Goblin Library - Chapter 128

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 128.

Seeing Yu Tae-poong’s puzzled expression, Gluttony Goblin spoke.
“You haven’t seen it yet, but Oh Mi-hee packed kimbap when she went to that place where she makes stir-fried pork well.”
“Kimbap at a stir-fried pork restaurant?”
“There’s a late-night eatery in Jeonju where they eat stir-fried pork and kimbap together. So she wanted to try eating it that way too and packed some kimbap, but she got scolded for it.”
“Why didn’t she ask for permission? From the videos, it seemed like she always checked beforehand.”
“She got permission for the sauces and seasonings, but she didn’t think ahead about the kimbap. So she put the kimbap back in her bag.”
“It’s good to eat deliciously, but bringing food into a restaurant is a bit problematic.”
“Right. Sauces and seasonings are fine, but if something can be classified as food, bringing it in causes trouble for the establishment.”
“Exactly. Bringing food into a restaurant is a bit much.”
As they chatted, Yu Tae-poong and his companions entered the shop.
“But why pack kimbap? If you’re only eating a few rolls, wouldn’t it be better to just buy it there?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, Gluttony Goblin laughed and explained.
“When you wrap stir-fried pork in lettuce, regular kimbap is too large.”
“Kimbap is large?”
“It is. Because of all the ingredients inside. So the kimbap that goes with stir-fried pork in Jeonju has only very small amounts of carrot, egg, and ham, making it much smaller. About half the size of regular kimbap, I’d say? With kimbap that small, you need to wrap it together with the stir-fried pork and lettuce for it to taste good.”
“Ah, so that’s why she packed kimbap.”
“Exactly.”
“By the way, business seems to be doing well.”
Sizzle! Sizzle!
The shop seemed to be doing decent business—there were quite a few people even at early evening.
The sound and aroma of grilling meat stimulated their appetites.
“Lots of customers.”
At Dung Carrier Goblin’s murmur, Yu Tae-poong nodded. Grilled pork belly and stir-fried pork were quite different.
Grilled pork belly restaurants attracted many families looking to have dinner, but stir-fried pork was more of a drinking snack that friends sought out together rather than as a meal.
So it was usually crowded after the second round of drinking, not at early evening. Yet there were already many customers.
It meant the place was doing well enough to draw crowds from the first round.
As I looked around, a Factory Employee approached.
“Please sit wherever is comfortable.”
At the Factory Employee’s words, Yu Tae-poong glanced around. In one corner, Oh Mi-hee had her GoPro running while eating meat.

「Oh Mi-hee」

Though I was seeing her in person for the first time, I could recognize her by the text floating above her head. When I pressed down on the name floating above her head, a character description appeared beneath it.

「Oh Mi-hee.
The protagonist of Gluttony Goblin Oh Mi-hee. From childhood, she was a gymnastics prodigy who trained in athletics.
As a gymnast, she managed her diet from a young age. That’s how she developed her gluttony.
After retirement, eating delicious food became her life’s mission.」

As Yu Tae-poong’s gaze remained fixed on Oh Mi-hee while reading the character description, the Factory Employee approached and spoke.
“She’s apparently a mukbang content creator on YouTube.”
At the Factory Employee’s proud remark, Yu Tae-poong chuckled and replied.
“This is my first time seeing a mukbang creator in person. It’s quite fascinating.”
“Since our restaurant is famous for its food, mukbang creators visit us fairly often. What would you like to order?”
At the Factory Employee’s words, Yu Tae-poong looked at his companions.
“Should I place the order?”
“Yes. Order a good variety.”
Following Dung Carrier Goblin’s words, Gluttony Goblin added his own request.
“Order a lot.”
Yu Tae-poong nodded and examined the menu.
“Three servings of grilled beef knuckle, three servings of galmaegi-sal, three servings of gabu-ri-sal, three servings of odo-dok-sal, one serving of skin, and please bring steamed eggs as well.”
Gluttony Goblin’s eyes narrowed in displeasure at Yu Tae-poong’s order.
“What about grilled pork belly?”
“We eat grilled pork belly often. Let’s finish all of this first, and then I’ll order more.”
Gluttony Goblin, satisfied with Yu Tae-poong’s explanation, scanned the menu once more and added to the order.
“And bring one old-fashioned lunchbox. What about you two?”
“I’ll eat for now.”
“Me too.”
At the two goblins’ response, Gluttony Goblin nodded and spoke.
“Also bring two bottles of soju and two bottles of beer.”
“Ah… yes.”
The Factory Employee gave a quick acknowledgment to the four of them ordering thirteen servings, then cautiously asked.
“But will you be able to finish all of this?”
“We eat just as much as that mukbang creator over there.”
“Well, since it’s meat, we cannot offer refunds if you don’t finish it.”
“Understood. Oh! And I brought some vegetables to grill with the meat—would that be alright?”
“Vegetables?”
“Bracken and other wild vegetables. I enjoy grilling them together with the meat.”
As Yu Tae-poong opened his insulated bag to show its contents, the Factory Employee asked him to wait a moment, stepped into the kitchen, and returned.
“That’s perfectly fine.”
After speaking, the Factory Employee smiled and looked at Oh Mi-hee.
“That mukbang creator over there also brought various things in a bag like that.”
At the Factory Employee’s remark, Yu Tae-poong spoke softly.
“I learned that from watching her.”
“Huh? Is that person a subscriber?”
“Please don’t say anything. They’re enjoying their meal, and if they knew they had a subscriber here, it might make them uncomfortable.”
The Factory Employee looked at Oh Mi-hee with curiosity and spoke.
“They must be quite famous. Running into a subscriber in Seoul is quite rare.”
The odds of a content creator and their subscriber meeting at one of countless restaurants in Seoul were slim. It was only when a content creator was exceptionally famous with a massive subscriber base that such encounters became noteworthy exceptions.
“They’re called Taste Master—someone who teaches people how to eat deliciously.”
“Ah, I see. So that’s why they carry all sorts of things around.”
The Factory Employee nodded and returned to his duties, speaking as he did.
“I’ll set everything up for you.”
The Factory Employee brought a tray from the kitchen and arranged the side dishes. Then, as he was about to bring the meat, he opened the burner cover on the table and placed a half-burned briquette inside.
“You put the briquette in just before grilling?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, the Factory Employee smiled and replied.
“Summer may be nearly over, but it’s still hot before the sun sets.”
“That’s true.”
“If we keep the briquette in on days like this, it gets too hot and we’d have to turn on the air conditioning.”
“I suppose so.”
“On the other hand, in winter we place the briquette in advance. It keeps things warm.”
The Factory Employee gestured beneath the table as he spoke with a smile.
“If the heat gets too strong while you’re eating, you can rotate this slot underneath to block it.”
After explaining the method, Yu Tae-poong nodded. As the Factory Employee turned and left, Yu Tae-poong examined the side dishes arranged on the table.
The side dishes were ordinary—the kind you’d find at any restaurant. The only unusual items were soybean powder and pickled red chili paste.
“They have pickled red chili paste.”
“I looked it up, and apparently the pickled red chili paste here tastes incredible when eaten with the meat.”
At Gluttony Goblin’s words, Dung Carrier Goblin gazed at the pickled red chili paste with curious interest.
“Then I’ll put the meat on.”
Yu Tae-poong held his palm over the grill to check the heat, then cut some pork belly, placed it on the grill, and rubbed it across the surface.
Sizzzzle! Sizzzzle!
As the pork belly cooked, the rendered fat spread across the grill. After oiling the surface this way, Yu Tae-poong placed fist-shaped cuts of meat next, and on one side added sirloin and skirt steak.
Sizzzzle!
As the meat turned a beautiful golden brown, Yu Tae-poong opened the insulated bag. He then retrieved spinach.
It had been prepared in advance at the Goblin Library, so there was no need for further preparation.
“But this grill has holes in it, so it seems like the oil will be insufficient.”
The meat was supposed to be cooked in oil for better flavor, but the oil was draining through the holes in the grill.
The oil that fell through those holes touched the briquette, creating its distinctive charcoal aroma.
At Yu Tae-poong’s observation, Pot Goblin laughed and picked up the tongs to grab the spinach.
She then rubbed the spinach across the cooking meat on the grill.
Sizzzzle! Sizzzzle!
As she rubbed and pressed the spinach into the meat’s oil, the fat dripped onto the briquette, creating a loud sizzling and charring sound.
After rubbing the spinach in the meat’s oil this way, Pot Goblin placed the spinach on the grill, flipped the meat, and shook the oil onto the spinach.
Tap tap tap!
With the spinach still vibrant and glistening with oil, Pot Goblin picked up scissors as the meat began to cook through.
“Let the spinach cook a bit longer and eat just the meat first. Oh! The fist-shaped grilled meat needs more time, so start with the upper blade and seagull cuts.”
At Pot Goblin’s words, Gluttony Goblin laughed and picked up his chopsticks. He then placed two pieces of upper blade meat on his plate.
“True to his name—of course he takes two pieces right away?”
“I have a particular way I want to eat it.”
Then Gluttony Goblin looked at his companions.
“You all put two pieces of upper blade on your plates too. And for the first piece, dip it lightly in salt—just a touch!”
Gluttony Goblin dipped the upper blade meat lightly in salt and put it in his mouth. Then he smiled.
“With each bite, the meat juices flow, and the savory richness of the fat harmonizes with the salt, bringing out that deep umami flavor.”
“Really?”
Gluttony Goblin laughed as he watched Dung Carrier Goblin take his words so seriously.
“That’s just how it sounds in words. When you eat it, it’s no different from the upper blade you’ve had before. Either way, it’s delicious.”
Following Gluttony Goblin’s lead, Yu Tae-poong and the others dipped their upper blade meat in salt and ate it.
It wasn’t as dramatic as Gluttony Goblin had described, but it was certainly savory, and the fat spreading across the palate was pleasant.
Moreover, when that fat mixed with the salt, a subtle sweetness emerged, adding depth and complexity to the flavor.
“Now we eat the upper blade with these pickled red pepper pieces on top.”
Gluttony Goblin placed a piece of pre-cut pickled red pepper on the meat and put it in his mouth.
“Nice. The red pepper has just the right amount of heat, and the soy sauce aroma is excellent.”
Then Gluttony Goblin stood up from his seat.
“Why?”
“I’m going to get some of the pickle brine.”
Gluttony Goblin went to the refill station at the side of the restaurant and brought back a small bowl filled with the soy sauce and red peppers from the pickled vegetables.
“Now, here….”
Gluttony Goblin picked up one piece of upper blade meat, submerged it completely in the brine, then placed it back on the grill.
“Are we grilling it in soy sauce?”
“This is another delicacy in itself.”
Following his lead, Yu Tae-poong picked up a piece of upper blade, dipped it in the brine, and placed it on the grill.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Gluttony Goblin watched the brine caramelize, then picked up the meat and ate it.
“Mm, this is definitely delicious.”
Yu Tae-poong also picked up the meat and ate it. The flavor and aroma were distinctly different, likely from being soaked in soy sauce before grilling.
“If we eat just one piece of each meat prepared three different ways like this, we’ll already be full.”
Especially since they’d ordered so many varieties of meat.
“In that case….”
Gluttony Goblin poured soju and beer into glasses.
“Alcohol.”
“Right. When you’re full, it’s time for a drink.”
Gluttony Goblin laughed as he mixed soju and beer, then looked at Yu Tae-poong.
“Didn’t ask what you wanted to drink? Soju, beer, or mixed?”
“I’ll have it mixed for my first glass too.”
“Okay!”
Gluttony Goblin mixed up some beer and soju, then placed a glass in front of each of them.
Sizzle! Sizzle!
Meanwhile, Pot Goblin tossed the spinach this way and that with the meat, basting it with oil and flipping it as she spoke.
“Let’s each have a drink, and then try eating it together with the spinach.”
“One more okay!”
Gluttony Goblin, who had cheerfully shouted his approval, raised his glass.
“Here’s to our first company dinner.”
“Our first dinner?”
“The four of us have never eaten together before. That makes it a company dinner.”
At Gluttony Goblin’s words, the group laughed and clinked their glasses together lightly.
After taking a refreshing sip, they reached for the spinach and meat.
“But what should we dip this in?”
At Yu Tae-poong’s question, Pot Goblin answered as if it were obvious.
“Salt, of course, at first.”
With that, Pot Goblin lightly dipped the meat in salt and put it in her mouth.
Following her lead, Yu Tae-poong dipped the meat in salt and tasted it, nodding in approval. The spinach was tender, so the texture was somewhat lacking, but the umami flavor was excellent.
“It’s delicious.”
At Yu Tae-poong’s words, the goblins nodded as well and began eating, pairing the meat with ssamjang or pickled vegetables.
Oh Mi-hee watched them eat so delightfully with keen interest.
‘So spinach can be eaten that way too.’
Oh Mi-hee had eaten dishes that used pork and spinach together before. Japchae, for instance, contained both pork and spinach. But she had never seen them grilled together like this, and she was curious about the taste.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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