Episode 16
16.
Sihu waited to hear Ganghun’s voice.
—Sorry. It was noisy because of people talking next to me, so I asked them to keep it down.
“I see. Ah! Hyung. How’s cooking? Is it fun?”
—Huh? Yeah. Learning it is both enjoyable and fun.
At Ganghun’s words, Sihu recalled how he had felt when learning Korean cuisine.
Soon, he also recalled how terribly busy the store was and shook his head.
“Hyung. But the store is so busy. Was it this busy when you were here? I was just a part-timer back then, so I didn’t really know, but now that I’m running it myself, it’s no joke.”
At Sihu’s words, Ganghun burst into laughter.
He also felt proud that Sihu was running the store very well.
From what Ganghun had heard from Hayun, Sihu had been worrying himself sick over the store next to [SeeYou].
But over the phone, Sihu didn’t show any sign of it.
‘This kid isn’t saying anything because he doesn’t want to worry me again.’
Ganghun calmly listened to Sihu’s story.
He waited to see when the story about the next-door store would come up, but it seemed like it would never come from Sihu’s mouth.
Ganghun bit his lip and asked.
—Sihu, didn’t you say you had a problem with the next-door store?
“A problem? Ah! I do have one. But I don’t think I need to worry about it too much.”
—What? You don’t need to worry?
“Yes. Once the customers drop off, they’ll self-destruct on their own.”
At Sihu’s words, Ganghun clicked his tongue inwardly.
—…That’s some incredible confidence?
What Sihu had said was confidence in his food.
Because it wasn’t something you could say unless you had confidence in your service.
When Ganghun remained silent, Sihu continued.
“Hyung. I just need to keep making food with even more care for the customers who come, like I’ve been doing.”
At Sihu’s words, Ganghun felt the work stress he had been accumulating until now fly away.
It was because Sihu had been thinking the same thing as Ganghun.
If he had been nearby, he would have wanted to hug him and pat his back.
“Wow, when did you grow up so much? When I get back to Korea, I’ll praise you like you wouldn’t believe.”
—Ugh, don’t say that. When you come, please make me some Japanese cuisine.
At Sihu’s words, Ganghun was at a loss for words.
‘Japanese cuisine…’
—Sure, if I’m in the mood. Hyung will do it when I get back to Korea.
“Really? Can I look forward to it?”
Ganghun’s mood improved at the sound of Sihu’s voice bubbling with joy.
Is this what it would feel like to have a nephew?
—Yeah, okay. Hyung has work now, so I’ll hang up.
“Hyung! I’m glad I heard your voice. You must be busy, but please take care of your health.”
—Okay, you take care of yourself too. Don’t get an eating disorder again like before for no reason.
At Ganghun’s words, Sihu’s face flushed slightly.
“Ah, I won’t. Hyung. Thank you for worrying.”
—Go on in.
“Yes, you have a good night too, Hyung.”
Looking down at the hand holding his phone, Sihu felt his chest grow warm.
To Sihu, Ganghun was truly someone to be grateful for.
He was a rare person in today’s world who worried for him, cherished him, and supported him.
Huu—
Sihu leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes for a moment.
***
Ganghun, who had ended the call, turned his head at the sensation of someone approaching.
It was Sama Yun, secretary to Yun Ganghun.
“Executive Director. Have you finished your call?”
At Sama Yun’s question, Ganghun looked at him.
“Were you listening to the call?”
“No. You were enjoying the conversation so much. It was a pleasant sight.”
“…….”
Sama Yun, who was one year older than Yun Ganghun, was competent.
With upright posture, he looked at Ganghun with a straight gaze.
He was so competent it was almost scary.
“Also, I received a report that measures have been taken regarding the store next to [SeeYou], which you had asked me to look into.”
At Sama Yun’s words, Ganghun looked at the documents on his desk.
As Ganghun’s gaze darkened, Sama Yun stated the reason he had come in.
“Chairman Gu of Yurim Foods has arrived.”
“Huu—, yes. Let’s go.”
Ganghun nodded, rose from his seat, and straightened his attire.
The two left the office.
***
After resting on the sofa for a moment, Sihu looked at the clock, then got up and headed to the master bedroom.
Today, he had to bring quite a lot of ingredients from the vegetable garden.
Letting out a sigh, Sihu went down to the basement of the master bedroom.
From the basement of the master bedroom, one could only see that the environment of the vegetable garden was bright.
When he entered the vegetable garden, it was raining.
“It’s raining.”
It was the first time he had seen a rainy day in the vegetable garden.
After briefly worrying about harvesting ingredients, Sihu took a basket and went further into the garden.
Sihu realized for the first time that the soil in the vegetable garden on a rainy day was soft.
The soil sank deeply with every step he took.
Sihu carefully began picking vegetables and fruits.
Chirrrrrr—
It was the bird sound he had heard when he came down to the garden not long ago.
He saw a bird flying even though it was raining.
It seemed to be gliding.
A documentary he had watched in high school came to mind.
He recalled the fact that eagles spread their wings and flew like that to catch mice on the ground.
Thinking there must be prey nearby, Sihu approached the fruit tree and began picking fruit.
Fwhiiiiing—
At the sudden strong gust of wind, Sihu crouched under the tree.
He felt the damp soil against his bottom.
“Ugh. My clothes are ruined. Well, I’ll just go up and take a shower.”
Flap— Flap—
Along with the sound of wings, a giant shadow covered Sihu.
In that instant, Sihu felt chills on the back of his neck and immediately lowered his head.
Fwhiiiiing—
The wind blew once more, then everything grew quiet.
Sihu raised his head and looked around.
“What?”
Chirrrrrr—
The bird sound he had heard moments ago reached his ears.
“Ah—. No way.”
Sihu wondered if the bird flying up there had tried to swoop down and catch him, thinking he was prey.
Rustle—
Sihu turned his head toward the sound.
Patapatap—
He heard something fleeing.
‘What is it?’
Sihu got up, looked around, then moved back beside the fruit tree.
While picking fruit and gathering aralia shoots, his head turned again at a sound coming from somewhere.
Sihu tilted his head slightly.
The rustling sound from the empty place bothered him.
‘Is something there?’
Sihu looked around again but still couldn’t find anything.
Giving up on looking further, as he was heading out toward the path leading to the basement, Sihu’s eyes widened slightly.
‘Huh?’
He saw footprints that hadn’t been visible when he moved around picking vegetables and fruits.
Because it was raining, those footprints were clear.
‘It looks like it’s walking on tiptoes?’
As if it disliked touching the water.
Sihu thought it seemed like an animal that had stood only on the tips of its feet.
Deeply imprinted footprints that were slightly different from those of mammals and somewhat distinct from typical animal tracks.
‘Something special definitely lives here. Next time, I’ll definitely encounter it.’
Sihu nodded vigorously, then picked up the remaining ingredients and came back into the basement of the master bedroom.
Tuk— Thud—
He shook off the soil caked on his feet.
Then he took out a broom he had placed to one side.
Swoosh— Swish—
He swept the soil that had fallen into the basement back toward the vegetable garden.
Huu—
“This should be enough for tomorrow, right? I couldn’t pick much because of the rain…”
Sihu looked at the ingredients he had brought, then stood at the entrance and stared blankly toward the vegetable garden.
After staring blankly at the vegetable garden for a moment, Sihu slung a sack over his shoulder and went up to the master bedroom.
***
While spending his days frantically working and harvesting ingredients from the garden, Sihu absentmindedly glanced at the calendar.
“Ah…, what should I do about school?”
Since taking over the store, Sihu had to consider taking a leave of absence or withdrawing from the university he attended.
Huu—
Sighing at his worries, as Sihu was pulling a handcart toward the store, someone called out from behind.
“Fellow student Kang Sihu?”
Hearing his name, Sihu turned around.
A short female college student stood there, hugging her major textbooks tightly.
‘I’ve never seen her before; who is she?’
While Sihu wore a puzzled expression, the short female student looked up at him and spoke with a smile.
“Hello. I’m Hong Mirae.”
“Ah, yes. Hello. What brings you…”
Hong Mirae looked at Sihu, who had slightly bent his knees for her, and spoke her business with a faint sparkle in her eyes.
“The department TA said you weren’t answering your phone, so he asked me to pass on a message if I was going near the store. He said every time he passed by, there was a line, so he couldn’t go in and talk?”
“Ah…”
That’s right.
Because the store had been so busy, he had completely forgotten to talk to the department’s assigned TA.
“Thank you. For letting me know.”
Hong Mirae conveyed the TA’s message to Sihu.
“The TA said, ‘Come up to school once, or give a call,’ and asked you to do it within this week.”
“Yes. I’ll do that. Thanks for letting me know.”
Beaming—
Hong Mirae greeted him while looking at his face.
“It’s fine, fellow student. Well then, I’ll be going.”
As if she was in a great hurry, Hong Mirae turned around and quickly ran off in the direction of the school.
Sihu watched her retreating figure for a moment, then headed toward [SeeYou].
The store door was already open.
Ding-a-ling—
Inside, Hayun was quickly finishing up cleaning the hall and organizing the showcase (commercial refrigerator).
“Hyung, why are you here so early?”
“What about you? You came twenty minutes early.”
Sihu looked at the clock and chuckled.
“Let’s get ready quickly and eat.”
At Sihu’s words, Hayun asked.
“Ah! What are you going to do about school?”
“Well, a classmate from my department passed on the TA’s message to me today.”
At Sihu’s words, Hayun nodded as if he roughly understood how things were going, then asked.
“Why do you even carry a phone?”
“…….”
Sihu had nothing to say.
Smartphone.
It was considered an indispensable item for modern people, with such varied uses.
But to Sihu, it was merely a tool of civilization used for internet searches, a clock, and an alarm, and occasionally for receiving incoming calls.
Hayun smirked at Sihu’s evasive expression.
“Is your department TA close with our department TA? Our TA came and talked to me too. Asked me to let you know if I saw you.”
At Hayun’s words, Sihu lowered his head and spoke.
“Huh? Ah… I need to decide quickly.”
Seeing Sihu’s troubled expression, Hayun called out to him in a serious voice.
“Sihu.
Thank you for reading.
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