Chapter 8

Chapter 7

"I'm thinking about quitting…."

Shihu felt a bit dizzy inside.

If Hayun quit, he would have to do everything alone.

Preparing ingredients, cooking, serving, calculating, and cleaning….

Doing everything alone? He concluded it would be a bit difficult.

Shihu shook his head.

"Brother, are you saying you're going to quit… Brother?"

Hayun looked at Shihu, smiled, and said,

"When did I say I was quitting? I said I was thinking about it."

Shihu let out a sigh of relief at Hayun's playful tone.

"And, remember when I said I wouldn't leave you alone?"

Hayun's expression was calm with a gentle smile.

* * *

"Wait a moment."

"Sure."

Hayun walked over after a short distance and approached Shihu after making a call.

"A junior came. Ah, right. Hyung Kangho said to give this to you."

Hayun handed Shihu an envelope.

As soon as Shihu took it, Hayun turned and ran off hurriedly.

"See you later."

"Leaving already!"

Shihu opened the envelope.

"Huh? This is…."

Shihu's eyes widened.

It was an invitation to a limited-service restaurant run by a renowned Korean cuisine master.

Shihu's mouth slightly opened as he looked at the invitation.

No matter how much money you had, you couldn't taste the food if the owner didn't allow it.

Moreover, when he saw the master's name, Shihu's eyes trembled.

Rustle—

Shihu found a piece of paper on the back of the invitation.

He immediately took out his phone and sent a text to Kangho.

A short while later.

A smiling emoji came from Kangho via text.

* * *

In the living room, Shihu was half-lying on the sofa, reading a book. The only sound was the turning of pages.

Swish—

After flipping through the pages and moving his eyes diligently, he finally sighed in frustration.

"Ugh— Why do you have to put so much effort into running a store?"

Shihu was leaning against the sofa, reading a book about running a store.

Thud—

After closing the book, Shihu went out to the yard to clear his head.

As he stepped out in slippers, the cool air enveloped him.

Whoosh—

The cold wind tousled Shihu's hair.

While wandering in the yard, his eyes fell on a corner where a brick oven was built.

Shihu smiled, recalling the time he built it.

'I really struggled to build that…'

Shihu briefly reminisced about the memories of building the brick oven.

After seeing a video on YouTube of someone roasting fruit in a brick oven, Shihu searched for a design and wanted to build and use one.

He decided to build a standing brick oven instead of a squatting one.

He bought yellow clay bricks with his allowance and filled the gaps with yellow clay from the mountain.

Standing in front of the oven, the entrance was about waist-high and about 100 centimeters wide.

Rumble—

Hearing the sound from his stomach, Shihu thought of a typical winter snack.

"Should I roast some sweet potatoes?"

Shihu put some firewood from the shed into the oven and lit it.

Crackle—

The wood caught fire quickly in the dry weather.

Seeing the fire, Shihu looked at the chimney for a moment.

He saw the white smoke rising into the sky.

"It's been a while since I used the oven."

Muttering to himself, Shihu headed to the kitchen.

He wrapped a few sweet potatoes from the garden in aluminum foil and went back to the yard.

The wood had already burned down to charcoal.

Perhaps because the firewood was thin.

Shihu placed the foil-wrapped sweet potatoes under the charcoal and went back to his room.

Even in the cold weather, Shihu's house didn't need a boiler.

Just by opening the bedroom door, the whole house was warm.

'The warm breeze from the garden heats the whole house, saving on heating costs.'

Shihu glanced at the bedroom for a moment.

He sat on the sofa and continued reading the book on running a store.

A short while later.

Shihu took the sweet potatoes out of the oven.

After peeling the skin, he blew on them and took a bite.

Crunch—

The hot sweet potato was creamy and sweet in his mouth.

Blow—

He took a sip of the barley tea he had boiled.

Who said it?

You should drink soda with sweet potatoes.

Shihu's mouth curved into a smile as he took a bite of the sweet potato.

He remembered the roasted sweet potatoes his father used to buy when he was a child.

'Was I 8 years old then?'

Shihu's gaze fell on the yard.

Clunk—

Creak—

"Hey? Son!"

Seeing Shihu awake, his father took a yellow paper bag from his pocket and said,

"Son! They were selling roasted sweet potatoes at the bus stop. I bought some to share with Shihu."

His father handed Shihu a sweet potato.

"Shihu, you have to blow on it like this—hoo, hoo. It's hot, okay?"

Following his father's example, Shihu blew on the sweet potato and took a bite.

"Wow—Dad, it's really delicious."

His father brought a few slices of fresh kimchi from the kitchen.

"Shihu, sweet potatoes are even better with a bit of kimchi."

"…?"

Seeing Shihu's curious gaze, his father, a bit embarrassed, took a bite of the sweet potato with kimchi and said,

"Shihu, you probably don't know the taste of sweet potatoes with kimchi yet."

At that moment, his father really enjoyed the sweet potato with kimchi.

"Shihu, here, I peeled it for you. Be careful and eat it."

"Okay."

Young Shihu felt the warmth of the sweet potato his father handed him.

Recalling his childhood memories, Shihu looked at the sweet potato he was eating.

"The sweet potatoes Dad gave me tasted exactly the same."

It was sweet but had a nostalgic flavor.

Thinking of his father's memories from his childhood, Shihu felt a slight tingling in his nose.

"Sweet potatoes… Before I go to [SeeYou] tomorrow, should I make some sweet potato soup?"

Deciding to make some sweet potato soup before going to work the next day, Shihu continued eating the sweet potatoes.

Crunch—

Munch—

Swallow—

Blow—

After finishing three sweet potatoes in one place, Shihu ended with a sip of barley tea.

"Ah—That was good."

Feeling full after eating the sweet potatoes, he read the book on running a store and a book on menu planning with renewed energy.

'Huh?'

After reading for a while, Shihu felt something was off.

The content that didn't make sense a moment ago suddenly became clear.

'Ah—Was it because I was hungry? When you're hungry, your brain doesn't work.'

Thinking it was the right time, Shihu jotted down Korean dishes in his notebook.

After a while of planning the menu, he took out the invitation from Kangho.

"But how did Hyung get this? It's really hard to get into Chef Yoon Sukhee's restaurant…."

Shihu tilted his head in confusion.

* * *

Yoon Sukhee was initially surprised by her nephew's request but her eyes widened when she heard the name.

"If it's the Kang Shihu I know, that would be great."

Hearing the words from the other end of the line, Yoon Sukhee smiled gently.

"I see. Then it must be the student I know. I'll send it. Okay, take care and come by once."

After the call, Yoon Sukhee let out a light sigh.

Yoon Sukhee thought of Kang Shihu.

When she first met Kang Shihu at a culinary school, she was secretly impressed.

His knife skills and ability to interpret the taste of food didn't seem like those of a high school student.

He showed movements that would take at least a decade of experience in the culinary world.

Yoon Sukhee often met Kang Shihu at competitions.

She recalled the rising star 'Kang Shihu' who swept awards in various Korean cuisine competitions.

'I hope it's him.'

* * *

Shihu decided to use the invitation from Kangho.

After making plans with Hayun, he got ready to go out.

One of the reasons Shihu was surprised by the invitation was because he knew the name of the master.

'Chef Yoon Sukhee.'

He recalled that Chef Yoon Sukhee had given a lecture at his high school once.

"The essence of Korean cuisine is the taste of sauces. The taste of sauces comes from fermentation. Fermentation is the science of time and the energy of nature."

When explaining Korean cuisine, Chef Yoon Sukhee's face was filled with love and passion for it.

Shihu smiled, thinking of Chef Yoon Sukhee.

'She probably doesn't remember me…'

Rustle—

Shihu put on black cotton pants, a white polo shirt, and a black winter coat.

As he left the house and headed to the bus stop, he saw a bus approaching.

"I don't really want to take the bus…."

He muttered without realizing it.

Shihu realized he still had a vague sense of unease about public transportation.

Unable to shake off his unease about public transportation, Shihu boldly got on the bus.

Beep—

The machine announced that he had boarded.

Thump— Thump—

Shihu, tense to the point where his heartbeat was audible, maintained a blank expression as he looked around.

There were a few empty seats.

As Shihu sat down, the high school girls around him glanced at him.

The high school girls started whispering to each other as they looked at Shihu.

"Did you know that guy is a chef at a Western-style restaurant in front of Korea University?"

"I don't know where that is."

"You don't? Oh right, you transferred from Busan, so you probably don't know. It's famous on social media. You use Instagram, right? Let me show you."

The high school girl showed the other the menu and reviews of [SeeYou] on Instagram.

The other high school girl, surprised, looked at Shihu and the Instagram post.

"Really? It's the one on Instagram? So that guy is the chef there?"

"Yeah, isn't he handsome?"

The high school girl glanced at Shihu, rolling her eyes.

She sighed lightly and whispered,

"He's good-looking, but what's the point if he's not my brother."

Shihu, unaware of the high school girls' conversation, stared blankly out the window.

* * *

Shihu saw a text from Hayun, replied, and got ready to get off.

"This is Pilryu-dong."

Hearing the bus announcement, Shihu pressed the stop button.

Squeak—

After the bus stopped and he got off, Hayun approached.

"Hey, Kang Shihu. You dressed up nicely?"

Hayun was surprised by Shihu's attire.

He looked much more composed and stylish than usual.

Shihu also commented on Hayun's appearance.

"Hyung, you dressed up too."

Hayun, feeling a bit embarrassed, scratched his cheek and said,

"Hyung Kangho said to dress like this…."

"Huh? Hyung Kangho?"

Hayun realized he had made a mistake.

"Uh, yeah. When I told him I was going to a restaurant with a master, he told me the dress code."

Shihu nodded, understanding.

Shihu and Hayun walked down the alley to the restaurant run by Chef Yoon Sukhee.

"Is this the place?"

"Uh… Let me check the map app."

Since it was their first time in the area, they were a bit lost.

Hayun looked around and said,

"We were here a little while ago. Show me your phone."

Shihu silently handed his phone to Hayun.

"You… Maybe…"

At Hayun's words, Shihu rolled his eyes and looked away.

A genius chef with a garden of local ingredients?!