Goblin Library - Chapter 137

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

Chapter 137.

The next day, Oh Mi-hee arrived at the Kimbap Restaurant around 2 PM with an insulated bag, just as she had the day before.
“Hello.”
The Shop Owner smiled and bowed her head in response to Oh Mi-hee’s greeting.
“Welcome.”
“I wanted to come earlier, but I thought you’d need time to prepare for business, so I came now.”
“You did well.”
Oh Mi-hee glanced around the shop and, noticing the Young Girl wasn’t there, asked about her.
“Where’s the child?”
“She should be here soon.”
At the Shop Owner’s response, Oh Mi-hee nodded and opened her insulated bag, asking a question.
“Have you done any experimenting?”
“Oh! I have something to show you, actually.”
The Shop Owner pointed to egg strips that had been prepared on one side. There were two varieties of them.
One was ordinary egg strips, while the other was cut into thin shreds like julienned vegetables.
“Please try them.”
The Shop Owner placed two strips of egg in a small bowl and offered it. Oh Mi-hee picked up each strip and tasted them, then smiled gently.
“They’re wonderfully soft and well-made. The flavor is even better than yesterday.”
Oh Mi-hee rolled her tongue briefly, then spoke.
“Did you mix bonito broth with milk?”
“My! How did you know?”
“Because beneath the bonito aroma, there’s that soft, creamy sensation of milk.”
“You mentioned bonito broth and milk yesterday, so I tried adding it. But you really do have an excellent palate.”
“I enjoy eating.”
Oh Mi-hee smiled brightly and retrieved a side dish container from her insulated bag.
“This is egg strips I made.”
When she opened the lid, thin julienned egg strips were revealed inside.
“I realized that julienned egg strips look better when sliced compared to ordinary strips.”
“That’s true.”
“So I cut them into shreds. Please try them. I omitted the cream and used only milk. For your business, I thought milk would be the better choice.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, the Shop Owner tasted the egg strips and nodded.
“Very soft.”
“The flavor in what you made is superior, but the texture is similar, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
The Shop Owner’s egg strips had bonito broth added, giving them superior aroma and taste.
“I considered making bonito broth myself, but I was concerned about the cost, so I tried making it with only milk.”
“I see.”
“And… I did some research yesterday, and it seems that warming the milk slightly works well.”
“Is that so? Not adding it straight at room temperature?”
“I tried mixing it after warming it to a temperature just below what would cook the eggs, and it came out much softer.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, the Shop Owner nodded and popped a piece of egg omelet into her mouth.
“And I’ve rolled several kimbap rolls.”
Oh Mi-hee pulled out several containers from her bag and opened the lids to reveal kimbap rolls inside.
Every kimbap contained egg omelet, but the other ingredients varied in each one.
Some had more ham, others had more burdock root, and some were missing a few of the basic ingredients entirely.
“If I used regular kimbap ingredients as-is and just added more egg, the flavor balance didn’t work. So I reduced the other ingredients proportionally to the extra egg. From my taste tests, burdock root and pickled radish seem to pair best. Ham has flavor, but its aroma seems to overpower the egg.”
As Oh Mi-hee pointed to the container with burdock root and pickled radish, the Shop Owner picked up one kimbap roll and ate it.
Then she smiled brightly and spoke.
“This is truly delicious.”
“This one tastes best to my palate, but your taste might differ, so please try the others as well.”
As Oh Mi-hee spoke, she laid out various types of kimbap—ones with ham, ones with cucumber, and many other ingredient combinations. The Shop Owner fell silent for a moment at the sight of all these varieties, then bowed her head.
“I’m truly grateful.”
She was thinking about how many kimbap rolls Oh Mi-hee must have made to find these combinations.
“Not at all. I enjoyed making them too.”
“Still… we only met yesterday, and you’ve put this much thought into it. I’m so thankful.”
“If more delicious food exists in this world, that’s enough for me.”
Oh Mi-hee smiled as she looked at the Shop Owner.
Part of it was because she found the mother’s desire to be with her child touching.
But it was too embarrassing to say aloud, so she swallowed the words silently.
Oh Mi-hee pointed to the kimbap and spoke.
“Please try more. Since this is what we’ll be selling officially going forward, you need to be certain of the taste.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, the Shop Owner tried several varieties of kimbap one by one and spoke.
“The pickled radish and burdock root combination is definitely good. It complements the egg flavor without diminishing it.”
“Right? The pickled radish fills in the textural gap the egg lacks while balancing the seasoning.”
Just as she said, the crispy pickled radish nestled among the soft ingredients gave the kimbap its texture.
Both of their opinions converged on the egg kimbap with burdock root and pickled radish.
“Mom! Oh, hello.”
Just then, the Young Girl came home from School and quickly bowed her head upon seeing Oh Mi-hee.
Oh Mi-hee smiled and gently patted the child’s head.
“Back from School?”
“Yes.”
The child answered with a bow, then her eyes sparkled as she saw the kimbap containers on the counter.
“Is this egg kimbap?”
“Yes, try some too. The ingredients inside are different in each one. Taste them and pick your favorite.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, the child picked up each egg kimbap with chopsticks and tasted them, then spoke.
“I like this one.”
Oh Mi-hee and the Shop Owner laughed at the child’s choice. Unlike the two adults, the child had selected the one with egg, ham, and pickled radish.
“Children love ham. And they don’t really know the taste of burdock.”
“I’ll have to think about that too.”
At the Shop Owner’s words, Oh Mi-hee nodded.
“I think it would work if we change the ingredients slightly for adults and children. But we should keep some burdock. Children might complain if they notice the ingredients are different from mine.”
“That’s true.”
“Then… shall we try it now?”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, the Shop Owner nodded and began preparing to make kimbap.
“A package of bonito flakes costs around 7,000 won, right?”
“A small 90-gram package costs about that much.”
At the Shop Owner’s words, Oh Mi-hee paused briefly before speaking.
“I’m not very knowledgeable about unit costs. But adding some broth will bring out more flavor, so it’s better to add it than not.”
“Since eggs don’t require much broth, it should be fine. And milk goes in too.”
The Shop Owner was about to add broth and milk to the eggs when she hesitated, remembering what Oh Mi-hee had taught her.
“I need to warm it slightly.”
The Shop Owner poured the broth and milk into a bowl, placed it in the microwave, and heated it briefly.
After warming the broth and milk just slightly, the Shop Owner removed the bowl, checked the warmth, then cracked eggs into a mixing bowl and stirred them together.
Following Oh Mi-hee’s advice, she began making the egg strips for the kimbap.

As the Shop Owner busily wrapped the egg kimbap, Oh Mi-hee was doing her makeup on the side.
“Have you thought of a name for the kimbap?”
“Why not just call it egg kimbap?”
At the Shop Owner’s words, Oh Mi-hee offered her opinion.
“Egg kimbap is nice, but wouldn’t a name with more of a point be better?”
“Do you have something in mind?”
“How about chrysanthemum kimbap?”
“Chrysanthemum kimbap?”
“The Company President said yesterday that it looked like a chrysanthemum flower blooming.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, the Shop Owner, who had been pressing down the kimbap, paused to think, then smiled.
“That’s good…”
As she answered, the Shop Owner turned to look at Oh Mi-hee, who was applying makeup absentmindedly, but stopped mid-sentence and let out an exclamation.
“My goodness! You’re so beautiful!”
At that, Oh Mi-hee, looking in the mirror, said bashfully.
“There’s quite a difference between when I have makeup on and when I don’t.”
“Usually people say there isn’t much difference, but right now it’s so different.”
Indeed, a completely different person was sitting there. Seeing the Shop Owner’s expression, Oh Mi-hee laughed and spoke.
“Well, now that the makeup is done… shall we try promoting it?”
“But will it really be okay? Your name is on it too…”
“I wouldn’t have done it if I’d tasted it and it wasn’t delicious, but it is delicious. So even if customers come and try it, they won’t say anything bad about me. Oh! And!”
Oh Mi-hee looked at the Shop Owner.
“If the Company President finds it bothersome and tiring and the taste becomes ordinary like before, customers will send me DMs. Then I’ll come back!”
At Oh Mi-hee’s words, the Shop Owner laughed and replied.
“If customers come and business thrives, I’ll make it even more delicious.”
The Shop Owner continued, glancing at her daughter.
“If business goes well, the egg kimbap will become our daughter’s school fees and clothes.”
Oh Mi-hee nodded and pulled out a cloth rolled up inside an insulated bag, stepping outside.
In front of the shop, a dining table and chair from the restaurant had been set out. Standing before the table, Oh Mi-hee unfolded the cloth she’d brought.
Fluttering! Fluttering!
As the cloth unfurled, a photograph of Oh Mi-hee winning a medal at the Asian Games was printed on it.

“Gymnastics Angel Mi-hee!”

Seeing the enormous text beside the photograph, Oh Mi-hee’s face flushed slightly.
Thanks to her heavy makeup, the blush wasn’t glaringly obvious, but she felt embarrassed nonetheless.
This mini banner had been given to her by a fan at a fan signing event.
After gazing at the banner for a moment, Oh Mi-hee looked around. Passersby glanced at her with puzzled expressions but didn’t stop walking.
Although Oh Mi-hee was a well-known gymnast, it wasn’t easy to recognize her if you happened to pass her on the street.
People simply didn’t expect to encounter a celebrity in a place like this.
Oh Mi-hee pressed the suction cups on the banner against the kimbap restaurant’s glass window, pushing firmly.
Once she finished hanging the banner, Oh Mi-hee sat at the table, and the Shop Owner emerged carrying a plate of beautifully arranged kimbap.
“But really… I’m sorry. You shouldn’t be promoting at a humble kimbap restaurant like this.”
Oh Mi-hee smiled and shook her head at the apologetic Shop Owner.
“It’s fine. Really, it’s fine.”
Then she looked around once more. Several passersby were staring at the place with surprised expressions.
At first they wondered who it was, but upon seeing Oh Mi-hee’s banner, they recognized her. During her peak, she had competed with the most popular female idol of the time for the title of “nation’s little sister,” and that was Oh Mi-hee.
Even in retirement, her popularity hadn’t faded.
“Isn’t that Oh Mi-hee?”
“Yeah, it is. There’s even a photo of Oh Mi-hee on the banner.”
“Wow… but why did she come here?”
Oh Mi-hee made eye contact with the whispering people and greeted them politely.
“Hello! I’m Oh Mi-hee!”
As Oh Mi-hee called out in a fairly loud voice, people approached her.
“Hello. I’m a fan of yours, Mi-hee!”
“You’re really beautiful!”
The approaching people took out their phones to take pictures, when suddenly one of them asked.
“Is it okay if we take a photo?”
“Of course. That’s why I hung the banner like this.”
Oh Mi-hee smiled and struck a pose. People came closer to take photos, and after asking if they could take pictures together, they stood beside her and took more photos.
Then people noticed the kimbap on the table and asked.
“Kimbap… are you promoting it?”
“It’s chrysanthemum egg kimbap. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
The conversation had naturally gravitated toward Oh Mi-hee, and she’d been about to redirect attention to the kimbap when someone spoke first. She smiled and replied.
“Please, try some.”
“Are you sure we can eat?”
“Of course. Today is a tasting event for my mother’s new kimbap restaurant menu.”
At Oh Mi-hee’s response, the man who’d spoken glanced at the kimbap restaurant’s exterior, then peered inside the shop.
Then he looked at Oh Mi-hee with a sympathetic expression.
“I… you’ve retired and… things are difficult these days?”
His face conveyed the question: how hard must life be to participate in such a small restaurant event?

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