Chapter 20

Chapter 20

If Skill Is Good, Unconditionally Hyung

Goosebumps rose all over the large one, Kim Bong-gu’s body.

Somehow...

The crazy fried rice that popped out unbelievably at the PC room wasn’t just coincidence.

Only now the situation was understood.

And since he knew that, he couldn’t just stay still.

“Hey, let’s line up too.”

“Eh? Suddenly?”

The friend asked as if dumbfounded.

“That hyung is making it! The price doesn’t matter!”

Bong-gu’s eyes were already half rolled.

“Crazy guy, a guy with no money.”

“You said you’d treat!”

“Ah shit.. this crazy... more than that why do you keep saying hyung? He seems younger than us.”

Even at the friend’s pinzan Bong-gu paid no mind.

“Shit, is age important? If skill is good, unconditionally hyung.”

“...”

“Come quickly!”

Bong-gu already standing at the end of the waiting line.

“That crazy guy...”

In the end the friend also grumbled and followed behind him.

“No sense of how delicious it will be.”

“Until just now you said even if jajangmyeon is delicious it’s jajangmyeon...”

“Who said such a thing?”

“...”

Just when Bong-gu was full of expectation like that.

“...!!”

The shop entrance side suddenly became noisy.

Some foreign groups completely ignored the waiting line and arbitrarily cut into the very front and were having a squabble.

“No, excuse me! Line! Back line!”

“Wait! Line up, line!”

The people who were lining up protested and pointed backward with fingers, but the foreign group that cut in only glared and got angry in words they couldn’t understand.

Thanks to that the surrounding atmosphere instantly became vicious.

At that time hearing the commotion the restaurant door opened and the ajumoni wearing an apron came out flustered.

“Aigo, customers. You can’t do this. You have to line up behind there···”

The ajumoni stopped them with an awkward face mixing hand gestures, but the foreigner waved his arms threateningly even toward her and questioned something.

“There...”

The ajumoni was at a loss and flustered.

Watching that appearance Bong-gu’s eyebrows twitched.

And he immediately walked forward with large strides.

“Hey, you bastards!!”

Bong-gu yelled.

A height over 190cm and a burly build.

When the bear-like Bong-gu frowned sharply and spoke viciously, the complexions of the foreigners who were throwing tantrums until just now froze.

“Where are you cutting in line and causing a ruckus! Not lining up properly? If you don’t disappear until I count to three I’ll crush you all!!”

At Bong-gu’s impression the foreigners were completely overwhelmed.

“······!”

They grumbled while glancing at each other, then soon hurriedly disappeared into the back alley.

When the situation was organized in an instant the frozen people let out a sigh of relief.

“Aigo··· young man, really thank you. It almost became very troublesome but thanks to you I lived.”

The ajumoni stroked her chest and continuously thanked Bong-gu.

At those words Bong-gu completely erased the vicious expression and soon made a good-natured smile and lightly bowed.

“No, boss. I came to taste the skill of the master I respect··· no, the chef, so I absolutely couldn’t endure the sight of those problem customers muddying the shop water.”

At that time the surrounding people began applauding and cheering toward Bong-gu one by one.

“Wow, really cool! Insides are all refreshing!”

“Thank you, really.”

“Oh! Nice guy! Thank you!”

“Good! Good job!”

Not only Koreans but even foreigners all raised thumbs and poured praise.

Bong-gu’s face reddened at the baptism of applause and cheers pouring from all sides.

“Ah, what’s with this··· haha.”

He scratched the back of his head roughly as if embarrassed unfitting for the rough build.

Bong-gu who smiled awkwardly soon fake-coughed once largely, then said toward the surroundings in a loud voice.

“Okay, okay! Everyone line up properly in one line so you don’t get hurt!”

When Bong-gu began organizing the waiting line skillfully, the friend who followed muttered as if absurd.

“That crazy guy, what is he doing coming to eat!”

“You help too man.”

“Ushi, really...!”

The friend grumbled with his mouth but helped Bong-gu and organized the messy surroundings.

When the outside stabilized to some extent like that, Bong-gu’s gaze naturally headed inside the restaurant.

“...”

The situation inside the hall was more hectic than outside.

Empty bowls piling on the tables.

And the ajumoni was out of her mind receiving orders from newly entered customers.

“Madam! I’ll help with the restaurant work a bit!”

When Bong-gu suddenly said, the ajumoni paused as if flustered.

“Huh? Suddenly such...!”

“It’s fine! I did restaurant part-time before.”

Bong-gu spoke vigorously and began weaving through the hall at lightning speed.

“Customer, this way. I’ll clear the empty bowls right away!”

His friendly and large voice.

A good-natured smile and skilled hand movements contrasting the large build.

Wiping tables, carrying trays, and responding extremely affectionately to foreign customers mixing body language, it was truly pro itself.

The friend who was blankly watching that appearance let out a deep sigh as if absurd.

“Haa··· that crazy guy. Trying to get one bowl of jajangmyeon and what kind of dog labor is this.”

But he couldn’t just stand blankly leaving Bong-gu who was running around the restaurant with eyes blazing alone.

In the end the friend also took off his outerwear with a resigned face, rolled up his sleeves and stepped forward.

“Okay okay I’ll clear it right away!”

The friend also grumbled with his mouth but began stacking and carrying the empty bowls with quick hand movements helping Bong-gu’s work.

When two sturdy men rolled up their sleeves and moved without rest, the situation of the restaurant hall that was bustling as if it would burst noticeably stabilized.

“Ayu, the young men are all doing the work so well. Really thank you.”

“Haha what. This much...”

While wiping the table like that Bong-gu’s gaze glanced toward the inside of the kitchen beyond the serving window as if entranced.

Hwaaaaaaaaak!!

“...!!”

Bong-gu opened his eyes wide and was startled.

The scene inside the kitchen actually seen in front of his eyes was a completely different dimension from what he saw on the phone screen.

He was momentarily overwhelmed by the tremendously surging fire pillar.

Even so to be that calm appearance.

Languidly sunk pupils, indifferently closed lips.

Something unapproachable charisma overflowed from him.

Charrrrrk!

Dalgeurak! Dalgeurak!

Hwaaaaaaaaak!!

When the huge flame bloomed again as if exploding, enthusiastic exclamations and cheers burst out all at once among the customers in the hall.

“Oh my god! Amazing!”

“Uwaaa! Jackpot, really!”

“Unbelievable! Crazy chef!”

Tremendous heat as if a performance hall.

Even amid such cheers the chef concentrating only on the cooking inside the pot.

‘Cr, crazy··· really cool···!!’

The heart of Bong-gu who was watching that scene lost in a daze began beating fiercely.

Thump thump.

‘That’s a real man··· that’s a real master!’

Bong-gu whose chest overflowed completely fell for that unapproachable longing and admiration.

*

Around the time 1 hour flowed.

“Bong-gu, I have to go. It’s the convenience store part-time shift change time.”

When the friend said looking at the clock, the restaurant mother hurriedly approached.

“Young man, you came all the way here while busy and helped, thank you so much. This isn’t much but for transportation.”

The mother held out three bills to the friend.

It was 30,000 won.

Quite a generous amount for helping serving for a little over 1 hour.

“Ah, you don’t have to give...”

“No, no. How can that be. If you worked it’s natural.”

The ajumoni this time carefully asked while looking at Bong-gu who was moving busily.

“There, is the large young man okay? I wonder if I’m unnecessarily taking time.”

Then the friend who was putting away the money chuckled and answered instead.

“Ah, this guy is completely unemployed so it’s fine, fine.”

Even at the friend’s words Bong-gu nodded vigorously with an innocent and bright face.

“Yes! I’m completely fine!”

“Ah...”

“...Thank you! I’ll go now!”

“Yeah, good work. Go carefully.”

“Hey, Kim Bong-gu! I’m really going!”

“Uh, go!”

Even after the friend left the restaurant like an arrow, Bong-gu silently carried empty bowls and wiped tables.

The gaze of Jin Myeong who was watching that appearance from inside the kitchen strangely sank.

“...”

At first he had no interest but the form of working was quite something.

And he checked the time.

Lunch time.

After thinking for a moment he immediately took out the ingredients in the refrigerator.

Then he began julienning the ingredients.

Tata tatata tatatak!

Right after the knife cuts so fast as to be invisible ended, he oiled the wok with lard and dropped the sliced ingredients.

Chiiik!

Hwareuk!

The ingredients fried golden holding the strong flame.

Jin Myeong generously topped the just-fried meat strips and vegetables on the fluffy rice, then quickly circled a special sauce flavored salty with soy sauce and spices on top once.

Completed in the blink of an eye.

“Hey.”

At Jin Myeong’s low call, Bong-gu who was organizing the hall was startled and ran to the front of the kitchen serving window.

“Yes! Hyung! Did you call!”

“...Hyung?”

“Yes!”

Jin Myeong who made a strange expression opened his mouth again.

“Take it.”

Tak.

Jin Myeong pushed the rice bowl with steam rising on the serving window shelf.

“...What is this?”

Bong-gu alternately looked at the bowl and Jin Myeong with roundly widened eyes.

“Cheongcho yuksa ban.”

“...”

Cheongcho yuksa ban.

A dish that martial artists who stopped by inns in the Central Plains of his previous life regularly ordered and ate to lightly and solidly relieve hunger without waiting during busy journeys.

Because firepower is life, the cooking time is short so it was a food perfect for Jin Myeong to quickly make one meal like now.

“Wow, it seems like food that appears in martial arts novels?”

“...”

“The smell is killer, killer.”

The salty soy aroma brushing the tip of the nose and the spicy yet sweet aroma of cheongcho holding lots of fire energy, and the meat aroma made Bong-gu’s mind hazy.

But he couldn’t readily pick up the bowl and glanced around.

“Th, hyung and boss, madam? Aren’t you eating?”

Just then the mother who was bringing empty bowls answered while smiling kindly.

“We ate breakfast late so it’s fine. We’ll eat after all the lunch business finishes, so young man eat first.”

“Ah... thank you! I’ll eat well!”

Bong-gu carefully received the bowl and squatted on the small simple chair placed in one corner of the kitchen.

Bong-gu’s face was already an appearance as if he owned the whole world.

The mother’s gaze who was looking at that appearance pleased naturally headed toward the bowl in Bong-gu’s hand.

Rice topped with meat and green bell pepper julienned in brown sauce.

The mother’s eyes widened round with curiosity.

‘That’s another dish I’m seeing for the first time.’

The mother glanced at Jin Myeong in front of the gas stove as if amazing.

In fact the dishes Jin Myeong made for the parents splitting the busy lunch time for the past few days were all things she was seeing for the first time in her life.

The father who was pulling noodles with the machine was the same showing curiosity at the new food.

“Wow, that looks delicious too. Jin-myeong make that for me too.”

“...”

Jin Myeong indifferently nodded and began frying jajang.

At that time.

“Calculation here!”

“Ah, yes!”

The mother who was distracted by the dish in front of Bong-gu hurriedly went out to the hall.

The father also took his gaze and concentrated on pulling noodles.

“······.”

Amid that Bong-gu lifted the spoon and largely scooped rice, thin meat strips, and green bell pepper strips.

And pushed them into his mouth.

Umul.

“······!!!”

At that moment, a thrilling thrill flowed through Bong-gu’s whole body.

It was a completely different kind of taste from the stimulating fried rice of the PC room last night.

Salty umami.

Following that the crispy texture of the bell pepper burst a refreshing sweet taste.

Moreover the pork melted softly like silk in the mouth without even time to chew.

‘Cr, crazy··· how can it taste like this?’

Had there ever been a time in his life when eating rice made his chest overflow this much.

It was a different dimension from the foods he had eaten until now.

The fact that a human can feel such deep happiness just by the act of putting delicious food in the mouth was to the point of being wondrous.

‘This··· this is gourmet!’

Bong-gu as if he had gained enlightenment began scooping rice with a devout expression.

“Hururuk! Ujeok ujeok! Keuheuk, too delicious···!”

In that way the large-bodied youth was falling into the happiness of taste.

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