Chapter 823

〈 Chapter 823 〉 Part 2 Side Story /Busan Date/

“Busan here we go-!”

Seok Harang was jumping around in excitement.

“Brother, this is Busan!”

“I know that too. I’m Korean as well, you know?”

“Brother, have you ever actually come down to Busan before?”

“…Nope.”

This was the first time in real Busan. To begin with, I didn’t like traveling and never had a reason to come all the way down to Busan.

But there’s one reason I’m here.

Because Seok Harang wanted to enjoy a date in Busan.

Tera’s work? Sorry to Tera’s countless humans and spirits, but my working hours are over. After clocking out, I came here on a date with my beloved lover. There’s no way I’d be handling work now.

“Finally made it to Busan.”

“If only we’d flown, but taking the KTX wasn’t bad at all. Brother, come on. Let me treat you to the full Busan course.”

“You’re not from Busan though.”

“Tch… Ah, what’s the difference? It’s all the same anyway.”

“…”

As soon as she arrived in Busan, her dialect exploded. All the sounds around us were also in dialect, so Seok Harang’s speech didn’t feel awkward at all.

“Thrilled to be back home. Guess I’ll become the guardian deity of this place now.”

“I’m already the guardian deity of our house.”

“Right, the game room guardian deity.”

I grabbed Seok Harang by the shoulder. She leaned into me as I guided her, smiling brightly.

“Brother, where do you want to go first?”

“I’ll just follow wherever you want to go.”

“Then where do you want to eat?”

“Hmm….”

What should we eat since we’re in Busan?

I thought about foods associated with Busan.

“Hmm….”

Out, out, out.

While I already knew many of Busan’s famous dishes, the problem was that most of them couldn’t be enjoyed together with Seok Harang.

“Why? Brother, just tell me what you want to eat.”

“Harang, if you say what you want, most of it would probably be stuff only available in Busan, right?”

“Is that so?”

“Those kinds of things are usually local cuisine.”

“That’s true.”

The atmosphere of Earth 20 years ago and this Earth are completely different. Food that seems commonplace here might not even exist there.

If I had been more interested in food, I might have been surprised thinking, “Isn’t this supposed to exist?” But unfortunately, I hadn’t reached that level of distinction.

Instead, the only method was cross-referencing with Seok Harang. I introduced her to Busan’s specialties through my smartphone.

“Are you okay with seed-filled pancakes?”

“…Pancakes?”

“Yeah. They might be a bit too greasy for you?”

I subtly moved my hand from her shoulder down to her waist. Through her cardigan and shirt, I could feel how slender she was, proving she was truly a ‘goddess.’

“With your figure, having a pancake or two shouldn’t be a problem.”

“The issue isn’t the grease. You’re putting seeds in it? Why?”

“No idea. Maybe it just tastes good that way?”

“Wait, is that all? If it’s just deep-fried pancakes with honey and nuts, that’s it, right?”

“…You really lack sensitivity!”

Someone who looks like they were born to shine as a star makes remarks like an amateur without hesitation.

“Sometimes, you eat food for the experience. To create memories of being in this area and eating this dish.”

“Creating memories…?”

Suddenly, Seok Harang’s expression stiffened.

“…Brother, let’s go. Let’s get those seed pancakes.”

“Out of nowhere?”

“My thoughts changed. I thought I had adapted to this world, but maybe I haven’t yet.”

Seok Harang seemed bewildered by herself.

“In that other place, no matter where you created memories, they always ended up overshadowed by bad ones. Whether someone died, monsters went berserk, or dimensional gates opened and destroyed the area. That happened countless times.”

“That’s true.”

“I guess I was just grateful to survive each day back then. Instead of finding meaning in places or food, …the meaning was in continuing to live with hope.”

“So creating memories didn’t have much significance?”

“If the connections and memories disappear, all that remains is sadness.”

Seok Harang smiled bitterly.

“Roughly ten or twelve years after I awakened, dozens of people had died. That’s just among those with special abilities; including regular people, tens of thousands must have died in this country alone each year. Whether monsters or madmen.”

It’s the same Earth, but there’s a huge difference between that place and this one.

Whether humanity lives in fear or not.

Some joked about calling this place the ‘Hellfire Peninsula’ once, but that other place was genuinely hell.

“So I guess…there was nothing I could leisurely try as a local specialty.”

“Even though the worlds are different, it might be good to try it now.”

Seok Harang grinned and pulled me along.

“Let’s go, Brother. Shouldn’t we take pictures first? Seed pancakes are super famous, right? Maybe we can buy some to take home later? Throw in some strawberry jam, and even Goldma will eat it.”

“Let’s try one first before deciding, Harang.”

Together with Seok Harang, I searched for the market. Already there were numerous couples and families from other regions waiting their turn, and I received the seed pancakes while strolling through the market with Seok Harang.

Crunch.

“Harang.”

“Yeah, Brother.”

“One, two, three.”

Click.

“Where should we head next?”

The taste of the seed pancake will be remembered through the photos.

Maybe.

“Still.”

“…So this is what creating memories feels like, huh?”

It was fine since Seok Harang smiled.

But will she be able to smile going forward?

“Brother, is there anything else you want to try?”

“How about this place? It’s a fine dining restaurant run by a chef from Busan, and it has Michelin stars.”

“What? Brother, are you crazy? We came all the way to Busan for what—fine dining? That’s something you can eat anytime in Seoul. What are you doing trying to stir pasta with a fork when you’re in Busan?”

“But Harang.”

I pointed inside the market.

“Do you like blood sausage?”

“……The dangmyeon served with tteokbokki, you mean?”

“No. Real pig blood sausage.”

“…Ugh.”

Seok Harang’s expression worsened drastically.

But the real deal is coming up next.

“Jagalchi, eel, shellfish grill, noodles, pancake…”

“Brother, stop teasing me.”

“What? Anyway, those kinds of things. Can you eat any of them?”

“Are you mocking me? I’ve lived more than half my life in Busan.”

“Did you not eat hotel-style meals for 90% of your three meals?”

Seok Harang said nothing.

“Didn’t Yua practically assign you a personal chef? Building hotels in Busan would only result in losses.”

“Bu, buffet style, so there was some Korean food too, right?”

“So how much of it did you actually touch? Harang, when’s the last time you ate kimchi stew?”

“……”

Silence from Seok Harang.

I tightly held onto her waist so she wouldn’t escape and whispered into her ear, mimicking her accent.

“Harang, isn’t pork rice soup what comes to mind when you think of Busan?”

Her expression crumpled to a serious degree.

* * *

“Anyway, it’s so strange. How can someone who loves pork rice soup so much not be able to eat it?”

“……Hmph.”

We visited a pork rice soup restaurant.

However, Seok Harang reacted sensitively to the smell even before entering, and I brought her to a place in the bustling area where soup and bread were served as appetizers.

“Uncle, that’s too much.”

“You were calling me Brother until just now, and now it’s Uncle with standard Korean? Are you upset?”

“Yes, I am upset. Wasn’t this reservation just a prank on me?”

“It wasn’t a prank. What’s chu-rai? Don’t know?”

“Don’t care. Hmph.”

“Come on, don’t be like that. Hey, the blueberry ade here is really good.”

“…Fine, I’ll forgive you.”

Seok Harang sighed and sipped her drink.

“It’s not that I dislike Korean food. I’m from this country too, and I like what I like. But…”

“But?”

“I prefer Western cuisine.”

Seok Harang was sincere.

“If I put my mind to it, I could eat everything here as a full course, but with Korean food, I can only eat as much as I can handle.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Huh? Brother, do you know why?”

“I know perfectly well.”

There’s only one thing Seok Harang reacts sensitively to.

“Red pepper powder.”

“…Huh?”

“You can’t handle food heavily seasoned with red pepper powder.”

I don’t really know why.

It’s something I learned by spending time with Seok Harang.

Shin-ra and Yuna eat it fine, but for some reason, whenever there’s such food, Seok Harang’s chopsticks move less.

That’s why I try to plan meals that Seok Harang can also enjoy when we eat together. Even when cooking with Yuna, I avoid spicy dishes.

Maybe she’s just sensitive to spice.

“……Seriously?”

“It’s your taste buds, so what can I do if it’s true?”

“I didn’t know that. So I can’t handle red pepper powder? Why?”

“Beats me. Could it be because your mother-in-law ate too much pork rice soup during your prenatal education?”

“…Scary possibility. Red pepper powder…”

Seok Harang picked up a pickle from the side dish with her fork.

“Thinking about it, I do eat these more than kimchi.”

“Don’t you also avoid spicy chicken?”

“Ah!”

Seok Harang clapped her hands.

“What about rice soup?”

“I don’t know that either.”

That remains a mystery.

Why can’t Seok Harang eat pork rice soup well? Experimenting with other types of rice soup seems too cruel since Seok Harang gets nauseous.

Why did I bring rice soup if she can’t eat it?

“Could it be because your mother-in-law fed you nothing but pork rice soup and red pepper powder your whole life while you were still in the womb?”

“Brother, does that even make sense?”

“There’s a possibility, isn’t there? Your father eats loads of seasoning, right? And your mother-in-law even pours radish kimchi broth into her soup.”

“……”

Seok Harang’s expression crumpled mercilessly.

“Don’t children usually follow their parents’ taste preferences?”

“That’s true.”

“Then what do you think our children will prefer, Korean or Western food?”

“……Probably both?”

I was caught off guard by her sudden question.

Seok Harang finally looked a little more relaxed as she raised her drink towards me.

“Then I better not end up like me. If they resemble me and start eating what I like the most, they’ll get scolded.”

“Blueberry?”

“No.”

Seok Harang rested her chin on her hand and smiled at me.

“Brother.”