Chapter 3

Chapter 2

At the sound of the doorbell, Sihu came out to the yard.

Clunk—

When he opened the gate, no one was in sight.

A single box was left there, standing alone.

Sigh—

Holding the weight of the delivery box, he looked up at the sky.

A clear, cloudless blue sky.

"Hmm—. The weather is really nice… It’s already been two years."

He carried the delivery box into the house.

Creak—

As he took out the items from the delivery box, Sihu fell into deep thought.

Two years ago.

Sihu, struggling to accept his parents' death, had temporarily experienced mutism and a loss of sense of smell.

Unable to taste anything, he felt he had to give up his life as a chef.

In a society where one must graduate from university to find a decent job, Sihu decided to go to college.

After a year of hard study, he was admitted to a university in Korea.

As time passed, working at [SeeYou] and studying, the pain seemed to dull, and his senses gradually returned.

He learned that the owner of [SeeYou], Yun Ganghoon, and Joo Hayoon were seniors at his university.

‘I was really surprised back then. Everyone treated me even better after that. They are truly grateful people.’

Sihu snapped out of his reverie and took out the items from the box.

They were cleaning supplies.

Rustle— Clank—

He paused as he took them out.

He glanced at the kitchen from the living room.

Even now, when he looked at the kitchen, he could almost see his mother's back.

His mother's figure passed by like a hallucination.

At the dining table, the image of young Sihu and his parents eating together appeared and disappeared like a mirage.

Sigh—

Sihu's gaze turned to the calendar on the wall.

Buzz—

A phone vibration snapped Sihu out of his thoughts.

"Yes, Mr. Owner."

-Why are you being so formal? I told you to call me by my first name.

"Yes, but what's the matter?"

-This week. You have a shift on the weekend, right?

"Um, yes. I was going to tell you today, but I can't work this week."

-Why? You know the weekend is busy.

"Yes, I know. But it’s my parents' anniversary."

Sihu's words were met with silence on the other end.

-... Already? Then you should go.

"Yes."

-Prepare well and be careful.

Click—

Sihu looked down at his phone, a smile forming on his lips.

He was always grateful to his boss, who was also a senior.

After taking out all the cleaning supplies, Sihu put on a mask.

In the empty house, the sunlight coming through the window made the dust in the living room sparkle.

Sihu, who had been standing there for a moment, glanced at the bedroom.

The room that had been closed for two years since his parents passed away.

Taking a deep breath, he turned the doorknob.

Click—

Creak—

The door, which hadn't been opened for years, made a loud noise.

Sihu's pupils trembled as he looked inside.

"Ah—."

Even though the windows were closed, dust had accumulated to about 1 cm on the floor and furniture.

He saw spider webs on the ceiling.

Creak—

He opened the door wide and grabbed a broom and dustpan.

Wearing slippers, Sihu took a step into the room.

Puff—

Dust rose.

Sihu went back into the room and opened the windows wide.

Rattle—

As the cool autumn air entered his parents' room, the dust began to dance.

Tap, tap, tap—

The rhythmic sound of dusting.

The sound of sweeping continued for a while.

Sigh—

Seeing the bedroom become cleaner, Sihu felt a sense of calm.

Sihu, who hadn't opened the bedroom door for a while, looked around the now cleaner room.

Ah—

"I need to tidy this up too…."

Click—

When he opened the closet, he saw his parents' clothes.

Seeing his parents' clothes, his nose tingled.

After tidying the closet and opening all the drawers, he went out to the living room.

Creak—

He turned his head at the sound from the bedroom.

"Huh?"

Sihu had forgotten that when all the drawers are pulled out, the dresser would tip forward due to its weight.

Thud—

He caught the falling dresser.

If it had fallen completely, the clothes and items inside would have spilled out, making it difficult to clean up.

Cold sweat trickled down his spine.

"I almost had an accident…."

As he stood up the dresser, he noticed the wall.

"Huh? What's this?"

The wallpaper, which had been hidden by the dresser, looked like it was peeling.

This house was bought by his parents before he was born.

He thought the wall might have cracked due to the age of the house.

Seeing the crack, he tilted his head.

He touched the crack carefully.

He felt a slight breeze coming from the crack in the wall.

"Wind?"

Sihu moved the dresser to the side and felt the wall.

Swish— Swish—

As he touched the wall, it began to separate slightly.

When the gap was wide enough for his fingers to fit, he felt a definite breeze.

He carefully inserted his hand and pushed the wall to the side like a sliding door.

Rattle—

Surprisingly, a space large enough for one person to fit comfortably opened up.

"Wow…."

All he could see was pitch-black darkness.

He took out his phone from his pocket and turned on the flashlight.

Flash—

In the darkness, he could faintly see a staircase.

Sihu, amazed that there was such a space in the bedroom, carefully put his foot on the stairs.

After about twenty steps down, he shone the flashlight around.

In the pitch-black darkness, the space appeared to be roughly the size of the bedroom.

He realized there was not a speck of dust on the floor below the stairs.

He could feel his heart pounding.

As a child.

The same excitement he felt when he saw a new toy.

He looked up at the stairs leading down from the bedroom.

A beam of light was visible in the darkness.

"What is this?"

Curious, Sihu approached the source of the light.

Creak—

Something caught his hand.

When he touched it, it felt like wood.

Sihu carefully pushed it.

It didn't move, so he felt for the end.

Creak—

He grabbed the end of the wooden object and pushed it like a sliding door.

Rattle—

The door opened.

Sihu shielded his eyes from the intense light.

"Ow—"

His eyes, accustomed to the darkness, took time to adjust to the bright light.

Slowly, objects came into view.

Sihu rubbed his eyes.

"Huh?!"

When the door was fully open, what he saw was a field, commonly seen in the countryside.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Am I still half-asleep?"

Muttering to himself, he looked around.

Behind him was the bedroom basement.

In front of him was a field.

Sihu cautiously extended his hand.

He felt warm air at his fingertips.

"Warm…?"

He carefully stepped inside.

Squish—

He felt the texture of the soil.

This confirmed that the current situation was real.

He pinched his cheek.

Ouch—

"It's not a dream. What exactly is this place?"

Sihu sat down in front of the door and touched the soil.

He felt the cool, unique texture of the soil.

An unbelievable reality in the basement of the house he had lived in since childhood.

He looked around the field.

The crops looked as if someone had tended to them.

Sihu's eyes widened as he saw the leaves nearby.

"Huh? This is a persimmon?"

He looked around the entrance of the field.

He carefully dug into the soil under the leaves.

When he dug, he saw a potato.

"Huh? What, what is this? Is this a potato? Why is it so big?"

Sihu realized no one was there to answer his questions.

The potato he dug up was the size of three adult fists combined.

He shook off the dirt and examined it closely.

Sniff, sniff—

He smelled it and turned it around.

"Is this a different plant from a potato?"

He tilted his head and put it aside for now.

Looking around, he saw another plant next to the potato.

It was definitely a plant he recognized.

He bent down to examine the leaves.

"Sweet potato leaves?"

Sihu gently pulled on the sweet potato vine.

Thud—

When he pulled, a cluster of sweet potatoes came out.

"Wow? What is this? Is this a sweet potato?"

The sweet potatoes were as long and thick as an adult's arm from wrist to elbow.

Although he wanted to look around more, he wanted to confirm if the potatoes and sweet potatoes were real.

Sihu carried the potatoes and sweet potatoes into the bedroom basement.

Buzz—

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and took it out.

Shinhan Bank deposit from Yun *Hoon: 500,000 won.

Sihu quickly texted a reply and left the basement.

He went to the kitchen, placed the potatoes and sweet potatoes from the basement garden, and finished preparing to leave.

* * *

That afternoon.

On the table were squid, spicy gambas, peanuts, and beer glasses, all prepared by Sihu.

As usual, after the store closed, the three of them had a light drink to end the day.

"Sihu, I'm going to close the store soon."

Ganghoon spoke with a slightly troubled expression.

"What? You're quitting? No way, are you kidding, bro?"

Sihu looked at Ganghoon, not believing his ears.

Ganghoon had said he was going to sell [SeeYou] to someone else.

But Ganghoon looked at Sihu seriously.

Sihu sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"Why are you quitting? Is something wrong?"

In response to Sihu's question, Ganghoon clicked his tongue and spoke.

"Man! There's a reason, but I'm not closing it right away."

"Then, when?"

To Sihu's gloomy question, Ganghoon replied.

"Let's say, two months from now?"

"Two, two months? Isn't this too sudden?"

After a moment of silence, Ganghoon smiled and said to Sihu.

"Then, do you want to take over this store?"

Sihu was silent at Ganghoon's words.

Seeing this, Ganghoon spoke.

"Sihu, you can take over this store. You're good at Korean cuisine, right?"

Ganghoon's words made Hayoon speak up.

"Bro, where's the money for that?"

Sihu, who had been looking down, looked at Ganghoon and spoke in a low voice.

"Like what Hyun said, I don't have the money yet, and although I learned from the Western chef, as you know, my main focus is Korean cuisine."

Ganghoon looked at Sihu and Hayoon alternately, leaned back in his chair, and crossed his arms.

In a lower tone than usual, he spoke.

"I'm going to sell the store, but I'd prefer if you, Sihu, took it over."

"I'd like to take it over, but I have memories here with you guys, and I'd be sad to see it go."

"Exactly. To be honest, I'm not closing the store for money, so I'm considering various options. For now, you have time to think about it."

Sihu listened to Ganghoon and thought deeply.

Ganghoon smiled slightly at Sihu's expression and spoke.

"Sihu, don't worry too much. I won't leave you to fend for yourself."

Sihu's eyes welled up at Ganghoon's last words.

He suddenly wondered why this man, who was not related to him by blood, was so good to him.

Sihu felt a warmth seep into his cold, frozen heart.

A genius chef with the world's garden ingredients?!