<Kim Family’s Butcher Shop>.
Kim Family’s Butcher Shop, located in an alley, welcomed two people with a peculiar atmosphere around 8 PM, well past the peak dinner hour of 6 PM.
“Um, the Bonita owner said this place is really delicious……”
The interior of the shop, arranged with square tables, was wider than expected. Despite not being peak hours, there were quite a few customers, and one of the part-timers approached Heewoo and Heichi and asked.
“Two people?”
“Yes……!”
“Sit wherever you’re comfortable.”
The part-timer, who mumbled the end of their words so much that only “Sit where—” could be heard, headed toward the kitchen. Looking around, Heewoo confirmed that a table located in front of the air conditioner and by the window was empty and approached it with Heichi. Though it would be a bit cold since it was winter, he knew that spot would have less meat smell clinging to them.
“Heichi-ssi, um, your coat…… If you give it to me, I’ll fold it and put it away.”
The chairs, which had a texture similar to leather sofas, could be used as storage compartments if you pulled the cushion part. Heewoo, who had worked part-time at various meat restaurants since he was a minor, skillfully folded Heichi’s coat and tucked it inside. His own outerwear was the same.
Having barely taken their seats, the two checked the menu first. Although he’d taken orders countless times, this was the first time Heewoo had come to a pork belly restaurant and ordered meat with his own money, so he was quite visibly tense. The menu simply listed pork and beef.
Pork
Pork Belly (120g): 16,000 won
Jowl Meat (120g): 18,000 won
Beef
Jebi-churi (100g): 20,000 won
Salchi-sal (100g): 25,000 won
Having checked the prices, Heewoo swallowed hard. Looking at the pork belly price starting at a minimum of 16,000 won made him think of the minimum wage above all else. One serving of pork belly here was worth what Heewoo had to work two hours at the convenience store to earn.
Honestly, except for rice or drinks, there was nothing he could order casually, so Heewoo reflected on how cheap Matgal Meat Restaurant, where he’d worked, had been. To be even more honest, he’d come expecting about that price range, so the prices written on the menu were also shocking. Did the Bonita owner always eat such expensive meat?
However, putting all those complicated feelings aside, Heewoo lifted his eyes from the menu with a resolute face and looked at Heichi, saying,
“Salchi-sal…… How about it?”
If Heewoo had been alone, he probably would have ordered doenjang-jjigae without hesitation, eaten it, and left. No, he wouldn’t have even entered this restaurant in the first place. But right now, Heichi, whom he’d decided to treat, was in front of him.
Moreover, the money he was using to buy meat now was no different from Heichi’s money. Heewoo made up his mind with a fairly determined face to buy Heichi whatever he wanted to eat.
“That’s fine.”
“Then, three servings of salchi-sal and…… Y-you might get sick of it, so I’ll order two servings of jebi-churi.”
Heewoo inwardly thought there was no way they’d get sick of it, but still consoling himself that Heichi might want to try a different cut, he ordered the relatively cheaper jebi-churi. As soon as he pressed the bell and finished ordering with the part-timer, his head spun rapidly. Three servings of salchi-sal and two servings of jebi-churi, plus the table setting fee, already exceeded 100,000 won.
When the fire came on and the grill was placed, Heewoo grabbed the tongs with trembling hands. Picking up one piece of salchi-sal with marbling so beautifully embedded it looked like stars, the salchi-sal before his eyes looked less delicious and more like just 2.5 hours of his hourly wage.
Still, once the meat was placed on the grill, it made pleasant sizzling sounds. When the uniquely savory and oily smell of beef hit the tip of his nose, Heewoo smiled, pushing up his cheeks. Though it was expensive enough to make his hands tremble, thinking he could treat Heichi with it made his heart feel immensely proud.
However, Heichi, who seemed to be thinking something else while watching Heewoo grill the meat, reached out his hand toward the tongs Heewoo was holding and said,
“I’ll do it.”
“Yes, yes? No……!”
Heewoo hurriedly brought the tongs to his side. Today was meant to be a treat to repay Heichi for all he’d received, so he couldn’t entrust the meat tongs to him. Moreover, Heewoo was a veteran part-timer with almost 2 years of experience working part-time at various meat restaurants. When it came to grilling meat, he was no less skilled than anyone else.
“I, I’m good at grilling this…… Leave it to me.”
Heewoo, who swallowed hard, looked at the beef on the grill with a tense face. When moisture beaded moistly on the surface of the beef that still had a slight reddish tinge, he flipped the meat at just the right time. Then, with a sizzling sound, the beef, nicely browned, revealed itself.
High-quality beef didn’t need to be flipped much. When the oil droplet hanging on the edge of the meat fell with a plop beneath the grill, Heewoo picked up the meat with tongs and placed it on Heichi’s plate.
“Would you like to try it? Salt……! Just dip it lightly in salt and eat it.”
Before Heewoo’s question “Would you like to try it?” could even end, Heichi was already bringing the meat to his mouth with chopsticks, so Heewoo hurriedly pointed to the salt and added that he should dip it. Hearing this, Heichi obediently pressed the beef into the salt dish, and a few grains of salt mixed with pink particles stuck to the beef.
Heichi, who put the beef in his mouth, chewed the meat once, twice, several times.
“How is it, is it delicious……?”
Unlike Heewoo, whose butt would naturally wiggle and a smile would seep out when eating something delicious, Heichi showed no particular signs of happiness. So Heewoo tensely waited for his evaluation while looking at Heichi’s unchanged expression.
“It’s delicious.”
“Really?”
“Yes. The meat is very, oily.”
“……?”
Oily…… is that a compliment?
Heewoo’s head tilted. Could it be that it was too oily and didn’t taste good? Heewoo, who had been pondering, moved a piece of meat to his own plate and then swiftly put the meat in his mouth with chopsticks.
Then the juice characteristic of salchi-sal burst out with a pop. Unlike what he’d recommended to Heichi, he ate it without even salt, but this didn’t need salt at all. The beef that melted softly in his mouth disappeared smoothly before he’d even chewed it a few times.
“It’s, it’s delicious though……?”
“Yes, it’s delicious. ……Was my expression of taste strange?”
“You said it was oily……”
“Oily food is a meal that can only be enjoyed on some wealthy planets, that’s why. If the expression was strange, I apologize.”
When Heichi acted as if he’d kneel right then and there, the flustered Heewoo waved his hands to stop him. Wealthy planets…… It was an expression that felt as distant to Heewoo as the space between stars, but anyway, he understood it meant the beef was delicious.
Heewoo successively placed several pieces of beef on Heichi’s plate. His own plate was completely empty because of it, but he didn’t care.
“Then please eat a lot, Heichi-ssi.”
“Me, you mean.”
“Yes. Trav-traveling…… from planet to planet, you probably couldn’t eat much of this kind of thing……”
Heewoo assumed on his own. Even at a glance, Heichi seemed like a high-ranking official, so he’d surely never experienced hunger, but right now Heewoo wanted to feed Heichi plenty of meat.
Whether the reason was because he’d received a lot of money from Heichi today, or simply because he wanted to repay Heichi who had shown him kindness until now, he didn’t know.
In the end, they couldn’t fill their stomachs with beef alone, but after eating pork generously as well, his sunken stomach became slightly bulged. Having finished eating, Heewoo hurriedly got up from his seat.
“I…… I’ll go to the restroom for a bit……”
As he said this, Heewoo subtly gauged Heichi’s reaction. Since Heichi also knew what a restroom was, his eyes weren’t particularly suspicious. Heewoo, pretending to go to the restroom, went behind Heichi’s back and subtly tried to change direction to slip toward the counter.
It was a method he’d thought of because if they left together like before, Heichi would probably quickly pay. Heewoo had no intention of letting the payment slip to Heichi again by playing dumb, not today. He was looking around quietly, trying to call a part-timer when he saw there was no one at the counter.
Grab. His wrist was caught.
“Where are you going?”
“Yes, yes?”
When on earth had Heichi, who he’d definitely thought was sitting in his seat, gotten up?
No, more than that, he’d definitely been facing away so he shouldn’t have known which direction Heewoo was going. He’d even moved while cautiously gauging the situation in case he got caught…….
“The restroom is to the right. Heewoo-ssi.”
“Ah, well……”
“Were you trying to go somewhere else? Where were you trying to go? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“……”
The distance with Heichi was very close. Heichi’s golden eyes observed from close range shone the same as usual, and his face was still expressionless. The rise in his voice wasn’t particularly pronounced either.
But why?
“Please tell me a reason I can understand, Heewoo-ssi.”
“……”
“Why were you trying to run away?”
At this moment, was the thought that he was extremely agitated just simply his own misunderstanding?
