clean up the mess, can I pick it up today?”