19.
Sihu cleaned up where Hayun had left off, deciding to prepare ample containers suitable for each dish.
He never imagined Hayun would pull out and bring a list of companies that made the eco-friendly containers he had in mind.
Sihu was grateful to Hayun.
He quickly finished the piled-up dishes in the kitchen and sat back on the sofa, contemplating which menu items would be even more suitable for takeout containers.
***
A few days later.
The greatest event for college students.
Course registration was approaching.
On the day of course registration.
Sihu finished preparing to open the shop early in the morning with Hayun.
"Let's go—"
"Yes."
The two headed to a nearby PC bang.
After securing two seats, Hayun cracked his finger joints and said.
"Listen to me well. It's about clicking what you want quickly, got it? Let's get an all clear on courses today."
At Hayun's solemn expression, Sihu tilted his head slightly.
"Hyung, is course registration still difficult for you?"
At Sihu's question, Hayun was dumbfounded.
This was a guy who moved with incredible speed when cooking, beyond just being agile.
"You're naturally fast with your hands. I'm different. Anyway, you're only thinking of choosing afternoon classes, right? More people flock to afternoon classes than you'd think. So you have to finish registration with faster hands than anyone."
Sihu looked at Hayun's eyes and shook his head slightly.
'What an extremely solemn expression.'
Not knowing what Sihu was thinking, Hayun was staring intently at the monitor.
"Hey! It's starting. Starting. Get ready."
Course registration in 4 seconds.
3.
2.
1.
Tap-tap-tap-tap—
Clack. Clack.
Tap-tap-tap-tap—
The moment course registration began.
Sihu clicked all the classes he wanted and pressed apply.
'Success! It's a good thing I looked up the professors for the afternoon classes beforehand...'
Sihu's thoughts were cut short.
He could hear screams bursting from elsewhere in the PC bang.
"Uuaaack—. I'm ruined!"
"Ah—. Shit. Damn it."
Curses and screams burst from here and there.
Sounds of something being struck rang out.
'Why, why are they like that?'
Sihu looked around, puzzled.
He turned his head and looked at Hayun.
Ju Hayun.
Arms crossed, wearing a victor's smile.
"Hyung? Are you done?"
"Of courrrse—. Who do you think this hyung is? Am I not someone who finishes course registration with faster hands than anyone else every single time?"
In the past, Hayun had taught freshman Sihu how to register for courses faster and more accurately than anyone else.
"You got everything too, right? Let's go. We have to open the shop."
"Ah, it's already that time."
The two hurriedly got up from their seats.
As they were leaving the PC bang, Hayun threw his gaze somewhere and muttered.
"They said PC bang menu quality is good these days, and it's really true."
At Hayun's words, Sihu looked at the counter near the PC bang entrance.
There were various snack foods.
Something caught his eye among them.
[Morning Seaweed Soup.]
Sihu just so happened to see the staff making that menu item, and his eyes went wide.
And the word [No] burst out inside him first.
'What, you're not boiling seaweed soup but just adding water to instant soup and warming it up with rice to serve...?'
Sihu looked at the price for one serving of morning seaweed soup.
It was roughly priced within a range that teenagers and college students could afford.
Sihu fell into thought for a moment, looked around at the people sitting in the PC bang, and then left.
***
When they arrived at the shop.
They saw people gathered at the shop.
Before leaving, they had put up a notice about business hours on the door of the [SeeYou] shop.
People who read the notice looked at each other and began to murmur.
"I guess the owner is a college student..."
"He's that young? The owner?"
"That oppa isn't much older than us, is he?"
"Hey, hey—. If we get into Hanguk University too, we could be his juniors in the same department, right?"
The high schoolers who came often were delighted that there wasn't much of an age gap between them and Sihu.
There was also good news for the customers visiting [SeeYou].
The customers cheered at the fact that starting from the date Sihu announced, they would also do [takeout] sales.
"Finally we can take it to go. Freedom from nagging—hooray!"
"Takeout sales was a good idea. Owner! I told you, this place really needs to do takeout, right? Especially the tofu steak!"
Sihu ended up overhearing the customers' murmurings.
He was a bit surprised to hear how long they had waited for takeout sales.
'There was this much demand?'
Among the demand for Korean food takeout and Western-style food takeout, the demand for Korean food takeout was higher.
Sihu and Hayun couldn't help but worry again over the customers' requests for soup takeout among the Korean food takeout.
"Is there a container that won't let it get cold, so you can eat it warm even after taking it home? Hyung?"
"Hard to say."
"I'll have to look into it."
"...But aren't you accommodating the customers' demands too much? Anyone would think you're being led around by the customers."
Sihu thought for a moment at Hayun's words and answered.
"I think you could say I'm being led around. But if the customers take it to go, eat it deliciously, and are happy, then I'm fine with that."
Hayun listened to Sihu's answer and asked.
"For you, is it consideration for the people eating, or do you just like it when people eat the food you made deliciously?"
To answer the question, Sihu smiled brightly and said.
"Wouldn't it be both?"
At that sight, Hayun let out a snicker.
"Yeah, that's so like you."
***
Time passed.
The season of spring, when yellow forsythias poked their heads out and pink flower buds burst open.
The weather was beginning to warm, and when the freshmen's faces were full of excitement.
The expression of Park Jiyun, the nutritionist at Hosu High School, was not good.
Park Jiyun, the nutritionist at Hosu High School near Hanguk University.
She took pride in the school meals she planned.
She tried to make the food the children ate as delicious as possible.
Then one day, she happened to overhear the conversation of Wi Juha and Yu Sesaek, who were eating in the cafeteria.
"So, the reason you guys don't come to the cafeteria sometimes was because of that shop?"
The students glanced at Park Jiyun and nodded.
"How good is it that you're like this?"
"Well ya see—, it's mighty tasty, and if ya go try it once, ya'll fall in love with it."
When Park Jiyun showed signs of not properly understanding Juha's dialect, Saessak next to her translated.
"So what you guys mean is, if she goes and tries it, she'll understand?"
"Yes—"
"Yes, yes."
Just as Park Jiyun made up her mind to visit [SeeYou] in the evening.
"Teach—, but [SeeYou] doesn't do dinner."
"What? They don't do dinner service?"
Park Jiyun was dumbfounded.
A self-employed restaurant owner who doesn't do dinner service?
She thought they either scraped by with lunch sales, or the owner was a golden spoon.
However, at Saessak's following words, Park Jiyun was even more dumbfounded.
"What? A college student?"
Saessak understood Park Jiyun's reaction.
How surprised had she been at first?
She thought it would be similar to the shock she felt when she found out someone ran a shop while attending university.
"So what you're saying is, the shop owner is a college student, and moreover a Hanguk University student?"
"Yes, and the part-timer oppa there told us, from this semester until graduation, [SeeYou]'s business hours are strictly written as 10 AM to 3 PM. They said there's no dinner service."
"...What year is that owner? Do you guys know?"
Wi Juha and Yu Sesaek spoke simultaneously.
"A sophomore."
Park Jiyun couldn't believe the children's words.
The owner of [SeeYou] is a college student and runs academics and the shop simultaneously?
'Is he a diamond spoon even among golden spoons?'
Park Jiyun ended up thinking it was the amusement of a very wealthy young master.
At that moment.
Achoo—
Hayun frowned seeing Sihu sneezing severely.
"Looks like someone is cursing you a lot?"
"Who would curse me."
Sniffle—
Sihu was cleaning up the shop in order to go to afternoon classes.
"But, are you making a stuffed nose sound?"
At Hayun's words, Sihu threw the tissue he'd blown his nose with into the trash can.
"I have a pollen allergy. Hyung."
"What?"
"May is especially hard."
"Why May?"
Sihu had hated spring since he was young.
He preferred the hot summer, autumn, and winter instead.
To Hayun's question, Sihu stated the reason.
"Because pine pollen starts flying around from late April."
Sihu trembled while looking at the calendar on his phone.
"Ugh— I really hope I get through it safely this year."
At Sihu's reaction, Hayun tilted his head and asked.
"Did you do that last year too?"
At Hayun's question, his pupils turned slightly to the left as he spoke.
"Yes, last May I told Ganghun hyung and took the entire month off work. Even when I was in high school, I lived like a corpse in May. There were competitions too, but I didn't participate in any competitions held in May."
At Sihu's words, Hayun also recalled that time.
It was when Ganghun was running the shop.
He had heard that Sihu wouldn't be able to come in for about a month.
Recalling that time, Hayun nodded.
"Well, allergies are terrible when they're severe..."
"Sigh—. I wish my pine pollen allergy was just a bit better."
Sihu spoke as if truly fed up and closed the shop door.
On his way up to school, Sihu pictured the spring vegetables he would serve to customers in his head.
'Hwajeon would be good, and donnamul, and blanched durup with chojang...'
Hayun shook his head seeing Sihu walking with vacant eyes.
'That guy must be thinking about nothing but the menu again.'
Before heading to his lecture hall, Hayun tapped Sihu's shoulder.
Uwah—
Hayun was more surprised by Sihu's startled appearance.
"Hey— I'm the one who's more surprised."
"Huh? Hyung. Ah. I was on my way to school."
Sihu sometimes showed a screw-loose appearance when he was thinking about the menu.
"I'm going to the lecture hall. Listen well in class and see you later."
"Yes, hyung. See you later."
He watched Hayun heading to the lecture hall for a moment.
Sihu also walked to find his own lecture hall.
Click.
Thank you for reading.
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