Living Dangerously with a 999-Year-Old Gumiho – Chapter 41

Kangtae hesitated for a moment while looking at Yoonhwa’s expression, then playfully smacked her forehead.

Yoonhwa blinked in response to Kangtae’s light smack and cheekily said, “Is that all? You’re such a wimp!”

Kangtae, slightly hurt to his pride, appeared a bit surprised by Yoonhwa’s reaction.

He then looked at Hyun and Seojin with a mischievous tone, saying, “Hey, you both need to give Yoonhwa a smack too!”

“I guess I hit her too lightly!”

Seojin and Hyun exchanged glances and began to whisper to each other.

Between them flowed playful laughter as they joked about how to slap Yoonhwa.

Diiinniiiing~

Diiinniiiing~

Suddenly, the ringing of a phone shattered the peace in the house.

The atmosphere shifted to one of tension in an instant.

Friends looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

“Oh right, Seojin had a phone in her house, didn’t she?”

“Who could it be?”

Yoonhwa turned to Hyun with a curious look and asked, “A phone…? What’s that sound?”

Hyun paused for a moment, then laughed and explained to Yoonhwa, “Oh, Yoonhwa, a phone is an object that lets people talk when they’re far apart.”

Seojin quickly responded to the phone ringing and walked toward it.

“Shhh! I’m answering a call!”

Holding the phone to her ear, she asked, “Hello?”

Seojin’s voice carried an air of caution.

After a brief moment, her expression brightened, and she let out a sigh of relief.

“Oh, it’s Mom and Dad? They haven’t called in a while!”

While Seojin was on the call, her friends quietly glanced at each other and murmured.

“Seojin’s parents are calling?”

“I wonder what’s up…?”

Even while holding the phone to her ear, Seojin gestured to her friends reassuringly.

She focused on her parents’ voices as they came through the phone.

A gentle smile spread across her face.

“Oh, Mom! My friends are here too.”

“Hyun, Kangtae, and Yoonhwa, my new friend, are all with me!”

After listening for a moment, Seojin’s eyes sparkled as she exclaimed, “Oh, really? You’re coming over?”

“Wow, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”

“The friends will be excited to meet you, Mom and Dad!”

Seojin briefly turned to give her friends a knowing look.

She then turned back to the phone.

“So when are you arriving?”

“Oh, 2 PM? Got it, I’ll clean up the house after lunch!”

Before hanging up, Seojin said to her parents in a loving tone, “Alright, see you soon, Mom! Drive safely!”

After Seojin hung up, she turned back to her friends with an excited expression.

“Mom and Dad are coming around 2!”

“It’ll be great for Yoonhwa to meet new friends!”

“They’ll come right after lunch!”

Her friends began bustling about with excitement at the news of Seojin’s parents visiting.

The cooking was already in full swing, and everyone was doing their best with their assigned tasks.

Hyun was showing Yoonhwa how to handle the ingredients next to her, saying, “If you chop the vegetables this way, the broth will taste better.”

Yoonhwa seemed fascinated as she got deeper into the world of cooking.

Seojin turned to Yoonhwa and asked, “Yoonhwa! It’s a secret that you’re a Nine-Tailed Fox to my Mom and Dad, right?!”

Yoonhwa paused for a moment to meet Seojin’s gaze.

A flicker of concern crossed her eyes, but she answered brightly with a smile, “Of course! The fact that I’m a Nine-Tailed Fox is our little secret.”

Seojin cautiously added, “You won’t tell even my parents, right?”

Yoonhwa nodded seriously, saying, “Yep, it’s a secret from your parents too.”

“Because a lot of people don’t understand about Nine-Tailed Foxes yet.”

“So, I’ll do my best to avoid getting caught!”

Seojin nodded in understanding, showing she got it. “Got it, Yoonhwa. For your sake, I’ll keep it a secret.”

Kangtae and Hyun, hearing this conversation, exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.

Yoonhwa smiled, grateful for her friends’ support. “Thanks for keeping the secret!”

The friends responded to Yoonhwa’s smile and went back to focusing on their cooking.

Kangtae prepared seasonings like salt and pepper.

“These spices are essential for cooking.”

Choco, curious, watched the friends cooking from the kitchen floor.

Ears perked up occasionally as food pieces dropped to the ground.

Seojin added meat to the pot to enhance the flavor of the broth.

“Now that we’ve added the meat and let it simmer more, the broth will become richer.”

Yoonhwa cautiously tried to prepare the ingredients using a knife but struggled; the pieces she cut were rather uneven.

“Is this how it’s done?”

Her movements were a bit awkward, and the ingredients didn’t come out as expected.

Kangtae chuckled at the sight and said, “Haha! Yoonhwa, I think you’ll need a bit more practice with your knife skills.”

Yoonhwa blushed a bit but laughed, “Ah, controlling a knife really is harder than it looks…”

Hyun came over to help Yoonhwa and advised, “Hold the knife like this, and keep the ingredients stable.”

“And slowly, carefully cut them.”

“Watch your hands!”

Yoonhwa followed Hyun’s advice, trying again carefully, and she began improving her knife skills.

“Oh, I think I’m getting the hang of it!”

Choco playfully bumped into Yoonhwa’s tail while she cooked.

Whenever Yoonhwa’s tail moved, it seemed to look like a toy.

Choco leaped toward her tail, gently tapping the tip.

Yoonhwa felt a ticklish sensation spreading from her tail tip throughout her body from Choco’s playful actions.

Her tail was sensitive, reacting to Choco’s antics, swaying on its own.

“Haha, Choco, stop it~ That tickles!”

Yoonhwa chuckled while trying to hold back giggles.

Choco, seeming to find her reaction amusing, playfully bumped into her tail even more.

Yoonhwa burst out laughing at Choco’s antics.

She paused her cooking, turned her head and looked at her playful little friend.

“Choco, focus! I’m cooking here~”

But Choco seemed to ignore her words, continuing to bump into her tail.

Yoonhwa gently petted Choco’s head. “Choco, we’re cooking right now.”

“Just wait a little, okay?”

Choco briefly stopped at Yoonhwa’s gentle touch, looking at her, then quickly dashed to the sofa, observing the human and Nine-Tailed Fox cooking.

Thanks to the efforts of her friends, a hearty soup with rich flavors was completed.

The broth was thick and fragrant, filled with various vegetables and meat, looking delicious enough to whet anyone’s appetite just by looking at it.

Hyun took a ladleful of the soup to taste and smiled in satisfaction, “Tasty! This is a success!”

Seojin set the dining table, inviting her friends. “Alright, everyone come over and eat together!”

Yoonhwa felt a sense of pride seeing the dish she helped prepare.

“Wow! I can make delicious food too…!”

“Next time, I’ll treat you all to a meal by myself!”

Kangtae, having finished washing the dishes, joined in, swallowing hard at the aroma of the food.

“Just the smell of the food is filling me up.”

Yoonhwa sparkled her eyes and asked Hyun, “Hyun, what’s the name of this dish?”

Hyun smiled and answered, “This is called Galbitang.”

“When you eat it with rice, it’s really tasty.”

“Galbitang… what a cool name. And it looks super delicious!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Yoonhwa carefully scooped a spoonful and put it in her mouth.

Her eyes widened in awe as she savored the taste.

“Wow, this is really… maybe because I helped make it,” she marveled, “but I think it’s the best of all the human world’s foods!”

Kangtae added a comment as he took a bite, “I’m gonna enjoy this~”

Seojin served another bowl of Galbitang from the pot and placed it in front of Yoonhwa, saying, “Yoonhwa, eat up! It’s good for your strength and health.”

Yoonhwa accepted the bowl from Seojin with a grateful smile.

She was amazed at how tender the meat was as it fell apart easily.

“This tender meat is something I’ve never seen before.”

“What kind of meat is this??”

Seeing Yoonhwa’s astonished expression, Hyun chuckled and replied, “That’s beef short ribs. We eat a lot of beef here.”

Yoonhwa’s eyes widened in shock. “I’ve never had beef before! What a delicious animal this is..!!”

Kangtae quickly grabbed a piece and held it out to Choco, saying, “Choco, give this a try too.”

Choco cautiously approached the piece of meat Kangtae offered and gently took it in his mouth.

Then he happily wagged his tail while chewing on the meat.

The friends smiled warmly at this sight.

Yoonhwa kept marveling at the tenderness of the beef short ribs, savoring the flavor slowly.

As each enjoyed their bowl of Galbitang, laughter and conversation filled the warm atmosphere.

Hyun, lost in the deep flavor of the broth, took another bite and said, “I think this is even tastier than what I made alone!”

Seojin replied with a bite of meat, “We made it together, so it’s even tastier~”

As the meal drew to a close, Kangtae gathered the empty bowls and said, “I’m really full… Thanks!”

Yoonhwa smiled at her friends, saying, “So delicious~ Thanks for teaching me how to cook.”

After finishing the meal, the friends shared happy smiles with each other.

Spending time together like this allowed Yoonhwa to learn about new flavors in the human world.

After the meal, the friends looked at the clock in surprise.

It was almost 1 PM already.

Since Seojin’s parents were expected to arrive at 2 PM, they hurriedly started tidying up the house.

Hyun carefully placed his cello back in its case, saying, “Wow, time really flies!”

“We’ve got to prepare to meet Seojin’s parents!”

Seojin began cleaning the kitchen. “I want to show Mom and Dad a tidy house.”

Kangtae organized the empty cups and plates, “I’ll clean up here.”

Yoonhwa lent a hand to Kangtae and Hyun, helping put things in order.

“I’ll help too!! I’ve learned so much, so I should at least do some cleaning, right?”

Choco watched his friends bustling about curiously, occasionally wagging his tail as he circled around Yoonhwa.

Working together, the friends swiftly cleaned the house.

They straightened cushions in the living room and neatly arranged the books on the desk.

Yoonhwa spotted a dusty bookshelf and decided to use magic to clean it.

She waved her hands, making the dust vanish from the top of the shelf.

“Ha ha! Look at this! I can do some things too~”

Her friends were amazed by Yoonhwa’s magical cleaning.

“Wow, Yoonhwa! You’re really amazing!”

As the house became tidy, Seojin wore a satisfied smile. “Now we won’t be embarrassed when Mom and Dad arrive.”

“Thanks, everyone, for helping out with cleaning!”

Once all the preparations were done, the friends decided to sit on the living room sofa for a quick break.

Seojin began to prepare some snacks to welcome her parents.

“I’ll get the tea and cookies that mom and dad like~”

Yoonhwa cast a transparent magic on Seojin’s tail once again.

Since they had already seen her use this magic before, it didn’t astound her friends anymore.

Seojin looked at Yoonhwa with gratitude in her eyes. “Thanks!”

Yoonhwa tucked her tail and ears in.

Around 2:10, the house was quiet and peaceful, ready to welcome Seojin’s parents.

Suddenly, a knock echoed at the door, causing Choco to perk up his ears and bark.

“Woof!”

“Woof woof!!”

Yoonhwa and her friends looked toward the door in surprise.

Seojin stood up and said, “Oh, Mom and Dad must be here!”