Chapter 19

Chapter 19

19. Storytime: I Drank with a Female Singer.ssul

It's common knowledge that tteokbokki isn't mere food—it's a comprehensive art form.

What lunatic walks into a snack bar and orders only tteokbokki?

You need fried food, gimbap, sundae, or at the very least some fish-cake broth beside it for the meal to be complete.

So this time, I intended to do it properly too.

Call it the Hale Makani Snack Bar.

Naturally, that meant preparing a ridiculous variety of ingredients.

And once I unpacked everything, there were even a few things I didn't need at all.

But who cares?

Worrying about having leftovers is a hundred times better than worrying about not having enough food.

Just as the appetizing tteokbokki and side dishes were finishing one after another,

“Is it ready? I couldn't wait anymore, so I came up.”

Eve poked her head into the kitchen, eyes sparkling.

“Almost done.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Sit down and I'll bring it right out.”

Perfect timing.

I loaded the finished food onto a tray and carried it straight to the wooden platform.

“This is tteokbokki! It's been forever!”

“So you've had it before.”

“Of course. My manager used to pick it up from Koreatown sometimes. Though there weren't this many different things.”

That's right.

There were a whopping four different foods laid out on the tray!

Tteokbokki as the main dish, freshly fried dumplings, sundae, and fish cakes simmered in a rich broth.

I'd gotten a little help from premade sauces,

but if anything, that only made everything taste better.

A vivid red broth.

Real spicy tteokbokki, without watering things down just because foreigners were eating it.

“Enjoy.”

“Aren't you eating with us?”

“No. I shouldn't disturb my guests. You two enjoy yourselves.”

After Woo-jin went downstairs,

“Why isn't he eating with us?”

“I know. Most people try desperately to squeeze in even one extra word with Eve.”

The previous night's drinking party had been so much fun that Eve had secretly looked forward to another one, and disappointment showed plainly on her face.

But only for a moment.

Soon, her fork was busily moving through the steaming tteokbokki.

“Mm! This is really good too!”

“Right?”

It wasn't some halfheartedly localized food from Koreatown.

This was tteokbokki made completely to suit Korean tastes.

Since both of them were already well versed in Korean food, there was no way they wouldn't give it high marks.

“Haah, why aren't there Korean restaurants like this in New York? Oh! Should I tell the hotel owner to open one there?”

“Come on, do you really think the owner would come all the way to New York? He's probably insanely busy here already.”

“Yeah, you're probably right.”

Before long, the conversation naturally shifted to Woo-jin, who'd cooked the food.

“He can cook, he's pretty good-looking··· Anyway, he's the coolest hotel owner I've ever met.”

Woo-jin's reputation between Eve Callaway and her manager was rising by the day.

***

Live long enough and you really do experience everything.

Who would've thought I'd drink with Eve Callaway and then make her lunch the next day too!

If I told anyone this, they'd call me insane.

But there's only one place where I can brag.

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Pathological Liar Gallery

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[General] Storytime: I Drank with a Female Singer.ssul

HotelMan | 2027.05.16. 13:26:17 | Views 1,993 | Likes 19

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Yesterday I was just drinking with a friend.

Then suddenly someone asked if she could join us, so I looked over

and it was a pretty girl.

At first I blanked out a little, but I told her to sit down.

She said she's a popular singer, but honestly I've never seen her on TV.

She was pretty though lol

Once we were sitting together there wasn't really much to talk about.

Couldn't exactly be a loser and ask “Is being a singer hard?”

So we just drank and talked about random stuff.

Anyway, weird experience.

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└ Anon(39.7): What the fuck, why'd you stop in the middle of the post

└ Anon(222.109): There are two ways to annoy people. One is to stop talking halfway through, and..

└ FittingMachine: PART 2 NOW!!!!!

└ Anon(290.31): Singer is too much. Rewrite it so it's more immersive

└ CaptainChoiThePipe: Bro, have you lost your mind

└ 2YearsOnFluoxetine(58.140): This is what happens when you don't take your meds!

└ CutieCoco: Who was the female singer?

└ Anon(211.36): So you're saying you drank with a woman?

└ Anon(156.82): Probably just some wannabe lmaoooo

└ Anon(290.31): Nah, usually only the first line of posts like this is true

└ Anon(175.223): Fine, you're officially king of the Liar Gallery lmaoooo

***

At the same time, in Waikiki Sun Beach's lounge restaurant.

- Clink.

After a long wait, Chairman Victor finally came face-to-face with the legendary kimchi stew.

“So this is that kimchi stew?”

“No.”

“Huh? Then what is it?”

At the answer from Korean-cuisine master Lin Zhaoming, Victor tilted his head and asked again.

“This is a fusion dish: gochujang kimchi stew.”

“Gochujang kimchi stew?”

“Correct. The ingredients were completely different from ordinary kimchi stew. It is clearly a fusion kimchi stew based on gochujang.”

Lin Zhaoming answered with absolute confidence.

“Ha! I knew it! There's no way Eve Callaway would praise an ordinary dish that much! As expected of a master of Korean cuisine!”

Of course, even calling the gochujang kimchi stew in front of Victor an ordinary gochujang stew would have been difficult.

There were rice cakes, fish cakes, and dumplings floating in it.

- Slurp.

“Hmm.”

“How is it?”

Odd.

If asked whether it tasted good, it was certainly edible.

The plentiful ingredients blended well with the soup.

But whether it deserved all the dramatic praise was another matter.

‘Then again, Hawaii is famous for things like porridge made from tree roots and sushi made with canned ham I wouldn't eat even if someone paid me.’

The ingredients had been personally selected by Hale Makani's owner,

and the Korean chef sounded completely confident.

Victor's doubts quickly vanished.

Leaving only one conclusion.

‘Korean food simply doesn't suit my palate.’

But he was the owner of Waikiki Sun Beach Hotel.

He couldn't make rash judgments based on his personal taste.

Besides, this was food Eve Callaway herself had praised.

A global star who'd never missed number one on the Billboard chart!

There were countless things Eve Callaway had turned into trends.

The clothes and shoes she wore,

the foods she ate,

even a car she'd once said looked cute when she saw it on the street.

If Eve Callaway vouched for this dish, then personal preference had to take a back seat.

“Elena.”

“Yes, Chairman.”

“Put it on the special menu exactly like this. Add it to all the room-service menus too.”

And so kimchi stew proudly claimed a place on Waikiki Sun Beach Restaurant's special menu.

“What price should we set?”

“How much is our tenderloin steak?”

“Ninety dollars.”

“If it's a special menu item, it should be around that much.”

A staggering ninety dollars per bowl.

***

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

And today was the day Eve left.

I was waiting with the car parked in front of the annex so I could take her to the airport.

After waiting about ten minutes,

- Click.

“Good morning!”

“Good morning.”

Eve, wearing sunglasses, greeted me with a bright smile.

“Vacations really fly by, don't they?”

“Yes. Fun times always seem to pass especially quickly.”

“Exactly! Dance practice takes forever, though!”

During the short drive from the hotel to the airport, Eve's small talk never stopped.

And as we drew closer to the airport, regret became obvious on her face.

“By the way, thanks for closing the suite reservations because of us. Our schedule slipped, so we couldn't extend the stay after all.”

“It's nothing. The room is almost always empty anyway.”

Technically, I closed reservations because they were annoying,

but interpretation is in the eye of the beholder.

- Screech.

“We're here.”

“Already?”

I pointed toward the airport directly ahead.

Reporters and fans who'd heard Eve Callaway was leaving were already gathered in huge numbers.

“You should say hello, right?”

“Later. This first.”

Instead of rolling down the window and waving like before, Eve suddenly held out her phone.

“Huh?”

“Your Instagram ID!”

Why does she suddenly want my Instagram ID?

“Are you going to embarrass me by saying no?”

“No. Here.”

Still confused, I entered my Instagram ID into her phone.

And then,

- Buzz.

【eve.callaway requested to follow you.】

“I'll message you sometimes! See you on my next vacation!”

Ah, so she wants to make reservations by DM.

“Sure. Come anytime.”

After the brief goodbye, the passenger door opened,

- Click. Click.

“Eve! Over here! Eve! How was Hawaii?”

“Eve, I love you!”

“Is it true you worked on new songs during your vacation? Just one comment!”

And with an overwhelming barrage of camera flashes, world star Eve Callaway disappeared into the airport.

Whew, I could never live like that.

Being rich while nobody knows who I am really is the best!

And the Liar Gallery, where nobody believes me even when I'm genuinely bragging, is the best too.

All right, since I'm thinking about it, shall I write another post?

Huh? What is this?

Why are there so many comments?

© Kim Mangcho#1ond5