Chapter 147
“Come in.”
Hyeon-woo entered with a determined expression. He set the plates on the table. As Tae-geon approached and sat down, Hyeon-woo took the seat prepared next to him. He poured cold water into Tae-geon’s empty glass, and soon Scott began his explanation.
“The appetizer on the left is a steamed egg custard made with ginkgo and pollock roe. The main dish in the center is a galbi ragu made with minced beef and scallops. It’s flavored with green onions and truffle oil, and is especially exquisite for its tender texture and savory taste. The side dish is a grilled unsalted tofu with chives, which pairs well with the main course. For dessert, we’ve prepared a financier with unsweetened figs to complement your favorite coffee beans. Enjoy your meal.”
Tae-geon nodded, and Scott left the room.
As if on cue, Hyeon-woo picked up the plate and chopsticks.
Tap, tap.
Tae-geon’s mouth opened at the signal. Hyeon-woo placed steaming white rice with kimchi into it.
Tap, tap.
Rice with kimchi.
Tap, tap.
Rice with kimchi.
Tap, tap.
Rice with kimchi.
Tae-geon, who had been eating without complaint, picked up his water glass and rinsed his mouth.
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
“…”
But as always, the employee remained silent.
Tap, tap.
The chopsticks tapped the plate again.
Seeing that Tae-geon showed no sign of opening his closed mouth, the employee brought the plate closer to his ear and kept tapping: tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. Tae-geon frowned deeply at this behavior but finally opened his mouth. Sure enough, rice and kimchi flooded in again.
“…Hah.”
Tae-geon forced himself to chew and swallow, then let out a hollow laugh.
“Is this revenge? For what happened in the bathroom earlier?”
“…”
“Go ahead, keep it up till the end.”
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap.
Tap, tap.
That evening, Tae-geon finished his meal with only kimchi.
*
The head butler couldn’t believe his ears.
Called early in the morning, he entered the young master’s room with a tense heart, only to hear such an unexpected request that his head spun.
“…So, you’re saying you want to have meals with Ian from now on, is that right?”
“Ian?”
Tae-geon snorted. Coincidentally, it was the same as Hyeon-woo’s American name.
“He’s working hard attending to me, so I thought it would be nice if he could eat with me while sitting at the table. It’s also a bit embarrassing to eat alone.”
“…”
“And it’s lonely too.”
Tae-geon’s last statement shook the head butler’s heart. To think the young master had been feeling lonely during his meals. He felt ashamed for not properly understanding the young master’s feelings.
The head butler, with more sense of duty and responsibility than ever, began to persuade Hyeon-woo. However, Hyeon-woo was firm.
“No. I’d rather eat separately downstairs.”
“This is the first time the young master has made such a request. I’m begging you. Please have meals with him.”
“No.”
“Didn’t he say eating alone is lonely!”
At those words, Hyeon-woo’s face contorted strangely.
Lonely…? Looooonely? What a complete lie! He was clearly trying to get revenge for yesterday!
When Hyeon-woo remained unmoved by all sorts of persuasion, the head butler’s face turned red and blue before he stormed off in a huff. And that morning, the staff’s meal consisted of only white rice and kimchi. The same for lunch and dinner.
It was one thing for himself, but what sin had the others committed without even knowing why? The next morning, when the menu was again just white rice and kimchi, Hyeon-woo, unable to bear it anymore, went to find the head butler.
“What on earth are you doing? Did the young master order this? To get revenge by serving only white rice and kimchi?!”
“…Young master? Revenge? What are you talking about?”
“The young master…!”
Hyeon-woo, who was about to explain the situation, closed his mouth. There was no lie in the head butler’s face as he looked puzzled at Hyeon-woo mentioning the young master. From his reaction, Hyeon-woo detected that this whole situation was the head butler’s own decision.
…Damn it.
Biting his lip in embarrassment, Hyeon-woo finally opened his reluctant mouth.
“…I’ll have meals with the young master.”
“That’s right! You’ve made a good decision!”
“So please take care of the others’ meals too. Don’t just give them kimchi side dishes!”
“Of course, of course. I’ll do that.”
The head butler’s joy was so apparent it was annoying.
How petty, to threaten with food…
As Hyeon-woo thought this, he suddenly realized that what he had done to Tae-geon last evening was equally despicable, and felt somewhat sheepish.
When Scott signaled that the meal preparation was complete, Hyeon-woo pushed the trolley towards Tae-geon, feeling like he was being led to the slaughterhouse. The trolley was twice as heavy as usual. It was because his portion had been added.
The employee’s hands were dejected as he moved the plates onto the table. Sensing this, Tae-geon approached the table with a snort.
“It smells delicious.”
While Scott’s face lit up at Tae-geon’s words, Hyeon-woo’s face grew even more gloomy. The table setting, including chopsticks and spoons, was done twice. One for Tae-geon and one for himself. As Tae-geon sat down, Hyeon-woo reluctantly took his seat.
“…Then, enjoy your meal.”
After Scott finished his explanation and left, an inexplicable tension settled in the room. Tae-geon broke the frozen silence.
“You eat first.”
Hyeon-woo’s chopsticks, which had been wandering over the plate for a while as if he had no appetite, headed towards the most appetizing-looking steamed mushrooms. As Scott had put the most effort into explaining this dish, the taste of the shiitake mushrooms stuffed with meat dumplings after removing the stems was exquisite.
As soon as Hyeon-woo finished chewing and swallowing what was in his mouth, Tae-geon tapped the table a couple of times with his index finger, ‘tap, tap’, to get Hyeon-woo’s attention.
“The same for me.”
Then he shamelessly opened his mouth wide. The initial embarrassment he had shown about being fed was nowhere to be seen. Hyeon-woo’s hand holding the chopsticks trembled at this brazen behavior.
As he deliberately poked at the least appetizing-looking green vegetable side dish,
“That’s not what you just had.”
“…”
He had somehow noticed. Though his sense of smell was said to be ruined, it seemed his hearing had become several times more sensitive instead.
Hyeon-woo had no choice but to pick up the delicious steamed mushrooms he had just eaten and feed them to Tae-geon. This situation repeated itself. For every dish Hyeon-woo picked up to eat, he had to promptly deliver the same to Tae-geon’s mouth.
A few times, out of defiance, he reached for the kimchi, but each time he deviated from the course, Tae-geon caught him.
“That’s not it, is it?”
“…”
Damn it.
Hyeon-woo glared at Tae-geon to his heart’s content.
One bite for you, one bite for me. The meal time, which might have looked lovey-dovey to others, finally ended. In reality, it was more like a battle where both were exhausted from the mental warfare.
Similar days repeated after that.
On days when there was a dish with sausages, Tae-geon had to eat sausages until he was sick of them, and on days when steak was served, it was hard to taste anything other than meat.
“Why don’t you eat some vegetables too?”
When Hyeon-woo couldn’t hold back anymore and blurted this out, the employee stuffed asparagus and roasted tomatoes into his own mouth as if to shut him up, while Tae-geon continued to pick out only the meat. He liked sweet braised dishes cooked in malt syrup, and despite not being able to handle spicy food well, he always tasted it three or four times and then filled the rest of his stomach with water.
Tae-geon held out the plate to the employee who was clearly showing interest in the dessert he disliked and hadn’t touched.
“Do you like cake?”
Tap, tap.
The response came louder and faster than ever, making Tae-geon smile inwardly.
“Go ahead and eat it.”
The employee gladly took the plate.
His taste was completely that of an elementary school student.
Just like someone he knew.
Shhhhhh-
Autumn rain was pouring outside the window. It seemed that winter would come soon after this rain stopped. The armchair that had been on the terrace was moved inside the room. Perhaps because of this, Tae-geon had been spending more time sitting at the dining table rather than in the armchair lately. And each time, the employee was always by his side.
Hyeon-woo, having cleared the empty plates, brought out a coffee cup and a plate with dessert. As he poured coffee into the empty cup, the fragrant aroma of coffee beans filled the room.
Hyeon-woo’s hand was familiar as he received the dessert plate Tae-geon held out. Hyeon-woo, who was breaking the cheesecake on the plate into small pieces with a fork, lifted his head and glanced towards the window where the curtain was drawn. His eyes, looking at the falling rain, sank as gloomily as the dark clouds covering the sky.
The heat cycle was coming soon. It also meant that Tae-geon’s rut was not far off.
Tae-geon emptied his cup. The cheesecake was gone too. Hyeon-woo moved the empty cup and plate to the trolley. After delivering it to the kitchen and returning, Hyeon-woo picked up the dressing box on the side table and headed to the dining table where Tae-geon was sitting.
He unwrapped the bandage from Tae-geon’s hand, which was held out knowingly. The burn mark had faded so much that it was now difficult to see with the naked eye. Although it had improved to the point where dressing was no longer necessary, Hyeon-woo applied ointment and wrapped a bandage as usual.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
