# Chepter 008

“Lady Seo, your son has come to the kitchen to assist you,” said Gyungho with a grin.

Jisook was frying kimchi and pork in a pot. As one would expect, it seemed to be kimchi stew.

“Looks great.” Gyungho added. “The customers just ordered a bottle of soju, so I was going to make something to go with it. I think I’ll whip up an extra egg roll.”

“No, no. Son, you should rest. I can do this,” said Jisook.

“It’s fine, I’ll help you. An egg roll isn’t that hard anyway. Besides, the customers seem so serious. I feel better back here.” said Gyungho.

Jisook nodded. “That’s why I was going to put some extra peppers in the kimchi stew to loosen them up. But I didn’t expect them to order alcohol so early. They look like office workers in those suits,” said Jisook.

“I bet they have some frustrating issues on their hands,” said Gyungho.

Their restaurant did not have a specific menu, per se, instead offering simple combination Korean meals. Jisook was used to cooking whatever it looked like the customers wanted at the time. As such, there were many cases where Jisook just chose her own menu depending on her customers’ mood.

“You sure know the customer best,” said Gyungho as he threw a thumbs up at his mother and opened the refrigerator. There were enough ingredients for egg roll. The egg roll was nothing special, but it was perfect with kimchi stew, and was also a good dish to have with soju.

“It’s been ten years,” mumbled Gyungho. The smell of his mother frying kimchi and pork was so good that it made his mouth water even though he’d just had his breakfast.

After the kimchi and pork were partially cooked, Jisook poured the stock into a pot and added diced onions and pieces of tofu. Closing the lid, she then set the stock to simmer over a low heat.

“Mom, I’ll take care of the rest. Go rest,” said Gyungho.

“I’m the boss here, don’t order me around,” Jisook replied teasingly.

“It’s fun doing this after ten years. Mom, please let me do it.”

Snowball had worked on her overnight, but Jisook still looked much weaker than she had ten years ago. Gyungho felt heartbroken every time he felt Jisook’s unstable energy and saw her sunken face, so he made up every possible excuse to send her back to their living space.

“Don’t make any mistakes, son.”

“There’s nothing to make a mistake with. Now go in and get some rest,” instructed Gyungho.

After Jisook went back into the house, Gyungho took out a cutting board and began dicing some onion, carrots, and scallions. He then took out some eggs and put them in a bowl with some milk for a savory flavor and soft texture. Then he took out a square frying pan to make the egg rolls.

‘I can’t believe I’m this excited to use a square frying pan,’ thought Gyungho as he it in his hand. With there being no concept of food or cooking in the Spirit Realm, every tool and recipe had been created by Gyungho. At the beginning, he had used a large slab of rock to cook his meat, marinading it in fruit juice like some sort of primitive man. It had taken a long time for Gyungho to finally make a pot and a frying pan for his cooking.

‘I had to learn blacksmithing because of that,’ thought Gyungho. He held his hand over the frying pan to check if it had heated, then added plenty of cooking oil. Then he poured the mixture of eggs into the pan which immediately began to cook, bubbles emerging almost at once. The pan began to sizzle appetizingly and a savory smell filled the kitchen. Gyungho took out a spatula and began to roll the egg. He rolled it about halfway before adding more egg mixture and continuing.

“That should be good,” said Gyungho as he eyed the fat egg roll. He sliced the thick, yellow egg roll on an oval plate before opening the lid of the simmering kimchi stew. It smelled both spicy and sour, and Gyungho nodded as he tasted a sip with a smile. He then took out the ketchup and mayonnaise from the refrigerator and drizzled them both over the egg roll in a zigzag shape.

“Shall I get some of mom’s side dishes too?” Gyungho thought outloud as he opened the refridgerator and looked at the neatly organized containers.

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‘Cooked black beans in soy sauce, seasoned bean sprouts, braised potatoes, seasoned cucumbers, and radish kimchi. Mom’s side dishes… it’s good to see these after a long time,’ thought Gyungho as he reminisced over the past. Before, there had also been stir-fried dried squid and fried anchovies, but seafood had become both expensive and hard to come by due to the number of fisheries impacted by the Cataclysm.

Gyungho took plenty of cooked rice from a rice cooker heaped it into two bowls. Jisook used to tell Gyungho that Koreans live on rice, so they should always be generous when it comes to rice.

Unlike the busy kitchen, the outside of the hall was very quiet, the mood dragged down by the heaviness of Sungwon and Jungsoo’s moods.

“Well, I guess I can just think of it as doing what I always do.” said Sungwon sarcastically.

Jungsoo was heartbroken to see Sungwon smiling sarcastically with such a hollow look on his face. “Don’t worry, sir. I believe we can work it out.”

“Work it out? It’s five hundred billion won. I basically begged my father for that money. You know there’s no way we can even hope to pay back that money without the respawn dungeron. We’re barely managing to keep ourselves afloat,” said Sungwon. Jungsoo nodded.

The biggest problem of the Shinhwa Guild was the absence of A-Rank hunters. The only B-Rank hunter, aside from Jungsoo himself, was a man named Taesoo Choi, who also worked as the Raid Leader. It was already a huge problem that a huge guild with over one hundred members had but two B-Rank hunters as its strongest members. Because of this, the guild had to target dungeons which were relatively inferior to the size of their guild, and resulted in low profits against high labor costs.

“But since we did not cause it, we should be able to retrieve that money back, and—” Jungsoo tried to reason, but Sungwon cut him off.

“How are we supposed to prove it? The dungeon disappeared and there is no way we can prove we were not at fault. And even if we say we can prove it, whether the government will decide to believe us is a different story.” Sungwon frowned and scratched his forehead until he smelled the unmistakable scent of a savory meal.

“Hmm. It seems the food is ready,” said Sungwon.

“Pardon, sir?”

Gyungho then came out with a large tray full of food.

“We prepared kimchi stew and egg rolls that you can enjoy with yoir soju,” said Gyungho as he placed down the kimchi stew. He then placed sliced peppers next to the stew and added, “you can add these peppers if you’d like the stew spicier.”

Gyungho also pointed at the rice cooker. “We don’t charge extra for additional rice, so you can help yourselves if you would like more,” Gyungho explained as he moved the dishes from the tray to the table.

“Please enjoy,” said Gyungho, his face bright. Finally, he set down the bottle of soju and a single glass before retreating to the kitchen.

Sungwon and Jungsoo picked up their spoons as if on autopilot, their attention taken entirely by the surprisingly well-prepared meal laid out before them.

“Let’s eat first, sir. I didn’t expect much from a 20,000 won meal, but this looks good,” said Jungsoo.

Sungwon nodded and lifted his glass. “Pour me some soju, please. Hah… my father will go rampant if our talk with the government doesn’t go well,” said Sungwon.

“...” Jungsoo did not answer but took the bottle of soju and filled Sungwon’s glass to the brim.

Sungwon watched the glass in his hand and threw it back in one go. The soju felt especially bitter today. To counter the bitterness, he scooped a mouthful of the steaming kimchi stew into his mouth.

“Ah.” It was a kimchi stew that reminded him of his late grandmother. The pressure and irritation that had been weighing heavily on him seemed to lift a little from the spice.

“This is good. It’s good to have with soju too. Jungsoo, try some,” said Sungwon. “Yeah, we’ll get through this.” The wrinkles from his frown finally straightened out.

Jungsoo also nodded and poured some kimchi stew into his rice bowl before taking a big bite of rice. “This is delicious,” he said, taking the bottle and filling Sungwon’s glass once more.

“Do you think it will work out?” asked Sungwon.

“I’m sure it will, sir. Let’s make it work over the weekend,” said Jungsoo with a strained smile, eyes on Sungwon’s long face.

“Thanks for saying that,” said Sungwon.

Sungwon finished his glass again, then reached for the egg this time. The egg roll, softened with milk, was tender to the point it almost couldn’t be grasped by the chopsticks. Sungwon chewed a few times, becoming surprised by the taste.

“This egg roll is strangely delicious,” said Sungwon.

“Aren’t egg rolls always good?” asked Jungsoo.

“Try it first,” prompted Sungwon.

Jungsoo then took a bite of the egg roll.

“Oh!”He gasped. Egg rolls were always good but the egg roll of this restaurant had something more to it.

“What’s this subtle taste? Sir, it definitely is much better than usual,” said Jungsoo.

The egg roll that Gyungho had made wasn’t anything special actually. The eggs were normal, as were the oil and the pan. It was just that Gyungho himself was the special.

“See? I told you.” said Sungwon.

Finding himself with good food and good company, Sungwon ate and drink to his heart’s content. Soon, the table was filled with empty plates and an empty bottle.

“Sir, shall we ask for some more?” asked Jungsoo.

“No, this is just right.”

“Yes, sir.” Jungsoo said with a nod. He turned toward the kitchen, “excuse me, can we get a check please?”

Gyungho came back out with a the bill, totalling 50,000 won for the two meals plus the soju. .

“It comes to 50,000 won, sir. How was the food?” asked Gyungho.

Sungwon nodded at the price and gave a thumbs up. “Both the kimchi stew and the egg roll were really delicious. Although, in such a place—” Sungwon cut himself off. “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend”

“It’s alright, sir. I know this is a dangerous place. We are the only business open in the entire area,” said Gyungho. He knew that his mother had stayed in such a place, even in her weakened state, just to wait for her missing son.

“I see. The stew was deep and savory, and the egg roll was very tender. It was very good, sir,” said Sungwon to Gyungho. Gyungho smiled brightly at the compliment.

“Our customers enjoying their food is the best compliment we can receive. Thank you,” said Gyungho sincerely.

Jungsoo got up from the table and pulled a check from his wallet. It was a cashier’s check worth five million won. Gyungho was shocked as he realized the amount.

“I’m sorry, sir. We don’t have enough change for such a large amount. If you have—” Gyungho tried to explain before he was interrupted by Jungsoo.

“No, no. We wish to offer this in thanks for the truly delicious food. We do not need change,” said Jungsoo.

“Are you sure?” Gyungho asked, unsure.

Sungwon then got up from his seat with a bright smile. “We had an upsetting situation before we came here and were in a bad mood. But we felt a lot better after having the food. I am paying this because I want to thank you for returning my smile to me. Just promise we can enjoy more great food the next time we visit,” he Sungwon.

Gyungho could feel their genuine thanks and generosity, but the amount was still too great.

“But this is still too much,” said Gyungho.

“Too much is a relative matter. I found the food to be even more valuable than this amount,” said Sungwon with a smile.

Gyungho nodded and took the check. “If you say so, then I’ll gratefully accept it. Thank you, sir.”

“You’re welcome. We’ll visit again for sure,” said Sungwon.

After that, Sungwon and Jungsoo left the restaurant, leaving Gyungho with pleasant smile

“YES!” He yelled as he ran toward the living area. “Mom! Those customers just paid 5 million won for their meal!”