They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 68

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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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68. Fuki Greens Group Bento Box (2)

“Come inside.”

I spoke in the calmest voice I could muster, leading Song Ae-rim—still unable to stop crying—to the inner table and settling her into a chair.

Seated, Ae-rim hunched her shoulders and clasped both hands tightly over her knees.

“Would you like some water?”

Song Ae-rim nodded instead of answering. I retrieved a cool glass of water from the Refrigerator, poured it, and set it within easy reach of her hands.

“Drink slowly. Even water can upset your stomach.”
“….”

Song Ae-rim wrapped both hands around the cup. It took her time just to swallow a single sip.

Rather than sit across from her, I stood slightly to the side. Somehow, it felt better than facing her directly.

“Why were you crying?”
“…At School today.”
“At School?”
“…There was a presentation.”

Hmm? Her speech pattern was different than usual.

“A presentation? What kind of presentation?”
“It was like a dream-sharing presentation—about what goals we have…?”
“And then?”
“Everyone else had such clear dreams. Doctor, lawyer, entrepreneur, coding…. When they presented, everyone applauded them. But me….”
“Hmm?”
“I couldn’t say anything.”

Only then did Song Ae-rim’s grip tighten around the cup.

“No dreams?”
“That’s right.”
“Nothing you want to do?”

Song Ae-rim lifted her head to look at me.

“What is it that you want to do?”

It sounded like a protest directed at me.

‘I was… clear about it once.’

I’d simply drifted through life, following the current of water and the drift of clouds.

But then.

“I don’t know—do you really have to figure that out right now?”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“But you spoke as if it were already decided. Dreams, goals, plans—all bundled together like a package. I’m barely managing to get through today, and you’re asking how I can think about tomorrow? About the future?”

The world is strange. There’s no shortage of things to learn. Yet no one ever teaches us how to endure the future.

“Ae-rim.”
“Yes…?”

I lowered my voice and took Song Ae-rim’s hand.

“But you made it through today.”
“…”
“You went to school, and you stood through the entire presentation, didn’t you?”

This is no longer the age of short lives. Death doesn’t come quickly—it approaches with unbearable slowness. Perhaps that’s why it suffocates us all the more.

If life unfolded like a drama or a film, with the protagonist’s entire story visible from the start, would we suffer so? If the ending were guaranteed, we might fear it less.

“But your friends talk as if they understand their own lives so well. Is that how you are too?”
“No.”

I paused to choose my words, then smiled.

“I get confused about it every day too.”
“You do, boss?”

Song Ae-rim’s eyes widened slightly.

“Yeah. Even now.”
“I never had clear dreams either. My grandmother used to say…”
“Yes?”

I crouched down to look up at Song Ae-rim.

“She only made me exercise.”
“Only exercise?”
“Whether it was to keep me from becoming a chef or… I’m not sure what it was. But she had me try all sorts of things. That’s why my body’s in good shape, at least.”
“But you became a chef anyway.”

I voiced the unspoken truth.

“Becoming a chef… when I think about it, it wasn’t something I chose for myself.”
“It wasn’t?”
“I wanted to be by Grandmother’s side.”

To make Grandmother happy, to be by her side, and so on.

“At first, I didn’t do it because I wanted to either.”
“…I see.”
“So not having something you want to do isn’t wrong, and not having decided yet isn’t too late.”

I looked at Song Ae-rim’s hands. The grip on the cup had loosened a little compared to before.

“Everyone has their own path. Some walk toward their dreams, some walk toward people, and some just walk forward enduring each day.”
“…!”
“That’s all just different paths. A path doesn’t need some grand goal attached to it to be valid. Like mine.”

Because I’d lived longer than Ae-rim, I could understand this.

“…Song Ae-hyuk and my friends all have goals, so I felt lonely.”

Song Ae-rim stared at me intently.

“Thanks to you, boss, I’ve gotten a lot better!”

I was relieved to hear that. I pushed myself up with effort and placed my hand on the table.

“Really? But your speech pattern has changed too?”
“Oh. My speech pattern.”

Song Ae-rim rubbed the back of her neck with her hand.

“It started because of Song Ae-hyuk!”
“Because of Ae-hyuk?”
“Yes. Song Ae-hyuk was always good at studying from a young age. I wasn’t. No matter where we went, only he received attention! So I tried changing my speech pattern. And then people started noticing me. So I just… kept talking that way.”

I stroked Song Ae-rim’s head as I spoke.

“You did well.”

I had only said she did well, but Song Ae-rim’s face contorted and the breath she had been holding burst out all at once.

“Uh… uh. Wait a moment.”

Ae-rim’s tears flowed without pause as all the emotions she had suppressed came pouring out at once.

“Uh… Ae-rim? Why are you suddenly crying?”

Song Ae-rim cried even louder, like a small child. I quickly pulled her into my embrace and stroked her back.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
“…Sniff.”

Song Ae-rim wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

“Thank you. Boss. But my clothes… because of me.”
“If you’re sorry, will you at least pay for the dry cleaning?”

I glanced toward the Kitchen, where the fatsia shoots still lingered subtly.

“Laundry fees?”
“Yeah. I’ve got a big job on my plate today too.”

I pointed to the fatsia shoots side dish I’d left on the counter.

“I took on a group bento box order.”
“A group order!?”
“That’s right!”
“That’s quite impressive, isn’t it?”

It wasn’t exactly impressive, but—

“Fairly impressive, I’d say.”

Anyway.

“I’m planning to deliver lunch bento boxes to the Happiness Welfare Center.”
“Oh!”
“That’s why I was arranging the fatsia shoots side dish earlier.”
“Fatsia shoots?”
“You’ve never seen fatsia shoots side dish before?”

Song Ae-rim nodded.

“To be honest, Grandmother Hyang-suk does give me side dishes, but I don’t really know their names in detail!”
“That’s a shame.”
“If you’re not interested, you don’t want to learn!”

I smiled and gazed at the fatsia shoots.

“I happen to have made a sample batch. Want to try some?”
“Can I really?”
“Of course. I made it as a taste test for the side dishes.”

Song Ae-rim rose from her seat with understanding and popped the fatsia shoots into her mouth with chopsticks, chewing thoughtfully with her small mouth.

“…Huh?”
“What? Not good?”
“No! I thought it would be bitter, but it’s nutty!”

Her eyes sparkled faintly—so much so that it was hard to believe she had been crying just moments before.

“I cast a spell on it.”
“Really?”

I leaned against the counter as I spoke.

“It tastes bitter at first, but once you work it with your hands a bit, it transforms like this.”
“It’s just like a person!”
“Butterbur is?”
“Yes! People change too when you touch them a little, don’t they?”

It was exactly the kind of observation Song Ae-rim would make.

“So… are you making all those group bento boxes by yourself?”
“I was planning to, originally.”
“Yes!”
“Will you help me?”
“H-help you?”

I pushed the bowl containing the blanched butterbur greens toward her and added:

“You need to peel the skin off the blanched butterbur stems. It’s not difficult. Just takes a bit of hand work.”

I gestured to the blanched butterbur stems glistening with moisture.

“This skin here?”
“Yes. Grab the end like this.”

I picked one up and gently pulled at the stem’s end. The skin slipped off smoothly.

“Wow…! It peels off easier than I thought!”
“But if you use too much force, it’ll snap. It takes skill.”
“Skill!”
“Want to try?”
“Yes!”

Ae-rim nodded silently and followed my lead. At first, her grip and pulling motion were clumsy, but after just a few attempts, she quickly got the hang of it.

“You’re quite skilled at this.”
“I take after my father—I’m good with my hands!”

Peeled skins piled neatly beside her. She seemed to be making good progress.

“Ae-rim, about the laundry bill….”

Song Ae-rim didn’t even let me finish before speaking up.

“Yes! You’re not seriously asking me to pay in money, are you!?”
“Do I look like such a terrible adult to you?”

I tapped the fatsia shoot bowl lightly.

“Come work with me at the Happiness Welfare Center.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“I’m… allowed to go…?”
“Why wouldn’t you be? You peel fatsia shoots this well.”

Compensation should be given properly, after all.

“Work is all much the same. You just need to help me out. Assist with my tasks, keep pace with the schedule, and that’s all there is to it. I won’t give you anything too strenuous, so don’t worry.”
“Oh, no. Strenuous work is fine too…. But why me?”
“Because I hope you’ll see the world a little more broadly.”

Song Ae-rim broke into a bright smile.

“I’ll ask Grandmother! I need her permission to skip the Academy!”
“All right.”

And I’d need to ask Yun Ga-rin in the morning whether stir-fried fatsia shoots or seasoned fatsia shoots would be better.

***

Around lunchtime, the shop door opened, and Yun Ga-rin arrived with the sunlight. She was a bit earlier than our scheduled time.

“Hello, boss!”

Yun Ga-rin’s bright voice transformed the shop in an instant.

“Welcome!”
“I got your text!”
“Welcome! I just finished the bento boxes.”

I adjusted my apron and smiled.

“The timing is perfect for a taste test before lunch, don’t you think?”

Yun Ga-rin’s gaze naturally drifted to the bento boxes arranged on the table. Steam still clung to the air above them, wisping gently from the sealed lids. A savory aroma escaped through the narrow gaps.

“Wow… the smell alone is different, isn’t it?”
“Isn’t it?”

I handed her chopsticks and water.

“This is basically how I structured the bento boxes.”

I wanted to create bento boxes with balanced nutrition.

“The rice is tangy inari sushi, braised lotus root tempura, boiled pork and cabbage wraps, quick-pickled vegetables, and then fatsia shoots stir-fry and fatsia shoots salad.”
“This looks absolutely delicious!”
“The bento boxes are structured this way, basically.”
“The composition is really excellent!”
“But like you mentioned, the fatsia shoots are the most important, right?”
“Yes, exactly! An elderly customer specifically requested the fatsia shoots.”
“So I wasn’t sure which preparation would suit their palate better, which is why I called you.”

I took out two small plates and arranged the fatsia shoots stir-fry on one and the fatsia shoots salad on the other.

“Try them and let me know which one works better.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you’re the judge today.”
“Me, a judge…! I’ll taste them carefully.”

Yun Ga-rin smiled and picked up her chopsticks.

“I’ll try the fatsia shoots stir-fry first.”

The moment the sautéed butterbur entered my mouth, my eyes widened.

“Mmm…!”

I chewed once more, then nodded in approval.

“The perilla oil flavor isn’t overpowering, and the stems have this delightful crispness with each bite—I think the elderly customers would really enjoy this!”
“It gets better the more you chew it!”

Yun Ga-rin nodded and tried the seasoned butterbur next.

“Ah….”

Yun Ga-rin lifted her head and looked at me.

“This is a rice thief, isn’t it?”
“You can taste the seasoning is a bit stronger, right?”
“Yes! I can taste it! There’s barely any bitterness, and if I ate this blindfolded, I honestly wouldn’t be sure it was seasoned butterbur!”

She alternated her gaze between the two plates, deliberating for a moment.

“It feels wasteful to choose just one.”
“Right?”
“Yes, the sautéed version is chewy, and the seasoned one is tender.”
“So which side dish did you choose, Ga-rin?”

After deliberating carefully, Yun Ga-rin set down her chopsticks on the table, having reached her decision.

“I’ve decided!”

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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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