This World is too Cruel to Men – Chapter 49

“Yeah, that’s right. Keep it smooth like that.”

“···Like this?”

Sure enough, it’s been so long since I did this that I actually did a good job, I guess.

“You’re doing great.”

“Is that… really so?”

“Of course, who do you think taught you?”

I mean, I wasn’t a famous chef in my past life or anything, but I’ve definitely chopped up veggies a ton.

Anyway, now that I’ve taught you the proper way, there’s no need to worry. I swiftly snatched an onion that was originally my goal and pulled away from Yoonseo.

Then the first thing that caught my eye was—

Twitch…

Was Yoonseo’s fingertips trembling like she was a bit nervous?

“What’s up? Why’s your hand shaking? Afraid you’ll cut yourself?”

“Uh, what?!”

Was she so tense that she didn’t even realize her own hand was shaking? When she heard my words, she flinched and almost seemed like a thief caught in the act.

“Or maybe…?”

“What?!”

Was she worried that I’d find out she got nervous over something so trivial and that I’d make fun of her about it later on?

She got angry for no reason, but it was so obvious that I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Are you starving?”

“···What?”

“Well… it makes sense you’d be hungry. It’s about that time when you start getting hungry, especially after moving all that stuff from the storage…”

“I’m not a true glutton or anything…”

“Sure, right.”

“That’s not true…”

“Well then, I’ll finish up quickly, so you can eat.”

Saying that, I diligently grated the onion I had secured from Yoonseo on the grater I brought from home.

Once I combined it with the other ingredients I had brought, it concocted a thick sauce with a spicy aroma.

Having finished making the marinade for the chicken stew, I noticed the chicken I had added to the pot was perfectly blanched.

First, I fished out the chicken, which had turned white, then discarded the water filled with impurities and foam.

“Wait, is that already cooked? Isn’t it going to be tough?”

“Tsk tsk… clearly you don’t know anything.”

“···What?”

“Before you boil it, you need to blanch it first so that you can enjoy a delicious chicken stew without any weird smells. This is a golden tip, you know? Why aren’t you taking notes?”

“Oh, really? That’s impressive.”

“You’re so unprepared to learn when someone gives you tips. Ugh…! Tsk tsk…”

With that, I tossed a few tips at Yoonseo, who would soon be making a different type of chicken dish, while I rinsed the chicken I had fished out under cold water.

Then, just as I was about to start boiling it again…

“Oh, wait.”

I returned the bowl I had tilted toward the pot back to its original position.

Thinking about it, it felt a bit lacking to just boil it like this.

After all, haven’t I come all the way here to visit?

So, I figured I ought to make the chicken stew a special one, suited for the location.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“We gathered firewood from the storage earlier, right?”

I asked Yoonseo just to confirm, but she had definitely remembered that part. I could still vividly recall how we huffed and puffed while moving the bundle of firewood.

The problem was, there was no pot lid to go along with my concept…

Well, I could substitute that with something similar from what I had brought from storage.

“Hey, did you finish cutting everything?”

“Why? Are you going to check if I did it right?”

“No, just follow me.”

Was she surprised that I wanted to go outside even though the cooking wasn’t finished yet? For a moment she frowned in suspicion, then Yoonseo nodded, as if she understood.

“Are we going to cook outside?”

“Yeah, I brought all this camping gear with me, so I might as well use it.”

Honestly, when else would I get the chance to use those things?

So, I grabbed all the ingredients and left the pension with Yoonseo.

Once we stepped outside the Pension, what unfolded was—

“Hey! Jinho! Are you sure you’re putting that together correctly? It doesn’t look right to me!”

“Y-Yeah, it must be.”

The sight of my friend surrounded by a tent that exceeded a tragic level of chaos to the point of being grotesque was utterly bewildering.

What exactly happened while I was inside that turned this tent into a horror movie-style abnormal creature?

“I followed the instructions step by step…”

The moment I heard those words, I couldn’t hold back anymore.

“If you followed the instructions, it wouldn’t look like that in the first place.”

I already knew Jinho’s comments would mostly be ignored, and yet it felt like an affront to the poor souls who struggled to create the instructions.

“What?! You finished already?”

“No.”

“Then why are you arguing with me?”

“I’m just stating the facts.”

“Ugh…! You’re the one cooking, so stop messing with us and get the food ready. I’m hungry and can’t think clearly. Okay?”

“I’ve already prepped everything inside, so now it just needs to be cooked.”

“What? Are you really cooking here?”

“Yep.”

“What about the fire?”

“It’s simple, we just need to light it.”

“Are you out of your mind? Can’t you see it’s all grass around?”

“Are you blind to the stove loaded on the cart?”

I momentarily set down the pot I was holding and pointed to the stove we had loaded on the cart.

“What? That’s a stove?”

“Then what did you think it was?”

“I thought… it was just a trash bin or something.”

“Oh man… this is why camping newbies…”

How could anyone see this wonderful thing and think it was a trash bin?

I shook my head, in disbelief, while setting the stove down on the ground.

Of course, I didn’t forget to choose a spot where the grass was less grown, just in case of any unforeseen incidents.

Since Yoonseo would be right beside me while cooking, the chances of anything going wrong seemed slim, but you never knew when a spark could fly.

And if I accidentally burned the grass, I’d feel sorry for Jinho’s aunt who generously borrowed this place and provided us with meat and side dishes.

Setting up the stove wasn’t difficult. I just had to stack the firewood neatly and fill the gaps with shredded paper.

Now the real issue was lighting the fire…

“Is there a lighter around?”

“···”

“Would there be?”

I asked hopeful, only to be met with silence.

As a last resort, I grabbed some matches from inside the pension, lit it, and dropped it into the stove—before long, a decent flame flickered to life from within the stove.

“Wow… this is pretty impressive!”

“What are you talking about? Stop with the nonsense and hand me those gloves.”

“Sure, here you go.”

Thanks to the neatly stacked firewood, the flames did their job beautifully.

The pot perched atop the stove began to bubble up quickly.

“When do we add the vegetables?”

“Vegetables? Right now!”

Yoonseo promptly dumped all the vegetables that had filled one cutting board onto the grill, and before long, a fantastic aroma began to rise.

Thanks to blanching the chicken beforehand, the broth was pure and clear of any off-putting smells, blending perfectly with the juices released by the vegetables.

“Whoa…”

“The smell is insane…”

“We bought curry powder too, why not just have curry? It feels like we could just throw in the curry powder and call it a day.”

“Nope, that’s not happening.”

Sure, with broth this good, it would taste fine, but that would be a waste of the special sauce I had painstakingly made back home with the grater.

So, I firmly responded that she should stop with the nonsense and just eat what I served.

I gently poured the sauce from the bowl into the grill instead of just dumping it all in at once.

As I did so, the originally clear broth began to change to a reddish hue, and a mouth-watering spicy aroma filled the air.

In that moment, all talk of curry just vanished.

“Phew…”

“Nyah nyah nyah!”

“What are you doing?”

“Just wondering if anyone needs a taste tester.”

“It hasn’t even been a minute since we added the seasoning; how could anyone taste it already?”

“Cheh…”

The longer it bubbled away, the more fantastic the visual of the spicy chicken stew became. The broth, which had initially seemed excessive, started to reduce while bubbling joyfully, making my mouth water uncontrollably.

‘At this point…’

I should be able to taste it soon, right?

Grabbing the spoon I used to pour the seasoning, I took a little broth—

“Here.”

I offered it to Yoonseo, who had been staring at the bubbling stew since it started cooking.

At that moment, I heard some thumping noises from behind, but… it must have been my imagination.

Surely she hadn’t expected to be the first one to taste it.

She opened her mouth, seemingly ready to eat, but instead just stared dumbfounded with an expression of “Huh…?”

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Uh, what?”

“If you keep this up, my hand’s going to fall!”

Only after I said that did her mind seem to snap back to reality.

After a moment of flustered indecision, Yoonseo finally tucked a stray hair behind her ear and slowly leaned her face towards the spoon I was holding out.

And how long did that take?

“Ahhh!”

A gasp echoed, followed closely by what sounded like a scream.

“Right? It’s hot, right? Phew… I almost burned my tongue.”

“You… Ugh…”

“I think I need to let it cool down before I can eat.”

While trying to ignore the fiery gaze shot at me from right next to her, I scooped another spoonful for myself, blew on it gently, and let it slip into my mouth.

“Yum… It’s still a bit bland, but it’ll be fine since it’ll boil down further…”

Cough cough! Cough cough!

What the heck? Why are they acting this way?