# Chapter 78
Based on his years of experience leading the others without Hajin, Cha Jinwoo had an intuition that if he left them in this state, they would argue endlessly.
“If you have nothing to do, how about preparing some food for when Hajin wakes up?”
The three men immediately responded to Cha Jinwoo’s bait. However, the direction it took was different from what he had intended.
“Let’s see whose cooking Hajin hyung likes better.”
“As if your clumsy hands could manage it? Don’t ruin hyung’s taste buds and get lost.”
Cha Jinwoo had thought they might join forces since neither of them had ever cooked before, but watching them trying to compete with each other even in this situation, he gave up on stopping them.
“Just don’t cause any trouble.”
“Of course not.”
Thinking again, it seemed better to let them fight quietly like this. It was childish, but as long as they didn’t wake Hajin.
Baek Jaan had already gone into the kitchen long ago at the suggestion of preparing food for Hajin.
It was quite a spacious kitchen, but it became fully occupied when three large men entered. Cha Jinwoo left the three behind and settled on the sofa.
‘There’s no need for me to squeeze in there.’
The Association Chairman had said to ask for anything they needed, so he could call someone to prepare things if necessary. This was the wisdom of an adult.
* * *
Hajin woke up after a deep, dreamless sleep. Opening his eyes, he quietly surveyed his surroundings. It was a habit he had developed after being kidnapped.
The first night he spent there, when he walked out the door without thinking, he felt sleep abruptly leaving him in the unfamiliar space.
Since then, Hajin had developed the habit of rolling his eyes first to register where he was before moving.
“It’s my room……”
His voice came out raspy, as if he had slept too deeply. Hajin cleared his throat with a fake cough as he raised his upper body.
Relieved to be in a room that still retained his scent despite his long absence, Hajin savored the feeling for a moment before getting up.
‘I thought they would be sticking close to me, but where did everyone go?’
Still not fully awake, Hajin got off the bed and opened the door. Immediately, loud noises surged in from downstairs.
“Let me use the fire!”
“You’ve been using it the whole time! Let me use it too!”
As expected, the sources of the noise were Han Seungho and Lee Doyoon. Wondering what they were doing to make such a commotion, Hajin went down the stairs.
“Ah, Hajin. How are you feeling?”
“I slept so well that I feel completely fine now.”
With a refreshed face that showed even his remaining fatigue had disappeared, Hajin nodded. As Cha Jinwoo smiled saying he was glad, Hajin smiled back, but then noisy sounds came from the kitchen.
“Is that hyung? Just wait a bit! I’ll make something delicious for you! I’m almost done!”
“Hyung! Don’t eat what Seungho hyung made!”
Slipping out from between the two who were still arguing was Baek Jaan. With an apron wrapped around him and a bright smile, he looked like he would be a well-loved husband after marriage.
‘Though that probably won’t happen.’
“Hyung, here’s some water.”
Hajin gratefully accepted the cup as he had been thirsty. After draining it without leaving a drop, Baek Jaan naturally took the cup and led Hajin to the dining table.
With good manners, he pulled the chair back for Hajin and brought him another cup of water, saying:
“The meal just needs to be heated, so please wait a bit.”
“Ah, thank you.”
That’s when Han Seungho and Lee Doyoon intervened. Naturally, they would end up filling their stomachs with the meal prepared by Baek Jaan, but they weren’t the type to quietly watch this happen.
In the end, the large dining table was filled with food. Surprised by the enormous amount, Hajin turned to look at those who had prepared the meal.
“…Aren’t you all going to eat?”
It was too much for one person to eat alone. But they nodded with satisfied smiles.
“We prepared it for hyung to eat.”
‘It’s thoughtful but…’
It was burdensome to be asked to eat alone an amount that could feed six people. Wouldn’t they be disappointed if he didn’t finish what they had personally made?
Hajin’s gaze naturally turned to Cha Jinwoo.
Unfortunately, as if the reception was poor, Cha Jinwoo just smiled slightly and nodded. In the end, all of this overwhelming amount became Hajin’s burden.
‘Well, let’s try to eat as much as I can.’
Since his stomach felt completely empty, he should be able to eat a fair amount. Hajin picked up his spoon with determination.
First, he reached for the porridge to soothe his empty stomach.
Seeing Lee Doyoon clench his fist, it seemed this was his creation. Hajin stared at the plain white porridge for a moment before putting it in his mouth.
‘…?’
Even for porridge, he had to chew before swallowing, but Hajin’s jaw stopped after just one chew. This was because it slid down his throat without anything to chew on.
It was a mystery how the rice grains, which clearly maintained their shape when seen with the eyes, could crumble the moment they touched his tongue.
‘And it’s tasteless too.’
Not that it was terrible, but literally, there was no taste. It was as if no seasoning had been added at all, making it feel like diluted paste used for kimchi preparation.
‘He’s not good at cooking, I see…’
Hajin wanted to turn his spoon elsewhere. He was starving, but he didn’t want to fill his stomach with bland porridge that didn’t taste like anything.
However, when he met the expectant, sparkling eyes, he couldn’t put down the spoon after just one bite.
‘Alright. It’s not so bad that it’s inedible, so let me eat a little more.’
Hajin ended up taking three more spoonfuls. After swallowing the porridge without thinking, Hajin looked at Lee Doyoon.
“…It’s delicious. Did you make porridge thinking I’d have an empty stomach? Thank you.”
At Hajin’s voice with a gentle smile, the corner of Lee Doyoon’s mouth twitched before rising as high as the sky.
“Well, I’m glad you like it. I’ll make it for you again next time.”
“Hyung, try mine too now.”
It was a chance to escape the bland porridge. Hajin willingly turned his attention to the food Han Seungho offered.
The dish he proudly presented was kimchi fried rice. Hajin, whose tongue was craving kimchi due to the blandness, inwardly brightened as he moved his spoon.
After blowing on it to cool it down, he put it in his mouth, but the moment it touched his tongue, Hajin had to stop his jaw. Somehow, it felt like déjà vu.
‘…It’s salty, sweet, and spicy. And what’s this bitter taste?’
It was kimchi fried rice with literally every taste imaginable. Wondering how such a flavor was possible, Hajin looked down at the kimchi fried rice.
Seeing Hajin suddenly stop his jaw, Han Seungho looked worried.
“Does it taste bad…?”
Hajin, who couldn’t even chew, furrowed his brow and swallowed.
“No. I was just surprised because it’s more delicious than I expected.”
Hajin couldn’t give his honest opinion with Han Seungho looking like a dejected puppy.
Despite only receiving Radiative Guiding and having strange drug components remaining in their bodies, they had prioritized preparing this meal for him.
‘Since the porridge is bland, maybe alternating between them would work…’
After taking a few more spoonfuls of the kimchi fried rice, just as he did with the porridge, Hajin turned his attention to Baek Jaan’s dishes, which were the last remaining.
Surprisingly, most of the food filling this large table was Baek Jaan’s work. Even Han Seungho’s kimchi fried rice looked decent at first glance, so Hajin couldn’t trust easily.
However, someone who couldn’t cook wouldn’t be able to prepare this many dishes.
Hajin saw hope there.
“Did Baek Jaan prepare all these by himself? That’s impressive.”
That much was sincere. Even though Hajin had been asleep for a long time, how could one person make so many dishes?
“I worked hard for hyung.”
Baek Jaan smiled shyly. Hajin picked up his chopsticks with anticipation. To calm his tongue, which had been assaulted by all sorts of flavors, he first picked up some seasoned spinach.
Expecting the nutty taste of sesame oil and appropriate saltiness, Hajin tilted his head at the sweetness he felt on his tongue.
‘Well… sometimes sugar is used. Maybe he just added a bit too much.’
Compared to the previous two dishes, it was just a bit sweet but otherwise normal, so Hajin showed interest in the other side dishes.
However, whether he ate the fresh kimchi, the bulgogi, or even the grilled fish, he tasted sweetness.
Realizing that the sweetness in the spinach wasn’t a coincidence, Hajin felt enlightened. He scooped up a large spoonful of porridge with his spoon.
It seemed like Lee Doyoon’s bland porridge might have been part of a larger plan.
Eating the porridge again, he felt like he could survive. Thus, Hajin filled his stomach by alternating between the unexpectedly complementary dishes.
“I’m full…”
Hajin, who wasn’t one to overeat even normally, had no choice but to put down his utensils feeling as if food had piled up to his throat.
Having lied about the food being delicious, he had intended to eat everything to leave no evidence, but it was impossible to eat all of this alone.
“Thank you for the meal. Thank you for taking care of me.”
At Hajin’s expression of gratitude, the three men each looked proud and embarrassed.
Though they were disappointed that Hajin had left some food, even they could see it was too much for one person to eat, so they didn’t urge him to eat more.
“I’m too full and would like to take a walk. Anyone want to join me?”
Due to bad memories, he had planned to stay cooped up in the dormitory with them for the time being, but there was no way he could bear it without digesting this food.
All four of them raised their hands almost simultaneously at Hajin’s invitation.
Since someone had to clean up, only one person could go out with Hajin, and for fairness, the lucky one would be selected through rock-paper-scissors.
“Rock… paper… scissors!”
Whoosh!
As the four of them extended their hands at the same time, a gust of wind rushed to where Hajin was standing, making his bangs flutter. Hajin moved away with a slightly weary expression.
They say the frog dies when hit by a carelessly thrown stone, and Hajin could have ended up the same way. If he had been injured by the rock-paper-scissors air pressure, he would have been more embarrassed than hurt, for sure.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
