“Kimchi stew is all about the kimchi. If the kimchi isn’t tasty, it doesn’t matter if even the most amazing chef comes.”
“Indeed.”
“You must use domestic red pepper powder. The quality of taste is different after all.”
“Ah.”
Taerim watched Wonyoung, who was completely immersed in his explanation, with an amused gaze and occasionally responded. Unlike Wonyoung’s worries, Taerim was well-behaved at the mart. If anything was a problem, it was the glancing eyes of people around them.
However, if there was one flaw.
“Director-nim? How many kinds of red pepper powder are you putting in…… No, when did you put in so much kimchi?”
Seeing the shopping cart full of kimchi and red pepper powder, Wonyoung asked in confusion. Even in the midst of that, he quickly snatched the item from Taerim’s hand, who was trying to put in one more type of red pepper powder, and put it down.
“We don’t need this much!”
“Didn’t you say it was important?”
“We just need to buy one of the best kind.”
“Hmm. Isn’t more better?”
“Can you even eat all of it by yourself? What if there’s leftover?”
“If there’s leftover, we throw it away, right?”
“……”
This damn chaebol way of thinking. What did I work myself to the bone earning money for? Wonyoung suddenly felt skeptical, but he quickly came to his senses.
“Why throw away something precious! Some people eat nothing but triangle kimbap because they have no money. We don’t need this much for two people to eat, so put it back.”
Wonyoung diligently carried the red pepper powder and stuffed it into Taerim’s arms as well. Taerim’s expression became sulky, but he let out a short sigh and obediently returned the items to the shelf. It was quite an un-Taerim-like behavior.
Soon, after returning all the items except what they needed to their places, Wonyoung spoke to Taerim.
“Come to think of it, I didn’t ask something important.”
“What is it?”
“Director-nim, are you……”
Taerim silently waited for Wonyoung’s next words. Perhaps guessing that he might have caught on to his secret. No, he must have caught on. No matter how oblivious a person is.
“Are you team tuna kimchi stew or team pork kimchi stew?”
“……What?”
“Tuna-kim or pork-kim? This is an important question.”
But at the completely unexpected question, Taerim made a strange expression. And soon.
“Hahahaha.”
Laughter burst out.
Watching Taerim laugh while holding his stomach, Wonyoung frowned. What’s so funny about whether it’s tuna-kim or pork-kim?
“Stop laughing. We’re already drawing attention enough with two guys in suits grocery shopping……”
[Statement inappropriate for character. Warning 1. When warnings accumulate above a certain number, a penalty will be given.]
Seeing the warning window, Wonyoung quickly shut his mouth. Especially at work, due to the characteristics of the environment, he often unconsciously used his Heo Wonyoung speech patterns, which was troublesome. After contemplating for a moment, Wonyoung changed his words.
“Why are you doing that? Did I say something funny?”
It was quite an abangsu-like statement. Wonyoung was satisfied by himself.
Soon, Taerim, who stopped laughing, shook his head.
“No. Narae-ssi, you really…… I don’t know whether to view this favorably or unfavorably, but you have a cunning side.”
At the sudden remark, Wonyoung’s already round eyes widened.
“What? When was I ever cunning……”
“Right now.”
“What?”
“Right now.”
“No, when……”
Wonyoung was about to snap back in disbelief when Taerim’s hand suddenly grabbed Wonyoung’s chin.
“I do hope all these sides of you are the truth.”
With a low whisper, Taerim released Wonyoung and turned around.
‘Truth.’
Wonyoung, who would normally have retorted something, stood there blankly. It was because the word “truth” weighed on his mind.
Narae and Heo Wonyoung. Game, data, character…… The concerns he had deliberately buried rose to the surface again.
‘Get a grip.’
Wonyoung slapped both his cheeks to shake off his thoughts and raised his head brightly. What he needed to face right now was right before his eyes.
“You should come with me, Director-nim!”
Soon, when Wonyoung ran while diligently pulling the cart, Taerim let out a deep sigh and pulled the cart.
“I’ll pull it.”
“What? No, I’ll pull it.”
“It’s fine. I’m afraid Narae-ssi will fall while pulling the cart.”
“……”
“Hurry up and come.”
Tsundere. Wonyoung muttered the word he recently learned and chased after Taerim walking ahead.
* * *
“Ha, this is maddening.”
Muttering that, Taerim let out a hollow laugh. Before his eyes was Wonyoung humming a tune and wiggling his hips. Every time he shook his hips, the butterfly knot of the neatly tied apron fluttered.
Taerim leaned against the doorway and followed the movement of the apron string with his eyes. In his ears, he could hear both Wonyoung’s singing voice, clearly tone-deaf, and the sound of green onions being chopped.
Taerim didn’t realize that a smile was already hanging on his lips.
“Pop pop, pop, pop…… Director-nim?!”
Wonyoung, who had been bouncing his hips to the beat, turned around and froze solid upon seeing Taerim. He thought this guy was slacking off instead of helping with cooking, but to think he was secretly watching him!
Wonyoung called the system in shame. It felt like there was no way to resolve this anger without kicking it once. That was because…….
[※Mission Alert※]
Goal: Cook happily for anyone to see.
Reward: Taerim’s affection +10
Upon failure: Taerim’s affection -10
This was all the mission’s fault. Of course, Wonyoung was a bit over-immersed, but anyway!
He wondered what cooking happily had to do with Taerim’s affection…….
‘So it was to make him watch everything!’
“Your face is about to burst, Narae-ssi.”
Looking at Wonyoung’s face that had turned bright red, Taerim said. Unlike his angry interior, Wonyoung only gaped his mouth on the outside.
“There’s nothing to be that embarrassed about. Narae-ssi was just being faithful to the clown role. Isn’t that right?”
“……I’m not a clown!”
Wonyoung shouted seriously, but Taerim still kept chuckling. Even Wonyoung couldn’t help it this time. He was so embarrassed his limbs were becoming paralyzed.
Wonyoung tried hard to ignore Taerim and continue cooking. But perhaps because he became too stiff, he ended up cutting his hand.
“Ouch!”
“Narae-ssi!”
At Wonyoung’s scream, Taerim hurriedly approached. Blood was gushing from Wonyoung’s index finger. Taerim hastily took out his handkerchief, wrapped Wonyoung’s finger, and frowned.
“How careless.”
“……I’m sorry.”
While thinking why is he getting angry when I’m the one hurt, Wonyoung dejectedly offered an apology. To be caught dancing and even cut his hand. He felt sullen thinking that the smart and perfect Heo Wonyoung was nowhere to be found.
And at Wonyoung’s dejected expression with tremendous destructive power, Taerim clicked his tongue.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to blame you.”
At the unexpected apology, Wonyoung’s eyes widened. But soon Wonyoung shook his head.
“No. I got hurt because I was spacing out…… I’m stupid. I’m always like this.”
“What kind of…… where did such words come from? Who says Narae-ssi is stupid?”
“What?”
“Who is it? Are they in the company? Perhaps Chief Secretary Seo……”
At Taerim’s menacing atmosphere that seemed like he would fire the innocent chief secretary, Wonyoung quickly interrupted.
“No! The chief secretary didn’t say anything!”
“Then who is it?”
“There’s no one. I just thought it myself……”
As Wonyoung trailed off and lowered his head, Taerim bent down to meet Wonyoung’s eyes.
“Narae-ssi is not stupid.”
“……Then why did you get angry?”
“That’s…… because Narae-ssi got hurt.”
“Is me getting hurt something to be angry about?”
At Wonyoung’s question, Taerim momentarily looked taken aback. He seemed to hesitate to answer, which was rare, then said as if sighing.
“I wonder about that myself.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Wonyoung rolled his eyes at the bland answer, but somehow a silly laugh leaked out and he chuckled. Taerim looked at Wonyoung as if asking why he was laughing and released his hand that he had been holding all along.
“Keep applying pressure. I’ll finish cooking.”
“You, Director-nim?”
“Why? You think I can’t even make a stew?”
“Haven’t you not eaten it before?”
At Wonyoung’s question, Taerim had a dumbfounded reaction.
“Are there any Koreans who haven’t eaten kimchi stew? What do you take me for?”
“……A third-generation chaebol……?”
“Dramas have ruined people.”
In Wonyoung’s case, it was the chaebol seme in BL novels that ruined people, but Taerim, who didn’t know this, shook his head and washed his hands. In the meantime, Wonyoung quickly took off the apron and handed it to Taerim. When Taerim chuckled, Wonyoung made excuses without being asked.
“It’s an expensive shirt, so it shouldn’t get stained.”
“How thoughtful of you.”
“Shall I tie the string for you?”
“A person with an injured hand? Don’t try to pull anything.”
Taerim replied coldly and roughly tied the apron strings. Wonyoung mocked Taerim from behind by mouthing ‘Don’t try to pull anything’ and got a warning.
Having nothing to do just standing nearby, Wonyoung soon decided to properly look around the house he hadn’t toured well. However, his stealthily moving steps stopped short at Taerim’s call.
“Where are you going, Narae-ssi?”
“Yes?”
“Your superior whom you serve is cooking, and you’re thinking of idling around?”
Why is he picking a fight again, Wonyoung answered awkwardly.
“That’s not it, but I was wondering if there’s anything else for me to do.”
“Tell me the recipe from the side. When you were being so careful selecting ingredients, are you planning to just leave it all to me?”
Though he was a bit annoyed, rationally speaking, Taerim’s words didn’t seem wrong either. In the end, Wonyoung returned to Taerim’s side. Taerim brought a chair from somewhere and put it down.
“Sit.”
“Uh, thank you.”
Wonyoung sat down on the chair feeling slightly embarrassed. Really, he thought this was thoroughly giving the disease and the medicine.
