They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 82

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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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82. Buckwheat Jelly Strips (6)

“You pass!”
“Pass?!”

I couldn’t contain my joy and broke into a smile.

“Red chili paste is optional, but rice and vegetables are essential. I’m impressed you still remember and follow this principle~”
“How could I forget that? I haven’t forgotten it at all.”
“Most people take these basics for granted and forget them quickly.”
“Those are just the ones who eat and run, aren’t they?”

No matter how excellent a master is, not all their disciples are worthy.

I dipped a spoon lightly into the red chili paste and coated the tip. This time, I mixed it throughout the entire bowl, using my chopsticks to ensure the vegetables didn’t get crushed.

“It tastes different when you eat it this way.”

I gazed down at the bowl and let out a quiet laugh.

“To be honest, I was worried when you said you’d open a Side Dish Shop.”
“Worried?”
“…There are people whose hands die the moment they set down a knife. I thought you’d be one of them.”

My body remembered honestly, and my spirit remembered too. My gaze fell to my own hands.

“But you’re still alive?”
“Yes. I have to be alive. I worked hard in the past, after all.”

I emptied the bibimbap without leaving a single grain of rice in the bowl. The sound of the spoon scraping the bottom echoed like a resonance.

“Ji-gu. This bibimbap. It’s a taste you wouldn’t be ashamed to serve anywhere.”
“That’s… enough for me.”
“I like that you don’t shrink back.”

I set down the spoon and chopsticks neatly on the table to signal that the meal had been delicious. Then I pressed my palms together and closed my eyes before opening them again.

“Continue here. Whether it’s the Side Dish Shop or anything else. Stay where you’ve chosen.”
“Solp?”

Solp rose from the chair and picked up the coat draped over the backrest.

“And about the Spring Festival.”
“Yes.”
“I’ll do it. As a judge.”

My eyes widened without thinking.

“Really…, truly?”

I stammered in shock. Given how meticulous he was, I hadn’t expected him to move so readily. Solp spoke matter-of-factly.

“Yes. I made a vow never to judge if the food didn’t taste good.”
“Why?”

Solp flinched slightly as he slowly draped the coat over his shoulders.

“Why? Why indeed? Ji-gu, do you truly not understand my heart?”
“…I have no idea. I’m not a mind reader.”

Seeing him about to play another guessing game, I poked his side and signaled him to speak quickly.

“Tell me now. What is it?”

Solp spoke in a flat tone, his words cutting like a blade.

“I don’t want to see my disciple—especially one who’s been cast out—lose. Satisfied?”
“…!”

Solp murmured in a low voice.

“So I went to the Side Dish Shop to taste the food first… but you’re flailing about without understanding your master’s heart at all….”
“Ahem.”

I let out a hollow cough.

“…So, um. How was the tea?”
“It was amazing.”

Before the words had even finished, Cha Seop’s palm came to rest atop my head—a gesture meant to discourage my dejection.

‘Old memories are surfacing too.’

“Seop….”
“…What.”
“Thank you.”
“I should be the one thanking you. I’m grateful just that you’re alive.”

…Really, you know how to stir a person’s heart. I smiled and gently tapped the back of Cha Seop’s hand resting on my head.

“How do you like having such a teacher?”
“I do.”
“…Oh. Admitting it for once, are you?”
“Because it’s true, isn’t it?”

In that instant, the hand I thought had withdrawn pressed firmly down on my head.

“Ow! Seop!”
“What do you know? Huh?”

Cha Seop’s voice turned sharp.

“If you understood, you wouldn’t have disappeared like that! You changed your phone number! I couldn’t reach you! Everyone around us was searching for you in chaos, and you claim to understand?”
“I’m sorry about that….”

…I was sorry. Knowing that, I had no excuse to offer.

‘Back then, I just wanted to disappear quietly….’

Sometimes evasion tastes sweeter than facing pain head-on. That cowardice had often been my only choice for survival….

“…I’ll do better from now on. No—I’ll do more.”
“Promise me.”

Kkabbi extended his pinky finger with an urgent gesture, signaling me with his eyes. I pretended to resist before linking my pinky with his in a promise.

“…I will contact you regularly and live diligently.”
“Regularly?”
“…On New Year’s, Chuseok, holidays—regularly, yes.”

Satisfied, Kkabbi released his pinky finger.

“Good. Your teacher will take his leave now.”

Kkabbi grasped the door handle and began to open it, then paused. Sunlight streamed in from outside, dazzling my eyes. I squinted, watching his retreating silhouette.

“Do well.”
“Yes. I will do well.”

The door closed. I stood there for a long moment.

“Really…. He doesn’t even give me time to think.”

I muttered while tightening the apron strings around my waist. I rinsed the empty bowl in the sink once more. The water flowed cleanly over the dish. It felt as though my unsettled heart was being washed away.

‘I have to do this.’

This is my chance. Even if the anxiety clinging to one corner of my heart gnaws away like it might consume me.

“I’m hungry.”

But I have.

“Hae-tae. Kkabbi.”

I bent forward and pulled both Hae-tae and Dokkaebi into a tight embrace.

‘They are here with me.’

That is enough.

“What are you doing!”
“It’s good though?”
“It’s not good…!”

Their bickering voices felt endearing to me.

“What do you want to eat? Should we make bibimbap with the leftover ingredients?”

At my words, both of them nodded simultaneously.

“Let’s eat bibimbap!”

***

As soon as afternoon arrived, I washed the buckwheat and was soaking it in water to ensure the husks would come off cleanly when I checked it.

The shop door opened. A familiar face entered, shaking off the slush that had melted wetly from their shoes.

“Oh, Lawyer Oh! Welcome.”

Oh Jong-hee, bundled up in a thick coat, greeted me lightly.

“It’s been a while, boss.”

His slightly disheveled hair and dark circles beneath his eyes—the kind that came from several sleepless nights—spoke volumes of Oh Jong-hee’s exhaustion.

“Have you been up for several nights?”
“…Yes. I feel like I’m dying.”

Oh Jong-hee answered in a voice devoid of humor, scanning the display case as he spoke.

“Do you have any new side dishes?”
“I made butterbur leaf seasoning.”
“You made butterbur leaf seasoning!?”

Oh Jong-hee practically swept across the display case and took the last remaining butterbur leaf seasoning.

“Fatsia shoots are delicious.”
“Would you like anything else?”
“No, that’s fine. I still have other things at home. I stopped by to see if there were any new side dishes.”

It sounded like he was asking why the Convenience Store didn’t have new items. He alternated his gaze between the seasoned fatsia and the stir-fried fatsia, a satisfied smile crossing his face.

“Most people don’t bother making these at home. They require too much work.”
“That’s exactly why people seek them out.”
“That’s right. That’s precisely why.”

Oh Jong-hee stood before the register with composed dignity and withdrew his card wallet.

“Will this be enough for today?”
“Yes, if you’re greedy, you won’t be able to finish it all.”

The moment the payment sound chimed, I placed the seasoned fatsia into a bag.

“By the way….”

Oh Jong-hee’s gaze drifted toward the Kitchen.

“What is that?”

That? I set the bag of side dishes on the counter and followed his line of sight toward the Kitchen.

“Oh, that.”

Containers of dried buckwheat kernels filled the Kitchen. I hadn’t finished organizing them after separating them with the fan earlier. It was a sight impossible to hide.

“It’s buckwheat.”
“Buckwheat… you mean the buckwheat used for noodles?”

Oh Jong-hee’s eyebrows rose ever so slightly.

“Yes. The buckwheat used to make buckwheat noodles.”
“…Are you making it yourself?”

I nodded.

“I handled everything from harvest myself. Drying, threshing, and I even did the flailing this morning.”
“Flailing…?”
“Threshing.”

Oh Jong-hee adjusted his glasses but didn’t venture a single step into the Kitchen. Instead, he stood at a distance like he was guarding a boundary, merely observing the buckwheat from afar.

“That must have taken quite some time….”
“Four days.”
“Four days of drying? What about the shop?”
“I kept it open.”
“So… you didn’t rest at all?”
“There’s work to be done, so it has to be done.”

Oh Jong-hee rested his hand on the counter, lost in thought for a moment.

“…You really are a difficult person to explain, boss.”
“I find myself difficult too.”
“That’s precisely why this shop survives. Because there exists a shop run by someone with your kind of approach.”

I laughed aloud and shook my head up and down.

“What are you making with that? Noodles?”
“No. Buckwheat jelly strips.”
“…Buckwheat jelly!!”

Oh Jong-hee lifted the bag excitedly and asked.

“When those buckwheat jelly strips come out…. Would it be alright for me to be a little greedy then?”
“You don’t need to be greedy. I’m planning to make plenty anyway.”
“It seems I have the fortune to eat well.”
“Right? Coming at just the perfect time like this.”

Those without the fortune to eat well can’t easily taste such things. Oh Jong-hee’s smile never left his lips, radiating pure joy.

“Still, it’s best eaten fresh. When will you be making it?”
“I’ll make the flour today and cook it up this evening, so it should be ready by tomorrow.”
“Understood. Then I’ll be going. By the way, I’ve been enjoying the kimchi you made for the winter stores quite well.”

…Oh Jong-hee must be the only person who shows such enthusiasm for side dishes. Only then did he leave the shop with a satisfied smile.

I wiped the smile from my lips and checked the wall clock.

“It’s afternoon now….”

Afternoon meant
I had time.

I was beginning to see the pattern of when customers arrived. After running the Side Dish Shop for several months now.

The morning rush would be intense, but by lunchtime, foot traffic would mysteriously vanish. Then between three and five in the afternoon, people would start coming in to buy dinner side dishes.

‘So right now.’

Between one and two in the afternoon, customers rarely came. Except for the occasional visitor stopping by to eat a bento box.

“Let’s get started!”
“Meow!”

As if he’d been waiting for this moment, Hae-tae lifted his head and cried out.

“I’ll make the buckwheat jelly strips delicious.”

I rolled up my sleeves and switched on the grinder.

[Radiant Grinder]
Grade: A
Description: A special grinder bestowed directly by the Divine Being Hae-tae
– It grinds with such intensity that it crushes even the soul of ingredients, perfectly preserving their true flavor.

Every time I used it, the grinder gleamed as if it had been waiting to be used.

“Cute, really. Even though I cleaned it.”

I gathered the buckwheat grains in my palm. They were light and firm. Well-soaked.

‘The hulling came out well.’

I checked once more for good measure, then carefully poured them into the grinder. I didn’t rush or get greedy.

“Let’s begin.”

I flipped the switch, and the mill hummed low with a resonant vibration. At first, the buckwheat seeds bounced erratically inside the grinding chamber. But as the grain settled into place, the sound gradually evened out into a steady rhythm.

Grind, grind, grind—

The buckwheat kernels collided with one another, fracturing and splintering, their edges worn smooth, until they transformed into fine powder. I leaned forward and peered into the chamber below. A delicate stream of flour trickled slowly down the mouth of the container.

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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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