They Told Me to Build Good Karma by Selling Side Dishes - Chapter 94

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

94. A Gift (5)

The customers I was expecting never showed up.

“Side dish delivery~.”

A delivery person had arrived with the side dishes.

“Haaaaaah….”
“Meooooow….”

Hae-tae and I exhaled long, synchronized sighs as if we’d rehearsed it.

“Huh?”
“Meow?”

The moment our eyes met, we high-fived each other—my palm against his paw.

“Oh my, a delivery person arrives and we can’t even greet them properly….”

The sound of the delivery bag being set down seemed unusually loud.

“Excuse me, delivery person. These are ingredients for our shop.”
“How pitiful, how pitiful.”
“What’s so surprising about that?”

Shin Yeop-baek narrowed one eye as he looked at us.

“Is business slow because it’s New Year’s Day?”
“…People usually eat out on January 1st. Side dish shops tend to be quiet on that day.”

I took the delivery bag and headed toward the Refrigerator. Opening the door, I carefully arranged everything inside, filling every gap.

“There’s not a single empty space. The refrigerator is completely full.”
“All of this will disappear in no time once I turn it into side dishes, you know?”
“You’re making side dishes again starting from New Year’s?”

I found it absurd, so I narrowed my eyes into slits and glared at Shin Yeop-baek. Instead, Hae-tae standing behind him suddenly smacked him on the head.

“Ow!”
“As if you didn’t know.”

Shin Yeop-baek glanced at me while organizing the delivery slips.

“You made something delicious yesterday, didn’t you? Boss?”
“Yesterday?”
“Yeah. Yesterday.”

Yesterday? Was he talking about the braised short ribs?

“How did you even know about that?”
“There’s a lot I know.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”

I transferred the last item from the delivery bag and closed the refrigerator door.

“Ordinary humans usually eat something delicious on New Year’s Eve, right? Fried chicken with tteokbokki, or maybe pizza?”
“People eat pig’s trotters too.”
“I thought you’d be the type to do that.”

Shin Yeop-baek followed behind me, seeming to be asking for something.

“Why do you want to eat it?”
“Of course I do. If there was just the lower shelf of the refrigerator, I would’ve left you a note asking for some.”
“If you don’t give it to me, I’ll just keep following you around.”
“Yeah. How did you know?”

Shin Yeop-baek responded with shameless ease. I adjusted my apron and muttered under my breath.

“…even if you gave it to me, I’d probably follow you around.”
“Huh? What did you just say, boss?”
“Nothing. But it might not taste as perfect as it did yesterday.”
“I don’t care. I just want to eat the food you make.”

Shin Yeop-baek naturally took Hae-tae’s seat and sat down in the chair.

“What an audacious fellow. Stealing Divine Being’s spot, are we?”
“What do you expect from me?”
“I don’t understand why someone like you became a delivery person.”
“Everything has Divine will behind it.”
“Why are you speaking the name Divine from your mouth! Meow!”

Unable to contain himself any longer, Hae-tae exploded, swinging his plump front paws in rapid succession. They struck Shin Yeop-baek’s head repeatedly, yet the recipient didn’t so much as flinch.

“You don’t deserve to eat that.”
“Why don’t I deserve to eat it?”
“Coming empty-handed with no shame! You should have brought something to eat too!”
“Oh? Then I just need to meet that qualification~? I brought something along.”

Shin Yeop-baek thrust his arm deep into the bag. The bag had clearly been empty just moments ago. But as he slowly withdrew his hand, a heavy bowl emerged.

“A bowl…?”

A bowl wrapped in cloth? I left the light on and approached the bowl.

“A dish I made before coming here~.”

Shin Yeop-baek whistled cheerfully.

“A dish?”
“A dish, meow?”

Finally, Hae-tae’s front paws, which had been striking Shin Yeop-baek’s head, came to a halt.

“Do I really look like someone who would show up unprepared and ask for a meal without bringing anything~? Such an unscrupulous creature?”
“….”
“….”

Shin Yeop-baek stared at me as if questioning whether I truly saw him that way.

“Since I’ve brought rice, you’ll accept it without complaint, meow.”
“You got permission?”
“Meow.”

Shin Yeop-baek slowly untied the cloth knot that had been wrapped around the container. Soon, the neatly arranged dishes inside came into view.

“Oh?”

There were two dishes. I recognized one of them.

“Is this aralia skewers?”
“That’s right.”

Shin Yeop-baek nodded as if confirming the answer. Aralia skewers look simple, but they’re far from easy to make.

Blanched aralia and beef cut into neat sticks are each briefly marinated in soy sauce seasoning, then alternated onto skewers, dipped in flour and egg wash, and pan-fried.

It wasn’t much different from the skewers that appear on ancestral offering tables. However, because the flour and egg coating must be thin and fried delicately, it requires skill. Otherwise, the aralia quickly becomes soggy or loses its distinctive flavor.

“You made this well?”
“Right?”
“You said you had cooking skills, but….”

I looked at the plate and took a bite of what was on the right side.

“What’s this?”
“Charcoal cake.”

It was a rice cake.

The sweetness of persimmon powder, the subtle sweetness of finely chopped jujubes, the delicate aroma of cinnamon, the nutty richness of pine nuts, and the fresh scent of tangerine were all evenly mixed into glutinous rice flour. It was then steamed in alternating layers with mung bean powder.

Even a moment’s impatience can collapse the layers. If the ingredient ratios are off, the flavor falls flat.

This was also a tediously meticulous task….

‘So he wasn’t lying about being able to cook?’

I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the dish.

“You made this?”
“Why are you so surprised?”
“Well. Very much so.”

Shin Yeop-baek shrugged as if it were nothing.

“Can I eat it now?”
“Help yourself.”

I lowered the heat under the braised short ribs and tasted the perilla leaf first. Its fragrant aroma pierced my nostrils and mingled with the beef, adding a savory depth to the flavor.

‘He really did make this well, didn’t he?’

“Is it delicious?”
“Yes, um….”

His skill was truly remarkable.

“Try the hotteok too.”

The moment I took a bite.

“…!”

Nutty richness and sweetness spread across my palate in succession. The crumbly mung bean powder subdued the cinnamon, though only just barely.

‘I’m at a loss for words.’

“Delicious, right?”

Hae-tae was also speechless, simply chewing in quiet appreciation.

“…It’s delicious.”

So delicious that words escape me.

I moved to transfer the grilled short ribs to a fresh bowl. I selected a few glossy pieces and drizzled them lightly with the braising liquid. Then I placed it before Shin Yeop-baek.

“Here.”
“Yes!”

Shin Yeop-baek quickly picked up his chopsticks and took his first bite. His chewing was noticeably slow.

“Mmm, delicious!”
“That’s it?”
“It’s so delicious I don’t know how to react~.”

Even as he spoke, his chopsticks never stopped moving. Once I gave him rice, he scraped the bowl clean of every last drop of broth.

“He certainly enjoys his food.”

While I watched Shin Yeop-baek’s enthusiastic eating, a message notification appeared on my smartphone sitting on the counter.

“What is it?”
“Who knows?”

There was no one who would message me at this hour. I checked the message on my smartphone.

▶[Hello, Owner Ji-gu. This is Yun Ga-rin.]
▶[I’m inquiring if we could meet briefly today.]
▶[There’s something I’d like to tell you before sending an official notice regarding the Spring Festival.]

It seemed urgent.

“Hae-tae and Shin Yeop-baek.”
“Meow?”
“Huh?”

Hae-tae and Shin Yeop-baek were eating their meal.

“Watch the shop for me for a bit.”
“Where are you going~?”
“To hear about the Spring Festival schedule. Hae-tae, make sure to show Shin Yeop-baek around.”

I untied my apron and draped it over the chair. Hae-tae tapped his chest with his front paw as if to say I could count on him.

“Don’t worry.”

I sent a brief reply.

◀[I’m fine right now. Where should we meet?]
▶[Please come to Cafe Seolseol.]
◀[Okay, I’m heading there now.]

“I’ll be back soon! Call me if anything comes up! Hae-tae, you have my number, right?”
“Meow!”

That settled it.

***

I arrived at Cafe Seolseol, where I’d met Jung Song-i before. Yun Ga-rin sat by the window with a folder of documents spread out before her.

“Ga-rin.”
“Boss! Over here!”

Yun Ga-rin looked at me with tired eyes and raised her hand. I removed my padding jacket and sat across from her.

“I was surprised you called me so suddenly.”
“I’m sorry. The schedule came together faster than expected.”

How tight could it be? Yun Ga-rin slid a document organized in a PowerPoint presentation toward me.

“An official notice is supposed to go out this time. There’s something I wanted to discuss regarding the random booth.”
“Ah, the random booth.”
“You heard about it from Jung Song-i, right?”

Yun Ga-rin placed an iced Americano she’d ordered in advance in front of me.

“Originally, we were just going to select booths.”
“I see.”

I took a long sip of the iced Americano. It was refreshing.

“But the Advertising Company suggested something.”
“Cough—hack!”
“Are you alright?”
“Oh, yes, I’m fine. Please, speak freely.”

I’d nearly spit out my Americano in surprise.

“They said it would be better to select the representatives during a briefing where the Merchants Association, community representatives, and festival participants are all gathered. Originally, I was planning to select them whenever the shop owners had time available. But the Advertising Company said generating some buzz would be good….”

They wanted to draw pure entertainment value.

“What do you think?”
“There’s nothing particularly wrong with it, so it’s fine.”
“And there’s one more thing.”
“One more thing?”
“Originally, everyone who came to the Spring Festival booth and ate would be selected.”

Yun Ga-rin scratched her temple with her finger.

“But the Merchants Association and community representatives said that might be difficult.”
“Difficult?”
“Logically speaking, if everyone who comes has a vote, it could be hard on the shop owners.”

True—how could they possibly prepare for an unknown number of visitors? That was a reasonable approach.

“They suggested selecting representatives on behalf of the customers instead.”
“Representatives….”
“When the official notice is released, they plan to post it on portal sites to select a diverse group of people.”
“How many people are we talking about?”

Yun Ga-rin rubbed her chin as she spoke.

“Three hundred.”

That’s quite small.

“That’s small?”
“…Small, you say?”
“It’s on the small side. Usually, festivals don’t draw only three hundred people, do they?”

‘If I do this….’

I’d have to compete on quality rather than quantity. If I relied on volume, I wouldn’t win the vote.

“The Spring Festival is scheduled for February 5th and 6th.”
“Oh? That’s before Lunar New Year?”
“Then it’s even more important. Since it’s before the holiday preparations, we’ll have plenty of customers.”
“Exactly. The timing overlaps perfectly.”

Yun Ga-rin laughed while jotting down notes.

“I can see the picture forming in your head already, can’t I?”
“A little, yes.”
“Just come by next Friday at noon for the booth arrangement.”
“Understood.”

Yun Ga-rin handed me this year’s calendar with a smile.

“See you then.”

I accepted the calendar and nodded.

***

My mind never stopped working on the way back to Hyang-suk’s Side Dish Shop. I was already conceptualizing what spring vegetable skewers I could create.

I’d sketched out several ideas. But since I hadn’t made them yet, I couldn’t describe their taste.

‘The combination is crucial when you put everything together….’

The familiar sign appeared at the end of the Alley. I needed to tell Hae-tae about this quickly and discuss it. My thoughts alone might differ from what we’d create together.

“Huh?”

Just as I reached for the door handle, the first person to enter my vision wasn’t Hae-tae or Shin Yeop-baek.

‘Why is that bastard here.’

The familiar set of shoulders, the tense nape of the neck, the slight bow of the head as if looking down on others—I recognized that back of the head I despised.

‘No way.’

As always, my uneasy premonition proved accurate.

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